Everything

As a Garou travels through the Astral Umbra, he may witness the ghostly forms of vampires floating about teth­ ered to thin silver cords. This is not the physical body of the vampire, it is a thought projection and capable of small amounts of interactions with the Umbra.

Most vampires spend much of their time in the Astral Umbra peering through into the physical realm. Unless the vampire is particularly astute, she tends to ignore her Umbral surroundings. She perceives a thin, watered down version of the Astral Umbra overlaid on top of the physical world. Vampires rarely engage with other entities within the Astral — such as other vampires, Garou, or Mages — as her capabilities in dealing with them are limited by her will and mastery of the Auspex Discipline. A stealthy Garou can pass most vampires without attracting notice, unless of course he attempts to disrupt the silver cord trailing behind one.

The silver cord is the vampire’s lifeline back to her body, and she will defend it as best she can versus attack. Vampires are capable of a basic kind of assault, usually attempting to cut the silver cord of other mentally projected travelers. If there is no cord, the vampire has little recourse for an attack. Of course, smart vampires flee at the first sight of a werewolf shining in their muted perceptions.

The Astral Umbra is closely connected to the Dream Zone, and a traveler may pass into the Astral from any point within. This poses a bit of a problem as the traveler’s physical body passes through with him. The Astral is a place of ideas and concepts, not physical realities. On a purely conceptual level, the substance making up a traveler is sub­ ject to the same vagaries as any other concept within the Astral. A traveler could very well end up disparate pieces of himself, floating about the Astral with no way to return to his normal state. Even worse is that the Rage of a werewolf irritates the Astral, causing it to warp and become hostile towards the entering Garou. A traveler could pass through the Membrane into the Astral from the Deep Umbra where the two meet at highly conceptual realms. This means the traveler has to delve into some strange and alien realm of the Deep Umbra, pass whatever dangers lie there, to come

to the Astral in a deeply conceptual realm — only to find her physical form drawn into strange ideals.

Some scholars believe that by meditation and thought they can enter the Astral Umbra from any part of the Umbra. This practice has met with limited success. The only place anyone has been able to meditate to enter the Astral is within the Stargazer’s Homeland. Through meditation on thoughts and ideas a Stargazer is able to send a mental projection into the Astral, leaving her body behind. This seems to be the safest way to travel, though the werewolf loses any concept of time and body as her mind travels through strange realms, carrying a danger of death through negligence.

Travel within the realm is psycho-reactive, meaning that all a traveler has to do is think of where he wants to go, and he will get there. Traveling between the different realms of the Astral Umbra is as simple as a thought, yet it is not always so easy. Some travelers may find that certain concepts are difficult to wrap their minds around and really concentrate on, making it impossible to reach them. Other areas confuse the mind and prevent a traveler from making her way to new areas. To confuse the issue even further, the Astral Umbra only reacts to true thoughts. If someone is preoccupied with an idea or subconsciously worrying about something, the Astral Umbra will send the traveler to an area that resonates with his worries or preoccupations. When multiple travelers enter the Astral Umbra together, the realms take shape based on the strongest concepts of the group creating a shared experience. Each experiences the same area, with only subtle details filled in by their own imaginations.

Leaving the Astral Umbra poses nearly as many prob­ lems as entering. A traveler who entered in her physical form may not be able to leave without assistance, though werewolves are likely to be destroyed by the Umbra before they can decide to leave. Otherwise, a traveler may pay ap­ propriate chiminage to a conceptual spirit to lead her out, which often brings her to the Dream Zone. A traveler who has sent their mind into the Umbra has simply to think of returning to her body to do so. But those thoughts must occur to the traveler, which is often difficult in the face of so many wonders.

Sometimes travelers happen into the Astral Umbra by accident, and must figure out how to escape before getting trapped there. Most of the time, travelers seek out the Astral, usually to gain knowledge or seek out some bit of information only found in the depths of the conceptual realm. Below is a list of story ideas that give characters reason to enter the Astral Umbra.