Spelljammer Spelljammer Academy: Get Free Spelljammer Adventures From D&D Beyond

If you have a D&D Beyond account you can access a promotional Spelljammer supplement for free. Spelljammer Academy is a series of four adventures -- the first, available now, is called Orientation, and will be followed later by Trial by Fire, Realmspace Sortie!, and Behold....H'Catha.

Fall in cadets! It's time for your introduction to Wildspace! Spelljammer Academy is a series of four adventures that will prepare you for your journeys into space, and it's available to you at no cost with your D&D Beyond account. In the first adventure, you’ll undergo your orientation at the Spelljammer Academy, where you'll learn whether you have what it takes to traverse the deadly expanse of the cosmos. Over time, subsequent adventures in Spelljammer Academy will drop. Unlock one adventure in the series and you'll automatically receive the others upon their release.

Get Spelljammer Academy at no cost - D&D Beyond

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[GMforPowergamers]

The skill challenges here are rigid and boring. The skill challenges in 4E were also rigid and boring. But you miss 4E skill challenges...

So what exactly did you miss about 4E skill challenges?

what made the 4e ones boring for you?

I remember one for tracking a set of theives through a city, and one that was negotiating the marriage of 2 nobles, and another where the PCs were trying to disarm a magic nuke... none of them were boring.

 

[Micah Sweet]

what made the 4e ones boring for you?

I remember one for tracking a set of theives through a city, and one that was negotiating the marriage of 2 nobles, and another where the PCs were trying to disarm a magic nuke... none of them were boring.

The mechanics are presented as a round robin of skill checks, where players try to convince the DM that the skill they're good at would apply in this situation, over and over until enough PCs beat the DC. The boring mechanics and "please let me use Athletics for this tense negotiation" vibe turned me off completely. I understand they got better at presenting the idea later, but I was already resistant by that point.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

The mechanics are presented as a round robin of skill checks, where players try to convince the DM that the skill they're good at would apply in this situation, over and over until enough PCs beat the DC.

I mean I can describe combat that way too (I guess we have an initative order instead of round robin)

The boring mechanics and "please let me use Athletics for this tense negotiation" vibe turned me off completely. I understand they got better at presenting the idea later, but I was already resistant by that point.

the best joke we have comes from somone trying to do that... "I'll do a push up for insight" is our short hand for when a fighter player started by saying how he read somewhere that working out helps your mind as well as your body... that in theory if you have a problem going to lift some light weights or going for a walk or bike ride could help... we thought he had transitioned to out of GM BSing talk until he pulled it around to saying he was going to drop do some push ups and see if that helps him gain insight into the negotiation... to his credit he made it to the end before smiling... and he didn't laugh until we all did.

(And I gave it to him that once... well worth letting him roll Athletics as a reward for such a good joke)

 

[Micah Sweet]

I mean I can describe combat that way too (I guess we have an initative order instead of round robin)

the best joke we have comes from somone trying to do that... "I'll do a push up for insight" is our short hand for when a fighter player started by saying how he read somewhere that working out helps your mind as well as your body... that in theory if you have a problem going to lift some light weights or going for a walk or bike ride could help... we thought he had transitioned to out of GM BSing talk until he pulled it around to saying he was going to drop do some push ups and see if that helps him gain insight into the negotiation... to his credit he made it to the end before smiling... and he didn't laugh until we all did.

(And I gave it to him that once... well worth letting him roll Athletics as a reward for such a good joke)

To be fair, in combat you can do a lot more than make a skill check.

That being said, excellent joke! I would probably have given it to them that one time too.

 

[Burnside]

I find the skill challenges here boring as well, because I find them too abstracted. I would have no idea what my character was actually doing when he makes a Strength check to help the ship "fly better". For somebody more or less new to Spelljammer, these adventures aren't really helping me understand what spelljamming actually is or what sorts of things I would be doing if I was part of the crew of one. It's just very mechanical dice-rolling with nothing specific for me to visualize.

Part 1 is stronger than Part 2.

On the whole these adventures aren't bad, but they feel like they're targeted more for like 12-year-old players than adults (which is fine).

 

[Micah Sweet]

I find the skill challenges here boring as well, because I find them too abstracted. I would have no idea what my character was actually doing when he makes a Strength check to help the ship "fly better". For somebody more or less new to Spelljammer, these adventures aren't really helping me understand what spelljamming actually is or what sorts of things I would be doing if I was part of the crew of one. It's just very mechanical dice-rolling with nothing specific for me to visualize.

Part 1 is stronger than Part 2.

On the whole these adventures aren't bad, but they feel like they're targeted more for like 12-year-old players than adults (which is fine).

Its always tough the first time you realize you're not 12. The heartburn was the worst.

 

[Bolares]

The skill challenges here are rigid and boring. The skill challenges in 4E were also rigid and boring. But you miss 4E skill challenges...

So what exactly did you miss about 4E skill challenges?

Ah, I got it now. you are treating your opinion as fact, and using it to assume I "like boring things".... you must be fun at parties.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I find the skill challenges here boring as well, because I find them too abstracted. I would have no idea what my character was actually doing when he makes a Strength check to help the ship "fly better".

I think they are best when 'fly better' isn;t the option...like any other part of D&D you declare an action...something you DO to help then that determains what you roll

 

[Micah Sweet]

Ah, I got it now. you are treating your opinion as fact, and using it to assume I "like boring things".... you must be fun at parties.

Be that as it may, not a bad question. What do people like about skill challenges? Like @overgeeked , I also found them boring, but clearly others feel differently.

