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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 6380462" data-attributes="member: 22779">Actually, the bolded part is exactly the point.&nbsp; Every edition has had various things to say about, say, orcs.&nbsp; Orcs have evolved through the editions (as have most humanoids, giants, and dragons) with varying degrees of background information.&nbsp; They've sometimes been Chaotic Evil, sometimes Lawful Evil.&nbsp; They've been fairly weak physically to darn near as strong as an ogre and certainly a lot stronger than a normal human.&nbsp; Some things have remained fairly the same, but, lots have changed.&nbsp; Do orcs live in small tribes in caves or do they have cities?&nbsp; Well, depends on the edition and the setting.But, as we've seen with Planescape material, we are not allowed to make any changes.&nbsp; Every Planescape element must be preserved in its entirety throughout editions and every change is critiqued, not based on whether the change is interesting or not, but whether or not it follows what came before.And i really don't understand why.&nbsp; Why is it perfectly fine for dragons to go from relatively small monsters with minor spell casting ability, if any spell casting ability at all, to virtual demi-gods equivalent to arch mages?&nbsp; But if we change a succubus from a demon to a devil, or futz about with Yugoloths, the pitchforks and torches start coming out.See, no, there aren't alternative systems.&nbsp; Not in D&amp;D.&nbsp; If I want different orcs, I have all sorts of inspirations I could draw on.&nbsp; If I want different halflings, I could use core D&amp;D, Dragonlance, Eberron, whatever, and have everything from hobbits to cannibals to kleptomaniacs.&nbsp; But a Type 1 Vrock must always be a Type 1 Vrock in every single setting, in every single source book and can never, ever vary from the baseline.&nbsp; We must never have an adventure book featuring a demon and a devil conspiring together, because that would violate the flavour of the Blood War.&nbsp; Every Eladrin must be an Angel Elf and to vary from that is verboten.THAT'S my beef here.&nbsp; If there were all sorts of options out there, and Planescape was one of them, I'd be a perfectly happy camper.&nbsp; But, if I buy a supplement about the planes, it will ALWAYS be a Planescape supplement.&nbsp; If I buy an adventure that features anything off the Prime Material, I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it will always follow Planescape flavour.&nbsp; Heck, The Savage Tide, a spin off of&nbsp; the Isle of Dread, followed, to the letter, Planescape elements.&nbsp; The last three or four modules might as well have had Planescape emblazoned across the banner.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; These are Greyhawk (or rather Paizohawk) adventures.&nbsp; They certainly didn't start off as Planescape adventures.&nbsp; But they sure as heck ended as them.Oh, that's right, anything to do with the planes that was published in Dungeon or Dragon in 3e HAD to follow Planescape flavour.&nbsp; No variation.&nbsp; No exceptions.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 6380462, member: 22779"] Actually, the bolded part is exactly the point. Every edition has had various things to say about, say, orcs. Orcs have evolved through the editions (as have most humanoids, giants, and dragons) with varying degrees of background information. They've sometimes been Chaotic Evil, sometimes Lawful Evil. They've been fairly weak physically to darn near as strong as an ogre and certainly a lot stronger than a normal human. Some things have remained fairly the same, but, lots have changed. Do orcs live in small tribes in caves or do they have cities? Well, depends on the edition and the setting. But, as we've seen with Planescape material, we are not allowed to make any changes. Every Planescape element must be preserved in its entirety throughout editions and every change is critiqued, not based on whether the change is interesting or not, but whether or not it follows what came before. And i really don't understand why. Why is it perfectly fine for dragons to go from relatively small monsters with minor spell casting ability, if any spell casting ability at all, to virtual demi-gods equivalent to arch mages? But if we change a succubus from a demon to a devil, or futz about with Yugoloths, the pitchforks and torches start coming out. See, no, there aren't alternative systems. Not in D&D. If I want different orcs, I have all sorts of inspirations I could draw on. If I want different halflings, I could use core D&D, Dragonlance, Eberron, whatever, and have everything from hobbits to cannibals to kleptomaniacs. But a Type 1 Vrock must always be a Type 1 Vrock in every single setting, in every single source book and can never, ever vary from the baseline. We must never have an adventure book featuring a demon and a devil conspiring together, because that would violate the flavour of the Blood War. Every Eladrin must be an Angel Elf and to vary from that is verboten. THAT'S my beef here. If there were all sorts of options out there, and Planescape was one of them, I'd be a perfectly happy camper. But, if I buy a supplement about the planes, it will ALWAYS be a Planescape supplement. If I buy an adventure that features anything off the Prime Material, I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it will always follow Planescape flavour. Heck, The Savage Tide, a spin off of the Isle of Dread, followed, to the letter, Planescape elements. The last three or four modules might as well have had Planescape emblazoned across the banner. Why? These are Greyhawk (or rather Paizohawk) adventures. They certainly didn't start off as Planescape adventures. But they sure as heck ended as them. Oh, that's right, anything to do with the planes that was published in Dungeon or Dragon in 3e HAD to follow Planescape flavour. No variation. No exceptions. [/QUOTE]

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