Theorycrafting: Planes
Posted 2024-04-19 01:56.I'm trying to reason about how magic actually works on Thera, and how it interacts with the various planes of existence.
So far, I've began to think that what makes Thera relevant to the interplanar sysrem is the fact that so many planes have connections to it. Some planes would also not have direct interactions with each other, if not for it.
I've sort of initially devised a classification for the various planes that have already seen some screen time here.
There are some guidelines that I'm trying to put into place in this world. That gods aren't omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient beings. Their powers don't really directly empower the divine magic users. The planes where these gods reside might be sources of magic, but they aren't really a plane of these demiurges that forged the multiverse.
The nature of these beings and their planes of origin would inform the plane's classification.
These were the classifications I thought would fit:
- Material
- Ideal
- Chaotic
Material Planes would be those that are like Thera. A world reminiscent of the real world, where things follow a somewhat logical causality.
Ideal Planes would be idealized worlds where philosophies, or entities of the mind take some life of their own, like the Feywild or the Elemental Planes.
Chaotic Planes, where matter cannot be formed. A place of raw energies.
These planes would exist in some kind of spectrum, where an actual plane is classified based on where in that spectrum it is placed.
Then I had these concepts of sources and sinks--certain planes in which magic either came from, or drain towards, respectively. The thought is that magical flow between these sources and sinks is what gives Material Planes, like Thera, their magic. The original concept is that Ideal Planes are sources, and that Chaotic Planes are sinks.
So how do these planes come together to form what we see in the present-day campaign?
The thought currently, is that these planes' influence on the world wax and wane with a somewhat regular periodicity. Travel between the plane and Thera would be much easier, the closer it is to an "influence maximum". Conversely, more difficult during an "influence minimum". If that plane is a source, then more magic flows into Thera during an increasing period, then the magic wanes during a decreasing period. If a plane is a sink, then the opposite is true.
Now, since many of these planes are connected to Thera, depending on their varying periodicity, there would be times of magical maximums or magical minimums. So, I am thinking, that these current events indicate that the world is coming into a maximum. This means that the cause of the return of magic into the world not only coincides with the ease in which planar travel may happen, but is also the cause of it.
The problem that remains now, are the motivations of some of the planar travellers in attempting to take Thera. In-game, I've already established that for some reason, aberrations from the Far Realms were for some reason trying to get into Thera. Now, I do have something of a framework to explain their motivations. In my head it makes some sense that the Far Realm is a Material Plane as well, but one that is closer to being a Chaotic plane in the spectrum. This means that the plane is at the risk of unravelling all the time. So it's an existential one.
In my conception, the Far Realms are a magical sink, where many other Material Planes leech their magical energy into. So they depend upon other planes and their connection to them to ensure that they remain stable enough to exist.
Since the creatures from the Far Realms are almost universally considered evil, if the culture is knowledgeable enough, they will attempt to sever the connection with it. This would explain the Deathengel's actions in a previous adventure. I think that the Angels of the Celestial Plane of Justice, woul have put it upon themselves to enter nearby planes in order to stop the advance of the aberrations.
Currently, I think these magical maxima have about 5 cycles, with different planes interacting during each of them (I'd like to eventually math this out), but the one approaching only happens once every 30,000 years or so. It's one that connects the Far Realms to Thera during a time when many other mostly-Ideal Planes intersect.
It begins with a connection with the Feywild, which only synchronizes strongly with Thera in 30,000-year cycles. Which is why, even if there are long-lived races there, what they call Fey Crossings are basically unknown by all but a few specialized scholars. The Kurerans, as they were called by the Kalassarians, were gnomes that have entered Thera through an unusually large-scale crossing. Their knowledge of alchemy allowed them to thrive, even in the relatively low level of magical energy when they arrived in about 10,000 PF. Small pockets of elves, dwarves, etcetera came along during that time as well.
About 8000-7000 PF, a connection with the Far Realms was discovered. I haven't decided which side yet. But this is what bootstraps all the present events. I also haven't decided on the cycle length for these are.
About the same time, the Celestial and Infernal Planes began synchronizing. I think these cycles are spaced somewhat closer than the Fey Cycle. Probably 9000 year cycles? I am kind of leaning towards a lack of direct connection with the Abyss. They only connect via both Infernus and the Far Realms, and maybe through the Feywild (but only if the connection is re-established).
Elemental planes must be connected as well. I think most Material planes are connected to those. But in particular, we have already established warlocks of the Djinn (Ruomei and Yayoi).
30,000 years seems kind of short though? If it's like this, this might have affected Theran development during sometime after an analogue to the Neolithic Revolution.