Spelljammer …Wait till you see Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (Spelljammer?)

the Caverns of Ooze offer DMs the rare opportunity to sing

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Reynard said:

If anyone is curious, I am using the OSR definition of the term, which is built around Castle Greyhawk as a definitive example, and which Undermountain is another example. People quibble over Myth Dranor and Xak Tsaroth, though I think the former is one and the latter is simply meant to evoke one.

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Dire Bare said:

So, why quibble what is and what is not a mega-dungeon? That's the kind of conversation that makes our hobby look rather silly at times.

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MNblockhead said:

Yeah, THAT'S what makes our hobby look silly to the uninitiated. I think the moment you say "I'm playing a half-elf wizard" you should be beyond worrying about looking silly to other and just double-down and argue term definitions and stealth rules like they're important.

That said, with sincerity and gravity, I hereby second the motion for formalizing the definition of "mega-dungeon" as "big-ass dungeon." But, uh, let's now open the floor to debate on what we mean by "ass" in this definition. I've seen the work of some innovative dungeon designers who might take this a little too literally.

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Storyteller Hero said:

I'm working on the next best thing, as far as DMsGuild policies allow. I'm currently researching to get it as compatible as possible with published canon, outside of the original Realmspace book, which I'm partially retconning and massively expanding. Here's a free preview, to get a sense of the expanded scope for the project.

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/226326/REALMSPACE-Travellers-Guide--PREVIEW-EDITION

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MNblockhead said:

Yeah, THAT'S what makes our hobby look silly to the uninitiated. I think the moment you say "I'm playing a half-elf wizard" you should be beyond worrying about looking silly to other and just double-down and argue term definitions and stealth rules like they're important.

That said, with sincerity and gravity, I hereby second the motion for formalizing the definition of "mega-dungeon" as "big-ass dungeon." But, uh, let's now open the floor to debate on what we mean by "ass" in this definition. I've seen the work of some innovative dungeon designers who might take this a little too literally.

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lkj said:

It's probably worth mentioning that in the last 'Happy Fun Hour' someone asked Mearls about whether the subtle Spelljammer references meant something. And he responded by saying something like (not exact quote!) "Subtle? I don't think the references are subtle at all!". Now, he did NOT then say it meant there was a product. But clearly he (and Stewart and Perkins) are really enjoying dropping all the Spelljammer references.

They clearly have some plan in mind. But I really can't decide what it is. I sometimes think that Stewart started dropping Spelljammer teases because, if we're being honest, Spelljammer is so bizarre relative to standard D&D that it's a little crazy to think it would get it's own thing before a whole host of other projects (Dark Sun, Planescape, etc.) And maybe he gets a kick out of the fact that people actually take those teases seriously, as he quite plainly states (with a twinkle in his eye) that they have no short-term plans for Spelljammer.

So, in that scenario-- the WotC folks like Spelljammer, can't get to it for awhile, and so, for fun, add references whenever they can sneak them in. Sort of a nod more than some deep foreshadowing.

On the other hand, they seem to plan things way in advance. And there have been so many Spelljammer references at this point that it's starting to seem unlikely that they wouldn't do something. Or if they didn't have any plans that they would keep teasing and risk making some of their fans very angry.

I don't know.

AD

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