What to build?

[Numinous]

Alright, here is my thread...  When building a campaign setting, you start with the basic choice, of what do you want to do?  I personally want to make a setting that incorporates several elements...

I want to have the Godswalk scenario, which i'm pretty sure everyone is familiar with...

I want to be able to throw stuff from every splatbook I find into my game...

I want to alter or remove gnomes in my Campaign Setting...

I want a nice setting, that is possibly core only, in which to play simple, but satisfying games...

I want a way to have all of these things in one setting so I can minimize my work...

I also want to maintain as much of the original D&d material that I pay for as possible in all my settings...

Now, what I want to know, is can i do this?  Is it possible to incorporate all of these elements into one setting?  
I'm also wondering if it would be ok to put up a "Generica" brand setting on these boards, one where everything is core, by the book, and all is stereotypical D&D...
I know that kitchen sink setings are bad...  But is it so wrong to want to use all the stuff I read, so as to make the books worth the money...

OK, so comments please...

EDIT:  I'm gonna throw in my safety clause here...  anything I decide here is subject to change whenever I feel like it...

EDIT 2:  Made bigger and darker for ElDo's benefit

[Raelifin]

Heh, this is why I don't buy splatbooks anymore. ;)

[Kalos Mer]

It is probably wrong if you want to use all the stuff you read just to avoid wasting money.  You need to have a more personal investment in individual ideas or contributions than simply the financial one.

[Numinous]

Well...  I was asking...  I guess I'll just make 3 settings then.  An maybe even a few more rough sketches of others...  Dang, this CS building can get so very addicitve...

EDIT: Ok, first order of business is Godswalk.  I need to rebuild the planes in such a manner as to preserve the astral, ethereal, shadow, a vague upper plane(heavens), a vague lower plane(hells), the Prime of course, and the Godspace.  I'm toying with the idea of giving dragons an extraplanar source, but it's just an idea...  

Another idea is to set up the primes in such a manner as to make the four elements correspond to compass directions, so that the farther you travel in a certain direction, the more like that plane it gets.  this would also result in a flat prime, but I have no qualms about that.  Make a vast middle area where the elements combine evenly for the area of general civilization...

[Kalos Mer]

I've actually played in a game that had an idea similar to the second one you're proposing.

The world was oriented on an eight-point compass with the elements and the para-elements.  To the due north was paraelemental ice (water and air), to the farthest south was paraelemental magma (fire and earth), to the East paraelemental ooze was represented in the Great Swamp of Ud, and in the west paraelemental smoke was represented by a blasted plain full of smoking, vaporous geysers which clogged the air.

I think Air was represented by the world having an abrupt cliff halt the land in the north-west, with nothing but occasional solidified cloud kingdoms to end the infinite expanse.  Earth was represented by mountains, fire by a desert that was actually occasionaly on fire, and water of course by a great sea.

[Numinous]

I wasn't actually thinking of doing para-elements too, but the oceans, cliffs, etc. would probably be how I would do it...  Then again, worlds just based on elements are always fun themselves...  But, any idea on how to orient the planes as previously mentioned?

[Kalos Mer]

I would say 'do what you want'.  Your cosmology can take whatever shape that you desire.  I question whether you need Astral, Ethereal AND Shadow, however.  I think you could probably rework it so that magic that draws on any of these draws on a single plane.  Then that plane can be the way to connect to the other worlds - a vague Heaven and a vague Hell are probably sufficient.

[Raelifin]

Why exactly do you need to keep the etheral, astral and shadow planes?

[Numinous]

Well, i don't want to mess with the spells that are affected by the transitive planes, and I am looking into Shadow magic, from the new Tome of Magic book...  Plus, if I use the plane of Shadow properly, I can bring in anything I want through it, as I use it as the gate to parallel primes.  thus, I can mix my campaign settings at will.

[Kalos Mer]

Explain again the reason why you need to make multiple prime worlds?  You said that you had to make three settings, but I don't really understand why.

[Numinous]

I don't really need to make 3 settings, but as of now I have 3 settings which I can flesh out...  I want to focus on Godswalk for now though.  By keeping the plane of shadow present, I can introduce any new material I make or buy by saying, "it came throught the plane of shadow from another world".  I can use the plane to mix settings, if I finish another one and then decide the players should try it out...  Is this clear?  Or am I just making a confusing mess here?

[Kalos Mer]

Alright, I understand that now.  But even if you need Shadow, why do you need Astral and Ethereal, then?

[Numinous]

well, Astral construct wouldn't make much sense without it, and astral projection either.  and almost every teleportation spell uses the ethereal...

EDIT:  I probably could just combine them into one transitive plane, and let all spells affect it...

[CYMRO]

well, Astral construct wouldn't make much sense without it, and astral projection either.  and almost every teleportation spell uses the ethereal...

EDIT:  I probably could just combine them into one transitive plane, and let all spells affect it...

Do it how you best envision it.  If the rules don't fit, change them.  That is what homebrewing is all about.
Get your concept down pat first, then toss anything that is ill-suited to that concept.
As someone said on the other forum, planar travel is overrated.

[Numinous]

Indeed, I begin to see where the over-rated staement comes from...  Ralifin said that, I do believe...  right now, I think I will merely alter everything so that the heavens and hells are connected by the ethereal...  and the existing concepts of both the astral and ethereal will be combined...  The plane of shadow will be largely the same, existing in every shadow in every prime...  alright, planes are fixed...
EDIT:  The Godspace can merely be a demiplane which is inaccessible to mortals.  Now I'm done there...

Now, what else...

EDIT:  Classes...  I think I can do fine if I just stay away from the oriental classes, they're just not fitting in this setting...

Races though...  Now we enter an interesting problem...  i really like adding lots of races, but I'm not sure that's a god idea in this case...