The Astral Plane

The Astral Plane, also known as the Astral Sea, is the plane of existence that envelops both the Inner and Center planes, dividing them from the Outer Planes.

Geography

The Astral can be reached from almost any point in The Prime Material Plane or first layer of any Outer plane by spell, psionic ability, or device. It is described as a barren place of other-dimensional nothingness extending in all directions. What little solid substance that floats in the bright, gray void is typically chunks of matter broken off from their original plane. The Astral has no gravity, but objects did retain their mass, so you could throw small items or push off from large objects to move in the weightless environment. Time in the Astral flows at the same rate as that of The Prime Material Plane, but the effects of time were slowed almost to a stop―a thousand years in the Astral plane feels like only a day to the traveler. Creatures do not go hungry or age while in the Astral plane. For that reason, its mortal inhabitants need to return to The Material Plane in order to have children or to reach adulthood.

Entering the Astral plane can be accomplished in one of two ways: by projecting your astral form into the plane via the astral projection spell, or by physically entering the plane. Astral projection is the safest way to travel, but still involves risk, as you leave your physical body behind on the traveler's plane of origin. The astral body is accompanied by the astral forms of any items and clothing that were magical or radiated a magic aura. While projecting, your astral self is connected to your physical body by a silver cord that stretches out behind you for about 10 feet, or 1 foot depending on the version of the spell, and then became invisible and intangible. Very few things can sever this silver cord: a powerful psychic wind, a githyanki silver sword, or the will of gods. The physical body left behind appears alive but does not require food, water, or air and does not age. It can be moved and is vulnerable to damage and death. If the traveler's physical body is slain, death follows the projection some minutes later. If the astral self is slain, the traveler then returns to his or her physical body in a coma. Physically entering the Astral plane requires a spell such as plane shift and brings the traveler wholly into the Astral with no silver cord to anchor them to their plane of origin.

Geographical Features

Upon entering the Astral plane, the traveler sees a silvery color pool nearby—a portal to the location on the Prime Material plane from which he or she originated. Astral projecting travelers see their silver cord leading back to this pool. Color pools appear as two-dimensional circles about 10‒60 ft in diameter and are only visible from one side unless they had some way to detect invisible objects. Pools of different colors are portals to the different Outer planes. Each Outer Plane has its own unique color, but the traveler's home portal is always a metallic silver, rippling like mercury in a pan. Color pools can be used to view the destination plane before stepping through by mentally concentrating on the nearby pool until it becomes transparent. A viewer can also move (with some limitations) the portal's viewpoint by concentration. Astral projecting travelers form a new physical body (with silver cord attached) when they step through a color pool to their destination plane. The new body is formed out of local materials, so the greater the similarity between one's home plane and the destination, the more one's new body looked like the original one.

Inhabitants

On this plane of thought, the existence of true natives is doubtful. The githyanki, however, have been a dominating presence in The Astral for long ages, ruling from their great city of Tu'narath, but mostly spread about innumerable fortresses. Astral searchers, astral streakers, astral whales, the mighty astral dragons and the tiny kodragons inhabit the Silver Void. The dreaded astral dreadnoughts are believed by some to be a manifestation of the Astral Plane itself, while others point to their indefinitely long tails as indicator for an origin elsewhere. Brain collectors, dhour and foo creatures all can be found in some numbers here. All manner of fiends, celestials, slaadi and other planars use the Astral as a short-cut to their business elsewhere, but both astral devas and shedu patrol the plane regularly to keep evil in check. Despite their connection to the Abyss, bebilith are thought to be at home on the Astral plane. Spectral hounds are usually found with githyanki communities as guard animals.

Alternative Name(s)

Astral Sea

Type

Planar Sphere/Grouping