In Spelljammer, are ll crystal spheres connected to the same Astral Plane? Would it be possible to travel there from one sphere and come out in another? Would one need to find a color pool?
How could #1 be possible if #2 isn't? If they're all connected to a continuous plane, how could it not be possible to go in and come out at two separate points?
I honestly don't know. Any DM could rule otherwise, but the only 3 ways in lore to get from one world, like Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms, to the other is by this:
Traveling to a different crystal sphere with a spelljamming vessel, going through the Phlogiston.
Finding a door in Sigil that teleports you to a different world.
Being a planeswalker from Magic: the Gathering, and "teleporting" to another world.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
“My knowledge may be a bit rusty of the Astral Plane, been a minute since I strode long there.” >The aged traveler sits in a chair by the fireplace, sets his mug on the table next to his arm and takes out an ornately carved pipe and lights it.<
“Last I recall” he says, Drawing on his pipe and clouds of smoke rising around his head, “To enter the astral plane, one leaves the meatsack….er, I mean their body, behind and you are tied, after a fashion, to your bodies location, by a silvery cord.”
“What this indicates to me is, one could, in theory, visit any other realm or plane, but would be in an incorporeal form, as your actual physical body is elsewhere.” Puffing his pipe a bit and taking a sip from his steaming mug, he continues. “Another thing, upon the Astral Plane, there are not a few ‘nasties’ who would just love to do you some mischief, as in cutting your cord just for grins and giggles.”
Looking at you with eyes as hard and cold as arctic granite he states, “Straying far or long on that plane is a quick way to find out what awaits a body after this life is done, and not recommended for the merely curious.”
Turning away, seeming to shrink a bit into himself, he quietly adds, “That being said, should you find a way to go from hither to yon via the Astral, and bring your solid body with you, I’d appreciate very much the sharing of that knowledge.”
With this, he waves a hand, nonchalantly in your direction, a solid, platinum card appears on the table before you. Drawing on his pipe, he exhales a voluminous cloud of cherry scented smoke, “Do look me up and share the knowledge if you would be so kind.”
As the smoke clears….you find the old gentleman, and his mug, are gone.
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Known in other realms as Ranxaeroth.
“Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and good with bar-b-que sauce.” ~Cheshire Dragon
”You can fool most of the people most of the time, but a Sphinx….never.” ~Torwyn Vantalion.
“When the DM smiles, its already to late.” ~many a player.
I honestly don't know. Any DM could rule otherwise, but the only 3 ways in lore to get from one world, like Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms, to the other is by this:
Traveling to a different crystal sphere with a spelljamming vessel, going through the Phlogiston.
Finding a door in Sigil that teleports you to a different world.
Being a planeswalker from Magic: the Gathering, and "teleporting" to another world.
I believe gate spells can actually be used as well - I think it was gate spells that Elminster, mordenkain etc used to meet at Greenwood’s house for their discussions. 😳
After some further thought, I recalled one of the most terrible encounters we ever had in our travels of Greyspace. We were investigating rumors of an Ancient Brain hiding is a large planetoid in the grinder. Suddenly, several strange ships appeared via large gates, and gave the outpost of the Illithids a most severe thrashing. We attempted to flee this terrible fleet, but one ship pursued us. We learned later, after many losses and drifting over a month in a damaged hammer ship with only the 4 of us surviving, we had encountered the Githyanki.
Further study of our foe revealed, not only do they live on the Astral Plane, but travel freely from Astral to Prime Material freely and regularly, in their very large warships.
We never did ascertain if it was by magic of the ship or the caster themselves, rather only it was done.
Gates and the spells of the like would seem to be your best bet of travel. Keep a weather eye out for these creatures as you are merely food or resources…or both, to them.
Tarry not long on the Astral Plane, it is permeated with strange and fell magics. The Githyanki have been warped and twisted by them, and you could well be also, should you linger there.
>a puff of his pipe and shimmering blue vapors surround the traveler, when they clear, he is gone. <
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Known in other realms as Ranxaeroth.
“Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and good with bar-b-que sauce.” ~Cheshire Dragon
”You can fool most of the people most of the time, but a Sphinx….never.” ~Torwyn Vantalion.
“When the DM smiles, its already to late.” ~many a player.
I don’t think you can use the Astral or Ethereal planes to travel from one crystal sphere to another. I think you have to use the phlogiston or go to a planar nexus like Sigil and find a portal to that specific sphere.
Salutations gentle folk. After doing some research this is what I was able to put together.
OLD Lore: You could enter the Astral by color pool, which on the Prime Material was a “gate you couldn’t see” you needed to know where it was located and how to approach it. (Inside the Astral Plane, the doorway would be a color pool. On Greyhawk there are actually several, permanent such gates…..none large enough for a vessel though. Inside the Astral, you can open a color pool or wait for them to generate by the storms, or go to the location of one of the permanent ones. (Good luck on the last bit due to the vastness of the place.)
If you were allies with the Githzerai, they may create a gate for your vessel, or allow passage on theirs. Pretty large ask though and exceedingly rare to obtain.
If you had been to another Sphere, and studied a place, theoretically you might teleport. Our DM only allowed this of the highest mages and then there was only a 10% chance for the spell to even work at all. The failure part being you landed at a random point SOMEWHERE in the universe…. So, we didn’t do that, more than once.
Lastly, you needed a very well provisioned ship, a knowledgeable and well trained crew and an excellent navigator, as well as a spell to open a door in the shell of the Sphere. Months, sometimes several, later, you would (hopefully intact), arrive at your destination.
NEW Lore: You need a ship, preferably well provisioned with an able crew, knowledge of the Astral Plane and how it works mentally, and you just fly. You leave the planet, sail through your local space, eventually wind up going into the Astral Plane then….(they havent dropped this bit yet) somehow navigate your way through that to the other worlds space. Enter it and sail to the planet. Seems easier…..but….
Considering movement, and gravity are set by the individuals mind, I’m not sure how a ship full of folks would all be thinking the same thing. They havent explained that part yet in the snippets they have dropped so I’m really curious as to how this will work.
At first glance, cant say I’m impressed by the oversimplification of the mode of travel. No more hard shell spheres….no more Phlogiston (The Phlo is now a randomly occurring “current of the flammable material….” That you can “sail” along on.
The “no more spheres” part completely wrecks Greyspace in regards to its stars. Actual gems of vast diameter set into the surface of the sphere. Guess Greyhawk just lost its stars…?
I was really excited for the new version of Spelljammers release…. What Ive seen so far…. Losing some excitement and bracing for another round of disappointment.
Hope that helped a bit.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Known in other realms as Ranxaeroth.
“Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and good with bar-b-que sauce.” ~Cheshire Dragon
”You can fool most of the people most of the time, but a Sphinx….never.” ~Torwyn Vantalion.
“When the DM smiles, its already to late.” ~many a player.
Salutations gentle folk. After doing some research this is what I was able to put together.
OLD Lore: You could enter the Astral by color pool, which on the Prime Material was a “gate you couldn’t see” you needed to know where it was located and how to approach it. (Inside the Astral Plane, the doorway would be a color pool. On Greyhawk there are actually several, permanent such gates…..none large enough for a vessel though. Inside the Astral, you can open a color pool or wait for them to generate by the storms, or go to the location of one of the permanent ones. (Good luck on the last bit due to the vastness of the place.)
If you were allies with the Githzerai, they may create a gate for your vessel, or allow passage on theirs. Pretty large ask though and exceedingly rare to obtain.
If you had been to another Sphere, and studied a place, theoretically you might teleport. Our DM only allowed this of the highest mages and then there was only a 10% chance for the spell to even work at all. The failure part being you landed at a random point SOMEWHERE in the universe…. So, we didn’t do that, more than once.
Lastly, you needed a very well provisioned ship, a knowledgeable and well trained crew and an excellent navigator, as well as a spell to open a door in the shell of the Sphere. Months, sometimes several, later, you would (hopefully intact), arrive at your destination.
