D&D 5E PlaneJammer: Sailing the Astral Sea

[Tonguez]

So. The most effective way to "mash up the Spelljammer and Planescape aspects" is to ignore them entirely and build something else from the basic building blocks of "D&D", "magic ships", and "planar travel".

Yesterday I was at a French cafe and on their menu was Japanese Bolognaise - made with noodles and pork(?!) I didnt have that and opted for the coconut curry loaded fries instead.

anyway the concept of Mashups isnt to ignore the originals but rather to take the best flavour elements and build something new

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I think I'm likely to jettison some of the official cosmology, at least in terms of how it affects travel and also what exactly is in the Astral Plane. I want the Astral to look more like the world from movie Dragon Warriors, with shattered bits, realms, and all manner of strangeness floating and orbiting through it. The other thing I'm doing is I'm going to add ship sized gates to get from A to B.

That last bit needs a lot of unpacking, which I'll elide for the moment, but generally, I'm looking for a game that's more about investigating smaller locations, and less about long voyages and planet sized destinations. The latter especially is far too much scope for what I want to do.

That sounds a lot like the 4e concept of the astral sea

 

[darjr]

Have you folks seen this? It's for old school games but I'm thinking looks cool enough to still be useful.


the first issue is also on sale right now.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

 

[Malmuria]

Have you folks seen this? It's for old school games but I'm thinking looks cool enough to still be useful.


the first issue is also on sale right now.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

I have...honestly, I'm not overly impressed. It's well put together but I think the other things people have mentioned in this thread will be more useful

 

[Fenris-77]

I have...honestly, I'm not overly impressed. It's well put together but I think the other things people have mentioned in this thread will be more useful

Feel like sharing some details about your high levels of meh?

 

[Malmuria]

Feel like sharing some details about your high levels of meh?

I guess it just didn't have any new ideas for me. If you are running OSE the classes might be interesting, though I wonder how the psionic system holds up for long term play

 

[Reynard]

I am working up my starting document now and invite opinions:

What is “PlaneJammer”?

PlaneJammer is the old TSR settings Planescape and Spelljammer, with a healthy dose of 4E’s “Astral Sea” cosmology, all mashed up and (loosely) adapted for 5E. The focus is travelling through the astral plane (“Astral Sea”) on ships called jammers that resemble fantasy airships or pirate ships. Different factions have different kinds of jammers, which not only informs their aesthetics but also determines what powers them: from the arcane magic fueled spelljammers to the infernal souljammers and the abomination driven madjammers.

 

[Reynard]

What do PCs do in PlaneJammer?

In a broad sense, a PlaneJammer campaign resembles a nautical campaign. The PCs are crew members on a sailing vessel, and that vessel can be a legitimate merchant ship or less legitimate smuggling operation, a pirate or privateer vessel, a salvage vessel, a military ship or exploratory vessel on a five year mission through the Astral Sea. Once the type of vessel is determined, the players decide their roles on the ship (with command roles reserved for higher level characters) and adventures ensue. The Astral Sea is vast and varied and any number of adventures can happen, from encountering enemy ships to exploring strange lands to negotiating with powers great and small, regardless of the sort of vessel the PCs serve aboard.

 

[Reynard]

How do ‘Jammers Work?

Many different factions sail the Astral Sea, and they use different ‘jammers to do so. All ‘jammers are similar in that each one includes a ship that has been built to accept “commands” from a Helm, and the Helm has been built to accept commands from a Helmsman (aka pilot). That is where the similarities end. Each different faction -- infernal creatures, celestials, abominations, fey, and so on -- has a developed ‘jammer “technology” to best utilize their natural talents and inherent abilities. The Helm is infused with magical energy of a sort easily manipulated by the members of the faction -- tortured souls for infernals, faith for celestials, madness for abominations, and so on -- and the Helmsman uses their skill with that energy to guide the ship throw the Astral Sea. Technically there is no “top speed” in the Astral Sea, but any ship’s maximum speed is dependent upon the power and skill of the Helmsman. BUT, speed isn’t everything. In addition to a Helmsman, every ship needs a Navigator that is knowledgeable about the Astral Sea and its dangers, currents and trade routes. Navigators are not faction specific, because their area of expertise is on the constantly shifting, infinitely expansive geography of the Astral Sea. The Navigator plots the course and tries to avoid everything from planar anomalies to pirates which determines the actual distance, while the Helmsman sets the speed. Together they determine the most important thing: how long travel actually takes.

 

[Reynard]

The Island of Truth in Desire

Travelling through the Astral Sea is a brothel known as The Truth in Desire. Operated by a free-willed succubus named Dranika, the brothel is a converted pleasure cruiser originally taken by pirates and sold to Dranika. Dranika employs a harem of psychic dopplegangers, who are renowned for their ability to see into the hearts desires and psychological needs of their clients, and then become those needs. Dranika’s ship is renowned by all factions in the Sea based on the skill and care of her employees and is considered neutral ground. In those rare instances when pirates or ideologists attack The Truth In Desire, any other ship within communication distance will rush to her aid. Just in case, Dranika has contracted with a fomorian mercenary company, who act as guards and troops on the vessel. Dranika is pursued by a demi-god of lust known as Himeron who would enslave her pleasures to his will.