============================= Rating Results for Planescape ============================= Compiled by: brooks@odie.ee.wits.ac.za (Goth) ============== Points Ratings ============== In order for a product to appear on the points rating table, it must have at least five votes. Products are listed in points order, from highest to lowest. /-------------------------------------------------------\ | - Key - | | | | Score = the product's average rating | | Low = the lowest rating anyone gave this product | | High = the highest rating anyone gave this product | | Voters = the number of people who rated the product | \-------------------------------------------------------/ Product Score Low High Voters ------- ----- --- ---- ------ Planescape Campaign Setting 8.4 5 10 37 Planes of Chaos Campaign Expansion 8.2 7 10 17 Planes of Law Campaign Expansion 8.2 7 10 9 Well of Worlds 8.0 5 10 17 The Deva Spark 7.8 5 10 12 Fires of Dis 7.7 5 10 7 Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix 7.4 5 10 18 The Eternal Boundary 6.5 4 10 13 In the Abyss 6.4 2 10 13 ======== Comments ======== This next bit is a selection of comments people have sent in. I've removed some remarks which were very similar, especially for products which provoked large quantities of comment and I've done some minor editing for grammar and spelling. Other than that, this is how they were sent in. General Comments ---------------- Planescape is one of the best settings I've seen in a while. The art was good, the ideas were good, I really didn't see one bad facet about the setting. Except I want to run a medieval setting which it doesn't support. Planescape has been a welcome return to quality at TSR, and I like the innovativeness of the setting. While I don't have the Planescape stuff, what I've seen is quite good, and I really like the style. It would definitely be tops on my list of new settings to buy if I had tons of money. I hope that TSR isn't going to milk Planescape by having a boxed set for every group of planes. Planes of Chaos was a good set, though. :) The Planescape concept is one of the most imaginative role-playing settings that I have experienced, and certainly the most imaginative setting produced by TSR (equal possibly to Ravenloft but much more expansive in scope). I cannot say enough about how mind-blowingly vast and interesting the Planescape campaign is to learn about. The manuals are easy to read (fun in fact), the factions are great to think about and play, and the whole place is down-right overwhelming! Planescape is the best setting TSR has ever released. What I've seen of the supplements have only reinforced that opinion even though I may soon go bankrupt. The descending marks for the sets are probably as it wears a bit thin; I think the marks will creep up again with the Sigil Book, as Sigil is, for me the best part of Planescape... The *possibility* of being able to get anywhere :) The Planescape setting is the first setting in a LONG time that TSR has put out that does not have so many holes in it. The boxed sets are very thorough, and the adventures contain not only the adventure but a great deal of extra information to be used in future scenarios (case in point: The Eternal Boundary; the entire mortuary is mapped out and the Factol of the Dustmen is revealed). I personally have stopped buying other game worlds because of the holes that they have. One last point: the artwork in Planescape is some of the best artwork I have seen published by TSR. As you can tell from the marks, I love Planescape. Simply the best setting I've seen from TSR; though some of the adventures in Well of Worlds, and In the Abyss suffer from promising more than they can deliver. Overall I think that the setting really sets off my imagination, so I like it a lot. I was somewhat disappointed with the MC, because so much of the material I had seen elsewhere. It also seems that there is a tremendous amount of art reuse, though generally not inside a single project. I LOVE Planescape and HATE TSR. I refuse to buy TSR products new so therefore I've had trouble finding planescape material that I can buy (used). So far I think the setting is better than the adventures, but then again I like coming up with my own plots. In general, I like Planescape, however, I would have liked more info in the Campaign setting book rather than expansions for various "clusters" of planes (e.g., chaos, law). I don't plan on/can't afford to be buying every supplement that comes out -- and, as you know, DARK SUN is my prefered campaign setting, so I'll just do without when it comes to Planescape. Planescape Campaign Setting --------------------------- The Planescape Campaign Setting is a fresh look at something