Folding space and the Astral Plane

[Mythmere]

And why replace the Outlands with the Astral? Two totally different places with totally different roles. I think you may be misunderstanding a bit of cosmology here. The Outlands doesn't bridge between Outer and Inner planes at all. It -is- an Outer plane and just sits as a hub between the Great Wheel of the outer planes, connected to each of them by the portal in each of the ring of gate towns.

No, I'm not misunderstanding it, I just think it's a loser concept in terms of the way I see the planes. It's a "middle ground" that can house interplanar politics and intrigue involving a mixed cast of characters from alignment-based outer planes, but all the written materials on it portray it as a high powered and weird material plane all over again, with outsiders instead of normal monsters. I want the planes IMC to feel more alien, but I still want a middle ground to fill the role of the Outlands. The Astral is my nominee. Every different piece of the Outlands can be moved into demiplanes (or islands) in the Astral, and feel more alien, more plane-like, than it did as a part of a single outer plane. IMHO, of course.

Piratecat wrote:
Did you ever read the 2e Planescape guide to the Astral? It was quite impressive, and filled with fun plot hooks.

I used to have Planescape, but I never read a book called Guide to the Astral. Was it a separate book?

 

[Shemeska]

Every different piece of the Outlands can be moved into demiplanes (or islands) in the Astral, and feel more alien, more plane-like, than it did as a part of a single outer plane. IMHO, of course.


I used to have Planescape, but I never read a book called Guide to the Astral. Was it a separate book?

How is that any different from the current Great Wheel with the other infinite outer planes linked to the itself infinite Outlands?

And yes, 'Guide to the Astral' was a supplement for Planescape. A damn fine one too.

 

[Dexterward]

I'm preparing for an epic campaign, and am working on the global issues and realities that the players will eventually face. One of these is the matter of the astral plane, the ethereal plane, and the capabilities of magic on the prime material.

.......

Please offer suggestions on how to replace the Outlands with the Astral Plane; why not gate to some outer plane then back to the desired location on the PM? Why might ships be traveling in the Astral Plane? Any other suggestions or rule pitfalls that might cause me problems?

Mythmere,



Over the last 26 years or so I have been running D&D games with planner travel, each time I changed the cosmology to suit my campaign needs. My last campaign I used a non-orthodox D&D cosmology that you might like since it used the astral plane extensively.



I used our own universe as a model, replacing outer space with the astral plane (it still looked like space, but had some of the astral plane qualities). Travel through the astral was only possible with powerful spells (astral projection) or on astral gliders (i.e. spelljammers). Each “plane” was a different planet. So, for example, traveling to the elemental plane of “Earth” was in essence visiting another planet that had no atmosphere and was composed mostly of rocks and minerals. The elemental plane of “Air” was a gas giant and so on. In this way the “astral plane” touched all other planes, and as long you could navigate the “astral plane” you could visit any other plane in my cosmology.



The other changes I made where to surround each plane (planet) with its own ethereal (spirit) layer. Think of entering a purely spiritual realm where all natural features and creatures are mimicked by a “spirit” version. The only way to enter the ethereal plane was to open a gate / portal from any other place other then the astral plane. The main difference between my ethereal plane and the normal D&D cosmology ethereal is that each plane in my multi-verse had its own ethereal and one could not travel to any other plane via the ethereal. The only exception to this rule was that the shadow plane was a “deeper” extension of the ethereal that could only be entered via the ethereal.



I handled the positive and negative planes as alternate universes, each an exact duplicate to the normal universe except with a highly positive or negative charge. I also linked multiple layers of a plane via gate spells that took a traveler to another planet with similar traits. Thus the infinite layers of the abyss became and infinite number of similar planets each governed by similar “natural” laws. To create that fantasy feel, I used magic (a energy or force present in all things) as the glue. Instead of using physics and other natural laws to describe interactions, I used magic. That way I could tailor a plane as needed without destroying my cosmology.



Hope this helps you come up with an idea or two.



Dexterward