Page 47 - Dungeon Master's Guide

dead god or other chunks of rock drifting forever in the AsTRAL CoLoR PooLs
silvery void. Much more commonplace are color pools-
d20 Plane Pool Color
magical pools of colored light that flicker like radiant,
Ysgard Indigo
spinning coins.
Creatures on the Astral Plane don't age or suffer from 2 Limbo jet black
hunger or thirst. For this reason, humanoids that live 3 Pandemonium Magenta
on the Astral Plane (such as the githyanki) establish 4 The Abyss Amethyst
outposts on other planes, often the Material Plane, so 5 Carceri Olive
their children can grow to maturity. 6 Hades Rust
A traveler in the Astral Plane can move by simply 7 Gehenna Russet
thinking about moving, but distance has little meaning. 8 The Nine Hells Ruby
In combat, though, a creature's walking.speed (in feet) is 9 Ache ron Flame red
equal to 3 x its Intelligence score. The smarter a creature 10 Mechanus Diamond blue
is, the easier it can control its movement by act of will.
11 Arcadia Saffron
12 Mount Celestia Gold
ASTRAL PROJECTION
13 Bytopia Amber
Traveling through the Astral Plane by means of
14 Elysium Orange
the astral projection spell involves projecting one's
15 The Beastlands Emerald green
consciousness there, usually in search of a gateway to an 16 Arborea Sapphire blue
Outer Plane to visit. Since the Outer Planes are as much
spiritual states of being as they are physical places, this 17 The Outlands Leather brown
allows a character to manifest in an Outer Plane as if he 18 Ethereal Plane Spiraling white
or she had physically traveled there, but as in a dream. 19-20 Material Plane Silver
A character's death-either in the Astral Plane or on
the destination plane-causes no actual harm. Only the PSYCHIC WIND
severing of a character's silver cord while on the Astral
A psychic wind isn't a physical wind like that found on
Plane (or the death of his or her helpless physical body
the Material Plane, but a storm of thought that batters
on the Material Plane) can result in the character's true
travelers' minds rather than their bodies. A psychic
death. Thus, high-level characters sometimes travel to wind is made up of lost memories, forgotten ideas,
the Outer Planes by way of astral projection rather than
minor musings, and subconscious fears that went
eek out a portal or use a more direct spell.
astray in the Astral Plane and conglomerated into this
Only a few things can sever a traveler's silver cord, the
powerful force.
most common being a psychic wind (described below).
A psychic wind is first sensed as a rapid darkening of
The legendary silver swords of the githyanki also have
the silver-gray sky. After a few rounds, the area becomes
this ability. A character who travels bodily to the Astral
as dark as a moonless night. As the sky darkens, the
Plane (by means of the plane shift spell or one of the
traveler feels buffeting and shaking, as if the plane itself
.-are portals that leads directly there) has no silver cord.
was rebelling against the storm. As quickly as it comes,
the psychic wind passes, and the sky returns to normal
C OLOR POOLS
in a few rounds.
Gateways leading from the Astral Plane to other The psychic wind has two kinds of effects: a
planes appear as two-dimensional pools of rippling location effect and a mental effect. A group of travelers
colors, ld6 x 10 feet in diameter. Traveling to another journeying together suffers the same location effect.
plane requires locating a color pool that leads to the Each traveler affected by the wind must also make a
desired plane. These gateways to other planes can be DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the
:dentified by color, as shown on the Astral Color Pools traveler suffers the mental effect as well. Roll a d20
table. Finding the right color pool is a matter of chance: twice and consult the Psychic Wind Effects table to
.ocating the correct one takes ld4 x 10 hours of travel. determine the location and mental effects.
CHAPTER 2 I CREATING A MULTTVERSE
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