What lurks in the inscrutable depths of outer space? Beyond the calm and listless tides of the wildspace surrounding us are the distant, twinkling stars that illuminate our existence. Some of them may very well be other worlds like ours. Others, entire planes of existence. I've even heard the corpses of dead gods lay adrift out there, nurturing wandering civilizations in their forays and adventures across the Silver Void.
-Pastor Im
When it comes to
Wildspace, the Astral Sea is best described as its outer limits. This region of the cosmos is vast, and easily marked by the faint, silvery haze that grows thicker and brighter the further you travel within or through it. In spite of this, the distant stars of existence are always visible.
Like wildspace in general, the Astral Sea is a void. Unlike wildspace, it is not airless. Here, you can breathe normally and exist indefinitely, never aging and never needing foor nor drink - it's for this reason many creatures that call this realm home establish wildspace outposts within realmspaces, so their children can grow to maturity. You can propel yourself through the Astral Sea with the power of your mind alone, though most prefer to travel via
spelljammer for the added safety these vehicles provide against the fearsome creatures that call this realm home.
Moving in the Astral Sea
The Astral Sea is largely composed of indistint thoughts and dreams, and so it perhaps make sense that navigating it relies more on thinking than it does traditional methods of travel. While in the astral sea, you need only think about where you wish to go, and you'll begin to move in that direction at a speed of 5 feet times your Intelligence score (so a character with 20 Intelligence can move up to 100 feet per turn, whereas a character with 8 Intelligence can only move 40).
Optional Features
For
those running their own adventures, consider adding the below details to your stories to add more detail and risk to the general narrative!
Psychic Winds
A psychic wind isn’t a physical wind like that found on the Material Plane, but a storm of thought that batters travelers’ minds rather than their bodies. A psychic wind is made up of lost memories, forgotten ideas, minor musings, and subconscious fears that went astray in the Astral Plane and conglomerated into this powerful force.
A psychic wind is first sensed as a rapid darkening of the silver-gray sky. After a few rounds, the area becomes as dark as a moonless night. As the sky darkens, the traveler feels buffeting and shaking, as if the plane itself was rebelling against the storm. As quickly as it comes, the psychic wind passes, and the sky returns to normal in a few rounds.
The psychic wind has two kinds of effects: a location effect and a mental effect. A group of travelers journeying together suffers the same location effect. Each traveler affected by the wind must also make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the traveler suffers the mental effect as well. Roll a d20 twice and consult the Psychic Wind Effects table to determine the location and mental effects.
The Phlogiston
Running throughout the entirety of the Astral Sea are powerful currents of chaotic matter known as the Phlogiston. The matter is elemental in nature but does not explicitly share any specific properties of the four prime elements, and is recognized by its opaque, polychromatic appearance. This rainbow-like quality has even earned it the name "Rainbow Ocean" or, in more popular lore among the Material Planes, the "Rainbow Bridge" (yes,
that Rainbow Bridge). It flows throughout existence in wild, twisting ways but, most curiously, invariably seems to seek out realmspace systems and connect them via currents that last even when the system drifts sufficiently elsewhere.
The element is most well known for a few things.
- First, it cannot enter Realmspace. The crystal spheres protecting individual systems act like a natural filter keeping it out, and any attempt to harvest the fluid and bring it within the sphere causes it to evaporate in mere moments.
- Second, it is highly flammable, to the point of extreme combustion. Any open flame that comes in contact with the phlogiston, be it magical or not, causes an instant detonation that can and will destroy ships if not kill entire crews before anyone's realized what happened. Consequently, it's standard practice to douse open flames in the Astral Sea and use magical or non-fire-based lights to illuminate your vessel while sailing.
- Third, once you're in the Phlogiston, the only way out is by either riding it until it ejects you from its current or by forcefully exiting the current. It's impossible to teleport from within the Phlogiston.
Of course, lesser known but not forgotten is the inherent risk of encountering a "Dark Region" while traversing the flows of the Phlogiston. Since the Phlogiston crosses all spheres and planes at one point or another, it is equally as likely to absorb swathes of negative energy from the
Negative Plane. These unpredictable regions of the Phlogiston are known to spread unrepentent chaos when encountered, as the already fearsome monstrosities that normally inhabit the Phlogiston become even more hostile and violent in nature. If one needs an example, look only to the fate of the space clowns - they were once a peaceful and fun loving people, whose system had its crystal sphere mysteriously destroyed and the whole place overtaken by a colossal Dark Region. The result? A newly born race of interstellar fiends widely agreed to be one of the most virulent pestulances ever inflicted on the universe.
An adventuring party can choose to merge a spelljamming vessel with the Phlogiston flowing through the Astral Sea in place of using a spelljamming helm to control the vessel. The ship will accelerate to spelljamming speeds, but cannot take any movement actions other than to move between currents or leave the Phlogiston (the ship otherwise follows the Phlogiston's currents).
While in the Phlogiston, visibility is reduced to 30 feet as the fluid obscures most everything else (except the distant twinkling of stars). Crystal spheres typically won't be seen or noticed until the ship is about to cross through it, at which point it appears as nothing more than an opaque featureless wall with no apparent curvature. Any open flame that contacts the Phlogiston instantly detonates, dealing 24d10 fire damage + 24d10 force damage to all creatures within 300 feet of the point of detonation. Objects and structures in this area take twice as much damage.
Additionally, while in the Phlogiston, all forms of conjuration magic and any other effect that involves teleportation or planar travel do not function. Any attempt to do so simply fails, as the discordant, chaotic energies of the Phlogiston disrupt these powers so thoroughly that even divines are not immune to its interference.
If your adventure crosses through a Dark Region, and your character is not protected from the harmful effects of gases (such as by wearing a fish suit), all healing effects are halted until you leave the Dark Region. If you're already under the effects of a healing spell such as regeneration, it stops functioning although its duration continues to elapse normally. Furthermore, at the end of every minute you remain unprotected within the Dark Region, you must make a DC 10 Intelligence saving throw or experience a short term madness effect that lasts until you leave the Dark Region. This DC increases by 2 at the end of each hour, and if you fail the check by 5 or more, you instead suffer a long term madness effect (again, lasting until you leave the Dark Region). If you fail three consecutive checks, you gain a form of indefinite madness in the form of a character flaw or physical mutation (the DM of the adventure should work with you on something that feels impactful but otherwise personal, but usually not for the better). A greater restoration spell can suppress a madness effect for one hour; an indefinite madness gained this way can only be cured by a heal spell or greater magic.
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