Astral Sea and/or Astral Plane

[TarionzCousin]

I really like the concept of the Astral Plane as a great sea. Was 4E the first place this idea occurred?

If not, was it someplace else in D&D history or even (gasp) elsewhere?

Where can I learn more about all things Astral?

 

[Kinak]

Well, the idea of the astral spheres (as a place for disembodied concepts, as well as the place that spirits pass through on their way to being born and their way to death) dates back to at least Ancient Greece.

Interestingly, 4e's Spelljammer/Astral Plane crossover can be firmly grounded in that classical flavor. The original conceptions of the astral plane are basically just the space beyond the sky, where the stars and planets reside.

As far as the Astral Plane as an ocean, that seems to be new to 4e. Older conceptions of the astral plane have it filled with ether or quintessence, which is none of the four classical elements, but is usually described as being similar to rarefied air.

In addition to the 4e sources, Planescape had a Guide to the Astral Plane that might be worth mining for ideas. Other than that, I'd just start walking on Wikipedia, basking in a few thousand years of random thoughts about the higher realms and steal ideas from there.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[SkidAce]

As far as the Astral Plane as an ocean, that seems to be new to 4e. Older conceptions of the astral plane have it filled with ether or quintessence, which is none of the four classical elements, but is usually described as being similar to rarefied air.

Cheers!
Kinak

The Primal Order by a little known company called the wizards of the coast has it as a sea you could sail in one of the supplement books if I recall. There are other sources of literature also, but I'm on my way to work.

My campaign has been a cross between a sailing sea and a misty/silvery void since the early 90s, and no one ever thought it was too unusual.

 

[Mercurius]

One of the things 4E got right, in my opinion, was the Astral Sea and the planar structure as a whole - really liked it and prefer it over the Great Wheel as it is more open-ended and incorporates some nice Spelljammer-esque goodness. Check out The Plane Above: Secrets of the Astral Sea for more.

 

[DMZ2112]

One of the things 4E got right, in my opinion, was the Astral Sea and the planar structure as a whole - really liked it and prefer it over the Great Wheel as it is more open-ended and incorporates some nice Spelljammer-esque goodness. Check out The Plane Above: Secrets of the Astral Sea for more.

I agree that the overall D&D4 characterization of the Astral Sea is probably the best treatment of the Astral Plane throughout all of the D&D canon, but it is a little high level*. If you're looking for more detail, @TarionzCousin, you might also check out the AD&D2 A Guide to the Astral Plane. It was the comprehensive work on the subject until The Plane Above.

EDIT: * By which I mean it is a 10,000-foot view, not that it is intended for epic tier.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Thanks for the info and suggestions.

The Primal Order by a little known company called the wizards of the coast has it as a sea you could sail in one of the supplement books if I recall.

This book, by Peter Adkison?

I own the 2E and 4E Astral Plane books. I am looking for more sources on the Astral outside of D&D too. Is there any one that specifies it as a sea?

 

[billd91]

In literature, the idea of an astral sea or sea between worlds has appeared before - parts of Elric's saga The Sailor on the Seas of Fate seem to fit the bill of inspiration.

 

[Kinak]

My campaign has been a cross between a sailing sea and a misty/silvery void since the early 90s, and no one ever thought it was too unusual.

Oh, absolutely. I didn't mean to imply that silvery magical seas or cloud seas or flying ships or anything like that were new to 4th Edition.

It's just the first time I'd seen the Astral Plane being imagined that way. I haven't seen the early WotC stuff you mentioned, though.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[Shemeska]

I'll have to mention Monte's 2e 'The Astral Plane' supplement for Planescape as the best source on the Astral out there.

4e's 'The Plane Above' was mentioned as well above, but it isn't exactly a true sourcebook on the Astral plane (or the Astral Sea in 4e terms) though as I see it. It does cover the 4e version of the Astral, but it also covers a lot more pages looking at divine domains and so-called shattered dominions. A lot of the content isn't on the Astral itself, but what would have been entire outer planes, divine domains therein, or demiplanes in prior editions. My own just plain not liking the 4e cosmology aside, I think the book suffers from trying to do too much, and rather than being focused on the Astral itself, it tries to stuff the entirety of what would have been the outer planes sans the Abyss, and monsters therein, in one source when it should have done multiple sourcebooks IMO.

Completely different game and cosmology, but nWoD Mage had some interesting material on its own Astral which is IMO worth mining for ideas.

Pulling from real world material, looking at some of the early 20th century Theosophy material (Blavatsky et al) has its own various conceptions of 'the astral' worth consideration.

 

[Zardnaar]

Em Manual of the Planes 1st and 3 rd ed?