Brand New Cosmology (Homebrew) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Brand New Cosmology (Homebrew) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Oulak
07-17-05, 09:57 PM I'm in the works of creating a new cosmology, one probably very foreign to most gamers. There will be NO dieties, demons, devils, or celestials.

The Dieties, as most know them, will actually be Heros. They can be visited on their homes in the outer planes. Most likely some of the favorites would be there (such as Corellon, Kord, Hercules, Paladine, Mystra, some homebrews and more), and they can be fought alonside or against. The heros don't grant spells, but rather have established an outlook on life, or a way of living that others may see as the best path. Clerics will would pick their domains from these outlooks, and other characters would be free to have a sort of bond with the Hero's ideals, or they could just not care.

The Demons, Devils, and Celestials will be replaced with templates that are something akin to a one level prestige class that the organizations of the planes (whatever they may be) initiate beings into that follow their ideal champions. These new powers will go about their business as determined by the particilar organization puts them on. These would obviously be Epic Challenges for the characters.

The Celestial and Find templates will be replaced with the Noble and Ignoble templates, and will be based on different realms. I'm playing with the idea of using the plane of shadow for the place where Ignoble beings come from and the astral plane for where the Noble creatures come from (a variation of something mentioned in a sidebar in the Manuall of the Planes).

The Inner planes will be connected to each other, creating the para-elemental planes of Magma, Ice, Mud, and Steam. The elemental creatures will be more sought after for higher Arcane consorts than the Noble and Ignoble creatures. The Monster Summoning tables will be changed a bit to reflect this.

There will be a huge change in the outer planes though - I'm removing the Abyss, the Nine Hells, Elysym, and probably a few others. Things will be more along the lines of Ethics (law and chaos) than morals (Good and Evil), at least outside of the material plane. Good and evil will be concepts that the material realms is more concerned with and I want the outer planes to reflect this.

New types of magic, or maybe schools, are Chronomancy and Star Magic. I already have a very tasty campaign secret that would make those at Dragon Magazine proud concerning these alternate types of magic.

Psionics are somewhat commonplace, about 1 Psionic using individual per 10 Sorceror/Wizard individuals. I am choosing to use the psionics are different than magic variant.

Now here's where you guys come in. How do you see the outer planes arranged? What are some outer planes that you feel would be neccesary, and what are some that you could see tossing out based on these ideas? What about other ideas? Prestige classes? Races? Classes? Artifacts?

Thanks in advance for the ideas.
Tusz
07-17-05, 10:08 PM One thing you'll need to think about if these hero-gods don't grant spells is this: Where does divine magic come from?

Looks like an interesting cosmology, by the way. I'd like to try a campaign like that.
Oulak
07-17-05, 11:31 PM It's kind of like the "white Magic" and "Black Magic" that are seen on many video game RPG's. White magic, not necessarily good (especially in the case of evil clerics) is a Spiritual Magic, a kind that one can find in any living thing. Black Magic, not necessarily evil, is the same practiced arcane magic common to other campaigns.
Gnome_Dragon_Disciple
07-18-05, 12:57 AM Or it could be a bit like Eberron with respect to the granting of divine spells... With no "dieties" in firm and obvious existance (there are worshippers and clerics, but so far as anyone can tell, if the dieties exist they aren't in existance anywhere on any of the known planes), clerics just get their spells. How they get them is a matter of faith to divine spellcasters, and to non-divine spellcasters it is seen as the power of their devotion to their dogma.
Oulak
07-21-05, 02:35 PM I've worked on it a bit more and put a little more flesh on magic.

Divine magic originated from the energy planes, being poitive and negative. Every creature's spirit is tied to both of these planes, and it doesn't take much to tap into them (no book learning required), just a strong sense of self. It's still referred to divine magic because the spirit itself is divine.

Arcane magic originated from the elemental planes originally being taught to mortals by the genies and elemental lords in exchange for service on their own planes. It has evolved very much in the eons that it's been around to the point where it's difficult (but not at all necessary) to tell what element or combination of elements a spell is derived from.

So basically, magic is unchanged, and only those with epic levels of Knowledge(arcana or religion[I'm thinking of changing this skill name to spirituality]) would even know the origins of thier magic, they just know that it works.

I'm working on some Philosophies for the Clerics to abide by and I'm having a bit of a problem. Any suggestions on those?

The cosmology so far is kinda like a double helix staricase, one being the lower planes and the other being the upper planes, that climbs the inside of a tower, whose walls are made up of the elements. So technically, the elemental planes are outer, and the hero's planes are the inner planes. The Positive Energy plane is the ceiling of this tower, and the Negative Energy plane is the floor. The Hero's planes will each link with an elemental plane (maybe not all of them) that that particular stair step is connected to. This is still a work in progress, and I may even end up inventing planes.

As far as monster summoning spells go, I have replaced celestial with Noble, tacked on the ability to heal once per day as a paladin's lay on hands ability, but only in the amount of the creature's HD. The Ignoble creatures have an extra ability to Inflict Wounds once per day, again, only in the amount of it's HD. The Axiomatic and Anarchic templates will also be used, along with the elemental templates.

