What's so cool about the Manual of Planes?

[Arken]

Planescape was always by far my favourite setting so I like anything on the planes because of that. However I agree with UD they did sort of manage to take the 'heart and soul' out of all the description and character in the planes IMHO.

But it means that I have to do less work converting a campaign to a PS one so I like it. Even if you don't do planar travel much I always found you could include some planar areas in normal adventures if you wanted it adds a real twist to the action.

 

[Epametheus]

The reason Manes and larvae are covered where they are is because they're petitioners, and are being dealt with in the Petitioner section of the relevant plane's description. If I remember right, the entry for Mt. Celestia has a partial entry for Lantern Archons in its Petitioner section.

Anyways, if you aren't interested in the Planes outside the Prime, then yes, the MotP is completely useless to you.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Manual of the Planes can be used for a lot more than just extraplanar stuff. It can be used to create unique worlds, also. That is, using the material in MotP, and expanding/extrapolating from it, you can give added flavor to any campaign world. It's useful for helping to create settings for other genres, too - for example, using MotP, I came up with a Pulp realm, a film noir realm, and an E.R. Burroughs "Mars" setting. MotP is my favorite D&D hardback outside the Core Books, due to its sheer versatility and the wealth of ideas in it. It's a lot more than just a guide to other planes, and deserves a closer look.

And heck, I found it interesting to read.

 

[Bonedagger]

Yeah, see it looks cool, but I'm not sure I want it bad enough to shell out the $30... It would be a lot less of a question at $20 (or $12.00 like in the good ol' days of the early 80s, LOL).

Ha. Here in Denmark it costs about 45 U.S. dollars. And that's the normal price.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Anyways, if you aren't interested in the Planes outside the Prime, then yes, the MotP is completely useless to you.

No, not really. MotP provides a system something like that used in TORG for world creation. You can use this system to create areas on your world where things "work differently" than in other areas. A quick example is the Faerie plane. If you have a mysterious, reclusive elf realm in your world, simply have the laws of Faerie apply within the borders of that realm.

 

[Tsyr]

No, not really. MotP provides a system something like that used in TORG for world creation. You can use this system to create areas on your world where things "work differently" than in other areas. A quick example is the Faerie plane. If you have a mysterious, reclusive elf realm in your world, simply have the laws of Faerie apply within the borders of that realm.

Darn. I thought I was the only one who had a "variable" prime material plane...

 

[Schmoe]

I could get it for $18 + S&H from Amazon, thanks to a 10% discount coupon I just got. But I'm still leery of forking over the dough, LOL.

If you don't want to be convinced, we can't convince you, but I don't think you'll be dissappointed if you decide to purchase the book. It's very well done, and it's full of really great ideas and plot hooks. Even if you don't plan on running a campaign featuring planar adventures, you can still get a lot of use out of it. Seriously, have you read any negative reviews about the book? I think it's one of the best D&D books out there, without question. It has: rules additions, like spells, monsters, feats, and classes; suggestions, advice, and ideas for building a consistent cosmology; numerous creative descriptions of planes that you can draw from and use however you choose; and a whole lot more.

If that doesn't sound like something that interests you, don't get it. If any of it sounds interesting, then by all means buy it!

 

[saduff]

Having the "core" set of rule books is always a good thing to have. More skills, magic items, and monsters.

 

[BMF]

I've got them both and I would strongly suggest the Psionics book over the MotP.


The MotP is only useful if you DM and are interested in bringing in the planes more.

The psionics book is useful for players and DMs and has a lot of cool stuff in it. It is also a LOT easier to understand than previous editions. I still don't use the psionic combat rules, because I just don't like them... don't really know why. But other than that, the whole book is quite good.