Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I very much enjoyed the cosmology of D&D. I liked the different planes (prime, elemental, negative, abyss, hell, etc.) and felt they really worked well in both constructing "the beyond", but explaining concepts of after-life, divinity and general frame work of existence. Given that these guys were largely responsible for Planescape: Torment, I imagine that some planar distinctions will exist, but how far will they deviate from prior/earlier concepts? I personally liked what Dragon Age:Origins attempted to do with "The Fade", but the delivery was awful.

 

Is there anything you guys want out of a certain cosmology or is it not particularly important to you? What kind of concepts do you guys have which might refine or go beyond convention, or break molds entirely?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I don't mind what kind of parrallel universe (let's call it that way) they put or not in the game, I just hope it doesn't feel too overthought. This kind of stuff either has to be mysterious or shouldn't be at all.

Qu'avez-vous fait de l'honneur de la patrie ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I personally liked what Dragon Age:Origins attempted to do with "The Fade", but the delivery was awful.

 

To be fair, they've stolen the whole concept from WoD (the Umbra in Mage and Werewolf). Except it was multi-layered and all kinds of awesome there, while in DA... not so much. So, they can't really be commended for the idea, either :)

Edited by aluminiumtrioxid

"Lulz is not the highest aspiration of art and mankind, no matter what the Encyclopedia Dramatica says."

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love multiple planes of existence, but maybe for a sequel? there is still so much to explore on this newly created world ;)

Remember: Argue the point, not the person. Remain polite and constructive. Friendly forums have friendly debate. There's no shame in being wrong. If you don't have something to add, don't post for the sake of it. And don't be afraid to post thoughts you are uncertain about, that's what discussion is for.
---
Pet threads, everyone has them. I love imagining Gods, Monsters, Factions and Weapons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Based on what we've been told in updates, I've understood that people don't generally know all that much about how souls work, etc. So maybe the more fundamental aspects are still unknown. I think I'd prefer it to be a mystery. I heartily agree with what SophostheWise wrote.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AFAIK souls in Eternity let you reincarnate.

 

But what about the increase in populace? I mean that there were never enough souls sufficient to cover it.

 

Huh, maybe that's the plot of PE. A crazy euthanasia animancer who tries to keep the population down, that leads to an overpopulation in souls and then **** hits the fan. Or something like this. :lol:

  • Like 1

Elan_song.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be fair, they've stolen the whole concept from WoD (the Umbra in Mage and Werewolf). Except it was multi-layered and all kinds of awesome there, while in DA... not so much. So, they can't really be commended for the idea, either :)

Is it not possible that they simply "invented" the idea without the knowledge of the idea's prior (and superior) existence?

 

Anywho, in line with what Sophos said, with the whole soul thing at play, I hope the cosmology is kept relatively simple, overall.

Should we not start with some Ipelagos, or at least some Greater Ipelagos, before tackling a named Arch Ipelago? 6_u

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

To be fair, they've stolen the whole concept from WoD (the Umbra in Mage and Werewolf). Except it was multi-layered and all kinds of awesome there, while in DA... not so much. So, they can't really be commended for the idea, either :)

Is it not possible that they simply "invented" the idea without the knowledge of the idea's prior (and superior) existence?

 

Anywho, in line with what Sophos said, with the whole soul thing at play, I hope the cosmology is kept relatively simple, overall.

 

 

It is possible indeed, especially for some really vague concept like this one.

Qu'avez-vous fait de l'honneur de la patrie ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

To be fair, they've stolen the whole concept from WoD (the Umbra in Mage and Werewolf). Except it was multi-layered and all kinds of awesome there, while in DA... not so much. So, they can't really be commended for the idea, either :)

Is it not possible that they simply "invented" the idea without the knowledge of the idea's prior (and superior) existence?

 

I find it *extremely* unlikely that nobody in the dev team (who are presumably seasoned RPG veterans, and it stands to reason that they have some familiarity with tabletop, too) would know about the 90s' most popular* horror gameline. I mean seriously, what are the chances of that?

