Phlogiston
Phlogiston /flo•JIS•tun/ [1] is a term that can either refer to the space between the crystal spheres of the Prime Material Plane or to the flammable fluid that permeated it, a rainbow-colored chaotic material that surrounds the spheres. Bizarre creatures inhabit it and prey on spelljammers traveling between spheres.[2][3] Spacefarers sometimes call the phlogiston the flow or the Rainbow Ocean.[4]
Cosmography
The phlogiston is far from homogeneous. The fluid itself varie in its density from place to place and also displays river-like flows, sometimes connecting objects such as the crystal spheres within them. Spelljammers can make use of this flow to greatly increase their speeds through the vast distances within the phlogiston. Increasing the contact area with the flow to acquire greater speed is also the reason some spelljamming ships have sails.[2]
The crystal spheres float freely in the phlogiston, sometimes enough to significantly change their positions with respect to each other over time. The flow, however, remains unaltered, so navigation between the spheres remains possible. Many of these rivers flow in both directions, but some flow in only one way, forcing a return trip to take a different route.[2]
Stable Configurations in the Flow
Most crystal spheres randomly float in the phlogiston. However, in rare cases, stable configurations exist which ensure reliable routes between spheres. Only three such configurations are commonly known to spacefarers,[5] but there are at least several others.[6]
One such stable configuration is a triangle consisting of Realmspace, in which Toril is located; Greyspace, the world of Oerth; and Krynnspace, home to the world of Krynn. The phlogiston has a strong current which flows between Realmspace and Greyspace, making two-way travel between the two crystal spheres relatively simple. There are one-way flows from Greyspace to Krynnspace and from Krynnspace to Realmspace, but not in the opposite directions. Due to this current, it is impossible to travel directly from Realmspace to Krynnspace and from Krynnspace to Greyspace. From Greyspace, however, it is a relatively simple matter to travel to either Realmspace or Krynnspace, strong currents leading to both spheres. For that reason, traveling from Realmspace to Krynnspace is easier if one went through Greyspace first instead of going directly.[2][7]
Dark Regions
Some areas of the phlogiston contain vast clouds of negative energy known as Dark Regions. One particularly dangerous Dark Region is located between the Vodoni Empire and the Realmspace triangle and is known as the Weird. It is inhabited by the Zalani ghost ship Lady Lenore.[8]
Properties
The phlogiston is an opaque, brilliant, multicolored ether that does not resemble any of the four elements. It cannot exist inside crystal spheres and quickly dissipates if brought inside, although it does permeate into a spelljammer's air envelope while it sails through the phlogiston. It also cannot be reproduced. Most importantly, it is an extremely flammable substance. Any spark or flame, magical or otherwise, immediately explodes, violently igniting the ship and its surrounding area. Because of this, travelers always extinguish their flames before leaving their crystal spheres. Enclosed areas of ships can only be illuminated by magical or flameless lights, such as those produced by Gnomish firefly lamps.[2]
Because of the obscuring nature of the phlogiston, crystal spheres are usually not visible during most of the duration of a trip. They only become visible at remarkably close distances and, due to their enormous sizes, always appeared like perfectly flat walls with no apparent curvature.[9]
The phlogiston also completely blocks access to other planes. It is impossible to access another plane while in the flow, even the extradimensional space created by a Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion spell or a magical item such as a portable hole. Except through the use of powerful magic such as a limited wish spell or similar, those regions remained inaccessible until the user returned to wildspace, which supports extraplanar travel normally.[10] It is also unclear whether the phlogiston touches the border of the Ethereal Plane.[11]
Publishing history
Fifth edition
In 2022, the Spelljammer setting was updated to fifth edition in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, a three-volume slipcase set. In it, the phlogiston is replaced by the Astral Sea for the medium in which the crystal spheres (or "Wildspace systems") reside. The two funtionally work similarly in the cosmology. The Wildspace systems are still spherical and move about or drift "like corks bobbing in water"[12] just as "the crystal spheres bob in the phlogiston like corks in an ocean (mind-boggling, enormous corks, but they do bob)."[13]
Other than simply that the Astral Plane has different properties than phlogiston, the main difference is that the systems are no longer physical shells with a hard, defined surface which separates the phlogiston from Wildspace. Instead, in fifth edition, the systems have borders which are "a faint, silvery haze"[14] defining the indistinct border between Wildspace and the Astral Sea, just as the crystal spheres previously defined the border between Wildspace and the phlogiston. This is not dissimilar to the "interstellar medium" in real-world astrophysics, and how the heliosphere fades into the heliopause.
References
Notes
Citations
- ↑ "Ay pronunseeAYshun gyd". Dragon #93 (Jan 1985), p.28.
- ↑ a b c d e Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space (1989), p.10-11, Concordance of Arcane Space.
- ↑ Planscape campaign setting (1994), p.A Player's Guide to the Planes, 4-5.
- ↑ Into the Void, p.8.
- ↑ "The Sea of Sorrow". Dungeon #36 (Jul/Aug 1992), p.40-45
- ↑ The Astromundi Cluster.
- ↑ Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space (1989), p.86,88, Concordance of Arcane Space.
- ↑ SJA4 Under the Dark Fist (1991), p.16-17.
- ↑ Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space (1989), p.9, Concordance of Arcane Space.
- ↑ Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space (1989), p.18,84, Concordance of Arcane Space.
- ↑ A Guide to the Ethereal Plane (1998), p.7.
- ↑ Spelljammer: Adventures in Space (2022), p.21, Astral Adventurer's Guide.
- ↑ Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space (1989), p.11, Concordance of Arcane Space.
- ↑ Spelljammer: Adventures in Space (2022), p.4, Astral Adventurer's Guide.
Bibliography
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Phlogiston on the Forgotten Realms Wiki (view authors. |
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flow, The {Phlogiston, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Reference | SEE Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | |
| Phlogiston | Item | Spelljammer Boxed Set: Concordance of Arcane Space | 6, 10-11, 13, 18, 28, 38, 40, 78 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Book of Artifacts, AD&D 2e | 24 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Book of Artifacts, AD&D 2e | 16 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Encyclopedia Magica - Volume IV | 1346 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Oerth Journal #22 | 59 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | PHBR8 - The Complete Book of Elves | 27 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Spelljammer Boxed Set: Concordance of Arcane Space | 10, 13, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 28, 32, 40, 43, 49, 54, 55, 78, 85, 86 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Spelljammer Boxed Set: Concordance of Arcane Space | 6, 9, 10-11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 28, 38, 40, 42, 43, 47, 48, 49, 51, 54, 58, 68, 71, 72, 74, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Spelljammer Boxed Set: Concordance of Arcane Space | 10, 25, 51, 54, 58 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Spelljammer Boxed Set: Lorebook of the Void | 19, 44, 46, 63, 75, 76, 88 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Spelljammer Boxed Set: Lorebook of the Void | 10, 19, 42, 46, 48, 60, 63, 65, 71, 74, 75, 76, 85 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | Spelljammer Boxed Set: Lorebook of the Void | 42, 46 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | SJR6 Greyspace | 4, 6, 78, 89, 90, 91, 92 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | SJR6 Greyspace | 6 | |
| Phlogiston {The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean} | Place | SJR6 Greyspace | 6 | |
| Rainbow Ocean, The {Phlogiston, The Flow} | Place | Reference | SEE Phlogiston (The Flow, The Rainbow Ocean) |