Sword of Spirit
Legend
One of the things that has always bothered me about the way D&D has handled the Deep Ethereal is that it is difficult to actually use it as it appears intended to be used.
The Deep Ethereal links the Prime with the Inner Planes. You can get into the Border Ethereal of the Prime, and then go to the Deep Ethereal and take a weeks long journey to get to an Inner Plane.
That is really, really cool to me with my play style. It doesn't get a whole lot cooler than that. It's a perfect way to begin your planar adventuring. Similar to Material Plane adventuring, just in a really exotic locale.
Except...you can't actually do that. Here's why:
1) The spells that can get you into Border Ethereal Plane no easier to cast than the spells that get you into the Deep Ethereal, and
2) The spells that can get you into the Deep Ethereal can also take you directly to your destination plane
3) You gain no particular advantage by traveling the long way, since the only spells that allow you to get out of the Border Ethereal and onto the destination plane are the same spells that let you bypass the Ethereal and jump straight to your destination anwyay!
And I'm not even mentioning the other little bits and pieces of dumb rules scattered throughout the edition (like how 2e and probably 1e don't even let you stay Deep Ethereal a lot of time after a spell ends that was keeping you ethereal; or how the 5e DMG (mind-bogglingly) doesn't let you travel from the Border to the Deep). I just ignore that nonsense.
So the basic issue is really just that there aren't any spells at an appropriate level (ie, before spells that let you bypass it) that let you use the Ethereal Plane as the exotic wilderness travel locale it is painted as.
Enter the next problem: It is difficult to make such spells without making the higher level etherealness completely outclassed by them. For example, the most obvious solution would be a spell of about 5th level (feels right) that simple opens a door you can walk right into/out of the Border Ethereal from. Once there you can go into the Deep, travel to your destination, go into the Border, and cast the spell to get out. Awesome! But it makes etherealness virtually worthless by comparison, because the only advantage it then has is that it automatically brings you back from the Border Ethereal at the end of it's duration (and that's only an advantage when you want it to be).
Now there is a reason for the design decisions of etherealness. The spell is designed for tactical use. It's supposed to be used to interact with the Material Plane. Spying, bypassing barriers, etc. It isn't really a travel spell. So it makes sense at it's level given what it does, but it is problematic to balance a travel spell against it. Basically, a travel spell has to not step on its toes.
I'm still unhappy that no edition of D&D has ever actually made a spell to do enable the Ethereal Plane as the travel route is screams to be used as, but I went ahead and made a spell for my own use.
ETHER CONDUIT
5th-level conjuration
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S, M (a quartz worth at least 50 gp, which the spell consumes)
Duration: 10 minute
Drawing from the limitless possibilities of the Ethereal Plane, you conjure a conduit of ether linking the Deep Ethereal to a location on a plane that borders the Ethereal Plane.
If you are on a bordering plane when you cast this spell a 10-foot diameter circular conduit grounds itself to a point you can see within range. The other end of the conduit appears in the Deep Ethereal Plane.
If you are on the Border Ethereal when you cast this spell, the conduit grounds itself on the bordering plane. There is a 70% chance that the conduit grounds itself in the immediate vicinity on the bordering plane. Otherwise it grounds itself 1d10 x 1d20 miles away in a random direction. Regardless, the other end of the conduit appears in the Deep Ethereal and you find yourself within 10 feet of it.
The conduit has a front and a back on each plane where it appears. The front is a corridor of slowly swirling multi-colored fog. Any creature that enters it is immediately ejected from the conduit on the other plane, appearing in the nearest unoccupied space. The back is an impassable opaque wall of multi-colored fog.
This spell has no effect if you cast it while you are in the Deep Ethereal or on a plane that doesn't border the Ethereal Plane.
The 70% off target chance is there because I house rule a 60% off target chance for plane shift, because I think completely invalidates teleport otherwise. If you're using standard plane shift, just leave out the off target chance and have it always work. I should also note that it assumes significant travel time to get to where you are going on the destination plane. I use the times from the 2e Guide to the Ethereal Plane. The 5e DMG travel times are a bit low for my tastes.
This spell should hit all my target goals, and I'm pretty happy with the flavor of it.
Also, a random note on the Astral Plane = dreams thing. Yes, the 5e DMG uses that language, but I just ran across the same sort of language in the 2e Guide to the Astral Plane, which obviously was part of the same cosmology as the 2e Ethereal Plane. I don't think one should attach any special significance to it--it definitely wasn't intended to interfere with the dream connection of the Ethereal Plane.
