D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Travelers of the Multiverse

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Looks like Spelljammer and/or Planescape is back on the menu!

 

[Parmandur]

Just picture Picard, Jadzia Dax, and Sisko in Hawaiian shirts and Magnum in a Star Fleet uniform.

As for Planesjammer it's clear they are changing both settings, they've already begun the process, with changes to Nautiliods gaining the ability to Planeshift, ASTRAL (as in Astral Plane) Elves, possibly more. The one thing never you never hear about in 5e, the weird hard to spell stuff in the material plane, between crystal Spheres. If they get the Astral Plane to replace Phligion or whatever it's called, then they are 80% of the way there because it means they can travel between Hell and Aborea just as easily as Oerth and Toril via Spelljammer.

Astral Jammers radically change the Spelljammer setting, blurring the line between it and Planescape. In fact if one of the classic return setting books is Spelljammer, Planescape could be the cameo.

I see no reason to suspect they will get rid of Phlogiston. "Astral" also just means star. I'm not sure why folks think mixing Spelljammer a d Planescape makes any sense: different dimensions literally.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I see no reason to suspect they will get rid of Phlogiston. "Astral" also just means star. I'm not sure why folks think mixing Spelljammer a d Planescape makes any sense: different dimensions literally.

D&D 4e combined them, and the Astral Elf fluff/lore text talks about them entering the Astral Plane to get closer to their gods. That sounds a lot like the "Astral Sea" from 4e to me, so it could be a sign that WotC is combining Spelljammer and Planescape again.

 

[Parmandur]

D&D 4e combined them, and the Astral Elf fluff/lore text talks about them entering the Astral Plane to get closer to their gods. That sounds a lot like the "Astral Sea" from 4e to me, so it could be a sign that WotC is combining Spelljammer and Planescape again.

Yeah, just don't see it.

 

[SkidAce]

I see no reason to suspect they will get rid of Phlogiston. "Astral" also just means star. I'm not sure why folks think mixing Spelljammer a d Planescape makes any sense: different dimensions literally.

I replaced the phologiston (sp?) with the Astral ever since....

...they published the Spelljammer setting.

 

[Erdric Dragin]

I'm gonna call it now and say assuming it is Spelljammer, they're gonna butcher the hell out of it. It looks like Wildspace and the Phlogiston will get the chopping block and they're going to use the Astral Plane (you see this happen in 4e lore) in order to "simplify" the setting...which is just another term for butchering it.

The Phlogiston was what made Spelljamming unique and different from plane-hopping. You were traversing between worlds and entire universes cocooned within crystal spheres that were separated by the Phlogiston, a place anathemic to the deities themselves.

It was basically "Plane-traveling Lite" since you never left the Material Plane, the Material Plane was your stomping grounds pretty much and it had the nice touch and flair of the sci-fi space exploration but in a fantasy magic form.

 

[Demetrios1453]

D&D 4e combined them, and the Astral Elf fluff/lore text talks about them entering the Astral Plane to get closer to their gods. That sounds a lot like the "Astral Sea" from 4e to me, so it could be a sign that WotC is combining Spelljammer and Planescape again.

We have 4 Spelljammer-specific races, 1 race that is fairly widespread but still a major player in Spelljammer, and 1 mystery race. Why, whatever its name may be, would that mystery race be any different than the other 5? And if they are mixing the settings, why didn't they include the more common Planescape races like bariaur and rogue modron, but only include this mystery one?

(Granted, they might allow certain ships, like those of the githyanki and illithids, as well as maybe these Astral Elves, to also visit the Astral, but I'm guessing they'll be more the exception than the rule, and they'll keep the crystal spheres and phlogiston system for your bog-standard Spelljamming ships).

(I'm also beginning to think they used the name "Astral Elf" just to troll us lol. They're probably sitting back laughing their butts off watching us argue over the inclusion of the single word "astral"...)

 

[Parmandur]

I'm also beginning to think they used the name "Astral Elf" just to troll us lol. They're probably sitting back laughing their butts off

Crawford is a master of misdirection.

 

[Scribe]

D&D 4e combined them, and the Astral Elf fluff/lore text talks about them entering the Astral Plane to get closer to their gods. That sounds a lot like the "Astral Sea" from 4e to me, so it could be a sign that WotC is combining Spelljammer and Planescape again.

I'm kinda fine with this, assuming we get that weird, 90's vibe out it...

 

[Dungeonosophy]

The hadozee of Spelljammer (1989), who are also the yazirian of Star Frontiers (1982). are also found in Dragonlance (in 1988's DL15: Mists of Krynn), where they are known as the Shadow People.

 

[Kurotowa]

I see no reason to suspect they will get rid of Phlogiston. "Astral" also just means star. I'm not sure why folks think mixing Spelljammer a d Planescape makes any sense: different dimensions literally.

I suspect the phlogiston will be gone because 5e has heavily avoided environments that completely shut down certain character types. "Okay fire themed Sorcerer, you get to sit in a corner and twiddle your thumbs this fight because using any of your offensive spells will make you explode." Yeah, that's not happening.