# Not sure where to put this....d20 Modern PS Intro



## Xanterith (Dec 21, 2006)

This is the introduction I am working on for a campaign I am planning to run, basically a Planescape d20 Modern, starting with information for the players on where PS left off.  Just looking for a little feedback,  thanks.

"My constellation (is like an animal which) reclines in its den in heaven; some men call me the Great Bear, but others the Offspring of a Dragon. Moreover, a smaller constellation accompanies my constellation, for the high position and throne of my father is always in the sky. So do not ask me so many things, Solomon, for eventually your kingdom will be divided. This glory of yours is temporary. You have us to torture for a little while; then we shall disperse among human beings again with the result that we shall be worshipped as gods because men do not know the names of the angels who rule over us." 
- Testament of Solomon 5:4-5


Prologue to the history of the Great Planar Revolution by the chronicler Kamal Puri, Master of the Library, Historian of the Planes, written  in 506, AR*:


The following is a summary of the events that led up to our current times and my current observations.  When I left the great library many centuries ago never did I imagine the events that would unfold before my eyes.  My time there had come to a close and I left my work in the capable hands of my ascetics to pursue a higher calling, a calling so great that neither I nor my lord had any knowledge of its implications or ramifications.  It all began, oddly enough, with the Great Modron March.  As has been described by many others, the Modron every 17 Grand Cycles (one Grand Cycle is 17 Cycles, and one Cycle is roughly one prime year) would embark on a great journey across the planes. Counted on like clockwork, at this regular interval an army of Modrons would erupt from Mechanus through the Portal of Automata and head toward Fortitude. From there they would travel to Arcadia and on through that pleasant land to Mount Celestia, passing though the portal that leads to Excelsior.  This process is continued as the March travels clockwise around the Great Wheel, surveying and taking stock of any changes to the planes since the last journey nearly 300 years earlier. No one but the great Primus himself had any inkling why these marches occurred, but many had guesses.   The only thing that anyone knew for certain was that every 17 Grand Cycles, and 17 Grand Cycles to the second, the Great March would occur; however this time that was not the case.  This time, and unknown why, the march began about 100 years early.   This event needed to be seen in person, it was something so grand in the history of the cosmos that my lord felt the only way to do it justice was for me to be there personally.  It was with a heavy heart, and heavier tome, that I left the library to follow the Modron and record the events for all sentient beings.   

Having not been a witness to previous marches, I can only comment on my observations of this one.  The Modrons proceeded across the plane in chaotic fury, spreading out and observing, entering, and cataloging everything on every plane at a fervent pace.   From all I have read of the Modrons this seems slightly out of their nature, even though on the marches they generally acted strangely.   They moved from plane to plane gathering steam seemingly racing against some unseen clock.  Any Modrons that could not keep up with the March’s progress were left behind to fend for themselves and find their own path back to Mechanus.  The March followed the ageless route, however while the route had not changed, the contents in its path had.  Modrons crashed through town and field alike not slowing for proxy or petitioner.   Each of their encounters and progress I have recorded in a separate tome, but suffice to say that no stone was left unturned and no back alley left unexplored.  All in the path of the Modron felt their touch and watchful eye, each weighed and judged, recorded in some grand catalog hidden away from all but Modronkind.   Then suddenly, at a point deep on the plane of Pandemonium, they simply stopped.   The Modrons dispersed and returned to Mechanus.  Puzzled, I attempted to ask one of them what had happened, and he responded “The March has ended, I am to return to Mechanus.”   

Not satisfied with this I followed the Modrons back to Mechanus to try to get some answers to what had happened.  The Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus – never a more ordered and straightforward realm - here I would certainly get the answers I sought.   I followed my Modron friends to Regulus and the sixty four cogs that made up the home realm of the Modrons.  I petitioned for, and to my surprise received, an audience with Primus himself.  It was here I learned the gravity of what had happened, and why the Modrons had been acting so strangely.  Orcus, one of the Princes of the Abyss, had returned from death as the undead god Tenebrous (he was slain by Kiaransalee, the Drow God of Undeath who overthrew Orcus and stole his realm).  Tenebrous learned the power of the Last Word, a spell that could undue the Gods themselves.   Upon his return he was without his rod, and in order to use this power he needed it in his possession.  Orcus came to Primus to ask where his rod was, and Primus responded truthfully that he did not know.  Orcus, unsatisfied with this answer, slayed Primus and took his place.  He sent the Modrons out on the march early to search for his rod, buried unknown to him on the deepest layer of Pandemonium by Kiaransalee.  Before Orcus could discover this, a group of adventurers found the rod and waited for Orcus to come.  When The March discovered its whereabouts the march ended and as the modrons returned to Mechanus Orcus came and revealed himself.  In an epic battle he was slain by the adventures and his rod was destroyed, hopefully never to be seen again.  But as always with great power, “That is not dead which can eternally lie...”  After the death of Orcus, a Secundus was elected Primus by the Modrons, and it is he who revealed all of this to me.  He then informed me that the March would continue as planned on the 17th Grand Cycle, and I was more than welcome to follow and chronicle the event for the rest of the multiverse.  For now however, the walls of Regulus were to be closed as the Modrons recovered from the great turmoil.

