Wondering how it works on the macro-level: is each plane like a universe or a dimension or something? Is the collection of all planes a universe or some other type of astral body?
You'll have to be the one to do the worldbuilding to answer that question. There is a semi-standardized cosmology in the form of the Great Wheel. It's talked about at the back of the Player's Handbook (pages 300 to 303, if you're interested). That cosmology is drawn from the Planescape setting and serves the purpose of making that setting one which connects to all parts of the D&D multiverse (with the possible exception of Ravenloft, because Ravenloft is a prison plane; and with the definite exception of Eberron, although Planescape predates Eberron). That's an important part of that cosmology. It was built in order to tell stories that jumped from one place to another. It exists to provide continuity to those stories. It isn't a neutral choice--it's the choice a story teller makes when they want to explain how it's possible to have characters start in Sigil, travel to Curst, visit Baator, sojourn in Carceri, and return to Sigil (yes, that is the plot of Planescape: Torment).
Eberron is a really good counterpoint, because the designer wasn't trying to tell that story. Eberron has planes arranged in an orrery, so that each plane becomes closer or further from the material plane over time. That decision was made for the purpose of explaining how supernatural disasters had shaped the history of that world. It explained, for example, why sometimes a load of demons showed up in the setting, and why that could happen once in a thousand years but also not every day. It was a choice that helped the designers and the storytellers they were writing for explain the kinds of stories that were possible within the setting.
5e does a lot of things very well. Most of the things it does very well are based in the mechanics of the game. Try other systems and you'll discover that D&D has done a superlative job of creating an even playing field. Every class has something to contribute and no class is unable to benefit from the help of others. However, 5e doesn't always do a great job of communicating a vision for the kinds of stories they mean us to tell. I think there's some purposefulness there as well. The lack of guidance is meant to open the way for us to create our own stories. It also addresses the very real problem that has arisen in other systems, where the scope for storytelling became limited by explicit guidance on what kind of stories could be told.
Consider this an opportunity. What kinds of stories do you want to tell? Is there a cosmology that will help you tell those stories? If so, your world can work that way. Fey, Fiends, and Celestials have to come from somewhere. Clerics and Paladins need a way to get their magic. Arcane magic has to work because of something inherent in the setting. But the only right answer is the one which moves you to tell stories.
Wondering how it works on the macro-level: is each plane like a universe or a dimension or something? Is the collection of all planes a universe or some other type of astral body?
nevermind it's a multiverse the weave of magic explained it
weave of magic
The upcoming Spelljammer book will probably have a lot of information about that.
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You'll have to be the one to do the worldbuilding to answer that question. There is a semi-standardized cosmology in the form of the Great Wheel. It's talked about at the back of the Player's Handbook (pages 300 to 303, if you're interested). That cosmology is drawn from the Planescape setting and serves the purpose of making that setting one which connects to all parts of the D&D multiverse (with the possible exception of Ravenloft, because Ravenloft is a prison plane; and with the definite exception of Eberron, although Planescape predates Eberron). That's an important part of that cosmology. It was built in order to tell stories that jumped from one place to another. It exists to provide continuity to those stories. It isn't a neutral choice--it's the choice a story teller makes when they want to explain how it's possible to have characters start in Sigil, travel to Curst, visit Baator, sojourn in Carceri, and return to Sigil (yes, that is the plot of Planescape: Torment).
Eberron is a really good counterpoint, because the designer wasn't trying to tell that story. Eberron has planes arranged in an orrery, so that each plane becomes closer or further from the material plane over time. That decision was made for the purpose of explaining how supernatural disasters had shaped the history of that world. It explained, for example, why sometimes a load of demons showed up in the setting, and why that could happen once in a thousand years but also not every day. It was a choice that helped the designers and the storytellers they were writing for explain the kinds of stories that were possible within the setting.
5e does a lot of things very well. Most of the things it does very well are based in the mechanics of the game. Try other systems and you'll discover that D&D has done a superlative job of creating an even playing field. Every class has something to contribute and no class is unable to benefit from the help of others. However, 5e doesn't always do a great job of communicating a vision for the kinds of stories they mean us to tell. I think there's some purposefulness there as well. The lack of guidance is meant to open the way for us to create our own stories. It also addresses the very real problem that has arisen in other systems, where the scope for storytelling became limited by explicit guidance on what kind of stories could be told.
Consider this an opportunity. What kinds of stories do you want to tell? Is there a cosmology that will help you tell those stories? If so, your world can work that way. Fey, Fiends, and Celestials have to come from somewhere. Clerics and Paladins need a way to get their magic. Arcane magic has to work because of something inherent in the setting. But the only right answer is the one which moves you to tell stories.