Astraljamming [Archive] - Wizards Community

Astraljamming [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dragonhelm
04-14-08, 10:15 PM Guys, just saw this on EN World (http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=223823) and thought I'd pass it on.

In order to keep the other thread focused on the devils and the Nine Hells, I'm starting this one to discuss a hidden gem inside that article: the mention of "astral vessels" and the "helmsmen" that guide them!

With the Astral Plane renamed as the Astral Sea, and domains there described as "planets" (the Nine Hells are an example), this all adds up to a very "Spelljamming" side to the new implied setting.

I'm not sure what to think... :confused:

BTW, here's a pic. This makes me feel a lot better. :)

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/WorldsMonsters_Gallery/111927.jpg
DarthCestual
04-15-08, 10:25 PM This makes me tingly in my man-parts. :eek: :D
katahn
04-16-08, 09:51 AM I have to say I noticed that too and the concept is definitely intriguing. I don't especially care for the "timeless" aspect of the astral plane as it is defined in the current edition, but that can always be house-ruled around.
havard
04-16-08, 04:36 PM Absolutely a fascinating concept! :)

Havard
katahn
04-17-08, 09:40 AM Astraljamming begs some of the same questions spelljamming did, the most pertinent of which is: why not just use portals to travel more quickly and with less risk? Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Naturally occuring portals are not completely stable or safe except for extremely rarely, and even then there's still no guarantee. Natural portals are also rare, and if you don't know where one is that is going where you want to go you're out of luck.

2. Artificially created portals could be prohibitively expensive to create and maintain. While something that a god-level entity might create or work with others to create (like the Rainbow Bridge for the Norse Pantheon) it's just not practical for lesser beings to undertake. Temporary portals can be created by powerful magic users, but maybe these portals have limits on how much matter can pass through them before they collapse or become dangerously unstable.

3. Portals cannot be created in places where the creator hasn't been. So even when an artificial portal is workable, they cannot be used to go to "backwater dimensions" or to explore new reaches of the multiverse.

4. Astral ships are more vulnerable to attack than someone going through a portal, and there are other risks such as the equivilent of "storms at sea", but construction of a portal is orders of magnitude more expensive than a ship and a ship is not limited to a single destination.

5. Some destinations may be in dimensions portals are incapable of reaching ever or be populated by beings who would react violently to someone else constructing a portal to their home. Astral ships may very well be a lot more subtle or at least less provacative.
goldomark
04-18-08, 04:11 AM I saw the bit of info and liked it alot. The Flow was a bit to much with space and the astral plane, etc.

But now we still have space and the astral plane which are two different things.

If the transition from both can be done without any heavy rules that would be groovy man. Maybe two or three spells/powers for the transfer form one plane to the next. One arcane, one divine and one psionics.
katahn
04-18-08, 02:08 PM I'd anticipate "helms" being devices that allow a ship to shift into or out of the astral plane. Quite possibly only in certain places which would lend itself well to the idea of their being "port cities". So Waterdeep gets a lot of astraljammer traffic because just off the coast the connection between Toril and the Astral is strong enough for a helm to let a ship transition. It's even possible that helms have limited charges that either regenerate X number per day or regenerate only if an appropriate ritual is used.
goldomark
04-18-08, 03:44 PM I would think that the ships would move closer to the ones in Eberron.

Open to everyone, easier to use and less of a drain on the helmsman.
ikki
05-12-08, 10:03 AM ..astraljamming.. guess ill have to dig up the blueprints on the good old Whaleship. Wonder what astraljamming helm sell for.. oh wait, should have a few old useless artifacts in the backpocket, might aswell get a artifurnce.

Adding outriggers, thickening hull.. replaing hull with glassteel.. enchanted rudder
Enchanted plating..
MC: B Hull 100 SR 6+3 = 9
Anything less than 90 tons better get running, since ive got a blunt ram :D
goldomark
05-13-08, 04:00 AM ..astraljamming.. guess ill have to dig up the blueprints on the good old Whaleship. Wonder what astraljamming helm sell for.. oh wait, should have a few old useless artifacts in the backpocket, might aswell get a artifurnce.