NEW Lore: You need a ship, preferably well provisioned with an able crew, knowledge of the Astral Plane and how it works mentally, and you just fly. You leave the planet, sail through your local space, eventually wind up going into the Astral Plane then….(they havent dropped this bit yet) somehow navigate your way through that to the other worlds space. Enter it and sail to the planet. Seems easier…..but….
Considering movement, and gravity are set by the individuals mind, I’m not sure how a ship full of folks would all be thinking the same thing. They havent explained that part yet in the snippets they have dropped so I’m really curious as to how this will work.
At first glance, cant say I’m impressed by the oversimplification of the mode of travel. No more hard shell spheres….no more Phlogiston (The Phlo is now a randomly occurring “current of the flammable material….” That you can “sail” along on.
The “no more spheres” part completely wrecks Greyspace in regards to its stars. Actual gems of vast diameter set into the surface of the sphere. Guess Greyhawk just lost its stars…?
I was really excited for the new version of Spelljammers release…. What Ive seen so far…. Losing some excitement and bracing for another round of disappointment.
Hope that helped a bit.
Thank you. My comment is somewhat outdated by now lol.
After some further thought, I recalled one of the most terrible encounters we ever had in our travels of Greyspace. We were investigating rumors of an Ancient Brain hiding is a large planetoid in the grinder. Suddenly, several strange ships appeared via large gates, and gave the outpost of the Illithids a most severe thrashing. We attempted to flee this terrible fleet, but one ship pursued us. We learned later, after many losses and drifting over a month in a damaged hammer ship with only the 4 of us surviving, we had encountered the Githyanki.
Further study of our foe revealed, not only do they live on the Astral Plane, but travel freely from Astral to Prime Material freely and regularly, in their very large warships.
We never did ascertain if it was by magic of the ship or the caster themselves, rather only it was done.
Gates and the spells of the like would seem to be your best bet of travel. Keep a weather eye out for these creatures as you are merely food or resources…or both, to them.
Tarry not long on the Astral Plane, it is permeated with strange and fell magics. The Githyanki have been warped and twisted by them, and you could well be also, should you linger there.
>a puff of his pipe and shimmering blue vapors surround the traveler, when they clear, he is gone. <
And on the card, you find the name "Fizbin/Bahamot Platinum Dragon God of metallic dragons".
Except crystal spheres don’t technically exist anymore thanks to the new version of spelljammer. Now they are “wild spaces” and all exist in the same astral sea (astral plane).
Each D&D setting/universe is contained inside their own Crystal Sphere. Each has their own different cosmology. I do not know what Crystal Sphere setting/universe these Spelljammer books are describing, but I can tell it is not Forgotten Realms, Eberron. or Greyhawk.
You can travel among all official D&D settings using a spelljamming vessel or planar travel (e.g., portals, color pools, gates, astral projection, crossing the border ethereal). The intention of the core worldbuilding is that there is only one astral plane (or sea), only one ethereal plane, and if you use the phlogiston in your campaign for some reason, there is only one of those, too.
Some settings are harder to reach than others, depending on your method of travel, but all settings are accessible via all of these means of travel. This was explicitly true in AD&D2, and when D&D3 introduced cosmological differences between official settings, it was explicitly stated that these differences were differences in interpretation only, and were not actually describing different planar locations. Although this has not been restated since, it has not been contradicted, and therefore is still implicitly true in D&D5.
It may have become implicitly untrue during D&D4, when the cosmology of the core setting was substantially rewritten, and the few setting specific books published had very distinct cosmologies that were not described as interpretational, but as of D&D5, the cosmological changes in D&D4 have been mostly reverted.
Regardless, it has never been explicitly stated that travel between official D&D settings is impossible via any of the above methods.
What is true at your table is up to the dungeon master. But this is where the official word comes down (or doesn't come down).
The Astral Plane is, quite literally, the plane of stars. More precisely, it is where the stars and portals to the heavens reside—an infinitely vast celestial void that surrounds all the worlds of the Material Plane.
