Overview
This thread presents "Shattered Realms," a custom cosmology designed for a D&D 5e campaign, detailing its planes, core metaphysical rules, and in-world mythologies. The discussion also includes clarifications and feedback from community members regarding the structure and logic of the cosmology.
Core Cosmological Structure
- The multiverse is organized between two primal forces: the Source (origin of creation) and the Terminus (end of all things).
- Druidic sects favor a top-down model, while clerics, warlocks, and wizards each hold differing cosmological interpretations.
- Planes arise from the interaction and decay of primal energies between the Source and Terminus.
- The structure involves hierarchical layers: Celestial Realms near the Source, Mortal Realms in the middle, and Lower Realms approaching the Terminus.
Key Planes and Their Functions
- The Source radiates creation energy, filtered through intermediary planes before deities can harness it.
- The Terminus absorbs all creation, providing entropic forces necessary for the breakdown and transformation of energies.
- The Great Cycle dictates planar birth, maturity, decay, and ultimate destruction in a repeating loop.
- Interstitial Planes (Astral, Ethereal, Shadowrealm, Plane of Mirrors) facilitate travel and connection between major planes, each with unique properties and hazards.
- The Celestial Realms are reserved for deities and their direct servants, uninhabitable by lesser beings.
- The High Heavens serve as afterlife domains for the faithful, eventually transitioning into Mortal Realms.
- Mortal Realms constitute the majority of existence, inhabited by mortals and visited temporarily by celestials and fiends.
- Inner (Elemental) Planes are specialized worlds based on elemental or abstract forces.
- The Far Realms are vestiges from prior cosmic cycles, inhabited by alien entities mostly dormant.
- Lower Realms, Hells, and Abyss are dominated by entropy, inhabited by fiends, and characterized by resource scarcity and soul-based economies.
Magical and Metaphysical Mechanics
- Worship increases a deity’s capacity to store and use primal energy.
- Magic is a byproduct of primal energy decay, with arcane magic regarded as fundamental by wizards.
- Souls serve as primal energy containers and are traded, especially in the Lower Realms.
Community Feedback and Designer Clarifications
- Formatting issues initially hindered readability but were resolved after user feedback.
- Clarification provided that devils and demons can attempt to ascend the cosmological hierarchy, although it is difficult.
- Planar transitions between layers (e.g., High Heavens to Mortal Realms) are significant and involve rapid energetic changes.
- Questions were raised about redundancy among interstitial planes, their necessity, and potential for cross-world connections within a universe.
Questions / Follow-Ups
- Community members sought more detail on how interstitial planes function when connecting multiple worlds or within a single universe.
- Further clarification was requested regarding the differentiation and necessity of various interstitial planes.