Eric Woodward
f9a3003d70
add ecnounter alpha pull out astral travel to own file zine prep fix multi-row table headers
94 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
94 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Astral Adventuring
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description: Notes and rules for playing (or running) adventures on the astral plane.
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date_pub: 2023-02-19T15:10:00-05:00
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section: astral
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content_type: feature
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short_code: aa1
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---
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[[toc]]
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### Currents
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Invisible flows of psychic energy that permeate and swirl around the astral plane.
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- Creatures move up to 10x faster when moving with the current (or faster).
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- Vessels designed to ride on these currents are called **astral cruisers**.
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- They can use the currents to move at [travel speed](/astral/vessels.html#travel-speed).
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### Distance and Measurement
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- Ranges are measured in yards, rather than feet (3x increase).
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- Areas of spell effects, blasts, etc. are still measured in feet.
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- Movement rates:
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- For creatures - measured in feet.
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- For vessels - measured in yards.
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#### Missile Weapons
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- Gain an additional attack range option, **Distant**:
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- -4 to attack rolls.
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- Range is 1 mile.
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### Fragments
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Pieces of other planes (usually floating) in the astral plane. The shape is typically determined by the plane of origin:
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- **Fire**: Fragments from [the elemental plane of fire](/planes/elemental.html) are usually globes of elemental fire (used in Dwarven fire engines and some Drahki weapons).
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- **Water**: Fragments from [the elemental plane of water](/planes/elemental.html) are usually globes of water.
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- **Earth**: Fragments from [the elemental plane of earth](/planes/elemental.html) are usually irregularly-shaped chunks of rock and dirt.
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- Large fragments of earth are called **islands**, and often used to support a stronghold or outpost in the astral void.
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- **Air**: Fragments from [the elemental plane of air](/planes/elemental.html) are usually globes of air (used to supply some ships traveling to airless planes)
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- **Chaos**: Fragments from [the elemental plane of chaos](/planes/elemental.html) are usually jet black globes, and tend to function as spheres of annihilation.
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- **Law**: Fragments from [the elemental plane of law](/planes/elemental.html) are usually globes of crackling, radiant energy.
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- It's believed that these arise spontaneously when a fragment from the plane of chaos appears, and are equal in size to the chaos ones.
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- When a fragment of law and chaos are combined, the resulting release of energy looks like white and black lightning, and can be seen for thousands of miles around.
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### Gravity
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- Subjective, with capable creatures (INT 5 or greater) able to change "down" with a thought (CHA check if under duress).
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- Falling speed is INT x 30' / combat round, specific maneuvers require a CHA check.
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- Objects float in space unless able to move on their own (as above) or acted upon by an external force.
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- Unintelligent creatures fall "down" at 100' / round.
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### Languages
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- Alignment languages are the same throughout the multiverse.
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- The same version of Common is spoken throughout the multiverse, with only the perceived accent of a speaker changing (along with certain slang).
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- Each racial language spoken and written on a given plane is a dialect of that same language on other planes.
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### Outposts
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A stronghold, shop, or town in the astral plane, usually established on a large island.
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- Those interested in trade will have one (or more) docks for passing ships.
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- Outposts with [permanent portals](#portals) to other planes are called **ports**.
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### Portals
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Usually manifest as flat, shimmering discs of various colors that appear to float in place.
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- Can be used by passing through to arrive on the destination plane.
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- May lead to any other plane (Inner, Outer, or Material).
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- Each different destination has its own color, and a portal leading to a character's home plane will always look silver to them.
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- Most portals (99%) are temporary, lasting 1d20 hours.
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- Most portals (99%) are one-way, and only visible (when open) from the entry side, but become two-way for 1d4 rounds after being passed through.
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- An open portal may be be closed or made translucent (allowing characters to see the other end for one turn) with a successful CHA check within 60' of the portal.
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- Temporary portals which lead from the astral to other planes are called **pools**.
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- Permanent portals which lead from the astral to other planes are called **ports**, and are usually established on a island and attached to an [outpost](#outposts).
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### Temperature
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The ambient temperature in the astral plane tends towards the tepid side for most humans and demihumans, being roughly equivalent to a warm spring day in a temperate climate.
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### Time
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- Time is quickened: 3 rounds pass in the astral plane for each round that passes in a material plane.
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- Spells cast in the Astral plane appear to last 3 times as long as listed
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- The effects of time don't happen while on the astral plane. This means that characters in the astral plane:
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- do not age,
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- do not need to breathe,
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- do not need to eat or drink (which also means that they can't expend a ration to heal), and
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- only need to sleep for 30 phase-minutes each phase, although they still need to rest for an entire shift (8 phase-hours), and only gain 1 HP back after resting and sleeping.
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