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ETHEREAL

THE NEAR OR BORDER ETHEREAL PLANE

All places on the Prime Material Plane touch the near, or border ethereal plane. Quite simply, this is where the ethereal plane is most closely tied to the Prime Material Plane. As such, it is possible for ethereal creatures to even see, though vaguely, objects on the Prime Material Plane; even then only when there is sufficient illumination on the Prime Material Plane. Ethereal creatures can be seen here by people on the Prime Material Plane if they employ magics such as detect invisibility, or under just the right conditions. (Whatever the DM requires for a story would be a prime example of the "right" conditions).

There is an unseen wind in the border ethereal whose velocity is randomly determined. (Actually, this ethereal wind is probably a function of the planet's revolution and its rotation, but nobody really knows this except the wizard Michelson and the sage Morley). This wind makes things on the Prime Material Plane, when an ethereal creature can see them, appear to be in a different location from their real location. It is because of this wind that ethereal travelers are unable to achieve pinpoint accuracy when traveling back to the Prime Material Plane, always being off by a random distance in a random direction up to several hundred feet "indoors" and several hundred yards "outdoors." Only some natives of the ethereal plane, like phase spiders, can detect this wind and take such displacements into account. This is why it is nearly impossible to go ethereal, travel pass a locked door in a dungeon, and come back to the Prime Material Plane without greatly risking becoming substantial within some solid, material form (like a wall or a table) on the Prime Material Plane.

If the ethereal traveler accidentally attempts to enter the Prime Material Plane at a point of solid matter, they may take damage, or perhaps make a save vs. death, or perhaps they will simply be stunned and displaced to the nearest available open space on the Prime Material Plane, or even end up stunned and back in the deep ethereal plane. This is up to the DM and the whims of the DM at that time and is justified as another unforeseen random factor so it needn't even have similar results each time it happens. I know for oil of etherealness this always bounces you into the Prime Material Plane somewhere. In standard play, they seem to have them go into the deep ether, only to be able to return to the Prime Material Plane later, somehow without the aid of a plane shift spell? Personally, I don't think so, so if they end up stunned in the deep ether, when they do recover they will be stranded on the ethereal plane until they either employ plane shifting magic or find a naturally occurring pool of some kind.

Travel while confined to the border ethereal plane is relatively safe. You may travel in any direction desired by simply thinking it. Here, the only sense of up or down, north or south, east of west, or whatever come from any vague sense you may have of the bordering Prime Material Plane and those directions there. Your speed is 100 times your normal Prime Material Plane movement rate. That is, if you have a high rate, you could normally travel 24 miles on the Prime Material Plane in 10 hours, or 240 miles in the border ethereal in 10 hours. As time runs the same here as on the Prime Material Plane, you would require rest and food at that time. This travel is usually along a great circle route unless going through the planet's crust, which is a somewhat more dangerous proposition. This would only be done if it was so much shorter the party decides to risk it. (Travel through the planet's mostly metal inner layers is impossible). There is but a single encounter roll when going from point A to point B while confined to the border ethereal plane, and while staying above, or at least, nearly above ground. Here, in the border ethereal, the Ether Cyclone is not a normal possibility.

While in an ethereal state, one can pass freely though most things on the Prime Material Plane without notice or harm. The exceptions are huge concentrations of metal ores, thick sheets of more refine metals, and the living material of most creatures found in the monstrous manual as they generate a sufficient aura of energy which ethereal matter cannot pass though. Also, some now dead material of once living creatures which had various ethereal properties may be employed as a method of blocking ethereal matter from transit. Your local alchemist, and therefore your DM, has the final word on any such materials. One example, however, might be gorgon blood mixed with mortar. Such a cell constructed with this material would probably keep an individual from plane shifting out of there or anybody from plane shifting into the cell as well.

ETHEREAL COMBAT

Combat on the ethereal plane is tricky. All magic items are reduced by one plus. If they are non-magical, they do zero points of damage for weapons or provide no protection for armor. Any pluses left are still used to hit, damage, save, or protect as normal. If the weapons or armor are still magical, they work as normal at their reduced levels. Other protection devices such as bracers of defense, cloaks of protection, rings of protection can reduce mobility. This usually takes the kind of item into account.  

Weapon specialization to hit and to damage are still used. Natural weapons such as hands, feet, claws, and teeth still do normal damage. Spells and most other consideration. Normal ethereal materials affect each other only slightly. Ethereal water will not drown you. Ethereal acid will hurt you, but not as badly as normal. Real water, somehow brought into the ethereal plane, will eventually turn to ethereal water. Until it does, however, it can drown you. Gas attacks are less effective as the PCs can survive without air for up to 10 times longer in the border ethereal and 100 times longer in the deep ethereal.

