What is the map to the multiverse?

 

Clarification about residual physics in The Beyond

 

 

HERE IS A NEW DEFINITION OF EVERYTHING ORIGINALLY APPEARING IN SURREAL'S THREAD:

--there are multiple primes (ECS, FRC, athas, dragonlance)

--prime incorporeality (minor magic, a few undead like shadows-- sul can hang there as he pleases, as do any demons of possession. )

--edgeworlds (decent magic like shadowwalk or etherealness, stronger undead like sul ghosts-- anyone from the deep can get there by will.)

--the beyond (deep end... astral, ethereal, inner and outer planes all rolled together--- strong magic directly acceses)

-- the farther reaches(HP Lovecraft tentacle rape-- the gods themselves may look to this place for their own strength-- few have any sort of access to this... the shair, alienist, and a few cults. This is where the daelkyr come from, and most aberations. Just gross, twisty stuff... if there were a path to it, it would be through pandemonium's screaming corridors... that's where the daelkyr first emerged as they charged through the beyond into eberron... why eberron who knows.)

 

with this quick little querry, you have just targeted sul and any other sha'ir for likely death by all specialist jihad, and planar arcane groups. I think I've just gotten another big chunk of gaming material to harrass you with... maybe not until level 45 or so tho.... thanks little imp that whispers in my ear, and thanks to surreal for helping it!

Make a note, David. Yer gen will keep the elemental status it has, but it slips into the secret places of the beyond to fetch what tanner requests. It's movements may not be wholly unnoticed by others. Your character now makes a TON of sense with sha'ir incantatrix, eldritch master thrown together... I think the gate is open for logical access to athar faction and alienist in the future to play up through the 40's.

 

hmm.. I think that is where the binder from ToM operates his effigies as well.. not-quite-spirits beyond the god's reasoning. fits rather well.

--Incarnum would have to be manipulating the spiritworld around the character directly, altering his relationship to reality. This would hold normal on any level of existence.*

--divine magic is piped to people by the gods in the beyond-- depending on the god's influence in different areas, this may be stroner or weaker as per standard planar rules.*

--arcane magic is manipulating the spiritworld directly, altering reality's relationship to itself. This is more or less effective given the current rues of reality as per standard planar rules.*

--psionics uses a spirit's own personal awareness to alter itself and reality around it. It works the same everywhere.*

 

*so, incarnum and ectoplasm can seem the same to the caual observer, and in a way it is the same... these are two arts that affect reality from completely opposite directions.

--incarnum is accessing the blueprints of reality directly, and siphoning those equations onto himself to change his capabilites and relationship to reality. The equations do not change regardless of what layer of reality we are cosidering.

for example, landshark boots is simply an incarnum accessing the blueprints of reality to infuse himself with aspects of said landshark. he becomes more landsharky.

--psionics alters an entity's awareness of reality. Instead of accessing available blueprints that currently exist, psionics instead is rewriting what those equations are, subconsciously. a psion who disintegrates something is basically saying, "this object no longer exists here." the equations are rewritten. poof.

--arcane magic is also altering the equations, but does so by accessing known formulae beyond one's own judgement. an arcanist learns the rules of the multiverse, and how to alter them. a psionicist learns to impose his own equations onto the multivers. an incarnum learns to borrow equations from the multiverse to add to his own equation.

--divine magic alters the equations indirectly. while arcane magic know the rules of how to bend stuff, a divine caster simply knows that stuff can be bent.it's faith is then channeled into the intuitive intellience of the multiverse to affect those changes... those that worship a god will power the ideals of that god when accessing the intuitive intelligence. those that don't follow a particular god still access that intelligence, but the focus is more ambiguous as an ideal, instead of a personality.

This differs from psionics because the psionicist is directly altering the equation, while diviners are influencing the intuitive intelligence to maintain the equations.

--akashic access this intuitive intelligence as well, but in a much more limited manner. the intelligece of the multiverse knows all that is. by dipping into that awareness, the akashic becomes and experiences more than she could ever alone.

-- this intuitive intelligence that maintains the multiverse could simply be an idle thought or daydream of what lies in the farther reaches. daelkyr could be a nightmare this mind had, the sha'ir's gen could be picking flowers in a garden of matrices, fetching blossoms whose nectar recodes reality itself. the sha'ir simply holding a bouquet for the intuitive intelligence to snif at.

Or not. could it be that the farther reaches is just looping back into one's own awareness? the psionicist really touching the farther reaches through hinmself? so that we are all truly one... Life is truly but a dream where reality is simply dreaming of itself.

