I always love planar content, and this was no exception. I found it an unusual choice to develop Wood and Metal into fully-fledged planes as opposed to demiplanes or specific locations on other planes, but I definitely don't mind novelty and innovation (especially when it comes to the planes). Variety is the spice of life after all. This is especially true of Metal, which I always associated with the vast mineral deposits on the Plane of Earth. Now I think I prefer the idea that those jealously-guarded deposits are either border zones or even seized territory. I also liked the new cosmology of 5 elemental planes keeping each other in check with Air as a neutral medium of interaction. I also appreciate that they didn't take the route I would have most expected in several regards. Metal could easily have been rigid, stoic and unyielding/enduring. Instead you have chaotic natives with wildly divergent personas who love unusually noisy music, an Elemental Lord of rust/decay/ending, and another Lord who (instead of stoic endurance) has collapsed into prolonged "comas" of sorrow. I loved the focus on electromagnetism and would like to see that developed. The idea of herbivorous life being rare on the Plane of Wood is interesting to say the least. On our world such an abundance of available food/fuel would be a paradise for invasive species. As a fan of the animated series Archer I heard that and immediately thought "You want ants?! Because that's how you get ants!" It would be interesting to know if there's a specific mechanism whereby the Plane of Wood fends off what would be terribly destructive invasive species. One also has to wonder if Shumune's openness to other planes of existence is going to turn out well... Finally, in between this new Plane of Wood and the video you recently posted on Megafauna your content is giving nature-based characters some attention that helps bring them to a believable parity with more technological classes/civilizations. I love it when you upload this type of content because it always has me thinking creatively for a while :) Thanks yet again for engaging content.
Hey! Glad to have dropped a video you like. The old 4 Greek elements always seemed pretty random to me tbh. Earth, Water and Air sort of made sense to me as the three states of matter, maybe, but Fire seemed pretty random. Why not other chemical reactions? Actually "the Element of Foam" would be pretty radical. I'd love to see an elemental plane of foam now... Anyway I guess if you're picking elements to represent the basic building blocks of reality then adding metal and wood are not bad choices. Feels like you can make most things out of these elements now apart from people, but I guess that's what the Crucible of Creation and the First World do. Anyway, overall, I think I like 6 more than 4, and I definitely like the elemental cycle. Not sure what to do with that in my games, but I'm definitely interested in using it. Anyway, thanks for the engagement and support as always. I always get something from your messages.
@@TheMythKeeper If you want a Plane of Foam, here's a 1st draft (which is long so please don't feel you have to read it): The Plane of Foam is known to few and visited by even fewer for several reasons: its location on the periphery of existence, the benign and insular nature of its inhabitants, and the lack of meaningful physical resources to exploit. The planar residents, known collectively as Parodika (based on the Greek word for impermanent) tend towards a sort of peaceful chaos - the idea that change is inevitable, but because it's inevitable it need not be rushed. The usual belief is that the temporary nature of life is what gives it value, beauty, and poignancy. Although they are not strictly benevolent, most inhabitants believe in concepts such as patience and redemption as a function of gradual change. On the flip side, they also believe that individuals must constantly prove themselves since past experiences do not define a person, merely influence them. Past malice or benevolence does not serve as a guarantee of similar future behavior to a Parodikan and even well-known associates will typically be judged anew with every encounter. Physically, the plane resembles an ever-churning gradient of layers. Almost all portals bring the rare visitors to the "top" layer which features incredibly large, tenuous bubbles - big enough to house small villages. These great spheres house most of mature population of Parodikans, but they tend to last only a few years on the surface before bursting. As individual bubbles disappear their material is reabsorbed and runs down streams that start the size of footpaths and join to form rivers as mighty as any in the material Universe. As one travels deeper down these ever-shifting paths the bubbles grow smaller, more densely packed, and more resilient. It's unknown if there is a true base to the plane as the foam eventually becomes so dense that it resembles a nearly impenetrable surface of opal known simply as The Wall. It is from The Wall that imperceptibly small new bubbles detach and begin their centuries-long trip upward towards the "top". As they rise the bubbles grow in size until they are the village-sized habitations near the entrances to the plane. A very few expeditions