Spelljammer Watch these preview videos -- SPELLJAMMER minis, Adventures in Space, Trailer

Here are three of the SPELLJAMMER preview videos shown during today's D&D Direct event.

Spelljammer - D&D Direct Live Report: 9am PDT (5pm BST) SPELLJAMMER CONFIRMED! DRAGONLANCE!

D&D Direct, WotC's new video-format announcement show launches today at 9am PDT (5pm BST). If you aren't able to watch it, I'll be updating this article live. Feel free to comment below! Once it launches, you will need to refresh this page when you want to see new updates. The video is expected...

www.enworld.org

 

[Weiley31]

I like the ship miniatures, though I have a quibble with a couple of the names ("Fish ship" is a Tradesman, "Moth ship" is an Elvin Man-o-War), but that may be marketing-speak (issues with the "Man" in the name?) and I can personally refer to them by their old name if need be). However, the nautaloid looks wrong; I'm guessing its based on newer artwork, maybe from Baldur's Gate 3?

Come on it can't be something stupid like that. That's like saying your a company and you're going to change the name of your Space Ship because it's named after a word that doesn't have a good reputation in the history of words because of something reflective in the real world. Despite the fact it's had that name for a huge long time with no fuss before That' reminds me, I gotta finish watching the Book of Boba Fett.


I'll be quite honest though: Star Moth does sound like the name of a ship you would encounter, instead of the ship type.

 

[delericho]

I hope enough other veteran Spelljammer fans agree. Not looking forward to another Ravenloft response.

I'm afraid what we've seen so far is a deal-breaker for me, and it's because of Ravenloft that I'm not giving the benefit of the doubt. (The reduced page count compared with Ravenloft and Eberron, coupled with the higher price point, makes that an easy decision, but if I liked what I saw I'd pay the money.)

Mostly, though, I feel like I must have offended some vengeful trickster god along the way - 5e is a great edition, it is enjoying greater popularity than ever before, and it seems to be in the best possible hands (both commercially and creatively)... and yet I find myself disliking just about everything they actually do with the game. Which is frustrating, to say the least.

 

[Weiley31]

You know, I honestly wish the Spelljammer miniatures line didn't include so many asteroids (three is just honestly too many). I'm sadden the Whale Spelljammer and the Battle Dolphin aren't included.

Also, for anybody that's a hardcore Spelljammer scholar, can ya answer a question for me? On the Squid Spelljammer ship, can the side tentacles move to like, "punch" a ship that it rams with the center tentacle. Or can the tentacles "Move" at all?

Because I'm getting mad Outlaw Star space combat scene vibes the more and more, I look at it and when thinking of Spelljammer fights.

 

[overgeeked]

You know, I honestly wish the Spelljammer miniatures line didn't include so many asteroids (three is just honestly too many). I'm sadden the Whale Spelljammer and the Battle Dolphin aren't included.

Also, for anybody that's a hardcore Spelljammer scholar, can ya answer a question for me? On the Squid Spelljammer ship, can the side tentacles move to like, "punch" a ship that it rams with the center tentacle. Or can the tentacles "Move" at all?

In the original, no. The ship is made of wood. It's not alive. They're rams, basically.

 

[Weiley31]

And now, I'm sadden that I don't/won't have a Spelljammer Miniature for the flipping Swan Ship.

 

[Faolyn]

Agreed!

So how would you have redone, say, Dementlieu in a way that both kept the original history and flavor of the domain but got rid of the problematic elements of coercion, mind-control, rapiness, etc.? While keeping in mind that the entire domain reflects the darklord, so any changes to the darklord's history, temperament, or powers should also mean an equal change to the domain itself?

The same reason folks bought Eberron: Rising from the Last War, or the Sword Coast Adventurers' Guide - to get an update of an old favorite, with rules for the current edition.

Neither Eberron nor the Realms have as many problematic elements that Ravenloft did. Or at least, neither of those settings are built around those problematic issues in the same way that Ravenloft was. There are definitely issues in those settings, but you can fix those issues without having to reboot the setting. If you turn Xen'drik into something other than "Darkest Africa" with overtones of colonialism, it doesn't keep the rest of Eberron from having that post WWI-vibe. It doesn't even make Xen'drik unplayable. It would just become more "real."

 

[JEB]

So how would you have redone, say, Dementlieu in a way that both kept the original history and flavor of the domain but got rid of the problematic elements of coercion, mind-control, rapiness, etc.? While keeping in mind that the entire domain reflects the darklord, so any changes to the darklord's history, temperament, or powers should also mean an equal change to the domain itself?

If you remove the mind-control aspects from Dementlieu, you basically have a different domain. As, in fact, we do in 5E Ravenloft. (Though arguably there is still a whiff of coercion, with folks trying to please Saidra to move up in the world.)

Keeping that in mind, I can see three approaches:

• If mind-control is acceptable to Wizards as a horror trope, then refocus the domain on the Brain and emphasize the horror of losing your self-will, while moving away from the, er, "rapiness".
• Alternatively, again assuming mind control is usable, go with Saidra and her parties, but place her as a relative of Dominic with similar powers who displaced him, and now forces the people of her domain to literally dance like puppets. That still keeps a legacy aspect and the original theme. (The Dominic Easter egg makes me wonder if something like this had been considered at one point.)
• If mind control is completely off the table, then don't update Dementlieu at all, just leave it as something for veteran fans to cover in the DM Guild or the like. This doesn't prevent the introduction of Saidra as the Darklord of a new domain; all that would differ from what we got would be some names. Then you have a cool new domain, without explicitly replacing a domain veteran fans liked as is.

Neither Eberron nor the Realms have as many problematic elements that Ravenloft did. Or at least, neither of those settings are built around those problematic issues in the same way that Ravenloft was.

Just because it might be harder, doesn't mean that it can't or shouldn't be done.

I have to say, BTW, that if we're going to keep talking about Ravenloft instead of Spelljammer, this should really move to PM. (I'd suggest another thread, but this line of discussion was already covered extensively last year.)

 

[beta-ray]

Well if Bionoids can be a thing, so too can Henshins. Thank you for enlightening me on more of Spelljammer's glory. And now I have an excuse to include the Henshin Class from Lazer and Liches: Retroverse into my Spelljammer 5E games now.

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

 

[Azzy]

Not yet, but the bionoids, but if you want that could be possible.

View attachment 155984

Ah, yes the bionoids—which were blatantly ripped-off from Bio-Booster Guyver.