Summary

• The Astral Plane in Baldur's Gate 3 is a mysterious realm, not outer space, requiring magic to access.
• The Astral Prism is key, acting as a portal to a pocket of the Astral Plane.
• The Astral Plane is a graveyard for dead gods, a realm outside of space where time doesn't function properly.

The Astral Plane is central to the plot and several of the characters in Baldur's Gate 3. It acts as a realm beyond the material plane where strange magic and extraterrestrial creatures can be found, as well as a prison for an important NPC. However, the game never really gets into the specifics of the Astral Plane, explaining where it is physically in space or how time moves differently within it.

[Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Baldur's Gate 3 uses the Astral Plane as a place of mystery, and it's important to the plot and tone that it remains mysterious to the player characters. The fact that so many details about the area cannot be discovered in-game is likely intentional and aids in making the location feel alien and beyond human comprehension. Still, within the existing material of D&D, more information about this mysterious plane is available, and learning more about it may shed some light on the interdimensional conflicts within Baldur's Gate 3.

The Astral Plane Is Technically Not Outer Space

A Realm Between Realms

Both within Baldur's Gate 3 and D&D lore, the Astral Plane is talked about as if it is literally outer space and could theoretically be reached by venturing up into the stars. While the aesthetic of this plane and its denizens are coded in this way, the area is actually more of a liminal space between other planes and, in most cases, requires some form of teleportation magic to reach. Spelljammer: Adventures In Space (a D&D module for 5th edition) points out this distinction by taking place mainly in Wildspace, an area between the Astral and Material Planes.

Wildspace is more akin to "D&D outer space," with ships called spelljammers able to traverse it and strange beings living within it. It is influenced by the Astral Plane due to its proximity, but the two are distinct areas with established boundaries. Wildspace is what D&D characters would see when looking up at the stars, with perhaps some glimpses of the Astral Plane visible through the intermediary area. This can be confusing since in Baldur's Gate 3, Lae'zel can actually point out locations in the plane, like Crèche K'liir, that the player can see in the night sky.

It is important to realize that the Astral Plane works as more of a realm between realms than an actual physical place. Lae'zel may be able to see specific parts of it she recognizes, but it would be more accurate to view this plane as one that exists within a separate dimension that occasionally crosses into the material world. This is important, as certain aspects of the plot only make sense when viewed with that in mind.

The Astral Prism "Contains" A Pocket Of This Plane

A Powerful Plot Device

Baldur's Gate 3's primary MacGuffin is the Astral Prism, a small object that both protects players from the Absolute's influence and imprisons the githyanki Prince, Orpheus. The magical device can be "opened" to allow creatures to into a small pocket of the Astral Plane where the prince is chained up. It is stated that Vlaakith, the githyanki lich-queen, put Orpheus there to keep him from dethroning her and simultaneously maintain access to his magic.

The way the Astral Prism works can be really confusing if players view the Astral Plane as a physical place in outer space. But if the plane is thought of as existing in a separate dimension, it is a bit easier to understand how the prism would connect to and isolate a small part of that dimension and act as the key to entering it. It's still a high-fantasy concept that can be difficult to understand, but it makes more sense than the prism teleporting the player to outer space to an area that can't be reached otherwise.

The Astral Plane Is A Graveyard For Dead Gods

The Whispers Of Powerful Deities

Players in Baldur's Gate 3 may notice that, during their visit to the Astral Plane, they are located on top of an enormous skeleton. The realm between realms acts as a graveyard for the bodies of dead gods, creatures whose immortality and power failed them and now rest eternally in the void. It's likely that the section of the plane that the Astral Prism isolated happened to contain this god's massive corpse.

This particular god is never identified as anyone specific, perhaps commenting on them being forgotten since their death. Though, a likely candidate would be Karsus, given his relevance to the story and since he is established as being a dead god figure. It may also be the corpse of a dead gith god from ancient times, given that this is where Orpheus is imprisoned, but there is no way to know for sure.

The role of the Astral Plane illustrates its purpose as a sort of area outside of space, where the detritus of other planes gathers and even time doesn't function properly. Gale, the party's resident wizard, may comment on how aging and similar detriments of time do not function in the area, potentially allowing a creature to live forever there, as Vlaakith endeavors to.

Mind Flayers Are Not From The Astral Plane

This particular falsehood is never outright stated in the game. But since the Astral Plane is set up as the origin point of the gith, and it is shown as the location of a mind flayer Elder Brain in flashbacks, one could reasonably assume that mind flayers come from the realm between realms. However, they are actually from a place called the Far Realm, another mystical plane outside the material world that is left purposefully ambiguous in existing D&D lore.

The Far Realm is supposedly the source of aberrations like mind flayers and beholders since its influence causes the kind of eldritch horror and psionic power that both creatures display. However, mind flayers are established both in D&D and Baldur's Gate 3 as previously ruling over many other planes during the time of the illithid empire. The ships mind flayers use, chitinous vessels called Nautiloids, are able to traverse the Astral Plane and even shift between planes at will, making it plausible that they have some residual power there.

The Astral Plane is a confusing and complicated part of D&D, and it honestly makes sense that the writers of Baldur's Gate 3 wouldn't want to bog down their story with all this. The game and its narrative function perfectly well with the limited amount of information they provide on the area and they are likely better off for not getting into the complexities of dead gods and realms between realms. Still, understanding some of the lore behind the area may provide a better appreciation of the stakes on the line when it comes to the conflict in Baldur's Gate 3.