Buy me a coffeeAstral Projection Spell — Silver-Cord Planar Travel
Ninth-Level Planar Necromancy
Astral Projection
The body falls silent while a silver-corded self crosses the oldest road between worlds.
Astral Projection releases the conscious self from the physical body and sends it into the Astral Plane. The traveller awakens as a luminous double carrying a reflection of their equipment, while the abandoned body remains helpless behind them.
The Silver Road
Consciousness Leaves Flesh Behind
Astral Projection is a costly expedition ritual rather than a rapid teleport or battlefield escape. It divides a traveller between a physical body placed in suspended animation and an astral form able to move through the Silver Expanse.
The projected form remains recognisably the same person. It possesses the traveller’s appearance, abilities and a magical reflection of the possessions carried when the ritual is completed. A silver cord extends from the projection and connects identity, consciousness and flesh.
The spell is powerful because the Astral Plane touches other planes. Travellers who locate a viable passage can use it as a road towards distant realities. The spell does not automatically reveal a route, guarantee a safe arrival or overcome every ward protecting the destination.
The Central Risk
The astral form may cross worlds, but the physical body remains vulnerable during the first stage of the journey. Enemies who discover the ritual chamber can move, imprison, curse or destroy the unattended body.
At the Table
Quick Rules Reference
The spell has the same broad identity in all three supported systems, but the treatment of the original body, material components and projected death differs significantly.
Ninth level in D&D 5.5e, Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e.
Projects willing travellers into the Astral Plane while their bodies enter suspended animation.
One hour in 5.5e; thirty minutes in Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e.
None. The spell is intended for willing travellers.
Potentially indefinite until dismissed, dispelled or ended by a specified failure condition.
Interrupt the ritual, dispel the effect, ward planar travel or attack the unattended bodies.
Edition Difference That Must Not Be Missed
D&D 5.5e transports the traveller’s original body and possessions when the astral form leaves the Astral Plane. Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e leave the original body behind and form a second physical body at the destination.
Compatible Rules
Mechanics by Edition
The rules below are mechanics compatible for different game editions.
Astral Projection — D&D 5.5e / 2024
Ninth-level necromancy
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Until dispelled
Targets: You and up to eight willing creatures
Classes: Cleric, Warlock, Wizard
Material Components: For every target, one jacinth worth at least 1,000 gp and one silver bar worth at least 100 gp. The spell consumes all of these components.
Alternative Spell Name: The Silver Road.
Casting the Spell
Because the casting time is one hour, the caster must take the Magic action on every turn during the casting and maintain Concentration throughout that hour. If Concentration is broken, the spell fails and the casting must begin again, but the spell slot is not expended.
Concentration Ends When Casting Is Complete
Concentration is required during the one-hour casting process. Once the spell has successfully taken effect, its duration is until dispelled and it no longer requires Concentration.
Effect
The caster and up to eight willing creatures within range appear as astral forms on the Astral Plane. The spell ends immediately if the caster is already on that plane when the casting is completed.
Each target’s physical body remains behind in suspended animation. It has the Unconscious condition, does not need food or air, and does not age while suspended.
The astral form resembles the target and duplicates its game statistics and possessions. A silver cord trails from between the projection’s shoulder blades and becomes invisible after its first foot.
The cord is cut only by an effect whose rules specifically state that it cuts a silver cord. If that happens, both the astral form and physical body die.
The projected form can travel through the Astral Plane. As soon as it leaves that plane, the target’s original body and possessions travel along the cord. The target then re-enters that body on the destination plane.
Damage and other effects remain separate between the astral form and physical body. An effect applied to one does not automatically affect the other.
If either form falls to 0 Hit Points, the spell ends for that target. The caster can also take a Magic action to dismiss the spell for all remaining targets.
5.5e Rules Clarifications
- Original body: Leaving the Astral Plane carries the traveller’s actual body to the destination.
- Independent movement: Other targets are not required to remain beside the caster after projection.
- Healing and damage: Healing affects only the form that receives it.
