D&D General Which was your favourite Forgotten Realms Cosmology?

[Shardstone]

Can someone explain the World Axis to me?

 

[TiQuinn]

It's literally rock full of caves. Unlike the water, which has no bottom and thus can't have a food chain, nor a surface, and thus can't have kelp and other such autotrophs. Unlike air, where you literally have to make the plane contain anything but air in order to make it interesting or useful. Unlike fire, where literally every part of it you might interact with is inherently and actively hostile to mortal life.

I think of all the planes no different than a Star Wars planet. In Star Wars, you have whole planets which should be filled with all kinds of continents and crazy features and at most you see one place on those enormous planets typically unless it’s Tatooine and then you stay in that one flea speck planet for long stretches across multiple movies, but I digress…

But point is I don’t think you have to think about how the players will exist and live on these planes and how to populate them with features as much as you can just focus on one place in the plane and that’s where the PCs end up, a la the City of Brass in the Plane of Fire. Maybe the Plane of Air is the Sky Tower of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, or a graveyard of lost ships from across all the multiverse floating in the Plane of Water.

 

[Azzy]

Please explain the difference?

I don't remember all the differences, but... the existence of the Concordant Opposition, the Quasi-Planes and Para-Elemental planes first appeared in the MotP. Sigil first appeared in Planescape (may have done other things, too, but I didn't get into Planescape). The (Demi-)Plane of Shadow has gone from being a demiplane to a full plane at some point.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I don't remember all the differences, but... the existence of the Concordant Opposition, the Quasi-Planes and Para-Elemental planes first appeared in the MotP. Sigil first appeared in Planescape (may have done other things, too, but I didn't get into Planescape). The (Demi-)Plane of Shadow has gone from being a demiplane to a full plane at some point.

That seems to be additions over time, then fully different cosmologies.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

That seems to be additions over time, then fully different cosmologies.

There's a whole different feel when the Prime Material Plane is the hub of the Outer Planes. It makes the cosmic neutrality of old school Druids and major Greyhawk character more understandable.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I think of all the planes no different than a Star Wars planet. In Star Wars, you have whole planets which should be filled with all kinds of continents and crazy features and at most you see one place on those enormous planets typically unless it’s Tatooine and then you stay in that one flea speck planet for long stretches across multiple movies, but I digress…

But point is I don’t think you have to think about how the players will exist and live on these planes and how to populate them with features as much as you can just focus on one place in the plane and that’s where the PCs end up, a la the City of Brass in the Plane of Fire. Maybe the Plane of Air is the Sky Tower of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, or a graveyard of lost ships from across all the multiverse floating in the Plane of Water.

If this is the case, why do we need or even want entire infinite planes just to house one single location worth visiting? Make them single locations in a larger elemental world...such as the Elemental Chaos...and you lose nothing, but simplify the cosmology drastically.

From flippin' 18 planes down to one. So much clearer and simpler and easier for players to grasp as something to do or visit. None of the places are gone; you still have the City of Brass and the Sky Tower and the Graveyard of Lost Ships, and you still have a nigh-infinite sea of fire and a globe of water so vast no one has seen its far edge and...etc. But instead of segregated and impossible to survive infinite planes, you have one dangerous but survivable plane with areas of higher risk. In other words, a place that preserves everything actually worthwhile about the Inner Planes without losing one thing of value, except the "pristine clockwork perfection"—which exists only because it is aesthetically pleasing to read about, and no other reason.

 

[Aldarc]

Can someone explain the World Axis to me?

Let's start with the big picture view:

Spoiler

Basically the World Axis cosmology and mythos involves the mythic drama of the deities of the Astral Sea vs. the primordials of the Elemental Chaos. The creation of the prime material world involved the deities of the Astral Sea playing around with a world that was formed out of the Elemental Chaos, the Gods and Primordials fighting the absolutely devastating Dawn War, and a status quo was created after the Primal Spirits of the Material World kicked out both Gods and Primordials. (You will definitely hear echoes of the Dawn War mythos in Matt Mercer's Exandria setting.)

