D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Travelers of the Multiverse

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dnd.wizards.com

Looks like Spelljammer and/or Planescape is back on the menu!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

That's my point. The original Spelljammer had too much 16th century science story, to the determent of the Space Opera.

Nah, spelljammer problem was that it was too overtly silly/goofy.

A Spelljammer that looked more like Treasure Planet would have been more successful, IMO. Like, people want a space game to involve space. Stars and planets and nebulas. You can fantasy the almighty hell out of that, have people fighting lizardmen on asteroids with no space suit with swords and laser guns, and as long as it is in space, not some weird river of flammable goop or whatever the Astral Sea is, it’s still a space opera.

In my Space Fantasy games, you can fly a space ship from your home planet around a blue star to a Star Lane to another region of space, or you can plot a new course using navigation instruments and your knowledge of space using you Aether slipstream drive, and then fight a star dragon with an energy sword and a blaster pistol while your Paladin from the Borderlands fights beside you in a powered suit of armor with giant wings.

BecUse it’s a D&D space opera. You can see the stars, because you’re in space.

 

[Faolyn]

The permanent portals are very few in number and not to more than a miniscule fraction of the prime planes, like @Chaosmancer is incorrectly claiming. The rest pop around and change triggers, so are too unreliable to use. While there is some very limited trade, there simply are not enough usable portals to allow Sigil to be some sort of multiversal highway. It's just not that at all.

The city is "lousy" with temporary and almost entirely unusable portals. People vanish because they accidentally trigger one, but even if they live and make it back, the portal isn't going to be around long enough to use for trade or travel. And yes, for PCs and adventures the portals will be easier to find and use, but only to get to that adventure, not to just pop around the planes sightseeing.

However you slice it, Sigil doesn't work like @Chaosmancer wants it to. Not unless he homebrews in a change to how portals work there.

The Campaign Setting has this to say on portals:

The book doesn't even try to pretend that portals are some subject to the universe, that there's some fiction to it that the DM then has to interpret to find out if their desire fits with the RAW or if it involves extensive homebrewing. it straight out says that the DM is in charge. And then, a few paragraphs later, it talks about the three types of portals and how they relate to adventures. Again, no fiction here. It goes directly from worldbuilding to adventure use. For instance:

And note that this is specifically about adventures.

Portals work exactly like Chaosmancer says and exactly like you say and exactly like I say. Neither of those quotes are sidebars, either; they're right there in the main text. Which means that if you want there to be portals that allow for consistent, reliable trade between Sigil and Point B for centuries, go right ahead. The book is telling you it's OK to do that. This isn't homebrewing. This is following the rules of the book.

And note this section from In The Cage:

This one is more fiction-based, but it clearly provides support for the idea that temporary portals can be used however the DM wishes, even if it's for an "obvious" purpose, like setting up trade.

Anyway, more In The Cage bits:

If it ain't in the Guildhall and Market Wards, it ain't anywhere. Yes, the rest of that second quote says that most of the portals are temporary, but that still allows for as many portals as the DM wishes--and if the DM wants there to be a long-lasting portal from Sigil to Point B there, then all they have to do is decide who controls it and how much gold they charge for access.

 

[Maxperson]

The Campaign Setting has this to say on portals:

View attachment 145348

View attachment 145347

The book doesn't even try to pretend that portals are some subject to the universe, that there's some fiction to it that the DM then has to interpret to find out if their desire fits with the RAW or if it involves extensive homebrewing. it straight out says that the DM is in charge. And then, a few paragraphs later, it talks about the three types of portals and how they relate to adventures. Again, no fiction here. It goes directly from worldbuilding to adventure use. For instance:

View attachment 145350

And note that this is specifically about adventures.

Portals work exactly like Chaosmancer says and exactly like you say and exactly like I say. Neither of those quotes are sidebars, either; they're right there in the main text. Which means that if you want there to be portals that allow for consistent, reliable trade between Sigil and Point B for centuries, go right ahead. The book is telling you it's OK to do that. This isn't homebrewing. This is following the rules of the book.

And note this section from In The Cage:

View attachment 145352

This one is more fiction-based, but it clearly provides support for the idea that temporary portals can be used however the DM wishes, even if it's for an "obvious" purpose, like setting up trade.

Anyway, more In The Cage bits:

View attachment 145353

View attachment 145354

If it ain't in the Guildhall and Market Wards, it ain't anywhere. Yes, the rest of that second quote says that most of the portals are temporary, but that still allows for as many portals as the DM wishes--and if the DM wants there to be a long-lasting portal from Sigil to Point B there, then all they have to do is decide who controls it and how much gold they charge for access.

