My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Discussions about constructed worlds, cultures and any topics related to constructed societies.
Post Reply
BagelBomb
rupestrian
rupestrian
Posts: 9
Joined: 17 Aug 2010 01:35

My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by BagelBomb »

Heya folks, here's just a little something I've been working on.

I'm assuming that some of you play D&D or some other tabletop games, or are at least intrigued by the conworlding implications of the genre. I'm a big diagram/intricate system buff myself, so I find things like their system of planes fun to play with, especially their elemental planes. (Some of you might have noticed by now that I have a thing for elements.)

Here's a quick rundown of the D&D "Inner Planes" to get you up to speed.

- There are four primary "Elemental Planes" a la the European classicals: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire
- There are two additional "Energy Planes": Postive and Negative (Basically, Light/Life/Energy and Dark/Death/Entropy)
- Between adjacent Elemental Planes are the "Para-elemental Planes": Ice, Ooze, Magma, and Smoke
- Between each Elemental Plane and one of the Energy Planes are the "Quasi-elemental Planes":
--- Lightning, Steam, Mineral, and Radiance for Positive
--- Vacuum, Salt, Dust, and Ash for Negative

Here's a nice diagram to illustrate:
Image

Now, this system is nice and all, but I have trouble thinking of salt as "negative water" or ice being the result of air and water, among other things. Also, there's room for more! So I ended up making my own system based on the D&D one, with some major changes and additions:

Image

As you can see, I've added a new category of plane, and each of them is adjacent to 3 Primary Planes (2 Elemental, 1 Energy) and 3 Secondary Planes (2 Quasi, 1 Para) each. I'll call these Demi-elemental Planes. Here are the differences:

- "Lightning" was sort of deviating from what "Air" is, in my opinion, so I replaced it with the dynamic "Wind". I also considered calling this "Pressure". Either seems a better foil to "Vacuum" than Lightning was. (Of course, all that pressure and wind would still make a lot of thunder and lightning, yeah?)
- You'll notice that "Ice" has been moved down towards the negative, because it tends to be cold and death-like.
- In it's place is "Mist", which I think more accurately reflects a middle state between Air and Water. It includes clouds and other water vapor.
- Having both Mist and Steam seemed redundant, so I replaced Steam with "Rain". It is dynamic and moving, and also clean and pure.
- So in between Mist, Wind, and Rain (and all that they imply), we get "Storm". Obviously!
- "Brine" replaces "Salt" because Salt isn't water. Cripes. This covers all filthy, impure, stagnant water, as a nice contrast to clean and ever-moving Rain.
- "Gem" is not only Gems, but mineral-rich earth of any-kind. I just like the name Gem better than boring old "Mineral".
- Between Rain, Ooze (which is mud and other slimy/sticky stuff), and Gem, we get "Wood", which is plant life of all types.
- Replacing "Dust" is "Grime", which I think better captures all manners of "bad dirt", including Dust. It's notions of filth make it fit better next to poison than it would have otherwise. You might call it the Elemental Plane of Poo and Dustbunnies.
- Between Brine, Ooze, and Grime is the well placed and deadly "Poison". I imagine this plane to be wrought with bogs, venomous critters, acids, and fungi.
- I kept "Radiance", but rather than just being "Hot and Sparkly", like D&D cannon describes it, I want it to be clear that this is highly potent energy like atomic radiation and cosmic rays, and toss Lightning in there too if you want it away from Wind.
- Between Gem, Magma, and Radiance we get "Metal". Especially if electricity is included in "Radiance", I think this is a good placement.
- Now, down between Grime, Magma, and Ash we get "Rust", a nice complement to Metal. Decaying Metal, if you will.
- Between Radiance, Smoke, and Wind we get "Explosion", or "The Elemental Plane of BOOM!", as I like to call it.
- Between Ash, Smoke, and Vacuum, we get "Miasma" which quite literally means "bad air". I imagine this as a plane of noxious vapors and horrible smells, ghosts and whispers, but little in the way of substance. (However, putting Miasma makes me think a better Positive Collorary would be "Aether" instead of "Explosion", keeping in with the Pure vs. Decaying theme, as Aether is sometimes thought of as "pure, upper air".)

Anyway! I drew up a nice little template so that you guys can physically cut and tape the whole system into one of these bad boys: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truncated_cuboctahedron

It makes for something not unlike the first illustration in this post, and I think my color-coding scheme worked out surprisingly well! Tell me what you think, should you attempt to actually print out and construct it (I already have myself). It prints well onto an 8.5" by 11" sheet of paper. Less flimsy paper is more desirable, but it works for normal printer paper too. The little white tabs are for your taping convenience, but feel free to cut them off if you think you don't need them.

Image
Raydred
cuneiform
cuneiform
Posts: 100
Joined: 15 Aug 2010 04:50

Re: My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by Raydred »

Is plane infinited(unlimited)?
Do the planes intersect eachother? Then there's a place where you're both in the magma and earth plane for example. That would be the edge of the truncated cuboctahedron. And a place where you're at the wood, the ooze and the water at the same time. That would be the vertice.
It'd be fun to draw a map of this as series of 3D planes bent on 4D.
It has one problem. Is the change between planes instant and sudden or smooth?
BagelBomb
rupestrian
rupestrian
Posts: 9
Joined: 17 Aug 2010 01:35

Re: My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by BagelBomb »

Yeah, standard D&D settings (ignore 4th Edition) state that the Inner Planes are each distinct and infinite, but ALSO connected/overlapping like you just stated. It is a question of their being separated by what you might call a 4th spatial dimension. Ooh, I like what you're suggesting: Each 2D plane of the cuboctahedron model would represent a 3D plane, and a slight turn around an edge of the 3D model to an adjacent 2D surface would represent a movement in 4D space to an "adjacent" 3D space! :D

Hmm, abrupt or smooth transition? I suppose that if you were physically traveling along that 4th dimensional axis it would be gradual, but like in nature, the boundaries aren't set quite so rigidly, and you might get "spikes" of adjacent, or maybe even distant, elements in any given plane.

