Astral Plane
(https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg/creating-a-multiverse#PlanarTravel)
The Astral Plane is the realm of thought and dream, where visitors travel as disembodied souls to reach the Outer Planes. It is a great silvery sea, the same above and below, with swirling wisps of white and grey streaking among motes of light like distant stars. Most of the Astral Sea is a vast, empty expanse. Visitors occasionally stumble upon the petrified corpse of a dead god or other chunks of rock drifting forever in the silvery void. Much more commonplace are colour pools — magical pools of coloured light that flicker like radiant, spinning coins. Creatures on the Astral Plane don’t age or suffer from hunger or thirst. For this reason, humanoids that live on the Astral Plane (such as the githyanki) establish outposts on other planes, often the Material Plane, so their children can grow to maturity. A traveller in the Astral Plane can move by simply thinking about moving, but distance has little meaning. In combat, though, a creature’s walking speed (in feet) is equal to 3×its Intelligence score. The smarter a creature is, the easier it can control its movement by act of will. Astral Projection:
Traveling through the Astral Plane by means of the astral projection spell involves projecting one’s consciousness there, usually in search of a gateway to an Outer Plane to visit. Since the Outer Planes are as much spiritual states of being as they are physical places, this allows a character to manifest in an Outer Plane as if he or she had physically travelled there, but as in a dream. A character’s death — either in the Astral Plane or on the destination plane — causes no actual harm. Only the severing of a character’s silver cord while on the Astral Plane (or the death of his or her helpless physical body on the Material Plane) can result in the character’s true death. Thus, high-level characters sometimes travel to the Outer Planes by way of astral projection rather than seek out a portal or use a more direct spell. Only a few things can sever a traveller's silver cord, the most common being a psychic wind (described below). The legendary silver swords of the githyanki also have this ability. A character who travels bodily to the Astral Plane (by means of the plane shift spell or one of the rare portals that leads directly there) has no silver cord. Astral Plane Encounters: Planar travellers and refugees from other planes wander the expanses of the Astral Plane. The most prominent denizens of the Astral Plane are the githyanki, an outcast race of ravangers that sail sleek astral ships, slaughter astral travellers, and raid planes touched by the Astral. Their city, Tu’narath, floats through the Astral Plane on a chunk of rock that is actually the body of a dead god. Celestials, fiends, and mortal explorers often scour the Astral Plane for colour pools leading to desired destinations. Characters who linger for too long in the Astral might have an encounter with one or more wandering angels, demons, devils, night hags, yugoloths, or other planar travellers. (https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/sais/aag)
When you stand on a Material Plane world and look up at the night sky, what you’re seeing is Wildspace and, beyond that, the Astral Sea. Every world of the Material Plane is situated in Wildspace, or more precisely, in its own Wildspace system. Wildspace systems are airless oceans teeming with space-dwelling life forms, including spores, space plankton, and larger creatures that resemble fish and aquatic mammals. The ones that need air to survive either generate their own air envelopes or live in the air envelopes of other creatures.
Wildspace is where the Astral Plane overlaps with the Material Plane. Creatures and objects in Wildspace age normally and exist on both planes simultaneously. This overlap enables creatures to use spells such as teleport and teleportation circle to travel from Wildspace to a nearby world, or vice versa.
The image up above illustrates how the Astral Sea surrounds all the Wildspace systems, as well as the astral dominions of gods and the floating remains of dead gods. Many Wildspace systems have names; for example, Realmspace is a Wildspace system that contains, among other things, the planet Toril—home of the Forgotten Realms setting.
The following sections describe how astral travellers can get from one Wildspace system to another, as well as features of the Astral Plane that are likely to come into play.
