Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg
These are great questions and so far it is up to the GM. If the GM has not thought about it and developed Astral monsters, inhabitants, hazards, or terrain, then I assume the Astral plane is empty of anything unless someone is using this spell.
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My preference is to develop the Astral Plane more, adding creatures and terrain, barriers, ghosts, weather, hazards, etc, and also to add a variety of defensive spells, such as spells that create barriers, alarms, traps, defenses, attacks, and astral monsters that only act on astral travelers.
Personally, I like to develop per-campaign-world mechanics where using Astral Projection attracts forces that make Astral Travel more interesting and dangerous the more they are used, both on a per-caster basis and on a per-destination basis. I see the Astral Plane as immense and projecting into it as making a lot of noise (dinner bell?) that the plane responds to and attracts ... attention. That way Astral Projection is more interesting and more risky to over-use even against non-wizards, and the spells make it more possible for wizards to defend against astral attacks.
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I've reconsidered my original concept of the Astral Plane:
I was originally thinking I would have the astral plane be an unlimited flat surface with 'glass floor' sections that showed the 'room' that was the melee map. He would watch and listen to the antics below.
I will keep this concept but make it so that you can lower yourself into the 'room', do your activity and then go back up. If you want to go somewhere else in the Astral Plane while you have time, you can zoom over there. If you are scoping out a dungeon, you can still go room to room and then pop up to the Astral flatlands again. This way you can have your flat deserted Astral Plane and your material world room also.
I agree with all the adjustments you suggest Skarg. But I would have everything so spread out that it feels empty at times. In fact, at the moment I am typing this, I would make the Astral Plane be something like a dream state that shifts occasionally from flat desert to hollywood fog machine to frigid arctic tundra. However, if you know your Material Plane destination, you will always get into the ballpark on your way there.
I also agree that without the risk of obstacles, both environmental and beastial, Astral Plane cruising would be a Wizard Guild Travel Industry. I'm thinking it should be risky, not a walk through the park. I like your concept that the more times you go to a particular location the more chance you have of gaining the notice of something 'hungry.'
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg
I have done some house variations where wraiths, ghosts, shadow wights, and/or astral-plane-based creatures can either readily see and interact with figures in the astral plane, or can phase between them, or are just sometimes stuck on the astral plane.
One of the astral-projection-defending spells I devised was one to summon spirits and/or trap ghosts of the recently dead on the astral plane at the casting location, so that you could populate your location with a bunch of crazed and probably hostile astral beings, so if anyone tries to use Astral Projection to spy on or mess with you, they have those to deal with.
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I like this. Gives these guys somewhere to go when they aren't hunting/haunting. Kind of like a zone of the spirit world along with other types of zone the GM wants. Bag of Holdingland anyone?