| The Astral is a term attributed
to a part of this world that is barely understood. It is a plane that is both connected
and separate of what is known as the Prime "material" plane; that of the
physical world. It is considered the realm of the spirit. Just as 'Spirit' magic is a name
used for the force that weaves in and out of the other four elements shaping the world
around us, the astral exists both in and out of the Material realm. What is known of the
Astral is that almost everything that exists in the Prime plane is reflected in the Astral
and occurrences on either plane effect the other. Through the years the study of this
realm and it's relationship to the Material has given some greater understanding of how
they interact. Some beings have innate ability, and some have developed the skill to shift
their person from one plane to the other. Objects on the Astral plane are
"Ethereal" to those on the Prime plane. Communication is usually the only thing
that may pass from one plane to the other without special skills. Any being on one plane
may see and speak to one on the other. When a
being is on the astral plane it is represented by the color YELLOW. Therefore it is
a restricted color for ANY costuming. The minimum costuming for being on the Astral
plane is a yellow headband. Creatures that are native to the astral plane are frequently
masked and costumed entirely in yellow. Astral adepts will often make costuming that will
help represent the shift from the Prime to the Astral plane more effectively; reversible
cowels, cloaks or tabbards are a good convention. When shifting planes, you will have
enough time to put on a headband and state the plane you are shifting to, once this is
done you have completed the shift. You can now freely interact on the plane you just
shifted to. While putting on the headband you are in a quick transition period and can not
be affected by effects. This is only a quick pause and any attempt to delay this procedure
will be most disastrous. A character who has been shifted from one Plane to the other will
retain the same skills and character statistics, with some exceptions. All items on the
character will move to the other plane and may be left (lost) on that plane. The main
difference with being on the Astral is that all spells, weapons or other attacks do
"Ethereal" damage. All creatures that would ordinarily take reduced or increased
damage from specific (elemental) attacks will take base damage while in the astral. No
"Normal", "Fire", "Ice", "Silver" or other damage
typical to the Material plane will injure a form on the Astral plane. If a being is struck
with "Normal" (etc.) damage while on the astral plane it should respond "No
effect, Ethereal." to explain why it is not taking damage from the effect, just as a
being on the Material, hit with "Ethereal" damage will respond "No effect,
Material". This distinction will allow players to better track damage between the two
planes. This would undoubtedly cause confusion, at times where it is uncertain whether a
being is an Astral or Prime entity. However there are a few exceptions to this rule.
Special skills, spells and weapons will be able to effect beings on alternate planes.
These skills will be evident as the character will call appropriate damage to effect
beings on the other plane. Of items and the planes: Items that are shifted between realms
will automatically be moved from one plane to the other and will change to suit the plane.
This means that weapons brought from the prime plane brought to the Astral will do
"Ethereal" damage, they keep the same threshold and ethereal damage exceeding
the weapons normal threshold will destroy it just like on the Material plane. Some items
may not be able to be moved from one plane to the other but this is rare and those items
will be specifically designated as such. Items dropped or otherwise left on the astral
will remain there and do not suddenly re-appear on the Material plane. As characters have
the same stats on the Astral plane as the Material, they are also subject to the same
effects of dying. A character who is killed on the Astral will suffer a death to their
Material form. A differentiation of Plane and Realm; In the game world there is a separate
distinction between the term Realm and Plane. One plane is not necessarily separate from
another except by the veil that keeps the two apart. A realm (although able to effect
another) is separated by a greater barrier ie: the Material Realm and the Fire realm. In
general there is no way of accessing another realm without shifting between planes but it
is still impossible without special skills or other divine assistance. |