What do you guys think so far? Any ideas to make things more connected, or interesting?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Oulak 07-17-05, 09:57 PM	I'm in the works of creating a new cosmology, one probably very foreign to most gamers. There will be NO dieties, demons, devils, or celestials. The Dieties, as most know them, will actually be Heros. They can be visited on their homes in the outer planes. Most likely some of the favorites would be there (such as Corellon, Kord, Hercules, Paladine, Mystra, some homebrews and more), and they can be fought alonside or against. The heros don't grant spells, but rather have established an outlook on life, or a way of living that others may see as the best path. Clerics will would pick their domains from these outlooks, and other characters would be free to have a sort of bond with the Hero's ideals, or they could just not care. The Demons, Devils, and Celestials will be replaced with templates that are something akin to a one level prestige class that the organizations of the planes (whatever they may be) initiate beings into that follow their ideal champions. These new powers will go about their business as determined by the particilar organization puts them on. These would obviously be Epic Challenges for the characters. The Celestial and Find templates will be replaced with the Noble and Ignoble templates, and will be based on different realms. I'm playing with the idea of using the plane of shadow for the place where Ignoble beings come from and the astral plane for where the Noble creatures come from (a variation of something mentioned in a sidebar in the Manuall of the Planes). The Inner planes will be connected to each other, creating the para-elemental planes of Magma, Ice, Mud, and Steam. The elemental creatures will be more sought after for higher Arcane consorts than the Noble and Ignoble creatures. The Monster Summoning tables will be changed a bit to reflect this. There will be a huge change in the outer planes though - I'm removing the Abyss, the Nine Hells, Elysym, and probably a few others. Things will be more along the lines of Ethics (law and chaos) than morals (Good and Evil), at least outside of the material plane. Good and evil will be concepts that the material realms is more concerned with and I want the outer planes to reflect this. New types of magic, or maybe schools, are Chronomancy and Star Magic. I already have a very tasty campaign secret that would make those at Dragon Magazine proud concerning these alternate types of magic. Psionics are somewhat commonplace, about 1 Psionic using individual per 10 Sorceror/Wizard individuals. I am choosing to use the psionics are different than magic variant. Now here's where you guys come in. How do you see the outer planes arranged? What are some outer planes that you feel would be neccesary, and what are some that you could see tossing out based on these ideas? What about other ideas? Prestige classes? Races? Classes? Artifacts? Thanks in advance for the ideas.
Tusz 07-17-05, 10:08 PM	One thing you'll need to think about if these hero-gods don't grant spells is this: Where does divine magic come from? Looks like an interesting cosmology, by the way. I'd like to try a campaign like that.
Oulak 07-17-05, 11:31 PM	It's kind of like the "white Magic" and "Black Magic" that are seen on many video game RPG's. White magic, not necessarily good (especially in the case of evil clerics) is a Spiritual Magic, a kind that one can find in any living thing. Black Magic, not necessarily evil, is the same practiced arcane magic common to other campaigns.
Gnome_Dragon_Disciple 07-18-05, 12:57 AM	Or it could be a bit like Eberron with respect to the granting of divine spells... With no "dieties" in firm and obvious existance (there are worshippers and clerics, but so far as anyone can tell, if the dieties exist they aren't in existance anywhere on any of the known planes), clerics just get their spells. How they get them is a matter of faith to divine spellcasters, and to non-divine spellcasters it is seen as the power of their devotion to their dogma.
Oulak 07-21-05, 02:35 PM	I've worked on it a bit more and put a little more flesh on magic. Divine magic originated from the energy planes, being poitive and negative. Every creature's spirit is tied to both of these planes, and it doesn't take much to tap into them (no book learning required), just a strong sense of self. It's still referred to divine magic because the spirit itself is divine. Arcane magic originated from the elemental planes originally being taught to mortals by the genies and elemental lords in exchange for service on their own planes. It has evolved very much in the eons that it's been around to the point where it's difficult (but not at all necessary) to tell what element or combination of elements a spell is derived from. So basically, magic is unchanged, and only those with epic levels of Knowledge(arcana or religion[I'm thinking of changing this skill name to spirituality]) would even know the origins of thier magic, they just know that it works. I'm working on some Philosophies for the Clerics to abide by and I'm having a bit of a problem. Any suggestions on those? The cosmology so far is kinda like a double helix staricase, one being the lower planes and the other being the upper planes, that climbs the inside of a tower, whose walls are made up of the elements. So technically, the elemental planes are outer, and the hero's planes are the inner planes. The Positive Energy plane is the ceiling of this tower, and the Negative Energy plane is the floor. The Hero's planes will each link with an elemental plane (maybe not all of them) that that particular stair step is connected to. This is still a work in progress, and I may even end up inventing planes. As far as monster summoning spells go, I have replaced celestial with Noble, tacked on the ability to heal once per day as a paladin's lay on hands ability, but only in the amount of the creature's HD. The Ignoble creatures have an extra ability to Inflict Wounds once per day, again, only in the amount of it's HD. The Axiomatic and Anarchic templates will also be used, along with the elemental templates. What do you guys think so far? Any ideas to make things more connected, or interesting?