It is weird that this was never adressed in WotI.
Havard
I think there are a lot of matching with the Beastlands of Planescape setting.
I also know from the Shaman handbook that Spirits are not real ones, but forces living in the Prime Material Plane and that there isn't any Spirit World.
So I found it confuing. Is there a real Spirit World? Could it be an ethereal demplane?
And what about the "place" one can reach climbing the World Mountain?
Gaz mixes spirits, undeads, evil spirits, animal spirits...
Last time my players brought their characters in the World Spirit, I sent them in Krigala (Beastlands). It was a good choice. Players don't even know the name of the place they were in... they think it was the Spirit World
The Spirit World doesn't strike me as a typical example of a demiplane or Outer Plane. It should be connected closely to Prime. If not the Ethereal, then it should be something very close to it.
Havard
It's been a while since I've read through Bruce's article on Limbo but I don't think this possibility goes against anything there. Can anyone confirm?
I tend to view it as another Transitive Plane, one separate from the Ethereal and Astral Planes, but which has connections to the Astral. It also provides access to other worlds, in a manner similar to how the 3E Plane of Shadow functions (I don't use a Plane of Shadow IMC)- generally such worlds are accessed via dolmens and stonehenges.
Also of note, in the cosmology I use, is that the Spirit World is a transitional plane connecting the Normal and Nightmare Material Planes.
One thing about the Spirit Plane is that, again, IIRC, in Gaz12 it mentions that certain types of undead (notably, spirits) originate in the Spirit World/Plane, but that is contradicted by the later creation of Limbo in the VotPA articles, which ties the undead to Limbo (an Outer Plane) instead. And of course, both versions don't seem to work terribly well with certain types of undead (the haunts) which are closely connected to the Ethereal (with their ectoplasmic nets).
That last bit, too, doesn't seem to work too well with 3E cosmology, which ties ectoplasmic manifestations to the Astral Plane, rather than the Ethereal.
I'm just making things more complicated, aren't I?
I prefer to view the Spirit World as a secluded part of the Ethereal, one that cannot easily be reached, unless you are familiar with the Ethengarian shamanism. True Ethengarian spirits have existed there and on the Prime long before the Ethengars as a people existed and as long as or before the immortals existed. Ethengar shamans over time learned of them and the Spirit World and over time, they came to understand their place in the world. I'm not sure I explained that clearly
In short, I used the simplest connection for the conversions, but as with anything, DMs can change it to suit their campaign.
Spirit World = Ethereal Plane
Limbo = Astral Plane
Different methods of travelling/different states of being could explain the differences in how the planes are perceived by travellers.
Havard
I've always had the spiritual world and Limbo be the same. Anyone see a reason they shouldn't?
There is, but I can't recall what it is offhand. I only know because I used to make them the same myself, but then when I was reading about Limbo in Dragon, I realized that the two (as written) were incompatible. I'll try and see if I can recall why that was when I get home and can check my Dragon issues.
[EDIT- To clarify, what I'm saying is that- IIRC- there is a specific reason(s) for the two not to work under the descriptions of the planes as written. If you're willing to tweak the "canon" descriptions, there is no reason they shouldn't be compatible, and in fact, I think actually do work pretty well together.
Of course, I may be mistaking one of my intentions that was incompatible with the two being incompatible, so my point may be moot.]
The Spirit World equals the Ethereal Plane and Limbo equals the Astral Plane.
The differences in appearance and rules are explained by differences in perception depending on how you get there (ie whether you are dead or not).
If nothing else it would be a good way of streamlining and shrinking the cosmology should that be interesting...
Håvard
Maybe I'm just weird, but I've always considered Mystara's cosmology as a Mystaran sage's imperfect and incomplete understanding of the simpler and more accurate Great Wheel cosmology.
The only MAJOR difference betwen the two is the location of the Astral and Ethereal are swapped. Other than that, the plethora of Mystaran planes might simply be different levels of the Great Wheel's outer planes.
This idea is supported by WotI's planar addresses--if you have to go to one plane in order to get to another, you might as well say you have to travel thru level 1 of a plane to get to level 2.
Roger
I believe GAZ12 just used an unidentified outer plane because that fit default D&D cosmology easily. It isn't a problem unless you try and map it to something more fleshed out and constrained, ie basically every other cosmology used in D&D editions.