Adding outriggers, thickening hull.. replaing hull with glassteel.. enchanted rudder
Enchanted plating..
MC: B Hull 100 SR 6+3 = 9
Anything less than 90 tons better get running, since ive got a blunt ram :D

:clap: :bow: I love power gamers with class!:bow:

but you forgot the crown of stars ;)
DarkTouch
05-16-08, 01:59 PM Sounds like its time for someone to pull out their old Dragon #159.
goldomark
05-16-08, 04:36 PM Sounds like its time for someone to pull out their old Dragon #159.

What is so special about that issue of Dragon (well they were all special)?
DarkTouch
05-18-08, 04:59 PM 159 had an article entitled 'VoidJammers'. It was about an archmage named Peregrin who moved a number of Hammerships (possibly squid and merchant ships as well) into the Astral plane and used them to set up a taxi service to carry people around through the Astral. I forget a lot of the details but I'm fairly sure I remember that the githyanki lich queen was not so fond of him.
Dragonhelm
05-22-08, 01:18 AM I'm not sure that this is a good idea.

What happens to the various iconic parts of Spelljammer, such as crystal sphers and the phlogiston? SJ is supposed to be about fantasy space travel. I'm not certain you get that with this Astraljammer setup where one of the "planets" you can visit is Planet Hell.

Thoughts?
goldomark
05-22-08, 02:42 AM Well I always felt that the phlogiston was rather useless. That or just plain space doesn't really make a difference, aside from the flammability (which is a nuissance). The phlo was also cut from the rest of the multiverse, but that only affected priests.

Godly influence could just be marked arbitrarily. Example: after X days of travel from Toril's solar system, Tyr, or anyother god, doesn't give spells or answer prayers. This last for Y days, then a new voices is heard when approching Krynnspace.

As for crystal spheres, they were there for the DM, letting him have some control on the travels of the PCs. That can be done in otherways.
katahn
05-22-08, 08:54 AM The spheres actually have their basis in classical astronomy/astrology. Long before the advent of telescopes and modern astronomy, when the idea the earth was the center of the universe was still in vogue, it was theorized that the earth, sun, and other planets were all in a giant crystal sphere and that was what the stars were placed on by God (or the gods). My guess is this was the real reason Spelljammer used it, and then to make it easier as a meta-setting declared each crystal sphere could have different rules of physics and such.

The concept of fantastic adventures from sailing on a magical ship to fantastic and otherworldly destinations is what I'd consider the iconic "core" of Spelljammer. Such a core could be rather well served by "sailing the astral sea" and the fantastic otherworldly destinations could be astral domains. If I decide to incorporate Spelljammer in my campaign that's how it'll happen, I'll leave literal space travel for science fiction.
DarkTouch
05-23-08, 01:07 PM The major benefit I always felt to having a Crystal Sphere was that it effectively walled off cosmologies from each other. They are essentially the fences the God's put up to keep other Gods from walking in their yards. The Phlogiston is the traffic that you can go play in. Crystal Spheres make Eberron with its vastly different cosmology doable while still keeping it within the overall D&D set of universes.

Back in 1st edition edition you had THE Material planes surrounded by the ethereal. You had to go further out to get to the Astral and outer planes. Within the material planes were your world plus an infinite number of other worlds. If I remember correctly the DMG had ideas for what if you took your characters to Boot Hill(western) and Gamma World(post apocalyptic) which by extension both had the same gods looking over them as the your world (the PRIME material plane?).

In 2nd Edition we had both Spelljammer and Planescape settings with the ability to get you between settings. Spelljammer came first and despite the insane cost of getting a ship/helm was considered the lower powered version of world crossing. As Sigil was available at least in both FR and Greyhawk they both shared a set of outer planes, but for whatever reason there were barriers in place that said these are where the FR gods hang out and this is where the Greyhawk gods hang out.

