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D&D Older Editions
[COMPLETE] Looking back at the leatherette series: PHBR, DMGR, HR and more!
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<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 8322839" data-attributes="member: 8461"><p>Having finished the Historical Reference series, it's with great glee that I turn my attention over to a book whose gonzo zaniness is the polar opposite of those staid sourcebooks: <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17257/CGR1-The-Complete-Spacefarers-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook</em></a>.</p><p></p><p>You can probably already tell this is going to be one of those overviews where I gush a lot. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p>I picked this book up fairly early in my D&D career, as it was part of my frantic attempts to get all things Spelljammer. While I managed to nab quite a few of the modules and sourcebooks (I recall being quite enthralled with <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17248/SJA4-Under-the-Dark-Fist-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>SJA4 Under the Dark Fist</em></a>, wishing that it had been a boxed set rather than <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17243/The-Astromundi-Cluster-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>The Astromundi Cluster</em></a>), it would take me years to eventually get a copy of the actual <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17263/Spelljammer-Adventures-in-Space-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Spelljammer: Adventures in Space</em></a> boxed set. Fortunately, CGR1 seemed like the next best thing.</p><p></p><p>The reason it does is because this book presents a hodgepodge of Spelljammer material, something which sits oddly next to the other books in the Campaign Guide Reference series. While only three supplements long, both subsequent volumes focus in on a character class specific to those campaigns, something which Spelljammer doesn't have. As such, it instead goes for numerous bits and pieces, almost as though what's here was meant to be in the <em>Adventures in Space</em> boxed set, but got cut for, well, space. There's nothing to suggest that's actually the case, but it's the impression that I've long had (even if the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17242/War-Captains-Companion-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>War Captain's Companion</em></a> is <em>probably</em> a more proper "expansion set" to the campaign setting...though the obvious lack of coordination between the non-weapon proficiencies in that boxed set and this book still makes me frown).</p><p></p><p>So what's in this book that I love it so much? Well for one thing, Spelljammer has always been the original "D&D crossover" setting, with a mishmash of elements from its various campaign worlds. I love that, because it provides a built-in excuse for mixing and matching various sourcebooks and supplements. Naturally, the fact that this book's opening chapter talks about how the "groundling" characters from Krynn, Oerth, and Toril view wildspace - and how various unusual PC races such as kender, minotaurs, and hengeyokai take to spelljamming - hooked me from the get-go. Plus, is this the only direct acknowledgment we'd get regarding Ravenloft and Spelljammer! ...even if it wasn't very much. (There was also some about Dark Sun and Spelljammer, but it demurred on saying why there were no spelljammers in or around Athas; I preferred the more definitive statement presented in <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17207/Defilers-and-Preservers-The-Wizards-of-Athas-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Defilers and Preservers: The Wizards of Athas</em></a>.)</p><p></p><p>There's also the fact that this book then turns right around and provides PC racial stats for a whole bunch of the wackier creatures that made the setting so out of this world! (And yes, that pun was obligatory.) Giff PCs! Hadozee PCs! Scro PCs! It's great! Who doesn't want to play a dragon-centaur, a gorilla with flying squirrel-esque membranes, or an eight-foot tall hippo-man? Spelljammer was crazy fun with an emphasis on crazy, and this was before I knew about the giant space hamsters! It's like all Boo without the Minsc!</p><p></p><p>It's just too bad we never got that Wildspace TV show:</p><p></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]UHGz5r-b1do[/MEDIA]</p><p></p><p>The kits in the book left me a little cold, mostly for how generic the bulk of them were. I mean, an evangelist priest kit? Is that really any more or less appropriate for a spelljamming priest than a terrestrial one? An Imposter wizard kit who's really good at using illusions to disguise himself? Again, it's not a bad idea, but it's not really Spelljammer in what it presents. I think the only one that made an impression on me was the Aperusa kit, if only because that seemed like it was splicing an odd line between a race and a culture; for those who don't know, the Aperusa are essentially the Vistani in space (albeit presented as less mystical and more whimsical), and were also present in <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17261/MC9-Monstrous-Compendium-Spelljammer-Appendix-II-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II</em></a>.