Planescape (2015)
Planescape Nights - The Planescape campaign setting with Hackmaster 4th ed bolted onto it. GMed by Benjamin.
| Planescape Nights | |
|---|---|
 "Why would we want to go to the same place all the time?" | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre/Theme | Planescape |
| System | Hackmaster |
| Began | December 16, 2015 |
| Time active | 9 years, 4 months |
| Game Master | Benjamin |
| Players | Andrew, Jeremy, Luke, Rob |
Our players wander the Planes in search of adventure, treasure, or to fulfill their own private ambitions.
As we play, this page and other pages will fill in with information that the players learn in the game; specific locations, people met, and so on. All the pages related to this campaign can be found on this page, which will automatically update as more pages are added. You will also find that link at the bottom of every page related to this campaign.
Characters
General Information
- The current year is 3440. This is not extremely important, but someone asked. Time can be weird on the planes.
- Refer to Benjamin's house rules, especially Benjamin's Hackmaster House Rules. A lot of the 3.5 rules will also apply under Hackmaster as well (especially the section on The Planes, this is the Planescape setting after all).
- I reserve the right to change the rules basically whenever, but I promise it will be for good reasons, and to account properly for any changes this makes to the mechanical operation of anyone's character.
Portals
Portals are connections between the planes. Portals may be open to anyone passing by, or they may be locked without the proper key, which could be almost anything. For example; a physical object, a word or words spoken, a tune whistled or hummed, or a thought or emotion in the mind could all be portal keys. Portals take you from here to there without having to depend on a busy and/or short-tempered wizard with the rare combination of knowledge, power, time, and willingness to be your taxi service.
Portals can be also be transient, moving from place to place or only being active at certain times. They may change in a recognizable pattern or may be completely random. They are like the rest of the planes in this way, really.
Factions
The Factions of Sigil run the city at the Lady's pleasure.
Locations
Sigil and the Planes at large. Wherever the story or your own hearts' desires take you.
Sigil
As Sigil is the literal metaphysical center of the planes, and the City of Doors that theoretically contains portals to every conceivable plane, you will find yourself returning to or travelling through it often.
The everyday operation of the city is handled by the Factions, organizations of people united by a particular belief or philosophy.
Ultimately, everything in the city exists and comes and goes at the pleasure of the Lady of Pain.
The city changes over time, in response to the beliefs of the inhabitants, the will of the Lady, and the sweat and hard work of anyone who cares to put in the effort.
Notable Locations in Sigil
- The Clerk's Ward - An affluent district, home to most of the city's lower-rung bureaucrats and middlemen.
- Civic Festhall - Headquarters of the Sensates.
- Plane Crazy - A tavern in the Clerk's Ward that Hikari frequents.
- The Hive Ward - The slum and the ghetto, home to the poor, the rogues, and the unwanted dregs of the city.
- The Lady's Ward - The richest and most exclusive section of the city, is home to the elites of society and of its government.
Material Planes
There are a multitude of earthlike or similar worlds of various levels of habitability by humanoids. Most humanoids are from one of these worlds, and are referred to as "primes" by people who live on the planes.
Worlds of Note
- Datha - Home plane to Jaxson, Grodd, and Marby.
The Planes
Additionally there are the inner, outer, elemental, etc.. planes of the Planescape setting. Nothing is off limits, if you can learn about it in game and find your way there.
This section will fill in as you are exposed to new planes.
NPCs
Friends, foes, and other characters met along the way.
In Sigil
- Hiyoshi - Sensate. Hikari's adopted mother.
- Joran - Wizard and a Sensate. An older man who studies portals as his main focus. He has sent Hikari and Larissa to do a bit of field research for him.
- Larissa Karras - Cleric of Celestian and a Sensate. She talks to her god, literally. Everyone thinks she's weird, but she seems nice enough otherwise.
- Lady Winfrith - Upper class woman with a mansion in the Lady's Ward and a severe attitude to interlopers.
