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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Man in the Funny Hat" data-source="post: 3647670" data-attributes="member: 32740">A key problem with Spelljammer is that its basic design is that of a means of connecting seperate game worlds, but fun as it was it was slapped together rather heavy-handedly and without a tremendous amount of forethought to the consequences of its rules.  Then, after its release, TSR wanted to treat it as if it were ANOTHER setting all its own - which it clearly wasn't.  The first supporting products for it were sourcebooks detailing how the Spelljammer rules were to be GRAFTED onto the 3 main campaign settings - The Realms, Greyhawk, and Dragonlance.  Out of the box, it required either a GREAT deal of work from a DM to SCRATCH BUILD an actual setting from the Spelljammer rules, or else having OTHER game worlds to slap those rules onto.  Neither was able to really be done well.Spelljammer rules had noteworthy design flaws so it seems understandable that many designers as well as players would tend to focus on the more gonzo elements it introduced, all the better to gloss over even glaring errors.  Planescape, on the other hand, took ITSELF much more seriously.  It's unsurprising that it should do a far better job of connecting existing D&D game worlds while maintaining the basic D&D cosmology.Spelljammer took the Prime Material Plane and effectively split it up into two parts - the Phlogistion, and Wildspace.  Wildspace is that space contained within the crystal spheres,  The crystal spheres float in the "ocean" that is the explosive Phlogiston.  Deities were specifically limited in the extent to which they could contact their clerics depending on how large a presence of worshippers the deities had within a given crystal sphere.  With a few exceptions for specific deities or magic items, contact outside of a crystal sphere within the Phlogiston was blocked entirely and clerics were limited to 1st and 2nd level spells (those not granted directly by a deity or the deities agents).How the rest of the cosmology fit in/on/around this new arrangement was almost entirely unexplained as far as I can recall.  I'd have to dig out my Spelljammer box and re-read it to say beyond a 99% certainty.  I seem to remember that AFTERWARD they began to sort that out, for example stating that the ethereal plane did not extend beyond the crystal spheres (?) and so could not be used for inter-sphere travel.ANYTHING Spelljammer-related one should feel no guilt at all about just making it up and fearing no contradiction.  Anything the average player comes up with may actually fit BETTER into the cosmology.</blockquote>

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