And like clockwork the 17th Grand Cycle began and the March launched forward.  I recorded this March the same as the last, although this one lacked the same chaotic intensity of the first.   If I knew then what I now know, I would have studied much more carefully the Modron as they walked the planes, for after this March the multiverse would never be the same.  The last march had left off in Pandemonium, but we continued through that realm and on towards Baator.  Marches from the past  continued through the outer planes and then back to Mechanus, completing a path around the wheel.  This one however did not return to Mechanus.  Instead,  the march proceeded from Archeron through to the Astral Plane, and from there down to the Ethereal.  From what I know, never in the history of any of the Marches has this occurred.  The Modrons continued on relentlessly (we had now been traveling for over 20 years) down through the elemental planes and all of their associated meta-planes.  Once all of these were recorded, they began the long march home. I returned with the Modrons to Regulus, and was there as they presented the final report to Primus.  He was unsatisfied with the results.   He said the planes had fallen out of balance, that many primes had lost touch with the astral.  He thought that since the events of the last march, and since his recent ascension, it was time for a “Reconnection.”  The way he described this was as a reestablishment of the laws of the multiverse; a reordering of everything in time and space.  In addition, many of the laws would be changed to ensure that this would never need to happen again.  Mechanus would need to be halted, and in doing so time would stop across all realms.   Preparations were made and as the Modrons busied themselves I watched in awe.   Primus descended from his throne as a large pedestal arose from the center of the chamber.  From the surrounding ante chambers four Sucondi came forward to surround Primus.  Beyond them I could see movement and in my minds eye I saw ring after ring of Modron proceeding outward from this center.   Primus approached the pedestal and raised his arms.  As he did so a loud trumpet sounded out throughout the hall and rang across what seemed like all of Mechanus.  Slowly he lowered his arms to touch the pedestal.  The weight of time pressed down upon my brow as his hands approached the stand, his arms slowing while at the same time rushing to touch the stone, my insides coming apart as I felt them coming together.   Closing his arms to the pedestal I was confused by my senses as if all things were becoming one, hot becoming cold, light becoming dark, heavy becoming light, and so on.  And then in an instant it was gone.  His hands were on the pedestal and everything continued on as if nothing had happened.

“There…” said Primus, “it is done.”   He did not seem to notice my presence as he continued past me to retake his seat on his throne.


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## Xanterith (Dec 21, 2006)

That was over 500 years ago.  The multiverse still has not recovered from that day.  In the months that followed this event several facts became apparent as to the state of things before the “Reconnection”.  There were many many more crystal spheres than originally thought.  Because they had lost touch with the Astral Plane, these spheres were lost and separated from the multiverse.  For them the Astral was there but did not contact the prime.  The powers that did care about their existence and had significant worshippers began to slowly feel power slip away as the connection was lost.  Some ignored and forgot these primes, turning their attention to other lands; others died from lack of faith their bodies sent to float amongst the dead powers strewn about the Astral.  Many have hypothesized on why this happened and the most accepted answer was because in the original creation the Astral was never meant to be inhabited by sentient beings.  It is an ever shifting infinite plane that touches all points at once in all primes and outer planes.  To have something existing inside this was to also have the object touching all things at once.  Since sentient, mortal beings could not possibly comprehend this, the plane adjusted itself to accommodate the beings so that it had apparent size and shape and these beings could traverse it.  Unfortunately, in doing so some spheres were separated from the multiverse.  Some spheres were severed – separated instantly and forcefully. This occurred many millennia ago, lost in the annals of history, when the first mortals entered the astral bodily.  Others were slowly separated as more and more beings began to venture to the Astral and more of the plane became defined.  All crystal spheres had some level of degradation, some were in the very early stages with no noticeable effect, others completely separated.  The overall effect was gradual, and any who were on the planes when cut off were trapped, no way of returning back to the outer.   These planes, separated from both divine and arcane magic, developed along as best they could.  Many entered times of severe hardship as all the powers they had relied on were slowly stripped away.  The realms were plunged into hundreds and thousands of years of darkness as famine, disease, and strife decimated populations.   On many, whole races were wiped out never to be seen again.  Without gods or magic to turn to the people of these lands turned inwards.  They began to study the world around them unaltered by magic.  In doing so they learned the laws of physics, and chemistry, as well as other sciences.  The world of magic and the gods slowly faded from view.  People began to no longer question their existence or the “why” of the universe, instead they turned to “how”.   While self reliance and independence did many great things to forward these people, it also forwarded many traits that went unpunished – greed, dishonesty, and selfishness resulted in personal gain with no retribution from a higher power. Overall feelings of non-retribution for any acts against a fellow person were pervasive throughout these societies.  While they had many good and honorable people, the vast majority of these peoples cared not for their fellows and only had their own interests at heart.  Gone was religion, now only an act of pomp and circumstance. For the majority of people it was nothing more than a means for social interaction.  

