D&D's Best Campaign Setting - Planescape (Lore video)

Huge props to Idran for the consultation on this video. Go check out their Planescape wiki at rilmani.com/timaresh and follow them on Twitter: / idran1701
Dungeons & Dragons has seen multiple campaign settings developed using its ruleset and basic cosmology since its creation, but none of them strike quite the same philosophical chord as Planescape. Created in 1994, this setting serves as the anchor point for the Planar Multiverse of D&D Cosmology, delving deep into the Outer and Inner Planes, as well as providing us with one of the most fascinating fantasy cities of all time, Sigil.
In this video I hope to introduce you to the setting that gave us Tieflings and Aasimar, that developed and expanded upon the multiple planar beings still being in use today, and of course that spawned the 1999 title Planescape: Torment, one of the best cRPGs of all time.
I hope to create more Lore videos covering this setting in the future so I hope you will enjoy this one in particular. There's lots of material to explore, from the philosophically focused factions of Sigil to the Blood Wars and, of course, the many and varied planes, all unique and fantastic in their own ways.
Thank you for watching!
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Music from:
Planescape: Torment

[@ghoulkinggruul7345]

YES! It's downright criminal that we haven't gotten anything from Planescape in decades as its one of the most innovative and vast settings ever created.

[@maxschreck9988]

You cannot improve perfection.

[@Idran]

To be fair, we did get the occasional Dragon article in the 2000s; the 3.x Modron article in Dragon #354 was amazing, and actually advanced the metaplot of Planescape a bit into the 3e era in explaining the Mechanus exemplar switch from Modrons to Fomorions to Inevitables And we also got Diplomacy in Dungeon #144, which was an _awesome_ planar-themed adventure that was very Planescape in feel, intentionally so But in general yes, it is a shame :( (There was also Beyond Countless Doorways, a Planescape spiritual successor book put out by Malhavoc Press in 2004 and written by Monte Cook, Colin McComb, Wolfgang Baur, and Ray Vallese, all old-school Planescape writers back in the day.)

[@phaedruslive]

Given the tone of the culture vultures that have co-opted the game I'd expect a new Planescape to end up like some 18+ roleplay sim on Second Life. They'd remove all it's rough edges and replace it with androgynous sex appeal.

[@Idran]

@@phaedruslive ...what? I literally have no idea what this means. Like...what sorts of things do you think they'd remove? Planescape was a lot of things, but it wasn't _edgy_ . I mean, this is a setting where the ultimate source of power is getting people to agree with you about how things work. Honestly, the fact that it got into some deeper topics without getting into edgelord nonsense is _why_ I love it so much. And "replace it" with androgynous sex appeal? Have you _seen_ some of DiTerlizzi's art in Planescape? "Androgynous sex appeal" is already a an excellent description for a good portion of it. He drew some hot people, and plenty of them had an androgynous air about them. :P

[@Tazirai]

Agreed. Tony DiTerlizzi's art nailed it for me.

[@Onionkid99]

Planescape and V:tM are my favorite things. The late 90s were pretty great!

[@NOopulence]

Dark Sun would be another awesome setting for you to talk about in the future if you were ever interested. AD&D 2e had some great settings.

[@joeycavazos4817]

The Mul race was an awesome race to play!!!

[@Daleksaresupreme1]

I love Planescape and all the old settings, Darksun, Spelljammer, Greyhawk, Mystara and so on, all of them except Forgettable Realms. It’s so frustrating that D&D has become so big in recent years but this particular aspect has been almost totally forgotten

[@organicketchup5171]

I haven't spent anywhere near enough time in the world of DnD as I'd like, but I'm so impressed by the sumptuous and endlessly deep, creative lore. It stands out in my mind as an example of of possibly the most brilliant fictional world.

[@epicmetalwarrior5476]

Expanding to D&D ? I'm in! I still remember the arguments of my succubus cleric about the nature of chaos and evil.

[@krispalermo8133]

Had a AD&D bard with three .. familiars .. or watcher fire gen/ small element to keep an eye on me by a fire genie, Battor imp, and a pixie fairy. And the three argue like teenage girls. Why, cause the game shop DM and players though it would be funny. Why do some guys in their 20's play argue like their teenage sisters I don't know, .. stress relief ? Take a moment to make fun of their sisters ?

[@NOopulence]

Planescape is awesome. I remember reading somewhere that the factions in this setting was a response to what white wolf was doing with clans etc with vampire back in the day. Awesome content as usual dude.

[@NickNotas]

Torment is still one of the greatest RPG games ever made. Here's hoping Baldur's Gate 3 can live up to the hype.

