What with the new 2024 revisions due to start being released this coming September, I am converting my online game to D&D 5th edition.
I still have to end the multiverse in an upcoming session in my ongoing chain of campaigns (the hybrid in-person/online using Advanced Labyrinth Lord), where the Illithids will be heading back in time and who with it's anybody's guess. Codex of the Infinite Planes is involved which in my book gives the game ref pretty much carte blanche to do whatever.
So I have this blend for the online game where I removed cleric-types and wanted to run sort of this post Multiverse annihilation religious-agnostic setting where the outer planes are gone, obliterated. The culture still references religious icons and rituals, but there is is nothing out there or perhaps something that the culture doesn't expect.
Then my little hamster-wheel of a brain starts turning and what if this is a wraparound setting: BOTH post annihilation of the multiverse and pre-formulation. Interesting ideas there. While religion isn't my bag, I thought well maybe this particular little campaign can play around with religion/spirituality/what lies beyond or inside or outside the scope of what's on a particular PC's character sheet.
I had been toying a lot with planes of existence for oh the past decade maybe, picking up little tomes I thought might be helpful. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything that has dealt with planes in a fresh or different way that resonated with me. However...
During my old perusals I did pick up a copy of the first book published by Wizards of the Coast from back in their pre D&D days, The Primal Order about creating pantheons. Not having read that book much, but getting hip with the concepts, I also found a copy of Chessboards: The Planes of Possibility which deals with planar construction. The copies I have are the early versions with conversion charts for AD&D and other RPGs before the inevitable cease-and-desist letters arrived.
All the while I was intending to continue using Advanced Labyrinth Lord rules hoping that I could entice a few more of a large hybrid group to join the online game. After a couple sessions it was clear I had my core group of players and there weren't more coming at present, then I learned about the new 2024 revisions to 5th edition and my interest was piqued.
Now we did run our regular group with a hybrid 5th edition rules set "Advanced Knights of the All Mind" for about 2 years pre-Covid, so we are familiar with it. And of the core group one was super adept at 5e, and 2 others were reasonably proficient (better than me) getting me to think of building up my chops on the latest version of D&D. Ha, the players will also have some new bells and whistles while I mess with them.
We are sticking with just the core 5e rules until the revisions are released in September. And for running this campaign fondly being referred to as the "Psychedelic Deadlands" campaign, I put together a 5e gig bag which is not all 5e:
- All 3 of the core 5e books: Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual
- The "Wilderness Kit" screen which for my purposes is better suited than the DM screen "Reincarnated"
- The aforementioned Primal Order and Chessboard books
- Toolbox by Alderac Entertainment Group, a bunch of useful ref's random tables which I have owned for nearly 2 decades without using it much
- Vornheim: The Complete City Kit by Zak Smith still the best for random city construction/adventures and lots more
- Finally, my copy of The Critonomicon, a long out of print 3rd edition splatbook by Technomancer Press of very specific and fun crits and fumbles (Cripes, someone crafted a 5e version!)
One thing I have to remember is that WotC/Hasbro is a book publishing company, and not to fall in the trap I did during the decade of the Aughts with 3rd edition lore books. DIY is where it's at.