There were three main immediate physical effects of the reconnection.  The first effect was that these primes were now fully reconnected back to the astral.  Magic returned, and access to divine power was available, although this was not because they now had access to the astral, but was because of another effect explained below.  As a part of doing this all crystal spheres were eliminated.  The shield walls were dissolved and the Phlogiston burned off as all the planets combined into one galactic prime.  By doing this, Primus insured that all points in all primes would be equally connected to the astral and at no point could part of the primes be separate.   The individual primes now became solar systems and travel between the spheres could be done without ever leaving the prime material.   Also, astral travel between the spheres was still possible, and with the infusion of technology, the Githyanki were able to develop ships that could hop from the prime through the astral back to the prime making travel between these systems very quick.  For many unenlightened worlds, there was no immediate visible, outward change to everyday life.  The effect of this change would show itself over the next couple hundred years.

The second major effect of the reconnection was the rebalancing of magic and the physical laws of the multiverse.  Magic on the primes slowly over many millennia had convoluted and bent the laws of physics and the natural sciences to the point where they were not studied nor even recognized as influential.  In some cases magic even overcame the laws of the physical realm on a permanent and global scale.  Gravity, inertia, chemical reactions, all could be circumvented by magic, and therefore magic was studied above all others.   When the planar law was reestablished the physical realm returned to work as intended.  Many magical effects disappeared, and many more were altered.  For most of the mundane and lower magic throughout the planes there was very little effect, but for some of the higher magics – especially those having to do with time and space – there was dramatic change and in some cases the magic simply stopped working.  After the reconnect, magic and physics were again returned to their proper balance.  Magic still could affect the laws of physics, but these laws became standard across the multiverse and were constants.   A strange effect of this was that now the Tinker Gnomes devices actually worked….a scary prospect indeed!

The third, and perhaps most dramatic effect of the reconnect was the creation of a new plane.  This plane was considered to be a perfect version of the astral, a conduit for all energy and force to transfer.  The astral remained, but now was merely a plane of travel and physical movement through the multiverse.   The new plane, dubbed the “Transmissive” plane replaced the Plane of Shadow as the 3rd transitive plane.  The Plane of Shadow became part of the ethereal.  Access to the transmissive for mortals is incredibly dangerous as the current of energy can tear a soul to pieces, distributing the spiritual energy across all of the multiverse in a thought.  There is no time or space on the Transmissive plane, and it is a place best left untouched.   All magical and divine energy is transmitted through this plane.  In addition, there are a growing number of mortals who are able to tap into this plane of force and use the power that is there for telekinesis, telepathy, as well as many personal augmentation abilities.  Throughout the prime small monasteries have been cropping up dedicated to mastering and controlling this energy.  These studies are in their infancy and have shown great potential, so much so that even the gods themselves have begun to question its impact and fear its implications.