have attempted to delve into this opalescent barrier, but they inevitably fail as the barrier becomes immune to first iron, then adamantium, then non-magical damage, and finally to anything but the most legendary of spells/magical tools. It is believed that only the concentrated power of greater deities, or perhaps implements such as those used to forge whole planes like the First World, could burrow through to the "other side" (if one exists). To date no one has bothered to employ such incredible artifacts or concentrated power to burrow through what is at minimum kilometers of densely packed foam. A popular theory among natives is that the Plane of Foam is actually the barrier surrounding existence, and that another multiverse, or multiple, begin on the other side of the wall. Another theory is that the Plane of Foam protects the multiverse from non-existence, and that if it is ever breached then the multiverse will be unmade until the Wall can repair itself and reality can restart inside the cocoon. The life cycle of a Parodikan begins with an emergence of consciousness in the lower levels of the plane inside bubbles usually ranging from 1/2-2 feet in diameter. Although they have a vague fondness for their birth bubbles, Parodikans feel free to move throughout the plane and often do. It is theorized that as their birth bubble rises and gains size the associated Parodikan similarly matures, but the difficulty of tracking ever moving/merging/dissociating bubbles throughout the vast expanse of the plane makes it functionally impossible to confirm. What is known is that Parodikans do not age and grow at a consistent rate either as a species or even during their individual lifespans. In the most extreme/rare cases a Parodikan may pass through a phase of their life cycle in mere hours, or spend centuries in the same form at the same size. What is common across the species, and what differentiates them from many other outsiders, is the mortality of their individual forms. Unlike many other planar residents, a Parodikan allowed to die of natural causes will eventually rupture and dissolve in a burst of color. Unlike the bubbles of the plane that burst though, there is no visible method of reclamation/recycling as the Parodikan simply disappears. It's unknown if they have true souls, as they do not appear to participate in the Cycle of Souls or end up in Pharasma's court. The only known Lord of the Parodika is Panta Rhei (Greek for "everything flows", and a philosophy of impermanence). She is believed to be the slowest-aging of all the Parodikans, having come into existence in the primordial past of the universe. Unlike most Parodikans she remains exclusively in her birth bubble, slowly gaining size with it as they both rise over the course of untold millennia towards the surface. Even though she has lived for so long she is only considered a humanoid of Tiny size residing in bubble just barely large enough now for a single Large-sized visitor. Her size belies her vast power and experience, but her isolation and contemplative nature mean she is incredibly rarely, if ever, challenged. Her tenets are patience, enjoyment of the moment, and calm when facing loss. She embodies the philosophical ideals that everything changes and eventually ends, so it's important to enjoy what is good while it happens. She views those who attempt to avoid changes/ends (either by immortality or by preserving knowledge, structures, etc) as misguided, but without malice - like a mother watching their child building sand castles or claiming they'll never grow up.
@@ColinGrym - Okay this is legitimately fantastic. I'm totally using the Plane of Foam in a future game. I love the graded layers of foam especially, from the big bubbles to the ultra-dense base layer. I do think you need a weird subculture of toga-wearing foam-party enthusiasts somewhere on the plane though...
This was really cool. I've enjoyed the 6 elements system ever since I first encountered Jim Butcher's Codex Alera. I like that they actually found a way to include the Taoism/Wushu philosophy of how the elements interact with each other even though Air isn't an element in that system. I'm also happy because this makes Pathfinder more unique and different from DND, which has become an ever more important goal.
It’s so good to check these two out, especially with the new Rage of Elements sourcebook. This is going to beg to be really useful to explore. Happy new year everyone! Thanks for the vid.
Love to see them trying to make the Greek four element system compatible with the Chinese five phase system. Interestingly enough in real life, the _hui ren_ , which is to say Muslim Chinese with Confucian educations, tried to do the same thing centuries ago. They tended to prioritize the four elements, with wood and metal as byproducts, whereas Pathfinder's new version prioritizes the five phases and their creation/destruction cycles. Again, this is probably to distinguish itself from D&D, but it's still cool. Also, looking forward to whenever you cover Tien Xia when the 2E guidebook is released.
Was a bit skeptical about 2 new elemental planes, but it's interesting, especially with the inspiration from Chinese instead of western alchemy, with the whole cycle of feeding and countering.
