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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 90972" data-attributes="member: 2209">Mysteries of PhlogistonIn Spelljammer cosmology The universe is mostly Phlogiston, flammable, high speed currents of flowing, glowing stuff known as the flow.The flammable part was from real world historical old chemistry theories of what made fire work, a hypothetical element called phlogiston.Ok so the Flow is everywhere, however in some places you come upon a floating crystal sphere in the Flow. These are roughly the size of a big solar system. Once you get into the sphere (through magic, portals etc.) you are in Wildspace. It is dark with stars and planets depending upon the cosmology of the sphere. You can then fly within the wildspace to any of the planets, (such as Greyhawk's Oerth and Dragonlance's Krynn).Spheres are a little similar to musings in the Frtz Lieber stories and a little similar to Greek Astronomical theories. Now in Spelljammer, the biggest thing around holds  an atmosphere and orients gravity, so when you are near a world there is up and down based on the world, the same on a moon, however once you get passed the gravity range of a moon or planet, the gravity plane of the next biggest thing (usually your ship) orients gravity (up down relationships). So you fly around and everything seems like it should, the mast is up and the keel is down on your ship. You can also breathe in wildspace and the flow because the ship brings a radius of atmosphere with it that will last a certain amount of time without being refreshed.However, if a bigger ship comes around it will impose its gravity field on the smaller one so if they come in at different orientations the smaller one can suddenly flip to feeling upside down when it enters the others gravity field. (which is a common ship combat tactic to clear the decks of smaller ships).A ship can go something like 17miles/spellcaster level with a major helm in atmosphere. He goes much faster in Wildspace and another exponential leap faster in the flow, and even more if going along a current.</blockquote>

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