Planes of Chaos was a boxed set

Boxed set

A box set is a compilation of various musical recordings, films, television programs, or other collection of related items that are contained in a box.-Music box sets:...

 for the Planescape

Planescape

Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...

 campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

fantasy role-playing game.

Contents

Planes of Chaos is an expansion set for the Planescape

Planescape

Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...

 campaign setting which details the five chaotic

Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, alignment is a categorization of the ethical and moral perspective of people, creatures and societies....

 Outer Plane

Outer Plane

In the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, an Outer Plane is one of a number of general types of planes of existence. They can also be referred to as godly planes, spiritual planes or divine planes. The Outer Planes are home to beings such as deities and otherworldly creatures such as...

s: Arborea

Arborea (Dungeons & Dragons)

In Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy role-playing game, Arborea or more fully, the Olympian Glades of Arborea, is a chaotic good-aligned plane of existence...

, Ysgard

Ysgard

Ysgard is the Outer Plane of Chaotic Neutral / Chaotic Good alignment in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It is also called Asgard, Gladsheim or The Heroic Domains...

, Limbo

Limbo (Dungeons & Dragons)

In Dungeons and Dragons, fantasy role-playing game, Limbo or more fully, the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo, is a chaotic neutral-aligned plane of existence...

, Pandemonium

Pandemonium (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the standard cosmology of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Pandemonium is the Outer plane where Chaotic Evil and Chaotic Neutral petitioners are sent after death. Pandemonium is a large, complex cavern that never ends. Compounding this problem, howling winds drive most of its...

, and the Abyss

Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Abyss or more fully, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, is a chaotic evil-aligned plane of existence. It is one of a number of alignment-based Outer Planes that form part of the standard Dungeons & Dragons cosmology, used in the Planescape...

. The boxed set contains the "Travelogue," a 48-page player's guide; "The Book of Chaos," a 128-page book for the Dungeon Master

Dungeon Master

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...

; "Chaos Adventures," a 32-page book which outlines three adventures for each of the five planes; a 32-page "Monstrous Supplement" which described 15 new creatures ; and one poster for each plane.

Reception

Keith H. Eisenbeis reviewed Planes of Chaos for White Wolf magazine, rating it a 2 out of 5 overall. He felt that while the art on most of the recent TSR products was a most attractive feature, the art of Planes of Chaos was "relatively abundant but uninspired and simplistic" and that the color sides of the map posters were too abstract. He also found the constant insertion of the setting's fictional slang terms irritating. He also found it disappointing that the authors seemed to have purposely pulled the product away from historical mythology in many cases, despite the wealth of material available to draw on from real-world mythology and previous D&D works. Eisenbeis did find that the alterations of the core rules for magic and combat on each plane were easy to understand and use, but cautioned that the task of running a balanced long-term campaign may be difficult. He noted that the essentially immutable nature of the planes – given that each plane always remains true to its nature, apparently nullifying or rendering characters' efforts useless – made the process of adventuring in them unlikely. He also felt that adventuring in these planes would be "highly improbable or obviously contrived" for low- and mid-level characters, because designing a situation in which such characters can accomplish something and important and survive would undermine the immensity and power of the planes. Eisenbeis concluded the review by stating, "Information presented on the planes is not extensive, art is simplistic and the potential for long-term adventuring, except for high-level characters, seems limited."