Q&A on the lack of planes and gods

[stabs felcher]

Partly because of flavour purposes in Crescentium, and partly from what I've observed in a rival high level game, there are no gods and no planes. So here's all the crunchy applications of that.

Note: This system is not fully worked out, and not very well thought through, so questions and criticisms are invited.

Spells that don't work:

Conjuration (Teleportation) Spells: Teleport, Dimension Door, Dimension Hop, Beneficial Transposition etc.
If anyone plays a level 12 Monk, I'll compensate you. If there are any others you are wondering about, just post and I'll answer. These are just the ones that come to mind. Generally any spell or item requiring an extraplanar space is out.

Divination, Contact Other Plane, Find the Path, Discern Location etc are also out. I find these make for a real lazy game, plus there's no gods to talk to. Ask about any others.

Scrying and Augury are ok.

Blink is fine, the Shadow spells are fine, and Summon Monster spells are fine. Even though these do rely on planes, they don't offend my delicate sensibilities too much -_^
As for flavour: it's up to you. You don't know for certain where that Dire Penguin is coming from, maybe you're creating it, maybe you're pulling it out of the antarctic.

So, just post any questions here. Also, I admit I haven't fully thought these rules through, so help me out by posting any criticisms. You can't get in trouble for arguing with the DM here, in fact, it's encouraged.

For example, I just realized the lack of Dimension Door means mages can't get out of grapples so easily =(

One last thing: Wondering if I could get some feedback on the lack of Resurrection. Do you prefer to just be able to spend some GP and wake up? Hate saying goodbye to a character permanently? Like th thrill of life and death battles? (whatever that might be...)

Thanks.

[Eikre]

admin said:

Conjuration (Teleportation) Spells: Teleport, Dimension Door, Dimension Hop, Beneficial Transposition etc.

If anyone plays a level 12 Monk, I'll compensate you. If there are any others you are wondering about, just post and I'll answer. These are just the ones that come to mind. Generally any spell or item requiring an extraplanar space is out.

This is beginning to sound like the Discworld pseudosciences. Well-known fact that you can’t get something to just reappear somewhere else without making all of reality take a jump sideways.

Then again, I’ve always found the teleportation spells to be fairly innocuous, as far as their dimensional flavor goes. We can live without, though. Teleportation usually has ramifications on things like economy and politics that I’m sure nobody wants to get into.

Divination, Contact Other Plane, Find the Path, Discern Location etc are also out. I find these make for a real lazy game, plus there's no gods to talk to. Ask about any others.

Discern location is out, now? Remind me to rework my Truth domain if we get that high, then.

As for flavour: it's up to you. You don't know for certain where that Dire Penguin is coming from, maybe you're creating it, maybe you're pulling it out of the antarctic.

I think it’s something you might want to consider, seeing as many summoned creatures can talk and whatnot. They’d probably give a cryptic answer, though, along the lines of “There was nothing. You called me, and now I am here.”

One last thing: Wondering if I could get some feedback on the lack of Resurrection. Do you prefer to just be able to spend some GP and wake up? Hate saying goodbye to a character permanently? Like th thrill of life and death battles? (whatever that might be...)

Paying money to just wake back up is the suck, and I think it annoys most people’s sensibilities. I think there should be ways to get around death, though, with quests or alternatives (See: Undeath). What did you do with Geoff?

[stabs felcher]

Good point on the Summoned Creatures. I like your idea about them not having any knowledge of existence before they showed up. Guess the party will find out when they start casting those spells.

As for Geoff, the party did go on a quest to visit the Altar of Resurrection. Only it turned him into a half-vampire. They met up with Mintarin Maezorl soon after and he offered to Ressurect Geoffrey for free (though we now know it came with a little "present").

On Teleport: it's less about the effect it'd have on the game world (seriously, all of two people can cast it) and more about how much the game changes when the party starts to flit from place to place.

[emagius]

admin said:

For example, I just realized the lack of Dimension Door means mages can't get out of grapples so easily =(

I've got another back-up character.

One last thing: Wondering if I could get some feedback on the lack of Resurrection. Do you prefer to just be able to spend some GP and wake up? Hate saying goodbye to a character permanently? Like th thrill of life and death battles? (whatever that might be...)

Life and death battles! Yes!

[Eikre]

admin said:

As for Geoff, the party did go on a quest to visit the Altar of Resurrection. Only it turned him into a half-vampire. They met up with Mintarin Maezorl soon after and he offered to Ressurect Geoffrey for free (though we now know it came with a little "present").

So, resurrection, but the remaining party members (and you, if you happen to slip in another character) have to divert their attention for a session or a half, and you come back with some side-effects.

It seems good, to me.

Quinn: *Waves*

[Wifey]

So there are no planes and no gods.

Question, though: If there were planes, would there be any threat of snakes on them?

[stabs felcher]

NO JOKES!

*deletes post*