 

*Well, technically, it was Vampire, but Wta/MtA are part of the same game world, and I've never met a Vampire player who didn't have at least a passing familiarity with the other lines.

"Lulz is not the highest aspiration of art and mankind, no matter what the Encyclopedia Dramatica says."

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

on this matter, one thing i do not like about forgoten realms, where most IE games were placed, is that the gods and death are something trivial... and i do not talk about resurection magic. gods exist and is an indisputable fact, not a theoretical assumption to explain priest magic... also afterlife exists as a proven fact, so there is no real mystery in death. death as such becomes a trivial formality on the way to the afterlife. and since there is no mystery, there should be no fear either... it actually is stranger that the people bother to live at all

so what i'd like in the PE cosmology, is gods that are more like something you hope exists and not a proven fact, and the fear of death to be a question of faith

  • Like 4

The words freedom and liberty, are diminishing the true meaning of the abstract concept they try to explain. The true nature of freedom is such, that the human mind is unable to comprehend it, so we make a cage and name it freedom in order to give a tangible meaning to what we dont understand, just as our ancestors made gods like Thor or Zeus to explain thunder.

 

-Teknoman2-

What? You thought it was a quote from some well known wise guy from the past?

 

Stupidity leads to willful ignorance - willful ignorance leads to hope - hope leads to sex - and that is how a new generation of fools is born!


We are hardcore role players... When we go to bed with a girl, we roll a D20 to see if we hit the target and a D6 to see how much penetration damage we did.

 

Modern democracy is: the sheep voting for which dog will be the shepherd's right hand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I very much enjoyed the cosmology of D&D. I liked the different planes (prime, elemental, negative, abyss, hell, etc.) and felt they really worked well in both constructing "the beyond", but explaining concepts of after-life, divinity and general frame work of existence. Given that these guys were largely responsible for Planescape: Torment, I imagine that some planar distinctions will exist, but how far will they deviate from prior/earlier concepts? I personally liked what Dragon Age:Origins attempted to do with "The Fade", but the delivery was awful.

 

Is there anything you guys want out of a certain cosmology or is it not particularly important to you? What kind of concepts do you guys have which might refine or go beyond convention, or break molds entirely?

 

I also enjoyed  the way D&D presented the concept of the planes, gods and the afterlife. I still have my Manual of the Planes by Jeff Grubb :geek:

 

But we need to be realistic, the cosmology of D&D took years to develop and had several iterations. PE is a new fantasy IP so I don't expect too much detail when PE is released. I imagine the cosmology will become more complex as time goes on :)

  • Like 1

"Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss”

John Milton 

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -  George Bernard Shaw

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Every fantasy CRPG seems to have some sort of different planes of existence.

I'm not completely against the idea, but if it's just another rehash of the same old same old, then I'd rather they didn't bother.

 

I sometimes feel it's just an excuse to add crazy stuff that doesn't really fit in the actual gameworld, I'd rather they just made it all coherent.

Edited by motorizer
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will say one thing about the old "official" D&D pantheon and cosmology, it was way too "on the nose" if you know what I mean? Mortals should NEVER have absolute certainty what the gods are like and what their ways and means are, or if they're even real. I think the way the supernatural is handled in a lot of fantasy novels and games is just plain dumb.

 

I don't know how Obsidian plans to tackle this stuff, but my own preference is that the forces of the Outer Dark remain ineffable and mysterious as much as possible. Servants of a god or goddess should always have a certain sense of unease or a gnawing doubt at the back of their mind about the aims, whims and plans of the divine.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will say one thing about the old "official" D&D pantheon and cosmology, it was way too "on the nose" if you know what I mean? Mortals should NEVER have absolute certainty what the gods are like and what their ways and means are, or if they're even real. I think the way the supernatural is handled in a lot of fantasy novels and games is just plain dumb.