</p><p></p><p>What captivated me far more was the chapter on the spacefaring organizations found throughout the spheres. The priestly ones in particular, as there were several which flat-out stated that their adherents regained spells in <em>every</em> known sphere! I'd find out later that wasn't really such a big deal, since even if your god wasn't worshiped in a sphere you can still regain spells of up to 2nd level, and <em>contact home power</em> lets you make a channel to your god from any sphere anyway, regaining your full complement of spells (and <em>detect powers</em> lets you determine if your god, or any potentially friendly gods who might lend you power on your god's behalf, were worshiped in that sphere; also level 2).</p><p></p><p>Even so, I found the explanations behind these religious organizations fascinating for what they suggested about the metaphysics of the AD&D multiverse. The Celestians worship the Greyhawk deity of the same name, and are unsure if they're able to regain spells everywhere because space is their deity's area of control or if it's because he dwells in the Astral Plane (which is "closer" to the Prime Material Plane than the Outer Planes are). The Temple of Ptah holds that their Pharaonic deity is the creator of the universe (not a mere artisan like it says in <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/116010/Legends--Lore-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Legends & Lore</em></a>) and that's why he can grant spells everywhere; detractors say his spacefaring clergy has been around so long that they've just set up temples in every sphere, is all.</p><p></p><p>Imagine one of these guys adventuring on Krynn. Yeah, I know a lot of people consider that to break the tone of the settings, but I love it!</p><p></p><p>Also, a big shout-out to priest icons in the equipment section. There's no way to regain divine spells above 2nd level while you're in the Phlogiston, regardless of what order you belong to. But with an icon, you can bank higher-level spells ahead of time! There are different icons, and even the strongest can't store spells above 5th level (remember, back in AD&D, divine spells only went up to 7th level, quest spells notwithstanding), but I love that someone thought of this to begin with. Resource management at its finest.</p><p></p><p>I also got a kick out of the chapter that discussed the various changes to magic in wildspace/the Phlogiston. Much like with Ravenloft, the way magic worked differently was extremely evocative, and helped set the tone for the setting. Of course, the spells listed here weren't from the PHB, since that was covered in the campaign setting. Instead, we got a list compiled from the sourcebooks for Dragonlance, Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17391/Tome-of-Magic-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>The Tome of Magic</em></a>, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16871/AlQadim-Arabian-Adventures-2e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Arabian Adventures</em></a>, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17334/Oriental-Adventures-1e?affiliate_id=820" target="_blank"><em>Oriental Adventures</em></a>, and even <em>PHBR4 The Complete Wizard's Handbook</em>. Talk about having your bases covered!</p><p></p><p>Now, people who've read this book cover to cover will note that I've overlooked or skimped on several sections, such as the coverage for personality types or spacefaring logistics. Those parts of the book simply didn't capture me, and for the most part still don't now. I will note, however, that it wasn't until I sat down to re-read this that I noted that the section on constructing forts in space was meant to be used with <em>DMGR2 The Castle Guide</em>; interesting tidbit, there.</p><p></p><p>Finally, let me just say that the cover of this particular book (and the next one) is described on the DriveThruRPG sales page as being black. I'd always thought it was a really, really dark blue. Like, way more so than the DMGR supplements. Can anyone confirm, or am I completely out to lunch on that?</p><p></p><p>Also, I'm still of two minds about the boxed quotes along the bottom of most of the pages. On the one hand, they help set the tone of the setting (and a few of them aren't quotes at all, but rather provide some supplementary game rules). On the other hand, I kind of wonder if they were meant to pad out the page count, since the amount of space they take up has got to be worth at least a few pages between them.</p><p></p><p>So yeah, this book was good stuff then, and remains so now. Like so many Spelljammer supplements, it really does a great job pushing the feel of the setting, and it its lovably loony lists of options still puts a smile on my face to this day.