Astral Plane
Ervenian Era, 1051 AB
The Astral Plane, often called the Silver Sea or Realm Between Realms or Astral Sea, is a boundless expanse that serves as the cosmic highway linking all other planes of existence. Timeless and infinite, it appears as an endless silver gray void shimmering with starlike motes of distant realms and dreamlike visions drifting through its ethereal currents. Here, thought and consciousness reign supreme, and physical laws bow to the power of the mind.
Physical Entry
Astral Travelers, wizards, monks, seekers, and adventurers, pass through often, their spirits tethered to distant bodies by the iconic silver cord. To them, the Astral is both a crossroads and a canvas for mental discipline. Among the most feared denizens are the Githyanki, militant planar nomads who dwell in gleaming astral citadels and sail aboard strange, silvery ships. Proud and xenophobic, they defend their realm with savage precision and often raid unsuspecting travelers. Far more terrifying are the Astral Dreadnoughts, immense and silent predators that drift through the plane with an insatiable hunger for thought and soul. The Astral also serves as a crossroads for many extraplanar beings. Celestials, Fiends, Monitors, slaadi, and all manner of planar creatures use its currents as shortcuts between realms.
Travel and Portals
Accessing the Astral Plane commonly involves powerful meditation, astral projection spells, or portals hidden deep within arcane sanctuaries. Silver cords anchor living travelers to their physical bodies, allowing them safe return—though if severed, the soul is left stranded, a permanent resident of the void. Natural portals appear where spiritual or planar boundaries weaken, such as ancient temples, sites of powerful magic, or places imbued with intense psychic trauma. Gravity does not exist here, yet mass remains; small objects can be thrown, and travelers may propel themselves by pushing off larger structures, gliding effortlessly through the weightless stillness.Entering the Astral Plane
Creatures and objects can enter two years: through projection or physical transition. Astral ProjectionThe most common and least perilous route is astral projection, a powerful ritual that casts the traveler's consciousness into the Astral while their physical body remains anchored in the plane of origin. In this state, the traveler’s astral form appears clothed and equipped with ghostly versions of any magical items they carried, all tethered to their material body by a shimmering silver cord. This cord typically trails ten feet behind the traveler before fading from sight, rendered invisible and intangible to all but the most potent forces.
The silver cord is a lifeline, and only a few rare powers, such as a Githyanki silver sword, the fury of a psychic storm, or divine intervention, can sever it. If cut, the traveler perishes instantly. While the physical body left behind remains alive, it enters a deep, deathless sleep. It does not age, require sustenance, or breathe, but it remains vulnerable to harm. Should the body die, the astral form fades a few minutes later.
Conversely, if the astral form is slain, the consciousness snaps back to the physical body, often leaving the traveler comatose.
Upon entering the Astral Plane, travelers typically encounter a shimmering silvery pool floating nearby, an anchor point marking their origin on the Prime Material Plane. For those projecting their astral form, a luminous silver cord extends from their body back into this pool, serving as a lifeline to their physical form.
When an astral projection steps through a pool to enter another plane, a new physical form is created from the local essence of that realm. This body closely mirrors the traveler’s original form, especially if the destination plane bears strong similarity to their home. The silver cord remains tethered, a thread of continuity across the worlds.
The alternative method, physical entry, requires more direct and dangerous magic—such as plane shift. In this case, the traveler's entire being is brought bodily into the Astral Plane, unanchored and without the protection of a silver cord. Though more risky, this approach is sometimes chosen by those seeking to interact fully with the plane's strange physical phenomena or who lack the ability to project.
