D&D 5E PlaneJammer: Sailing the Astral Sea

[overgeeked]

What non-WotC species/races/lineages would be cool to include in a PlaneJammer campaign?

As above, the Star Frontiers species. Also early SF species, especially those from Burroughs' Mars books, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers. Along with all manner of weird SF and weird horror species, like the Mi-Go from Lovecraft, etc. All kinds of human-animal hybrids. The weirder the better. Hitchhiker's Guide aliens. I would science fiction, fantasy, science fantasy kitchen sink that setting.

 

[darjr]

Oh also I’d include a group of humans like the ones from Starfrontiers. Maybe even lift the Starfrontiers setting, converted to planejammer, right from the boxed set.

wow do I want to run or play in this!

 

[Reynard]

I wasn't specific enough: what existing, third party races would make good species to have running around the Astral Sea.

Also, just to reiterate: I am NOT doing a sci-fi or even sci-fantasy game. I am doing a cosmic fantasy game with a pirate/age of sail/age of exploration flair.

 

[Tonguez]

Vagr
Iotians
Tribbles
Hutt
Kasatha
Shirren

What non-WotC species/races/lineages would be cool to include in a PlaneJammer campaign?

 

[Fenris-77]

Genestealers!

 

[see]

I want your perspective on how to most effectively mash up the Spelljammer and Planescape aspects.

Personally, I don't think it can be done effectively. The two settings are deeply incompatible. There is no effective way to make the standard form of Outer Planar travel be ships through a medium where the major factions are the Elven Imperial Fleet, beholder nations, mind flayers, and neogi slavers without breaking Planescape, where the standard form of Outer Planar travel is walking through portals in the City of Doors and the gate towns in the Outlands, and the major factions are either Sigil's Factions or the alignment hosts of angels/devils/demons/etc.

The fact that people are pointing you to 4e material on the Astral Sea is the best evidence of this; it's as if you asked for advice on mashing up Forgotten Realms and Eberron, and were directed to Nentir Vale because it had both Bane and warforged.

 

[Reynard]

Personally, I don't think it can be done effectively. The two settings are deeply incompatible. There is no effective way to make the standard form of Outer Planar travel be ships through a medium where the major factions are the Elven Imperial Fleet, beholder nations, mind flayers, and neogi slavers without breaking Planescape, where the standard form of Outer Planar travel is walking through portals in the City of Doors and the gate towns in the Outlands, and the major factions are either Sigil's Factions or the alignment hosts of angels/devils/demons/etc.

The fact that people are pointing you to 4e material on the Astral Sea is the best evidence of this; it's as if you asked for advice on mashing up Forgotten Realms and Eberron, and were directed to Nentir Vale because it had both Bane and warforged.

Then why are you here? In this thread, I mean. I obviously not only think it can be done but am going to do it, and am certainly not the only one who has or will.

 

[Voadam]

I would lean heavily on the 4e Planescape spelljammer stuff as opposed to the 2e.

2e has a lot of normal D&D in space aspects so there are mortal world heavy elements: Kara Tur fleets, Krynnish gnomes, Egyptian specific cults gaining their spells when others do not, lizardman crew, ancient elvish empire, secret advanced orc empire that hates the elves, and so on. Leaning in on the weirder stuff like mind flayers and gith which already have planar associations gives it a more appropriate planar feel IMO. If you are going for a planejammer specific aesthetic some traditional 2e planescape stuff won't work as well.

I did a more planar swap out when running a Concordant Opposition gate town in a 3e module, swapping out elf and dwarf NPCs for planetouched and azers and so on.

 

[see]

Then why are you here?

Well, you see, I saw someone say "I want your perspective on how to most effectively mash up the Spelljammer and Planescape aspects", and then I gave that person my perspective.

And, well, I'll note that implicitly, most everybody else is agreeing with me. Instead of talking about, say, combining beholder fleets with the Blood War, the advice is mostly to look at things (Skycrawl, 4th edition D&D) that are neither Spelljammer nor Planescape.

So. The most effective way to "mash up the Spelljammer and Planescape aspects" is to ignore them entirely and build something else from the basic building blocks of "D&D", "magic ships", and "planar travel".

 

[Malmuria]

Personally, I don't think it can be done effectively. The two settings are deeply incompatible. There is no effective way to make the standard form of Outer Planar travel be ships through a medium where the major factions are the Elven Imperial Fleet, beholder nations, mind flayers, and neogi slavers without breaking Planescape, where the standard form of Outer Planar travel is walking through portals in the City of Doors and the gate towns in the Outlands, and the major factions are either Sigil's Factions or the alignment hosts of angels/devils/demons/etc.

The fact that people are pointing you to 4e material on the Astral Sea is the best evidence of this; it's as if you asked for advice on mashing up Forgotten Realms and Eberron, and were directed to Nentir Vale because it had both Bane and warforged.

Really? I don't think it breaks planescape at all. Sigil is one means of planar transport, other means being yggdrasil, the infinite staircase, styx, oceanus, planeshift, and the astral plane. They all work together. It is implied that most of the portals in sigil are unknown, or protected by a faction, and require special keys; many are temporary or even seasonal. Moreover, the planes are infinite. I would even say that mashing up all these things together is core to the goals of ps as a setting.