Every D&D world—whether round, flat, or some other shape—exists in an airless void known as Wildspace. A world might be solitary, or it might have neighbors: one or more suns, worlds, moons, asteroids, comets, or other bodies. This neighborhood of celestial and planetary bodies is called a Wildspace system.
In Wildspace, the Material Plane and the Astral Plane overlap. Creatures and objects in Wildspace age normally and are effectively on both of those planes at once. If you were to leave your home world and continue outward until you neared the edge of your Wildspace system, you would begin to see a faint, silvery haze. By traveling into this haze, you pass from Wildspace into the Astral Sea, more colorfully known as the Silver Void. The deeper into the Astral Sea you travel, the thicker and brighter the haze becomes, but the stars that shine through it are always visible. Wildspace and the Astral Sea together comprise the Astral Plane.”
no mention of crystal spheres or Phlogstein - those are gone now just Wildspace systems and the Astral Sea. With all the different D&add worlds ( or at least your DM’s version of them) somewhere in the sea.
You can travel among all official D&D settings using a spelljamming vessel or planar travel (e.g., portals, color pools, gates, astral projection, crossing the border ethereal). The intention of the core worldbuilding is that there is only one astral plane (or sea), only one ethereal plane, and if you use the phlogiston in your campaign for some reason, there is only one of those, too.
Some settings are harder to reach than others, depending on your method of travel, but all settings are accessible via all of these means of travel. This was explicitly true in AD&D2, and when D&D3 introduced cosmological differences between official settings, it was explicitly stated that these differences were differences in interpretation only, and were not actually describing different planar locations. Although this has not been restated since, it has not been contradicted, and therefore is still implicitly true in D&D5.
It may have become implicitly untrue during D&D4, when the cosmology of the core setting was substantially rewritten, and the few setting specific books published had very distinct cosmologies that were not described as interpretational, but as of D&D5, the cosmological changes in D&D4 have been mostly reverted.
Regardless, it has never been explicitly stated that travel between official D&D settings is impossible via any of the above methods.
What is true at your table is up to the dungeon master. But this is where the official word comes down (or doesn't come down).
The Astral Plane is, quite literally, the plane of stars. More precisely, it is where the stars and portals to the heavens reside—an infinitely vast celestial void that surrounds all the worlds of the Material Plane.
Every D&D world—whether round, flat, or some other shape—exists in an airless void known as Wildspace. A world might be solitary, or it might have neighbors: one or more suns, worlds, moons, asteroids, comets, or other bodies. This neighborhood of celestial and planetary bodies is called a Wildspace system.
In Wildspace, the Material Plane and the Astral Plane overlap. Creatures and objects in Wildspace age normally and are effectively on both of those planes at once. If you were to leave your home world and continue outward until you neared the edge of your Wildspace system, you would begin to see a faint, silvery haze. By traveling into this haze, you pass from Wildspace into the Astral Sea, more colorfully known as the Silver Void. The deeper into the Astral Sea you travel, the thicker and brighter the haze becomes, but the stars that shine through it are always visible. Wildspace and the Astral Sea together comprise the Astral Plane.”
no mention of crystal spheres or Phlogstein - those are gone now just Wildspace systems and the Astral Sea. With all the different D&add worlds ( or at least your DM’s version of them) somewhere in the sea.
Frist, Planer Travel has never sent anyone to another setting. Second in D&D the Astral Plane has nothing to do with stars or even space at all. The Astral Plane is a mental place where everything is a mental construct, also it is the graveyard of the divine. Everything that inters the Astral is translated into a mental construct, this is why you do not hunger or age while inside the Astral. Inside the Forgotten Realm's Astral plane there are colored portals that go to Outer Planes and the Material Plane. Astral Plane | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom
The Prime Material Plane is the only Plane that encompasses the D&D multiverse, the Material Plane refers to the local setting's part of the Prime Material Plane.