 

if one were to "step sideways" into the spirit world, you could go anywhere. the standard ethereal, astral, shadow, and luminous planes are blended together into the spirit world. thi is the natural path to the outer planes, and gain access to the inner, elemental planes. it also holds a number of demi planes and pocket dimensions created by powerful mortals and otherworldly forces.

time moves normally in the spirit world. you can walk to any prime material site in the spirit world, or you can "go beyond" to th other planes... going beyond removes you from direct association with the prime, but landscape continues to go.. often incredible, imposible landscapes subject to whatever dominate force or plane may be near. it'll change over time as th power shifts in the multiverse, but takes lifetimes to do so. you can't draw a ,map to th plane of earth from the prime... you just focus on it and you will arrive. the landscape will change often one rip to the next. you may see a particular mountain on the way one time, but not the next... but you could will yourself to travel to that mountain in the future... the beyond is definitely a "in the know" environment.. you might not ever find a particular place if someone doesn't guide you there first.

same rules hold for the outer planes.. wish yoursef to the ayss ad start travelling. you'll reach your destination eventually.

 

direct portals and conduits exist to the inner, outer, and demi planes... a volcano will lead you the to fire or magma plane... deep beneath grond may slip you to the earth plane.

if a place in the prime is VERY associated with an outer plane.. like an ancient temple of good, may have a fast portal in the spirit world.

planar shepards of course shatter boundaries by summoning direct conduits to their chosen plane. most are dedicated to the spirit world itself... granting easy access for those worthy-- but other, more polarized priests choose a location fitting their zealotous worldview-- either inner or outer.

 

 

 

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Surreal - Fil, do you have a definition for what comprises a "spirit"? (you may want to look at my latest speil in my character page first).

 

^^fil here: technically anything that exists beyond the prime material is a spirit. undead, fey, elementals, outsiders, spirit(as per rokugan) pretty much fill the list.

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Surreal

- now that the spirit world is more-or-less defined, we could use a definition of how "spirit sight" works

- an additional thought: since we now have varying "depths" of the spirit world, would there likewise be varying depths to spirit sight?

 

^^fil here 2-6

Good qwuestions

spirit sight is just like detect invisibility, except it extends to the edgeworld from the prime only. you don't see invisible stuf, jutstuff in the spirit world. everything in the material world is represented on the spirit woorld somehow. in the city of shan, with sirit sight, you'll see people in the prime, spirits floating amongst them in the edgeworld, the buldings and whatever of the prime and a spirit representation in edgeworld... a run down buildig may be a gleaming palace in the spirit world... the city hall could look much like a demonic prison.

 

in edgeworld, like in ethereal, the prime looks grayed out whether you have spirit sight or not... the edgeworld looks as it does, and you can see into the beyond as well. the landscape seen beyond will change from person to person, time to time.

 

whle in the beyond, you'll know you are approaching edgeworld because it's like a curtain, much like in deep ethereal. the beyond continues past the curtain, but one can easily step through it and back again. It's a matter of concentration.

 

while using spirit sight, the various layers of reality are seen simultaneously... focusing on one with the tothers "peripheral"-- aware but not focused on. you can shift your focus between layers as a free action.

 

so spirit siht really only gives an advantage to folks on the prime to see into the edgeworld. there is no range limit. as far as you can normally see.

 

 

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(notes from the OOC thread - 7 June 2007) http://www.dndonlinegames.com/showthread.php?p=2082639#post2082639

in this campaign there is incorporeality in the etheral plane, but ghosts don't possess it. the M is very straight forward with the possession of physical strength in the etheral. a creature with the incorporeal descriptor can dwell on the etheral, but it would hve to get there on it'sown.

 

Sul could be incorporeal on the ethereal, but he would have to manifest on the material, then somhow travel directly to the etheral from the material while manifeting incorporeally.

 

a shade or shadow, or shadow mastiff... all incorporeal, and much more likely encountered in the edgeworld than on the prime material world. they have no substance as they are no matter where they are.

go to the MM and look up "ghost"-- the fighter ghost sample has a strength score. and the abilitiesdescriptions in the template provide strength bonuses while on the etheral.. but uses dex for touch attacks while on the material manifested.

ghost tempate is unique in that you are solid on the etheral until you choose to manifest. at which time, you"drop" from the ethereal into the material world, but you are incorporeal here.

 

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(notes from the OOC thread - 7 October 2007) http://www.dndonlinegames.com/showthread.php?p=2269433#post2269433

 

etheral jaunt can be a one way trip. at spell's end, you will feel the pull back towards the material. If you refuse this "call", you remain in the spirit world.

if returning to the physical world would damage you, then that will be treated like dimension door mishaps.

 

Only once the spell expires do you have the option to stay. you can dismiss the spell yourself and stay if you want, but if you just leave it "open ended" then it can potentially be dispelled... which will send you crashing back to the material plane.