many experienced DM's have explored for years. Great artwork! :) Plenty of room for expansion and individual expression. Easily the best thing to come out of TSR in years. I love it! The campaign setting is one of the best I've seen from TSR -- good to look at, doesn't treat me like an idiot, etc. There are some inconsistencies in logic (i.e. it's not the way I'D set up the multiverse) but what do you expect from an idea purchased from one man (Gygax) and then passed off to a committee? Planescape will be at the center of all of my AD&D campaigns from now on. I bought the Planescape box and looked through it. I haven't had a chance to play it -- haven't had a chance to play much period since Planescape started coming out. I haven't bought any of the other Planescape stuff and don't expect to. There's something silly about several of TSR's recent imaginings -- this applies to Spelljamming, Council of Wyrms, and Planescape. No matter what jargon or artwork you paste on the concept, they still feel to me to be cartoony. Not Toon funny, cartoony = fundamentally unreal, basically disjoined from the way life works. Fantasy is by definition unreal; magic and dragons are found only in the imagination. But good fantasy refracts the non-fictive life and Planescape et al doesn't do that for me. Planes of Chaos --------------- Planes of Chaos could have had a little more new stuff and a little less re-hashing. Planes of Chaos is a good supplement. Looking forward to more. Well of Worlds -------------- A nice supplement. Well of Worlds was a bit less strong, but still good for ideas. I like the format of many mini-adventures to create seeds as in Well of Worlds. As for the Well of Worlds: my players have had a blast going to Baator, the Beastlands and the Abyss. Their clueless characters just can't get over the magnitude and power of the Planes. Sure, some of them met a conjured demon or two in their travel, but 20,000 baatezu marching down the Great Road? (And just for walking into the wrong room!) Love between fiends? Never! (Yes!) Total anarchy in a town with the hideous name of Plague-Mort? And what was that delicious meat Larissa puts in her sausages anyway? Every tale is filled with great possible ramifications on the Planes (ramifications of the type that should be explained in other adventures but often are not!) Lots of fun! Well of Worlds is useful for any DM to see how to get a grip of planar places and people! Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix ---------------------------------------- Nice to see the demons are back, since they were not in the 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendium! Good reworking of planar creatures. Yes, most is duplication from earlier sources, but this presentation was particularly appealing. The art alone gives this such a good rating since all of the creatures may be found in old 1st Edition stuff. Very little new material. Very good, even for a non-Planescape campaign. The only partially bad thing is that they have so much detail it seems there are few monsters. With this format the MC looks very good but reduces the amount of monsters availables and in the end the prices go high (TSR, why is it that this doesn't surprise me ?). There are lots of planar monsters missing (hope they will be in the second volume). Incredible art (as in all Planescape products). Adventures ---------- Planescape modules are a little above the usual quality of modules. I haven't seen the first or third module [Eternal Boundary and Deva Spark], but I'll be certain to pick them up when they do appear. I never thought I would be "fanatical" about any TSR product until I saw Planescape. The Planescape adventures (Eternal Boundary and Into the Abyss) were quite a let-down. There's SO much detail left out, stuff that the first-time DM of the Planescape setting isn't going to be able to just stick in. They will take a lot of prep before they can be used. I was particularly let down by Into the Abyss -- I didn't feel like the PCs were treated to anything special. The Eternal Boundary wasn't a total loss, but I had to [almost] completely restructure it before I could use it. Into the Abyss was pretty good. The Deva Spark was killer (almost literally). I haven't finished with Fires of Dis yet, but it looks like it may be even better than The Deva Spark. Erm, well I really, and I mean REALLY enjoyed the story and plot to Fires of Dis. Don't really think an adventure should get high marks, 'cos yer supposed to use yer own initiative, but Planescape adventures seem to be very well written (except for the confusing In the Abyss). Fires of Dis is an excellent and very well thought out adventure! ======= The End =======