- Dispel Magic: A third-level casting of Dispel Magic normally requires a successful spellcasting ability check against DC 19 to end this ninth-level effect.
- Replicated equipment: Astral copies cannot create permanent duplicate treasure.
- Objects found astrally: Unrelated objects acquired after projection do not automatically travel with the target.
- Planar wards: Effects that block planar travel can prevent departure or arrival when their wording applies.
- Silver cord: Do not assign Armour Class, Hit Points or ordinary object statistics to the cord.
Astral Projection — Pathfinder 1e
Necromancy
Level: Arcanist 9, Cleric 9, Oracle 9, Psychic 9, Sorcerer 9, Witch 9, Wizard 9
Casting Time: 30 minutes
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Targets: You plus one willing creature per two caster levels
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes
Material Component: One jacinth worth at least 1,000 gp.
Alternative Spell Name: The Silver Road.
Effect
The caster’s spirit leaves the physical body and forms an astral body on the Astral Plane. The original body remains behind on the Material Plane in suspended animation.
The caster can include one additional willing creature for every two caster levels. All subjects must be joined in a circle when the spell is cast.
The additional travellers depend upon the caster and must accompany that caster throughout the expedition.
Each astral form copies its traveller and the equipment worn or carried during the casting.
When an astral traveller leaves the Astral Plane, a second physical body and matching equipment form on the destination plane. The original body remains behind.
An incorporeal silver cord links the projected or second body to the original body. Severing the cord kills the traveller in every form.
If the astral form or second body is slain, the spirit returns to the original body and awakens it. The traveller gains two permanent negative levels.
Pathfinder Death Trauma
Destruction of the astral form or second body returns the traveller to the original body with two permanent negative levels.
Pathfinder 1e Rules Clarifications
- Original body: It remains behind for the entire expedition.
- Second body: Arrival on another plane creates a replacement body.
- Dependent companions: Additional travellers remain dependent upon the caster.
- Spell Resistance: A willing creature may lower its Spell Resistance normally.
- Dispelling: Dispel Magic can end the effect when directed at the original body or projected form.
- Destroyed original body: Destroying the original body kills the traveller.
- Projected equipment: Copied possessions vanish with the projected form.
- Dimensional barriers: Dimensional Anchor, Dimensional Lock and comparable effects can block travel.
Astral Projection — D&D 3.5e
Necromancy
Level: Cleric 9, Sorcerer/Wizard 9, Travel 9
Casting Time: 30 minutes
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Targets: You plus one willing creature per two caster levels
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes
Material Components: One jacinth worth at least 1,000 gp, plus one silver bar worth 5 gp for each affected creature.
Alternative Spell Name: The Silver Road.
Effect
The caster’s spirit leaves the physical body and forms an astral body on the Astral Plane. The original body remains on the Material Plane in suspended animation.
The caster can bring one additional willing creature for every two caster levels. The subjects must be joined in a circle during the casting.
The companions depend upon the caster and must accompany that caster throughout the expedition.
When a traveller leaves the Astral Plane, a new physical body and corresponding equipment form on the destination plane.
A silver cord connects the projected or second body to the original. Severing the cord kills the creature in every form.
If the astral form or second body is slain, the cord returns the spirit to the original body and awakens it. Standard D&D 3.5e does not impose Pathfinder 1e’s two permanent negative levels.
No Pathfinder Negative-Level Penalty
The D&D 3.5e version returns a slain projection to the original body without applying Pathfinder 1e’s permanent negative levels.
D&D 3.5e Rules Clarifications
- Original body: It remains on the Material Plane throughout the expedition.
- Second body: Entering another plane creates a new physical body and equipment.
- Dependent companions: Other projected creatures remain dependent upon the caster.
- Slain projection: The traveller returns without Pathfinder’s negative-level penalty.
- Spell Resistance: Willing creatures can lower their resistance normally.
- Dispelling: Dispel Magic can end the effect when directed at either the original body or projected form.
