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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6395245" data-attributes="member: 42582">I agree with this.One feature of the take-over, not often commented on, is the change in planar names. The original names conveyed ideas that are lost in the Planescape make-over. In his controversial <a href="http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12808.phtml" target="_blank">review</a> of the original PHB on rpg.net, Lev Lafeyette made this comment about Appendix IV:The final section of the book includes an alignment graph (without systematic suggestions for use) and the planes of existence, including the rather evocative assignment of Earthly polytheistic pantheons within the AD&D alignment system. This "evocative" feature of the Great Wheel was already diluted by DDG, which suggested that pantheons should be split up among the planes based on individual godly alignments. It is completely lost once (for instance) Gladsheim/Asgard becomes Ysgard, the Seven Heavens become Mt Celestia, the Glooms of Hades become the Grey Wastes, etc.My reason for not favouring Planescape is similar. I rarely use modues as written - I pick and choose bits and pieces from them, combining different modules together, to get material for my games. The main thing I want in a module is interesting backstory and compelling motivations that will drive an RPG scenario.And personally I don't get very much of this from the Planescape books that I have read. The backstory is arcane but, to me at least, not that compelling, and seems to offer very little that is compelling to players unless their main desire is to learn the backstory. (In which case they could just read the books.)The 4e backstory is better for my purposes: the more the players learn of it during play, the more pressing the choice between divine order and primordial chaos becomes. I've used other cosmologies, too, and have adapted Planescape-style material (eg Bastion of Broken Souls) into them.So unlike you I don't avoid Planescape stuff, because I can turn it to my own ends. But I am very happy to have non-Planescape stuff available too.</blockquote>

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