Nivenus
First Post
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?
Oh, I don't mind the 4e cosmology all that much (I particularly like the mirrored Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos). I just mind how it was implemented.
And the idea of making the planes playable is a good one - I just think that the way 4e did it ended up losing the mysticism and exoticness that made the planes interesting in the first place. You want to travel to the Elemental Plane of Fire? Well it makes sense you're going to come prepared with loads of flame-retarding spells and equipment. You want to visit the Nine Hells, be prepared for some really nasty stuff. You want to go to Celestia? It's a nice resting stop between other planes so long as you aren't evil or chaotic.