Frist, Planer Travel has never sent anyone to another setting. Second in D&D the Astral Plane has nothing to do with stars or even space at all. The Astral Plane is a mental place where everything is a mental construct, also it is the graveyard of the divine. Everything that inters the Astral is translated into a mental construct, this is why you do not hunger or age while inside the Astral. Inside the Forgotten Realm's Astral plane there are colored portals that go to Outer Planes and the Material Plane. Astral Plane | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom
The Prime Material Plane is the only Plane that encompasses the D&D multiverse, the Material Plane refers to the local setting's part of the Prime Material Plane.
Dude, just because you don't like the new version of Spelljammer doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's just not the version that you play with. Saying "in D&D the Astral Plane has nothing to do with stars or even space at all" is simply untrue, when the latest version of the setting literally has just that.
You don't have to use it. You don't have to like it. (I, don't; I don't think it's weird enough, but that's beside the point.)
But popping up repeatedly in Spelljammer threads to make assertions about the setting that directly contradict the current version is counterproductive.
You can travel among all official D&D settings using a spelljamming vessel or planar travel (e.g., portals, color pools, gates, astral projection, crossing the border ethereal). The intention of the core worldbuilding is that there is only one astral plane (or sea), only one ethereal plane, and if you use the phlogiston in your campaign for some reason, there is only one of those, too.
Some settings are harder to reach than others, depending on your method of travel, but all settings are accessible via all of these means of travel. This was explicitly true in AD&D2, and when D&D3 introduced cosmological differences between official settings, it was explicitly stated that these differences were differences in interpretation only, and were not actually describing different planar locations. Although this has not been restated since, it has not been contradicted, and therefore is still implicitly true in D&D5.
It may have become implicitly untrue during D&D4, when the cosmology of the core setting was substantially rewritten, and the few setting specific books published had very distinct cosmologies that were not described as interpretational, but as of D&D5, the cosmological changes in D&D4 have been mostly reverted.
Regardless, it has never been explicitly stated that travel between official D&D settings is impossible via any of the above methods.
What is true at your table is up to the dungeon master. But this is where the official word comes down (or doesn't come down).
The Astral Plane is, quite literally, the plane of stars. More precisely, it is where the stars and portals to the heavens reside—an infinitely vast celestial void that surrounds all the worlds of the Material Plane.
Every D&D world—whether round, flat, or some other shape—exists in an airless void known as Wildspace. A world might be solitary, or it might have neighbors: one or more suns, worlds, moons, asteroids, comets, or other bodies. This neighborhood of celestial and planetary bodies is called a Wildspace system.
In Wildspace, the Material Plane and the Astral Plane overlap. Creatures and objects in Wildspace age normally and are effectively on both of those planes at once. If you were to leave your home world and continue outward until you neared the edge of your Wildspace system, you would begin to see a faint, silvery haze. By traveling into this haze, you pass from Wildspace into the Astral Sea, more colorfully known as the Silver Void. The deeper into the Astral Sea you travel, the thicker and brighter the haze becomes, but the stars that shine through it are always visible. Wildspace and the Astral Sea together comprise the Astral Plane.”
no mention of crystal spheres or Phlogstein - those are gone now just Wildspace systems and the Astral Sea. With all the different D&add worlds ( or at least your DM’s version of them) somewhere in the sea.
Frist, Planer Travel has never sent anyone to another setting. Second in D&D the Astral Plane has nothing to do with stars or even space at all. The Astral Plane is a mental place where everything is a mental construct, also it is the graveyard of the divine. Everything that inters the Astral is translated into a mental construct, this is why you do not hunger or age while inside the Astral. Inside the Forgotten Realm's Astral plane there are colored portals that go to Outer Planes and the Material Plane. Astral Plane | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom
The Prime Material Plane is the only Plane that encompasses the D&D multiverse, the Material Plane refers to the local setting's part of the Prime Material Plane.
