Spelljammer Meet The Giff--Spelljammer's Space Pirate Hippos!

The Giff, a race of "gunslinging hippo-like pirates" will be appearing in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, and D&D Beyond has a sneak preview of them.

Sneak Peek: Meet the Giff, a Race of Gunslinging Hippo-Like Pirates

What do you get when you cross a hippo with a space pirate? The giff! The playable race comes to us from Spelljammer: Adventures in Space. Here's a prev...

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[Ruin Explorer]

I'm really confused why the artist drew their feet correctly on the right-most image, then drew them with boots that make zero sense for that foot-shape - they're barely wide enough to fit it, and have a forward section they don't need. Seems like a serious "failure of imagination".

 

[cbwjm]

That advantage on strength checks would be a great addition to any race with powerful build.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Considering how little relevance they have, its kind of weird at this stage of the edition...

I suspect they did it because public opinion demanded that giff be good with firearms, but the cultural zeitgeist demanded that heritages not get cultural traits. So they played the divine card to get out of this conumdrum. The wind blows, and WotC follows.

 

[W'rkncacnter]

I suspect they did it because public opinion demanded that giff be good with firearms, but the cultural zeitgeist demanded that heritages not get cultural traits. So they played the divine card to get out of this conumdrum. The wind blows, and WotC follows.

so, basically:

 

[Charlaquin]

What's with 5e's obsession with God's and deities being the alpha and omega of everything?

The giff can't just explore for the love of exploring, but a need to find the god that created them. They can't just favor firearms they need a divine connection to them...

Well the firearms thing being connected to a god is probably because cultural traits (such as being really into guns) coming from race is out of fashion, but the UA with Gif that didn’t have any firearms-related abilities probably didn’t do too well. So, they needed a reason why even a Gif raised by elves (or whatever) is still inherently good with firearms. So, a wizard god did it.

EDIT: Damn, beaten to the punch. And with a Yugioh meme no less! You win this round @ReadyButNot, but I hope you realize this means we’re now archrivals.

 

[Charlaquin]

Is Giff pronounced like "gif" or "gif"?

ʒaɪf

 

[W'rkncacnter]

EDIT: Damn, beaten to the punch. And with a Yugioh meme no less! You win this round @ReadyButNot, but I hope you realize this means we’re now archrivals.

may the best meme win...

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

as an aside, we now know the spelljammer book is 100% gonna have guns. WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE FOR NOT HAVING A GUN ARTIFICER NOW, WIZARDS?

If guns are just another weapon, why would you need a "gun artificer"? Why would they be distinct from a "dagger artificer" or a "spear artificer"?

Keith does float the idea of a Dhakaani goblin clan that works with firearms: Dragonmarks: Firearms in Eberron

He does note that that is how he would do it only if you absolutely have to introduce guns into Eberron.

But yes, artificers have a place in any setting, so they don't need to abide by Eberron-specific limitations any more.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

He does note that that is how he would do it only if you absolutely have to introduce guns into Eberron.

To be sure - it's not something he envisions for his version of Eberron. Still think it's an interesting angle to consider, for those looking to add firearms into the setting.

For myself, I have long been brainstorming an Eberron Savage Tide conversion (plus a frankly ridiculous amount of extra stuff mixed in) that I envision with Pirates of the Caribbean levels of firearm and cannon tech available (if less common than roughly equivalent magical weaponry), so ideas like this are useful to me.

 

[Kurotowa]

For myself, I have long been brainstorming an Eberron Savage Tide conversion (plus a frankly ridiculous amount of extra stuff mixed in) that I envision with Pirates of the Caribbean levels of firearm and cannon tech available (if less common than roughly equivalent magical weaponry), so ideas like this are useful to me.

I imagine it's not too hard to justify why magical artillery is more prevalent. On Earth, cannons were developed to knock down castle walls. In a D&D world, there's a much more pressing need for big monster killers. And two things about big monsters are that they're harder to hit than an immobile wall, and a lot of them are resistant to non-magical weapon damage. So if the choice is between a cannon you need to enchant anyway and a straight up magical lightning or fireball flinging artillery piece, why pick the former?

I mean, yes obviously there are a few good use cases. Which is why gunpowder weapons can still exist along side more overtly magical options. But they don't instantly overtake them.