- By Alyshia
First released in 1989 for Advanced D&D, Spelljammer is the ultimate guide to running Dungeons and Dragons in Space. ‘Spelljamming’ is the unique skill an Adventurer uses to guide a ship through the Astral Sea and beyond. You’ll navigate Wildspace, encounter alien civilisations, and face the great unknowns that lurk in the deep reaches of the universe. This release isn’t just a single book, however. Included in the set are the Astral Adventurer’s Guide (covering the mechanics associated with playing in space), Boo’s Astral Menagerie (a Monster Manual for astral creatures), and Light of Xaryxis (A pre-written Spelljammer campaign). Also included are a DM screen and Map for ‘The Rock of Bral’, a prominent location in the campaign. I think it’s important to note that this set isn’t just a series of rules for running a basic sci-fi game. Spelljammer is a unique fantasy-like take on space adventuring and is more akin to a magical oceanic odyssey than something you’ll find in standard sci-fi franchises. Many of the ships are inspired by sea-faring vessels or marine/insectoid creatures. The technology of the locations, civilizations, and people is vibrant and magical. It still feels like a distinctly Dungeons and Dragons world but broadens the possibilities of what genre and tones you can explore in your games. Read on to learn a bit about each of the books you’ll find in the set, and to get a taste of the captivating world waiting just beyond the skyline.
Contents
Astral Adventurer’s Guide
Every epic Space Adventure needs a fitting Space Adventurer. Listed below are the new and revived Spelljammer Backgrounds and Races ready for you to try. [/fusion_text][fusion_text animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky"]
Backgrounds:
Astral Drifter (New) – Kind of like a religious Outlander. You’ve floated through the Astral Sea for so long you’re practically a part of it. You even met a god on your travels! Wildspacer (New) – The life of the average space-dweller is a difficult one. You’ve lived out most of your years in space, and the best of that time has been spent working hard to survive.
Races:
Astral Elf (New) – Another awesome Elf Variant. Think of them as Fae-touched, but instead of the Feywild, it’s Space!
Autognome (New) – A little robot gnome built by other gnomes. You’re generally pretty durable and good at healing.
Giff
– Gun-wielding Hippos! What’s not to love? Giff are strong and sturdy, can channel divine energy through their weapons, and don’t need to reload firearms.
Plasmoid (New) – Amorphous slime people. You can reshape yourself like playdough! While many Plasmoid take humanoid shapes, what’s stopping you from being a big slime tiger?
Thri-keen – You mightn’t be able to speak most languages, but you can communicate telepathically, which, honestly sounds better in my opinion. Also, extra arms for extra punching.
Note: This book also contains a race from the original AD&D release of Spelljammer, the Hadozee, which have been widely criticized for drawing parallels on the history of slavery and for using racist stereotypes. While Wizards of the Coast have now removed some of the Hadozee’s backstory from online publications, the original versions still exist in printed versions, and should be approached thoughtfully and with informed care.
The Mechanics:
The majority of the Astral Adventurer’s Guide is dedicated to Spelljamming mechanics. While falling and breathing are a given in regular dnd, how do they work when you’re traversing space? Chapter 2 of this book goes into detail on the ‘physics’ of Wildspace and the Astral Sea, covering gravity, air pockets, how to fly ships, and then how to crash those ships. While I highly recommend having a look for yourself (cause there’s some really interesting stuff in there), here are some of the basics. Wildspace, or Wildspace systems, are little pockets of space surrounding a world, where the Material and Astral Planes overlap. Think of them as a single solar system floating in a vast universe. Wildspace systems have no air or gravity and are traversed in Spelljammer Ships. In WIldspace, Air Envelopes and Gravity Planes are the two main physics concepts; basic mechanics that will facilitate movement and survival in this dangerous expanse. The Astral Sea is the Astral Plane itself, an infinite and mystical ocean. Unlike Wildspace Systems, you can breathe in the Astral Sea and you technically don’t need a ship to travel. Here, you can move by thought alone; think where it is you want to be, and you’ll start to fly towards it. Who knows what you might run in to out there… dead gods, astral domains? Sounds like a fun side quest while travelling between Greyhawk and Faerun to me! This section also details 16 unique Spelljamming ships, all with their own stats and maps, some of which are built to be run by specific DnD creatures, such as the Bombard (built by Giff) or the Tyrant ship (for Beholders).
