Astral Caravan
(Expanded Psionics Handbook, p. 76)Psychoportation [None]
Level: Nomad 3,
Components:
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: Personal
Target: You and touched willing creatures
Duration: See text
You lead a caravan into the Astral Plane, leaving the Material Plane behind. Since the Astral Plane touches upon other planes, you can travel astrally to any of these other planes as you wish, but only if you know your way (see below).
You can bring other willing creatures with you, provided that these subjects have each manifested astral traveler and are linked hand to hand with you at the time of the astral caravan's manifestation. These fellow travelers are dependent upon you and must accompany you at all times. If something happens to you during the journey that causes you to break hand-to-hand contact, your companions are stranded wherever you leave them. Because the planes are a dangerous place, those who lead astral caravans usually choose to manifest this power only if they have a large party of travelers assembled. Sometimes groups of lower-level adventurers may hire you to lead forays beyond the Material Plane.
The astral caravan power lasts while you and your fellow travelers maintain your original formation, until (1) you reach your intended destination plane, (2) you desire to end the power while still traversing the Astral Plane, (3) you or anyone traveling with you breaks the hand-to-hand chain connecting the travelers for 2 consecutive rounds, or (4) the power is terminated by some outside means, such as dispel psionics. When the power ends, you and your fellow travelers halt in whatever portion of the Astral Plane you happen to be traversing (the Astral Plane is in many ways subjective in location; in any event, one place on the Astral looks much like any other).
While you are traveling through the Astral Plane, those natives who happen to glimpse you and your fellow travelers perceive you to be moving at a speed of 30 feet (you can't run), with you flying in the lead and your fellow travelers strung out behind you, each linked to the next by one hand. The DM determines the nature of the natives that may glimpse your passage, as well as their animosity, benevolence, or apathy. The DM has encounter tables (in the Dungeon Master's Guide) suitable for the Astral Plane and any destination plane.
Depending on your knowledge of the planes, your journey through the subjective space that is the Astral Plane may take a longer or shorter
period of time. For each 24 hours you travel, make a Knowledge (the planes) check against a DC set by the DM. Unless a location is particularly hard to find and well guarded, or conversely easy to find and well advertised, the average DC for an astral caravan journey should be set at 20. You cannot take 20 on this check, though you can take 10. Each check may be modified by your degree of familiarity with the destination or by some connection you have with the place; see the tables below.
| Destination Knowledge | Knowledge (the planes) Check Modifier |
|---|---|
| None* | n/a |
| Secondhand (you have heard of the destination) | —10 |
| Firsthand (you have visited before) | +0 |
| Familiar (you have visited three or more times) | +5 |
| *If you have no direct knowledge of your destination, you must have some connection to it in order to travel there; see below. | |
| Connection | Knowledge (the planes) Check Modifier |
|---|---|
| Likeness or picture of destination | +2 |
| Object from destination | +4 |
| Planar Cartographer's map of destination | +10 |
Each successful check indicates that you are one step closer to your goal. To finally arrive at your location, you must succeed on six checks within a span of 12 days. (If you fail to make six successful checks within the first 12 days, you can continue to make one check per day until you get the requisite six successes within a span of 12 consecutive days). When you successfully make the requisite number of checks, the journey ends, and you appear on your chosen plane within 10—1,000 (1d% × 10) miles of your intended destination on that plane.
Augment: If you spend 2 additional power points, this power weaves a quasi-real filmy membrane around yourself and all those adjacent to each other in the caravan (being linked by hand is not required if this membrane is used). You remain visible within the translucent, amorphous enclosure. You can pick up or drop willing passengers, easily reaching through the film. Anything you hold is enveloped by the film. Any attacks made through the enclosure in either direction have a 25% miss chance due to the rippling membrane.
When you manifest this power in its augmented form, your apparent speed to those observing on the Astral Plane is 40 feet, and you can make a Knowledge (the planes) check once every 12 hours to attempt to make it to your destination (six successful checks within 12 consecutive days still sees you to your desired goal).
THE PLANAR CARTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
Located in the extraplanar city of Union, the Planar Cartographic Society specializes in dimensional exploration. The members of the society pride themselves on the accuracy and reliability of their maps, which show (among other things) dimensional referents that can be used by someone manifesting astral caravan. PCs may find these maps in the treasure of a defeated foe, or they may purchase maps selected by the DM in cities with a population of at least 25,000. On average, one of these maps costs 1,000 gp.