</p><p></p><p><em>Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 8322839, member: 8461"] Having finished the Historical Reference series, it's with great glee that I turn my attention over to a book whose gonzo zaniness is the polar opposite of those staid sourcebooks: [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17257/CGR1-The-Complete-Spacefarers-Handbook-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook[/I][/URL]. You can probably already tell this is going to be one of those overviews where I gush a lot. :D I picked this book up fairly early in my D&D career, as it was part of my frantic attempts to get all things Spelljammer. While I managed to nab quite a few of the modules and sourcebooks (I recall being quite enthralled with [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17248/SJA4-Under-the-Dark-Fist-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]SJA4 Under the Dark Fist[/I][/URL], wishing that it had been a boxed set rather than [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17243/The-Astromundi-Cluster-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]The Astromundi Cluster[/I][/URL]), it would take me years to eventually get a copy of the actual [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17263/Spelljammer-Adventures-in-Space-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Spelljammer: Adventures in Space[/I][/URL] boxed set. Fortunately, CGR1 seemed like the next best thing. The reason it does is because this book presents a hodgepodge of Spelljammer material, something which sits oddly next to the other books in the Campaign Guide Reference series. While only three supplements long, both subsequent volumes focus in on a character class specific to those campaigns, something which Spelljammer doesn't have. As such, it instead goes for numerous bits and pieces, almost as though what's here was meant to be in the [I]Adventures in Space[/I] boxed set, but got cut for, well, space. There's nothing to suggest that's actually the case, but it's the impression that I've long had (even if the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17242/War-Captains-Companion-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]War Captain's Companion[/I][/URL] is [I]probably[/I] a more proper "expansion set" to the campaign setting...though the obvious lack of coordination between the non-weapon proficiencies in that boxed set and this book still makes me frown). So what's in this book that I love it so much? Well for one thing, Spelljammer has always been the original "D&D crossover" setting, with a mishmash of elements from its various campaign worlds. I love that, because it provides a built-in excuse for mixing and matching various sourcebooks and supplements. Naturally, the fact that this book's opening chapter talks about how the "groundling" characters from Krynn, Oerth, and Toril view wildspace - and how various unusual PC races such as kender, minotaurs, and hengeyokai take to spelljamming - hooked me from the get-go. Plus, is this the only direct acknowledgment we'd get regarding Ravenloft and Spelljammer! ...even if it wasn't very much. (There was also some about Dark Sun and Spelljammer, but it demurred on saying why there were no spelljammers in or around Athas; I preferred the more definitive statement presented in [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17207/Defilers-and-Preservers-The-Wizards-of-Athas-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Defilers and Preservers: The Wizards of Athas[/I][/URL].) There's also the fact that this book then turns right around and provides PC racial stats for a whole bunch of the wackier creatures that made the setting so out of this world! (And yes, that pun was obligatory.) Giff PCs! Hadozee PCs! Scro PCs! It's great! Who doesn't want to play a dragon-centaur, a gorilla with flying squirrel-esque membranes, or an eight-foot tall hippo-man? Spelljammer was crazy fun with an emphasis on crazy, and this was before I knew about the giant space hamsters! It's like all Boo without the Minsc! It's just too bad we never got that Wildspace TV show: [MEDIA=youtube]UHGz5r-b1do[/MEDIA] The kits in the book left me a little cold, mostly for how generic the bulk of them were. I mean, an evangelist priest kit? Is that really any more or less appropriate for a spelljamming priest than a terrestrial one? An Imposter wizard kit who's really good at using illusions to disguise himself? Again, it's not a bad idea, but it's not really Spelljammer in what it presents. I think the only one that made an impression on me was the Aperusa kit, if only because that seemed like it was splicing an odd line between a race and a culture; for those who don't know, the Aperusa are essentially the Vistani in space (albeit presented as less mystical and more whimsical), and were also present in [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17261/MC9-Monstrous-Compendium-Spelljammer-Appendix-II-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II[/I][/URL]. What captivated me far more was the chapter on the spacefaring organizations found throughout the spheres. The priestly ones in particular, as there were several which flat-out stated that their adherents regained spells in [I]every[/I] known sphere! I'd find out later that wasn't really such a big deal, since even if your god wasn't worshiped in a sphere you can still regain spells of up to 2nd level, and [I]contact home power[/I] lets you make a channel to your god from any sphere anyway, regaining your full complement of spells (and [I]detect powers[/I] lets you determine if your god, or any potentially friendly gods who might lend you power on your god's behalf, were worshiped in that sphere; also level 2). Even so, I found the explanations behind these religious organizations fascinating for what they suggested about the metaphysics of the AD&D multiverse. The Celestians worship the Greyhawk deity of the same name, and are unsure if they're able to regain spells everywhere because space is their deity's area of control or if it's because he dwells in the Astral Plane (which is "closer" to the Prime Material Plane than the Outer Planes are). The Temple of Ptah holds that their Pharaonic deity is the creator of the universe (not a mere artisan like it says in [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/116010/Legends--Lore-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Legends & Lore[/I][/URL]) and that's why he can grant spells everywhere; detractors say his spacefaring clergy has been around so long that they've just set up temples in every sphere, is all. Imagine one of these guys adventuring on Krynn. Yeah, I know a lot of people consider that to break the tone of the settings, but I love it! Also, a big shout-out to priest icons in the equipment section. There's no way to regain divine spells above 2nd level while you're in the Phlogiston, regardless of what order you belong to. But with an icon, you can bank higher-level spells ahead of time! There are different icons, and even the strongest can't store spells above 5th level (remember, back in AD&D, divine spells only went up to 7th level, quest spells notwithstanding), but I love that someone thought of this to begin with. Resource management at its finest. I also got a kick out of the chapter that discussed the various changes to magic in wildspace/the Phlogiston. Much like with Ravenloft, the way magic worked differently was extremely evocative, and helped set the tone for the setting. Of course, the spells listed here weren't from the PHB, since that was covered in the campaign setting. Instead, we got a list compiled from the sourcebooks for Dragonlance, Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, the [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17391/Tome-of-Magic-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]The Tome of Magic[/I][/URL], [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16871/AlQadim-Arabian-Adventures-2e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Arabian Adventures[/I][/URL], [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17334/Oriental-Adventures-1e?affiliate_id=820'][I]Oriental Adventures[/I][/URL], and even [I]PHBR4 The Complete Wizard's Handbook[/I]. Talk about having your bases covered! Now, people who've read this book cover to cover will note that I've overlooked or skimped on several sections, such as the coverage for personality types or spacefaring logistics. Those parts of the book simply didn't capture me, and for the most part still don't now. I will note, however, that it wasn't until I sat down to re-read this that I noted that the section on constructing forts in space was meant to be used with [I]DMGR2 The Castle Guide[/I]; interesting tidbit, there. Finally, let me just say that the cover of this particular book (and the next one) is described on the DriveThruRPG sales page as being black. I'd always thought it was a really, really dark blue. Like, way more so than the DMGR supplements. Can anyone confirm, or am I completely out to lunch on that? Also, I'm still of two minds about the boxed quotes along the bottom of most of the pages. On the one hand, they help set the tone of the setting (and a few of them aren't quotes at all, but rather provide some supplementary game rules). On the other hand, I kind of wonder if they were meant to pad out the page count, since the amount of space they take up has got to be worth at least a few pages between them. So yeah, this book was good stuff then, and remains so now. Like so many Spelljammer supplements, it really does a great job pushing the feel of the setting, and it its lovably loony lists of options still puts a smile on my face to this day. [I]Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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[COMPLETE] Looking back at the leatherette series: PHBR, DMGR, HR and more!
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