New ‘Planescape’ Details Revealed at the D&D Creator Summit
At the D&D Creator Summit, more details about the new Planescape campaign setting emerged. Seems it will follow in Spelljammer’s footsteps.
The D&D Creator Summit touched on many things about the coming year for D&D 5th Edition. Including new details for the Player’s Handbook and the other updated core rules sets. And a massive Virtual Tabletop presentation was front and center as well. But hidden in amongst discussions about the future of the hobby, were some details that cast the coming Planescape book in a new light.
But before we get to that, we should talk about the Spelljammer release. Spelljammer: Adventures in Space was one of the most anticipated releases of 2022. But once it actually released, it was something of a letdown to folks.
There were many interesting ideas, but not nearly enough meat to sink one’s teeth into. No rules for actual spelljamming or ship-to-ship combat, just some stat blocks and a vague gesture in the DM’s direction.
That plus a dearth of lore left many players wanting, which is worth mentioning because, at the Creator Summit, WotC revealed that the forthcoming Planescape release would follow that same format.
Planescape Details Emerge at D&D Creator Summit
According to details from the summit, the Planescape set will be a 3-book slipcase, much like Spelljammer: Adventures in Space. It’ll be a three-book slipcase set comprising a 96-page gazetteer, 96-page adventure, and 64-page creature compendium as well as a DM screen.
Now, the format itself isn’t necessarily a problem. After all, when the first Planescape campaign setting boxed set was released, it was in a format very similar:
- A Player’s Guide to the Planes – 32 pages of player info
- A DM’s Guide to the Planes – 64 pages of DM info
- Sigil and Beyond – 96 pages of setting info
- Monsters of the Planes – 32 pages holding 12 new monsters
So if you do the math, the Planescape box set is actually getting more content (256 pages vs 224 in 2nd Edition) but it all sort of comes down to what information is out there.
In the original release, 96 pages were devoted to Sigil and Beyond, but that “and Beyond” is doing a lot of work. Each of the Outer Planes got two or so pages. Sigil had much more information, which it needed, as the setting revolved around the city at the heart of the cosmos, where factions fought and were governed by the Lady of Pain.
But what remains to be seen is where the balance of lore and mechanics will be. What will players need to make it feel like they’re playing in Planescape? And how much can be condensed into one 96-page gazetteer?
Fortunately, a lot of the background stuff has already been covered by other 5E books. The gith have their own entries in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes and we’ve seen plenty on the devils and demons in Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus. And with Tony DiTerlizzi returning with that amazing art style, Planescape might still have potential. Though after Spelljammer, the community is wary.
We’ll have to wait and see. But after hearing the news, where are your expectations?
