According to the rules in 3E/3.5, Outsiders and Elementals don't have souls separate from their bodies; instead, they basically ARE souls. If this is really the case then an Outsider (such as a Baatezu, etc...) shouldn't be able to use Astral Projection. It could only go there "physically", because its body and soul are the same... your take on this?
Can Outsiders and Elementals Astrally Project?
Thu, 2008-02-07 18:11
#1
Can Outsiders and Elementals Astrally Project?
Thu, 2008-02-07 20:51
#3
Can Outsiders and Elementals Astrally Project?
In my opinion, elementals are bits of elemental material animated by a soul and outsiders are bits of the outer planes (which are born from belief, but are no less real) animated by souls. Thus, those souls could potentially travel to different planes, leaving the body of belief or elemental matter behind. Also, I have a rather unusual opinion on the nature of souls in Planescape. The fact that they are multiaspected allows for parts of them to travel to wherever while astrally projecting and parts of them to remain in the 'body' and fuel the projection via the astral cord.
Fri, 2008-02-08 21:23
#4
Can Outsiders and Elementals Astrally Project?
The Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix III defined elementals as spirits who were able to animate the elemental material around them. If these spirits were imprisoned by a Trap the Soul spell, or using magic jar or whatever, or if they Astral Projected, I imagine their elemental bodies would simply collapse or evaporate into unrecognizable elemental matter (an earth elemental's body may or may not still be recognizable, depending on how solid it was).
Outsiders do seem to have bodies that can be left behind when they astral project, though you could rule that they don't, and they have nothing to tie their silver cords to.
Yes, they can, and in canon they do. For example, tanar'ri lords sometimes spend their time in iron fortresses on the Plain of Infinite Portals while their spirits wander the Material Plane.
They can also use magic jar spells (shadow demons do, for example), which supposedly separate bodies from souls.
How they manage do this is open to speculation. Perhaps they're really creating incorporeal aspects.