Here’s a super early draft of some material for one of the upcoming Planarch booklets that is sloooooowly being developed. The vibe I’m going for with this supplement, in contrast to Dark Heart’s grim-and-harsh tone, is strongly inspired by the more cartoony Zelda games (Wind Waker, Minish Cap, Spirit Tracks, Skyward Sword).
Originally shared by J. Walton
Psalter of the Wild Planes: Origins
At the center of everything lies the monstrous city of Dis, a living metropolis that is gradually expanding to consume all the planes of existence. For you, however, as young people growing up in the Wild Planes – remote realms of fanciful, celestial, and strange wonders, far from the tendrils of the ravenous city – Dis is a vague and distant threat.
Instead, your life is mostly full of mundane troubles: family, friends and rivals, teachers and mentors, chores and responsibilities, being included and excluded, eating and sleeping and playing, the first hints of romance, and your dreams of traveling the Wild Planes and partaking in grand adventures.
You are not a kid anymore, but definitely not yet an adult. Soon it will be your time, but when and how? It doesn’t seem like respect and independence will simply be bestowed upon you at the proper moment, since most adults are living in the past and persist in treating you like you don’t know anything. Should you earn, seize, or demand control of your own life? Does it even matter what anybody else thinks?
Your Look
Roll or pick from the table below for your Eyes, Hair, Skin, and Wear. Before you choose your look, you may want to decide if any of the PCs are from the same place. Generally speaking, those from the same plane will share 1 of these traits, those of the same culture or ethnicity will share 2, and those from the same family or community will share 3. Nobody will share all of your traits, unless they are a magical duplicate! Be wary!
11. Night Sky
12. Luminous
13. Ghostly
14. Shadowy
15. Bloody
16. [add a new one to the table]
21. Fiery
22. Watery
23. Snowy
24. Earthy
25. Tempestuous
26. [add a new one to the table]
31. Golden
32. Copper
33. Mirrored
34. Jeweled
35. Mechanical
36. [add a new one to the table]
41. Bewitching
42. Encrusted
43. Impossibly Soft
44. Harsh
45. Translucent
46. [add a new one to the table]
51. Thorny
52. Bark
53. Evergreen
54. Jaguar
55. Giraffe
56. [add a new one to the table]
61. Butterfly
62. Buffalo
63. Shark
64. Plain
65. Dead
66. [add a new one to the table]
What Draws You Home?
Pick as many as apply:
– people
– things undone
– the desire to make things right
– responsibilities
– something that’s yours alone
– safety and security
– a source of strength
What Pulls You Away?
Pick as many as apply:
– people
– wanderlust
– curiosity
– the search for something or someone
– getting what people need
– solving a problem
– a critical mission
– deliveries
– finding yourself
– getting away from something or someone
It will probably also still be sprinkled with darker and more realistic stuff, as in Avatar: The Last Airbender, since this is still the Planarch Codex, which means staying grounded in a relatively realistic portrayal of human beings and cultures.
Nice!
Would love to start a campaign as a teenager in the Wild Planes and end as a Road Warden in Dis.
Wow, yeah, that would certainly be harrowing lifepath.