Astral Plane
“The Astral Plane is an anomaly. Even thinking about it as a plane is technically wrong, as it is simply the space between the planes, but the nomenclature can be made to work if it is thought of as transitive space. Between the Material Plane and the Inner Planes, and between the Inner Planes and the Outer Planes, the Silver Void of the Astral sits, facilitating not just travel but life itself. Or at least intelligent life, which likely draws cognitive essence from the Astral in some way not yet understood. However, whatever its original intention, it has become a place of breathtaking wonder and limitless danger.”
The Astral Plane is the connective tissue between the multiverse, a place both within and outside most of it. For most Material Plane natives, the Astral Plane is little more than a conduit that is used to access the rest of the planes, and even then it may not register as a place worth visiting. But as a realm of powerful thought and pure belief, it can hold wonders and treasures from bygone times and eras just waiting to be discovered.
Those wonders are guarded by some fierce monsters, including creatures such as the githyanki, perhaps the most famous of the Astral Plane residents. The curious thing about them is that they are not natives – they were refugees from some other place, where they escaped bonds of servitude at the hands of illithids. They’ve gone on to colonize portions of the Astral Plane, and have learned to harness their impressive mental capabilities to power great ships that sail the Silver Void as quickly as worldly ships travel an ocean.
And while at first glance the Silver Void earns its name as being empty, travelers that go long enough and far enough can find islands of material from across the multiverse. Great physical masses float tranquilly through the Astral Plane, the husk-like remnants of gods the multiverse forgot about or were defeated by others. Islands of earth, clouds of water, and more have been pushed or pulled into the Astral Plane by a host of events, accidental and deliberate, from a multitude of other planar destinations.
Adventure seekers drawn into the Astral Plane may find the githyanki city of Tu’narath, explore the vast Field of Stars, search for the legendary Colorless Pool, or mine for rare astral diamonds within the Silver Mountain. These places and more lay scattered about the Astral Plane, just waiting for explorers to uncover.
Powerful & Mighty
To date, no overarching power has been found to be lurking behind the Astral Plane, and most planar scholars agree that no such entity or intelligence exists. That doesn’t mean other organizations and powerful creatures haven’t found the Silver Void to their liking, and travelers into the Astral Sea should best be knowledgeable about these groups and their desires.
- Bane (Toril; dead)
- Bhaal (Toril; dead)
- Dark God (none; dying)
- Leira (Toril; dead)
- Myrkul (Toril; dead)
Godsblood Fellowship
Across the history of the multiverse, there have many gods that have perished. Some violently, but most through simple loss of worshippers, depriving them of their deific power until they eventually fade away. Or at least, they fade away from their plane of residence. As a god’s power wanes and fades, a peculiar island appears in the Astral Plane, representing the memory of the fallen deity coalesced as a rocky formation. They bear little resemblance to their former power, but each is unique and contains untapped potential for power.
Or so the members of the Godsblood Fellowship believe. These researchers, wizards, scholars, treasure hunters, and necromancers have gathered together to study and utilize the god-isles that float through the Astral Plane. They were founded by a pair of priests who had lost faith in their god long ago, but after some tragedy returned to the faith – only to find the faith gone as the god had “died.” They scoured the Silver Void until they found their deity’s god-isle, and upon it they built a home to live and watch over their fallen god. During this time they discovered strange creatures called husks that manifested some power, and fascinated they began to research what properties lay in the physical remnant of their god’s power.
What they learned surprised them, and eventually they came across others of like mind, and together they formed the Godsblood Fellowship. They turned their home into the Godsblood Citadel, a center for learning, though not all members were interested in simple research. The two priests still operate the fellowship as stewards but they keep the doors to their citadel open for any that show an interest in the god-isles of the Astral Plane and the power that they may hold.
Holders of the Silver Lantern
It is not uncommon to find travelers lost in the Astral Plane. Perhaps they were searching for a color pool and got lost in a psychic storm, or they got caught up in a time ripple that robbed them of their memories. The most common problems though are lost travelers that run afoul of one of the plane’s many dangers – githyanki raiders, psurlon psychics, soul leeches, and other monstrous creatures that prowl the Astral Sea. But, for the lucky, a visit from the Holders of the Silver Lantern can be a true beacon in the Silver Void.
The Holders of the Silver Lantern are a loosely organized band of monks dedicated to protecting travelers across the Astral Plane through any means necessary. They were started by an astral deva named Monaccus who rescued an elder monk grandmaster from a githyanki raiding ship. The two formed an instant friendship, and together they worked to protect those not ready or able to face the threats of the Astral Plane, guiding lost souls and travelers through the Silver Void. Hearing of the grandmaster’s work, other monks came to his side, and more astral devas joined in as well.
On a rocky chunk of Material Plane sucked into the Astral Plane long ago they built a home for wayward travelers called the Inn of the Silver Lantern. The monks and astral devas use this as their base of operation, and magical spells cast over the multi-storied building allow rest and relaxation to benefit those inside. The grandmaster of the Silver Lantern was captured by the githyanki long ago, and the astral deva Monaccus has been searching for him ever since in his ongoing quest to keep the Astral Plane safe for the innocent.
Lich-Queen of the Githyanki
Without a doubt, when most people think of the Astral Plane they think of the githyanki, and with good reason. The githyanki have taken to the Silver Void and claimed it as their own as much as possible, with their astral ships seeking out threats of all kind and well-constructed fortresses lending support to invasions across the multiverse. They have developed powerful magical advances since arriving in the Astral Plane, and most of that can be attributed to the will and might of their leader, the Lich-Queen Vlaakith. She has ruled the city of Tu’narath, built on the hollowed-out god-isle of some forgotten deity, with an iron-like grip, and under her rule Tu’narath has grown into the largest metropolis on the Astral Plane.
Vlaakith is a power-hungry despot whose word is absolute law in Tu’narath. The githyanki call her the Revered Queen, and most follow her commands without question out of blind loyalty. She is a powerful necromancer and wields formidable magic in her god-skull throne room atop the spire of Sussurus, the Palace of Whispers. From there, it is said that she hears any word whispered by a githyanki anywhere in the Astral Plane, and she is known to strike quickly and decisively against would-be rivals to her throne.
