[Raven Bloodmoon]

It has been quite some time since I first posted about my campaign world. Back then, there were gods walking around the world, complex planar setups and powerplays, and a looming orcish invasion. Quite a lot has changed sinse then, and I find myself in need of help once more. I hope that you will be so kind as to help me the way you did back then.

Before I post my question, allow me to catch you up on the state of the world.

Cosmology
Elyria is a strange sort of multiverse/plane. While it can be viewed as a multiverse containing multiple material planes connected by a boundless ocean, it can just as easily be seen as one gigantic material plane with scattered landmasses ranging in size from small islansa and shoals to vast continents. The reason I say it can be seen as both is because each island/continent group may have its own subtle variations on the planar attributes of the ocean or other island/continent groups. The key difference is that plane shift does not transport you from one island/continent group to another and there are no inner planes, outer planes, shadow plane, ehtereal plane, or astral plane. Just one giant physical realm.

Now one idea I am toying with as a subtle subplot that is driving much of the changes and conflicts in Elyria is that there is another multiverse similar in structure to Elyria that is trying to attack Elyria. I will go into more detail below. For now, that is the current cosmological setup.

Spirits
Everything in Elyria has a spirit--very rock, every tree, every river, every animal, every person--everything. These spirits all share an ethereal link to one another that grants the multiverse itself to have a spirit, and that spirit is called Elyria. Thus, the multiverse itself is alive and all of its inhabitants share in its life and spirit.

There are many types of spirits in the world. They range in power from the virtually impotent tree spirits to the great mountain spirits, sun spirit, moon spirits, and the spirit of Elyria itself. Spirits bound in living bodies provide the sentience and sapience (if any) found in those creatures, so while a human has a spirit, the spirit possess the personality and mental faculties independantly of the body. So it is that when a human dies or its spirit is severed from its body, the spirit retains the personality of the human. This is the same for all corporeally-bound spirits.

There are many spirits that are not bound in corporeal bodies, such as many fey, elementals, and others. Just because a spirit is bound to an inanimate or nonsentient object, such as a rock or a grasshopper, it does not lack a sentience of its own. It merely cannot express its thoughts through its current physical form. Those spirits that are not bound to any physical object or body are incorporeal and most often invisible. [Sidenote: I have considered including the Near Ethereal as the place incorporeal spirits reside when they are not visible.]

Spirits are usually of the Elemental, Fey, or Outsider creature type, though some Undead are spirits, as are some Magical Beasts and Dragons, but all spirits have the spirit subtype. The spirit subtype does not grant any special abilities, but serves only to mark creatures as spirits for the purpose of class abilities and spells.

As mentioned above, another multiverse is trying to attack Elyria. It is also a sentient spirit, and happens to be the home of many, many fiends. These fiends share in the spirit of their multiverse just as the inhabitants of Elyria share in Elyria's spirit. Travelign from one multiverse to another does not alter this at all.

When a creature dies, its spirit either discorporates adn roams the multiverse as an incorporeal spirit or merges with the Elyrian spirit. When new creatures are born or objects created, a piece of the Elyrian spirit splits off and inhabits that creature or object. There are no naturally occurring undead.

The Problem I Face
As you can see, there are a number of creature types that count as spirits. What I am trying to figure out is how to manage this and more to specifically, where the Outsider type fits into the mess. I figure fey are perfect nature spirits, and elementals also make superb nature spirits. MAgical Beasts and Dragons can occassionally describe less powerful non-fey, non-elemental spirits. Outsiders are very powerful, typically, and they usually represent some form cause. While I plan on retaining the Devils for use as the minions of one particularly evil mega-spirit BBEG, I have a hard time fitting any of the celestials into the mix. I'm thinking there should be some sort of champions of order and peace, just as there are those who promote mischief and what not, but I can't quite figure out how it should come together.

One idea I have is that the celestial-type outsiders are very rare, just as the Devil-typs are. Perhaps Elyria spawns these sorts of spirits to balance out threats to the world.

Another idea is that they simply do not exist and fey and elementals are the chief, non-deific spirits in Elyria.

Another idea is that the celestial-type outsiders aren't automatically good or lawful or anything. They just are what they happen to be individually and sometimes that's beneficial and sometimes it's not. I'm just worried that someone bumping into a CE solar would take issue with the fact that an angel is eating babies. Again, perhaps this is a mater of flavor, and such outsiders should just have a cosmetic makeover.

What are you thoughts? Also, what are your questions? Or comments?

[Dthclaw]

Well, I think you shouldn't add Magical Beasts and Dragons to your 'spirit' list. The way it's going right now you're flooding the sub-type, and I've never thought of MB's and Dragons as being particularly tied to nature and the natural world. In fact, I would dare say that a number of them stand apart from the natural world.

As to your outsider dilemma, I would suggest that you just make them both rare. It's simply... unsettling to nix an entire group of outsiders without balancing their absence on the other end of the spectrum.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

Hmm...one other option might be to just introduce a bunch of outsiders as powerful as celestials but are not of any alignment bent. Then again, I'm really still leaning more toward just refleavoring the celestials a bit so they're not quite so goody-goody. Just because the BBEG has devils on his side doesn't mean the other outsiders aren't going to resist him regardless of their moral bent. And the demons, well they're being resisted by everything in Elyria, so that's pretty well balanced out there.

As far as MBs adn Dragons, I don't mean to say all of them would be spirits. Just that in some cases, the MB type best fits a creature that happens to be a spirit, as with the dragon type. Specifically, I think there will be a few elemental dragons that are spirits, but most dragons will just be big, nasty predators that breath fire and eat villages.

[Dthclaw]

Ah. That seems like it would work better.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

So here's the latest decision. I'm planning on reflavoring existing celestials to merely be spirits that tend to do Elyria's will. That usually involves protecting her. I am thinking that this particular BBEG spirit is on some powertrip and has broken from that. He is probably acting according to some plan by the other multiverse, who is just manipulating him.

Another thing is that I am finding that I need to work out jus thow spirits fit into the world. As it stands, there are no other planes (in the traditional sense), so that would put spirits quite physically in the world. As many spirits as there are, I am starting to see a need for a Near Ethereal plane, though it will need a makeover and name change. Does anyone have any ideas that would not require me to add an additional plane to what is currently a beautifully simple cosmology?

[Dthclaw]

Well, I suppose you could change the state of being ethereal into a subtype of some sort that grants all the benefits and allows spirits to occupy an otherwise intangible state-of-existence. Basically an 'out-of-phase' sub-type where they can interact and notice other creatures with the sub-type but not normal creatures, and then have some creatures with the ability to notice and interact with Material Plane creatures and objects.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

Hmm...that sounds almost more complex of an explination than just having a Near Ethereal.... I suppose a reflavored NEar Ethearl plane wouldn't hurt matters terribly, and it'd explain why spirits aren't cluttering up the landscape. Also allows for corporeal spirits to vanish and not risk someone tripping over them. I think I'll just have to work on a nice flavor for the near ethereal plane. I'm thinking of something like a shadowy version of the material plane, but no deep ethereal stuff. Then spells can still play wiht the ethereal plane and some creatures may be able to see into the ehtereal and affect the ethereal plane. Hmm....I think I like where this is heading.