 

[Burnside]

I think they are best when 'fly better' isn;t the option...like any other part of D&D you declare an action...something you DO to help then that determains what you roll

Sure, but that's not the structure presented in these.

And as a player I couldn't do that anyway in this case, because I have no idea what navigating a spelljammer through an asteroid field actually entails or what would be a helpful thing to do if my spelljammer was flying through one, and the adventure doesn't tell me (except "make a strength check").

These adventures are presented as a sort of orientation/primer/tutorial, but it reads like the writers also don't have much info on how things work (or couldn't think of anything plausible-sounding to just invent about how things work).

 

[Micah Sweet]

Sure, but that's not the structure presented in these.

And as a player I couldn't do that anyway in this case, because I have no idea what navigating a spelljammer through an asteroid field actually entails, and the adventure doesn't tell me (except "make a strength check").

There was a great sidebar early in the original Spelljammer boxed set that explicitly talked about what Spelljammer feels like.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Be that as it may, not a bad question. What do people like about skill challenges? Like @overgeeked , I also found them boring, but clearly others feel differently.

i like ways to have more complex (especially group based) challenges that are not combat. without porting over skill challenges I have seen things like "Lets track the werewolf back to her layer" turn into "the ranger makes a survival roll with advantage from aid and a guidence...how many checks do I need to make" where with a skill challenge everyone (or most) are engaged... I also like the middle earth 5e book for journey rules for hex crawling

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Sure, but that's not the structure presented in these.

And as a player I couldn't do that anyway in this case, because I have no idea what navigating a spelljammer through an asteroid field actually entails or what would be a helpful thing to do if my spelljammer was flying through one, and the adventure doesn't tell me (except "make a strength check").

These adventures are presented as a sort of orientation/primer/tutorial, but it reads like the writers also don't have much info on how things work (or couldn't think of anything plausible-sounding to just invent about how things work).

I didn't ever say these were good examples. I am just glad they are working on them again.

 

[Bolares]

Be that as it may, not a bad question. What do people like about skill challenges? Like @overgeeked , I also found them boring, but clearly others feel differently.

The question is good, and can lead to an interesting discussion... I just don't get why not ask it in the polite and invinting way you did it.

I like skill challenges because it can create a fun minigame at the table, a way to use skills in a gamefied way. I get that it's not for everyone, but my table always enjoyed them. The way we use them we try not to restrict what skills the players can use too much, and leave space for them to have wacky ideas for how to use powers, spells and other ideas too.

 

[Burnside]

The question is good, and can lead to an interesting discussion... I just don't get why not ask it in the polite and invinting way you did it.

I like skill challenges because it can create a fun minigame at the table, a way to use skills in a gamefied way. I get that it's not for everyone, but my table always enjoyed them. The way we use them we try not to restrict what skills the players can use too much, and leave space for them to have wacky ideas for how to use powers, spells and other ideas too.

I also think this is the best use of skill challenges (and I do like skill challenges, and have seen them used in plenty of Adventurer's League and DMsGuild 5E adventures for years). But the skill challenges in these Spelljammer adventures so far don't provide enough context, information, or specificity about the physical environment, ship, or threat to set players up for imaginative play the way really good skill challenges can.

 

[Bolares]

i like ways to have more complex (especially group based) challenges that are not combat. without porting over skill challenges I have seen things like "Lets track the werewolf back to her layer" turn into "the ranger makes a survival roll with advantage from aid and a guidence...how many checks do I need to make" where with a skill challenge everyone (or most) are engaged... I also like the middle earth 5e book for journey rules for hex crawling

Yeah, stuff like, "let's make a makeshift boat and cross the river" can be turned in to a fun minigame where everyone can be involved. I repeat that I tend to not structure the skill challenges too much and try and give players incentives to think about their whole character sheet when doing them.

 

[Bolares]

But the skill challenges in these Spelljammer adventures so far don't provide enough context, information, or specificity about the physical environment, ship, or threat to set players up for imaginative play the way really good skill challenges can.

they really don't, but they give me enough of an inspiration to make cool skill challenges for my players, and that is all I can ask of a free adventure.

 

[overgeeked]

I like skill challenges because it can create a fun minigame at the table, a way to use skills in a gamefied way. I get that it's not for everyone, but my table always enjoyed them. The way we use them we try not to restrict what skills the players can use too much, and leave space for them to have wacky ideas for how to use powers, spells and other ideas too.

Exactly. You changed how skill challenges worked to make them less restrictive and more fun. We did much the same. We had a lot of fun with our house ruled skill challenge system, still do. But RAW skill challenges? Nah. Those sucked.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The question is good, and can lead to an interesting discussion... I just don't get why not ask it in the polite and invinting way you did it.

I like skill challenges because it can create a fun minigame at the table, a way to use skills in a gamefied way. I get that it's not for everyone, but my table always enjoyed them. The way we use them we try not to restrict what skills the players can use too much, and leave space for them to have wacky ideas for how to use powers, spells and other ideas too.

I respect that. Personally I prefer the way stuff like is handled in Level Up, with the journey challenges. Traps in their upcoming book work the same way. Covers all the stuff you're talking about.

 

[Bolares]

I respect that. Personally I prefer the way stuff like is handled in Level Up, with the journey challenges. Traps in their upcoming book work the same way. Covers all the stuff you're talking about.

The way level up did it is cool, very cool, I just... I don't know... like things to be a little more loose. With my version of skill challenges I set a dificulty (number o sucesses needed before 3 failures) a consequence for if the players fail and set up a problem. I let the rest happen in the table, with players trowing ideas at me and I creating checks and DCs on the spot.