Vlaakith wields her power for the glory of the githyanki, and she yearns to conquer the rest of the multiverse. As an immortal lich on a plane where time stands still, she has learned patience, and she is careful not to overextend the impressive military might of the githyanki too hastily. But over the centuries, Vlaakith has been plotting invasion forces, and she sees the Material Plane as the perfect location for housing the base of her multiversal empire. Already teams of githyanki assassins and spies have scoured the portals of the Silver Void, charting the destinations and learning the secrets of the other side. She was thwarted once in the past in her invasion attempt, so she has learned to be more cautious and to account for meddling teams of heroes that may interfere.
Three Minds of Menndryntaerth
Some travelers in the Astral Plane have reported encounters with a very large, very strange dragon. He is a copper wyrm of ancient descent known as Menndryntaerth, but something has happened to his once formidable intellect that has created a mental schism. The result are three distinct and separate personalities within the mind of Menndryntaerth, each with its own goals and agendas.
The copper dragon keeps to himself, moving about the Astral Plane and never settling in one place, so tracking Menndryntaerth down has proven difficult if not impossible for those seeking him out. And when found, it is never known which of the three minds of the copper dragon are going to be in control. One of the minds is known to be that of Menndryntaerth as he always was – a good-natured prankster with a sharp intellect and a love of riddles and good conversation. In this personality, the copper dragon seeks only to help, though he is constantly searching for his lost treasure hoard.
The second mind of Menndryntaerth is greed, miserly, covetous, and suspicious. When this personality is in charge, the copper dragon shies away from company and has been known to strike out at githyanki astral ships and innocent travelers in search of lost treasure. Though unpredictable, this mind of Menndryntaerth usually keeps the dragon hidden from sight.
The third mind is the most dangerous, and it is one possessed with primordial anger and rage. Menndryntaerth in this mind sees everyone as enemies and spies and doesn’t hesitate to use all of his powers to destroy them as punishment for stealing his lost hoard. He has been known to work with fiends of all kind in this mind, and it is rumored the copper dragon is owed a great favor by a demon prince of the Abyss.
All three of Menndryntaerth’s minds are occupied with finding the dragon’s lost treasure to some degree, leading some planar scholars to believe it was something in that hoard that caused the great dragon’s fractured mental state. No one has so far been able to piece together enough information about Menndryntaerth’s background to find more information on his lost treasure, however.
Redfang Reavers
It’s not just the githyanki that have discovered the Astral Plane’s amenable position as a base of operations for raids into the multiverse. Smaller outfits with a bit of planar knowledge utilize the Silver Void as well, and the most successful so far has been a group known as the Redfang Reavers. The leader of the Reavers is a cunning gnoll warrior named Redfang from the Material Plane, and his raiding crew of goblins, hobgoblins, ogres, and other humanoids has grown in size since he stumbled upon a portal to the Astral Plane decades ago.
Part of Redfang’s success comes from his patience. He and his most trusted advisors, which include twin goblin sorcerers and a minotaur priest, have charted many portals in the Silver Void, and they are careful not to over raid one too much. They cycle through them as much as possible, raiding and pillaging in one for a period before moving on for years at a time. The spoils of their raid are kept in a secret base somewhere in the Astral Plane, the location of which is kept from all but Redfang’s most trusted lieutenants. The rest of the raiders are blinded leading to and from the base using the goblin sorcerer’s magical powers.
In truth, Redfang and his reavers are still pretty small when compared to the might of the githyanki army, but they are growing fast and have enjoyed great success over the years. The raiders are ruthless and cunning, and Redfang has learned many tricks of the Astral Plane to avoid complications with his more powerful neighbors.
Creatures & Denizens
Though it is commonly understood that few monsters are inherently native to the Astral Plane, over the ages many creatures have settled on it as their permanent place of resident.
Aberrations
The Astral Plane has become home to numerous creatures from across the multiverse who have found the thought-powered realm a natural fit for their unnatural existence.
Aboleths have been encountered in some of the floating dead god islands, having created a nice personal territory from which to expand their influence, and the slave-taking neogi have used the Astral Plane as a regular conduit for generations. Astral stalkers glide through the Silver Void, striking silently at their prey, and even beholders have been found from time to time. Berbalangs are skulking hoarders of secrets that constantly scour the dead god islands for new tidbits to gather and steal away.
Mind Flayers.Mind flayers and their ill, including elder brains and neothelids, have carved out large sections of the Silver Void for their own personal empires, and many planar scholars believe the Astral Plane was the central bastion of the mind flayer empire that once dominated vast swaths of the multiverse. Their rule was broken and now only fragments remain, but there is a dream among some of the Astral Plane mind flayers to once again rise up and conquer. The githyanki, former slaves of the illithids, do their best to keep this from happening.
Psurlons.Psurlons are wicked, worm-like beings that have managed to avoid outright confrontation with the rest of the multiverse. They are, nonetheless, thoroughly evil and bent on total domination, and they have spread into the Astral Plane from their original home without ever looking back. They are psychic monsters with considerable powers at their disposal, but for the time being they are content to put long-reaching plans into motion and not draw attention to themselves. They possess hidden crystalline fortresses all across the Silver Void, but few have seen or encountered them and lived to tell the tale.
Humanoids
Humanoids from across the multiverse use the Astral Plane as a convenient travel route between the planes of existence, and some of them have stopped to stay awhile. The time-freezing nature of the Silver Void makes it especially tempting for older mortal beings who have try to prolong their life outside unnatural means. Wizards, sorcerers, and warlocks often setup homes within floating fortresses on the Astral Plane, as they usually have the magical means to travel to and from the plane without needing to search constantly for a portal.
