Spelljammer Spelljammer, 5e, and the general angst against all things space

[LuisCarlos17f]

Spelljammer = D&D meets Star Treck. It was arcanepunk fantasy when this word didn´t exist yet.

I would add the alien races from d20 Future (Gamma World, Star*Drive, Dark*Matters and Star Frontiers) but I would change the name for the scros, it is awful. It sounds like "scrotum".

But my own version of Spelljammer destroy all the canon. I love to create mash-ups, and adding things from another sci-fi franchises like Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Treck, Andromeda, Babylon 5, Farscape, Stargate, aliens from Marvel and DC comics, Starcraft, Mass Efect..

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Bleys Icefalcon]

I would love to see your 5e conversions of spelljammer - would you be willing to toss me a link or email me?

It's in a pen and paper spiral notebook. I will get it digitized and share, no worries.

 

[Bleys Icefalcon]

Jacksonville, FL? Where do you game?

Usually at one of two private residences, one on the westside, the other near baymeadows... We've been playing as a group pretty much since 2004, though a few people have come and gone.

 

[Bleys Icefalcon]

Question- Has there ever been a show with such a good concept (and, really, was quite good), as Andromeda, that so quickly got so terrible?

Answer- Yes, one. Earth: Final Conflict. I remember watching the first season of that show. It was uneven in parts, but it was still of those great undiscovered gems on television. And then the second season happened. I checked in occasionally after that, and every time I did - it was even worse.

Imagine a series where every single episode was the final episode of Dexter. That was E: FC after the first season.

/rant

Oh, Andromeda? That was just a kind-a sort-a not lived up to its neat premise show. Too bad.

One of my players and I have had a long discussion about this, and he want me to place DnD Space on the far reaches of the Marvel Universe, while another wants us to be a part of the Battlestar Galactica (reboot, not original) Universe. Why not both?

 

[strider13x]

Riverside. I visit FLGS from time to time...

 

[Sunseeker]

I don't like my sci-fi cavorting about with my fantasy.

I'd rather have more strict sci-fi like Star Trek, BSG or Andromeda or light sci-fy like Star Wars or Mass Effect.

Spelljammer is too fantasy for my sci-fi tastes.

 

[MG.0]

See, the crystal spheres and phlogiston and all that pseudo-science type stuff was what made me not like the setting despite some of the other cool things about it that I enjoyed. To me, most of that stuff was designed to explain how all the worlds fit together in a coherent way, and I always thought they made it far more murky.

The crystal spheres and phlogiston aren't pseudo-scientific at all. In fact I can't really point to anything in Spelljammer that isn't inherently magical. The crystal spheres were an interesting concept to allow all the different AD&D world cosmologies to exist together by allowing for properties of space, the stars, and other heavenly bodies to vary from system to system. I can't really think of anything better to replace it with. I would have liked to see the phlogiston detailed much better than it was. The random trip length between crystal spheres (similar to travelling the Astral or Ethereal planes) leaves a lot to be desired. In fact I've never cared for the way it works in those transitive planes either.

 

[strider13x]

I would recommend introducing the group to spelljammer slowly. Maybe they are hired (or hire) a ship to bring them to some island they have a treasure map for, while on the journey pirates attack. Space pirates of course! That's when the captain reveals the ship they are on is a spelljammer. Once they escape the pirates clutches give them an option to keep spelljamming or to head back home (entice them with loot). Give them the option in game and see where it takes you.

 

[hawkeyefan]

One of my players and I have had a long discussion about this, and he want me to place DnD Space on the far reaches of the Marvel Universe, while another wants us to be a part of the Battlestar Galactica (reboot, not original) Universe. Why not both?

Are you familiar with the comic book "Saga" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples? I could see a pretty awesome sci-fi meets fantasy campaign based on that. If you're not familiar with it, there's a planet full of sci-fi types and the moon of the planet is populated by fantasy types. They're essentially at war, but the fantasy folks are vastly outnumbered.

Great comic, if you dig them.

The crystal spheres and phlogiston aren't pseudo-scientific at all. In fact I can't really point to anything in Spelljammer that isn't inherently magical. The crystal spheres were an interesting concept to allow all the different AD&D world cosmologies to exist together by allowing for properties of space, the stars, and other heavenly bodies to vary from system to system. I can't really think of anything better to replace it with. I would have liked to see the phlogiston detailed much better than it was. The random trip length between crystal spheres (similar to travelling the Astral or Ethereal planes) leaves a lot to be desired. In fact I've never cared for the way it works in those transitive planes either.

Yeah my voice of words earlier was poor. I do feel that those concepts are attempts at beingore "sci-fi" than fantasy, though. Or that they're trying to create an explanation for something I don't think needed to be explained. I found that to be true about a lot of Spelljammer, although it's been years since I've seen the original source material, so my take could be a bit off due to time.