Astral Senses (GAP)

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How does a body see, feel, or hear in a realm where nothing exists? Normally, it would seem. Most visitors never notice any difference. Many don't even realize that the "plane" has no real dimensions or contents. This is because the mind will react to the "space" of the Astral, as well as the mentally translated objects within it, as if they were real, physical things. Things have the same appearance as they would on any other plane. Food brought with a planewalker still tastes the same (although eating is not required on the Astral); a knife still cuts flesh and causes pain. In fact, it is completely possible to die on the Astral Plane if one has traveled there physically. A translated sword can pierce a translated heart, and the mind of the victim still feels the pain and actually dies (see the chapter called "Mindwar: Astral Combat").
Since there truly is no up or down, a basher never gets lightheaded or dizzy from being "upside down." In fact, a traveler cannot become dizzy on the Astral, unless some magical effect or spell induces it. Additionally, without gravity, a body's sense of orientation is never going to be the same as anybody else's. No one orientation is correct, and it's easy to change placement so that a body's face is positioned about the same as another's. Communication is easiest that way (particularly if one relies on facial expressions), and the githyanki consider it good manners - although the lesser beings always changes their orientation to suit their betters. Sometimes it's a sign of respect, but sometimes it's one of weakness. They're a complicated people.
Range of sight on the Astral Plane is not very far, despite the fact that a body appears to be looking out into an endless void. Actual visual range is limited to about 200 yards. If something enters this range, it seems to fade into view out of nothingness. Likewise, sound only carries about 200 yards. Thing is, big stuff throws an astral wrench into all these rules. A body can see a large floating island or a dead god, or hear the bellow of some horrible beast, from much farther than this limiting range. How far? Well, that's never the same. It has to do with the size or volume of the stimulus. Since size and distance are meaningless concepts on the Astral anyway, who can say for sure how it works? Fact is, a large island or some such might be seen from a mile away, but the folks living on it won't be seen until a body gets in normal range. That's just the way the mind seems to work.
'Course, this applies only to the endless reaches of the Silver Void. On one of the strange astral islands or on the body of a dead god, things might very well work differently. Particularly when a body finds herself crawling about a power's corpse, anything can happen - many even seem to have gravity. Here's a good rule of thumb: If a body's on an astral island or within a confined space of some sort, she can see the thing as if she weren't on the Astral - even if it's bigger than the normal range of sight for the Astral. If it feels like there's gravity, then things work as though gravity's there. Like so many things on the Astral Plane, everything operates just like it seems it should. Some might say intuition is a governing law of reality on the Astral.