One World: In this model, there are no other planes of existence, but the Material Plane includes places like the bottomless Abyss, the shining Mount Celestia, the strange city of Mechanus, the fortress of Acheron, and so on. All the planes are locations in the world, reachable by ordinary means of travel - though extraordinary effort is required, for example, to sail across the sea to the blessed isles of Elysium.
- Dungeon Master's Guide (p. 44)
The Crossroad Realms are a high-magic fantasy world. Each of the Realms is converted from a Plane of Existence in the Forgotten Realms, and has its own 'personality'. There's lots of stuff here I think is cool, but here's some personal favourites:
- A new student at the Academy Arcane in humble Dawnharbour makes their way to the Library to prepare for their first assignment. The armed and armoured Librarians encourage them to keep a map in case the Library grows or rearranges sections during their visit before they open the portcullis and allow the wondering teen down the stairs, to the The Living Library.
- Incanting a magical ward to shield his human lungs from the endless smoke, a thief ducks through the molten foothills of the Fountains of Creation. When he reaches the lava lake he's looking for, he speaks the word of power that calls his tower - and hoard of ill-gotten gains - to the surface.
- In the depths of the Abyss, in the maddening death-city of Zelatar, in a studio showcasing visceral effigies in the throes of torment, you find the local chapterhouse of the Planeswalkers' Guild.
Your Character
The One World cosmology opens up a lot of options for player characters!
Your Species
All fantasy species exist in the crossroad realms, alongside good old-fashioned humans. Some creatures are found in greater numbers than others. Every species has an ancestral homeland, but it's been a long time since the beginning of the world, and now everyone lives everywhere.
Your Home
Travel between Realms can be done by normal means like walking or sailing a non-magical ship, though it might be a long and arduous journey. Your character doesn't have to be from the Earth-like Realm of Primus; feel free to pick a fantastical outer-realm homeland!
You and the Gods
In base D&D, part of the reason the planes are so hard to get to is that the gods live there, and it messes with game balance if players can easily approach and challenge a god. In the Crossroad Realms, the gods live among their mortal subjects. This changes the way people relate to their deities.
Most gods have a positive relationship with people who care about the same things as them. Being on the mortal side of that is more like being in a fandom than anything else. Temples and holy places are simply places devoted to aspects of a certain god's portfolio. A temple to
Azuth, god of wizards and arcane knowledge, is almost indistinguishable from a normal library.
Chauntea's temples are usually soup kitchens, and a temple to
Milil is most often an art gallery or theatre.
Adventuring Clerics are usually people who are really into a certain god's "fandom" and have received recognition, encouragement, or boons for their pursuits.
The Game Setting
That's it for stuff that relates directly to playing someone who lives in the Realms. But if you're interested in how the cosmology of how the Realms differs from the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk cosmologies they borrow from, then keep reading.
Transitive and Echo Realms
The
Ethereal Plane maintains its function as an alternate mode of transportation, and as a destination for restless spirits, as well as a homeland for ethereal beings such as Phase Spiders and Blink Dogs. It overlaps all the Realms.
The
Astral Sea is this world's outer space, and a suitable setting for games that dip slightly more into Science Fantasy adventures.
Similarly, the echo realms of the
Shadowfell and
Feywild seemed wasted as overlays of the Prime Material alone. In this cosmology, they overlap the entirety of the Realms, though crossings are more common in some places than others. They Fey holds stronger sway in the chaotic and good axes, and the shadow in the lawful and evil axes. In the Fey echo, the Unseelie Court holds sway in the LE corner, while the Seelie court rules the CG corner.
Inner Realms
The "Prime Material Plane"—which, in the Forgotten Realms, is the "normal" world where most adventure happens—is
Primus. Together with the elemental realms of
Ignia,
Terra,
Auria, and
Oceanus comprise the Inner Realms.
The Inner Realms are distinct for their stability and relative neutrality. Being pulled less strongly by the cosmic forces of law, chaos, positivity, and negativity, the Inner Realms seem tame, and their Realm Magic is not as apparent compared to the Outer Realms.
Other Dimensions
Extra dimensions still exist in the Crossroad Realms, though they are harder to reach. The fabled and maddening Far Realm is one such other dimension, as well as the
Feywild,
Shadowfell, and Ethereal planes, though these are anchored to the physical Realms.
In addition, pocket dimensions such as the Domains of Dread, the entire realm of
Carceri (And arguably (
Baator, and the retreats of various powerful wizards are considered extradimensional.
Gods, Divine Sparks, and Prayer
In base dnd, gods depend on mortal worship to retain their powers, and clerics petition their gods by praying and performing other acts of worship such as singing or making sacrifices. The Realms throws out this judeo-christian-inspired system altogether in favour of something more familiar from pantheonic myths.
The gods are not dependent on mortal behaviour for their powers, nor are they related to a "divine spark" that can be stolen or removed; they're innate. You can think of the gods as simply being another species.
Rather than prayer, talking to the gods is the same as contacting a celebrity. You probably have to go through their people (clerics) to get clearance, and then you can write a letter, pay a visit, or otherwise make contact with them. Alternatively, you could try to get their attention in a more destructive or dramatic way, like becoming famous, yourself.
Outer Realms & Afterlives
The Outer Realms are affected more extremely by the cosmic axes of positivity/negativity and law/chaos. They also comprise the Edge of the World, bordering on the Realms of Positivity and Negativity—vacuous spaces of pure concept. In the Forgotten Realms, the outer planes are far-off otherworlds that most adventurers could only dream of. In the Crossroad Realms, you can just hop an airship and fly right over.
In base D&D, the purpose of the Outer Realms is partly to serve as an afterlife. That second part becomes a bit awkward when the Outer Realms are just a sailing-trip away. Miss your dead loved one? Take a road trip and visit! Just kidding, death is still an end here. But if your dead warrior doesn't go to valhalla, where *do* they go?
What becomes of a mortal soul when it leaves the body varies widely. Some souls reincarnate, either starting life over in an endless cycle or taking a new, eternal form, sometimes as a favored creature of their patron deity. Then, of course, there's the undead. For most, life simply ends unless something—or someone—intervenes.
