Planar portals

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Planar portals, also known as Material-Plane portals, Conduits into the Material Realm or simply Portals, were used throughout Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2 by Raziel, they allowed him to "gather matter" unto himself and effectively cross from the Spectral Realm to the Material Realm, though Raziel was only able to utilize the portals if he is at full strength. Many puzzles in the Soul Reaver series relied on the Plane Shift mechanics of the planar portals.

Role
Planar portals were first seen in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, shortly after Raziel emerged from the Underworld in the Underworld (chapter). Apparently gifted by the Elder God, Raziel was able to use these conduits to Shift from the Spectral Realm to the Material Realm, provided he had a full Health coil and used the Shift Glyph while stood on one. They were not necessary to return to the Spectral Realm and Raziel's Material Realm manifestation could be abandoned at any time.

This usage continued into Soul Reaver 2 with Raziel able to use the Shift Glyph when stood on a planar portal at full health to cross from the Spectral into the Material Realm. Again they were not needed to return.

In Legacy of Kain: Defiance a different Shifting mechanic is used. A Planar portal is initially found by Raziel in the Cemetery shortly after he escapes the Underworld in Escape from the Elder God Chamber. However, due to Raziel's disobedience of The Elder God, the Elder makes this portal vanish, implying the same has happened to the other portals throughout Nosgoth. This forced Raziel to find a different method to reach the Material Realm and after exploring the Cemetery in Find the Path to the Pillars Raziel discovered that he could Possess a Corpse host as a means to travel to the Material Realm by transferring his spirit into the body and manipulating its appearance to match his own.

Appearances

 * Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
 * Soul Reaver 2
 * Legacy of Kain: Defiance