Unfortunately you are using an older not updated to the latest WOTC release page from the wiki. My quote is from the recently released 5e Spelljammer set. As such it overwrites the older lore at least for 5e. This new lore retcons the old eliminating the phlogiston and the crystal spheres. Now you can spelljam from any wildspace to any other the fact that you do not age or hunger is built into the nature of the astral sea not a product of your mind. Color pools still exist acting as portals/gates to outer planes and possibly as shortcuts to different settings wildspace. As for planar travel not sending folks from setting to setting we have the 2e -3.xe example of the Elminster conclaves where 3 archmages from 3 different settings regularly used planar travel to reach this mundane Earth and visit Ed Greenwood to talk amongst themselves then return to their own worlds or go visiting other worlds. We also had/have Nezram the world walker who traveled the planes and worlds extensively using planar gates and portals.
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Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
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In Spelljammer, are ll crystal spheres connected to the same Astral Plane? Would it be possible to travel there from one sphere and come out in another? Would one need to find a color pool?
Yes, probably. Not with current lore. And, not with current lore.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
How could #1 be possible if #2 isn't? If they're all connected to a continuous plane, how could it not be possible to go in and come out at two separate points?
I honestly don't know. Any DM could rule otherwise, but the only 3 ways in lore to get from one world, like Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms, to the other is by this:
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
If you look at it, I think the first post is right, but the stuff between the spheres is the phlogiston
Proud poster on the Create a World thread
Salutaions.
“My knowledge may be a bit rusty of the Astral Plane, been a minute since I strode long there.” >The aged traveler sits in a chair by the fireplace, sets his mug on the table next to his arm and takes out an ornately carved pipe and lights it.<
“Last I recall” he says, Drawing on his pipe and clouds of smoke rising around his head, “To enter the astral plane, one leaves the meatsack….er, I mean their body, behind and you are tied, after a fashion, to your bodies location, by a silvery cord.”
“What this indicates to me is, one could, in theory, visit any other realm or plane, but would be in an incorporeal form, as your actual physical body is elsewhere.” Puffing his pipe a bit and taking a sip from his steaming mug, he continues. “Another thing, upon the Astral Plane, there are not a few ‘nasties’ who would just love to do you some mischief, as in cutting your cord just for grins and giggles.”
Looking at you with eyes as hard and cold as arctic granite he states, “Straying far or long on that plane is a quick way to find out what awaits a body after this life is done, and not recommended for the merely curious.”
Turning away, seeming to shrink a bit into himself, he quietly adds, “That being said, should you find a way to go from hither to yon via the Astral, and bring your solid body with you, I’d appreciate very much the sharing of that knowledge.”
With this, he waves a hand, nonchalantly in your direction, a solid, platinum card appears on the table before you. Drawing on his pipe, he exhales a voluminous cloud of cherry scented smoke, “Do look me up and share the knowledge if you would be so kind.”
As the smoke clears….you find the old gentleman, and his mug, are gone.
Known in other realms as Ranxaeroth.
“Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and good with bar-b-que sauce.” ~Cheshire Dragon
”You can fool most of the people most of the time, but a Sphinx….never.” ~Torwyn Vantalion.
“When the DM smiles, its already to late.” ~many a player.
I believe gate spells can actually be used as well - I think it was gate spells that Elminster, mordenkain etc used to meet at Greenwood’s house for their discussions. 😳
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Greetings once again.
After some further thought, I recalled one of the most terrible encounters we ever had in our travels of Greyspace. We were investigating rumors of an Ancient Brain hiding is a large planetoid in the grinder. Suddenly, several strange ships appeared via large gates, and gave the outpost of the Illithids a most severe thrashing. We attempted to flee this terrible fleet, but one ship pursued us. We learned later, after many losses and drifting over a month in a damaged hammer ship with only the 4 of us surviving, we had encountered the Githyanki.
Further study of our foe revealed, not only do they live on the Astral Plane, but travel freely from Astral to Prime Material freely and regularly, in their very large warships.
We never did ascertain if it was by magic of the ship or the caster themselves, rather only it was done.
Gates and the spells of the like would seem to be your best bet of travel. Keep a weather eye out for these creatures as you are merely food or resources…or both, to them.
Tarry not long on the Astral Plane, it is permeated with strange and fell magics. The Githyanki have been warped and twisted by them, and you could well be also, should you linger there.