3rd edition shifted the focus to the individual DM's world rather than a shared world but still wanted the ability to connect worlds. Being without an explicit spelljammer setting (Ships showed up later in some of the art), gave the role of setting connector to the plane of shadow. Sorta like the difference between crossing the street and sneaking through the sewers to get to another diety's house really.

The big question for 4th edition is how they plan on connecting different worlds. While the Feywild and the Shadowfell have obvious images on how a mortal would connect to them, the Elemental Chaos and the Astral Sea are both a little more vague as to what they mean to a mortal travelling to them. It could be that the Astral sea has portals that you can travel into. It could be that you can sail to the edge of the Astral sea and pass into the greater Phlogiston Ocean. Hard to tell as of yet.
goldomark
05-24-08, 08:35 AM If I understand the new 4th ed. philosophy, crossing worlds isn't possible or welcomed anymore.

Even if the cosmos is the same for each world, someone from Eberron isn't supposed to go in the Forgotten Realms, in 4th ed.

It was too complecated for the designers to consider every world published.
DarkTouch
05-24-08, 09:27 AM I can't even begin to fathom where you came up with that idea. In 4e, they are actually removing the setting specific lines and doing a setting per year (for however many years).. which means FR this year, Eberron next year, Possibly ravenloft after that, then greyhawk, etc. (Note I don't actually know anything after Eberron.)

In fact, I would say they are actively hoping that we'll mix and match given what was said in the last Ampersand article.

You wouldn't believe how many times over the years I've heard people say "I play in [insert favorite campaign setting here] so product X is of no use to me," or "I only play Core D&D (whatever that means) so I can't use that [insert campaign setting here] product." I plan to change that under 4th Edition by getting the word out that it's okay to mix and match. Go ahead. Get peanut butter in the chocolate. Some of the best campaigns I ever ran or had the pleasure to play in had a little bit of [insert campaign setting here] mixed with a smattering of [insert other campaign setting here] and combined all that with homebrew ideas to create something totally new and different.
goldomark
05-24-08, 03:44 PM Wow! What was I on? Oh yeah...

Kids, don't take betaphenethylamine.
RavenGraygem
05-27-08, 04:47 PM Well I always felt that the phlogiston was rather useless. That or just plain space doesn't really make a difference, aside from the flammability (which is a nuissance). The phlo was also cut from the rest of the multiverse, but that only affected priests.

I use more of a "real-world" layout for my spelljamming, and the phlogiston is the divine equivalent of a snail-trail, left by the supreme creator deity as it wends back and forth through the cosmos, doing it's creator bit.

The phlo is well beyond the limits of any given solar system (roughly corresponding with old crystal sphere walls) and any ship slipping into it is instantly shot way past the speed of light; the magical nature of this stuff is what keeps ships from coming apart at that speed, as well as canceling out all of the assorted, real-world crap that happens to time when you approach the absolute speed of light.

As an added bonus, divine spellcasters can siphon off small bits of this divine energy to power their spells, but with some risk to themselves (and maybe their ships as well).

It's a system that's still being worked on, but I think it shows promise for spelljamming in my campaign.
goldomark
05-28-08, 02:26 AM I use more of a "real-world" layout for my spelljamming, and the phlogiston is the divine equivalent of a snail-trail, left by the supreme creator deity as it wends back and forth through the cosmos, doing it's creator bit.

The phlo is well beyond the limits of any given solar system (roughly corresponding with old crystal sphere walls) and any ship slipping into it is instantly shot way past the speed of light; the magical nature of this stuff is what keeps ships from coming apart at that speed, as well as canceling out all of the assorted, real-world crap that happens to time when you approach the absolute speed of light.

As an added bonus, divine spellcasters can siphon off small bits of this divine energy to power their spells, but with some risk to themselves (and maybe their ships as well).

It's a system that's still being worked on, but I think it shows promise for spelljamming in my campaign.

That is a great take on the phlo.

But I always saw Uranus and Gaea as the original creater gods. After Uranus's death, is ichor spilled in the multiverse, creating the phlogiston, is last breath creating the ethereal plane.

