[Psionic Powers] Astral Projection and Space Travel

[nerdvana]

There's a line on p27 of GURPS: Psionic Powers that leaves much to extrapolation when applying those rules to a science fiction world...

Originally Posted by Psionic Powers

the outer plane only extends as far up as the atmosphere

...so, how does this interact with space travel? I see this question as having many parts that I would like to open for discussion (or additional questions added to obviously...). I am the GM for the game I am involved in so answers of "How ever your GM defines it" are unconstructive, instead I encourage you answer how you would do it (or canonically if the answers are coming from Rev P Kitty and/or Kromm).

1. If the outer plan only extends as far up as an atmosphere what happens when you astrally project in a space craft in space?
2. Additionally, what happens if you astrally project when on a planetoid that barely has any atmosphere to begin with?
3. Also, with the 'Inner Plane' (assumably the same for all outer planes), can you go from Earth's Outer Plane to the Inner Plane and then exit to the Outer Plane of another planet?

I see a lot of GM headaches here and I have a few answers to the concern that I'm considering for my game...

1. Dispose of Outer/Inner Planes entirely. Make the Astral Plane the Astral Plane. Sure there can be natives. They are from the Astral Plane. (see below)
2. Needing a reason why you can't astrally project outside of the atmosphere I have decided that astral space (aka "The Astral Plane" in the same sense that The Moon is a moon) is a byproduct of a biosphere. So a lifeless moon or the depths of space, you can't astrally project, there is nothing to project into outside of yourself. However, on a bioship or a ship with a sufficiently large enough biomass for O2 and other consumable production might have an astral space associated with it (which would intermingle with a planet's whenever it landed!).
3. Astral "natives" are byproducts of the biosphere also (be they spontanously created, the product of psi constructs gone wild, psis who survive death as astral entities or maybe even ghosts of mundanes who don't get what they are but still exist)
4. Because there is nothing there, if you were to attempt to astrally percieve when outside of a biosphere you might go insane (I'm working on the exact mechanics) because your mind is trying to make sense of nothingness and if you were to try to astrally project you might end up killing yourself!

Now, I'm still working on my "solution" but what do people think of it (and the "problem")?

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

Now, I'm still working on my "solution" but what do people think of it (and the "problem")?

I would say you have mostly re-invented Shadowrun arcanobabble where the Astral Plane was created or at least energized by the Gaiasphere. Several old SR books cover pretty mcuh every question you raised.

This is an arbitrary GM decision about the nature of the Astral Plane. It's relatively coherent if go into enough detail and you can always arcanobabble about how Barsoom was actually an Inner Plane and not really the Red Planet. It even works out fairly well.

On the other hand, other arrangements are possible. What the Arisians and Eddoreans did in Lensman sure looked like Astral Projection and that worked fine through plain old outer space.

[David Johnston2]

[QUOTE=nerdvana;870094]
[LIST=1]

[*]If the outer plan only extends as far up as an atmosphere what happens when you astrally project in a space craft in space?

You wander around the space craft astrally. You can not leave without using the Astral Crossing Technique.

[*]Additionally, what happens if you astrally project when on a planetoid that barely has any atmosphere to begin with?

Your attempt fails unless you successfully use the Astral Crossing Technique. If it succeeds, you go straight to the Inner Plane

[*]Also, with the 'Inner Plane' (assumably the same for all outer planes), can you go from Earth's Outer Plane to the Inner Plane and then exit to the Outer Plane of another planet?

Yes. But you'd better be good at your Astral Crossing technique.

Not intended to be official answers.

[nerdvana]

Fred: yes, it is very similar and the same occult-babble I put in could be applied to Shadowrun's Astral Plane as well.

David: Interesting take.

I'd really like to see Rev P Kitty's take on my concerns I brought up also, though I continue to encourage any replies that people have on the matter.

[David Johnston2]

It might work better of course if you assume the issue is one of proximity to a sufficiently strong gravity field.

[David Johnston2]

Wait, I got it. Go the Jedi route. The reason why regular astral projection is limited to the atmosphere is because of the life living in and interacting with the atmosphere. So you can project normally in space if it's, like a nebula with space life in it, and you can project in a spaceship because it has life breathing the air.

[PK]

The "atmosphere" line was actually to avoid the issue of how the Ghost Air enhancement (for Insubstantiality) interacted with the vacuum of space. Fact is, that guideline should certainly be changed to fit the campaign -- for example, I could see a game where psychic astronauts explore astrally because it's safer, while their bodies are fed intravenously.

I don't have plans to lock down the astral plane description any more than it already is -- at least, not in the sense of, "If you use Psionic Powers, this is how the astral plane works and that's that." (Now, specific descriptions of the plane for a given setting are a plus!) Pretty much everything in those two boxes are either (A) intentionally open, to give the GM freedom to define the plane himself, or (B) specific mechanics that do have to exist because that actually is the way we defined astral projection in the book (e.g., using psi across the barrier, astral appearance, etc.). The atmosphere rule is actually one of the exceptions that's neither.

FWIW, I'm working on F N O R D right now, and I think this is a good enough point to touch upon. I'll make sure something canonical says that that sentence is totally changeable without breaking anything.