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

New free content from WotC - the latest 4-page Unearthed Arcana introduces six new races: astral elf, autognome, giff, hadozee, plasmoid, and thri-kreen. https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/travelers-multiverse Looks like Spelljammer and/or Planescape is back on the menu!

New free content from WotC - the latest 4-page Unearthed Arcana introduces six new races: astral elf, autognome, giff, hadozee, plasmoid, and thri-kreen.


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

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Parmandur

Book-Friend
I think people are missing @Ruin Explorer 's point: there's no way they'll do it exactly the way they did it in 2e, because the base rules are different. They'll make minor changes, at the very least. That was option 4 on Ruin's list.

So we end up with that classic internet argument: You're wrong, the right answer is [exactly what they said but with a single word replaced with a synonym that in no way affects the meaning].

Someone was saying that "Spelljammer but with non-drastic changes" didn't cover this possibility, which is just a semantic point, and frankly one I disagree with. There is no way they will release a completely unedited, unrevised, version of 2e Spelljammer with no changes as a 5e supplement.
Well, obviously. See 5E Ravenloft. But itnis still Ravenloft. I expect we will see a similarly reimagined Spelljammer...but still Spelljammer in essential features, such as Giant Space Hansters and trippy outdated astronomical theories.
 

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Possible, but the biggest thing hurting a Star Frontiers/Spelljammer/Planescape release is that all three of them have competing cosmologies. So, either they are getting blended (which could be incredibly cool) or one is going to take precedence.

And having to account for MTG as well makes it even more of a question mark of how you blend them. Not impossible by a long stretch, but at that point I almost wonder if they don't make a 5th cosmology setting with elements from all four.

Star Frontiers is a competing cosmology, but Planescape and Spelljammer really have their own cuts of a single cosmology.

Anyways I'll point out that the 5e cosmology is already a blended cosmology, between 2e's Great Wheel and 4e's World Axis cosmology and Eberron's Orrey Cosmology, with some hints of 3e's FR Great Tree Cosmology might be in there somewhere too.

The hard part of adding MtG is where do they put the Blind Eternities and why don't worlds like FR experience them.

They could stick the Blind Eternities in the Far Realms or Astral Plane or inside of a huge Crystal Sphere or make it a third transitive plane or make it a seperate multiverse in a larger metaverse.

Or perhaps easier they can decide the converted MtG settings are actually completely seperate canon to actual MtG canon. This might be the best case as it allow them to use MtG stuff, but in a way that integrates better with the rest of the D&D multiverse.
 

Well, obviously. See 5E Ravenloft. But itnis still Ravenloft. I expect we will see a similarly reimagined Spelljammer...but still Spelljammer in essential features, such as Giant Space Hansters and trippy outdated astronomical theories.
That's exactly the thing you argued against upthread.
 


Maxperson

Morkus from Orkus
I think people are missing @Ruin Explorer 's point: there's no way they'll do it exactly the way they did it in 2e, because the base rules are different. They'll make minor changes, at the very least. That was option 4 on Ruin's list.
They won't do any setting exactly like it was done in 2e. Or 3e. Editions are different. If "editions are different" was the point, then I agree. The point we are making is that it will still be Spelljammer, just as done by 5e since editions are different.
 

Not at all. I've just argued that there is no reason to assume that they are merging the physical Phlogiston of the Material Prime with the non-coporeal Astral Plane.
Well, it turns out that book will be a Critical role Adventure Path, which is rneat. You left off what seems most likely to me, straight up Spelljammer.
Your exact words: Spelljammer with some changes doesn't cover all possibilities. It's more likely they'll do Straight-up, which is something other than Spelljammer with (any) changes.
 

Parmandur

Book-Friend
Your exact words: Spelljammer with some changes doesn't cover all possibilities. It's more likely they'll do Straight-up, which is something other than Spelljammer with (any) changes.
That's me having misread the list, actually: looking back at it, number 4 seems the most likely outcome, based on content already in the game and the way that Crawford and Perkins have spoken about Spelljammer adjacent matters. Apologies to @Ruin Explorer for the brain fart there, I'm going to blame sevre sleep deprivstion.
 


That's me having misread the list, actually: looking back at it, number 4 seems the most likely outcome, based on content already in the game and the way that Crawford and Perkins have spoken about Spelljammer adjacent matters. Apologies to @Ruin Explorer for the brain fart there, I'm going to blame sevre sleep deprivstion.
Sorry if I got a bit snitty there - it's just a pet peeve of mine when people argue over each other's heads or debate meaningless minutia like whether the changes will be "small" or "minor".
 

TheSword

Legend
Hmmm. Spelljammer has some interesting ideas but this looks like this will be another setting that isn’t for me.

Thri-Kreen definitely scream Dark Sun though. I would be surprised if they aren’t folded into some kind of Darksun launch or not intentionally paving the way for a Dark Sun launch.

My issue with Spelljammer is that it seems to be transitive… the action happens somewhere else and the spelljammer element is what you do along the way. Planescape is the holiday destination, Spelljammer is the flight to get there. I don’t really see the point of Spelljammer unless it’s connected to something else.
 

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