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What is the Astral Sea according to 5e?
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<blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 8692802" data-attributes="member: 58172"><p>What is the Astral Sea according to 5e?</p><p></p><p>I have some sense of how the cosmology will work for D&D 5e and its Spelljammer setting option. There is a video interviewing Perkins who explains the basics of how this cosmology will work.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wey7sgBplp4" target="_blank">What is: Wildspace and the Astral Sea?</a></p><p></p><p>There still is some room for personal interpretation and speculation − heh, and I will do so in this post and thread. What is clear is:</p><p></p><p>Astral Plane = Wildspace + Astral Sea</p><p></p><p>Essentially, "wildspace" is an area around a star (namely a sun) or some kind of stellar system, such as a nebula. Then the "astral sea" is the misty dreamy scape between these stars. Indeed, "astral" literally means "starry", and the stars are visibly prominent from within the astral plane.</p><p></p><p>My current impression is, within the aster, the distant stars look something like lamps within a fog. Here is where my speculation begins.</p><p></p><p>Note, I use the term "ether" to mean the stuff that the ethereal plane is made out of. Ether is the "quintessence", the fifth element, that all of the other elements are made out of. Ether is the same thing as "force", like the force of gravity or the force of telekinesis. Force is remarkable because it is both physical and immaterial. It is also possible to make constructs out of ether, like force shields, or the virtual bodies of ghosts. The "shallow ether" is the part of the force that exists in the material plate, including gravity and the atomic forces that keep atomic substances together. The "deep ether" is a spirit world that lacks a connection to the material plane.</p><p></p><p>By analogy, I use the term "aster" to mean the stuff that the astral plane is made out of. Aster is pure "thoughtstuff". It lacks force and matter. It follows its own cognitive rules, and has its own experiential properties. The astral plane is a mindscape, where dreams, symbols, and cultural archetypes take on a life of their own, whose closeness or distance is as near or far as ones ability to contemplate them or have affinity with them.</p><p></p><p>It is significant, the wildspace is part of the astral plane − not the material plane.</p><p></p><p>In reallife, outer space is mostly an empty, bleak, and lonely void. This part the material world is "space" − roominess − with little or no matter in between. Even forces are faint from far away substances.</p><p></p><p>As far as I can tell, the same is true in the D&D multiverse setting. When a character is in the material plane, on the planet of Toril, they look up thru the dark emptiness of outer space and can notice the extreme isolation of it.</p><p></p><p>However. When this same character dematerializes, and forms a virtual body made out of thoughtstuff, one can roam the astral plane to explore a different kind reality. Within the mindscape of the astral plane, the space between planets and stars is an ocean teaming with life. This life is the dreams of planets, animals, and peoples. And is wondrous.</p><p></p><p>The wildspace is the part of the astral plane that is within the influence of some point of light, a sun or comparable stellar system. The distance of this influence seems to correlate with a stars pull of gravity. The star itself and the objects around it defacto have minds that exert a mindful presence, a kind of animism. They exist at the level of thought as well as at the levels of force and matter. Within the wildspace, the star and its vicinity is a vivid experience of spectral colors and the dreams of nearby mindful beings.</p><p></p><p>But the emptiness between stars is different. Here the astral vividness diminishes, and the thoughtstuff of the vacuum is a mistiness. Something like a silvery fog with subtle hints of whitish reds and purples. The distant stars shine thru this mist.</p><p></p><p>In the material plane, the stars are impossibly far away. Unreachable. But it is possible to hyperjump out of the material plane, to travel across the mindscapes. To travel at the speed of thought.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Yaarel, post: 8692802, member: 58172"] What is the Astral Sea according to 5e? I have some sense of how the cosmology will work for D&D 5e and its Spelljammer setting option. There is a video interviewing Perkins who explains the basics of how this cosmology will work. [URL='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wey7sgBplp4']What is: Wildspace and the Astral Sea?[/URL] There still is some room for personal interpretation and speculation − heh, and I will do so in this post and thread. What is clear is: Astral Plane = Wildspace + Astral Sea Essentially, "wildspace" is an area around a star (namely a sun) or some kind of stellar system, such as a nebula. Then the "astral sea" is the misty dreamy scape between these stars. Indeed, "astral" literally means "starry", and the stars are visibly prominent from within the astral plane. My current impression is, within the aster, the distant stars look something like lamps within a fog. Here is where my speculation begins. Note, I use the term "ether" to mean the stuff that the ethereal plane is made out of. Ether is the "quintessence", the fifth element, that all of the other elements are made out of. Ether is the same thing as "force", like the force of gravity or the force of telekinesis. Force is remarkable because it is both physical and immaterial. It is also possible to make constructs out of ether, like force shields, or the virtual bodies of ghosts. The "shallow ether" is the part of the force that exists in the material plate, including gravity and the atomic forces that keep atomic substances together. The "deep ether" is a spirit world that lacks a connection to the material plane. By analogy, I use the term "aster" to mean the stuff that the astral plane is made out of. Aster is pure "thoughtstuff". It lacks force and matter. It follows its own cognitive rules, and has its own experiential properties. The astral plane is a mindscape, where dreams, symbols, and cultural archetypes take on a life of their own, whose closeness or distance is as near or far as ones ability to contemplate them or have affinity with them. It is significant, the wildspace is part of the astral plane − not the material plane. In reallife, outer space is mostly an empty, bleak, and lonely void. This part the material world is "space" − roominess − with little or no matter in between. Even forces are faint from far away substances. As far as I can tell, the same is true in the D&D multiverse setting. When a character is in the material plane, on the planet of Toril, they look up thru the dark emptiness of outer space and can notice the extreme isolation of it. However. When this same character dematerializes, and forms a virtual body made out of thoughtstuff, one can roam the astral plane to explore a different kind reality. Within the mindscape of the astral plane, the space between planets and stars is an ocean teaming with life. This life is the dreams of planets, animals, and peoples. And is wondrous. The wildspace is the part of the astral plane that is within the influence of some point of light, a sun or comparable stellar system. The distance of this influence seems to correlate with a stars pull of gravity. The star itself and the objects around it defacto have minds that exert a mindful presence, a kind of animism. They exist at the level of thought as well as at the levels of force and matter. Within the wildspace, the star and its vicinity is a vivid experience of spectral colors and the dreams of nearby mindful beings. But the emptiness between stars is different. Here the astral vividness diminishes, and the thoughtstuff of the vacuum is a mistiness. Something like a silvery fog with subtle hints of whitish reds and purples. The distant stars shine thru this mist. In the material plane, the stars are impossibly far away. Unreachable. But it is possible to hyperjump out of the material plane, to travel across the mindscapes. To travel at the speed of thought. [/QUOTE]
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