Some weapons and armor may be ruled to have unusual qualities which allow them to forgo their normal penalties. Such items are usually intelligent, wise, very powerful, or from other planes of existence to begin with. Other exceptions would include items made specifically for the plane in question. Ethereal long sword.

Combat in the border ethereal is identical to combat in the deep ethereal except for the time differential problems of short term memory. If you want the full mental reconcilment, you'd best get back to the border ethereal or the Prime Material Plane relatively soon, least the experience fade from your short term memory.

THE DEEP ETHEREAL PLANE

If greater distances are required, and time is of the essence, one can travel from the border ethereal through the ethereal curtain into the deep ethereal. Once there, like in astral travel, there is a time differential, but with a ratio of only 100 to 1. Most rules concerning attempts to take advantage of the time differentials which apply to the astral plane also apply here in the deep ethereal plane. Travel within the grayish fog of the deep ethereal is quicker than the border ethereal. The number of encounter rolls is determined in the same manner as those in the astral plane. Here, unlike the border ethereal, the ether cyclone is a normal possible encounter. Ultimately, this is a safer and quicker method of travel.

The time require for this travel from point A to point B via the deep ethereal is typically 1/10000th of the time it would take to really travel there via the Prime Material Plane on a great circle route. This would be like traveling at 10,000 times your normal movement rate or about 240,000 miles in ten hours (Making the top deep ethereal travel speed about 24,000 mph). One could travel from Earth to Earth's moon in just 10 hours or so. It is possible to take one's time and be more careful. Such considerations will subtract one encounter roll, not to be less than one per trip in any event, but will slow your speed from 10,000x to 1,000x your normal Prime Material Plane movement rate. Even at this speed of 10x the border ethereal speed, it is possible to get most places on Orlantia in just under one hour, provided you have no encounters or other problems along the way.

Once inside the deep ethereal, you can seek out the proper curtain to one of the inner planes or to the Prime Material Plane. This may be the plane you just left, but in a more suitable location, or a different plane altogether. There, you can freely pass through the curtain into the associated border ethereal plane along that particular inner plane. You may then travel along the border ethereal until you find what you seek. Another plane shift spell will take you into that inner plane. Thus, a round trip would require four plane shift spells and the proper two tuning forks. (One to go ethereal and travel to where you wish to be, one to go Prime Material Plane from that point and go adventuring on the Prime Material Plane or inner plane, another to go ethereal again when you are finished in that location and so you may travel back home on the ethereal plane, and one more to go back to the Prime Material Plane and home).

Here's a lively little example: Your entity wishes to quickly get to the capital city of Katana on the northern continent. Traveling via ship would take weeks and this is too long. Using a plane shift, the party moves into the border ethereal plane near Alodar. Now traveling to Katana would only take 3 or 4 hours, 1/100th the time of the sea voyage. Since this is in the near or border ethereal only one encounter roll would be made. Provided no encounter happened, you could then shift down to the Prime Material Plane and find yourself up to several hundred yards off target. You'd then walk into Katana. (It's usually a good idea to come down to the Prime Material Plane at least several hundred yards outside of a city).

Unfortunately, the evil wizard you are after, just teleported to Katana. If you travel via the border ethereal plane, the wizard will almost certainly kill your friends in Katana before you'd arrive to stop him. Thus, you travel to the border ethereal via a plane shift spell. You next pass through the ethereal curtain into the deep ethereal plane. Traveling to Katana will require at least three encounter rolls since you've never made this trip before via the deep ethereal plane. If the ethereal cyclone gets you, you can say a prayer over the graves of your friends later, provided you survive. If you luck out and manage to avoid any encounters in the deep ethereal, you may arrive at the adjacent ethereal curtain to Katana.

This is the same curtain you passed through before, but in a different location. You could go to the curtain of one of the other inner planes from here, but your friends are counting on you so you stay near the curtain to the Prime Material Plane. Then, you next pass through the curtain into the border ethereal plane. From there, you get your bearings and travel a short distance to Katana. Finally, after a mere 2 seconds Prime Material Plane time of deep ethereal travel, and perhaps a total of 10 minutes of border ethereal travel near both Alodar and near Katana, you arrive on the Prime Material Plane close to Katana. You hurriedly rush into the city to warn your friends. Of course, the evil wizard arrived in Katana almost one turn, or 10 minutes, before you did (Teleportation in the blink of an eye, you know?). Will your advantage of better knowing the probable location of your friends be enough, or will the evil wizard still beat you to the punch?