The Deep Ethereal links the Prime with the Inner Planes. You can get into the Border Ethereal of the Prime, and then go to the Deep Ethereal and take a weeks long journey to get to an Inner Plane.
That is really, really cool to me with my play style. It doesn't get a whole lot cooler than that. It's a perfect way to begin your planar adventuring. Similar to Material Plane adventuring, just in a really exotic locale.
Except...you can't actually do that. Here's why:
1) The spells that can get you into Border Ethereal Plane no easier to cast than the spells that get you into the Deep Ethereal, and
2) The spells that can get you into the Deep Ethereal can also take you directly to your destination plane
3) You gain no particular advantage by traveling the long way, since the only spells that allow you to get out of the Border Ethereal and onto the destination plane are the same spells that let you bypass the Ethereal and jump straight to your destination anwyay!
And I'm not even mentioning the other little bits and pieces of dumb rules scattered throughout the edition (like how 2e and probably 1e don't even let you stay Deep Ethereal a lot of time after a spell ends that was keeping you ethereal; or how the 5e DMG (mind-bogglingly) doesn't let you travel from the Border to the Deep). I just ignore that nonsense.
So the basic issue is really just that there aren't any spells at an appropriate level (ie, before spells that let you bypass it) that let you use the Ethereal Plane as the exotic wilderness travel locale it is painted as.
Enter the next problem: It is difficult to make such spells without making the higher level etherealness completely outclassed by them. For example, the most obvious solution would be a spell of about 5th level (feels right) that simple opens a door you can walk right into/out of the Border Ethereal from. Once there you can go into the Deep, travel to your destination, go into the Border, and cast the spell to get out. Awesome! But it makes etherealness virtually worthless by comparison, because the only advantage it then has is that it automatically brings you back from the Border Ethereal at the end of it's duration (and that's only an advantage when you want it to be).
Now there is a reason for the design decisions of etherealness. The spell is designed for tactical use. It's supposed to be used to interact with the Material Plane. Spying, bypassing barriers, etc. It isn't really a travel spell. So it makes sense at it's level given what it does, but it is problematic to balance a travel spell against it. Basically, a travel spell has to not step on its toes.
I'm still unhappy that no edition of D&D has ever actually made a spell to do enable the Ethereal Plane as the travel route is screams to be used as, but I went ahead and made a spell for my own use.
ETHER CONDUIT
5th-level conjuration
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S, M (a quartz worth at least 50 gp, which the spell consumes)
Duration: 10 minute
Drawing from the limitless possibilities of the Ethereal Plane, you conjure a conduit of ether linking the Deep Ethereal to a location on a plane that borders the Ethereal Plane.
If you are on a bordering plane when you cast this spell a 10-foot diameter circular conduit grounds itself to a point you can see within range. The other end of the conduit appears in the Deep Ethereal Plane.
If you are on the Border Ethereal when you cast this spell, the conduit grounds itself on the bordering plane. There is a 70% chance that the conduit grounds itself in the immediate vicinity on the bordering plane. Otherwise it grounds itself 1d10 x 1d20 miles away in a random direction. Regardless, the other end of the conduit appears in the Deep Ethereal and you find yourself within 10 feet of it.
The conduit has a front and a back on each plane where it appears. The front is a corridor of slowly swirling multi-colored fog. Any creature that enters it is immediately ejected from the conduit on the other plane, appearing in the nearest unoccupied space. The back is an impassable opaque wall of multi-colored fog.
This spell has no effect if you cast it while you are in the Deep Ethereal or on a plane that doesn't border the Ethereal Plane.
The 70% off target chance is there because I house rule a 60% off target chance for plane shift, because I think completely invalidates teleport otherwise. If you're using standard plane shift, just leave out the off target chance and have it always work. I should also note that it assumes significant travel time to get to where you are going on the destination plane. I use the times from the 2e Guide to the Ethereal Plane. The 5e DMG travel times are a bit low for my tastes.
This spell should hit all my target goals, and I'm pretty happy with the flavor of it.
Also, a random note on the Astral Plane = dreams thing. Yes, the 5e DMG uses that language, but I just ran across the same sort of language in the 2e Guide to the Astral Plane, which obviously was part of the same cosmology as the 2e Ethereal Plane. I don't think one should attach any special significance to it--it definitely wasn't intended to interfere with the dream connection of the Ethereal Plane.