D&D 5E Starships in 5e

[MarkB]

Yeah simulation isn’t important to me, just having a good feel, feeling like the same basic system, and creating a satisfying experience of what it’s representing.

A nice thing in Dark Matter is that, in addition to conventional sci-fi ship weapons, they also have arcane cannons, which allow casters to channel spells through them which become starship-scale attacks. It's a neat way to let the spellcasting classes participate in space combat without feeling like they're out of their element.

 

[Weiley31]

A nice thing in Dark Matter is that, in addition to conventional sci-fi ship weapons, they also have arcane cannons, which allow casters to channel spells through them which become starship-scale attacks. It's a neat way to let the spellcasting classes participate in space combat without feeling like they're out of their element.

That seems like a nice thing to bring over to Spelljammer 5E. That way it's not all crossbows/Ballistas/and whatever being used to attack ships.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

A nice thing in Dark Matter is that, in addition to conventional sci-fi ship weapons, they also have arcane cannons, which allow casters to channel spells through them which become starship-scale attacks. It's a neat way to let the spellcasting classes participate in space combat without feeling like they're out of their element.

Nice! I’ve been doing that since 4e in my home games but it’s very improvised still so it’d be nice to see an actual system for it!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

@MarkB @Micah Sweet

Would y'all say that Dark Matter is a worthy purchase in general?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

By the way, I came up with a dumb (and thus perfect) acronym for either the FTL drive in my homebrewed starjammer, or it's answer to the ion impulse engine.

Portable Oscillating Reticular Triangulator et Alio Loco, or PORTAL.

It doesn't work quiiiite as well as Ballistic Laser Accelerated Semi-Tessellating Energy Relay, or BLASTER, but I like it. Sounds like the sorts of things gnomes would name their space tech.

I wonder if I can figure out an acronym for auto-gnomes that spells GNOME...with no A for automated, S for synthetic, R for robotic, C for clockwork....it's gonna be a challenge.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Geared Neuro(something) Operational Mechanical.....eep lol

Positronic Automated Lieutenant, or PAL.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Geared Neuro(something) Operational Mechanical.....eep lol

Positronic Automated Lieutenant, or PAL.

Gyroscopic Neural-network Operator and Mechanical Explorer.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Gyroscopic Neural-network Operator and Mechanical Explorer.

Oh I really like that too!

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Oh I really like that too!

My pleasure. Some other possible acronyms:
Weave Amplifying Nonlocality Device (WAND)
Solenoidal Tachyon Amplifier and Flux Facilitator (STAFF)
Selective Procedural Enhancement of Ley Lines (SPELL)
General-purpose Organism: Laborer/Enforcer, Mechanic-type (GOLEM)

 

[MarkB]

@MarkB @Micah Sweet

Would y'all say that Dark Matter is a worthy purchase in general?

It has a lot of interesting ideas and is mostly well put together, but I found it to be a little too much its own thing. It has an established setting and a lot of game mechanics tied to that setting, which makes it a little harder to use it as a generic sci-fi D&D toolkit than I'd like.