Astral Plane

Description
It is the space between everything. It is the road that goes everywhere. It is where you are when you aren't anywhere else. It is the space between planes. When a character moves through an interplanar portal or projects her spirit to a different plane of existence, then she travels the Astral Plane.

The Astral Plane is a great, endless sphere of clear silvery sky, both above and below. Large tube-shaped clouds slowly coil into the distance, some appearing like thunderheads and others looking like immobile tornadoes of gray wind. Erratic whirlpools of color flicker in midair like spinning coins. There are occasional bits of solid matter here, but most of the Astral Plane is endless, open domain.

Astral Traits
Of the Transitive Planes, the Astral Plane is the most alien to those from the Material Plane. The first-time traveler will find almost nothing familiar there. It has the following traits.
 * No Gravity: Those traveling through this plane do so by thought (explained below).
 * Timeless: Age, hunger, thirst, poison, and natural healing do not function on this plane. They all resume their functions once a traveler leaves the Astral Plane.
 * Infinite Size
 * Alterable Morphic Trait
 * No Elemental/Energy Traits
 * Mildly Neutral-Aligned
 * Enhanced Magic: Powers with the duration "until the end of next turn" are now "save ends." Players can choose to not make a saving throw. Effects with a "sustain minor" are now until the end of the encounter.

Astral Links
The Astral Plane is omnipresent and links to every other plane. Many travelers pass through the plane without realizing it, through the use or portals, or certain spells and rituals. Most travelers find themselves here by accident, when something has to go somewhere but has nowhere else to go. There can be permanent portals that link planes to the Astral Plane. Outsiders that otherwise lack plane-traveling abilities use these portals to get to the Astral Plane.

A number of portals known as color pools exist, connecting the other planes to the Astral Plane.

Portals that pass through the Astral Plane to other planes form conduits, which appear as large trails of dark gray against the astral sky. Travelers can reach a particular plane by latching onto such a conduit and following it out of the Astral Plane, though it is perilous and there is no way of knowing where the conduit is leading.

Conduits flex and weave as they make their way through the Astral Plane, and successfully riding one is akin to successfully riding a tornado. Grabbing a Conduit requires an Athletics check (Hard DC), and failure means the traveler is violently flung away, taking 2d10 damage from the astral turbulence. Success indicates the traveler has latched onto the conduit and can move instantly to one of the two planes the conduit is connecting. As there is no way of knowing where you are going, this method of traveling is only used by the truly desperate.

Astral Inhabitants
The Astral Plane has few native forms. It does have a lot of travelers, and some natives of other planes have taken permanent residence there. The most notable of these "almost natives" are the githyanki, a race that long ago fled their mind flayer masters and established their own tyranny almost as bloodthirsty as that of their illithid enslavers. The astral dreadnought may be a form of native life, but that creature's origin is difficult to study.

Travelers may be encountered in either physical form or astral projections, per the spell/ritual. In the latter case, travelers appears as ghostly, silvery images of themselves. A silver cord trails behind each one for a few feet, before disappearing into the astral haze. In general, an astral form is more powerful than a physical one, because of the inherent magical proficiency it takes to use such spells or rituals.

Astral Form
An astral form has the same general abilities as its native body, including the same defenses, hitpoints and ability scores. But it differs in several key ways as well.

Dying
An astral form cannot be slain normally. If an astral form is killed, the astral traveler's soul returns to its host body, which remains unharmed.

Traveling Elsewhere
If an astral form passes through a color pool or otherwise manifests on another plane, it forms a new body from the building blocks of that plane itself. That body is identical to its host body, except it is immune to the natural hazards of that plane. Again, if the form is slain, the soul returns to the host body.

Items
Worn, held or carried items possessed by the original body are not harmed if their astral forms are damaged or destroyed. When the traveler leaves the Astral Plane, those items fade into oblivion, even if the traveler intended on leaving them there. If someone removes an item from the host, the astral projection loses that item. Objects obtained by the astral form are only returned to the host body if the astral form returns safely and normally.

Silver Cord
An astral body may return to its host as a standard action. When an astral projection enters a color pool, the silver cord bonds with the portal and return is still possible, even if the pool or portal is normally one-way. However, severing the silver cord that connects the form to the main body kills the astral traveler's normal body. The cord usually appears at the base of the skull and stretches back about five feet before merging with the Astral Plane. Only psychic winds, astral dreadnoughts and githyanki silver swords can cut this cord. The cord has hitpoints equal to the bloodied value of the owner, and can only be targeted by weapons and opponents who specifically have the ability. It shares defenses with the host body, though attacking the cord takes a -2 penalty because it is a small target. damage to silver cords cannot be healed except by ending the astral projection.

Movement and Combat
The Astral Plane's lack of gravity makes movement tricky. Most of the inhabitants move merely by thinking about where they want to be, and this is akin to flight with perfect maneuverability. In the Astral Plane, your Speed equals your Intelligence divided by 3 and rounded down. When one is maneuvering through astral space, "up" and "down" are determined solely by the traveler's orientation.

