Difference between revisions of "The Gray"

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Leaving the Gray for the Athasian Ethereal or Astral Planes

Theory

Attempting to reach the Ethereal or especially the Astral Plane from the Gray is nearly impossible. Although not a physical journey as such, whether traveling spiritually or physically through the Gray, the traveler in question must totally free himself from the metaphysical umbrage of the Gray, and thereby in a certain sense, escape death itself. To do this, the traveler must philosophically reach for pure and unmitigated incarnate reality (the Athasian Ethereal Plane), or conversely aspire to a state of absolute and unmitigated thought without concept of time and space (the Astral Plane). Any attempt to do this is especially difficult, confusing and counterintuitive, because all normal senses during such “travel” will only reveal that the traveler is utterly lost in the Gray, and is otherwise traveling without direction or momentum. If the traveler in question is able to master his mind and focus long and accurately enough on his metaphysical destination (the Athasian Ethereal or Astral Plane) and not become metaphysically lost, he will eventually begin to experience spiritual turbulence in the Gray, as it reacts to the traveler’s attempt to escape the Gray’s Boundary of Reality. The turbulence will draw the attention of spirits, undead and worse from the Gray, who will manifest in order to torment the traveler for disturbing them, or for his attempt to break free from the Gray which most spirits have no hope to ever accomplish. If the traveler is able to persevere through the growing turbulence in the Gray and defeat or otherwise find his way through the angry and jealous spirits and undead, he will reach the End of the Gray and approach the spiritual Event Horizon, through which his mind must be great enough to pass. An attempt to accomplish this is very dangerous, for the traveler risks destroying his soul or spirit upon piercing the Event Horizon. If he succeeds, the traveler has successfully reached either the Athasian Ethereal Plane or Astral Plane. If he fails, he is either hurled back into the Deep Gray to either given up or try again, or he is altogether spiritually annihilated at the Event Horizon.

Game Mechanics and Calculations of Travel

In the case of first-time or unguided travel to the Ethereal or the Astral from Athas, this is exceedingly difficult. Once the traveler has successfully traveled the time indicated for achieving either of these planes, it remains to be seen if by the end he has become thoroughly lost in the Gray. This check is most difficult, as it is an intelligence check made on a 1d100 roll. If this is a failure, he must start all over again. If the traveler has made such a journey before, the chance of becoming lost in the Gray is reduced to a traditional intelligence check for the Astral Plane, or a wisdom check for the Athasian Ethereal Plane.

Even if the character achieves reaching the End of the Gray, his mind must be great enough to break the Boundary of Reality that separates Athas from the rest of the multiverse. This is handled as a percentile roll, modified only by an individual’s magical defense adjustment bonus as given by wisdom for reaching the Athasian Ethereal Plane, or modified by the magical defense adjustment bonus as given by wisdom but instead utilizing the traveler’s intelligence score as wisdom for reaching the Astral Plane:

Lost indicates the character is hurled back into the Deep Gray prematurely, in which case he may attempt the Boundary once more. Failure indicates the traveler must save vs. spell (wisdom bonuses apply, but no psionicist bonuses) or be slain as his spirit is eviscerated upon nearing the Event Horizon. Even if he survives, the character in question suffers as if slain in the Astral Plane having come from the Gray, as described below, and is additionally hurled back into the Deep Gray.

Passing from the End of the Gray to the Event Horizon takes one turn.

Astral Projector Slain in the Astral, Having Come from the Gray

If a traveler’s astral form is slain, his spirit is immediately hurled back to the Deep Gray, either away from his mindscape anchor or, if he is lucky and strong enough of mind, back into his mindscape. To determine this, utilize the table used for reaching the Astral and Ethereal Planes, with “Lost” and “Failure” indicating what was previously described above, and with success indicating he returns to the safety of his mindscape. If he survives returning via the Event Horizon, the traveler then falls into a coma for ld4 + 1 days, during which only a full wish or alter reality will awaken him (the level draining effects of the Gray apply during these days if he is hurled into the Deep Gray). At the end of this time, a system shock roll is made. If it fails, the individual dies. If the system shock roll succeeds, the character regains consciousness with the following restrictions:

Regains consciousness with 1 hit point.

No spell casting or psionics until at least half hit points are regained.

Physical movement reduced by half until half hit points are regained.

Attacks with a -4 penalty until half hit points are regained.

