What if the core setting of D&D was ALL the settings of D&D?

[DMZ2112]

What if the core setting of Dungeons & Dragons was ALL the settings of Dungeons & Dragons?


One of the more interesting announcements Mike Mearls has made about the cosmology of D&D5 is that the Shadowfell is being replaced wholesale by Ravenloft. Now, Ravenloft has always been an extraplanar setting, although that fact has little to do with campaigns set there. But what if that same idea were applied to, say, Abeir-Toril? What if the Forgotten Realms were not just another prime material world, but were a part of the D&D5 cosmology, with a purpose, embodying a core aspect of the D&D universe?


What if /all/ the official D&D settings, instead of simply being slightly different elf-infested rocks in space with little to no relation to one another, were cardinal points in the greater D&D cosmology, in the same way as the Great Wheel or Elemental Chaos?


What if Abeir-Toril’s Spellweave is the original form of magic, that has now spread out to other worlds? What if Krynn is actually the homeworld of all dragonkind? What if Oerth, home of the original Underdark, is the source of whatever dark impetus fills the worlds of D&D with dungeons, and Mystara engenders that fatal curiosity in their inhabitants that brings adventurers to explore those depths?


What if all conflict in D&D is a reflection of the harsh conditions on Athas, or every technological advancement on a D&D world is subtly inspired by the mere existence of Eberron, or every epic saga ever told is echoed by the world-shaking events on Aebrynis?


What if each of our homebrew worlds exists on a sort of seven-axis coordinate grid, that defines its essence by its metaphysical proximity to these cardinal worlds? I find this train of thought compelling.

 

[Umbran]

I don't see what's to be gained from that structure.

The Great Wheel or other cosmologies tend to try to turn metaphysical reality into a sort of geography. The alignments, elements, and sources of power have relationships in the prime material, and those are made manifest in the cosmology. As below, so above, so to speak.

But, the various prime materials don't have relationships. They don't interact. There's no guiding principle among them that bespeaks of some ordering.

 

[DMZ2112]

But, the various prime materials don't have relationships. They don't interact. There's no guiding principle among them that bespeaks of some ordering.

Well, that's sort of my point. Maybe there should be one.

I mean, if you want to align with the Unity of Rings, perhaps something like:

story    magic dragons conflict dungeons exploration technology story
Aebrynis Toril Krynn   Athas    Oerth    Mystara     Eberron    Aebrynis

I'm pretty happy with that, except for maybe magic being between story and dragons. That might take some lorecrafting. I’ll be the first to admit that my experience with the various official settings of D&D is not encyclopedic enough to declare what each of these cardinal worlds might represent to homebrew prime materials as a whole; these are just ideas that sprang to mind.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

First off, if replacing Shadowfell with Ravenloft means much more than renaming it, that's silly; the two serve different purposes. Incorporate more Ravenloft, sure, but don't throw out the Plane of Shadows/Shadowfell in favor of Fantasy Gothic Europe.

Second, I think the basic idea of making the Prime Material worlds more important isn't a bad one, but I don't know that I'd like or want to have Toril, Krynn and the like impacting my campaign world. I especially think your cited examples are all pretty divisive -- I don't know that the Spellweave deserves to be more "right" than the Serpent does, for instance, and while I may favor Oerth's Underdark, why should it or Castle Greyhawk have some sort of metaphysical hold on the rest of the multiverse?

There are games and settings that work like this -- RPG.net has had some fun with collaborative threads on ideas like this -- but I wouldn't want it to be canonical for D&D. (Usual caveats about homebrewing, etc., apply.)

 

[Brock Landers]

What if the core setting of Dungeons & Dragons was ALL the settings of Dungeons & Dragons?


One of the more interesting announcements Mike Mearls has made about the cosmology of D&D5 is that the Shadowfell is being replaced wholesale by Ravenloft.

Yes, that is a horrendous prospect, I do not want The Plane of Shadow being renamed to a castle in Barovia in a Domain in a Demi-Plane in the Deep Ethereal.

I mean, really, a whole plane called Ravenloft...?

 

[DMZ2112]

First off, if replacing Shadowfell with Ravenloft means much more than renaming it, that's silly; the two serve different purposes. Incorporate more Ravenloft, sure, but don't throw out the Plane of Shadows/Shadowfell in favor of Fantasy Gothic Europe.

I'm expecting a mashup similar to the treatments of Domains of Dread in the Shadowfell.

Second, I think the basic idea of making the Prime Material worlds more important isn't a bad one, but I don't know that I'd like or want to have Toril, Krynn and the like impacting my campaign world. I especially think your cited examples are all pretty divisive -- I don't know that the Spellweave deserves to be more "right" than the Serpent does, for instance, and while I may favor Oerth's Underdark, why should it or Castle Greyhawk have some sort of metaphysical hold on the rest of the multiverse?

Absolutely agreed. This proposal should be considered to be for illustrative purposes only. Any of these concepts apply to all D&D worlds -- that's kind of the point. Deciding which world is what would be for people with the power to enforce decisions like that (i.e., not me).

There are games and settings that work like this -- RPG.net has had some fun with collaborative threads on ideas like this -- but I wouldn't want it to be canonical for D&D. (Usual caveats about homebrewing, etc., apply.)

One of my favorite things about the D&D crowd is how vehemently we argue about the "canon" -- and how we then turn around and proceed to not use any of it in our home campaigns anyway.

If you've got links to those RPG.net threads, I'd love to take a look.

 

[Brock Landers]

First off, if replacing Shadowfell with Ravenloft means much more than renaming it, that's silly; the two serve different purposes. Incorporate more Ravenloft, sure, but don't throw out the Plane of Shadows/Shadowfell in favor of Fantasy Gothic Europe.

It's not Fantasy Gothic Europe only, you have all sorts of culturally diverse domains (and campaign setting related): Har Akir (Egyptian), Rokushima (Japanese), Kalidnay (Dark Sun), the Indian one (Rakshasa Darklord), etc.

 

[DMZ2112]

Yes, that is a horrendous prospect, I do not want The Plane of Shadow being renamed to a castle in Barovia in a Domain in a Demi-Plane in the Deep Ethereal.

I mean, really, a whole plane called Ravenloft...?

That's kind of fascinating. Is "Ravenloft" really so different than "Shadowfell?" Is it just the connection to Castle Ravenloft that you object to? It seems to me there could just as easily have been a Castle Shadowfell. Both names suggest a foreboding place of darkness.

 

[Brock Landers]

I don't see what's to be gained from that structure.

The Great Wheel or other cosmologies tend to try to turn metaphysical reality into a sort of geography. The alignments, elements, and sources of power have relationships in the prime material, and those are made manifest in the cosmology. As below, so above, so to speak.

But, the various prime materials don't have relationships. They don't interact. There's no guiding principle among them that bespeaks of some ordering.

There is only one Material Plane (The Prime) in Planescape.

 

[Brock Landers]

That's kind of fascinating. Is "Ravenloft" really so different than "Shadowfell?" Is it just the connection to Castle Ravenloft that you object to? It seems to me there could just as easily have been a Castle Shadowfell. Both names suggest a foreboding place of darkness.

Well, Ravenloft references a specific animal and a part of a house (or apartment), and I'm not that keen on Shadowfell.