The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I'm going to be upfront with you. I hate TSR, and I loathe AD&D. I must be one of those few gamers out there without some sort of nostalgic feeling towards a "good ol' hack 'n' slash with some orcs and elves." None of the AD&D settings ever did anything for me, until Dark Sun came along, and even there were some central flaws in the game (like the proliferation of psychic powers). The only thing TSR has ever published which I have loved without reserve is Planescape - and of course they canned it. Bastards.

Anyway, I just though I should make it abundantly clear that I despise AD&D and I am drastically allergic to the system, so don't expect me to make much mention of it in this review. While reading The Inner Planes, I made a great effort to pretend that it had nothing to do with AD&D - thankfully, I almost succeeded. The rules information was kept to a wonderful minimum. What was there dealt more with some guidelines for the conditions in the Inner Planes, since most of the denizens were covered in the last Monstrous Compendium for the Planescape game line. Something like just how many hit points you lose per minute on the Negative Energy plane is something that can be easily brushed over.

Enough of my bitter bile for AD&D, on to the supplement itself.

how it appears

Wrapped in a beautiful cover by the esteemed Brom, The Inner Planes looks like most of the other Planescape supplements there were published near the end of the game's life. That is to say, the writing it good and entertaining (especially the amusing Slaad Xanxost) while the art is almost universally sub-standard. Since DiTerlizzi left the line, TSR had not managed to get one solid artist for interior artwork. The Inner Planes, however, is one of the better of the non-DiTerlizzi books actually. Not all of the art is really crappy, and some of it is actually pretty nice.

The layout is fine and functional. Things are organized well and reasonably easy to find. There is no index (other than for referencing which books the various monsters and animals have appeared in, but the incredibly detailed table of contents makes up for it.

the meat of things

Somehow I doubt that anyone will be buying the book just to put on a shelf and look at, however, so just what is in it? A fair amount, actually.

Starting with a general elemental primer with some generic rules for the size of elemental pockets, a refresher on elemental geography and physics as well as a nice short little bit on philosophy (although the unique "factions" of the Inner Planes are not detailed here, there are in the previously mentioned Monstrous Compendium). After that, each of the "basic" elemental planes gets 20 pages all to themselves. While there were a few minor quibbles here and there (like having temperature, pressure and light variances in the Elemental Plane of Water) but those are purely personal taste issues. Following that are the two energy planes (each getting 4 quick pages) and the four paraelemental planes (each getting 6 pages of their own). The eight quasielemental planes round the book out, getting 4 pages each.

While these lengths may seems amazingly small, a surprising amount of information has been crushed into there, including the ever-important descriptions of the planes, as well as some logical conclusions as to the conditions there, and the "laws of physics" on each plane. Some planes have gravity, some don't. Some have air, some don't. Some are hospitable, some aren't. But they are all interesting - even the Plane of Ooze.

Furthermore, the book continues the proud Planescape tradition of tossing out plot ideas and setting anecdotes left and right - a mark of a great game like Delta Green, Unknown Armies or Kindred of the East. This book is well-written and full of great ideas, a must-have for any Planescape fan. It's the mention of things like the mention of rocks on the Paraelemental Plane of Magma that causes lesions, hair loss, and bleeding gums or the specially-scented gases of the Paraelemental Plane of Smoke that really make the book for me. No other Planescape book has given me so many ideas for how to work commerce and industrialization into the game, making it more than high fantasy, into something more like a surrealist reflection of our world.

so do I like AD&D now?

Nope. But do I still love Planescape? You bet. The game is definitely one of the best games ever published, and The Inner Planes is one of the better supplements for it. Filled with useful information, it is worth getting, even the price is lower than for most TSR products.