Healing magic can bring the victim back up to full hit points, but all penalties remain in effect until enough time has passed for the victim to have regained half his hit points without curative magic. (This time is measured in terms of true time.)

If he is still alive, once a traveler awakes from his coma, he may attempt to return to his mindscape anchor if he desires. To achieve this, he must travel for 1d6+6 hours, and is otherwise subject to the normal rules for traveling in the Gray.

The Mindscape Anchor and Astral Projection via the Gray

Normally, spiritual travel in the Gray involves the traveler leaving his mindscape. Bereft of any silver cord as one possesses in the Astral Plane or any other link to the mindscape, the spirit is especially vulnerable, and will not re-inhabit his physical body if spiritually slain while in the Gray. However, a silver cord does manifest for an Athasian spiritual traveler if he successfully reaches the Astral Plane, which is caused by a tendril of the mindscape anchor growing and following the spiritual traveler ever closer as he reaches the Event Horizon. An infinitesimal part of the mindscape will actually link and pass through the Event Horizon if the traveler successfully crosses into the Astral Plane. Although not a silver cord as such, the mindscape anchor filament acts as a bridge between the traveler’s astral body and mindscape in the Gray, and provides a slim chance for a bodily return if the astral traveler is slain in the Gray. It should be noted that for the original spiritual traveler, the bridge or staircase from the mindscape will not be useful as he progresses. The mindscape filament grows slowly as the traveler “ascends” towards the Event Horizon, but is always well-behind the traveler. As the traveler grows close to the Event Horizon, the filament or bridge grows exponentially quickly, and only meets the traveler upon him reaching the last step before he crosses beyond the Event Horizon.

Interestingly enough, this mindscape bridge may be discovered by spirits or entities visiting or otherwise inhabiting the traveler’s mindscape, and they may ascend it if they wish to attempt to follow in the astral traveler’s path. If this is done, the mindscape bridge forms a sort of celestial staircase which resembles the mindscape of the original traveler, yet grows ever narrower and faint with the “distance” traveled. Using the celestial staircase to follow the original traveler to the Astral Plane is one of the easiest methods to accomplish such travel that exist on Athas. Theoretically, the cautious allies of a powerful psionicist or spellcaster could wait for their senior ally to make his way through the Deep Gray, and advance up the mindscape filament or bridge as it slowly grows from the mindscape anchor. The amount of time for such allies (or other entities) to ascend the celestial staircase remains 5d10x10 hours, but no checks for being lost are required. Psychic turbulence in the Gray will arise as the staircase walker ascends, but as long as the walker is not hurled off the mindscape bridge by the psychic winds or other spirits, he may travel all the way to the End of the Gray and to the Event Horizon. The traveler may then attempt to pass through the Event Horizon, which remains as dangerous as it is for any other would-be astral traveler. If he succeeds in passing through the Event Horizon, the traveler forms an astral body which is tethered to a silver cord which is connected with the original astral traveler whose celestial staircase he followed. Should the original astral traveler leave his astral state for whatever reason, his connected fellow traveled would likewise by dragged along with him. Note that a celestial staircase or mindscape bridge only forms for astral travelers, and will not manifest for those traveling upon the Athasian Ethereal or Elemental Planes.

Spiritual travelers who have found their way beyond the great metaphysical boundary of the Gray and to the Astral Plane are connected to their mindscape by a mystical link or bridge which generally rises from their mindscape and into infinite metaphysical reality. Much faster, safer and direct, those meditating with a spiritual traveler may follow such a spiritual traveler to the Astral as the mindscape rises in the form of a celestial staircase to realms beyond imagination.

Returning to the Gray from the Astral and Athasian Ethereal Planes, Physically and Spiritually

Returning to the Gray from the Ethereal Plane or physically from the Astral Plane is handled in the same manner as described above, with the usual risk of annihilation via the Event Horizon and with chances of getting lost in the Astral Plane or the Athasian Ethereal Plane when attempting to return.

For spiritual travelers on the Astral Plane, they must simply cease the spell or psionic power that got them there (usually the astral spell or astral projection). In doing this, such a traveler will pass through the Event Horizon, but since a conduit has remained linked through this hyper-dimension to his mindscape on the Gray, a further saving throw against spiritual annihilation is not required. Furthermore, the celestial staircase his mindscape formed while he was on the Astral Plane will remain for him upon his return to the Gray, receding as he descends back to his mindscape anchor. Also, because he is returning to the Gray and not leaving it, there is no psychic turbulence as he descends his own celestial staircase.