Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 5:THE TRANSITIVEPLANESPlane. The ethereal jaunt and etherealness spells take youto the Ethereal Plane, the astral projection spell takes you tothe Astral Plane, and the shadow walk spell takes you to thePlane of Shadow. Such spells should function in anylocation coexistent with or coterminous to the plane. Ifthe Plane of Shadow and a particular Outer Plane connect,then the caster should able to cast the shadow walkspell from that Outer Plane. But if the two planes aren’tcoexistent or coterminous, the spell won’t work.Matters become more complex when you cast one ofthese spells while on a Transitive Plane. Will a particularspell allow movement from one Transitive Plane toanother? Here are the answers for the D&D cosmology.From the Ethereal Plane to the Astral Plane: Youcan move to the Astral Plane from almost everywhere onthe Ethereal Plane, because the Astral Plane connects toeverywhere on the Ethereal Plane. (The Ethereal Planedoes not necessarily connect to everywhere on the AstralPlane, however; see below.) If you’re using an astral projectionspell, your physical body remains in the EtherealPlane, and the astral form moves to the Astral Plane. Ifyou physically travel to the Astral Plane, your form losesits insubstantial nature and becomes solid.From the Astral Plane to the Ethereal Plane: It ispossible to move from the Astral Plane to the EtherealPlane in regions where the two planes are coexistentor coterminous. If you are in a region that would notnormally access the Ethereal Plane, no such travel ispossible. A physical body moving from the Astral Planeto the Ethereal Plane becomes insubstantial (as theethereal jaunt spell), whether it reached the EtherealPlane by means of a spell or by moving through a colorpool. An astral form can enter the Ethereal Plane, and itgains the ethereal properties while there (it can beaffected by force attacks or gaze abilities, for example).But if your astral form travels to the Ethereal Plane,that’s as far as you can go; you cannot manifest on theMaterial Plane. If you are forced onto the MaterialPlane, your astral form is destroyed and your soulreturns to its original body. If you physically movefrom the Astral Plane to the Ethereal Plane, you cancontinue your travels by manifesting on the MaterialPlane at any time afterward.From the Plane of Shadow to the Astral Plane:From the Plane of Shadow, you can use the astral projectionspell, leaving your body behind on that plane (notnecessarily a good idea, because the Plane of Shadow isthe most hazardous of the Transitive Planes). You canphysically move into the Astral Plane from the Plane ofShadow as well, because the Astral Plane and the Planeof Shadow are coexistent.From the Astral Plane to the Plane of Shadow:There are no shadows per se on the Astral Plane (a gentleglow suffuses the entire plane), but the plane has locationsof sufficient darkness to allow access to the Plane ofShadow. It is possible to move into the Plane of Shadowfrom the Astral Plane either physically or in astral form.A color pool is the most common way to reach the Planeof Shadow. When you use a color pool, your silver cordruns from the Plane of Shadow to the Astral Plane, thenback to your original body.From the Plane of Shadow to the Ethereal Plane,or Vice Versa: In the D&D cosmology, these twoplanes are coexistent with the Material Plane, but notwith each other. Spells and effects that use the Plane ofShadow do not function on the Ethereal Plane, andpqqqqrs46CHARACTERS IN MOTION: HOW IT FEELS ONTHE TRANSITIVE PLANESThe descriptions of the various Transitive Planes tell how characters’senses function while traveling through the EtherealPlane, the Astral Plane, or the Plane of Shadow. But in additionto the game effects on characters, each Transitive Plane has a“feel” that’s unmistakable to the experienced planar traveler.The Ethereal Plane subtly deadens the senses; it feels like awarm fog is surrounding the character. Sights and sounds areslightly muted. Objects give off only faint smells, and anyunusual touch sensations are dulled.Conversely, the Astral Plane makes the senses feel sharper.Characters can’t actually see farther or hear better, but their sensesfeel more alive. Motions seem sharp and clear, sounds are full anddeep, and scents are distinct and almost pungent. Even the senseof touch is affected, heightened slightly so that the weave of fabricand the presence of a layer of ink on a page is noticeable.The wide-open nature of the Astral Plane creates a ticklingalong the nervous system. It has the feeling of air after a storm;the astral protomatter continually renews itself, sparking thesenses anew. Overall, travelers feel as though their senses arereaching great distances into a vast emptiness.The Plane of Shadow darkens the senses; the environmentfeels like a weight on the soul. As much as the Astral Planeprovides a feeling of release, the Plane of Shadow creates afeeling of captivity. Darkness lurks on all sides, oppressive andhungering for the characters’ light and warmth. Sounds aredistant, scents are faint, and objects feel slightly slick to thetouch. While not as openly hostile as some of the Inner Planes,the Plane of Shadow is a forbidding, soul-chilling place.No matter what plane a character is traveling to, somechange of sensation is usually noticeable right away. Apartfrom the obvious changes of moving between, say, theElemental Plane of Water and the Elemental Plane of Fire,there are thousands of small differences. Sometimes thesensation is like moving from a shadowy area into one morebrightly lit. Other planes can give a brief skin-prickling sensationor a sudden flush or chill in the body. Only if the interplanarjourney is very gradual (across a border region orthrough a portal shaped like a long corridor, for example) willtravelers not automatically know that they’ve crossed aplanar boundary. Even in such cases, a character whosucceeds at a Spot check (DC 15) will notice the subtlechange in sensation.pqqqqrs