Travel between Worlds:
World-to-world travel requires a spelljamming ship, a teleport spell, or some other kind of magic. Travel between Systems:
A creature or ship that wants to travel from one Wildspace system to another must cross the Astral Sea unless it has some other magical means of traveling from one world in the multiverse to another. Wildspace systems aren’t fixed in certain locations in the multiverse. Because they’re constantly in motion, like corks bobbing in water, no reliable devices exist to help plot a course from one Wildspace system to another. Fortunately for travellers, the nature of the Astral Sea makes such journeys relatively easy, as discussed in the next section. Traversing the Astral Sea:
The Astral Sea not only has gravity but also breathable, comfortable air. But is the air real, or does this heavenly realm merely trick creatures into thinking they’re breathing? In the Astral Sea, one can never be certain. All that really matters is that a creature can survive indefinitely in the Astral Sea, never aging and never feeling hunger or thirst. Travel by Thought Alone:
A creature doesn’t need a vessel to travel through the Astral Sea. In this realm, a traveler has the option of propelling itself by thought alone. The more intelligent a creature is, the faster it can move. A creature that chooses to move in this fashion can move in any direction at a flying speed in feet equal to 5 × its Intelligence score. Astral Sea Navigation:
One doesn’t need a map to navigate the Astral Sea. Here, all creatures are blessed with directional awareness. In other words, a creature can get to where it wants to go by thinking of its destination, at which point it becomes aware of the most direct route to that location. The destination must be somewhere in the Astral Sea or in Wildspace, such as “the nearest githyanki outpost,” “the astral dominion of Hestavar,” or “Realmspace.” This directional awareness doesn’t reveal how safe the route is, and the DM decides how far away the destination is and how perilous the trek through the Astral Sea is.
The Astral Plane is the realm of thought and dream, where visitors travel as disembodied souls to reach the Outer Planes. It is a great silvery sea, the same above and below, with swirling wisps of white and grey streaking among motes of light like distant stars. Most of the Astral Sea is a vast, empty expanse. Visitors occasionally stumble upon the petrified corpse of a dead god or other chunks of rock drifting forever in the silvery void. Much more commonplace are colour pools — magical pools of coloured light that flicker like radiant, spinning coins. Creatures on the Astral Plane don’t age or suffer from hunger or thirst. For this reason, humanoids that live on the Astral Plane (such as the githyanki) establish outposts on other planes, often the Material Plane, so their children can grow to maturity. A traveller in the Astral Plane can move by simply thinking about moving, but distance has little meaning. In combat, though, a creature’s walking speed (in feet) is equal to 3×its Intelligence score. The smarter a creature is, the easier it can control its movement by act of will. Astral Projection:
Traveling through the Astral Plane by means of the astral projection spell involves projecting one’s consciousness there, usually in search of a gateway to an Outer Plane to visit. Since the Outer Planes are as much spiritual states of being as they are physical places, this allows a character to manifest in an Outer Plane as if he or she had physically travelled there, but as in a dream. A character’s death — either in the Astral Plane or on the destination plane — causes no actual harm. Only the severing of a character’s silver cord while on the Astral Plane (or the death of his or her helpless physical body on the Material Plane) can result in the character’s true death. Thus, high-level characters sometimes travel to the Outer Planes by way of astral projection rather than seek out a portal or use a more direct spell. Only a few things can sever a traveller's silver cord, the most common being a psychic wind (described below). The legendary silver swords of the githyanki also have this ability. A character who travels bodily to the Astral Plane (by means of the plane shift spell or one of the rare portals that leads directly there) has no silver cord. Astral Plane Encounters: Planar travellers and refugees from other planes wander the expanses of the Astral Plane. The most prominent denizens of the Astral Plane are the githyanki, an outcast race of ravangers that sail sleek astral ships, slaughter astral travellers, and raid planes touched by the Astral. Their city, Tu’narath, floats through the Astral Plane on a chunk of rock that is actually the body of a dead god. Celestials, fiends, and mortal explorers often scour the Astral Plane for colour pools leading to desired destinations. Characters who linger for too long in the Astral might have an encounter with one or more wandering angels, demons, devils, night hags, yugoloths, or other planar travellers. (https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/sais/aag)
When you stand on a Material Plane world and look up at the night sky, what you’re seeing is Wildspace and, beyond that, the Astral Sea. Every world of the Material Plane is situated in Wildspace, or more precisely, in its own Wildspace system. Wildspace systems are airless oceans teeming with space-dwelling life forms, including spores, space plankton, and larger creatures that resemble fish and aquatic mammals. The ones that need air to survive either generate their own air envelopes or live in the air envelopes of other creatures.