Of course, if you're playing a game of D&D, it's totally up to the DM how the whole thing behaves.

Also, I decided to bid farewell to my beloved "Elemental Plane of Boom" and let it be Aether. Aether, as it is a corollary to Miasma, is a plane of "positive air", it has wonderful fragrances, healing properties, latent magical and other energies, and spirits and emotions made manifest. The roles that "Explosion" had are now within "Radiance", and possibly "Storm".

((Edit: I'm now thinking of changing "Ash" to the cooler-sounding and more inclusive "Char"))

Image
User avatar
MrKrov
banned
Posts: 1929
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 02:47
Location: /ai/ > /a:/
Contact:

Re: My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by MrKrov »

I've nothing productive to add but I like the diagram.
User avatar
SLiV
sinic
sinic
Posts: 350
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 18:40
Location: NL
Contact:

Re: My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by SLiV »

Me too, although I have one comment.
Now, down between Grime, Magma, and Ash we get "Rust", a nice complement to Metal. Decaying Metal, if you will.
Not to be the smart-ass, but isn't Rust caused by a combination of air (oxigen) and water? Seems a bit odd that those are at the other side of the cuboctahedron. I completely agree that it fits there, though.
:nld: native | :eng: fluent | :deu: :fra: :esp: reading | :lat: :grc: translating
User avatar
Hālian
sinic
sinic
Posts: 201
Joined: 18 Aug 2010 23:13
Location: Central Florida
Contact:

Re: My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by Hālian »

SLiV wrote:Me too, although I have one comment.
Now, down between Grime, Magma, and Ash we get "Rust", a nice complement to Metal. Decaying Metal, if you will.
Not to be the smart-ass, but isn't Rust caused by a combination of air (oxigen) and water? Seems a bit odd that those are at the other side of the cuboctahedron. I completely agree that it fits there, though.
>rust = oxygen + water
>smart

lolno.jpg

Rust is iron(II) oxide. Water + oxygen > hydrogen peroxide.
Image Safir Alliance
Image Hoennese Realm
User avatar
SLiV
sinic
sinic
Posts: 350
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 18:40
Location: NL
Contact:

Re: My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by SLiV »

SLiV wrote:(...) isn't Rust caused by a combination of air (oxigen) and water? (...)
Rust is formed when water containing oxygen comes in contact with iron. Therefore, rust is caused by a water-oxygen mixture.
:nld: native | :eng: fluent | :deu: :fra: :esp: reading | :lat: :grc: translating
User avatar
Itsuki Kohaku
sinic
sinic
Posts: 238
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 02:36
Location: Antwerpen, België

Re: My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by Itsuki Kohaku »

SLiV wrote:
SLiV wrote:(...) isn't Rust caused by a combination of air (oxigen) and water? (...)
Rust is formed when water containing oxygen comes in contact with iron. Therefore, rust is caused by a water-oxygen mixture.

Did you just correct yourself?

I do that all the time.
In order of knowledge: :eng: :vls: :epo: :fra: :deu: :esp: :jpn: :zho: :fin: :tur: :eus:
Conlangs: :con: Literary Makurungou, :con: Common Makurungou
BagelBomb
rupestrian
rupestrian
Posts: 9
Joined: 17 Aug 2010 01:35

Re: My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by BagelBomb »

SLiV wrote:Not to be the smart-ass, but isn't Rust caused by a combination of air (oxigen) and water? Seems a bit odd that those are at the other side of the cuboctahedron. I completely agree that it fits there, though.
Oh yeah, all that went through my brain, of course, but screw science! This is about feeling! :D
Itsuki Kohaku wrote:Did you just correct yourself?

I do that all the time.
No, he was emphasizing that what he said was already correct. Yes, it is iron in the presence of water and oxygen that produces certain types of rust. All in accord?

((Edit: I'm thinking that maybe I could rename "Rust" as "Corrosion" and move acidic stuff over from "Poison". The category could include all manner of things corroding, disintegrating, rusting, etc...))
Crumbs
rupestrian
rupestrian
Posts: 24
Joined: 12 Aug 2010 23:48

Re: My D&D Inner Plane Truncated Cuboctahedron of Wonder!

Post by Crumbs »

BagelBomb wrote:Yes, it is iron in the presence of water and oxygen that produces certain types of rust. All in accord?
No, just oxygen, it's ferrous oxide, FeO. Water can contribute oxygen sometimes but it aint necessary.
Anyway, the reason I like elemental systems is that they allows leaps away from conventional (or true) thought. Not all peoples might know that rusting is caused by oxygen, and they may just think of it as decay, much like dead plants and animals rot away.
BagelBomb wrote:I'm thinking that maybe I could rename "Rust" as "Corrosion" and move acidic stuff over from "Poison". The category could include all manner of things corroding, disintegrating, rusting, etc...
Good thought. Generally, the more inclusive the category the better, Though make sure it matches up with what it's supposed to be.

If you're doing the four dimensional thing (which I think you should) it makes me wonder what would be in the "center" of the planes (or is that fifth dimension?) it's just a thought, but what is the core element here?
Post Reply