As one could likely guess, the Elemental Chaos is a realm of elemental matter and chaos. The different elements don't have individual planes. It's a singular realm where various elemental forces are in constant state of flux. The Abyss was created by the god Tharzidun by planting a seed from the Far Realms into the Elemental Chaos, which then corrupted the various elementals and primordials who were drawn to it.

The Astral Sea is a realm of thought, concept, and ideas. The Astral Sea is where the gods and their various realms are, including the Nine Hells. Spelljammer also mostly happens there. The fun thing about the Astral Sea, IMHO, is that you can add and subtract divine realms as you wish without needing to find a place for them in the Great Wheel.

Between the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos lie the three inner planes: the Prime, the Shadowfell, and the Feywild. These should be familiar enough as the Feywild and Shadowfell were incorporated into the 5e Great Wheel.

The Far Realms are outside of this schema.

WotC created the World Axis first and foremost to be a cosmology where adventure happens.

 

[Jolly Ruby]

The higher planes from contact higher plane spell:

Edit: jokes aside, nowadays I always play Forgotten Realms using 5e's Great Whell with some borrowed 1e and 2e concepts, specially old Planescape box. When playing home-brewed scenarios I use my own simpler cosmology where the "Higher Planes" includes an infinite number of planes, closer or further than ours. Closer planes includes the Faerie, the elemental planes, "mirror worlds" and other things that you can stumble in a portal if you're (un)lucky. Further planes includes places that mortals understand as heaven, hell or something unfathomable: places where you can't access with your physical body unless miracle-level magic is involved.

 

[Shardstone]

Let's start with the big picture view:

Spoiler

View attachment 360469

Basically the World Axis cosmology and mythos involves the mythic drama of the deities of the Astral Sea vs. the primordials of the Elemental Chaos. The creation of the prime material world involved the deities of the Astral Sea playing around with a world that was formed out of the Elemental Chaos, the Gods and Primordials fighting the absolutely devastating Dawn War, and a status quo was created after the Primal Spirits of the Material World kicked out both Gods and Primordials. (You will definitely hear echoes of the Dawn War mythos in Matt Mercer's Exandria setting.)

As one could likely guess, the Elemental Chaos is a realm of elemental matter and chaos. The different elements don't have individual planes. It's a singular realm where various elemental forces are in constant state of flux. The Abyss was created by the god Tharzidun by planting a seed from the Far Realms into the Elemental Chaos, which then corrupted the various elementals and primordials who were drawn to it.

The Astral Sea is a realm of thought, concept, and ideas. The Astral Sea is where the gods and their various realms are, including the Nine Hells. Spelljammer also mostly happens there. The fun thing about the Astral Sea, IMHO, is that you can add and subtract divine realms as you wish without needing to find a place for them in the Great Wheel.

Between the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos lie the three inner planes: the Prime, the Shadowfell, and the Feywild. These should be familiar enough as the Feywild and Shadowfell were incorporated into the 5e Great Wheel.

The Far Realms are outside of this schema.

WotC created the World Axis first and foremost to be a cosmology where adventure happens.

Where does the term "Axis" come from? Regardless, I love this, very nice. I'd love to see this come back for sure.

 

[TiQuinn]

If this is the case, why do we need or even want entire infinite planes just to house one single location worth visiting? Make them single locations in a larger elemental world...such as the Elemental Chaos...and you lose nothing, but simplify the cosmology drastically.

From flippin' 18 planes down to one. So much clearer and simpler and easier for players to grasp as something to do or visit. None of the places are gone; you still have the City of Brass and the Sky Tower and the Graveyard of Lost Ships, and you still have a nigh-infinite sea of fire and a globe of water so vast no one has seen its far edge and...etc. But instead of segregated and impossible to survive infinite planes, you have one dangerous but survivable plane with areas of higher risk. In other words, a place that preserves everything actually worthwhile about the Inner Planes without losing one thing of value, except the "pristine clockwork perfection"—which exists only because it is aesthetically pleasing to read about, and no other reason.

Sure, that approach is fine too. Whether your campaign setting is a single world or a multiverse, it’s ultimately still an infinite space in the sense that you can always add whatever you want, wherever you want as long as it’s consistent for you. I have no particular interest in canon, tbh.