[Cyrill]

I have been mulling this game idea over for a month now and I cant seem to find a way to start. So Im basically looking for suggestions and a forum in which I can talk ideas over. My problem is this,all of the people I could talk my ideas over with are members of the group I would run the game with. Cant really use them as testers since it would ruin the fun. I hope to use this board to post ideas and get feed back and I will apperciate all replies.

[Shadow_Wolf]

ask away. that is why we have this forum

[Cyrill]

My first question is this
What is the best way to integrate the Planes (Inner, Outer and Elemental) into a campaign?
I want to do this without destroying the campaign world, and yet motivating my players to explore existance beyond the Prime.
Also any resources beyond "The Manual of the Planes" with I think is the best d20 text written, that can be suggested would greatly be apperciated.

[BrotherMouran]

Easiest way I can think of it bring in the planes without damaging your campaign's prime world is to take the 'Voyager' approach. Your party is accidentally (or on purpose) cast to the farthest reaches of existence... they obviously have to find their way back home, thus will have to begin searching for a way, seeking a path from one plane to the next, hopefully finding a way back to the prime.

[Shadow_Wolf]

or maby you could take a "Sliders" type apoch to it and have diferent "doors" leading to each plane.

[Cyrill]

I like the "Voyager" idea but shouldnt I need some kind of craft? Or does it make more sense to have the player be more powerful?
I guess its just rehashing the question of which is more in balance powerful items/artifacts or powerful players

[Shadow_Wolf]

if you are overly concerned about balance there is always limited charge items.

[Rintaran]

Quote

Also any resources beyond "The Manual of the Planes" with I think is the best d20 text written, that can be suggested would greatly be apperciated.

I would suggest having a good look at the 2nd Edition Planescape campaign stuff. It should help some.

[Cyrill]

Thanks for the help and ideas. Im looking into the Planescape references this week.
No doubt there are more questions of this nature to come.
Another thing I have been wondering about is the use of templates or other character types. How well does the ECL work?

[donaghey]

i will explain ecl!!!!!
first why they have it:
they put it in because a race is too strong so the stronger the race the higher handicap (they handicapped by adding ecl)
how to use it:
you automatically start with one level
so 1
it will take you the ecl (# of lvls) to get to your second lvl
example:
(for those of you who have the mm2)
loxo
ecl=8
so if you are lvl 2
you will be equal to the lvl 9
(1+8)
^ ^
lvl 2nd
1 lvl

wait
eeeeek
hard to explain
you need the experience equal to the number of lvls indicated by the ecl
(if anyone else can explain it differently or i screwed up then ignore this post)
>donaghey

[Cyrill]

All right heres an update for those of you helpful enough to read this and offer advise. I will be running a game in a group campaign world so I cant destroy the world and make the players search the planes for the missing elements to rebuild it. This is too bad for me because that was my original plan. So Im now going the destroy just one continent in the game world and basically hide this geographical area inside a giant portal. ...ok so maybe thats not so basic. Anyhow the plan will still be for the player so search the planes for the fundemental stuff that makes up the elemental/astral/ethereal structure of the game world. The means of transportation will be a major artifact that the players will ride around in (details forthcoming). My problem is that I just dont know how powerful to allow the players to be. Anyone who has played in a fun "planar" game please give me some suggestions as to what made it so.

[Rintaran]

Well, I've played a number of campaigns on the planes. The question of level really changes on how you view the planes. If you view them as a land where monsters of all kinds dwell solely for the destruction of any wandering 'heroes' that may come through, well, they'll need to be above 10th level for sure. If you take the planes like a place to meet strange new people and kill some of them, then I would recommend between 5th and 10th level. If you take the planes as just different places, where things may work a little differently but isn't necessarily hostile, you can go ahead and start from scratch at level 1. I've never done the interplanar killing ground, but the other two work well enough.