World-to-world travel requires a spelljamming ship, a teleport spell, or some other kind of magic. Travel between Systems:
A creature or ship that wants to travel from one Wildspace system to another must cross the Astral Sea unless it has some other magical means of traveling from one world in the multiverse to another. Wildspace systems aren’t fixed in certain locations in the multiverse. Because they’re constantly in motion, like corks bobbing in water, no reliable devices exist to help plot a course from one Wildspace system to another. Fortunately for travellers, the nature of the Astral Sea makes such journeys relatively easy, as discussed in the next section. Traversing the Astral Sea:
The Astral Sea not only has gravity but also breathable, comfortable air. But is the air real, or does this heavenly realm merely trick creatures into thinking they’re breathing? In the Astral Sea, one can never be certain. All that really matters is that a creature can survive indefinitely in the Astral Sea, never aging and never feeling hunger or thirst. Travel by Thought Alone:
A creature doesn’t need a vessel to travel through the Astral Sea. In this realm, a traveler has the option of propelling itself by thought alone. The more intelligent a creature is, the faster it can move. A creature that chooses to move in this fashion can move in any direction at a flying speed in feet equal to 5 × its Intelligence score. Astral Sea Navigation:
One doesn’t need a map to navigate the Astral Sea. Here, all creatures are blessed with directional awareness. In other words, a creature can get to where it wants to go by thinking of its destination, at which point it becomes aware of the most direct route to that location. The destination must be somewhere in the Astral Sea or in Wildspace, such as “the nearest githyanki outpost,” “the astral dominion of Hestavar,” or “Realmspace.” This directional awareness doesn’t reveal how safe the route is, and the DM decides how far away the destination is and how perilous the trek through the Astral Sea is.
Geography
Gravity Planes:
The reason everything pulls its own atmosphere along through space is the force of gravity. It’s also the reason why creatures can stand on a spacefaring ship without falling off the deck. In Wildspace and on the Astral Plane, gravity is an accommodating force, in that the direction of its effect seems to be “that which is most convenient.” For an object the size of a planet or moon, gravity pulls everything toward the centre of the body, meaning that creatures can stand upright anywhere on the surface, and dropped objects fall perpendicular to the surface they land on. For smaller objects, such as spacecraft, gravity doesn’t radiate from a point but rather from a plane that cuts horizontally through the object and extends out as far as its air envelope. An object’s gravity plane is two-directional: a creature can stand upright on the bottom of a ship’s hull—upside down from the perspective of those elsewhere on the ship—and move around as easily as if it were walking on the top deck. Diagram 2.1 shows the location of the gravity plane of a nautiloid, by way of example, and indicates the directions in which its gravity operates. One of the unusual properties of a gravity plane is that an object that falls off the side of a ship can end up oscillating back and forth across the gravity plane. It drops in one direction until it crosses the plane, then reverses direction back toward the plane again, continuing until something causes it to stop.