>a puff of his pipe and shimmering blue vapors surround the traveler, when they clear, he is gone. <
Known in other realms as Ranxaeroth.
“Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and good with bar-b-que sauce.” ~Cheshire Dragon
”You can fool most of the people most of the time, but a Sphinx….never.” ~Torwyn Vantalion.
“When the DM smiles, its already to late.” ~many a player.
I don’t think you can use the Astral or Ethereal planes to travel from one crystal sphere to another. I think you have to use the phlogiston or go to a planar nexus like Sigil and find a portal to that specific sphere.
Salutations gentle folk. After doing some research this is what I was able to put together.
OLD Lore: You could enter the Astral by color pool, which on the Prime Material was a “gate you couldn’t see” you needed to know where it was located and how to approach it. (Inside the Astral Plane, the doorway would be a color pool. On Greyhawk there are actually several, permanent such gates…..none large enough for a vessel though. Inside the Astral, you can open a color pool or wait for them to generate by the storms, or go to the location of one of the permanent ones. (Good luck on the last bit due to the vastness of the place.)
If you were allies with the Githzerai, they may create a gate for your vessel, or allow passage on theirs. Pretty large ask though and exceedingly rare to obtain.
If you had been to another Sphere, and studied a place, theoretically you might teleport. Our DM only allowed this of the highest mages and then there was only a 10% chance for the spell to even work at all. The failure part being you landed at a random point SOMEWHERE in the universe…. So, we didn’t do that, more than once.
Lastly, you needed a very well provisioned ship, a knowledgeable and well trained crew and an excellent navigator, as well as a spell to open a door in the shell of the Sphere. Months, sometimes several, later, you would (hopefully intact), arrive at your destination.
NEW Lore: You need a ship, preferably well provisioned with an able crew, knowledge of the Astral Plane and how it works mentally, and you just fly. You leave the planet, sail through your local space, eventually wind up going into the Astral Plane then….(they havent dropped this bit yet) somehow navigate your way through that to the other worlds space. Enter it and sail to the planet. Seems easier…..but….
Considering movement, and gravity are set by the individuals mind, I’m not sure how a ship full of folks would all be thinking the same thing. They havent explained that part yet in the snippets they have dropped so I’m really curious as to how this will work.
At first glance, cant say I’m impressed by the oversimplification of the mode of travel. No more hard shell spheres….no more Phlogiston (The Phlo is now a randomly occurring “current of the flammable material….” That you can “sail” along on.
The “no more spheres” part completely wrecks Greyspace in regards to its stars. Actual gems of vast diameter set into the surface of the sphere. Guess Greyhawk just lost its stars…?
I was really excited for the new version of Spelljammers release…. What Ive seen so far…. Losing some excitement and bracing for another round of disappointment.
Hope that helped a bit.
Known in other realms as Ranxaeroth.
“Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and good with bar-b-que sauce.” ~Cheshire Dragon
”You can fool most of the people most of the time, but a Sphinx….never.” ~Torwyn Vantalion.
“When the DM smiles, its already to late.” ~many a player.
Thank you. My comment is somewhat outdated by now lol.
And on the card, you find the name "Fizbin/Bahamot Platinum Dragon God of metallic dragons".
Each Crystal Sphere has its own Astral Plane.
Except crystal spheres don’t technically exist anymore thanks to the new version of spelljammer. Now they are “wild spaces” and all exist in the same astral sea (astral plane).
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Each D&D setting/universe is contained inside their own Crystal Sphere.
Each has their own different cosmology.
I do not know what Crystal Sphere setting/universe these Spelljammer books are describing, but I can tell it is not Forgotten Realms, Eberron. or Greyhawk.
You can travel among all official D&D settings using a spelljamming vessel or planar travel (e.g., portals, color pools, gates, astral projection, crossing the border ethereal). The intention of the core worldbuilding is that there is only one astral plane (or sea), only one ethereal plane, and if you use the phlogiston in your campaign for some reason, there is only one of those, too.