The Rock of Bral:
The main setting explored in this edition of Spelljammer, and a prominent component of this setting’s campaign, is The Rock of Bral. The Rock is an asteroid carrying a vast city on its top and underside. Once a base for pirates, Bral has grown to become a hub of activity and trade for those traversing Wildspace. A rocky line of leaders has brought us from its founder, Captain Bral, to the current Prince, Andru, who received the throne after the completely unsuspicious death of his brother just six years ago. And it seems to all be running smoothly, for now. The topside of The Rock is where you will find the people. It’s divided into the High, Middle, and Low City’s. In the High City, you will find the Royal Palace, the Festival Grounds, the Library of Spheres, the Temple District, and Lake Bral, which provides water for the asteroid’s citizens. The Middle City is the lively trade center of The Rock where you’ll find the Great Market, the Donjon, the Mages’ Guildhall, and all manner of taverns. And buzzing with activity at all hours, The Low City houses the docks, the Lesser Market, and my favourite place of all, the Happy Beholder, run by Large Luigi, the Lawful Neutral Beholder. The Underside of Bral isn’t accessible to your average citizen and is set aside for fields (to grow fruits, vegetables, and grains), The Vanes (enormous sails that steer the asteroid), and most importantly, housing for Bral’s military forces, including the Citadel, their Naval base, and the Barracks. If running a pre-written campaign isn’t your style, The Rock of Bral is a great jumping off point for any space adventure. Learn about the Planes, discover Spelljamming, and take off to the stars, from the liveliest rock this side of the system.
Boo’s Astral Menagerie
Boo’s Astral menagerie is packed full of cool and, interesting, creatures. It has many useful variants of common space races, such as Astral Elves, Giff, and Githyanki, as well as some Space-ified classics, such as the Solar and Lunar Dragons. There are also many standard creatures (Swine, Eels, Hamsters etc.) which now have ‘Space’ as a pre-fix (Space Swine, Space Eels, Space Hamsters), which is a naming convention I find charming and unreasonably entertaining. Space money, Space bathroom, Space nachos. Delightful.
There are many cool new and revived creatures between these pages, too many for me to list in their entirety, so below I’ve highlighted a few of my favourites for you.
Chwinga – Chwinga are tiny spirits that are fascinated by civilisation. When they find someone they deem interesting, they’ll follow that person around, observing them, aiding them with cantrips, and sometimes, providing them with a gift before running off to find something else to learn about. The art for this creature is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. It’s not designed to be a playable race, but I think I’ll need to homebrew something because I need to play as this little guy immediately.
Cosmic Horror – While I personally imagine ‘Cosmic Horror’ as a larger sub-group rather than an individual creature, now having a stat block for a gargantuan Eldritch Nightmare that I can customize is very exciting. And with all the other horrifying creatures in this book (Feyr, Gaj, and Neh-Thalggu for example), there’s a lot of fodder for an incredible horror/space adventure.
Dohwars – Space Penguins! They’re Penguins in Space, and they just love being small-business owners. I can’t wait to have the main tavern in a capital city be run by a little penguin in a suit. Plus, they’re Psionic!
Ethetic – An Esthetic is a type of Spelljamming ship, except it’s alive. They’re created and used by a race called the Reigar and are able to send out tentacles to grapple and dissolve enemy ships and crew. I love the idea of a biological ship; it’s not just a vehicle, it’s a friend.
Kindori
– The Kindori are your classic space whales and are one of the biggest creatures in Wildspace. I think the Kindori capture the unique Spelljammer aesthetic that I love. It’s not just a set of rules for running D&D in Space, it’s a unique Fantasy-esque setting with distinct oceanic flavour and mechanics.
Reigar
– The Reigar are non-gendered octopus people. Though they still look mostly humanoid, they have bioluminescent skin that they can shift and change at will (like an octopus!) and are surrounded by a glittering cloud that protects them from attacks. Also, they love war and think of violence as an artform. A ferocious adversary by any measure.