Overlapping Gravity Planes:
When gravity planes intersect, such as when two ships pass close to each other and at different angles, the gravity planes of both ships remain in effect until the two ships touch one other (as often happens when they collide or when one ship lands on the other). If that happens, the gravity plane of the ship that has more hit points remaining (regardless of the ships’ actual dimensions) overrides the other ship’s gravity plane, suppressing it as long as the ships remain in contact, and the first ship’s definition of “up” becomes the other ship’s as well. When a ship touches down on a planet (or some other enormous body), the ship’s gravity plane is suppressed. If a ship has one or more decks on the ventral side of the ship’s gravity plane (rather than its dorsal side), precautions must be taken before the ship lands to secure anyone and anything that might fall when the ship’s gravity plane is suppressed. Drifting:
When a spelljamming ship moves in space, creatures and objects in its air envelope move with it, pulled along with the ship because of the strength of its gravity plane. However, an unanchored creature or object floating in a ship’s air envelope is weightless and drifts toward the edge of the air envelope at a speed of 10 feet per minute. For example, an unconscious sailor or a crate that falls off the deck of a spelljamming ship would begin drifting away from the ship along its gravity plane toward the edge of the ship’s air envelope. When it exits the air envelope, the sailor or the crate would be left behind as the ship moves away from it. Falling:
A floating creature that enters the air envelope of a larger body is immediately affected by the larger body’s gravity (such as that of a planet) or gravity plane (such as that of a spelljamming ship). The creature falls from where it entered the air envelope to the surface of that body, or to the gravity plane of that body, whichever is nearer. Normal damage from the fall applies if the creature hits something solid at the end of the fall. A creature or an object that falls across a gravity plane takes no damage from the fall but begins oscillating from one side of the gravity plane to the other, as described above. Astral Dominions and Dead Gods:
Many gods have dominions in the Astral Sea. These locations typically take the form of floating islands or cities of fantastic proportions. Astral travelers might visit these dominions as they would any other ports of call, though a dominion’s divine ruler always knows when visitors have arrived and what their intentions are. Because these dominions are part of the Astral Sea, they are timeless; nothing ages there, and creatures can survive there indefinitely without food or drink. The Astral Sea is also where one can find the petrified remains of gods who were slain by more powerful entities or who lost all their mortal worshipers and perished as a result. A dead god looks like a gigantic, nondescript stone statue that bears little resemblance to the divine entity it once was. Githyanki, mind flayers, psurlons, and other natives of the Astral Plane sometimes turn these drifting hulks into outposts and cities, many of which are hollowed out beneath the surface.
The reason everything pulls its own atmosphere along through space is the force of gravity. It’s also the reason why creatures can stand on a spacefaring ship without falling off the deck. In Wildspace and on the Astral Plane, gravity is an accommodating force, in that the direction of its effect seems to be “that which is most convenient.” For an object the size of a planet or moon, gravity pulls everything toward the centre of the body, meaning that creatures can stand upright anywhere on the surface, and dropped objects fall perpendicular to the surface they land on. For smaller objects, such as spacecraft, gravity doesn’t radiate from a point but rather from a plane that cuts horizontally through the object and extends out as far as its air envelope. An object’s gravity plane is two-directional: a creature can stand upright on the bottom of a ship’s hull—upside down from the perspective of those elsewhere on the ship—and move around as easily as if it were walking on the top deck. Diagram 2.1 shows the location of the gravity plane of a nautiloid, by way of example, and indicates the directions in which its gravity operates. One of the unusual properties of a gravity plane is that an object that falls off the side of a ship can end up oscillating back and forth across the gravity plane. It drops in one direction until it crosses the plane, then reverses direction back toward the plane again, continuing until something causes it to stop.