Githyanki.The only humanoid race to truly make the Astral Plane their home are the githyanki. Raiders, pirates, and reavers, the githyanki were once part of a single race, the gith, and served as slaves under a mighty mind flayer empire long ago. They threw off their shackles of servitude but the race was split by different ideologies. One, the githzerai, wanted only to find peace and serenity, and they left to colonize the plane of Limbo. The githyanki wanted revenge and they stayed in the Astral Plane to hunt down the illithids, and over time that mentality has extended to much of the multiverse. They’ve become excellent raiders and soldiers who have honed their fighting techniques to take ultimate advantage of their surrounding terrain. Most githyanki recognize the ultimate authority of the Lich-Queen in the city of Tu’narath, built on the corpse of a dead god, and they serve her whim without question. Others see different paths for themselves, though the authority and reach of the Lich-Queen is long and her memory vast.
Monstrosities
Numerous creatures that defy easy categorization make their way through the vast silvery wasteland of the Astral Plane. The most dangerous of these are the astral dreadnoughts, enormous forces of appetite and destruction originally created by a deranged god to devour creatures using the Astral Plane as a waypoint in the multiverse. Soul leeches may be one of the only actual native creatures of the Silver Void, and while they don’t seem sentient they do possess instincts of survival that put them above mere beasts. They gestate in a larval stage before consuming mortal beings and growing larger, and they often lurk around color pools in order to trap travelers.
Hazards & Phenomena
Travelers to the Astral Plane should be aware of the various hazards that can wreak havoc on their journey, such as psychic storms and time ripples. Remembering which color pool leads to which plane can be helpful as well, along with knowing what to expect from the tubes of astral conduit that crisscross the Silver Void.
Astral Conduit
The Astral Plane has few natural occurrences, but the conduit system that connects up the various planes of the multiverse is considered one of them. Conduits are similar to portals in that they link two locations on separate planes to each other, but the difference is in the transportation. Portals are like doors – start in one plane, step through a portal, and you’re now somewhere else entirely. Conduits are tubes that can be viewed and interacted with outside of their entrances and exits and they all use the Astral Plane as a middle ground.
The most common use of an astral conduit is invisible and unknown to most people. When a creature dies, its soul instinctively moves to the nearest conduit that correlates to their plane of final rest. They move into the conduit, travel through the Astral Plane, and are deposited at their destination. Simple as that. Living creatures can use astral conduits, and the effect can be disorientating as the mind and body of the traveler is hurled through the length of the conduit for several minutes before reaching the exit.
Astral conduits are difficult to locate as they don’t show up on typical searches, and many conduits only allow travel by physical bodies under certain circumstances, like a specific moon phase or time of day or night. They don’t require keys as a rule and they tend to be more stable than standard portals. They also only allow one-way travel. Astral conduits can be directly affected on the Astral Plane. The githyanki are known to have a special spell that allows them to pierce an astral conduit, and it’s through these tears that drift souls are known to spill out of. An astral conduit self-heals over time, leading some planar scholars to theorize they are living organisms, but no definitive conclusion has been reached.
Astral Traveler
As the Astral Plane touches all of the other planes of the multiverse, it is a natural pathway for many creatures seeking other planes. Whether it’s Material Plane wizards exploring new portals, raiders and pirates choosing their next target, fiends mounting assaults on faraway fortresses, or celestials watching over the order of the multiverse, almost any other type of intelligent creature can be encountered in the Silver Void.
You can use the table below to inspire an astral traveler randomly encountered in the Silver Void. Some can be encountered alone (such as a beholder or lich), while it makes sense for others to have a group of one or more with them (such as the pit fiend or hobgoblin warlord). You can also roll on the Astral Traveler Purpose table to help outline the nature of the encounter.
| Random Astral Traveler | |
| 1-100 | Astral Traveler |
| 01-03 | Deva |
| 04-06 | Planetar |
| 07-09 | Solar |
| 10-12 | Beholder |
| 13-15 | Cambion |
| 16-18 | Death Knight |
| 19-21 | Marilith |
| 22-24 | Erinyes |
| 25-27 | Cambion |
| 28-30 | Death Knight |
| 31-33 | Balor |
| 34-36 | Marilith |
| 37-39 | Erinyes |
| 40-42 | Horned devil |
| 43-45 | Pit Fiend |
| 46-48 | Drow Priestess of Lolth |
| 49-51 | Dao |
| 52-54 | Djinni |
| 55-57 | Efreeti |
| 58-60 | Marid |
| 61-63 | Githzerai monk |
| 64-66 | Night hag |
| 67-69 | Hobgoblin warlord |
| 70-72 | Lich |
| 73-75 | Mind flayer |
| 76-78 | Mummy lord |
| 79-81 | Oni |
| 82-84 | Rakshasa |
| 85-87 | Death Slaad |
| 88-90 | Succubus |
| 91-93 | Vampire |
| 94-96 | Arcanoloth |
| 97-99 | Ultoloth |
| 00 | Roll Twice |
| Random Astral Traveler Purpose | |
|---|---|
| 1D20 | Astral Traveler Purpose |
| 1-4 | Searching for a color pool |
| 5-8 | Hunting a target on the Astral Plane |
| 9-12 | Hiding from a rival |
| 13-16 | Looking for a specific site |
| 17-20 | Meeting another creature (roll again on the Astral Traveler table) |
Dead God
The rocky remnants of gods floating in the Astral Plane aren’t really the bodies of gods – gods have no true physical form. Instead, they are the physical remains of memories, heroes, wars, promises, regrets, hopes, and so much more, and the Astral Plane is where these powerful fragments coalesce into solid matter. God-isles, as they are sometimes referred to as, look at first glance to be made of rock and unworked stone, and though they occasionally offer a hint in their formation they are just as likely to be large unidentifiable chunks of terrain.
The Godsblood Fellowship and certain sects of the githyanki are obsessed with cataloguing these godly fragments and understanding what powers can be pulled from them. Some god-isles spawn husks, undead monsters that hold a spark related to the dead god upon which they roam, but not all of them do. Most god-isles have “godquakes” that shake them violently, occurring every few dozen decades or longer, and during these catastrophic events strange things can happen. Godsblood scholars believe a godquake to be a memory shuddering through the physical remains, and there have been occurrences of creatures and effects appearing as a result.