I think you are confusing D&D on the whole with the Forgotten Realms.  Plenty of D&D campaign worlds had very mysterious deities, or were totally unclear about their existence, powers, or motivations.  Ravenloft for example.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I will say one thing about the old "official" D&D pantheon and cosmology, it was way too "on the nose" if you know what I mean? Mortals should NEVER have absolute certainty what the gods are like and what their ways and means are, or if they're even real. I think the way the supernatural is handled in a lot of fantasy novels and games is just plain dumb.

I think you are confusing D&D on the whole with the Forgotten Realms.  Plenty of D&D campaign worlds had very mysterious deities, or were totally unclear about their existence, powers, or motivations.  Ravenloft for example.

 

 

By official, I mean the handy little chart detailing the names and ordering of the planes in the back of the PHB for 1st ed. AD&D. Greyhawk was also pretty much bog standard fantasy and it was definitely the "official" setting for quite some time, Krynn was much the same too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

I will say one thing about the old "official" D&D pantheon and cosmology, it was way too "on the nose" if you know what I mean? Mortals should NEVER have absolute certainty what the gods are like and what their ways and means are, or if they're even real. I think the way the supernatural is handled in a lot of fantasy novels and games is just plain dumb.

I think you are confusing D&D on the whole with the Forgotten Realms.  Plenty of D&D campaign worlds had very mysterious deities, or were totally unclear about their existence, powers, or motivations.  Ravenloft for example.

 

 

By official, I mean the handy little chart detailing the names and ordering of the planes in the back of the PHB for 1st ed. AD&D. Greyhawk was also pretty much bog standard fantasy and it was definitely the "official" setting for quite some time, Krynn was much the same too.

 

Well, they'd kinda have too, and it's more for the DM anyways than for the players.

Some people can't make up entire planar existences on their own very well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

To be fair, they've stolen the whole concept from WoD (the Umbra in Mage and Werewolf). Except it was multi-layered and all kinds of awesome there, while in DA... not so much. So, they can't really be commended for the idea, either :)

Is it not possible that they simply "invented" the idea without the knowledge of the idea's prior (and superior) existence?

 

I find it *extremely* unlikely that nobody in the dev team (who are presumably seasoned RPG veterans, and it stands to reason that they have some familiarity with tabletop, too) would know about the 90s' most popular* horror gameline. I mean seriously, what are the chances of that?

 

*Well, technically, it was Vampire, but Wta/MtA are part of the same game world, and I've never met a Vampire player who didn't have at least a passing familiarity with the other lines.

 

 

 

Warhammer (40K) wants to say hi.

The Warp? The Psykers?

 

* YOU ARE A WRONGULARITY FROM WHICH NO RIGHT CAN ESCAPE! *

Chuck Norris was wrong once - He thought HE made a mistake!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Warhammer (40K) wants to say hi.

The Warp? The Psykers?

 

Yupp, it's mostly a W40K-WoD mashup, as in "mages are all kinds of dangerous and a ****up leads to Nasty Things" (W40K), but the Fade itself is fairly hospitable, albeit dangerous (WoD).

"Lulz is not the highest aspiration of art and mankind, no matter what the Encyclopedia Dramatica says."

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

i did mention in a very old thread that they could have easter eggs like: a character portrait from PE will decorate the wall of a house in torment or a mosaic in an old church in PE will show a landscape of torment and such. so mostly decorative stuff that you may or may not spot as you play, but no concrete interaction... it just doesn't fit

The words freedom and liberty, are diminishing the true meaning of the abstract concept they try to explain. The true nature of freedom is such, that the human mind is unable to comprehend it, so we make a cage and name it freedom in order to give a tangible meaning to what we dont understand, just as our ancestors made gods like Thor or Zeus to explain thunder.

 

-Teknoman2-

What? You thought it was a quote from some well known wise guy from the past?

 

Stupidity leads to willful ignorance - willful ignorance leads to hope - hope leads to sex - and that is how a new generation of fools is born!


We are hardcore role players... When we go to bed with a girl, we roll a D20 to see if we hit the target and a D6 to see how much penetration damage we did.

 

Modern democracy is: the sheep voting for which dog will be the shepherd's right hand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...