NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steampunkette" data-source="post: 8421403" data-attributes="member: 6796468">So... Let's examine the "It's not Spelljammer or Planescape but a Multiverse" setup for a moment...I think they kind of already laid out the outline for this potential reality back in the Van Richten's Guide, since it explores the realms of Ravenloft and expresses that they're all broken shards of a mirror universe sliding inexorably toward oblivion where different shards of the reality hold different truths (Like Strahd -not- being the first vampire in one Barovia and being the first in another, and the resultant headache that comes from that).So what does that mean for us as players and our expectations of releases, particularly in the context of a "New Format"?The first thing to consider is the "Old Settings" they've promised us. And with this particular UA it leans hard towards Spelljammer and Star Frontiers, which would allows us to travel from planet to planet (Crystal Spheres, if you prefer) within a given galaxy... But that's not really a new format, nor does it particularly play into a Multiversal Structure unless the facets of the Crystal lead to alternate realities on the same planet... which could be pretty amazing.Planescape, likewise, doesn't really do the cross-reality setup, either. While it definitely allows a character to travel to different and disparate aspects of reality (The inner and outer planes) it doesn't really capture the multiverse-hopping angle... Not like Magic the Gathering's Planeswalkers, who traverse to different entire existences that occasionally have entirely alternate rules for how things function.But by separating different worlds out to their own unique universes (With their own Prime Material Planes and their own Planar Structures) they can go full "What If..?" with Sigil. How about a reality where the City of Doors has a lot fewer doors 'cause there's less outer planes to visit? Or one in which the Lady of Pain is aware of the Multiverse and HATES IT.Suddenly, Planeswalkers (Really Multiverse-Walkers) become people who visit different entire universes where there's different Sigils and Spelljamming structures. Where Sigil isn't just the crossroads of the outer planes, but a single Multiversal Constant that Planeswalkers use as a reference point. "This reality has no Abyss... We must be in Reality 22114..." or "Sigil is dead, with only a handful of shambling zombies moving around. This must be Dominaria, where the Lady of Pain went insane."The "New Format" would be stat blocks for all the old characters with a bunch of templates for alternate realities and a whole new Planescape layout, ruleset, and concept... but it's just -one- Sigil and the old one is still canon, just apply the new 5e Stat Blocks to your old Sigil NPCs.Now -that- would be different... Particularly if they also release an alternate-reality Spelljammer to go with it... Or first? Not sure.And then Alternate Athas. False Krynn. Imposter Oerth.... yeah. I'm not a huge fan of this particular angle... but at least it would be an interesting twist for updating old settings while maintaining the prior canon.</blockquote>

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