Some god-isles have been mined to reveal veins of otherworldly metal, while others possess strange auras and properties that defy description. Each one is unique, and learning the nature of the god that it represents can offer insight into what treasures and dangers might be lurking beneath the rocky surface. The Godsblood Fellowship is dedicating to uncovering as much about the god-isles as possible, and the self-serving githyanki are always looking for an edge in their extraplanar conflicts.
Sites & Treasures
The Astral Plane may seem like an empty place, but it holds more mysterious locations and hidden treasures than most planar travelers give it credit for. Whether it’s uncovering the secrets within the Corpse of the Blood Lord, searching for the mythical Colorless Pool, or infiltrating the githyanki capital of Tu’narath, there is plenty of opportunity for adventure and danger in the Silver Void.
Bonecloud
Relatively mindless undead like skeletons and zombies have a difficult time on the Astral Plane, a plane where the power of one’s intellect drives many aspects. At some point in the past, a large quantity of zombies and skeletons were pulled into the Silver Void in a single event by mistake, and they floated together without purpose or direction. This marked the beginning of the Bonecloud, and it’s only grown since then.
Essentially, the Bonecloud is a mass of writhing zombies and bony skeletons held together by some unknown force. It is now miles across and moves slowly through the Astral Plane, directionless and without inherent purpose. The individual undead creatures inside the Bonecloud have no need to feed and feel no passage of time, so they simply float on psychic winds. The formation has grown so large that it has begun to pull new mindless undead creatures into its bulk, and for those travelers brave enough to try the Bonecloud can actually be walked upon. There are so many skeletons and zombies that the threat from any one individual to a visitor is nearly nullified.
But that doesn’t mean the Bonecloud is safe. When the collective mass senses life nearby, it moves to engulf it. It’s still very slow, so it’s possible for reasonable travelers to avoid it, but that also means it hides a mass of secrets under its undead bulk.
Colorless Pool
The legend of the Colorless Pool started with a drunk wizard, who swore that he had found a massive portal that could lead anywhere on the Astral Plane. The rumors said that it was not made of color, but instead sound, as it was connected to every other plane in the multiverse through some unknown link. The drunk wizard’s claims of having found it were scoffed at, but some planar travelers took note of it, and it turns out it’s not just a rumor.
The Colorless Pool exists, and it is a strange phenomena in a plane that redefines strange on a regular basis. It is several hundred feet wide and completely invisible, but it can be heard for miles around it. The sounds of whispers, scratches, yelling, talking, fighting, and so much more originate from it, all contained within a dull cacophony that sits just below normal hearing. Some trick of the plane keeps travelers from finding it the normal way, but getting close enough by happenstance can lead someone with sharp hearing to the location.
Using the Colorless Pool requires only thinking about a destination and then moving through, which otherwise functions as a normal color pool. The githyanki have been searching for the Colorless Pool for years, but the rumors say it is watched closely by the mind flayers.
Corpse of the Blood Lord
God-isles float through the Astral Sea like great rocky debris, each a unique memory fragment of a fallen god. The Godsblood Fellowship keep careful records of each that they find for identification and exploitation, but one in particular stands out among the rest. It’s been dubbed the Corpse of the Blood Lord, and its red rock bulk is unusually large for a god-isle. The Godsblood Fellowship has established a base nearby to study the god-isle, one of the few ongoing research efforts they have across the Astral Plane.
It’s pretty clear from the spawned husks that the Corpse of the Blood represents a fallen god of blood, but there seems to be more to it than that. Debates rage, but the prevailing theory is that it was a god of blood and vengeance, as godquakes on the god-isle have resulted in a strange crimson mist that drives visitors insane with rage. But, those same godquakes have revealed trickles of a thick black syrup that holds unique healing properties.
The Godsblood Fellowship holds a strong position overlooking the Corpse of the Blood Lord, but they must continually defend their claim from githyanki warlocks and greedy fiends. The Holders of the Silver Lantern refuse to go near the site, claiming that the god-isle moves and breathes, a trait not shared by any other dead god in the Astral Plane. The fellowship maintains that its just a period of unusual godquake activity, but even they have been unable to adequately explain some of the stranger occurrences that have been recorded on the Blood Lord’s Corpse.
Field of Stars
One of the more curious sights in the Astral Plane is a site known as the Field of Stars. Encompassing an area dozens of miles across, the region is filled with multicolored spheres of pulsating energy. Each sphere is about 10 feet in diameter and produces no harmful energy, and they each change color at random intervals, shifting between shades of blue, red, orange, yellow, and purple. A creature can move inside one of the spheres, a sensation not unlike moving through a color pool, but no transportation occurs and nothing adverse has been known to happen.
What are the balls of light? What purpose do they serve? A team of githyanki surveyors studied the Field of Stars for several years until they finally concluded that it was simply a natural phenomena of the Silver Void with no intrinsic value. However, other travelers in the region have spotted psurlon activity in the Field of Stars, and there is evidence that one of their hidden crystalline fortresses is nearby. Did the mysterious psurlons create the spheres of light? Or is it a byproduct of something they did – or are doing?
Frozen Fire Forest
As a general rule, elemental energy from the Inner Planes behaves normally on the Astral Plane. Fire burns, water flows, earth exists, and air floats. But occasionally, some quirk of the plane, perhaps an errant time ripple interacting with a color pool, creates something truly strange. The Frozen Fire Forest is one such example. It is a shifting area containing tall pillars of red and orange flames, each suspended in time. They retain all of the properties of fire, so they burn objects and creatures that touch them, but they consume no more or less than what they did when they arrived on the Astral Plane. Each pillar of fire is between 5 and 20 feet tall and they float through the Silver Void, clustered together to form the “forest.”
In recent years, the Frozen Fire Forest has become a popular meeting spot for clandestine gatherings in the Astral Plane, as it’s unique features make it easy to describe and for others to find.