Spelljamming
Once within the Astral, spelljamming captains navigate much like any conscious traveler does, through focused will. By concentrating on their intended destination, whether it be another system or a specific landmark adrift in the vastness of the Astral, they can guide their vessel through the weightless silver expanse.Legends
Sages theorize the Astral Plane formed at the birth of the multiverse itself, a spiritual reflection of reality. Myths describe it as the dreams of slumbering gods, the cosmic tapestry woven by an unseen weaver, or the very fabric of thought upon which all existence rests.Inhabitants
Despite its reputation for emptiness, or the Stellar Giant, the Astral Plane teems with curious and perilous life such as:Astral Travelers, wizards, monks, seekers, and adventurers, pass through often, their spirits tethered to distant bodies by the iconic silver cord. To them, the Astral is both a crossroads and a canvas for mental discipline. Among the most feared denizens are the Githyanki, militant planar nomads who dwell in gleaming astral citadels and sail aboard strange, silvery ships. Proud and xenophobic, they defend their realm with savage precision and often raid unsuspecting travelers. Far more terrifying are the Astral Dreadnoughts, immense and silent predators that drift through the plane with an insatiable hunger for thought and soul. The Astral also serves as a crossroads for many extraplanar beings. Celestials, Fiends, Monitors, slaadi, and all manner of planar creatures use its currents as shortcuts between realms.
Deities
The Astral Plane is the graveyard of the gods. Here it remained as a floating "god-isle", a piece of solid matter within the endless empty void, with only a fraction of residual energy left.Geography
The Astral Plane can be accessed from nearly any location within the Prime Material Plane or the first layers of the Outer Planes, whether through arcane spells, psionic focus, or enchanted gateways. Though seemingly barren, fragments of matter drift through this dimension, broken remnants torn from other planes, floating like forgotten ruins in a sea of starlit fog.
Geographical Features
The Silver Void is the defining feature of this plane: a weightless, infinite space where gravity holds no sway and direction is governed solely by thought. There is no true "up" or "down," only the luminous shimmer of endless horizons. Threads of glowing energy, called astral conduits, stretch across the void like radiant arteries, linking distant planes and powers. Drifting within this vast silence are Color Pools, glimmering portals suspended in the emptiness. Each pool pulses with a unique hue and resonance, marking a passage to another plane of existence. Navigating them requires more intuition than science, as they respond to thought and intent rather than mere proximity. While many mortals pass through the Astral unknowingly, often when teleportation or dimensional magic goes awry, true navigation of this realm demands purpose and understanding. It is not uncommon for errant dimension door spells or catastrophic magical mishaps, such as placing a bag of holding inside a portable hole, to tear open temporary rifts to this plane. In such moments, what has nowhere else to go is flung into the Astral Sea. Among the most haunting sights in the Astral are the Dead Gods: Colossal, petrified husks of forgotten deities, frozen in final repose. These divine corpses float endlessly through the void, serving as landmarks, waystations and even colonized sanctuaries for daring explorers. In places where will and power converge, beings have established Astral Dominions, islands of stability forged by sheer force of mind. These sanctuaries usually are the strongholds of powerful wizards, holy temples devoted to planar studies, or monastic enclaves seeking cosmic truth amid the silence.Astral Links
Also known as Astral Pools, are permanent portals between other realms and the Astral do exist, and outsiders who lack the ability to plane shift often use these fixed gateways. More common, however, are the color pools—mystical, free-floating disks that shimmer with an array of hues. Each pool corresponds to a specific plane, its coloration revealing its destination. While many pools are one-way, a rare few allow for bidirectional passage. Even so, an astral projection spell can pierce these one-way veils, allowing travelers to slip back to the Astral regardless.
These "color pools" are two-dimensional circles, ranging between 10 and 60 feet in diameter, and can only be seen from one side unless the viewer possesses means to detect the invisible. Each color pool acts as a portal to another plane, with the hue corresponding to a specific Outer Plane. While most pools vary in shade depending on their destination, the one leading home is always a distinct metallic silver, rippling like mercury stirred in still water.
