D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Travelers of the Multiverse

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Looks like Spelljammer and/or Planescape is back on the menu!

 

[darjr]

Which is exactly why the United states still sees a large trade in horse-drawn carriages, because market pressures don't push for speed and safety over whatever we did first.

Oh, wait... well, we still see a lot of people arriving by boat from Europe right?

Oh wait...

No, but there are quite a lot of people driving places when they could fly or take a train. Same with trucks and cargo and that a lot of “delivery” is done via trucks and not planes. So several modes of travel all in use at the same time.

 

[Remathilis]

People want D&D in space. That’s it. That’s the niche spelljammer could have filled and IMO fails completely to fill.

Spelljammer IMHO failed because the writers themselves couldn't take it seriously. It wasn't taken as planetary romance like John. Carter, or space opera like Star Wars or even exploratory or speculative work like War of the Worlds or the Time Machine. It was puns, jokes like giant space hamsters, and a lot of "Let's Park our giant flying ship in the middle of Waterdeep."

Polyhedron released a version of spelljammer for 3e called "Shadows of the Spider Moon" that was a far more serious take. It worked fine. It felt like D&D in space without the wacky jokey stuff. I really hope and future SJ material looks at that before deciding it's all giffs and scro and flying from Krynn to Oerth and back.

Make it a setting, not a meme.

 

[darjr]

I don’t know about profitability (actually I do a tiny bit and it wasn’t good) but it’s my understanding that both planescape and spelljammer sold well. Planescaoe selling more.

also both existed at the same time just fine in the past and probably will in the future.

I’d like a bit more mixing of the two, for instance spelljammer ships “warping” and Sigil having a port.

but that my have to be just in my games.

life finds a way and if there are places people can go they will go. It may take some time or more money but they’ll get there. And they’ll find a way to use it for profit or safety or convenience or just because they want to.

 

[darjr]

Oh! But I LOVE the idea of Star Trek spelljammer! To boldly go where no plasmoid has gone before!

In fact I think I’m going to rewatch all of Star Trek now.

 

[darjr]

Almost forgot!

Another big reason I want a spelljammer is I want to see what people do with it in DMsGuild and using the OGL and just plain third party. A common D&D in space framework I can use to pull that stuff into my game.

Oh and I want a couple few spelljammer convention Adventurers League epics too!

 

[Micah Sweet]

Almost forgot!

Another big reason I want a spelljammer is I want to see what people do with it in DMsGuild and using the OGL and just plain third party. A common D&D in space framework I can use to pull that stuff into my game.

Oh and I want a couple few spelljammer convention Adventurers League epics too!

Yeah, I have little faith in WotC's interest in updating their settings to my satisfaction, but putting them on the DM's Guild would inspire others to do work I'd prefer. It definitely worked for Ravenloft. There are dozens of products out there I like a heck of a lot better than VRGtR.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I'm really talking about science - i.e. an evidence based approach. You can have lots of different ideas, but without evidence "holes is a dome" is just as valid as anything else. Until you have some way to determine to determine the distance to the stars (which requires technology - i.e. telescope) "floating in an infinite void" is just as much a fantasy as the dome. Determining that stars are like the Sun also requires technology - diffraction grating.

Okay, but there was no "evidence based approach" to give them holes in the dome either. The point isn't that people had evidence, the point is what people believed and why they believed it.

The believed in free floating objects, because the stars moved. That was solid reasoning. And it was fairly correct. I don't see the point in discounting that and holding up a different non-evidence based model just because other people believed it far later in human history.

Yes, I think the point is, like Ravenloft, WotC shouldn't be afraid to make changes to the original, the original wasn't perfect.

In this case, it needs to feature the space of the popular imagination, not the space of hard science, and not the esoteric* space of the original.


*synonym for weird.

This I 100% agree with. It would be a bit... odd. To have a less scientific approach to space, but it would also allow some ridiculous things. Imagine if the sky went on forever, and powerful beings like dragons could just... fly to other planets. It would be whimsical and kind of cool.

 

[Chaosmancer]

No, but there are quite a lot of people driving places when they could fly or take a train. Same with trucks and cargo and that a lot of “delivery” is done via trucks and not planes. So several modes of travel all in use at the same time.

True, but for different purposes. You can't take a plane down the street

I was talking about spelljammers as moving from one setting to another, and portals as moving from one setting to another.

However, it seems that wasn't the point of... either setting. So I don't see value in reigniting the discussion

 

[Scribe]

You know I had a thought while walking the dog.

The planets are Planes, earth is your Prime, Space is Space, and you have a nice little solar system which your Space Jets fly around in.

Create* (autocorrect is some kinda evil) your own cosmology and you are good to go.

 

[Parmandur]

Okay, but there was no "evidence based approach" to give them holes in the dome either. The point isn't that people had evidence, the point is what people believed and why they believed it.

The believed in free floating objects, because the stars moved. That was solid reasoning. And it was fairly correct. I don't see the point in discounting that and holding up a different non-evidence based model just because other people believed it far later in human history.



This I 100% agree with. It would be a bit... odd. To have a less scientific approach to space, but it would also allow some ridiculous things. Imagine if the sky went on forever, and powerful beings like dragons could just... fly to other planets. It would be whimsical and kind of cool.

I, for one, do not think that WotC shouldn't make changes as needed to improve a potential Spelljammer. But wildly un-scientific views of space and physics in general (leaving particular elements to the side) seem to be a feature, not a bug: D&D in Space has no more need to be scientifically accurate than D&D Underground does.

Though, humorously enough, a more scientific view of outer space does have a longer D&D pedigree. But the whimsical fantasy approach of Spelljammer seems to fit the modern brand more than Temple of the Frog or Expedition to the Barrier Peaks...