When gravity planes intersect, such as when two ships pass close to each other and at different angles, the gravity planes of both ships remain in effect until the two ships touch one other (as often happens when they collide or when one ship lands on the other). If that happens, the gravity plane of the ship that has more hit points remaining (regardless of the ships’ actual dimensions) overrides the other ship’s gravity plane, suppressing it as long as the ships remain in contact, and the first ship’s definition of “up” becomes the other ship’s as well. When a ship touches down on a planet (or some other enormous body), the ship’s gravity plane is suppressed. If a ship has one or more decks on the ventral side of the ship’s gravity plane (rather than its dorsal side), precautions must be taken before the ship lands to secure anyone and anything that might fall when the ship’s gravity plane is suppressed. Drifting:
When a spelljamming ship moves in space, creatures and objects in its air envelope move with it, pulled along with the ship because of the strength of its gravity plane. However, an unanchored creature or object floating in a ship’s air envelope is weightless and drifts toward the edge of the air envelope at a speed of 10 feet per minute. For example, an unconscious sailor or a crate that falls off the deck of a spelljamming ship would begin drifting away from the ship along its gravity plane toward the edge of the ship’s air envelope. When it exits the air envelope, the sailor or the crate would be left behind as the ship moves away from it. Falling:
A floating creature that enters the air envelope of a larger body is immediately affected by the larger body’s gravity (such as that of a planet) or gravity plane (such as that of a spelljamming ship). The creature falls from where it entered the air envelope to the surface of that body, or to the gravity plane of that body, whichever is nearer. Normal damage from the fall applies if the creature hits something solid at the end of the fall. A creature or an object that falls across a gravity plane takes no damage from the fall but begins oscillating from one side of the gravity plane to the other, as described above. Astral Dominions and Dead Gods:
Many gods have dominions in the Astral Sea. These locations typically take the form of floating islands or cities of fantastic proportions. Astral travelers might visit these dominions as they would any other ports of call, though a dominion’s divine ruler always knows when visitors have arrived and what their intentions are. Because these dominions are part of the Astral Sea, they are timeless; nothing ages there, and creatures can survive there indefinitely without food or drink. The Astral Sea is also where one can find the petrified remains of gods who were slain by more powerful entities or who lost all their mortal worshipers and perished as a result. A dead god looks like a gigantic, nondescript stone statue that bears little resemblance to the divine entity it once was. Githyanki, mind flayers, psurlons, and other natives of the Astral Plane sometimes turn these drifting hulks into outposts and cities, many of which are hollowed out beneath the surface.
Ecosystem
Air Envelopes:
When a creature or an object leaves a planet’s atmosphere and enters Wildspace, an envelope of breathable air forms around it and lasts until that air is depleted.Air Envelopes of Creatures:
The envelope of breathable air that forms around a creature takes the shape of a cube centred on that creature. The creature’s size determines the cube’s dimensions, as shown in the Air Envelopes of Creatures table.
A creature that needs to breathe will exhaust the air in its personal envelope in 1 minute. Since this is barely enough time to get anywhere, most creatures travel through Wildspace aboard spelljamming ships, which have much larger air envelopes. Air Envelopes of Objects:
The envelope of breathable air that forms around an object extends out from its surface a distance equal to the longest dimension of its form. For example, a spherical planet 5,000 miles in diameter has an air envelope 15,000 miles in diameter, with the planet at the centre of it. An air envelope need not be spherical; for example, a block of wood 1 foot by 2 feet by 3 feet is surrounded by a more-or-less rectangular envelope of air 3 feet by 6 feet by 9 feet. The air envelope around a spelljamming ship typically has an ovoid shape. The picture above shows the air envelope that surrounds a nautiloid that has a keel length of 180 feet. It extends 180 feet from the ship in all directions. The air envelope around a habitable planet or moon is called an atmosphere. An atmosphere is a special kind of air envelope that replenishes itself constantly. A creature or an object can refresh its air envelope by entering the atmosphere of a planet or moon. Air Quality:
The air envelope around a body or ship can be fresh, foul, or deadly. Air can change from one quality to another over time. Fresh air is completely breathable. Under normal circumstances, the air envelope of a ship remains fresh for 120 days. If a ship carries more creatures than its normal crew complement, they exhaust the supply of fresh air more quickly. Foul air is stale and partially depleted. It is humid and smells bad. Any creature that breathes foul air becomes poisoned until it breathes fresh air again. The air aboard a ship with a normal crew complement degrades from fresh to foul on day 121, and the foul air turns deadly 120 days later. Deadly air is unbreathable. Any creature that tries to breathe deadly air begins to suffocate. Overlapping Air Envelopes:
When two bodies come close enough to each other, their air envelopes merge, and the quality of the air around the smaller body changes to match that of the larger body. When the bodies later move away from each other, each one reclaims and retains its own air envelope. For example, if a damselfly ship with a foul air envelope enters the atmosphere of a planet with fresh air, the two air envelopes merge, and the damselfly ship’s air quality changes from foul to fresh. If that ship then merges its fresh air envelope with the deadly air envelope surrounding a derelict ship, the damselfly ship’s air quality would change from fresh to deadly.
