Astral Plane

The view looking southeast from the starting area of Astral Plane

The Astral Plane is a region in Baldur's Gate 3.

“

Boundless, timeless - like every dream that ever was, stitched together. It is home.

„

— Lae'zel, upon entering the Astral Prism

Overview

Overall map of the Astral Sea within the game

The Astral Plane, also known as the Astral Sea, is one of the planes of existence in various models of cosmology of the Forgotten Realms. It is generally described as a barren place of other-dimensional nothingness extending in all directions, yet shining and bright. Various versions of agree more or less on the point that the Astral Plane serves as an expanse wrapping around and connecting the disjointed individual planes of existence.

The Astral Plane also plays a role as the "graveyard" of the gods, with their remnants creating entire Astral Islands and landmasses. Such islands are amoung the few solid substance floating in the void. Other solid substances that float in the bright, gray void are typically chunks of matter broken off from their original plane.

The Astral Plane is said to have no gravity, but objects entering and travelling through it retain their mass. Within the game, this is realized through the  Astral Gravity condition, received by all party members while in the Astral Plane.

The effects of time within the Astral Plane are slowed almost to a stop. Hence, it was sometimes considered effectively timeless. Creatures did not go hungry or age while in the Astral plane. For that reason, its mortal inhabitants need to return to the Material Plane in order to have children or to reach adulthood.

The existence of creatures true native to this realm was doubtful. Of all creatures mentioned in Baldur's Gate 3 and important to the game's plot, the illithids have been ruling the Astral Plane in the farmost eras, breeding other species as slaves and using Nautiloids to traverse the void, until the gith uprose against them. Since then and for long ages, the gith had been a dominating presence, ruled from their great city of Tu'narath.

In Baldur's Gate 3, only a small part of the great Astral Plane is accessible for exploration, tucked into the  Mysterious Artefact. Upon entering it physically for the first time, the player character makes a sequence of three passive rolls on  DC 14 Arcana, Insight, or Perception check (in said order). Any successful roll of the three allows them to guess the realm as the Astral Plane.  Githyanki characters do not need a roll, recognizing it at once.

The Astral Plane is the place where the Dream Guardian resides - a mystical creature who drives the party's moves against the Cult of the Absolute and protects the party from falling under the Absolute's will.

The party's physical presence on the Astral Plane is only episodical; thus, it is not possible to fast travel or move to the campsite from out there, and it does not have its own Waypoint.

Access

The party gains physical access into the Astral Prism three times throughout the game:

1. During Act One, through the Planecaster in Crèche Y'llek's Inquisitor's Chamber
2. After the end of the Act Two, from a portal in Wyrm's Lookout.
3. During Act Three, after facing off against the Netherbrain at the Morphic Pool.

Also, throughout the game's sequence of events, the player character visits the Astral Plane several times in their nighttime dreams when the Dream Guardian wants to communicate with them directly. In some of these meetings, the Guardian shows the player character a giant fossilized skull with an iridant sphere inside, dominating the middle of the in-Prism expanse.

Act One

Beckoning cave, where the Dream Guardian awaits

When exploring Crèche Y'llek as part of the ⁠The Githyanki Warrior and ⁠Discover the Artefact's Secrets quests, the party are eventually confronted by  Ch'r'ai W'wargaz, the envoy and Inquisitor of ⁠Vlaakith, the lich-queen of the Githyanki. He declares that the  artefact they carry is a "weapon" long-searched for by him over Faerûn and demands they surrender it. Regardless of the player character's decision, Vlaakith herself appears as a projection from the Planecaster and orders them to use the Planecaster to enter the artefact and eliminate someone lurking inside.

The party then may choose to do her bidding. Doing so brings the party to the Astral Plane, for the first time in the game - physically. Here, they meet the  Dream Guardian face-to-face and learn that it exists inside, hiding from Vlaakith and is using its psionic powers to aid the party.

Jumping the first chasm earns 95 XP at Level 6, and 115 XP at Level 7, for discovering this Small-sized location.

On the larger "floating island" beyond the first chasm is a Beckoning Cave - an interactable object resembling a tunnel, which leads them to the Dream Guardian. If the party members walk around the island, they can see its extension with antique-styled columns, where their previous nighttime dream meetings with the Guardian took place. Only the party leader is allowed to enter the cave.

Elements of night-time dream visions are seen when entering the plane physically

The dialogue options available between the Dream Guardian and the player character vary depending on the course of their conversation with Vlaakith before entering the Astral Plane, and also on whether the party have found any clues to the history of another (yet inaccessible and unseen for now) inhabitant of the Astral Prism, a githyanki noble by the name  Prince Orpheus.

