Spelljammer What classic Spelljammer sources are worth getting?

[darjr]

So I’m going to run 5e Spelljammer but there are also a lot of classic sources out there. What do you think is useful? I know it’s hard to judge without the 5e stuff released but I’m curious now. Definitely more interested in lore heavy stuff. Oh and anything that has good ports to 5e already, if you know any.

 

[Parmandur]

So I’m going to run 5e Spelljammer but there are also a lot of classic sources out there. What do you think is useful? I know it’s hard to judge without the 5e stuff released but I’m curious now. Definitely more interested in lore heavy stuff. Oh and anything that has good ports to 5e already, if you know any.

The main box set is on the DMsGuild, I found one of the books inside at Half-Price Books back in the day:

Spelljammer: Adventures in Space (2e) - Wizards of the Coast | SpellJammer | AD&D 2nd Ed. | AD&D 2nd Ed. | Dungeon Masters Guild

Spelljammer: Adventures in Space (2e) - Multitudes of worlds wheel through Wildspace. The crystal shells that encase them bob and drift in a turbulent, rainbow

www.dmsguild.com

 

[Parmandur]

Check out this guide:

Spelljammer - Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) - Wayne's Books RPG Reference

www.waynesbooks.com

 

[overgeeked]

The original Spelljammer box set is amazing.

If you like Greyhawk, Dragonlance, or FR, there are books for each detailing the wildspace around those systems.

The Rock of Bral is a great setting. It will feature in the new set, but it’s a 95-page book just on Bral. No way the new set will be that detailed. Especially with the font size and layout differences.

Legend of the Spelljammer is a great book for the namesake ship. Lots of history and lore and some adventures.

The Astromundi Cluster is a great subsetting. It’s really detailed with lots of lore and factions. About 250 pages.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Rock of Bral, 100%

I think any of the stuff that can offer additional ship designs, so Legend of the Spelljammer (about the only thing I liked from it), War Captains, Lost Ships.

You might want the 2 monster compendiums for extra lore on creatures.

I really want to love Astromundi Cluster more than it deserves. It has such great potential but I don’t think there was a great deal put into why the metaplots make any sense. But I badly want to invent entirely new metaplots using the cultures as they are, maybe a few tweaks.

 

[see]

My top recommendations would be the original boxed set and the Rock of Bral, with the Monstrous Compendia, Astromundi Cluster, and maybe the Complete Spacefarer's Handbook on tier 2.

Lots of other products are mineable for stealable bits, but IMO just bits.

And then I just really dis-recommend the Realmspace supplement, which I view as a mix of bad writing, blatant misunderstandings of Realmslore (the author named a major T'u Lung city as the Shou Lung spaceport, for example), bad mechanics and math, and excesive dwelling on useless things (Eliminster's Safehold, details about how the Batship is booby-trapped against players ever being able to make use of it, and so on).

 

[Quickleaf]

Oh man, can I play?

I found this cool homebrew 5e conversion for Spelljammer, and have been using it as my baseline for the new campaign I'm prepping (not strictly Spelljammer, but borrowing some bits): Spelljammer 5e by Purius

 

[darjr]

Oh man, can I play?

I found this cool homebrew 5e conversion for Spelljammer, and have been using it as my baseline for the new campaign I'm prepping (not strictly Spelljammer, but borrowing some bits): Spelljammer 5e by Purius

Ohhh thanks! Spelljammer sheet is cool.

 

[Maxperson]

The Rock of Bral is a great setting. It will feature in the new set, but it’s a 95-page book just on Bral. No way the new set will be that detailed. Especially with the font size and layout differences.

Legend of the Spelljammer is a great book for the namesake ship. Lots of history and lore and some adventures.

The Astromundi Cluster is a great subsetting. It’s really detailed with lots of lore and factions. About 250 pages.

I was going to recommend all three of these as well as Realmspace.

 

[Demetrios1453]

My top recommendations would be the original boxed set and the Rock of Bral, with the Monstrous Compendia, Astromundi Cluster, and maybe the Complete Spacefarer's Handbook on tier 2.

Lots of other products are mineable for stealable bits, but IMO just bits.

And then I just really dis-recommend the Realmspace supplement, which I view as a mix of bad writing, blatant misunderstandings of Realmslore (the author named a major T'u Lung city as the Shou Lung spaceport, for example), bad mechanics and math, and excesive dwelling on useless things (Eliminster's Safehold, details about how the Batship is booby-trapped against players ever being able to make use of it, and so on).

Realmspace is fine if you ignore most of the fluff like that and just use the info on the various planets and such.