The Astral Sea has been a part of Dungeons & Dragons since the early 1980s, but even after 40 years of exploration, players still find it a mysterious and disconcerting place to adventure. Though it is often referenced as the Astral Plane, it is not actually a plane, but a vast expanse of nothingness most commonly used by travelers to get from one place to another.
The spell Planeshift, for example, gathers its travelers and transports them through the Astral Sea on their way to whatever planar location they intended to go. It happens so quickly that many adventurers don't even realize they were in the Astral Sea at all. However, those who have visited extensively rarely ever forget the endless, silvery void where time moves so slowly that people do not hunger or age while there.
Long before the Astral Sea became home to a variety of strange beings, like Astral Dreadnoughts, gods, Astral Whales and Githyanki, it was a void containing nothing aside from the floating bodies of long-dead deities. The fact that those bodies float is strange in itself because there is limited gravity in the Astral Sea. The gravity of these floating bodies has invited the construction of cities, outposts and castles, as some of these masses are unimaginably immense.
Visitors find themselves floating, able to direct the motion of their bodies with little more than a thought about which way they'd like to move. Those who wish to travel in style find themselves piloting strange ships called Astral Skiffs that they can direct with their thoughts -- assuming they have the intelligence to make strong checks and saves. The sails of Astral Skiffs draw power from mysterious psychic winds, allowing adventurers to travel to their destinations with exceptional speed.
The danger of these psychic winds, however, is as deadly as it is powerful. One means of travel to the Astral Sea is the spell Astral Projection. This leaves the physical body behind in a safe place, while the astral body traverses the endless sea. However, astral projection ties the astral body to the physical one through a silver cord; if that cord is severed in the Astral Sea, the traveler both physically and astrally dies. Psychic winds have been known to cut these cords if a party is trapped in a psychic storm, which makes analyzing the potential risk essential before astral projection.
The lack of gravity also means that, once an object is set in motion, it will continue onward, potentially forever, unless it collides with another object. Many explorers have found themselves under attack as remnants of an ancient battle caught up with their ship.
Time passes in the Astral Sea at the same pace as it does in other planes, but the longer a person remains there, the more dangerous it becomes for them. It is a common misconception that people don't age while in the Astral Sea. Many travelers choose to spend the sum of their lives there, never aging or feeling hunger because time itself is strange. Spending 100 years in the Astral Sea without aging or eating might seem like no big deal, but upon leaving for another plane of existence, those years catch up with the body -- and could mean instant death from old age.
The strange nature of the Astral Sea also affects combat, including the nature of some spells. Battles often require more movement, and casters who draw on spells that affect time (like Stop Time) will find their magic failing, as there is no actual time to stop there.
The mysterious and complicated nature of the Astral Sea isn't the only danger adventurers face. Enemies abound, ranging from astral dragons and fiends to Githyanki. One of the most dangerous, the Astral Dreadnought, feeds on astral projections and has little to no interest at all in creatures physically present. Their single large eye nullifies magic while within its cone, making it incredibly difficult to do battle without getting up close.
The color pools located throughout the Astral Sea are portals to the Prime Material and Outer planes. These strange pools are a danger because they are only visible from one side, and travelers have been known to accidentally pass through them without even realizing it.
The idea of spending year in the Astral Sea is tempting, as one could travel the vast expanse for ages and still not have seen everything it has to offer. However, the dangers of doing so far outweigh the perks. Unless one plans to never leave, instant death is a risk. There's so much there that could potentially push a traveler on another plane without warning, meaning careful consideration is required when planning to explore the Astral Sea for an extended period of time.
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