Yeah, the rules have changed without question. The mana comes from the land now, but by the same measure, the kami now seem to inhabit the land itself. Drink too deeply of the mana there and you apparently disturb the beings whose existence is tied to it.

So, in some ways, all the kami have become similar to the Genju.

Thanks so much for commenting!


Don't worry, I fully intend to finish up this guide. But it's obviously a huge undertaking, and I also need time to solidify the image of the plane on my head. I'm going to work on it in increments so that I can take the time to make a guide that does Solphos justice.


Solphosian alchemists still use mana, but they don't think of it the same way we Dominarian mages do. To them mana is a resource that comes from the reaction of magical materials, which we would think of as mana rocks and moxen. I'll touch on this more in the magic section.

Updated with dossiers for Kardiapolis, Kreopolis and Furopolis.

This is an interesting spin on post-apocalyptic fantasy. You've used your apocalypse as a catalyst for progression versus regression.

I don't have a lot to say about this update, but I really like the details of this plane. It's mad science, but it feels much more fleshed out than the slapstick of the Izzet or Simic. Each city has a lot of interesting space to explore with stories, and there's lots of reasons for 'walkers to want to visit.

I'm excited to see more.

Thank you!

Updated with Neopolis, the Dark Lands, and the first half of Creatures.

Updated with more of Creatures.

...Alright I need to get Raleris onto this plane so he can encounter the carnivorous hell Beebles.

Things you were never quite expecting to say?

Yeah I honestly would not have thought of putting "carnivorous hell" in front of "Beebles."

I like this plane.

I never even knew Soplphos had a PW guide! Looks like I know what to read next, Snowcrash! Sorry CKY, but you just can't outwrite Neal Stephenson. I am interested in this though.
Could you post links to the Solphos short stories on here too? I lost track of the stories at some point and never knew where to pick them up.

Unfortunately, I lost most of the Fool's Gold Diaries entries as well. There's a summary in the Fool's Gold set archives that you can read if you want.

A small update with the last part of Creatures.

I've been pretty busy, so updates on this will come slowly. If you're itching for more, try looking at my YMtC sets Solphos, Fool's Gold and Renaissance, which are all set on the same plane. There's a lot of names and flavor text snippets that bring the world to life.

An even smaller update with the first part of Science and Magic.

Added a new section of Science and Magic about the animus. Also linked the two dossiers I wrote about planeswalkers from Solphos, as a placeholder for their section to come in the Planeswalker's Guide.

CKY, I have finally gotten to this. I want to start off by saying two things:

Thing the First: I'm really sorry it took me so long to read this. As I've said elsewhere, my time is limited, and planes are usually last on my reading list. That said, you were kind enough to read and comment on my plane Thorneau, and I should have returned the favor sooner than this. So I'm sorry.

Thing the Second: You have clearly put a ton of thought and work into this, and I just want to say that it's an impressive undertaking you have started. I haven't looked into the cards yet, but I know that's yet MORE work you've put into this. I know you and I have interacted once in a great while back on the old YMTC boards, and I've always had a lot of respect for you and your creative endeavors, and Solphos is a great example of that. So thank you for your work, and for sharing it with us!

Anyway, on to Solphos! Let me start off by saying that, in general, I'm not a fan of high science and advanced technology in fantasy settings. However, if done well, they usually start to grow on me. For example, I was not in favor of guns in Jakkard at first, and now it's one of my favorite M:EM settings. And while there are facets of this plane I have not yet fully embraced, there are several elements that are already tripping ideas in my mind for possible stories.

I really like the way you play with the goblin stereotypes here without going all Mercadia on us. I think you're walking a really effective tightrope there. I also really like Mutants as a full tribe here. It makes excellent sense for the setting, and I think it affords tremendous narrative potential. I like your constructed creatures, and I really like your demonic creatures as tears in reality, that's really cool. I am really not sold on the angels and archons, though, again because of my predisposition against high technology. Also, naturally, I love the concept of "evil beebles." That's just glorious.

I'm pretty interested in your characterizing of magic in the world. I find it odd that the sulfur, mercury and natron are the Major elements, while our four sacred elements are the minor. That's an interesting inversion. I also found it odd that you have earths and airs, but you went with fluids instead of waters. Just out of curiosity, was there a reason for that decision?

I did notice that nearly all of your history of the planes is less than five years old. Not that we need a ton of ancient stuff, of course, but I found it a little odd that it was skimmed over so much.

Well, that's what I've got for now. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know, but overall, I think this is some really good work. Oh, and I would be remise if I didn't mention the cool "Solphos" title you made. Good stuff.

Thank you for taking the time to comment, Raven. I really appreciate it.


Mission accomplished!


Everything in Solphosian alchemy is inspired by real-life alchemy. The European alchemists really believed that sulfur, mercury and salt (which I called natron) were the three most basic elements that defined chemical reactions.

For the "earths, fluids and airs" thing, I must have missed it. A consequence of writing story snippets and flavor text in bits and pieces... but that can be spun into a story too. Maybe it's careful scientific terminology because not all fluids contain elemental water. Maybe it's grandfathered terminology that some upstart academics are petitioning to change. Who knows?


Most of the history is in the last five years because that's the timeframe that Solphos block is set in, and so that's the timeframe that I've given the most thought to. If I tried to chronicle the entire millennia-long history of the plane it would never be finished.


Thank you!

Updated with the complete Science and Magic article.