Grayholde the Stolen City
Long ago, the city of Grayholde sat on the Material Plane. It was a center for learning, and boasted the impressive College of Wizardry that catered to magical research and study. Everything in Grayholde was centered on the College of Wizardry, from the shops and commerce to the students and faculty. Then, one day, something happened within the college, and in the blink of an eye Grayholde was transported wholly from the Material Plane to the Astral Plane.
But the residents of Grayholde were not so lucky. Whatever effect pulled them into the Silver Void attracted or created a huge quantity of soul leeches. The voracious eaters descended upon the stunned city and in a matter of hours no one was left alive. Some of the more prepared wizards and students of the College of Wizardry managed to flee, but most succumbed to the soul leeches. Now, Grayholde floats in the Astral Plane, its buildings and college devoid of any life except for the soul leeches that haunt the empty streets. It is said that a monstrously huge soul leech sits in the College of Wizardry’s center and feeds upon the ambient magical energy of the place along with the souls of those lost, but few have dared entered Grayholde to risk the wrath of the new residents.
Inn of the Silver Lantern
Few places on the Astral Plane offer open hospitality, but the Inn of the Silver Lantern is one of them. It is a three story inn built on a floating rock island, with a tranquil stone garden in front and doors that open freely. A radiant silver and gold light spills out from the top of a slender tower that extends above the inn’s roof. Above the door hangs a sign bearing the silver lantern symbol of the inn and the monks that operate it. Inside, a feeling of peace and welcome washes over visitors, and the monks that tend the place greet all who come in with a smile and a wave. They do not serve alcohol, but simple foods and beverages are available, and an enchantment has been placed over the entire inn to allow travelers to gain the full benefits of a long and short rest, as their time dictates. Astral devas are a common site in the inn’s common room.
At all times, an astral deva sits in the tower that stands over the Inn of the Silver Lantern. They maintain a relic called the Silver Lantern that prevents the safe haven from being found by those wishing to do harm to it or to someone held inside. In this way, the Holders of the Silver Lantern have built a neutral refuge for people fleeing githyanki or other terrors of the Astral Plane, and beyond. In exchange, the monks that operate the inn ask only that peace be maintained within the inn’s grounds. They accept donations but the operating costs for the inn are covered through the aid of the astral devas and the monk volunteers.
Ka’la’taa Shipyard
Githyanki astral ships are a magnificent sight. Each one is built in a similar style to a sailing ship found on a Material Plane ocean, but the githyanki use a special wood and enchant the vessel so that it is receptive to the collective mental power of the onboard githyanki. The result is a ship capable of delivering large numbers of raiders and soldiers across the Astral Sea vaster than they would be able to travel individually.
These ships are engineered and constructed in a secret base called the Ka’la’taa Shipyard, the location of which is jealously guarded by the githyanki. The shipyard is built around a rare two-way color pool to a Material Plane forest that grows the unusual trees used in astral ship construction. Githyanki workers toil tirelessly to build the ships of the Lich-Queen’s fleet, but working with the rare wood is a delicate process and they do not produce as many ships as their queen would like.
Nonetheless, Ka’la’taa Shipyard represents a vital component in githyanki supremacy on the Astral Plane, and it is protected from attack by the finest warriors and defenses. Visitors are not allowed on site, but there was an uprising by the native Material Plane population in recent years that caused a slowdown in astral ship construction. The natives were put down by ruthless githyanki enforcers and they have not had any trouble since.
Midnight Prison
There is a strange region of the Astral Plane known as the Deadmind, where no psychic winds blow. It is not very large, but at its center is a granite fortress meant to house cursed magical items from around the multiverse. The dwarf clan that runs it calls it Hornpike Hall, but across the Silver Void It’s known as the Midnight Prison. The Hornpike Clan has operated the Midnight Prison for centuries, starting out as a simple experiment to see the effects of the Astral Plane on a cursed magical battleaxe that had been in the family for generations.
Over the years, their reputation for being able to contain cursed items has grown to the point where they need to build more containment cells within Hornpike Hall in order to house the increasing number of dangerous items. From bloodlust-filled swords, to amulets that turn their wearer inside out, and a host of other terrible items, the Hornpike dwarves have devoted their efforts to understanding and eventually dismantling these items. The current clan matriarch, Helenna Hornpike, is a shrewd negotiator who demands top coin for her clan’s efforts from any potential client. The previous clan leader was held responsible for a cursed magical mirror getting loose, sending dozens of evil doppelgangers of everyone in the Midnight Prison through the halls. Helenna has vowed never to let such a lapse in security happen again.
River of Memories
The River of Memories isn’t a traditional river in the same way the Astral Sea isn’t a traditional sea, but it exists nonetheless. It snakes its way through the Silver Void, appearing as a misty ribbon of multicolored turbulent energy, bending and winding to some unknown will. The River of Memories is the dumping ground for stolen memories on the River Styx, which is a planar feature that connects the Lower Planes together.
When an intelligent creature loses its memories to the River Styx, the River of Memories grows wider as it absorbs those lost thoughts. If a creature moves into the River of Memories, they are bombarded with a multitude of stolen psychic fragments and must make a DC 14 Intelligence saving throw, suffering 36 (8d8) psychic damage on a failure, or half as much damage on a success. The saving throw and damage repeats every 1 minute. It is rumored that there is a way for a person to retrieve lost memories stolen by the River Styx, but it takes more than simply swimming into the River of Memories to get them back. Finding the exact strain of memories among the jumble is one thing, and then extracting them into the original mind is another. It’s a tricky process and one that only a few claim to have completed. One of them is the master elven bard Dalynn Moonsong, who can often be found at the Inn of the Silver Lantern, entertaining guests with her soothing music.
Shattered Land
Random chunks of earth, whether from god-isles or just planar debris, are not uncommon in the Astral Plane, as over time physical fragments gather together in clumps that have been pulled through various color pools. It’s rare to find more than a few together, but in the region known as the Shattered Land, a great field of rocky detritus floats for miles and miles. It is widely assumed that the rock chunks are the result of meddling by a dao wizard on the Plane of Earth, which created a one-way ever-spewing fountain of stone, but none have witnessed new rocky island being pulled in. Perhaps the color pool is invisible, or perhaps it was a one-time incident.