When a creature or an object leaves a planet’s atmosphere and enters Wildspace, an envelope of breathable air forms around it and lasts until that air is depleted.
The envelope of breathable air that forms around a creature takes the shape of a cube centred on that creature. The creature’s size determines the cube’s dimensions, as shown in the Air Envelopes of Creatures table.
A creature that needs to breathe will exhaust the air in its personal envelope in 1 minute. Since this is barely enough time to get anywhere, most creatures travel through Wildspace aboard spelljamming ships, which have much larger air envelopes. Air Envelopes of Objects:
The envelope of breathable air that forms around an object extends out from its surface a distance equal to the longest dimension of its form. For example, a spherical planet 5,000 miles in diameter has an air envelope 15,000 miles in diameter, with the planet at the centre of it. An air envelope need not be spherical; for example, a block of wood 1 foot by 2 feet by 3 feet is surrounded by a more-or-less rectangular envelope of air 3 feet by 6 feet by 9 feet. The air envelope around a spelljamming ship typically has an ovoid shape. The picture above shows the air envelope that surrounds a nautiloid that has a keel length of 180 feet. It extends 180 feet from the ship in all directions. The air envelope around a habitable planet or moon is called an atmosphere. An atmosphere is a special kind of air envelope that replenishes itself constantly. A creature or an object can refresh its air envelope by entering the atmosphere of a planet or moon. Air Quality:
The air envelope around a body or ship can be fresh, foul, or deadly. Air can change from one quality to another over time. Fresh air is completely breathable. Under normal circumstances, the air envelope of a ship remains fresh for 120 days. If a ship carries more creatures than its normal crew complement, they exhaust the supply of fresh air more quickly. Foul air is stale and partially depleted. It is humid and smells bad. Any creature that breathes foul air becomes poisoned until it breathes fresh air again. The air aboard a ship with a normal crew complement degrades from fresh to foul on day 121, and the foul air turns deadly 120 days later. Deadly air is unbreathable. Any creature that tries to breathe deadly air begins to suffocate. Overlapping Air Envelopes:
When two bodies come close enough to each other, their air envelopes merge, and the quality of the air around the smaller body changes to match that of the larger body. When the bodies later move away from each other, each one reclaims and retains its own air envelope. For example, if a damselfly ship with a foul air envelope enters the atmosphere of a planet with fresh air, the two air envelopes merge, and the damselfly ship’s air quality changes from foul to fresh. If that ship then merges its fresh air envelope with the deadly air envelope surrounding a derelict ship, the damselfly ship’s air quality would change from fresh to deadly.
Localized Phenomena
Colour Pools:
Gateways leading from the Astral Plane to other planes appear as two-dimensional pools of rippling colours, 1d6×10 feet in diameter. Traveling to another plane requires locating a colour pool that leads to the desired plane. These gateways to other planes can be identified by colour, as shown on the Astral Colour Pools table. Finding the right colour pool is a matter of chance: locating the correct one takes 1d4×10 hours of travel. Temperature:
The ambient temperature on the Astral Plane is about the same as on a moderate summer day in the temperate region of most worlds. Since there are no seasons in Wildspace or the Astral Sea, this temperature remains constant at all times. Some Wildspace systems, however, have significantly higher or lower temperatures. Krynnspace, for example, has a very low natural temperature (about 16 degrees Fahrenheit/-8.88889 Celsius), and clouds of ice particles swirl in the vacuum within its boundaries. Of course, as one approaches a star that puts out heat, the ambient temperature increases. Weightlessness:
In any location where gravity isn’t present, the following rules apply:
Gateways leading from the Astral Plane to other planes appear as two-dimensional pools of rippling colours, 1d6×10 feet in diameter. Traveling to another plane requires locating a colour pool that leads to the desired plane. These gateways to other planes can be identified by colour, as shown on the Astral Colour Pools table. Finding the right colour pool is a matter of chance: locating the correct one takes 1d4×10 hours of travel. Temperature:
The ambient temperature on the Astral Plane is about the same as on a moderate summer day in the temperate region of most worlds. Since there are no seasons in Wildspace or the Astral Sea, this temperature remains constant at all times. Some Wildspace systems, however, have significantly higher or lower temperatures. Krynnspace, for example, has a very low natural temperature (about 16 degrees Fahrenheit/-8.88889 Celsius), and clouds of ice particles swirl in the vacuum within its boundaries. Of course, as one approaches a star that puts out heat, the ambient temperature increases. Weightlessness:
In any location where gravity isn’t present, the following rules apply:
- Impeded Melee. When making a melee attack with a weapon, a creature that doesn’t have a flying or swimming speed (either naturally or provided by magic) has disadvantage on the attack roll unless the weapon deals piercing damage.