Distances are deceptive on the Astral Plane and maps are useless in the hazy expanse. The time it takes an individual to reach a destination is based on how familiar the travelers are with that particular destination. "Very familiar" is a place the individual has been too often, and feels at home at. "Studied carefully" is a well-known place from regular visits, including most color pools the traveler has used before. "Seen casually" is a place known from occasional visits, including a color pool of a particular type, rather than a particular color pool. "Viewed once" is a place seen one-time only, or a place seen only by magic. "Description only" can be verbal or written, though a map would be worthless due to the lack of landmarks.

Travelers on the Astral Plane suffer no movement penalties for armor or weight, but can only carry a heavy load while moving. Movement through the plane is silent.

Astral Combat
The Astral Plane has no gravity, so attackers can come from all directions. there is no longer a maximum range for weapons, and the penalty for going beyond normal range is halved. Only magical healing functions on this plane; diseases and poisons will not worsen, and only 1 healing surge is recovered during an extended rest (with only a 50% chance of regaining 1 Daily power). Travelers suffer no penalties to speed for encumbrance or weight.

Features of the Astral Plane
There is no day or night on the Astral Plane. Instead, a gray radiance lights the entire plane from all directions. Visions fades after about 600 feet. All other senses work as usual.

Psychic Storms
There are winds in the Astral Plane, but they do not usually affect the astral traveler. Clothing and hair tends to flutter backward during astral travel, but rarely do the psychic winds blow more strongly than a light breeze. But occasionally, part of the Astral Plane flares up into a psychic storm that whips through the area, delaying travelers or driving them onto other planes. Psychic storms may also affect the minds of travelers.

The storm itself usually brews up without warning. The Astral Plane darkens in one direction, and the darkness quickly engulfs everything in its path. Only those who move directly away from a psychic storm at a speed above 7 can outrun it. Others are overtaken by the storm. On the following tables, the group rolls together for location effect and individually for mental effect.

Astral Objects
Bits of solid matter are strewn throughout the Astral Plane. Most of these objects have been sucked through color pools or left behind by careless or dead travelers. About 10% of such objects are extremely valuable, equivalent to a magic item of party level, and maybe in the form of a locked chest or dead body.

Dead Deities
The Astral Planes are where the physical forms of deities can rest, and is sometimes known as the deities' graveyard. Such dead bodies can be anywhere from hundreds of feet to several miles long, and gravity is localized to them. These bodies are indestructible, and the githyanki have used many of them to build bases of operations on. As resurrecting a dead deity would probably require the body of said deity, some of these bodies have clerics and worshipers standing vigil nearby, who will not take kindly to trespassing.

Githyanki
The githyanki live on the Astral Plane in cities, fortresses and citadels. The largest cities are built on nameless and forgotten deities. Compared to other races, the githyanki are extremely militaristic. While they do not live in barracks, their homes and and businesses are arranged according to the rank and standing of each individual or training group. Githyanki do not identify with families, but with their training group. Training is a core tenet of githyanki life, as each strives to excel over his companions. Training centers, magical and psionic laboratories, libraries and practice fields are the most frequented portion of any githyanki settlement. Magical prowess is as highly regarded as physical prowess, and githyanki sword mages are famed throughout the Great Wheel.

Tu'narath
Tu'narath is the largest and greatest githyanki city. It is built upon the body of a deity who had been dead eons when the githyanki first came to the Astral Plane. It boasts a population of around 100,000, and a smattering of other races live there as well. The leader of all githyanki, the lich-queen Vlaakith, dwells here, rarely leaving the inner sanctum of her gigantic palace. The palace is carved from what may have been the forehead of the dead deity, and it is by far the highest and broadest structure in the city.

Vlaakith, the lich queen
The current ruler of the githyanki race, she has ruled supreme for over a thousand years. She has her lichdom to thank for her longevity. She has no heirs and interest in producing any, as she never plans on relinquishing her control. Hideous in appearance, she resembles an aged, blackened corpse with smoldering emerald eyes. She prefers long purple robes trimmed in gold and embroidered with precious gems. An elaborate headdress of gold and rubies and a dragon-headed scepter encrusted with even more rubies are her badges of office. The scepter was a gift from Tiamat's red consort, Ephelemon, and likely is the physical representation of the truce between dragons and githyanki.

The githyanki revere her as the stepmother of their race, and few would ever gainsay her. To the, her word is truth. Despite this, she jealously guards her power. Any githyanki who becomes too powerful has their life essence drained, both nourishing her and eliminating potential rivals.

Githyanki Astral Ships
The githyanki are skilled shipbuilders, and have used this ability to create their famed astral ships. While most communities have only a handful, some, such as Tu'narath, have entire fleets. Astral ships vary in size from small skiffs to galleon-sized craft, all of which look like terrestrial keelboats. Most are equipped with harpoon and ballistae, and the largest even have catapults. An example of one is the Astral Carrack, which is 100 feet long, and crewed by forty githyanki.

Astral Encounters
Roll once per hour. On a 96-100, an encounter occurs.