Some of the earthen fragments are hundreds of feet across, and the largest one observed was over a mile wide, but most are much smaller. They float aimlessly together, knocked about by psychic winds and time ripples, and the rocky islands have become a popular vacation spot for dao nobles from the Sevenfold Mazework. Perhaps some larger secret lies hidden in the heart of the Shattered Land, and recently agents of the Great Khan of the Dao have been seen scouring the debris field for some unknown reason.
Silver Mountain
Astral diamonds are rare precious gemstones with unusual magical properties that make them ideal for holding powerful enchantments. Githyanki love them and use them as a sort of “super” currency, and the vaults of the Lich-Queen are said to be overflowing with hundreds of thousands of stored astral diamonds. These gemstones come from one place on the Astral Plane, a site known as the Silver Mountain, but it’s not a typical mountain as most think about. It’s a massive semi-solid cloud of silver vapors, nearly invisible in the Astral Plane. Within its bulk, the githyanki have created tunnels propped up by special braces that keep them from collapsing, and they dig through the ooze-like substance of the Silver Mountain to unearth the astral diamonds.
Githyanki have undisputed control over the Silver Mountain, but it is a very large feature – about three miles tall and wide – so its near impossible for them to assert their dominance across its entire surface. Raiders of all sorts sneak into abandoned tunnels and try to get away with some astral diamonds of their own to sell or trade, and enough have made it into regular circulation that the githyanki cannot rightfully claim sole ownership of them all. Several astral stalkers are known to lair in the Silver Mountain as well, and they hunt indiscriminately any that cross their path or get their attention.
Tu’narath, Githyanki Capital
Built on the husk of a vaguely humanoid-shaped dead god, Tu’narath is the largest and most important of the githyanki cities on the Astral Plane. Its fortified buildings and ominous towers are examples of the githyanki mindset – simple, effective, and built to last. The arms and legs of the god-isle are adorned with mooring towers and landing platforms that allow astral ships to dock, and the city is protected by the largest single githyanki fleet in the Astral Sea. Over 100,000 githyanki call Tu’narath home, and they all serve at the whim of Vlaakith the Lich-Queen.
The Lich-Queen’s home is an obsidian palace at the head of the god-isle known as Susurrus, the Palace of Whispers. From there she surveys her Astral dominion and through magical effects and items she is able to see and hear nearly any point she chooses to focus on across the plane. Her royal palatial guards are picked from the elite of the elite of the githyanki military, and she commands a cadre of assassins that have claimed more lives than the Lich-Queen has had years of unlife. The obsidian palace of Susurrus is said to trap the souls of any who die inside, the whispers of which can be heard by anyone inside.
While githyanki dominate the city streets of Tu’narath, the merchant district does welcome other astral traders as long as they adhere to the codified laws of the city. Blood enemies of the githyanki, such as the githzerai and the mind flayers, are killed or captured onsite, and harboring such fugitives is punishable by the same, but the rest of the laws are strict but tolerable. A secret spy network run by the psurlons is said to operate in the merchant district, but to date the githyanki secret guards have not uncovered proof of its existence.
The below listings include notes on highlighting the nature of the Astral Plane as characters explore and travel through it. These are suggestions of elements that can be used in descriptions of the landscape and denizens with the goal of actualizing the “outside” nature of the multiverse beyond the Material Plane. Use them to incorporate into encounters and adventures on the Astral Plane.
Silvery Vapors.The Astral Plane is filled with endless silvery vapors, constantly swirling and reforming in a vast unending landscape. There is no up or down, no sense of direction at all, and nothing solid to get a bearing from. Sailors and travelers used to more traditional navigation usually find this disorientation distracting, but the githyanki have learned to train their senses to watch for the nearly imperceptible shifts that occur within the Silver Void to navigate.
Time Stands Still.The Astral Plane is a time-locked plane of transitive nature. Things move and drift, and even the astral conduits that weave through the multiverse tend to twist in the silvery nothingness, but a mortal creature doesn’t need food, air, or water for as long as they are in the Astral Plane. Natural aging ceases altogether – hair and fingernails don’t grow, skin doesn’t flake off, and creatures neither increase nor decrease in height due to age. Similarly, wounds don’t heal while in the Silver Void, though magic and other replenishable abilities still need to recharge.
Thought-Powered Action.A thought has a physical connection on the Astral Plane. The very nature of the Silver Void connects it with the latent psychic powers of all beings. The actual physical movement of walking, for example, is incredibly difficult on the Astral Plane at first – the person has to think about the action to have it realized in the smoothest and easiest possible way. Naturally psychic creatures, such as illithids and the gith, find this transition natural, while most others flounder for a bit especially upon first arriving in the Astral Plane. An adventurer has to think about their action as deliberate movements, something most mature beings have long ago mastered in other planes.
Lay of the LandThe Astral Plane is a vast realm of eternal silver twilight, with no discernible direction or regional break across the entire plane. Planewalkers call the plane the Silver Void for a good reason, and upon first contact it presents an empty silvery sea, devoid of any substance. But it is not empty, and the plane operates on thoughts and willpower more than the elemental building blocks of the multiverse. This basis creates a lot of strange situations that can understandably confuse new travelers.
And, contrary to this first impressions, the Astral Plane is not even empty of locations and phenomena. The most commonly encountered feature are color pools – two-dimensional circles of varying color that allow easy transportation to other planes in the multiverse. As one of the most frequently traveled planes across the multiverse, it’s also not uncommon to run into other planar travelers, usually on their way to somewhere, but the sheer size of the Astral Plane makes such encounters rare.
How big is the Astral Plane? Planar scholars have debated this question for ages, and the most common answer is “forever.” There is no end to the Silver Void, where time and direction are meaningless, and the nature of the plane means that finding places to go requires expending mental energy and having a clear vision rather than knowing a specific path or route.