Throughout the conversation, the Dream Guardian heavily insists it is them who Vlaakith wants to destroy (even if clues the party have found up to this point, if any, may make them think otherwise). In a culmination of the cut-scene, the Dream Guardian summons a shortsword and offers it to the player character, seemingly leaving themselves to their mercy. Yet the Dream Guardian cannot be killed at this point (disappearing and appearing again - unwounded). If the player character decides to strike down the Dream Guardian, its attitude towards them becomes, and remains, markedly adversarial for the rest of the game.

Regardless of the dialogue outcome, the party can leave the Astral Prism via the portal to the Material Plane. If the Dream Guardian is "spared", it casts  Bless on the whole party to aid them in bearing the consequences of violating Vlaakith's orders.

The area of the Astral Plane available for exploration after speaking with the Dream Guardian has a gilded chest at X: 1734 Y: 328 and contains two pieces of  Divine Bone Shard. Also, an  Inscribed Githyanki Slate can be found on a corpse of a dead githyanki at X: 1173 Y: 317. Its inscription does not call any names, but if the party have started to ⁠Discover the History of Prince Orpheus, the contents of the slate can be roughly deciphered.

Act Two

Astral Sea map in Acts Two and Three

During one of long rests performed after entering the Shadow-Cursed Lands, the Dream Guardian appears to the player character once again in a dream, wearing a set of camp clothing rather than their usual paladin armour. It reports that repelling multiple and ongoing mental attacks of the Absolute is wearing them down. The player character has several possible options to respond. Throughout the dialogue, two passive rolls ( DC 14 Perception check, then  DC 16 Insight check) are made; if successful, they offer additional lines.

After the end of Act Two, having defeated  Ketheric Thorm in the depths of the Mind Flayer Colony, the party set the camp in the Wyrm's Lookout. During the night, their encampment is assaulted by the githyanki warriors. The party then have three turns to escape through the portal opened by the attackers into the Astral Plane. As with other nighttime martial encounters, only active party members are present and engage in the fight. Thus, it is advisable to consider the desired party content before launching the long rest.

It is not necessary to fight any gith or manually lead all party members into the portal; the first party member who reaches it takes the rest with them; the assailants remain in the Material Plane and do not follow.

In the Astral Plane, the party gain access to the aforementioned rocky bulk of a skull and watch the sphere inside being complelely shattered. Jumping down inside the skull, they meet the Dream Guardian in its true form - a Mind Flayer calling itself the  Emperor. It asks to help win the battle against similar githyanki warriors. If the party agree, the ⁠Help Your Protector quest beings immediately. Otherwise, a Game Over Screen is displayed, as the Emperor stops protecting the party members from the Absolute. The same outcome awaits if the Emperor dies in the battle.

In total, the party is confronted by a squad of 2 Ember Gish'ra, 3 Zephyr Gish'ra and 6 High Gish'ra, led by  Prelate Lir'i'c. The Emperor initially is accompanied by a pack of approximately 20  Intellect Devourers, only four of which stay close to it and side with the party, while a number of others die prior to meeting it or are already killed by the gith. If the party wait to approach, the battle progresses in real time, with commensurate fatalities; prolonged delays are inadvisable.

After the party dispose of the githyanki, the Emperor explains its story, and the party see  Prince Orpheus - the subject of the conflict - bound to great stones. The Emperor gives the party an  Astral-Touched Tadpole and offers to help them evolve into a partial mind flayer. The party can agree to use the special tadpole immediately, or decline and stow it to possibly use later. If the interacting player character has consumed at least one tadpole throughout the ⁠Embrace Your Potential quest, resisting the Astral-Touched Tadpole's lure to be used requires a  DC 21 Wisdom check.

This available area of the Astral Plane can also be explored and looted. Due to rather wide chasms between the separate rocks tumbling around the main "skull" island, it is recommended to use a higher  Strength character (15+) if wandering around the area. An elixir of  strength are helpful as well.

At X: -42 Y: -1138 and X: -87 Y: -1219 two gilded chests can be looted, and several more Divine Bone Shards picked up as well. Most corpses of Intellect Devourers can be looted for  Intellect Devourer Cerebellum - another alchemical ingredient rarely obtained beyond the Astral Plane. Also, a fair amount of plain weapons and specific illithid-style grenades ( Void Bulb,  Caustic Bulb) can be found in the area. Finally, several more Inscribed Githyanki Slates can be found, shedding more light on the history of creation of the Astral Prism and the subsequent imprisonment Orpheus inside it.

A portal opens back to the Material Plane near the chained Orpheus. Through it the party can return to their campsite in Wyrm's Lookout. The githyanki assailants who had managed to enter the Material Plane before the party escaped to the Astral Plane are dead at the campsite (regardless of whether they were actually hit by the party). Once leaving camp in the morning, the party can proceed to Rivington, where Act Three of the game begins.

