Why Isn't Planescape the Default Setting?

[foolish_mortals]

how many years has it been since there was a planescape supplement? I can't remember seeing any for 3rd or 4th. Which is odd since so many people seem to love the setting.

foolish_mortals

 

[Stoat]

It seems to me as if Spelljammer is the natural core and default setting. For one thing, Spelljammer leads to all other settings, so if you really wanted One Setting to Rule them All, Spelljammer would be it.

With all these other default setting worlds, you kind of have to do some maneuvering to shoehorn in all the core races and classes. Ie. if you want eladrin to play a part in the Forgotten Realms, you need to come up with a story about how the Eladrin suddenly became prominent. Spelljammer is the Mos Eisley of D&D, and you can literally find every race and class in it. Including giant, fire-breathing hamsters.

 

[Aldarc]

Perhaps if Planescape had as large of a popular written corpus of fiction as Forgotten Realms, then it would be the default setting, but it does not. The same holds true for many other D&D settings.

 

[was]

It may be worth supporting with a campaign book, but I dont think it should be the default setting.

 

[kitsune9]

Loved the Planescape Setting, but never wanted to use it as a gateway to the other campaign settings. Just wanted to keep it on its own merits and strengths.

Torment really reinforced my love for the setting.

 

[Shemeska]

[Buzz from Home Alone] Because I'm not that lucky [/Buzz from Home Alone]

And because it's too wierd and not at all like the various vanilla D&D settings like GH, FR, or DL. I'll be the first to admit that it's too crazy for use as the default gateway setting into D&D.

But I'm perfectly happy with it being the default cosmology of default meta-cosmology to branch between settings and to be there for campaigns to expand out into once they get acquainted with the game.

 

[Wormwood]

I played the Epic tier of Scales of War and we went to Sigil, had dogfights with Astral Skiffs, and engaged in all sorts of Planescape-like shenanigans.

If it fits in the 4e default setting, I don;t see why it can't fit in the 5e one as well.

 

[Nivenus]

Although Planescape I think is too odd to serve as a core setting I would like elements of it to be adapted into core.

For example, I'd really like to see a return to the idea of the planes as weird and dangerous realms beyond mortals' easy understanding. The idea of the planes as just another adventure playground in 4e to me dull and uninteresting. I actually don't mind many of the changes in 4e's cosmology but that in particular bugged me.

 

[Desdichado]

Although Planescape I think is too odd to serve as a core setting I would like elements of it to be adapted into core.

For example, I'd really like to see a return to the idea of the planes as weird and dangerous realms beyond mortals' easy understanding. The idea of the planes as just another adventure playground in 4e to me dull and uninteresting. I actually don't mind many of the changes in 4e's cosmology but that in particular bugged me.

Curiously, that's the (officially stated) position taken during the 3.x era.

And I didn't find 4e's planes approach dull or uninteresting at all. In fact, I thought it was one of the few things that 4e managed to do quite a bit better than D&D had ever done before. What in the world is the point of all these planes if they really aren't effective adventuring areas? Or, at least, what's the point of detailing anything about them?

 

[Dice4Hire]

Nah, I could not support Planescape for the default setting. How would you do it anyway within a reasonably sized portion of a book, which it would have to be?

Planescape is just too big to be a default setting.

Personally, I would not mind seeing it not supported again, as I was never a fan of it.