- Movement. A creature can use an action to push off something heavier than itself and move up to its walking, flying, or swimming speed in a straight line. The creature continues along this course, moving in a straight line at its speed on each of its turns until something stops it or changes its trajectory.
Climate
Psychic Wind:
A psychic wind isn’t a physical wind like that found on the Material Plane, but a storm of thought that batters travellers' 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-grey sky. After a few rounds, the area becomes as dark as a moonless night. As the sky darkens, the traveller 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 travellers journeying together suffers the same location effect. Each traveller affected by the wind must also make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the traveller suffers the mental effect as well. Roll a d20 twice and consult the Psychic Wind Effects table to determine the location and mental effects.
A psychic wind isn’t a physical wind like that found on the Material Plane, but a storm of thought that batters travellers' 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-grey sky. After a few rounds, the area becomes as dark as a moonless night. As the sky darkens, the traveller 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 travellers journeying together suffers the same location effect. Each traveller affected by the wind must also make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the traveller suffers the mental effect as well. Roll a d20 twice and consult the Psychic Wind Effects table to determine the location and mental effects.
Terminology:
The Astral Plane is, quite literally, the plane of stars. More precisely, it is where the stars and portals to the heavens reside—an infinitely vast celestial void that surrounds all the worlds of the Material Plane. Every D&D world—whether round, flat, or some other shape—exists in an airless void known as Wildspace. A world might be solitary, or it might have neighbours: one or more suns, worlds, moons, asteroids, comets, or other bodies. This neighbourhood of celestial and planetary bodies is called a Wildspace system. In Wildspace, the Material Plane and the Astral Plane overlap. Creatures and objects in Wildspace age normally and are effectively on both of those planes at once. If you were to leave your home world and continue outward until you neared the edge of your Wildspace system, you would begin to see a faint, silvery haze. By traveling into this haze, you pass from Wildspace into the Astral Sea, more colourfully known as the Silver Void. The deeper into the Astral Sea you travel, the thicker and brighter the haze becomes, but the stars that shine through it are always visible. Wildspace and the Astral Sea together comprise the Astral Plane. The Astral Sea, like Wildspace, is a void; however, it is not an airless one. Here, you can breathe normally and exist indefinitely, never aging and never needing food or drink. You can propel yourself through the Astral Sea with the power of your mind alone, though many astral voyagers wisely travel in well-armed ships, for this place is the home of a host of fearsome creatures. Here travellers might find the petrified hulks of dead gods and swirling pools of colour that serve as portals to other planes of existence. Much in the way that oars and strong winds enable travel by sea on terrestrial worlds, magic items called spelljamming helms are used to propel and steer ships through Wildspace and the Astral Sea. A spelljamming helm customarily takes the form of an ornate chair in which the ship’s pilot sits. To attune to a spelljamming helm, one must be a spellcaster. The pilot of a spelljamming ship is called a spelljammer.
