Spelljammer Spelljammer Shows Up In The Wild - Check Out The Tables of Contents

Copies of Spelljammer are starting to show up. Mike Long of Tribality is in receipt of the books and has tweeted some photos!

 

[Yaarel]

They really put some tremendous work into them! Gives an idea of a distinct and interesting culture.

Because the astral elves in the astral sea cannot age, they need to go to a wildspace community in order to raise children. (I can also see them having a community in the fey plane for raising children.)

Alternatively, in the sea, they reproduce magically by some method to sire full-grown adults.

 

[darjr]

edit: ope! jumped the gun.

 

[darjr]

@Parmandur just a live stream with technical difficulties

 

[vecna00]

Welcome to post MoTM monster creation, where monster abilities don't resemble PC rules in the slightest.

That said, I think the idea is to create a flavor of defiling that isn't tied to spellcasting as monster spellcasters don't use the same rules as PC casters anymore (IE no spell slots or upcasting). A PC defiler might get bonuses to spellcasting, but monsters might get all sorts of quirky effects instead.

So, I wouldn't read a whole lot into WotC's design goals by reading monster stat-blocks, NPCs stat blocks and PC classes don't remotely resemble each other anymore even if they are both called the same thing.

I'm mostly under the impression that it's not a defiler as we know it, it's just a creature who happens to defile the land and nearby creatures for a self-heal periodically.

 

[grimslade]

Hmm, the Defiling in the stat block is a nice monster ability. It has nothing to do with defiler casting for Dark Sun except to show that defiling may affect all living materials not just plant life. I am fine with that change, but I do not see the correlation with increased spell power. Just damage and healing are boring. Defilers should be the default because preserving is difficult and weaker. It may be as simple as advantage/disadvantage on saving throws or a haste-like effect proficiency bonus/day. Who knows? I do not see Dark Sun coming sooner rather than later.

 

[grimslade]

I'm mostly under the impression that it's not a defiler as we know it, it's just a creature who happens to defile the land and nearby creatures for a self-heal periodically.

I thought that, but the Athasspace ballyhoo, the psionics, the term defiler, and the Athas name for lizardfolk are all very Dark Sun related. It would be tone deaf of WotC to change the name Athasspace to Doomspace but leave Defiler when it doesn't cast an arcane spell. We shall see

 

[vecna00]

I thought that, but the Athasspace ballyhoo, the psionics, the term defiler, and the Athas name for lizardfolk are all very Dark Sun related. It would be tone deaf of WotC to change the name Athasspace to Doomspace but leave Defiler when it doesn't cast an arcane spell. We shall see

Considering all we have is part of the information, rumor, a possible big oopsie, and our own speculation...we'll find out for sure in 9 days!

 

[humble minion]

Hmm, the Defiling in the stat block is a nice monster ability. It has nothing to do with defiler casting for Dark Sun except to show that defiling may affect all living materials not just plant life. I am fine with that change, but I do not see the correlation with increased spell power. Just damage and healing are boring. Defilers should be the default because preserving is difficult and weaker. It may be as simple as advantage/disadvantage on saving throws or a haste-like effect proficiency bonus/day. Who knows? I do not see Dark Sun coming sooner rather than later.

It's quite possible that, even if a 5e Dark Sun does come along at some point, the designers will just arbitrarily decide that defiling is an evil NPC thing and simply not provide any rules support for PCs defiling.

Which would be a great shame in my opinion, cos the whole thing about arcane magic in Dark Sun is the need to moderate one's use of power for the greater good even though defiling is quicker, easier and more powerful. Virtue is meaningless is there's no temptation to resist. But there's precedent here. VRGtR pretty much threw all the 'use of evil power corrupts the user' stuff from previous Ravenloft material out the window, and is quite ok with PC fiend pact warlocks and undead-animating necromancers to run around without any sort of penalty. The 5e designers do NOT like attaching negative consequences to player options, as a general principle.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

My view is the material plane is exactly like reallife outer space.

The problem is the stars are impossibly far away.

The solution is to dematerialize out of the material plane and into the astral plane.

In the astral plane, the wildspace simulates ("overlaps") a particular solar system (or similar system). The astral sea can faster-than-light travel between the wildspace systems. Then the traveler rematerializes at the solar system of the distant star.

Hmm. Maybe there could be something like the Cosmere's Cognitive Realm going on? Where, due to Space being so big and empty, it kind of opens up the Material Plane and causes the Astral Plane to peak through?

 

[overgeeked]

It's quite possible that, even if a 5e Dark Sun does come along at some point, the designers will just arbitrarily decide that defiling is an evil NPC thing and simply not provide any rules support for PCs defiling.

Which would be a great shame in my opinion, cos the whole thing about arcane magic in Dark Sun is the need to moderate one's use of power for the greater good even though defiling is quicker, easier and more powerful. Virtue is meaningless is there's no temptation to resist. But there's precedent here. VRGtR pretty much threw all the 'use of evil power corrupts the user' stuff from previous Ravenloft material out the window, and is quite ok with PC fiend pact warlocks and undead-animating necromancers to run around without any sort of penalty. The 5e designers do NOT like attaching negative consequences to player options, as a general principle.

You’re absolutely right. That’s exactly how 5E works. More’s the pity.