I really like the inclusion of plant and metal. More interesting creatures to use, and the exotic landscapes are fun. A lot of the remaster stuff in general I am liking as they are getting rid of some of the constraints, looking at you wizard schools and druidic metal. The last one is actual kind of cool, since druids no longer are anti-metal by default, one that cares about metals as there are lots of naturally occuring metals in the world. Laudinmio I really like and could be a great addition for an alchemist pantheon that also includes Casandalee, Brigh, Shelyn, and other artifice divine beings including some of the the empyrion lords and the primordial inevitables. Likewise a peasant pantheon that focuses on the home and family, and farming and gardening I think could include Verilorn as a deity that is venerated. I think including the elemental lords as part of pantheons is just a neat thing, Sairazul screams typical dwarven that I feel she would be part of their faith, especially for druidic dwarves.
Yeah it definitely feels like as part of Remaster there is a concerted effort to give Pathfinder some additional identity and separate it a little from its D&D roots
I do like the Capritellix, finally I can unleash the villainous Quintessons from G1 Transformers on some poor pack of players, assuming I ever run Pathfinder 2e :P
had to google the name, a Linnaeus's flower clock - an idea that you could make a clock out of flowers would be perfect for the plane of wood, I'd expect Verilorn to have an entire millennia sized calendar system in his garden.
Perfect timing! I just started running Kingmaker in 2e and one of my players is a kineticist with the wood element. Your videos are great, keep up the good work!
So you've probably noticed if you've watched a few of my vids that there isn't enough Pathfinder official artwork to make up a whole video. I sourced most of the metal art from Mirrodin which is why it looks familiar. I figure its close enough ;-)
It is interesting how in both schemes they omitted an element, air and electricity respectively took second priority, and in fact air and electricity are closely related according to the elemental tradition of spells in D&D and PF1E....sorry about my bad english
Something that Paizo changed in the Chinese 5 Phases (what the Elemental Cycle is based on) is how Wood actually contains air and lightning in the real world philosophy. Wind is seen by the waving of trees (or leaves blowing around) and lightning striking trees. So, in the 5 Phases, Wood is the power of wind and lightning (as seen in Asian games). Additionally, Wood is the embodiment of life, which is both breath and energy - again, wind and lightning. But I feel like they omitted this because it would be quite powerful that Wood has access to everything Air can do.
This gives so many ideas, yet so many questions. While watching this, I had the realisation: Mercurials basically are Dori from Finding Nemo. Though here it is due to their ever shifting nature instead of bad memory. With the wood creatures I immediately wondered: is the tree stump shown in the Art just as a visual reminder that "hey, these may look like a normal creature, but they are made of wood", or is it a literal, physical feature of these creatures? I mean, it makes some sense for something like Rowan Twins, but with others, like the Painted Stag, the description made it sound more like "apart from being made of wood and the painted swirls on it, this looks like a normal stag". So are they free, or physically bound to a tree stump, so even as they move, it is more of a "projection", while the stump below them moves? (Does that make sense?) Or are they similar to Dryads, that they can move freely, but are bound to a specific tree (stump), and have to stay within a certain radius to it to stay healthy? Also, I think there was a fungal army thingy? As I read about it, basically my first thought was "hm, these would be pretty neat to embody Clones, if you were to reenact the Star Wars story in Pathfinder. When I described some of the new items we got in Rage of Elements to some of my Players, they immediately went on to (mostly in jest) plan out using some of these, namely combining the _Fossil Fragment (Brontosaurus Phalange)_ and the _Sandcastle,_ creating a summonable, walking Battle Platform in our upcoming Kingmaker campaign XD With the Planar Skiff, my immediate thought was, that you could easily reflavour it to look something like the Nautilus (from The League of Incredible Gentlemen) or use it like the Lady o' War from Divinity: Original Sin ll.
I would love to be part of a campaign that takes place in the Plane of Wood. Helping it recover from the invasion offers plenty of great story opportunities.
I imagine after Rage we'll get some APs that enter into these realms, and I'm sure that PF Society will do something with them as well in the next couple years.
