Physical Realities

These are planes of existence that
travelers can actually visit – either in
body or in spirit – much as they would
visit another country or planet. The
defining feature of such realms is that
visitors possess a physical body during
their stay. This might be their normal
body . . . or it might be a “spirit body”
that is corporeal only within that realm.
The most common physical reality
is the alternate world (also known as an
“alternate history” or “alternate time-
line”). This is almost the same as the
PCs’ home world, but in this world,
history diverged at some pivotal event,
creating a different reality. (See
Alternate Earths, p. 520.)
Almost as common is the mirror
world. Mirror worlds look just like the
PCs’ home world, but the resemblance
is cosmetic. No reasonable sequence of
historical shifts could explain the dif-
ferences! A good example is the world
of faerie: it looks a lot like our world,
but it is actually a magical realm ruled
by powerful spirits. Another common
example is the “evil parallel.” Many
things about the world are similar, but
personalities and even governments
are “opposite”: republics become dic-
tatorships, saints become fiends, and
so on.
Some physical realities might be
even more alien. At best, they might be
as different as alien planets within our
universe. At worst, the laws of physics
might be different, or suspended.
Humans might be unable to survive
there!