Astral Plane

The Astral Plane is a location in the Astral Sea.

Astral Sea map in Act I

Overview

The Astral Plane is a location inside the Mysterious Artefact, accessible only during specific moments in the story. All party members receive the  Astral Gravity condition while in the Astral Plane.

Access

The Astral Prism can be accessed during Act One, through the Plancaster in Crèche Y'llek's Inquisitor's Chamber, and during Act Three, from a portal in Wyrm's Lookout. The party will return one final time after facing off against The Netherbrain at the Morphic Pool.

Act One

Main article: The Githyanki Warrior

The view looking southeast from the starting area of Astral Plane

During The Githyanki Warrior in Crèche Y'llek, the party may choose to use the Planecaster to enter the Mysterious Artefact. Doing so will bring the party to the Astral Plane, where they meet the Dream Guardian and learn that it is living there.

Act Three

Main article: Help Your Protector

At the beginning of Act Three, the party will set up camp in Wyrm's Lookout. During the night, there will be an attack by some githyanki. The party then has three turns to escape through the nearby portal to the Astral Plane.

Astral Sea map in Act III

In the Astral Plane, the party will meet the Dream Guardian in its true form, a mind flayer called the Emperor. There is the option to join its fight against the monks. If the party sides with it, it'll explain its history and the party meets Prince Orpheus. The Emperor will give an Astral-Touched Tadpole and an offer to help evolve into a mind flayer. Choosing to kill the Emperor will instead result in a 'Game Over' screen.

A portal will open back to Wyrm's Lookout on the Material Plane. This will return the party to the campsite in Wyrm's Lookout. Once the party leaves camp, they come to Rivington.

Related quests

•  Discover the Artefact's Secrets
•  Help Your Protector
•  Embrace Your Potential
•  Discover the History of Prince Orpheus
•  Free Orpheus
•  The Githyanki Warrior

Notable Characters

• Dream Guardian
• The Emperor
• Orpheus
• Prelate Lir'i'c

Notable loot

• Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo – Looted from Prelate Lir'i'c at the beginning of Act Three
• Divine Bone Shard – Beside a Dead Githyanki X: 160 Y: 115, and behind the portal to Crèche Y'llek X: 1785 Y: 330

Gallery

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  Concept art

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  Concept art

Notes

• ”The Astral Plane was designed from the ground up, building upon descriptions that characterise it as an amorphous, otherworldly location, It would need to be a strange, void-like realm visually unlike anything else in the game - fantastical even next to other fantasy environments. Our final design settled on a backdrop of bright nebulae and the remains of a dead god as our visual centrepiece.” Quote from the Digital Artbook.
• The Astral Plane plays a role as the "graveyard" of the Gods, with the "bodies" creating entire Astral Islands and landmasses. There is no confirmation as to which god this particular corpse is, or whether it is an already established god's corpse at all, but the Deities who have been confirmed to have once drifted within the Astral Plane as a "Dead God" are as follows: Amaunator, Bane, Bhaal, Enki, Gilgeam, Ibrandul, Kalzareinad, Karsus, Kiputytto, Leira, Moander, Myrkul, Leira, Ulutiu.
  • Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul, are unlikely to be the corpse, as they have all returned as quasi-deities, and are no longer "dead." However, Myrkul appeared as a corpse in the Astral Plane in a similar vein in Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer.
  • Ulutiu is also unlikely, as they are in a state of stasis rather than considered a dead god.
  • Karsus is a popular theory involving the corpse's identity due to his impact on the game as a whole.

External links

• Astral Plane on the Forgotten Realms Wiki