What level would you place this at? (Spell)

[Eldan]

So, I was again tinkering around with a few of the spells that are considered broken or at least too powerful. This is my possible re-write of Astral Projection (though it's pretty different now). While this makes a useful scout spell, it probably doesn't deserve 9th level anymore. Where would you place it?

Spirit Journey
Necromancy
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch
Duration: see text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes
Components: M, V, F, S

You send a single, willing creature, on an spirit journey, by extracting the spirit from it’s body. The body falls in a state of suspended animation, where it requires no food and only little water (a few drops of water per day are generally enough). The spirit, meanwhile, becomes a projection on the astral plane, though it can travel from the astral plane to any of the planes touched by the astral normally.

The projection is absolutely intangible, and can move past any kind of physical barrier. Spells that specifically prevent outsiders or creatures of an appropriate alignment from accessing an area still prevent passage, but other magical barriers don’t. A projection can not be harmed by physical objects or magical effects in any way, but also can not affect the physical realm in any way, not even by magic. The projection has copies of the projected creature’s equipment, but this equipment can not affect anything other than the creature itself, and any slots or charges expended are drained from the real equipment as well. Any one-use items crumble to dust when their spirit counterparts are used. However, the copy can normally affect, and be affected by, other projections or their magic and it's spells and similar powers work normally on itself.

The projection appears as a vague, silvery shape to all creatures that are not themselves projected, but True Seeing reveals them for who they are.

The projected creature can end the projection at any time by traveling back along it’s silver cord, which, no matter the distance, only takes a full round. If the cord should be severed (a rare occurence, as only two things are known that can sever a cord: Astral Dreadnaughts and Githyanki silver swords), the creature is lost on the Astral Plane. Unless it has a way to travel back to it's body via magic (a planeshift spell or similar), it will take 6d6 hours to travel back to it's body and reinhabit it, unless someone else undertakes a spirit journey to find the projection and lead it back.

Material Component:
A jacinth worth 1000gold pieces, and a silver bar worth 5 gold pieces per participant.

[jiriku]

Does the projection remain intangible if it uses an astral portal to travel to another plane? Normally, an astral traveler get a new body when that happens.

[Welknair]

I'd say level 6 or 7. Not bad, but the ability to find ways into other planes from the Astral would be invaluable when using this spell, given that piddling around in the Astral Plane likely isn't your goal.

[Eldan]

Yes, the projection is meant to be intangible and stay that way, as the problem with Astral Projection, generally, is that it is basically a savegame slot for the wizard.

Astral Projection doesn't actually really clarify how travelling from the astral to other planes work with this spell (as in, can you choose an exact destination). Would including the ability to planeshift directly into this improve the spell?

[Welknair]

My question would be whether or not you can currently cast spells whilst taking a Spirit Journey. If yes, then you could potentially Plane Shift straight into another plane, quite conveniently. However, if you say that you remain intangible, you are now an intangible caster. Not ethereal, not incorporeal, intangible. I don't believe that that is strictly defined in the rules... Could be somewhat problematic.

[Eldan]

Whoops.

I wanted to add a sentence to that effect, actually. You can cast spells, but they only affect you, nothing else. Not the environment, not other creatures.

[Welknair]

Ah. Well I think that solves both problems then. You can use planeshift to check out (Read: Spy on) other planes, but you cannot go around assassinating people like that.

Can people see you whilst Journeying? Would they be able to do so with True Seeing? Can they sense you like they would a Scrying? Are you kept out by force effects (As if you were a ghost)? Can two people that are both Journeying interact with one another?

[Eldan]

at.
Can people see you whilst Journeying? Would they be able to do so with True Seeing? Can they sense you like they would a Scrying? Are you kept out by force effects (As if you were a ghost)? Can two people that are both Journeying interact with one another?

For your questions:
1. You are visible as an indistinct, silvery shape.
2. Sure. I've also added a clause that True Seeing shows who they really are.
3. Not as written.
4. No.
5. Yes.

I've updated the spell: while it already said that you couldn't affect the world by magic, I added that you could affect yourself.

[ericgrau]

At first it seemed like a beefed up astral projection but not being able to affect anything makes it more like an interdimensional super scry with no save... except it can't locate targets by itself. So higher than scry (level 4) but lower than discern location (level 8). Maybe level 7, similar to greater scrying. Or level 6 due to the material component.