Beyond Countless Doorways: A d20 Book of Planes (Sword & Sorcery)

Rating:
Summary: Planescape Reunion? Try more like Spelljammer.
Review: Being a devotee of Planescape, I was looking forward to this book, which was supposed to be a reunion on Planescape writers, and comprising of brand-new exciting planes for the planar traveller to enjoy.. Sadly, it was a disappointment. The first chapter was pretty good, with its discussion on planar connections and planar travel. However, when he got to the planes, each were lacking. None feel like they should be a plane; they all felt like they should be a planet that a Spelljammer campaign might visit. Relit a sun which will warm up the plane and allow life to once again flourish? That would work better in Spelljammer.

A place where LN xorns discourage travellers so they won't take away the valuable minerals that are as common as dirt on the plane? That would work better at a Spelljammer planet?

A place where spider-like beings have to fight an invading, powerful ant-like beings? Once again, that's not a plane, that's a planet for a Spelljammer crew to visit.

Add to this a lack of crunchy bits like new feats, spells, etc., and you have a mediocre book. If it was a Spelljammer book, it would rate a 4, or may a 5 due to a dirth of material. But as a planer guide, which has no planar flavour whatsoever, it ranks its 3, which would have been a 2 save for its worthiness as an unintentional Spelljammer supplement.

Rating:
Summary: Countless Adventure Possibilities
Review: Steven Soderburgh once said "If you can get Don Cheadle in your movie, hire him". My opinion has always been "If Wolfgang Baur wrote it, buy it". His adventures & supplements, all the way back to "Doom of Daggerdale" and the original "Al-Qadim" supplements, have always been amongst the strongest in the genre. This book is no exception. It provides expanded rules (rather than duplicating the DM Guide) on travelling & adventuring in and through various planes. It introduces new, unique monsters and civilizations, as well as the prerequisite spells, feats and magic items. It introduces interesting new planes that could be the center of a whole high-level/epic campaign: I especially liked the "Lizard Kingdoms" and the "Gardens of Yragon". However, like any supplement with multiple authors, the various settings are uneven in originality and execution (the various "Hell" planes were a disappointment), but overall, very well done. The settings provided are various and original enough to provide for hundreds of adventures and dozens of campaigns.