Planescape Campaign Setting/Books and 4 Poster Maps (Ad&D 2nd Edition) [ペーパーバック]

"So, primer, you come from Ferun or from Krynn...well berk, you're a clueless. You can't even imagine all that awaits you behind that portal. Let me show you the dark part of it, if you step through that whirling misty door, you'll be flung to Sigil, city of doors, and the chant is: that is only a drop in the sea of the multiverse. -Thuruk Hal, Guardian of the MercyKillers"

This is what attends you buying the Planescape box set: infinite worlds, extremely original landscapes, strange "planar" way of talking and much more. If you have played the classical AD&D GreyHawk, Krynn or Forgotten Realms and at the end got kind of tired of the usual feudal dragon-slaying stuff this is what you need.

Inside the box you will find 4 maps (the only thing I didn't particularly like, cause they're not quite detailed) and 4 books which contain: 1) A guide to all the planes (Baator, Mount Celestia, Mechanus...etc), where the powers (i.e. the different pantheon gods) dwell; 2)The planar races your PC's can play (bariaurs, tieflings, githzerai) other than the normal prime races (human, elf, etc); 3)A guide to Sigil, a city that is located in the heart of the planes, known as the "city of doors" as it is full of planar portals that can zip your party from the city to whichever plane your DM wants to send you to; 4)A guide to Factions in Sigil(factions are kind of roleplaying kits that will characterize your PCs); 5)A Monster appendix regarding planar fiends and friends; 6)A couple of adventures to work out the beginning of your planar campaign; 7)A glossary regarding the strange slang planars use (words like: primer, clueless, berk, deader); 8) Thorough explanation of how the multiverse works and much more.

The best thing of this setting is that you will finally treat with what you used to see in your usual "primer" campaigns as godly or "too powerful", this will be a boost of originality for long time players and DM's. The setting is very "role playing", its not a just a normal hack'n'slash dungeon slaying campaign. "Planescape" made me go back to mastering.

"So, primer, you have 2 ways of getting your leatherhead to the planes: go through that portal or wait till somebody puts you on the dead book ...what are you going to do, berk?"

My opinion: buy the box, go through the portal!

If you're playing a (normal) prime-material, hack-and-slash campaign, and as the DM you'd like to be more familiar with the multiverse, the Planescape boxed set provides everything you'll need and a whole lot more. A Manual of the Planes for 2nd Edition. If, on the other hand, you're up for a challenge in roleplaying, problem solving, and mid to high-level hack-and-slash, you've found the means to restore wonder to your gaming. Planescape is literally all-encompassing, so there's too much information for a boxed set, but this campaign setting gives one the framework on which he can build a concept of the multiverse, play some rough adventures and incorporate the information available in the campaign expansions. If your campaign just needs the occasional sorjourn into the unknown, or you need the ultimate metropolis(Sigil), the boxed set is all you'll ever need, but once you've gotten it, you'll realize that the planes offer too much of the adventure and excitement that got you gaming in the first place for you to pass up. The best selling point for the campaign setting is this: Low level to mid level PC's thrown into this setting will immediately learn that they can't overcome every situation with combat. (When the shopkeeper is a 14th level wildmage with fiendish lineage, that first level thief PC may think twice about shoplifting!)

Planescape is easily the best campaign setting produced for the AD&D 2nd ed system.
Here's why:It introduces a vast, complex new set of worlds that the offers several hundred possible campaigns for any group of players, be they new and starting in Sigil (Planescape's home base) or hardened veterans, looking to combat the forces of evil beyond those of their home world.
If you want a gothic horror campaign, then Pandemonium, the Abyss, and Sigils streets should prove more than enough material for you.
If you want a world of chivalry and classic good vs evil, then Baator and Mount Celestia will fit your needs.
Classic hack and slash, in the Greyhawk tradition? Try the Outlands.
To put it simply... It's all here.

The major downpoints to this setting, however, come mostly in the sheer vastness of its scope--ie, in the amount of material which was produced and sold for the setting.
Although this boxed set gives the DM all the information he needs to run a PS campaign, it is rather sketchy on the planes themselves, including the creatures that inhabit the planes.
(Most of these nasties can be found in old AD&D 1st ed texts or in the Planescape MC appendices vol. 1-3.) Instead, this particular boxed set focuses more on Sigil and those things which set the Planescape world(s) apart from other gaming settings.
In order to get full information on all the planes, 3 (!) additional boxed sets are required, as well as 3 seperate soft bound books (all of which are out of print). Unfortunately, the last I heard, the Planescape MC appendices are out of print, as well.
This is a wonderful setting for your PCs if you have the time to create new worlds from a one page description (thankfully, there is enough material in Sigil to keep everyone happy, especially with the Faction War adventure--sold seperately *sigh*) or if you have the time and money to hunt down and buy these increasingly rare boxed set accessories.