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## Xanterith (Dec 21, 2006)

As amazing and unimaginable as all this sounds, it is nothing when compared to what happened in the months and years after these realms were reconnected. The first realms were discovered shortly after the reconnect by Githyanki travelers in their continual search for Gith.  Quickly word of these new systems spread across the multiverse.  And with this spreading strange things began occurring in the lower planes.  The Blood War, an ageless battle fought throughout time had reached a standstill and the powers grew bored.  The Yugoloths, sensing this and wanting to continue the conflict that for so many years had furthered their own devious plots, turned the attention of the devils and demons to the newly reconnected lands of the prime.  The demon princes and devil lords long occupied with nothing but the destruction of their opposition found themselves with new interests.   The influx of new, fresh lands ripe with hatred, jealousy, corruption, gluttony and greed proved to be far too tempting a fruit.  The armies sat waiting at the borders of each of the lower planes as massive expeditionary forces found ways into the new prime.  The new blood war was to be fought outside the lower planes, to be fought throughout the prime itself as Demon and Devil alike gained power with each conquered world.   These worlds not only brought fresh souls to feed the armies, but new technologies and new understanding of how the multiverse truly worked.  The armies of good and light could do nothing but stand by and helplessly watch as each new world fell, the people deaf to the calls to goodness, instead turning to the temptation of evil.  As the years passed slowly the evil powers became more brazen and began to set their sights on the upper planes as well as the prime.   Massive onslaughts were formed as the devils left Baator and swept through Mechanus to the borders of Mount Celeste.  The angels themselves were powerless to stop this advance as the lack of faith from their worshippers left them weak when compared with the might of the demon armies.   They retreated to the peak of Mt. Olympus, locked themselves within the fortress, and instructed their followers to show no mercy in the face evil.  This alienated the good churches even further as many of the underprivileged and downtrodden were forced to unscrupulous acts to survive.  These people were turned away for fear of infiltration by the demonic armies, and one of the tenets of all good faiths was lost – penance and confession were replaced with persecution and retribution.  The church of good took on the aspects of evil in an attempt to remove evil, a cycle of destruction that for all their wisdom the deities of good never saw.  

As this war raged across the outer planes and reconnected prime, the powers of the good pantheon slowly began to wane on the previously connected worlds.  Priests of heavenly deities who suddenly found their powers removed turned to evil to replace what was once theirs.  Churches of light became defiled bastions of evil, the good of the multiverse slowly eclipsed by darkness.   Where once the worship of evil was persecuted, now it was the practitioners of good who kept their allegiances hidden, their motives secret.   

Eventually the devils and demons bored of fighting good and turned their attentions to each other, rekindling the ageless blood war but on a scale much broader, and much more subtle.  Outright battles on the open field were replaced with negotiations, conflict still always on the surface, but subdued by attempts at resolution.  Contracts and companies formed to enforce these laws, and the demons and devils became the holders of power and order throughout the multiverse, the demons continually trying to circumvent the devils laws, the devils finding loopholes to remove the demons, and both sides feeding off mortalkind’s innate base tendencies.

Arcane magic, still an important and powerful force across the multiverse, began to slowly take a back seat to technology and advancement in the sciences.  Many things that magic did technology could do cheaper and faster, and in addition was much easier to mass produce.   Cell phones replaced the messenger spell.  Automobiles replaced phantom steeds.  Devils and Demons formed interplanetary corporations for the mass production and distribution of technology throughout the galaxy.  Most mortals had no clue the amount of influence the lower planes had on their daily lives, as most executives kept their true allegiances hidden, all professing only one – the all mighty dollar.  Whole planetary systems were invaded, conquered and forced into production of items for use throughout the multiverse.   The corporations contended that they paid fair wages and treated all of their “employees” humanely, but without regulation or competition these workers amounted to nothing more than slave labor.  Everything from shoes to space transports were manufactured this way.  Technology distributed much more easily than magic, and anyone could use it, whereas magical creations can be kind of finicky.   The devils and demons felt less threatened by technology, thinking they could control and manipulate it easier than the magical equivalent.  Practitioners of arcane magic became rarer and rarer, and as their services became more specialized and needed many that showed talent were employed by the larger companies at a very young age, some voluntary, others forced, and others still flat out eliminated.   The rarer it became, the harder it became to learn.  Practitioners began to band together into secret societies, several of them forming schools of magic throughout the multiverse, all kept secret for fear of infiltration and domination.  Mainstream society mostly views magic with fear and discomfort, and most practitioners generally try to stay away from the spotlight, practicing their art in quiet seclusion, away from prying eyes and greedy hands.

