If you're wondering why I haven't been posting, it's been because I've been writing two pieces for White Wolf's Spring eQuarterly Contest for Exalted. We'll see how that goes.
In the meantime, a preview for... Arcanescape!... pun intended.
Arcanescape is intended as eight new planes for d20 games, based on the eight schools of arcane magic provided in the rules: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation. Though these planes aren't attached to any particular world, they do presume that all arcane spellcasters draw their power from these planes.
Each of these planes shares some characteristics in common. They are each divided into an outer circle and three inner circles. The outer circle is essentially the "foyer" of each plane, where things are stable and normal enough that things such as communities and trading posts might form. Beyond that, things get increasingly hazardous, strange, inconvenient, or all three. In the first inner circle, things will generally be difficult but little special protection might be needed. The second inner circle is likely to be dangerous by its very nature. The third circle is highly alien and dangerous, representing the pure power that underpins the entire school of magic.
In general, these planes add +1 to the caster level of spells of their respective school cast within them, and -1 to the caster level of any others. Both modifiers increase by 1 for each inner circle one passes into, so by the third inner circle, one is +4 to the caster level of that school and -4 to the caster level of any others (to a minimum of 1).
Generally, one can only plane shift to or from the outer circle. Any attempt to plane shift from an inner circle simply moves you one circle outward or inward, as you intend, but most travel on such planes is done by causeways, relatively protected means of travel. Of course, travel on some planes, like abjuration, is more difficulty, while on the plane of summoning, it's hard not to get bounced around from place to place.
More to come.
1 comment:
An interesting idea, and I wonder about a few things.
This leads to the obvious question about the source for universal magic. You could leave that as a mystery, or a combination of said planes, or is there a source somewhere out in the reaches? Could make for an interesting "Source of All Magic" style game.
The interactions between the planes is what immediately springs to my mind. Are they close to each other, such that at some points energy from one leaks into the others, a la the elemental planes. That could make for some interesting situations. Or are they spread out away from each other, and then in what format? Their very placement could be some kind of powerful magic glyph or something. Could be cool.
The denizens of said plane would of course also be a matter of special interest. (I know you've already thought about this but I'm askin anyways.) And their interactions would be of note. War between rival schools? Cooperation? War against the outside? And what of Gods? Are their new gods that rule these realms, or are they separate from the entire divinity wheel, ignored and ignoring the pantheons.
And of course there's the question of what kinda neato crap players can get out of it. New heritage feats maybe? Certainly new prestige classes and magic goodies.
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