- Destroyed original body: The traveller dies.
- Copied equipment: Projected possessions vanish when the form ends.
Rules Integrity
Edition Differences at a Glance
| Rule | D&D 5.5e | Pathfinder 1e | D&D 3.5e |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casting time | 1 hour | 30 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Concentration | Required during casting only | No equivalent mechanic | No equivalent mechanic |
| Maximum group | Caster plus eight | Caster plus one per two caster levels | Caster plus one per two caster levels |
| Original body | Travels to the destination | Remains behind | Remains behind |
| Destination body | The original body | A newly formed second body | A newly formed second body |
| Companions remain with caster | No stated restriction | Yes | Yes |
| Projected body slain | Spell ends for the target | Returns with two permanent negative levels | Returns without that penalty |
| Material cost | 1,000 gp jacinth and 100 gp silver bar per target | One 1,000 gp jacinth | One 1,000 gp jacinth plus a 5 gp silver bar per target |
Video Guides
Astral Projection Explained
These videos explore the spell’s lore, planar implications and use in play. The mechanics panels above remain the authority for the precise rules used at your table.
The Ritual Journey
Six Stages of Astral Projection
The Circle Is Prepared
The caster gathers the travellers, provides the required gemstones and silver, and begins the lengthy ritual.
The Bodies Fall Silent
The physical bodies enter suspended animation and become incapable of defending themselves.
The Astral Forms Awaken
Each traveller appears in the Astral Plane as a recognisable double carrying a reflection of their equipment.
The Silver Cords Manifest
A silver cord links each projection to its body and can be threatened only by rare, specifically capable effects.
The Company Crosses the Astral Plane
The travellers navigate passage wakes, Thought Reefs, Quiet Anchors and the Silver Open.
The Journey Reaches Another Plane
The original body travels in 5.5e, while Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e create a second body at the destination.
Practical Play
Best Uses, Limits and Counterplay
Best Uses
- Explore the Astral Plane without immediately moving the physical body.
- Follow known passage wakes, portals and stable Astral routes.
- Reach distant planes through the Silver Expanse.
- Conduct planar reconnaissance before committing to an arrival point.
- Move a high-level expedition between connected realities.
- Reach isolated embassies, divine courts or Astral settlements.
Limits That Matter
- The casting is slow, expensive and difficult to conceal.
- The unattended physical bodies are helpless.
- The spell does not reveal the correct route automatically.
- Hostile creatures can attack the projected forms.
- Planar wards can prevent passage or arrival.
- The spell provides no general immunity to Astral hazards.
Counterplay
- Interrupt the ritual before completion.
- Locate, guard or move the unattended physical bodies.
- Use Dispel Magic against the active projection.
- Snare Astral Traveler can attract and capture a projected traveller, making it one of the most specialised counters to Astral Projection.
- Protect destinations with extradimensional travel wards.
- Guard known portals, passage wakes and Astral anchors.
- Track the disturbance left by a projected company moving through the Astral Plane.
Related Magic
- Gate creates a direct interplanar opening when precision matters more than Astral exploration.
- Project Image creates remote presence without carrying the caster into another plane.
- Word of Recall can provide an emergency return after physical arrival when its planar limits permit.
- Snare Astral Traveler is designed to interfere with creatures travelling through the Astral Plane.
Do Not Treat the Silver Cord as an Ordinary Rope
Mundane attacks, area damage and incidental contact do not sever the cord. A creature, relic, spell or hazard must specifically possess the ability to threaten silver cords.
Game Master Adjudication
Edge Cases Worth Deciding Before the Journey
The suspended body can be carried, hidden, imprisoned or transported.
Projected equipment cannot become permanent duplicated wealth.
Objects discovered after projection do not automatically return with the traveller.
Healing affects only the body or projection that receives it.
Magical suppression does not automatically sever the silver cord.
Follow the exact wording of effects that kill without reducing Hit Points.