Now I am imagining a land infused with and has a close connection with planes of metal and wood, whose people utilize the netherworld for nearly everything from magics to architecture, and whom one of their gods is a crimson sky dragon with two mouths, a blue gem on its forehead, huge bat like wings on a serpentine body, and whose divinity while distinct and separate is also apart of a greater divinity known as the Creator of Light. This deity known simply as The Sky Dragon is a judge of the mighty and so is a symbol of just rulership. The Sky Dragon is naturally associated with the heavens and storms and so places important to it are tied heavily to the plane of air thus magic making it technically three elemental planes that is intrinsically tied to and infused by. Okay yes this place is heavily inspired by Yugioh, but come on it would probably serve as a nice setting for a few adventures. Oh and this land is seated next to an Asian inspired land with deep ties and associations with stars and starlight, the deep sea, snow and blanket white, and dreams. All of which are serene until disturbed where they become quite tempestuous. These two lands have only recently begun to interact due to geological barriers and the energies of their respective lands.
@@TheMythKeeper now that I have written it out I kinda want it to be an official setting. Not quite sure if I am full of myself for thinking that. And I just found the grammatical errors in what I have written.
Honestly I think if Ferrumnestra had been a 1e deity she would have been. I suspect (though I'm not totally sure about this) that Rust Monsters, like the word Drow, are WotC IP, conferred to Pathfinder via the OGL. With the move to the ORC license in Remaster I don't think it will be explicitly stated, but I think Rust Monsters may never be referenced again... Just a thought.
Yes. Varisia / New Thassilon (which is where the Mordant Spire is located) was my very first region deep dive, and as such it wasn't quite as detailed as subsequent deep dives. I'm planning on doing a Varisia and New Thassilon Part 2 where I'll do more of a gazetteer and talk about some of the points of interest in the territories beyond the four big cities. I'll provide more coverage on the Mordant Spire in that video.
Fantastic! I am running a monthly game that I am taking to the mordant spire and there just isn't a lot out there, at least not in one place. Looking forward to it! @@TheMythKeeper
@@Teap35 - I should also add that I have probably 10 or more videos before Varisia P2 is scheduled, so if you're party is headed there now, you may get there before the video is out. 😭
With the planes being reworked, is it known if petitimers for the heavens and hells are more based on grneral philosophy then alignment, since alignment was done awat with, or is it philosophy plus holy/unholy? Or unknown so far?
I believe it will be based on general philosophy going forward. As remaster settles into its new normal I'll do some updates to these Planes videos accordingly
Not mentioned but I assume that via Elemental plane of wood would use a lot of wind instruments don't know why that just seems property me also probably drums that makes me wonder like all the different element types like what music would they use Cadillac how I know someone did it where it was like what all the races uses like they're kind of how they make their food it was like goblins use a lot of fermentation and pickling that kind of stuff interests me as a chef
Leshy's, like gnomes, originate in the First World. I think there are breeds of Leshy's in the Plane of Wood, but they arrived later, and weren't native to that realm.
@@TheMythKeeper so they just recently came from came from first world? Or already were here for long time? My gm just have some problems with them and idea that such weird race with no history, not just became New ancestry, but became common.
@@orliag218 - They were part of the same migration that brought the gnomes to Golarion, so they've been here since the Age of Anguish. However, they are no more 'common' than other forest fey, including Satyrs, Dryads and so on. The only reason they are a 'common' ancestry, in game terms, is less about their abundance and more about their respective power level. Effectively a "Common" race just means that they are a 'well-balanced' ancestry, of roughly equivalent power level to a halfling or gnome. Versus a dryad, which has much more powerful natural abilities. They have been here all along, and are not more common in 2E as in 1E afaik.
Also worth noting that different GMs will feel differently about ancestries based on the tone they want for their games. Your GM might feel Leshy is a 'sillier' ancestry and may not like to have such a creature in his game. If so, consider explaining how your Leshy will be rooted in his world and will be a more earnest character. And maybe avoid having a big strawberry for a head (as awesome as that might look).
@@robfrank3423 Omg! RU-vid scrambled my message replies. I meant to reply that to someone who was making a settlers of Catan reference and trading wood for ore. I wonder what I posted under his message? Sorry my original reply was lost, but yes there should be new elemental dragons. I plan to do a Dragons P3 video when we get the additional new dragons in Remaster to kind of sum everything up in one place.