Once the tyranny of the the Sky God ended, Ptah, who was originaly a Titan in my personnal DnD mythology, created the material plane form chunks of the orginal primordial chaos that was the elemental planes at the time. Ptah then �retired�. He just went drifting in the ethereal observing the material plane, fascinated by is creation but unwilling to mettle in its affaires.
Strand0
05-30-08, 04:20 AM Astraljamming begs some of the same questions spelljamming did, the most pertinent of which is: why not just use portals to travel more quickly and with less risk?
:eek: That is a good point.

So, I think it would have to be the low power way to travel to other worlds. Probably only 1st to 10th LVL PCs would travel this way. It would be pretty desperate adventure.
;)
DarkTouch
05-30-08, 11:23 AM For those with a more 'real world' bent, it is worth noting that our solar system does in fact have a 'Crystal Shell'. It is a cloud of different types of ices that surround the system called the 'Oort Cloud'. It is entirely possible that all this "finding a portal through the shell" is just sailor metaphor for finding a gap in the ice crystals that won't leave your ship crushed to bitty bits. It also serves as an effective boundary marker for the outermost area of a system.
Nemo_the_Lost
05-30-08, 12:51 PM I can't even begin to fathom where you came up with that idea. In 4e, they are actually removing the setting specific lines and doing a setting per year (for however many years).. which means FR this year, Eberron next year, Possibly ravenloft after that, then greyhawk, etc. (Note I don't actually know anything after Eberron.)
In fact, I would say they are actively hoping that we'll mix and match given what was said in the last Ampersand article.

This isn't really what (Mearls? Slavicsek?) meant by "mix and match." He meant that you should feel free to pull from any published setting anything that appeals to you for use in your homebrew setting (or another published setting, for that matter). That doesn't change the fact that your homebrew setting (or any published setting) is completely independent of any other setting cosmically. The idea of a shared 'planescape' is gone.