Besides color pools and the detritus of the multiverse, travelers on the Astral Plane are likely to see astral conduits – ribbons and tubes of various color that wind through the Silver Void. These conduits are sealed portals linking the planes of the multiverse, and are used normally by the souls of the dead moving from their place of death to their final resting place. On other planes, astral conduit openings are difficult to find and often have unusual means of accessing them.
Cycle of TimeOn the Astral Plane, time does not pass the same as it does across the rest of the multiverse, so there is no measure of time that is useful or meaningful. This means that a creature on the Astral Plane does not age for as long as they remain on the Astral Plane, and they also do not feel hunger or thirst. Travelers still “feel” the passage of time – a minute that passes feels like a minute anywhere else, and this time distortion doesn’t affect spells or other time-based effects.
SurvivingThe Astral Plane is not hostile to life, and some quirk of the “air” in the plane means that any creature that breathes anything can breathe in the Silver Void. Creatures that can only breathe water can travel side-by-side with another creature that breathes only rock. In this way, there are few friendlier planes in the multiverse for simply existing. However, because time does not pass as it normally would, creatures cannot regain hit points by spending hit dice during a rest and they do not regain hit points during a long rest. Magical healing functions as normal, but bodies do not register time as passing so they don’t heal naturally. Certain areas on the Astral Plane, such as the Inn of the Silver Lantern, have special properties that overcome this aspect of the plane.
Getting ThereThe simplest way to enter the Astral Plane is through the use of the astral projection spell. Using this spell, travelers into the Silver Void have their spirit forms transported only, leaving their material bodies behind. A special connection called a silver cord links the spirit form to the physical body, allowing the targets to traverse the Astral Plane at will. If the traveler’s spirit form is reduced to 0 hit points, the silver cord simply pulls back the person back to their physical body. Unfortunately, one of the most frequently encountered hostile creatures on the Astral Plane – the githyanki – have special weapons that allow them to cut a silver cord, severing the tie and killing the target immediately.
Gates exist across the multiverse linking the various planes to the Astral Plane as well, but these are generally hidden and require a key of some sort to activate. The key for such a portal does not need to be a physical object, it can possibly be a gesture or series of actions instead. Volumes of gate lore are recorded by planar scholars across the multiverse; the most extensive catalogue belongs to the library of Arx Infinitus, home to the Codex Keepers in the Ethereal Plane.
Once a traveler has reached the Astral Plane, finding a way out is very straightforward. Floating portals exist in the Silver Void called color pools which link to other gates in other planes. The colors of these pools reflect their destination – ruby for the Nine Hells, emerald green for the Beastlands, jet black for Limbo, and so on. This makes the Astral Plane an ideal stopping point for finding a portal to another plane, as it is the only place where such gates are easily identifiable and discovered.
Traveling AroundAs a realm of thought, moving around in the Astral Plane is not so much a physical act as a mental one. Creatures on the Astral Plane have a flying speed equal to 3 x its Intelligence score while traveling on the plane. Physical movement is possible as well, but it’s clumsy, so a creature relying on its walking speed has a flying speed equal to half its walking speed. Creatures that can swim or fly can move normally, choosing to use their Intelligence, swimming, or flying speed to move around.
Distance is a very abstract concept on the Astral Plane as well. While the plane is theoretically infinite, reaching a specific destination relies more on willpower and a clear mental picture than anything else. Traveling to a location on the Astral Plane requires a number of hours based on how familiar the traveler is with their destination. Use the following chart as a guide.
| Astral Plane Travel Times | |
| Familiarity | Travel Times |
| Very Familiar | 2d6 hours |
| Studied carefully | 1d4 x 8 hours |
| Seen casually | 2d4 x 8 hours |
| Viewed Once | 1d6 x 16 hours |
| Description Only | 2d6 x 16 hours |
A “very familiar” location is one the traveler has been to multiple times. “Studied carefully” is a well-known place that the traveler has been to at least once. A color pool used previously would usually fall under the “studied carefully” category. “Seen casually” is a place witnessed from a distance, or one that is similar to a better-known location – a color pool of the same color as used previously, for example. “Viewed once” would be a place seen through magic, and “description only” could be related to the traveler verbally or written by a third party.
The nature of the Astral Plane means that there are no encumbrance penalties for travel.
Color Pool
The Astral Plane is famous for its color pools – easily discovered portals to all of the other planes in the multiverse. Each color pool appears on the Astral Plane as a two-dimensional circle, 1d6 x 10 feet in diameter, completely filled in by a single dominant color. The colors match to other planes, though each color pool has a unique and fixed destination point on the other side. Unfortunately, these are general traits, and there are some color pools that do not behave as expected.
Most color pools are one way, which means there is no return journey possible. A rare few are two-way portals, and these tend to be jealously guarded by creatures native to the plane on the other side (for protection against invading githyanki if nothing else!).
Roughly 5% of color pools are incorrect in color, so where a traveler might think the amber color pool they’re moving through is going to take them to Bytopia, it could in reality deposit them somewhere in the Nine Hells.
Also, some color pools do not have a fixed location and instead drop the traveler at a random location on the destination plane. It’s about 5% of color pools that fall into this category as well.
When a color pool is encountered, roll 1d20. If the result is a 1, the color of the pool does not match the destination; roll randomly on the Color Pool Table below to see where it actually leads. If the result is a 2, it’s a color pool without a fixed location. When the characters move through it, they arrive in a random location on the destination plane. Look to the destination plane for possibilities. If the result is a 20, it’s a rare two-way color pool with a way to access it from the destination plane.