- Derek Guder
- Kintaro Oe
- kabael
- kabael's netbook
- the McGuffin Group

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Inner Planes
Author: Monte Cook and William W. Connors Category: game Company/Publisher: TSR Line: Planescape Cost: $19.95 Page count: 128 ISBN: 0-7869-0736-3 SKU: 2634 Capsule Review by Derek Guder on 12/27/99. Genre tags: Fantasy	I'm going to be upfront with you. I hate TSR, and I loathe AD&D. I must be one of those few gamers out there without some sort of nostalgic feeling towards a "good ol' hack 'n' slash with some orcs and elves." None of the AD&D settings ever did anything for me, until Dark Sun came along, and even there were some central flaws in the game (like the proliferation of psychic powers). The only thing TSR has ever published which I have loved without reserve is Planescape - and of course they canned it. Bastards. Anyway, I just though I should make it abundantly clear that I despise AD&D and I am drastically allergic to the system, so don't expect me to make much mention of it in this review. While reading The Inner Planes, I made a great effort to pretend that it had nothing to do with AD&D - thankfully, I almost succeeded. The rules information was kept to a wonderful minimum. What was there dealt more with some guidelines for the conditions in the Inner Planes, since most of the denizens were covered in the last Monstrous Compendium for the Planescape game line. Something like just how many hit points you lose per minute on the Negative Energy plane is something that can be easily brushed over. Enough of my bitter bile for AD&D, on to the supplement itself. how it appears Wrapped in a beautiful cover by the esteemed Brom, The Inner Planes looks like most of the other Planescape supplements there were published near the end of the game's life. That is to say, the writing it good and entertaining (especially the amusing Slaad Xanxost) while the art is almost universally sub-standard. Since DiTerlizzi left the line, TSR had not managed to get one solid artist for interior artwork. The Inner Planes, however, is one of the better of the non-DiTerlizzi books actually. Not all of the art is really crappy, and some of it is actually pretty nice. The layout is fine and functional. Things are organized well and reasonably easy to find. There is no index (other than for referencing which books the various monsters and animals have appeared in, but the incredibly detailed table of contents makes up for it. the meat of things Somehow I doubt that anyone will be buying the book just to put on a shelf and look at, however, so just what is in it? A fair amount, actually. Starting with a general elemental primer with some generic rules for the size of elemental pockets, a refresher on elemental geography and physics as well as a nice short little bit on philosophy (although the unique "factions" of the Inner Planes are not detailed here, there are in the previously mentioned Monstrous Compendium). After that, each of the "basic" elemental planes gets 20 pages all to themselves. While there were a few minor quibbles here and there (like having temperature, pressure and light variances in the Elemental Plane of Water) but those are purely personal taste issues. Following that are the two energy planes (each getting 4 quick pages) and the four paraelemental planes (each getting 6 pages of their own). The eight quasielemental planes round the book out, getting 4 pages each. While these lengths may seems amazingly small, a surprising amount of information has been crushed into there, including the ever-important descriptions of the planes, as well as some logical conclusions as to the conditions there, and the "laws of physics" on each plane. Some planes have gravity, some don't. Some have air, some don't. Some are hospitable, some aren't. But they are all interesting - even the Plane of Ooze. Furthermore, the book continues the proud Planescape tradition of tossing out plot ideas and setting anecdotes left and right - a mark of a great game like Delta Green, Unknown Armies or Kindred of the East. This book is well-written and full of great ideas, a must-have for any *Planescape* fan. It's the mention of things like the mention of rocks on the Paraelemental Plane of Magma that causes lesions, hair loss, and bleeding gums or the specially-scented gases of the Paraelemental Plane of Smoke that really make the book for me. No other Planescape book has given me so many ideas for how to work commerce and industrialization into the game, making it more than high fantasy, into something more like a surrealist reflection of our world. so do I like AD&D now? Nope. But do I still love Planescape? You bet. The game is definitely one of the best games ever published, and The Inner Planes is one of the better supplements for it. Filled with useful information, it is worth getting, even the price is lower than for most TSR products. - Derek Guder - Kintaro Oe - kabael - kabael's netbook - the McGuffin Group Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)