[@phaedruslive]

I don't know... 5E Faerun doesn't quite feel the same. It's a bit like Disney's Star wars.

[@Maehedrose]

BG3 is going to be awesome, as the Early Access is already fantastic, but it's not the same setting and Faerun doesn't hit the same notes as Sigil and the Outlands.

[@jordanmoore7340]

@@Maehedrose I agree. It's a different time, with stories written under different circumstances for different audiences. I'm trying to keep the Planescape magic alive in the games I run, but I'm not sure we'll ever see the same magic of Planescape again in any official material. I hope we will, but I'm not super confident.

[@Maehedrose]

@@jordanmoore7340 Planescape is one of those settings to which my ttrpg campaigns frequently return, so it will remain alive as long as I am able to keep GMing - and hopefully, by the time I'm ready to retire, I'll have a niece or nephew ready to inherit my game collection and lead another generation in appreciation of these great settings.

[@Revanchist]

​@@jordanmoore7340 In my opinion Torment: Tides of Numeners comes very close.

[@davidayoung11]

What a pleasent surprise to get a D&D video, thank you very much!

[@dietaube6898]

What a great start to what may become a phenomenal series of videos. Really looking forward to future videos about Planescape.

[@ThePrimogen]

Thank you so much! These kind of comments are so sweet 😊

[@Craig_Tucker48]

I love your planescape videos!

[@baronvonpenguin6112]

I JUST started Torment last night. Talk about good timing.

[@Tazirai]

Funny thing is. I write horror based on Planescape, but existing on our Earth. My main protagonist isn't a Planar, but she spent a year on Carceri, and in a recent story read by Dr. Creepen, she just went back. I'm gonna follow as Planescape is my favorite setting alongside Ravenloft.

[@skeletonking4119]

My eldest brother used to play it back to 2000. But I do believe our mother still kept his stuff of games in the old box along with metal gear solo games notebooks.

[@Posturtle]

I remember being obsessed with the original Manual of the Planes but didn't see too much use for it until Planescape made the cosmology accessible D&D characters of all levels. I used to have all the sourcebooks in that series. That and Ravenloft, of course.

[@johannmueller9660]

I played in Planescape using Advanced D&D rules, with my group, and I was a triple class elf, Osallias [Levels were approx. Fighter 10/Rogue 12/Wizard 9] right up until 3rd edition was released. Converting him over to 3rd edition rules was a pain, and he lost a lot of power, but eventually I raised him up to level 20 [Wizard 10, Fighter 5, Rouge 5] before retiring him. At least until the Epic Level Handbook came out, and then things go more interesting [as well as getting into the overpowered Gestalt characters from the Unearth Arcana... I got away with playing Osallias using a triple Gestalt loophole, but that's another story.]

[@ThePrimogen]

A great use of the Rule of Three I’d I ever saw one

[@krispalermo8133]

3.5e Epic Level Handbook ? My shop just follow this system, .. 2d4 =1d8 4d6= 3d8 4d10 = 5d8 Once hd total that of a titan, then your PC is regarded as a titan to determine CR for encounters. And just regard everything as role playing and not xp gain.

[@grzegorz8670]

more Planescape pls

[@joeywall4657]

Oh man what an amazing walk down memory lane!! Thank you for your work 🤠

[@brockenwitch]

Great overview!

[@KermodeBear]

I remember buying the Planescape box when it came out. At the time it completely changed my perception of what a role playing game could be. And that art! Immediately identifiable, evocative. I wouldn't have another major RPG epiphany like that until I bought that weird Vampire book and then, soon after, Werewolf, and Mage, and Wraith. You don't *need* to have games that ask big moral or philosophical questions in order to have fun. There's nothing wrong with the classic Knight in Shining Armor riding out to Rescue the Princess from the Evil Dragon, but I much prefer things to be more... complicated. A game built on top of these things at least leaves the door unlocked if you ever wish to open it.

[@seantracey9935]

About to run a new planescape game and needed to brush up on my lore. Awesome content!

[@rdqnev]

let’s gooo! I might finally get into D&D properly.

[@Jeremycook_]

I had the Planescape monsterous manual back in the day (still have it somewhere) that art is how I will always invision the demons and devils

[@Idran]

I'm so excited for this series aaaaaaaaa

[@HouroftheRaven]

Great video and wonderful news! Love your content on the World of Darkness, and I'm very excited about your coverage on Planescape! Although my favorite setting of DnD has always been Ravenloft (I even have a youtube channel about the lore of the setting), Planescape is also one of my favorites and one of the most unique, deep, and original settings for DnD.