World Consequences
Projection Chambers, Astral Courts and Silver-Cord Crime
Powerful casters build sealed projection rooms guarded by retainers and wards.
Rulers, merchants and occult fraternities compete for suitable gemstones.
Kidnapping a suspended body allows an enemy to hold a planar traveller.
Courts maintain protected meeting places beside stable Astral routes.
Specialist navigators can follow the disturbance left by a recent projection.
A weapon capable of severing cords becomes a major strategic threat.
Campaign Material
Adventure Hooks
The Missing Bodies
The travellers return towards their bodies and discover that the ritual chamber has been emptied.
The Jacinth Monopoly
One merchant house controls every suitable gemstone and demands the recovery of a memory trapped in a Thought Reef.
The Severing Blade
A weapon capable of cutting silver cords appears in a planar war.
The Sleeping Expedition
Nine bodies have lain beneath a monastery for decades while their cords remain intact.
The False Destination
A familiar passage opens into a perfect reflection of home whose inhabitants possess no independent past.
Historical and Occult Development
How the Modern Astral Plane Took Shape
The modern fantasy idea of astral projection develops from philosophical accounts of the soul, later ideas about subtle bodies and nineteenth-century occult descriptions of an organised astral world.
Platonist and Neoplatonist Cosmology
The soul considered through embodiment, intellect and higher orders of reality.
Late antique Platonist and Neoplatonist philosophers developed complex accounts of the soul’s origin, descent into embodied life and return towards higher intellectual reality.
These ideas influenced later Western language about layered existence and ascent beyond ordinary material perception.
The Subtle Body
An intermediate form between immaterial soul and physical flesh.
The concept of a subtle body became one means of explaining how a non-physical self might retain shape, sensation and movement.
The fantasy spell turns this broad idea into a functioning duplicate with abilities, equipment and a defined connection to the abandoned body.
Theosophy and the Astral Plane
The movement that helped establish modern English-language astral vocabulary.
Nineteenth-century Theosophy helped popularise the idea of a structured astral world populated by subtle bodies, thought-forms and non-physical inhabitants.
C. W. Leadbeater’s The Astral Plane presents the astral world as an organised environment with regions, inhabitants and observable phenomena.
Mythological Parallels
Travelling Souls and Returning Doubles
Myths and funerary traditions often describe a soul, double or conscious traveller leaving ordinary bodily experience and later returning.
The Egyptian Ba
A mobile aspect of the person that could leave the tomb and return.
The Egyptian ba, often represented as a human-headed bird, could travel from the tomb but periodically returned to the preserved body.
This offers a parallel to the travelling double and waiting body, although the ba belongs to Egyptian funerary belief rather than a living wizard’s repeatable spell.
Plato’s Myth of Er
A traveller appears dead, witnesses the journey of souls and returns.
At the end of Plato’s Republic, Er revives and describes judgement, cosmic order, fate and rebirth.
The story belongs to the wider tradition of a traveller crossing beyond ordinary mortal experience and returning with knowledge.
Descent and Return Narratives
Heroes cross into supernatural realms and return transformed.
Myths of journeys into divine, underworld or otherworldly realms repeatedly use the pattern of departure, peril, knowledge and difficult return.
Astral Projection adapts this narrative shape into a navigable planar expedition governed by explicit magical rules.
Worldbuilding Use
A setting can draw inspiration from travelling souls and returning doubles without declaring historically distinct traditions to be one universal practice.
Rules and Further Reading
Sources and Compatibility
- System Reference Document 5.2.1 — D&D 5.5e-compatible rules
- Archives of Nethys — Pathfinder 1e Astral Projection
- D20 SRD — D&D 3.5e Astral Projection
- Astral Plane — Silver Expanse of Thought and Reflection
- Snare Astral Traveler — specialised astral countermeasure
- The Planes of Existence
- Magic and Spell Reference
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
The Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e sections are independently worded compatibility summaries based on the cited rules references.
Historical and mythological comparisons are contextual parallels and do not assert that separate traditions describe one identical practice.