Astral Sea and/or Astral Plane

[SkidAce]

Thanks for the info and suggestions.

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?

Don't remember whether it is the core Primal Order book, or Chessboards that treats it like a sea, and it appears my friend has them. But yes, you are on the right track with the link above.

Also "Beyond Countless Doorways by Monte Cook et al, is probably the spiritual successor to the Primal Order. A dang fine book. It has the "Ethereal Sea".

And "Portals and Planes" by Mike Mearls for d20 Fantasy Flight Games (which in my opinion also looks to be inspired by the Primal Order) has the "River of Worlds" where brave sailors can sail theoretically from one end of the cosmos to the other.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

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.

It also cropped up, as the Ethereal Sea, in Malhavoc's Beyond Countless Doorways book before 4E came along. Great book and I definitely like the aquatic spin on the plane. It's loosely tied to Monte Cook's Ptolus, which also has an Ethereal Sea, although the setting is mostly locked away from the planes.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Ditto on the love of the aquatic spin on the Astral...

 

[TarionzCousin]

I can't remember specifics, but this is the internet: facts are extraneous!

When I ran a 4E game in the Outer Planes, I let characters with swim speeds move faster when immersed in the Astral Sea. Flying speeds only applied "above" sea level. I might have allowed burrowing below sea level, too.

I can't remember if those are actual 4E rules, I made them up, or the group debated. It made a difference during combat, though.

The trickiest part was trying to describe what the Astral Sea is comprised of. Is it "wet"? Does it impede ranged attacks? In short, how like a large body of Earth water is it?

 

[DMZ2112]

The trickiest part was trying to describe what the Astral Sea is comprised of. Is it "wet"? Does it impede ranged attacks? In short, how like a large body of Earth water is it?

That's fascinating. I never even considered for a moment that the word "sea" wasn't a metaphor in this case, in the same way that outer space is sometimes referred to in nautical terms. Throughout D&D4 I continued to treat the Astral Sea like a uniform and infinite three-dimensional space, with no absolute "up" or "down."

That didn't interfere with sailing on it, of course, spelljammers being what they are.

 

[grodog]

This book, by Peter Adkison?

The TPO books are all must-have reading for deital/planar stuff. There's one chapter in TPO itself which focuses directly on the planes, while the entire Chessboards book does as well. (The other two TPO books are focused on the deity stuff, so less so on the planes themselves).

I also recommend several other planar books in a planar gaming bibliography I put together in my article "The Theory and Use of Gates in Campaign Dungeons, Part 1: Setting the Stage" in Knockspell #3 (Summer 2009); if you're interested, I'd be happy to share the list?

I am looking for more sources on the Astral outside of D&D too. Is there any one that specifies it as a sea?

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.

If you're also looking for some good Appendix-N-style reading inspiration on the planes in general, check out Ed Greenwood's “Theory and Use of Gates” from The Dragon #37 (May 1980) and reprinted in Best of Dragon Magazine Volume 2 (November 1981 and February 1986). IIRC Roger Moore's Astral treatment in Dragon #67 (November 1982) also treats it like a sea, as the githyanki in the "Fedifensor" adventure in the same issue sail around in voidships.

The trickiest part was trying to describe what the Astral Sea is comprised of. Is it "wet"? Does it impede ranged attacks? In short, how like a large body of Earth water is it?

I would personally do something very funky with it to keep it surreal and strange, and grounded in your particular campaign world's take on planes in the multiverse. A few examples to try to make that a little more concrete:

1) IMC, the unfiltered Prime Material perception of the Astral Plane is something akin to being dead-center in a boundless sensory deprivation chamber. It's pure tedium, and an endurance test, which is why how you decide to travel through it is so important, and why most folks travel via astral cord vs. physical transfer to the plane---it may drive you mad very very quickly if you're new to the environment and get lost or are there too long.
2) What if the Astral is not physically wet, but is instead psionically wet---what could that mean, and what effects would it have, as you travel through a plane of damp psionicness?
3) What if the wet of the astral is not physical water but the mist form of the river Styx (or Lethe, or your other favorite underworld river)? If Styx, it may incite discord and hatred in those exposed to it for too long; if Lethe, it may afflict PCs with forgetfulness, etc. Perhaps the Astral is the conjoinment of all of the rivers of the underworld, and it has zones/regions/seas within it where different areas have different effects.

Anyway, hopefully something above might be useful for you

 

[Stoat]

I know I saw an article in Dragon circa 1992 or so that talked about ships sailing in the Astral Plane.

Damned if I can remember any real details, though.

 

[Nellisir]

I know I saw an article in Dragon circa 1992 or so that talked about ships sailing in the Astral Plane.

Damned if I can remember any real details, though.

"Voidjammers"
Dragon #159, July 1990

 

[13garth13]

Also (the one I remember the best!)...

Dragon #67, which introduced the idea of a silvery void which astral ships sailed through (including a wonderful adventure, "Fedifensor").

Cheers,
Colin

P.S. Doh, it appears the grodog already mentioned it above; that'll teach me to reply before reading all the responses.

 

[Bluenose]

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.

I'm pretty sure it appears in that way in others of Moorcock's books too. I'm sure a remember a recurring character from several of the series who was the captain of a ship that sailed the "Sea of Fate" between various worlds. For that matter Kepler wrote of ships sailing between planets and to other stars.