I, for one, wholeheartedly applaud the concept of astraljamming as a D&D4 substitute for both Spelljammer and Planescape. Terrible name, though. Don't get me wrong; I'm still planning on a D&D4 campaign utilizing my complete AD&D2 Planescape collection, but that's something else entirely.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dragonhelm 04-14-08, 10:15 PM	Guys, just saw this on EN World (http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=223823) and thought I'd pass it on. In order to keep the other thread focused on the devils and the Nine Hells, I'm starting this one to discuss a hidden gem inside that article: the mention of "astral vessels" and the "helmsmen" that guide them! With the Astral Plane renamed as the Astral Sea, and domains there described as "planets" (the Nine Hells are an example), this all adds up to a very "Spelljamming" side to the new implied setting. I'm not sure what to think... :confused: BTW, here's a pic. This makes me feel a lot better. :) http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/WorldsMonsters_Gallery/111927.jpg
DarthCestual 04-15-08, 10:25 PM	This makes me tingly in my man-parts. :eek: :D
katahn 04-16-08, 09:51 AM	I have to say I noticed that too and the concept is definitely intriguing. I don't especially care for the "timeless" aspect of the astral plane as it is defined in the current edition, but that can always be house-ruled around.
havard 04-16-08, 04:36 PM	Absolutely a fascinating concept! :) Havard
katahn 04-17-08, 09:40 AM	Astraljamming begs some of the same questions spelljamming did, the most pertinent of which is: why not just use portals to travel more quickly and with less risk? Here are some of my thoughts: 1. Naturally occuring portals are not completely stable or safe except for extremely rarely, and even then there's still no guarantee. Natural portals are also rare, and if you don't know where one is that is going where you want to go you're out of luck. 2. Artificially created portals could be prohibitively expensive to create and maintain. While something that a god-level entity might create or work with others to create (like the Rainbow Bridge for the Norse Pantheon) it's just not practical for lesser beings to undertake. Temporary portals can be created by powerful magic users, but maybe these portals have limits on how much matter can pass through them before they collapse or become dangerously unstable. 3. Portals cannot be created in places where the creator hasn't been. So even when an artificial portal is workable, they cannot be used to go to "backwater dimensions" or to explore new reaches of the multiverse. 4. Astral ships are more vulnerable to attack than someone going through a portal, and there are other risks such as the equivilent of "storms at sea", but construction of a portal is orders of magnitude more expensive than a ship and a ship is not limited to a single destination. 5. Some destinations may be in dimensions portals are incapable of reaching ever or be populated by beings who would react violently to someone else constructing a portal to their home. Astral ships may very well be a lot more subtle or at least less provacative.
goldomark 04-18-08, 04:11 AM	I saw the bit of info and liked it alot. The Flow was a bit to much with space and the astral plane, etc. But now we still have space and the astral plane which are two different things. If the transition from both can be done without any heavy rules that would be groovy man. Maybe two or three spells/powers for the transfer form one plane to the next. One arcane, one divine and one psionics.
katahn 04-18-08, 02:08 PM	I'd anticipate "helms" being devices that allow a ship to shift into or out of the astral plane. Quite possibly only in certain places which would lend itself well to the idea of their being "port cities". So Waterdeep gets a lot of astraljammer traffic because just off the coast the connection between Toril and the Astral is strong enough for a helm to let a ship transition. It's even possible that helms have limited charges that either regenerate X number per day or regenerate only if an appropriate ritual is used.
goldomark 04-18-08, 03:44 PM	I would think that the ships would move closer to the ones in Eberron. Open to everyone, easier to use and less of a drain on the helmsman.
ikki 05-12-08, 10:03 AM	..astraljamming.. guess ill have to dig up the blueprints on the good old Whaleship. Wonder what astraljamming helm sell for.. oh wait, should have a few old useless artifacts in the backpocket, might aswell get a artifurnce. Adding outriggers, thickening hull.. replaing hull with glassteel.. enchanted rudder Enchanted plating.. MC: B Hull 100 SR 6+3 = 9 Anything less than 90 tons better get running, since ive got a blunt ram :D
goldomark 05-13-08, 04:00 AM	..astraljamming.. guess ill have to dig up the blueprints on the good old Whaleship. Wonder what astraljamming helm sell for.. oh wait, should have a few old useless artifacts in the backpocket, might aswell get a artifurnce. Adding outriggers, thickening hull.. replaing hull with glassteel.. enchanted rudder Enchanted plating.. MC: B Hull 100 SR 6+3 = 9 Anything less than 90 tons better get running, since ive got a blunt ram :D :clap: :bow: I love power gamers with class!:bow: but you forgot the crown of stars ;)
DarkTouch 05-16-08, 01:59 PM	Sounds like its time for someone to pull out their old Dragon #159.
goldomark 05-16-08, 04:36 PM	Sounds like its time for someone to pull out their old Dragon #159. What is so special about that issue of Dragon (well they were all special)?
