[3.5] A few questions about Astral Projection

[Arros Winhadren]

I'll be playing a rather high-level Illusionist in a game with some friends and I've been trying to find a good way to interact with the party while remaining hidden in my personal, mythal-protected demiplane. Astral Projection sounds like just the trick, but I'm confused about how the spell works in a number of ways.

1) How exactly does interplanar travel function while projecting astrally? Do you just pick the plane you want to manifest on and instantly appear? Does it matter if it takes time to get somewhere if the Astral Plane is timeless?

2) Can you choose the exact location you manifest in once you have left the Astral Plane? I would like to stay close to the party but I'm not sure how to even reach them without using Greater Teleport.

3) The Astral Projection spell description describes the manifested body as being both a copy of you and as a new physical body. How does this apply to existing spell effects on the original body? If I buff myself, then Astrally Project, do the buffs extend to both bodies, do the buffs duplicate and then function separately for both bodies or do the buffs only function for the original body? I'm curious because I'd love for my Projected body to benefit from the decreased casting time that comes from studying under the light of a Spell Engine, but I'd like to leave the Spell Engine back with the original body.

If anyone can clear these things up for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

[TuggyNE]

I'm curious because I'd love for my Projected body to benefit from the decreased casting time that comes from studying under the light of a Spell Engine, but I'd like to leave the Spell Engine back with the original body.

I have the vague idea that an acorn of far travel would probably do the trick here in any case.

[Talakeal]

Does it matter if it takes time to get somewhere if the Astral Plane is timeless?!

The astral plane is only partially timeless. Time still flows there and passes on the other planes, but certain things such as aging, hunger, and natural healing are put on hold while travelling through it.

[Rejakor]

Buffs are not a part of you. Therefore the spell text means that you get a copy of your gear and body but not any active spells.

However, if the spell engine is all about studying spells under it, why not study under the spell engine, and then cast Astral Projection? You retain prepared spells.

Acorn of Far Travel would work, of course. And bring you any Node benefits you had lying around. And any Mythal benefits you had lying around as well. Oh and if you wanted you could have a small army of simulacrums standing in a circle around the tree the acorn was taken from (in your demiplane, I personally recommend a giant oak tree dominating the room your physical body is stored in) in order to instacast epic magic ritual spells you may want to cast at any time.

It doesn't explicity say where you manifest on the given plane, but it implicitly 'where you will' indicates you can appear wherever you like. Up to your DM.

Again, up to your DM about how long it takes but the wording appears to indicate instantly. There's nothing about switching out of a body back to your astral form, though, so you might need to end the spell somehow. Personally i'd let you switch realities whenever you wanted to, but the spell doesn't explicitly say you can.

[Psyren]

I don't know anything about the Spell Engine - but by strict RAW, you can't project from a demiplane anyway (or even if you do, the spell renders it moot):


You project your astral self onto the Astral Plane, leaving your physical body behind on the Material Plane in a state of suspended animation.

For your other questions, it sounds like you need to ask your DM.

[Arros Winhadren]

Thanks for the help guys/gals. I had been under the impression that if you used Astral Projection from a different plane than Material it functioned the same, but the spell description does indeed give no reason to believe that it would function at all. :(

As for the acorn of far travel, I'm not sure even I wouldn't feel guilty about using that in conjunction with my mythal. Free Disintegrate forever? Not to mention every buff spell I know! If my original body is sitting on the ground under the oak tree and my second body is flying in the air, is the second one still considered to be touching the ground for the purposes of Earth Spell?

[kardar233]

Thanks for the help guys/gals. I had been under the impression that if you used Astral Projection from a different plane than Material it functioned the same, but the spell description does indeed give no reason to believe that it would function at all. :(

This is why you use Astral Projection, Plane Shift to the Material, pick up your body, drop it in your demiplane then head back.

[Eldan]

I'd suggest contingent Planeshift instead, it's safer. "As soon as I'm done casting projection, planeshift to my demiplane"

[DeputyDongle]

I don't know anything about the Spell Engine - but by strict RAW, you can't project from a demiplane anyway (or even if you do, the spell renders it moot):




For your other questions, it sounds like you need to ask your DM.

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but there's a thread that talks about this exact thing. According to the planar handbook, you can astral project from other planes. It suggests that Astral Projection should function "in any location coexistent with or coterminous to the plane." (Planar Handbook). Pretty convenient for any character that has a demiplane they want to do work from... :smallsmile:

I can't link url's yet, but if you look up "3.5 can you astral project from the ethereal plane?" in google, it's the first rpg stack exchange link. There's a much more thorough explanation.