The Astral Plane is, quite literally, the plane of stars. More precisely, it is where the stars and portals to the heavens reside—an infinitely vast celestial void that surrounds all the worlds of the Material Plane. Every D&D world—whether round, flat, or some other shape—exists in an airless void known as Wildspace. A world might be solitary, or it might have neighbours: one or more suns, worlds, moons, asteroids, comets, or other bodies. This neighbourhood of celestial and planetary bodies is called a Wildspace system. In Wildspace, the Material Plane and the Astral Plane overlap. Creatures and objects in Wildspace age normally and are effectively on both of those planes at once. If you were to leave your home world and continue outward until you neared the edge of your Wildspace system, you would begin to see a faint, silvery haze. By traveling into this haze, you pass from Wildspace into the Astral Sea, more colourfully known as the Silver Void. The deeper into the Astral Sea you travel, the thicker and brighter the haze becomes, but the stars that shine through it are always visible. Wildspace and the Astral Sea together comprise the Astral Plane. The Astral Sea, like Wildspace, is a void; however, it is not an airless one. Here, you can breathe normally and exist indefinitely, never aging and never needing food or drink. You can propel yourself through the Astral Sea with the power of your mind alone, though many astral voyagers wisely travel in well-armed ships, for this place is the home of a host of fearsome creatures. Here travellers might find the petrified hulks of dead gods and swirling pools of colour that serve as portals to other planes of existence. Much in the way that oars and strong winds enable travel by sea on terrestrial worlds, magic items called spelljamming helms are used to propel and steer ships through Wildspace and the Astral Sea. A spelljamming helm customarily takes the form of an ornate chair in which the ship’s pilot sits. To attune to a spelljamming helm, one must be a spellcaster. The pilot of a spelljamming ship is called a spelljammer.
Air Bubble
Create Spelljamming Helm
Fish Suit
Spelljamming Helm
Fire in Wildspace:
Although nonmagical fire cannot exist in the vacuum of Wildspace, magical fire (such as that created by a fireball spell) does burn in a vacuum. Magical fire does not cause objects to burst into flame, however, because there is no air to make ignition possible. Tracking Time in Wildspace:
Local time varies from world to world and from one Wildspace system to the next, depending on rotational periods, custom, and a host of other factors. Astral travellers often rely on what is considered the standard way of keeping time. A standard day is 24 hours long. A standard week is seven standard days, and a standard month is four standard weeks (28 standard days). The typical method for determining the length of a year—the amount of time that passes during a complete cycle of the seasons—has no meaning or usefulness for individuals who spend most of their time on the Astral Plane. For this reason, astral travellers avoid using years as a measurement of time.
Create Spelljamming Helm
Fish Suit
Spelljamming Helm
Alternative Name(s)
The Realm of Thought and Dream
Type
Dimensional plane
Location under
Included Locations
Related Reports (Primary)
Related Reports (Secondary)
Although nonmagical fire cannot exist in the vacuum of Wildspace, magical fire (such as that created by a fireball spell) does burn in a vacuum. Magical fire does not cause objects to burst into flame, however, because there is no air to make ignition possible. Tracking Time in Wildspace:
Local time varies from world to world and from one Wildspace system to the next, depending on rotational periods, custom, and a host of other factors. Astral travellers often rely on what is considered the standard way of keeping time. A standard day is 24 hours long. A standard week is seven standard days, and a standard month is four standard weeks (28 standard days). The typical method for determining the length of a year—the amount of time that passes during a complete cycle of the seasons—has no meaning or usefulness for individuals who spend most of their time on the Astral Plane. For this reason, astral travellers avoid using years as a measurement of time.
Fishing is a popular pastime in Wildspace and the Astral Sea, though this activity isn’t possible aboard a ship that is moving faster than its flying speed (discussed later in this chapter). Wildspace settlements sell basic fishing equipment for 1 sp. For that, you get a pole, a line, a hook, and either a lure or some bait. At the end of each hour spent fishing, a character can make a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check. A failed check indicates no fish is caught during that hour. On a successful check, roll a d10 and consult the Fishing table to determine the catch.
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