DarkTouch 05-18-08, 04:59 PM	159 had an article entitled 'VoidJammers'. It was about an archmage named Peregrin who moved a number of Hammerships (possibly squid and merchant ships as well) into the Astral plane and used them to set up a taxi service to carry people around through the Astral. I forget a lot of the details but I'm fairly sure I remember that the githyanki lich queen was not so fond of him.
Dragonhelm 05-22-08, 01:18 AM	I'm not sure that this is a good idea. What happens to the various iconic parts of Spelljammer, such as crystal sphers and the phlogiston? SJ is supposed to be about fantasy space travel. I'm not certain you get that with this Astraljammer setup where one of the "planets" you can visit is Planet Hell. Thoughts?
goldomark 05-22-08, 02:42 AM	Well I always felt that the phlogiston was rather useless. That or just plain space doesn't really make a difference, aside from the flammability (which is a nuissance). The phlo was also cut from the rest of the multiverse, but that only affected priests. Godly influence could just be marked arbitrarily. Example: after X days of travel from Toril's solar system, Tyr, or anyother god, doesn't give spells or answer prayers. This last for Y days, then a new voices is heard when approching Krynnspace. As for crystal spheres, they were there for the DM, letting him have some control on the travels of the PCs. That can be done in otherways.
katahn 05-22-08, 08:54 AM	The spheres actually have their basis in classical astronomy/astrology. Long before the advent of telescopes and modern astronomy, when the idea the earth was the center of the universe was still in vogue, it was theorized that the earth, sun, and other planets were all in a giant crystal sphere and that was what the stars were placed on by God (or the gods). My guess is this was the real reason Spelljammer used it, and then to make it easier as a meta-setting declared each crystal sphere could have different rules of physics and such. The concept of fantastic adventures from sailing on a magical ship to fantastic and otherworldly destinations is what I'd consider the iconic "core" of Spelljammer. Such a core could be rather well served by "sailing the astral sea" and the fantastic otherworldly destinations could be astral domains. If I decide to incorporate Spelljammer in my campaign that's how it'll happen, I'll leave literal space travel for science fiction.
DarkTouch 05-23-08, 01:07 PM	The major benefit I always felt to having a Crystal Sphere was that it effectively walled off cosmologies from each other. They are essentially the fences the God's put up to keep other Gods from walking in their yards. The Phlogiston is the traffic that you can go play in. Crystal Spheres make Eberron with its vastly different cosmology doable while still keeping it within the overall D&D set of universes. Back in 1st edition edition you had THE Material planes surrounded by the ethereal. You had to go further out to get to the Astral and outer planes. Within the material planes were your world plus an infinite number of other worlds. If I remember correctly the DMG had ideas for what if you took your characters to Boot Hill(western) and Gamma World(post apocalyptic) which by extension both had the same gods looking over them as the your world (the PRIME material plane?). In 2nd Edition we had both Spelljammer and Planescape settings with the ability to get you between settings. Spelljammer came first and despite the insane cost of getting a ship/helm was considered the lower powered version of world crossing. As Sigil was available at least in both FR and Greyhawk they both shared a set of outer planes, but for whatever reason there were barriers in place that said these are where the FR gods hang out and this is where the Greyhawk gods hang out. 3rd edition shifted the focus to the individual DM's world rather than a shared world but still wanted the ability to connect worlds. Being without an explicit spelljammer setting (Ships showed up later in some of the art), gave the role of setting connector to the plane of shadow. Sorta like the difference between crossing the street and sneaking through the sewers to get to another diety's house really. The big question for 4th edition is how they plan on connecting different worlds. While the Feywild and the Shadowfell have obvious images on how a mortal would connect to them, the Elemental Chaos and the Astral Sea are both a little more vague as to what they mean to a mortal travelling to them. It could be that the Astral sea has portals that you can travel into. It could be that you can sail to the edge of the Astral sea and pass into the greater Phlogiston Ocean. Hard to tell as of yet.
goldomark 05-24-08, 08:35 AM	If I understand the new 4th ed. philosophy, crossing worlds isn't possible or welcomed anymore. Even if the cosmos is the same for each world, someone from Eberron isn't supposed to go in the Forgotten Realms, in 4th ed. It was too complecated for the designers to consider every world published.
