Planescape using Mage: The Ascension rules GM Rules Section By James O'Rance This is not a complete game in itself. The Planescape Campaign Setting Boxed Set and at least one of the Storyteller system rulebooks are required to use this work. Mage: The Ascension and the Storyteller system are trademarks of White Wolf Game Studios. Planescape, the illustrations within this document, and all related concepts are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast. No challenge to the copyrights of these fine companies is intended by the production of this work. You are free to distribute this work to others, provided that you do not attempt to profit from it, plagiarize it, or take credit for it in any way. Visit the White Wolf website - http://www.white-wolf.com Visit the Wizards of the Coast website - http://www.wizards.com Planewalker Conversion 1 Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................ 3 Magic in the Planes ................................................................................. 4 Transitive Planes .................................................................................. 4 Inner Planes ............................................................................................ 4 Outer Planes .......................................................................................... 6 Monsters and Beasts ............................................................................... 8 Animals ..................................................................................................... 8 Planar Monsters ................................................................................... 17 Prime Material Monsters .................................................................. 38 Creating New Creatures.................................................................... 41 Tables and Charts .................................................................................. 52 Bibliography ............................................................................................. 56 Planewalker Conversion 2 Introduction This document contains information that Game Masters may wish to use when running PLANESCAPE campaigns using my “conversion notes” for the Mage: the Ascension rules. As a “GM Section”, it is by necessity incomplete; there are so many planar beasties, so many special situations, and so many different ways of handling things that one person cannot come up with enough material to deal with them all. With this document, you don’t have to. It was not just intended to give the PLANESCAPE GM enough “monsters” and “rules” to run a campaign; the real purpose of this document is to give you a few of my own ideas how things can be done, so that everyone out there can find a way to run PLANESCAPE campaigns that they are happy with. Planewalker Conversion 3 Magic in the Planes The magic rules for using Mage: the Ascension PLANESCAPE refer to making adjustments to magical effects based on the current plane of the characters, the Spheres used, and their beliefs. These adjustments are intended to express the different magical nature of each plane. However, in the main rules document, there are no guidelines for deciding which spells are altered, diminished, or enhanced on a particular plane. This was not an oversight - this information was deliberately kept separate from material that the players might read, and can be found below. The Game Master can reveal this information to players in any way that he wishes; keep it a secret; or make any desired changes to it without confusing players by conflicting with the “rules”. Below, altered, diminished, and enhanced spells are described plane by plane. There’s no need to memorise all of this information; just keep to hand details about the planes that the player characters are likely to visit during a game session, and refer to them as needed. Game Masters should apply these guidelines on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes a player will come up with a spell that strictly speaking, is diminished or even negated on his current plane. However, if the spell matches the character or conditions of the plane, or if the spell is inspired by a powerful Belief of the character, then the GM might decide to apply the standard difficulty. Transitive Planes The Transitive Planes connect the Outer and Inner planes to the Prime Material. They have unique affects on the spells cast there. Astral Ethereal Altered: Prime 1 is useless, as everything Enhanced: Mind illusion spells last without radiates magic on this plane. concentration; a botch causes illusions to Diminished: Cosmology spells used to assume independent life. summon creatures from other planes. Negated: Magic that accesses the Astral or Enhanced: Entropy spells. Outer Planes (many Cosmology spells). Negated: All Correspondence spells; magic that accesses the Ethereal and Inner Planes. Inner Planes The Inner Planes have no connection to the Astral or the Outer planes, and so spells that involve aspects of those planes always fail. Elemental: Air Elemental: Earth Diminished: Matter spells involving Diminished: Matter spells involving elements other than Air. elements other than Earth. Enhanced: Matter spells involving Air. Enhanced: Matter spells involving Earth. Planewalker Conversion 4 Elemental: Fire Elemental: Water Diminished: Matter spells involving Altered: Forces spells involving electricity elements other than Fire. make electrical globes. Enhanced: Matter spells involving Fire Enhanced: Matter spells involving Water. Negated: Matter spells involving Water. Negated: Matter spells involving Fire. The paraelemental planes are a mix of two elemental planes, and so spells are affected according to aspects of both parent planes. Paraelemental: Ice Paraelemental: Magma Diminished: Forces spells involving cold or Diminished: Forces spells that reduce heat. heat; Matter spells involving Fire. Enhanced: Forces spells that increase heat. Negated: Spells that access the Astral or Outer Planes. Paraelemental: Ooze Diminished: Matter spells involving Fire. Paraelemental: Smoke No unusual modifications. The quasi-elemental planes are a mix of an elemental plane and a positive or negative plane. Quasi Elemental: Lightning Quasi Elemental: Radiance Enhanced: Forces spells involving Diminished: Forces spells involving electricity. darkness. Negated: Light-based invisibility spells. Enhanced: Forces spells involving light. Quasi Elemental: Mineral Quasi Elemental: Steam Diminished: Matter spells involving Diminished: Matter spells involving Fire. elements other than Earth Negated: Spells that access the Astral or Enhanced: Matter spells involving Earth. Outer Planes. The positive and negative planes are planes of ultimate life and death and so they strongly affect spells related to those concepts. Positive Energy Negative Energy Diminished: Spells that inflict damage. Diminished: Spells that inflict damage. Enhanced: Healing spells. Enhanced: Healing spells. Negated: Spells that access the Astral or Negated: Spells that access the Astral or Outer Planes; solid objects created Outer Planes; objects created magically magically explode in a burst of light. crumble to nothingness inn 1 round. Planewalker Conversion 5 The quasi-elemental planes are a mix of an elemental plane and a positive or negative plane, and so spells are affected according to aspects of both parent planes. Quasi Elemental: Ash Quasi Elemental: Salt Altered: Matter spells involving fire have a Diminished: Matter spells involving water maximum duration of one round. or ice have a maximum duration of 2 Enhanced: Forces spells involving cold. rounds. Negated: Forces spells involving heat. Negated: Spells that access the Astral or Outer Planes. Quasi Elemental: Dust Quasi Elemental: Vacuum Altered: Matter/Prime spells that create solid Negated: Matter spells involving Air and objects have a maximum duration of 5 Fire. rounds, unless Forces 3 is also used. Negated: Spells that access the Astral or Outer Planes. Outer Planes Cosmology spells used to summon individuals or creatures to the caster can only draw from adjacent planes. Matter/Cosmology spells used to summon elementals do not call upon the same beings as those summoned on the Prime Material or Inner Planes. Instead, they create a “pseudo elemental” from the current plane. Pseudo elementals adopt the alignment of the plane where they are created, and refuse to do anything that would contradict that alignment. Lastly, Life spells, whether harmful or beneficial, have absolutely no effect upon petitioners. The Abyss Arborea Altered: Life spells often corrupt the No unusual effects. recipient; mind-reading and sensory spells allow for a magical retaliation, at the GM’s Arcadia discretion. Enhanced: Spells that benefit large groups Enhanced: Entropy, Mind illusions of people. Negated: Natives are immune to illusions. Acheron Diminished: Entropy spells. Baator Enhanced: Matter spells involving iron and Diminished: Entropy spells. stone. Enhanced: Mind spells. Planewalker Conversion 6 The Beastlands Mechanus Diminished: Mind spells affecting animals. Negated: Illusion spells create little more Enhanced: Life spells of healing. than wispy outlines that fool no one; Entropy spells. Negated: Forces spells involving weather. Mount Celestia Bytopia Diminished: Entropy spells. No unusual effects. Enhanced: Spells that benefit large groups of people. Carceri Diminished: Spells cast for the benefit of The Outlands others. Altered: There are five