[@Maehedrose]

I learned to GM in Ravenloft, and it taught me a lot about how to construct and tell stories, but the vastness and possibility of Planescape are enough to nudge RL it into my second-favorite setting slot.

[@maxschreck9988]

I mean, it's no SpellJammer, but Planescape is dope as fuck.

[@cheeseburgerkid1329]

Ancient grognard here. I got a smokin deal on the Planescape box set in 97(I'm guessing TSR`s insolvency had something to do with that) and read the shit out of it. I read something from it every night for at least 2years. I think of it as The Big Leagues, even that 20th level fighter suddenly is engaging in dialog again. Weird.

[@endtimestcg5146]

Thank you! Love the Planescape....Where can I find a Video where you bash Baldurs Gate? Loved that game too! And the Setting!

[@ganjaericco]

Just to mention that it wasn't that he always lost his memories every time he died, it was when the shadows took him (or he died at the Fortress of Regrets).

[@tnntaronewsnetwork4514]

I’d love to see more

[@UltimaSpark50]

I personally find cosmic D&D to generally be much more interesting than the prime-material stuff (the outer planes in particular). Kind of sad that official material is relatively lacking; I've been trying to gather what planar homebrew I can find, though.

[@joeycavazos4817]

This and Dark Sun, Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Forgotten Realms are my all time favorite campaign settings to play and run! Dark Sun Gladiators and Knights of Solamnia are m top two favorite classes

[@tamlandipper29]

Respectful nod to all the morally complex RPGs made by Obsidian Entertainment. Don't froth up about this and not play Tyranny.

[@ThePrimogen]

Tyranny's great!

[@taniamohsen9417]

for me planescape;tornement = bloodline 1 so muuuuch good game

[@wellatleastimhere1974]

Lmao he came out swinging

[@sirdark1381]

Sigil was in 3.5e???

[@ThePrimogen]

2e even!

[@sterlingwbishop]

Planescape confirmed

[@misterecho2922]

Best? I think thats in the eye of the beholder (pun intended) :) i myself is a Forgotten Realms fan one of my closes friend prefer Dark Sun. And alot of my old ttrpg friends are into Dragon Lance.

[@ThePrimogen]

Oh for sure haha! I *had* to make the title a bit clickbaitey ;) There's pros and cons with every setting!

[@diegolikescode]

The name... is ThePrimeagen.

[@Blackferret66]

I didn't care for the Baldur's Gate game because even early levels were a grinding slog. I was at 3rd lvl spending hours hunting zvarts trying to get to the level where I could get new quests when I just gave up.

[@ThePrimogen]

Which is exactly why Planescape was perfect, it didn't have that! Which is also why I love it.

[@tamlandipper29]

What? Maybe if you're a clothy, but you're supposed to be in a party. Also, do the damned quests to level up.

[@Blackferret66]

@@tamlandipper29 I was in a full party. And I did all the quests I could find that the NPC would talk to me about, asshole.

[@Idran]

@@tamlandipper29 C'mon, this was crit people had about BG1 _when it came out_. Half the reason Baldur's Gate 2 was so good was because you weren't starting at level 1. I died more often to the wolves outside Candlekeep than to anything in Irenicus's dungeon.

[@vechcron]

Planescape is the second greatest campaign setting the Greatest campaign setting is Spelljammer

[@VGM00021]

Silly Primogen, that's not how you pronounce Spelljammer.

[@pleaseloveme117]

That’s a weird way to spell Eberron....... This is coming from someone who just doesn’t enjoy DND in general. But Eberron I like.

[@ThePrimogen]

I think you’d like Planescape if you gave it a shot… except it’s mostly AD&D which is a painful experience hahaha

[@tacky4237]

Eberron? Thats the weirdest way to spell Mystara i have seen all day?

[@frankb3347]

Planescape and Darksun were the best settings. I don't think either of them meshes well with the coddling nature of 5E.

[@Idran]

To be fair, the entire reason Planescape was created was to turn the planes from a "you will die if you go here" thing to somewhere where you could actually have adventures at any level. :P

[@tacky4237]

Planescape is a funny way to spell Mystara.

[@PungiFungi]

99% of Planescape adventures are railroading scenarios that had the players be spectators than participants....and outcomes are often pre-determined no matter what the players do.

[@brightglory5734]

That's not how you spell Dragonlance

[@G2Bryce]

Blah blah blah. I don't see any large breasted redhead tavern wenches, thus Dragonlance is still king

[@tacky4237]

Dragonlance is a funny way to spell Mystara.

[@Snowchapel]

Dislike for stupid long intro.