Manual of the Planes

CHAPTER 5:THE TRANSITIVEPLANES48Astral Color PoolsCelestiaBytopiaElysiumThe BeastlandsArboreaYsgardLimboPandemoniumThe AbyssCarceriThe Gray WasteGehennaThe Nine HellsAcheronMechanusArcadiaThe OutlandsMaterial PlaneElemental Plane ofFireElemental Plane ofEarthElemental Plane ofWaterElemental Plane ofAirPositive EnergyPlaneNegative EnergyPlanePlane of ShadowEtherealDemiplanes (Varies)• Enhanced Magic: All spells and spell-like abilities usedwithin the astral may be employed as if they wereimproved by the Quicken Spell feat. Already quickenedspells and spell-like abilities are unaffected, as are spellsfrom magic items. Spells so quickened are still preparedand cast at their unmodified level. As with the QuickenSpell feat, only one quickened spell can be cast per round.ASTRAL LINKSThe Astral Plane is omnipresent and can potentially havelinks to every other plane in your cosmology. You canrestrict the Astral Plane’s connection to particular planes(see the Option: Without the Astral sidebar), but in generalthe Astral Plane connects everywhere.Many individuals pass through the Astral Plane withoutrealizing it when they cast certain spells or use interplanarportals. They find themselves on the Astral Plane onlywhen something goes wrong, such as a badly cast dimensiondoor spell or a bag of holding stuffed inside a portable hole.When something has to go somewhere else but has noother direction to go, it usually ends up on the Astral Plane.There can be permanent portals between various planesand the Astral Plane. Outsiders that otherwise lack planetravelingabilities use these portals to get to the Astral Plane.A number of openings known as color pools connectthe Astral Plane to other planes. Color pools are irregulardisks of a particular color floating in the vastness of theAstral Plane. The color of the pool tells the astral travelerwhat plane is on the other end of the color pool.Seven out of every ten color pools are one-way portalsleading only to the plane in question. The remaining threeout of ten allow two-way access. The astral projection spellstill connects through such color pools regardless of theirdirection, so an individual moving onto a new plane canstill retreat to the Astral Plane through a one-way portal.Portals that pass through the Astral Plane to otherplanes form conduits, which appear as large trails of darkgray against the astral sky. Travelers can reach a particularlocation on another plane by latching onto one of theseconduits and following it to one of its destinations,although this can be a perilous way to travel.Conduits flex and weave as they move through the AstralPlane, and successfully catching one of them is akin tohitching a ride on a tornado. Grabbing a conduit requires aWill saving throw (DC 20). Failure means the individual isflung violently away from the conduit and takes 1d10 pointsof damage from the astral turbulence. Success indicates thatthe traveler has latched onto the conduit and movesinstantly onto one of the two planes the conduit connects.Conduits tend to flow either in one direction or the other,but they do not change their direction of flow frequently, soindividuals who hitch a ride on a conduit in quick successionwind up on the same plane. An astral form that joins aconduit forms a new body at the destination plane.The advantage of using a conduit is that the travelerlikely has a way back out of the destination plane. The disadvantageis that it’s impossible to tell by looking where aconduit is coming from or where it’s going. Conduits are