Act Three

Throughout the Act Three, two more night-time dream cutscenes occur, where the Emperor communicates with the player character in the Astral Plane:

• After the party finds out about the death of the  Duke Stelmane, the illithid feels nostalgic of its former dealings with her, and unwittingly lets the player character mind-wander into the Astral Prism. Despite appearing unsettled by the unexpected visit, it tries to convince the player character to perform full  ceremorphosis.
• After the party has defeated the githyanki hunting party led by  Ch'r'ai Har'rak, the Emperor during the next long rest drags the player character into another dream. This time, if having made friendly choices with it in past encounters, and if chosen certain dialogue options, the player character can receive the illithid's courtship and even take part in a romantic cutscene with it - either in its natural form or, if requested, under its former disguise of the Dream Guardian. On the other hand, if they took an adversarial approach with the illithid, the player character may find out the true (and not-so-sightly) nature of its relationship with Belynne Stelmane.

At the end of the Act Three, the party must set off to the Morphic Pool to start ⁠Confront the Elder Brain. In the end, regardless of what is done, the  Netherbrain, enhanced from wearing the  Crown of Karsus for an extended period, turns out to be too powerful to be defeated by ordinary mortals; it repels all party members' attempts to subdue it.

At this moment,  The Emperor steps in to save them by bringing everyone inside the Astral Plane.

Here the party must make a final decision whether to side with the Emperor or free  Orpheus. If the party spurn the Emperor and do not have any means to free Orpheus at the same time,  Raphael shows up and offers them to sign the  Soul-Sworn Contract for the last time, warning that it is time to ⁠fulfill the deal. Agreeing, they are provided with the  Orphic Hammer. If the party refuse, a Game Over screen is displayed.

Regardless of their choice, one member of the party (or, in the case of freeing Orpheus, the githyanki prince himself) is inevitably bound to become a full mind flayer.

Afterwards a portal shows up, which has to be traveled through and leads to High Hall.

Related locations

• ⁠Campsite
• ⁠Crèche Y'llek
• ⁠High Hall
• ⁠Morphic Pool
• ⁠Wyrm's Lookout

Related quests

• ⁠Confront the Elder Brain
• ⁠Deal with the Devil
  • ⁠Fulfill the Deal
• ⁠Discover the Artefact's Secrets
• ⁠Discover the History of Prince Orpheus
• ⁠Embrace Your Potential
• ⁠Free Orpheus
• ⁠Help Your Protector
• ⁠The Githyanki Warrior

Characters

Notable

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

Ember Gish'ra

•  M'i'hayk
•  Mir'ic

High Gish'ra

•  Ghik'lir
•  G'imre
•  K'i'lar
•  Nyk
•  Sh'ari
•  Zelrin

Zephyr Gish'ra

•  Hr'ack'la
•  Jyd'i'
•  Verik

Creatures

•  Intellect Devourer

Loot

•  Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo – worn by Prelate Lir'i'c
•  Caustic Bulb - 2x
•  Divine Bone Shard – 5x
•  Orphic Hammer
•  Orphic Ring - carried by Orpheus
•  Staff of the Emperor - carried by the Emperor
•  Void Bulb - 3x

Related Literature

•  Inscribed Githyanki Slate (Army)
•  Inscribed Githyanki Slate (Chained)
•  Inscribed Githyanki Slate (Devil)
•  Inscribed Githyanki Slate (Dragon)
•  Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part One: Betrayal
•  Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part Two: Sacrifice
•  Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part Three: Resurrection
•  Soul-Sworn Contract

Achievements

Certain actions performed in the Astral Plane grant the following achievements or lay a condition to earn them:

Absolute Power Corrupts

Reign with terror: take control of the Netherbrain and bend the world to your will.

Ceremorphosis

Make the ultimate sacrifice: become a mind flayer to defeat the Netherbrain.

Hero of the Forgotten Realms

Save the day: kill the Netherbrain and destroy the Absolute tadpoles.

Mind Blown

Romance the Emperor.

Gallery

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  Concept art
• 
  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 Shadowfell, albeit designed with the similar pecularities of physical environment, still bears the signs of primordial chaos and darkness, rather then the aerial, cosmic boundlessness.

• 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.
  • It is unlikely that one of Bane, Bhaal, or Myrkul, is the corpse, as they all have returned as quasi-deities to Faerûn, and are no longer considered "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.

• If the player character is engaged in romantic relationship with Gale, romantic scenes with the wizard in both Acts Two (one of variations) and Three occur in an illusional dimension created by Gale, which visually resembles the Astral Plane.

External links

• ⁠Astral Plane
• ⁠Tu'narath