Yes, the DM can circumvent the RAI of Sigil and create pathways for permanent trade to everywhere. I'm not saying that can't be done. I'm saying that the lore of Sigil is that there are few permanent portals, and what you quoted cautioned the DM against making them unless he's sure of the consequences, as well as the rest of the portals being temporary and usually unusable. That lore goes directly against what @Chaosmancer is saying.

Unless the DM homebrews Sigil to be different, it's not going to be the hub of a multiversal highway to allow ease of transport and trade to everywhere.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Maybe the atempts by the Vodoni empire to conquer the other crystal spheres have forced deities to close or to controll the gates on the crystal spheres. Then the interglobal trade was forced to use the Astral Sea, the Ethereal plane and other alternative paths.

Or the interstelar trade is allowed but only when it is secret, or enough hidden, because special powers want to avoid possible cultural pollution, or some cosmic epidemic, like the xenomorphs, the blob, the borgs, or the necromorphs.

 

[Faolyn]

Yes, the DM can circumvent the RAI of Sigil and create pathways for permanent trade to everywhere. I'm not saying that can't be done. I'm saying that the lore of Sigil is that there are few permanent portals, and what you quoted cautioned the DM against making them unless he's sure of the consequences, as well as the rest of the portals being temporary and usually unusable. That lore goes directly against what @Chaosmancer is saying.

Unless the DM homebrews Sigil to be different, it's not going to be the hub of a multiversal highway to allow ease of transport and trade to everywhere.

There's no circumvention of either RAW or RAI. The lore literally say that the DM can create as many as they want, and that "making sure of the consequences" means "don't give the players easy outs unless you want them to." The books also continue to say that Sigil is a multiversal highway of trade.

 

[Maxperson]

There's no circumvention of either RAW or RAI. The lore literally say that the DM can create as many as they want, and that "making sure of the consequences" means "don't give the players easy outs unless you want them to." The books also continue to say that Sigil is a multiversal highway of trade.

Yes. Yes it does circumvent RAI which is that it not be easy to do. It's not hard to get out of Sigil. It IS hard to get out safely, which is why it's "the Cage." I quoted the portion that says that. And while there is some trade, it's not easy to accomplish and involves a lot of time and danger, because there are no reliable trade portals.

What you suggest is in fact a circumvention of RAI. The lore is very explicit.

 

[Parmandur]

Nah, spelljammer problem was that it was too overtly silly/goofy.

That's a matter of perspective, innit?

 

[Faolyn]

Yes. Yes it does circumvent RAI which is that it not be easy to do. It's not hard to get out of Sigil. It IS hard to get out safely, which is why it's "the Cage." I quoted the portion that says that. And while there is some trade, it's not easy to accomplish and involves a lot of time and danger, because there are no reliable trade portals.

What you suggest is in fact a circumvention of RAI. The lore is very explicit.

The lore is explicit about Sigil being a hub of travel and trade. It's also explicit, both in lore and in rules, that there are lots of portals and many of them are used for travel and trade.

 

[Maxperson]

The lore is explicit about Sigil being a hub of travel and trade. It's also explicit, both in lore and in rules, that there are lots of portals and many of them are used for travel and trade.

Not in the manner that @Chaosmancer is trying to say exists. Read the entirety of Sigil and quote me a single statement about it having caravans from the various different primes going to Sigil not only to trade there, but to continue on to other primes for trade. You can't find it, because it doesn't exist. Because reliable portals all over the place do..............not................exist.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

The caravans are possible from Sigil toward the Gate-towns.

Gate-town

A gate-town, or portal town[1] was a village or town on the Outlands built around a gate leading to one of the other Outer Planes.[1][2][3][4] Each portal town was a mimic of the plane to which its gate led. A gate-town bordering an evil plane would likely have inhabitants hostile to good...

forgottenrealms.fandom.com

I would like to can summon para-elementals and quasi-elementals.

And para-genasis could come back. 3.5 Planar handbook had got some interesting PC races, but the wildren and the neraph. The spiker (PC race who can't date very much the Saturday night) should be wellcome if it comes back. I would give telepathic powers to the buoman but roleplaying a totally mute PC may be tiring.

To summon creatures with viviacious monster template could be used by arcane spellcasters for the potential healing effects (or to hurt undeads with positive energy).

The bariaurs could be redisegned with a nose like the firbolgs.

I suspect Hasbro wants some outsider monsters could be sold as toys or other merchandiscing products.