By concentrating on a nearby pool, a traveler can peer through its surface, allowing them to glimpse the destination before committing to the journey. With enough mental focus, the viewer may even adjust the vantage point within the destination, though only within limited bounds.
| Plane | Color of Pool | Outer Plane |
|---|---|---|
| Abyss | Amethyst | Outer Plane |
| Acheron | Flame Red | Outer Plane |
| Arborea | Sapphire Blue | Outer Plane |
| Arcadia | Saffron | Outer Plane |
| The Beastlands | Emerald Green | Outer Plane |
| Bytopia | Amber | Outer Plane |
| Carceri | Olive | Outer Plane |
| Elemental Plane of Air | Pale Blue | Elemental Plane |
| Elemental Plane of Earth | Mossy Granite | Elemental Plane |
| Elemental Plane of Fire | Fire-Emerald | Elemental Plane |
| Elemental Plane of Water | Deep Blue | Elemental Plane |
| Elysium | Orange | Outer Plane |
| Ethereal Plane | White Spiral | Transitive Plane |
| Feywild | Iridescent Green | Material Plane |
| Gehenna | Russet | Outer Plane |
| Hades | Rust | Outer Plane |
| Limbo | Jet Black | Outer Plane |
| Mechanus | Diamond Blue | Outer Plane |
| Mount Celestia | Gold | Outer Plane |
| Nine Hells | Ruby | Outer Plane |
| Outlands | Leather Brown | Outer Plane | Pandemonium | Magenta | Outer Plane |
| Prime Material Plane | Silver | Material Plane |
| Shadowfell | Black Spiral | Material Plane |
| Ysgard | Indigo | Outer Plane |
Difference between Astral Links and Color Pools
| Feature | Astral Links (Conduits) | Color Pools |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Vast metaphysical conduits | Discrete portals |
| Stability | Mostly fixed, legendary | Often random or shifting |
| Directionality | Usually two-way | Mostly one-way |
| Accessibility | Rare, mythic in nature | Common among adventurers |
| Plane Coverage | Usually Outer Planes | Can reach nearly any plane |
| Scrying | Not typical | Possible through focus |
Localized Phenomena
Time in the Astral flowed at the same rate on a Prime Material plane but the effects of time are slowed almost to a stop, a thousand years in the Astral plane feel 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.
Magic
- Enhanced Spells: Disciplines like divination, illusion, psychic magic, and teleportation flourish here, empowered by the plane’s harmony with thought and will.
- Weakened Magic: Spells dependent on physical components or rooted in the elemental world falter, struggling against the plane's incorporeal nature.
Additional Traits and Hazards
- Scrying: With focused thought, a traveler can peer through a pool like a shimmering window. This allows glimpses of the destination—but may be limited by magic resistance or physical barriers.
- Transit Time: Locating a specific pool can take hours or longer, and even then, the currents of the Astral may shift its position.
- Hazards: Pools might lead into oceans, lava pits, or deep caverns. Worse, the Psychic Winds of the Astral may force a traveler through the wrong pool altogether.
Climate
Psychic Storms
While the Astral Plane is largely calm and weightless, its silvery expanse is not without danger. Subtle winds ripple through the void-more sensation than force, causing clothing and hair to gently drift backward during travel. However, these psychic breezes can occasionally erupt into something far more dangerous: a psychic storm. These tempests brew without warning. One moment, the skies are radiant silver; the next, a wall of dark, roiling energy rushes forward like a tidal wave. The air darkens, and thought itself begins to tremble. Only those able to flee at immense speeds, up to 600 ft' every 10 seconds - can hope to outrun the storm's grasp. Most are quickly overtaken. Caught within its fury, travelers find their journey violently disrupted. Some are hurled off-course, flung toward unknown corners of the multiverse. Others suffer assaults upon the mind itself, their thoughts jumbled by the storm’s raw psychic pressure.Trait Type |
Description |
|---|---|
| Gravity | No Gravity |
| Time | Special |
| Shape & Size | Infinite |
| Morphic Traits | Alterable Morphic Trait |
| Elemental Energy | Special |
| Alignment | Mildly Neutral |
| Magic | Enhanced Divination and Psychic Energy. |
Alternative Name(s)
Astral Sea
Type
Universe
Included Locations
Inhabiting Species
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