- The Lady of Pain - The least you need to know.
Quest Log
Things your characters said they want to do or were assigned to do by an NPC.
The Group:
- What was that shifty group in the Plane Crazy tavern up to?
- Find a way for the Datha folk to return to their home plane. (with Joran's assistance)
- Divination magic could be used to assist in identifying the plane.
- Readings need to be taken with the experimental portal device from several other planes.
- At least two Outer Planes.
- At least two Inner Planes.
- At least two other material planes.
- ???
Marby:
- Collect samples from the Cobalt Forest and return them to Tabi in Silvermist.
Completed!
The Group:
- Pacify the bear and assist Hikari and Larissa in getting home.
Hikari:
- Return the portal device to Joran in the Civic Festhall.
- Find a way to return home.
The Story So Far
Updated my journal.
2016-01-06 - I'm at the bear, getting drunk!
The group makes their way into the forest and find the cave near where the portal had been. Inside they find.. a black bear! Who, it turns out, probably just wants her cubs to be left alone. Hikari calms her, and they set up camp outside where the portal had been.
After a few hours, everyone but Marby and Larissa had gotten drunk. The two are examining the experimental portal device that Joran gave to Hikari and Larissa. Marby uses her arcane knowledge to start figuring out the device, when suddenly the red crystal lights up again - something that Larissa remembers from when they first used the device to get to Datha. She excitedly tells Marby to activate the device, and she does.
The entire group is pulled into a portal, and find themselves falling to the ground. They are inside a large ballroom, full of well-dressed people obviously in the middle of a party. Hikari recognizes Lady Winfrith, who also recognizes her. Winfrith wants them gone, clearly, but they are saved when Joran appears out of the crowd and tells Winfrith that he had sent them to do a task for him, and something had gone wrong clearly. He takes the portal device, herds them out of the mansion, and tells the group to come see him the next day at the Civic Festhall.
The group is left on the street, and Hikari leads them to her favorite tavern in the Clerk's Ward - Plane Crazy. Inside, they order a round and Jaxson immediately tries to pull a scam on some patrons. The potential marks he selects start threatening violence to him, and he decides to try again some other day.
Eventually they all return to the Civic Festhall and the next morning the Dathans go to Joran's office. After studying the device's readings, he diagnosis the portal as "definitely wandering" and suggests that if they help him with his research, then he can try to stabilize the portal.
They agree, and go get breakfast at The Philosopher's Scone, where they meet Hikari.
2015-12-30 - I'm at the bar, getting drunk!
Hikari and her 'friend' Larissa are sent to use an experimental new device to collect information on portal transit for Joran the wizard. After a scuffle in the Hive, they accidentally activate the device and enter an unknown portal. (SPOILER ALERT: It led to Datha.) After encountering a bear, the two run out of the area and head north, lucking upon an old road, and then a small village where...
Jaxson and his new friend Grodd are heading east into Ezethae (not into the city proper, the guards might recognize Jaxson!) and to a monastery that Jaxson favors for their excellent beers and wines. At a tavern on the way, Jaxson cons a merchant into purchasing a Snipe from him. A gnome, Marby Fizzlesprocket, comes down from her room and the three most interesting people at the bar get to talking. Marby displays a wink wink nudge nudge interest in going to the nearby Colbalt Forest where she thinks she may be able to find some rare magical reagents.
At this point, two women enter the tavern, one of them, the one with fox ears and nine tails, starts asking about portals and cities full of doors. After a bit of convincing, Jaxson, Grodd, and Marby agree to go into the forest with them to help sort out this bear at least, and see what happens.
So, instead, they all set out to sample the monastery's production. Abbot Norry greets Jaxson in the shrine to Ajahn, and takes them to the taphouse. After selling the group some alcohol and drinking a round with them, the abbott has to get back to work, and the group heads south into the forest to see if they can run off or kill this bear.
Hey wait, is this a callback or something?
2015-12-16 - Initial session
Characters mostly created and preliminary information discussed.