Some settings are harder to reach than others, depending on your method of travel, but all settings are accessible via all of these means of travel. This was explicitly true in AD&D2, and when D&D3 introduced cosmological differences between official settings, it was explicitly stated that these differences were differences in interpretation only, and were not actually describing different planar locations. Although this has not been restated since, it has not been contradicted, and therefore is still implicitly true in D&D5.
It may have become implicitly untrue during D&D4, when the cosmology of the core setting was substantially rewritten, and the few setting specific books published had very distinct cosmologies that were not described as interpretational, but as of D&D5, the cosmological changes in D&D4 have been mostly reverted.
Regardless, it has never been explicitly stated that travel between official D&D settings is impossible via any of the above methods.
What is true at your table is up to the dungeon master. But this is where the official word comes down (or doesn't come down).
J
Great Wyrm Moonstone Dungeon Master
The time of the ORC has come. No OGL without irrevocability; no OGL with 'authorized version' language. #openDND
Practice, practice, practice • Respect the rules; don't memorize them • Be merciless, not cruel • Don't let the dice run the game for you
This from the new 5e spelljammer:
”
The Astral Plane is, quite literally, the plane of stars. More precisely, it is where the stars and portals to the heavens reside—an infinitely vast celestial void that surrounds all the worlds of the Material Plane.
Every D&D world—whether round, flat, or some other shape—exists in an airless void known as Wildspace. A world might be solitary, or it might have neighbors: one or more suns, worlds, moons, asteroids, comets, or other bodies. This neighborhood of celestial and planetary bodies is called a Wildspace system.
In Wildspace, the Material Plane and the Astral Plane overlap. Creatures and objects in Wildspace age normally and are effectively on both of those planes at once. If you were to leave your home world and continue outward until you neared the edge of your Wildspace system, you would begin to see a faint, silvery haze. By traveling into this haze, you pass from Wildspace into the Astral Sea, more colorfully known as the Silver Void. The deeper into the Astral Sea you travel, the thicker and brighter the haze becomes, but the stars that shine through it are always visible. Wildspace and the Astral Sea together comprise the Astral Plane.”
no mention of crystal spheres or Phlogstein - those are gone now just Wildspace systems and the Astral Sea. With all the different D&add worlds ( or at least your DM’s version of them) somewhere in the sea.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Frist, Planer Travel has never sent anyone to another setting.
Second in D&D the Astral Plane has nothing to do with stars or even space at all. The Astral Plane is a mental place where everything is a mental construct, also it is the graveyard of the divine. Everything that inters the Astral is translated into a mental construct, this is why you do not hunger or age while inside the Astral. Inside the Forgotten Realm's Astral plane there are colored portals that go to Outer Planes and the Material Plane. Astral Plane | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom
The Prime Material Plane is the only Plane that encompasses the D&D multiverse, the Material Plane refers to the local setting's part of the Prime Material Plane.
Dude, just because you don't like the new version of Spelljammer doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's just not the version that you play with. Saying "in D&D the Astral Plane has nothing to do with stars or even space at all" is simply untrue, when the latest version of the setting literally has just that.
You don't have to use it. You don't have to like it. (I, don't; I don't think it's weird enough, but that's beside the point.)
But popping up repeatedly in Spelljammer threads to make assertions about the setting that directly contradict the current version is counterproductive.
Unfortunately you are using an older not updated to the latest WOTC release page from the wiki. My quote is from the recently released 5e Spelljammer set. As such it overwrites the older lore at least for 5e. This new lore retcons the old eliminating the phlogiston and the crystal spheres. Now you can spelljam from any wildspace to any other the fact that you do not age or hunger is built into the nature of the astral sea not a product of your mind. Color pools still exist acting as portals/gates to outer planes and possibly as shortcuts to different settings wildspace. As for planar travel not sending folks from setting to setting we have the 2e -3.xe example of the Elminster conclaves where 3 archmages from 3 different settings regularly used planar travel to reach this mundane Earth and visit Ed Greenwood to talk amongst themselves then return to their own worlds or go visiting other worlds. We also had/have Nezram the world walker who traveled the planes and worlds extensively using planar gates and portals.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.