| Color Pool Destination | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1D100 | Plane | Pool Color |
| 01-04 | Ysgard | Indigo |
| 05-08 | Limbo | Jet black |
| 09-12 | Pandemonium | Magenta |
| 13-16 | The Abyss | Amethyst |
| 17-20 | Carceri | Olive |
| 21-24 | Hades | Rust |
| 25-28 | Gehenna | Russet |
| 29-32 | The Nine Hells | Ruby |
| 33-36 | Acheron | Flame red |
| 37-40 | Mechanus | Diamond blue |
| 41-44 | Arcadia | Saffron |
| 45-48 | Mount Celestia | Gold |
| 49-52 | Bytopia | Amber |
| 53-56 | Elysium | Orange |
| 57-60 | The Beastlands | Emerald green |
| 61-64 | Arborea | Sapphire blue |
| 65-68 | The Outlands | Leather brown |
| 69-72 | Ethereal Plane | Spiraling white |
| 73-76 | Plane of Air | Pale blue |
| 77-80 | Plane of Earth | Moss granite |
| 81-84 | Plane of Fire | Fire emerald |
| 85-88 | Plane of Water | Dark blue |
| 89-00 | Material Plane | Silver |
Psychic Wind
The Astral Plane is not completely devoid of natural phenomena. Psychic winds are not actual storms, but instead a wave of lost memories and thoughts that gather naturally in the Silver Void from points all across the multiverse. What causes a psychic wind to form is not understood, but they travel through the Astral Plane and can wreak havoc on travelers and natives alike. The arrival of a psychic wind is preceded by a darkening of the silver landscape, but by that point there is no escape – the phenomena moves too quickly and encompasses too broad of an area for creatures to escape. Within minutes of the darkening, the force hits, sending travelers tumbling in a wild chaotic jumble of powerful thoughts and battering emotions.
Psychic winds have two effects. The first is a disorientation, which cannot be avoided. Roll on the Psychic Wind Location Effect table to determine the result. The second is a mental one, and intelligent creatures caught in a psychic wind must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or suffer a random effect from the Psychic Wind Mental Effect table. Psychic Wind Location Effect
| Psychic Wind Location Effect | |
|---|---|
| 1D20 | Psychic Wind Location Effect |
| 1 | Pushed forward; reduce travel time by 1d6 hours |
| 2-8 | Diverted; add 1d6 hours to travel time |
| 9-12 | Blow off course; add 3d10 hours to travel time |
| 13-16 | Lost; at the end of the travel time, characters arrive at a location other than the intended destination |
| 17-20 | Sent through color pool to a random plane (roll on the Astral Color Pools table) |
| Psychic Wind Mental Effect | |
|---|---|
| 1D20 | Psychic Wind Mental Effect |
| 1-8 | Stunned for 1 minute; you can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of your turns to end the effect on yourself |
| 9-10 | Short-term madness (see the Dungeon Master’s Guide for details) |
| 11-12 | 11 (2d10) psychic damage |
| 13-16 | 22 (4d10) psychic damage |
| 17-18 | Long-term madness (see the Dungeon Master’s Guide for details) |
| 19 | Unconscious for 5 (1d10) minutes; the effect on you ends if you take damage or if another creature uses an action to shake you awake |
| 20 | You suffer the effects of a failed saving throw against the feeblemind spell |
Time Ripple
Time behaves strangely on the Astral Plane, and one of those strange effects is a time ripple that moves through the plane. A time ripple appears as black and white tear in the Silver Void, miles wide and dozens of feet tall. It moves rapidly and is preceded by the sound of crackling. Unlike a psychic wind, characters can avoid a time ripple if they know what it is by making a DC 17 Intelligence saving throw. On a success, they are able to propel themselves out of the way of the incoming anomaly and do not suffer any ill effects.
On a failure, the character is caught in the time ripple. Roll on the below table to determine the effect.
| Time Ripple Effect | |
|---|---|
| 1D20 | Time Ripple Effect |
| 1 | You age 1d100 years |
| 2-4 | You age 1d6 years |
| 5-8 | You lose all hit dice; they are regained after a long rest spent outside the Astral Plane |
| 9-12 | You lose access to any ability or effect that is usable one per short or long rest; they are regained after a long rest spent outside the Astral Plane |
| 13-16 | Any spell slots for levels 4 or higher you have are reduced to 0; they are regained after a long rest spent outside the Astral Plane |
| 17-19 | Any spell slots of any level you have are reduced to 0; they are regained after a long rest spent outside the Astral Plane |
| 20 | You gain insight into the future. Roll 1d20 and record the result. You can replace the die roll of any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll you make with that result. Once you do so this ability is lost. |
Timelessness
The Astral Plane exists outside of normal time. Creatures on the Astral Plane do not need to eat, breathe, or drink, and they do not age naturally. The flip side of this is that wounds do not heal naturally; a creature that takes a short rest cannot expend Hit Dice to regain lost hit points, and no hit points are regained after a long rest. This does not affect other abilities that are regained after a short or long rest.
Creatures by Plane of Existence
The multiverse is a wondrous, strange place populated by all manner of creatures both fair and foul. Each plane of existence hosts its own unique creatures of some variety along with the more mundane types of monsters found in the Material Plane.
The below tables offer details of the unique creatures found in each plane, but it should be noted that most planes feature biomes common to the Material Plane, many with exaggerated or unique features. Consider looking to the encounter tables for each biome as well as the below tables for populating the planes with creatures to both threaten and aid characters during their extraplanar journeys.
The creatures listed pull from the following sources: Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide to Monsters, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, and Monsters of the Infinite Planes.
| Astral Plane | |
|---|---|
| Monsters | Challenge (XP) |
| Neogi hatchling | 1/8 (25 XP) |
| Drift soul | 1/2 (100 XP) |
| Husk, larva soul leech | 1 (200 XP) |
| Berbalang | 2 (450 XP) |
| Githyanki warrior, neogi | 3 (700 XP) |
| Adult soul leech, neogi master, psurlon | 4 (1,100 XP) |
| Mindwitness | 5 (1,800 XP) |
| Mind flayer | 7 (2,900 XP) |
| Githyanki knight | 8 (3,900 XP) |
| Astral deva, greater soul leech | 9 (5,000 XP) |
| Astral stalker, githyanki gish | 10 (5,900 XP) |
| Morkoth | 11 (7,200 XP) |
| Bebilith, githyanki kith’rak | 12 (8,400 XP) |
| Githyanki supreme commander | 14 (11,500 XP) |
| Astral dreadnought | 21 (33,000 XP) |
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