DarkTouch 05-24-08, 09:27 AM	I can't even begin to fathom where you came up with that idea. In 4e, they are actually removing the setting specific lines and doing a setting per year (for however many years).. which means FR this year, Eberron next year, Possibly ravenloft after that, then greyhawk, etc. (Note I don't actually know anything after Eberron.) In fact, I would say they are actively hoping that we'll mix and match given what was said in the last Ampersand article. You wouldn't believe how many times over the years I've heard people say "I play in [insert favorite campaign setting here] so product X is of no use to me," or "I only play Core D&D (whatever that means) so I can't use that [insert campaign setting here] product." I plan to change that under 4th Edition by getting the word out that it's okay to mix and match. Go ahead. Get peanut butter in the chocolate. Some of the best campaigns I ever ran or had the pleasure to play in had a little bit of [insert campaign setting here] mixed with a smattering of [insert other campaign setting here] and combined all that with homebrew ideas to create something totally new and different.
goldomark 05-24-08, 03:44 PM	Wow! What was I on? Oh yeah... Kids, don't take betaphenethylamine.
RavenGraygem 05-27-08, 04:47 PM	Well I always felt that the phlogiston was rather useless. That or just plain space doesn't really make a difference, aside from the flammability (which is a nuissance). The phlo was also cut from the rest of the multiverse, but that only affected priests. I use more of a "real-world" layout for my spelljamming, and the phlogiston is the divine equivalent of a snail-trail, left by the supreme creator deity as it wends back and forth through the cosmos, doing it's creator bit. The phlo is well beyond the limits of any given solar system (roughly corresponding with old crystal sphere walls) and any ship slipping into it is instantly shot way past the speed of light; the magical nature of this stuff is what keeps ships from coming apart at that speed, as well as canceling out all of the assorted, real-world crap that happens to time when you approach the absolute speed of light. As an added bonus, divine spellcasters can siphon off small bits of this divine energy to power their spells, but with some risk to themselves (and maybe their ships as well). It's a system that's still being worked on, but I think it shows promise for spelljamming in my campaign.
goldomark 05-28-08, 02:26 AM	I use more of a "real-world" layout for my spelljamming, and the phlogiston is the divine equivalent of a snail-trail, left by the supreme creator deity as it wends back and forth through the cosmos, doing it's creator bit. The phlo is well beyond the limits of any given solar system (roughly corresponding with old crystal sphere walls) and any ship slipping into it is instantly shot way past the speed of light; the magical nature of this stuff is what keeps ships from coming apart at that speed, as well as canceling out all of the assorted, real-world crap that happens to time when you approach the absolute speed of light. As an added bonus, divine spellcasters can siphon off small bits of this divine energy to power their spells, but with some risk to themselves (and maybe their ships as well). It's a system that's still being worked on, but I think it shows promise for spelljamming in my campaign. That is a great take on the phlo. But I always saw Uranus and Gaea as the original creater gods. After Uranus's death, is ichor spilled in the multiverse, creating the phlogiston, is last breath creating the ethereal plane. Once the tyranny of the the Sky God ended, Ptah, who was originaly a Titan in my personnal DnD mythology, created the material plane form chunks of the orginal primordial chaos that was the elemental planes at the time. Ptah then �retired�. He just went drifting in the ethereal observing the material plane, fascinated by is creation but unwilling to mettle in its affaires.
Strand0 05-30-08, 04:20 AM	Astraljamming begs some of the same questions spelljamming did, the most pertinent of which is: why not just use portals to travel more quickly and with less risk? :eek: That is a good point. So, I think it would have to be the low power way to travel to other worlds. Probably only 1st to 10th LVL PCs would travel this way. It would be pretty desperate adventure. ;)
DarkTouch 05-30-08, 11:23 AM	For those with a more 'real world' bent, it is worth noting that our solar system does in fact have a 'Crystal Shell'. It is a cloud of different types of ices that surround the system called the 'Oort Cloud'. It is entirely possible that all this "finding a portal through the shell" is just sailor metaphor for finding a gap in the ice crystals that won't leave your ship crushed to bitty bits. It also serves as an effective boundary marker for the outermost area of a system.
Nemo_the_Lost 05-30-08, 12:51 PM	I can't even begin to fathom where you came up with that idea. In 4e, they are actually removing the setting specific lines and doing a setting per year (for however many years).. which means FR this year, Eberron next year, Possibly ravenloft after that, then greyhawk, etc. (Note I don't actually know anything after Eberron.) In fact, I would say they are actively hoping that we'll mix and match given what was said in the last Ampersand article. This isn't really what (Mearls? Slavicsek?) meant by "mix and match." He meant that you should feel free to pull from any published setting anything that appeals to you for use in your homebrew setting (or another published setting, for that matter). That doesn't change the fact that your homebrew setting (or any published setting) is completely independent of any other setting cosmically. The idea of a shared 'planescape' is gone. I, for one, wholeheartedly applaud the concept of astraljamming as a D&D4 substitute for both Spelljammer and Planescape. Terrible name, though. Don't get me wrong; I'm still planning on a D&D4 campaign utilizing my complete AD&D2 Planescape collection, but that's something else entirely.