Description

The Astral Plane is an endless silver void existing between the planes of existence. Serving as a vast transitive plane, it connects countless worlds and realities throughout the multiverse.
Travellers describe the Astral Plane as a silent expanse filled with drifting debris, petrified gods, floating fortresses, and portals leading to distant planes.
Time barely functions within the Astral Plane, making it both a pathway and a place of cosmic mystery.

Overview

The Astral Plane acts as the primary bridge between many outer and inner planes. Spellcasters, planar travellers, gods, and extraplanar beings use it to traverse the multiverse.
Distance within the Astral Plane behaves strangely, with movement determined more by thought and willpower than physical motion.
Despite its tranquil appearance, the Astral Plane contains numerous dangers.

Physical Properties

The Astral Plane possesses several unusual characteristics:

• No gravity
• No natural aging
• No hunger or thirst
• Movement directed by thought
• Infinite silvery emptiness

Objects and creatures drift endlessly through the void unless guided intentionally.
Massive structures, forgotten ruins, and the corpses of dead gods float throughout the plane.

Planar Adjacency

The Astral Plane connects to nearly every major plane in existence.
Colour pools and planar portals lead toward:

• Material worlds
• Outer planes
• Divine realms
• Pocket dimensions
• Demiplanes

Many forms of extraplanar travel pass through the Astral Plane either directly or indirectly.

Magic on the Plane

Magic associated with planar travel functions especially well within the Astral Plane.
Common magical phenomena include:

• Astral projection
• Planar portals
• Psychic communication
• Dimensional breaches

Some summoning and teleportation effects interact unpredictably with the plane’s timeless nature.

Inhabitants

Creatures dwelling within the Astral Plane include:

• Githyanki
• Astral dreadnoughts
• Planar travellers
• Psychic entities
• Celestials and fiends in transit

The plane also contains drifting corpses of dead deities and forgotten civilizations.

Cosmological Role

The Astral Plane serves as the connective tissue of the multiverse.
It functions as:

• A route between planes
• A repository of ancient remnants
• A realm of psychic thought
• A battlefield between extraplanar powers

Many philosophers believe the Astral Plane reflects consciousness itself.

Variations by World

Different settings interpret the Astral Plane differently.
In Spelljammer cosmology, Wildspace systems drift within the Astral Sea.

Some worlds treat the Astral Plane as a spiritual afterlife pathway, while others emphasise its role in planar travel and psychic projection.

Planar Travel

Travellers commonly reach the Astral Plane through:

• Astral Projection
• Planar portals
• Colour pools
• Spelljamming vessels
• Magical catastrophes

Though movement is easy within the plane, returning safely can be far more difficult.

Locations