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Old 04-17-2017, 08:29 AM   #11
whswhs
 
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Default Re: Planes of existence, How many?

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Originally Posted by Anaraxes View Post
(1) is setting-dependent, and could be any number you like. Enumerating all the ones mentioned in published fantasy would produce quite a long list, even if we count "infinite realities" as just one per author. Trimming the near-duplicates and close analogs would be its own chore.
Yes, exactly. If I decide that my vision of a fantasy world doesn't involve plane X, then I will either choose a magic system that doesn't assume plane X, edit out the spells that require plane X, or reinterpret those spells to work without assuming a separate plane. Game mechanics serves world concept, not the other way round.

I've only run one campaign that explicitly provided alternate planes, and what I used for that was Ken Hite's four realms from GURPS Cabal: the material world, the world of legends, the world of divine archetypes, and the world of ultimate oneness. And I set the campaign in the world of legends.
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Old 04-17-2017, 09:49 AM   #12
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Default Re: Planes of existence, How many?

You also need to decide what "plane of existence" even means.

Is it just a separate place you can't get to easily? Far away places could qualify then, even if you can physically travel there, especially should the rules change - consider the land of the dead in Earthsea, or down the rabbit hole, or stuff set on "different planets" or a "past" that never really happened or a "future" that really could not.

What about changes of perception? Do you go to a "different plane" when you dream? log into a virtual reality? eat hallucinogenic mushrooms? travel by theosophic meditation?

How about changes of scale? There are after all stories set on "atoms" reached by super shrinking. It's a fuzzy concept.
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Old 04-17-2017, 10:24 AM   #13
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Default Re: Planes of existence, How many?

Pyramid 41 has the shadowland.

Do other worlds that would be considered "Material" Count? Banestorm has 4 or so in addition to earth and Hell (or wherever demons come from, its not all that clear):

Yrth (elves, dwarves, orcs)
Gabrook (Goblins, Lizard People, kobolds)
Loren'dil (halflings, centaurs, others)
Olokun (merfolk, sharkmen)

of course, you only ever visit one of those worlds and they could be considered different planets in the same galaxy. Do they really feel like different planes of "existence'?

The infinite worlds series got a lot of love a few years back. A list of worlds is here. There are some there that aren't official or that are buried in the unreachable depths of pre-pyramid 3 pyramid, but the list should still be useful: http://gurps.wikia.com/wiki/Worlds_of_Infinite_Worlds
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Old 04-17-2017, 02:17 PM   #14
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Default Re: Planes of existence, How many?

I suppose I am looking for lists of planes for the purpose of finding commonalities and themes. There are already broad categories evident in the lists people have provided. Hells, Divine realms, intellectual concepts and so forth.

The bards tale books throws another couple in like the checkered fields a realm where gods do battle.

The "rabbit hole" realms are potentially a side issue to do with how the realms/planes are accessed.

The Dungeon dimensions are another one that leaps to mind that might be considered a meta example.

Edit
As to the second part of the question, planes/realms that are implied by gurps. First up the question might be better phrased as "What extra planes of existence are implied by gurps rules?". An earlier post pointed out that demons etc don't need to come from another plane of existence, this is a valid point and I don't challenge it. However for the point of this thread let's assume all the internal gurps system/setting switches are set to "more planes of existence". Using that as a (re)start point what dimensions does a setting built to be compatability with the various magic/path/dungeon fantasy gurps rules have to include?
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Last edited by (E); 04-17-2017 at 02:47 PM.
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Old 04-17-2017, 04:44 PM   #15
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Default Re: Planes of existence, How many?

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Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
If I'm divining the purpose of the questions correctly, (E) is wanting some lists of names and types of planes that could be used in a campaign.

So, Esotericism has a few major divisions.

Buddhism lists 31 planes of existence.

D&D has a myriad plethora of planes.

You could also dig into Dante's Inferno, with 9 circles of Hell, where some of the lower circles are subdivided into further realms. Purgatory and Heaven have similar treatments.
Well, one of the things on planes is about the GENERAL planes, and the many subrealms. For example, in WoD, the Fae come from the Dreamlands. This Realm is subdivided into Near Dream, Far Dream and the Deep Dream. The Near Dream ressambles the material world, just a little bit more collorful and vivid... Something like the Avatar movie. In the Far Dream you'll find all the impossibly fantastic - yep, the typical Dungeon Fantasy is there. But you can also find Darth Vader commanding several StarTroopers, or Hercules fighting the Hidra. The Far Dreaming have several "Realms" inside the "sub" plan, like "star Wars" Realm, "Lord of the Rings" Realm and so on. And the Deep Dream is the stuff of nightmares and madness; it represents the deepest corners of the mind, the darkest reaches of the subconscious, and it is extremely Dangerous.

Also, each dreamer forms a "bubble", a temporary Realm, floating between the Far and Deep Dream.

Therefore, the Dreamlands have 3 major portions or "sub planes" and an infinity number of Realms, each one of which can be as big as the universe, but it is still only one single plane, the Dreamlands.
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Old 04-17-2017, 10:11 PM   #16
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Default Re: Planes of existence, How many?

Other fantasy examples-

Steven Erikson's Malazan series has "warrens", which are planes of existence that also provide the power source for magic.

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time has a World of Dreams, and it also has the Ways as an extra-dimensional highway- though I'm not sure how they relate to the World of Dreams.

And Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar series is about interdimensional war- with regular material planes and demonic planes interacting. It also has some kind of between-dimension realm, but I can't remember its details.
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Old 04-17-2017, 11:13 PM   #17
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Default Re: Planes of existence, How many?

I would never consider using all the planes that are implied by all the different GURPS rules. Those rules are designed to support a wide variety of genres and settings and game mechanical concepts: magic, psionics, spiritualism, superpowers, cosmic horror, and others. Art comes from selection.
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Old 04-17-2017, 11:24 PM   #18
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Default Re: Planes of existence, How many?

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I would never consider using all the planes that are implied by all the different GURPS rules. Those rules are designed to support a wide variety of genres and settings and game mechanical concepts: magic, psionics, spiritualism, superpowers, cosmic horror, and others. Art comes from selection.
Definately true, I'm just seeing if I can make art from integration and amalgamation as well as selection. I also have a fantasy world that I strive to put as much in as possible while maintaining plausibility and interaction between elements.
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