Space Clowns – A bold choice to say the least but honestly, someone proposed this creature and really ran with it and I can respect that. These, literal Space Clowns, are from Clownspace (I’m serious) and were ‘blessed’ with clown-like appearances by their god after consuming ‘Thrill Joy’. Their weapons become toys when others try to use them, they pop like balloons when they fall to 0 hit points, and they all wear squeakers in their shoes so you can hear them coming from 30ft away. Though their presence somewhat shocks me, I’m not entirely upset that they’re here.
Vampirates
– Now, while Vampirates have a similar energy to Space Clowns and I probably should be horrified, I love both Vampires and Pirates and am nothing but overjoyed at this excellent combination. These pirates loved pirating so much they just kept doing it after they died. I appreciate the dedication. Plus, a Vampirate Captain can turn their ship invisible, which is just plain cool.
Zodar
– Zodar are a body of tight muscle encased in a dense obsidian exoskeleton. They hover slightly off the ground and (almost) never speak. Their existence and purpose is also a mystery, though many theories have surfaced over the centuries. Not only are they incredibly intimidating, but they can cast wish as a final act, and will then instantly die, which sounds like very exciting campaign fodder to me.
Light of Xaryxis
Campaign Premise (Spoiler-free):
All is well. You and your party have settled in this small town, or perhaps it is a city. After your adventure you are looking to get some down-time, or maybe you are looking for a new quest, or perhaps this is your home and you’ve returned from a perilous and long journey. Whatever the past holds, you’re here now and things are good. A bard sings in the town square, people chatter in the local tavern, and children play on the streets. But naturally, it doesn’t last for long. Deep in the night, the ground starts to shake. Lights are seen falling from the sky, crashing to the ground in blurs of flame. As dawn approaches, great tendrils of crystal have sprung up across the landscape, and from them spring creatures the likes of which you’ve never seen. As the land is slowly consumed, all falls to panic. You and your party fight, flee, or hide. But as this new reality settles over you, you come to the inevitable conclusion; something must be done. Destruction has rained down from the heavens and it’s your job to remedy it before your world is consumed. What could they possibly be? A ceaseless hale of asteroids? Bombs waiting to blow? Eggs ready to hatch? How will you know, unless you venture to the source yourself?
Campaign Summary (With Spoilers):
The Sun of the Xaryxian Homeworld is dying, and the people of its system will do whatever it takes to keep it burning. Dropping crystalline seeds onto other planets, the Astral Elves can leech the life of a world and use it repower their sun, albeit temporarily. And once the process has begun, there’s no stopping it. Unless…. A hungry sun can’t eat if it’s dead. Ever blown up a star before? In Light of Xaryxis, our party of Adventurers travel from ship to ship, learning of the vast universe they didn’t know they lived in. They quickly encounter the Astral Elves sent to seed their planet and eventually make their way to the Rock of Bral. Along the way they meet a cast of interesting and helpful characters, a crew willing to stand up against the Xaryxians. With their newfound friends, our party make the journey to Doomspace where there apparently resides a powerful coalition who might be willing to offer their support. Upon arriving in the new Wildspace System, we quickly find that the coalition is far from united, and a little diplomacy is needed to reform the alliance our heroes desperately need. But once our team is assembled, it’s on to the final arena, Xaryxispace. Here they must infiltrate the Citadel and claim a Ring of Shooting Stars, the only thing powerful enough to destroy the Xaryxian Sun. But is it worth it? Destroying a Star is no small decision. It will take its Wildspace System with it. This is a brief description of this campaign, there are many more plot points hidden within. Explore Shipwrecks, visit a (Space) Wizard Tower, Board a Vampirate Ship, and ride wild Kindori. There are battles with Solar Dragons, visits to the Happy Beholder, and even a Pirate Flumph named Flapjack. I highly recommend having a look through this adventure, it bodes to be an exciting, magical, and campy journey.
Final Thoughts:
I personally find this addition to 5th ed very exciting. Spelljammer is a unique style of Sci-Fi that doesn’t feel removed from the stories they’ve already created. I can see this world surrounding most of the settings I’ve run and feel many of those campaigns could seamlessly transition into the Astral Plane if I wanted to head in that direction. If you’re keen to spice up your table with something a little out of this world, or even mod some of your pre-existing stuff with new creatures or mechanics, you’re bound to find something that interests you in this set. Good Journey Spelljammer! - Alyshia