Divine magic, while not as affected by the influx of technology as arcane, underwent some significant changes.  Most of the changes were not in how it functioned, but in how it was distributed.  Most of the good churches and pantheons went through some difficult times and have closed their doors to outsiders, fearing retribution and persecution.  These doors are only opened to true believers, ones who can honestly show their faith.  The forces of evil have spread propaganda against good, forcing them to examine who they let into their faiths and who they help, too many times has evil taken advantage of goods morality.   Champions for what is right are few, but they follow their gods with strong dedication and conviction strengthened by the powers that back them.  Churches dedicated to evil have spread their lies and propaganda throughout the multiverse with grand marketing campaigns and money collecting schemes.  They provide the masses with healing, welcome walls, and friendly smiling faces – all the while strengthening and growing the dark powers below.   Many dark powers have formed organizations that support this structure – providing communities with health care in addition to many other social services.  Many of these further the ends of the evil churches, providing “treatments” to illnesses that require even more investment in the dark powers.  These organizations run completely “non-profit” and say they are solely there for the protection and health of mortalkind.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Many of these so-called “non-profits” generated billions and sometimes trillions of dollars in income from donations and paid medical services.  The benefits they provided served to cover up the evil that occurred below.  The poor are turned away dying in the streets as the rich are assured long life, so long as that check cashes and the money continues to flow.


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## Xanterith (Dec 21, 2006)

Throughout the upheaval and change one place remained neutral - Sigil.   Untouched by conflict, yet completely changed by it the City of Doors continues on as it has for millennia.  As world after world fell the portals to Sigil stayed open.  The Lady of Pain holds unyielding sway over this realm keeping out all deities, proxies, persons and religions that would bring unnecessary strife.  For many, it was the only safe harbor in a universe filled with danger.  The Lady remains neutral in all affairs and disdains conflict inside her walls.  Floods of refugees from Githyanki invasions, demonic occupations, and tyrannical persecutions have come to Sigil bringing with them their knowledge and secrets.  Many a “clueless prime” has shown a planar a thing or two about the ways of the multiverse.  To Sigil they have come to share this knowledge and sell their wares.  The Cage has filled to the top, now a full blown megatropolis complete with all the benefits and hindrances.  Portals to the elemental planes of lightning, fire, and stream generate power and keep utilities flowing throughout the city. Steel skyscrapers push to the center of the wheel and dwarf ancient stone taverns and inns at their feet. Business throughout the planes now happens here as it is the only place where all parties can come to the table without fear of negotiations turning hostile. This melting pot is now center to all decisions that govern the multiverse. It is there that I sit and write this, a forward to the histories of the time to come, a prologue to the events unfolding, as you begin your journey…….




* AR stands for After Reconnect


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## Xanterith (Dec 26, 2006)

No opinions?  Looking for anything, good or bad.  Thanks.


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## Graf (Jan 18, 2007)

YOu've obviously worked hard on this and I want to comment, but it's tricky to do so meaningfully I think.

As a general comment "X is totally unchanged and yet the same" is a valid narrative contruction. [edit= But it taxes the reader and also prevents clear transmission of information.]

Just general thoughts
1. You look like you're mixing SpellJammer and Planescape. Which is cool but they don't mix so easily.
PS travel is usually small scale transport through magical gates (like doorways).
2. The Githyanki are generally the most hostile race out there. They generally 'fly' through the astral and go in and out of portals. Githyanki-developed-ships don't have any precidence really. They also aren't normally "searching for Gith"; they're "serving their evil witch queen who killed Gith". You present them both as a sort of trader-between-worlds but later as an invading force.
3. The transmissive plane sounds interesting and leads to a slightly more techo-science feel. If it is the source of all magic does that mean it's also transitive to the astral and the outer planes? If not magic wouldn't work there.
4. The rise of demons/fall of (good?) religion is interesting, but extreme. It does strongly support an Urban Arcana type environment.

It seems like you have the world worked out well at a meta level.
What sorts of adventures are you thinking about? I.e. fight the corporations? Explore the planes?

Are the PCs supposed to be from a specific DnD type world? The modern world (i.e. earth in 2007)?

If you're looking to communicate with the players about the world I would suggest trying (very hard) to keep the narrative simple and avoid a long backstory. You're changing the game so radically that it's not really helpful to talk about Primus and Crystal Spheres. Focus less on what's changed and more on what's 'going on in the game world right now'.

Example: I am interested in running a game using d20 modern/urban arcana but set in a techo-fantasy plane hopping setting. The universe is a dark place: the forces of good have been almost wiped from the planes and demonic armies and rapacious extradiminsional entities engage in proxy wars over the planes. The game will center around Sigil, where the might of the mysterious and alien "Lady of Pain" is the only thing hoding back the tides of darkness. The city is chocked with refugees and they are crushed equally under the hooves of magical steeds and the wheels of cars. etc. etc.


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