Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Worlds of Design: How Would You Design For Spelljammer?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Dungeonosophy" data-source="post: 7739246" data-attributes="member: 6688049"><p><strong>What I'd do.</strong></p><p></p><p>Cool - thanks for this Lewis. Your experiences bring out some good points for discussion and (re)envisioning. (One niggle from your article - I believe SJ started with 2E not 1E.)</p><p></p><p>In response to your question. This is what I'd do:</p><p> </p><p>* In regard to Spelljamming rules, I'd change whatever isn't fun. I'd unashamedly borrow any fun features from Starfinder, Dragon Star, and other OGL space-fantasy games.</p><p> </p><p>* In regard to the Spelljammer setting(s), I'd be respectful of existing continuity. While at the same time, changing whatever in-story elements need to be changed to make it more fun. In other words, a lot has happened in the D&D Multiverse since 2E Spelljammer and the 3E Spelljammer mini-game. The whole cosmology has transformed two or three times since then. I mean, in 4E, "outer space" was fully merged with the Astral Plane, forming an Astral Sea which could be visited by getting in an airship! Though everything in those previous editions still "happened", the entire structure of "outer space" may have drastically changed since the time of those stories. (Though keep in mind the oft-forgotten fact that <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/dndphilmont/d-d-realities" target="_blank">each rules edition is also a different Reality</a> which continues to exist in the past, present, and future.)</p><p> </p><p>* I would include a Star Wars-style galactic map of the D&D "galaxy". A full two-page spread. I'd shape the galaxy like the D&D logo. A dragon breathing fire, in the shape of an ampersand. The "center" of the galaxy would be the dragon's heart.</p><p></p><p>* This galactic map would show locations for each and every D&D World (and Crystal Sphere) which has been published or mentioned so far. Spelljammer grognards will moan and say it's impossible to map because the spheres move. But just like in Real Life, or in Star Wars, the star systems are in perpetual movement, but that doesn't mean there can't be a map! A map makes it more coherent, and evokes wanderlust: "Dude! I see Krynn and Mystara are on the way to Oerth. Let's stop by them all!"</p><p> </p><p>* I'd clarify whether the Milky Way and Earth—the setting of Alternity, d20 Modern, and d20 Future campaign models (and which has been visited by the Wizards Three, and so forth) exist in the same Material Plane as the D&D Galaxy or not.</p><p> </p><p>* I'd use the Spelljammer book as an opportunity to definitively correlate the timelines of the various D&D worlds. As the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance timelines have continued to advance, the other settings which haven't been seen since 2E are over a hundred years behind. <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?358019-Grand-History-of-the-Multiverse#ixzz3AxZFuIWd" target="_blank">Here's a compiled list of timelines</a> (see especially the links to the Mystara timeline crossover discussions - it's pretty complicated to figure out how they line up!).</p><p> </p><p>* I'd make sure all of the Spelljammer material from previous editions is available on D&D Classics.</p><p> </p><p>* I'd bring the old Spelljammer novels back in print, at least in Kindle format. Does RPG Now/D&D Classics carry novels?</p><p> </p><p>* I'd get the Spelljammer comic series uploaded to Drive Through Comics. Many of the D&D, Forgotten Realms, and Dragonlance comics are already there. <a href="http://www.drivethrucomics.com" target="_blank">www.drivethrucomics.com</a></p><p> </p><p>* In the run-up to Spelljammer, I'd have my WotC team post a comprehensive Spelljammer webpage with a link to all these resources.</p><p> </p><p>* I'd open up Spelljammer to DM's Guild and Kindle Worlds (fan-fic novels and short stories). (And thereby finally get to see <a href="https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2013/04/OSK.html" target="_blank">Bruce Heard's further Voyages of the Prince Ark</a>!)</p><p></p><p>Edit: * P.S. Note that Mystara (at least in the "Classic D&D Reality") has its own skyship rules, which are consciously distinct from the Spelljammers - see "<a href="http://pandius.com/upaway.html" target="_blank">Up, Away, and Beyond!</a>" for a comparison of Skyships and Spelljammers. Also the Champions of Mystara boxed set, and Bruce Heard's updates: "<a href="http://pandius.com/s_ideas.html" target="_blank">Ideas about space</a>", "<a href="http://pandius.com/air.html" target="_blank">Mystaraspace: air</a>", "<a href="http://pandius.com/gravity.html" target="_blank">Mystaraspace: gravity</a>", "<a href="http://pandius.com/navi.html" target="_blank">Mystaraspace: navigation</a>".</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dungeonosophy, post: 7739246, member: 6688049"] [b]What I'd do.[/b] Cool - thanks for this Lewis. Your experiences bring out some good points for discussion and (re)envisioning. (One niggle from your article - I believe SJ started with 2E not 1E.) In response to your question. This is what I'd do: * In regard to Spelljamming rules, I'd change whatever isn't fun. I'd unashamedly borrow any fun features from Starfinder, Dragon Star, and other OGL space-fantasy games. * In regard to the Spelljammer setting(s), I'd be respectful of existing continuity. While at the same time, changing whatever in-story elements need to be changed to make it more fun. In other words, a lot has happened in the D&D Multiverse since 2E Spelljammer and the 3E Spelljammer mini-game. The whole cosmology has transformed two or three times since then. I mean, in 4E, "outer space" was fully merged with the Astral Plane, forming an Astral Sea which could be visited by getting in an airship! Though everything in those previous editions still "happened", the entire structure of "outer space" may have drastically changed since the time of those stories. (Though keep in mind the oft-forgotten fact that [URL="https://sites.google.com/site/dndphilmont/d-d-realities"]each rules edition is also a different Reality[/URL] which continues to exist in the past, present, and future.) * I would include a Star Wars-style galactic map of the D&D "galaxy". A full two-page spread. I'd shape the galaxy like the D&D logo. A dragon breathing fire, in the shape of an ampersand. The "center" of the galaxy would be the dragon's heart. * This galactic map would show locations for each and every D&D World (and Crystal Sphere) which has been published or mentioned so far. Spelljammer grognards will moan and say it's impossible to map because the spheres move. But just like in Real Life, or in Star Wars, the star systems are in perpetual movement, but that doesn't mean there can't be a map! A map makes it more coherent, and evokes wanderlust: "Dude! I see Krynn and Mystara are on the way to Oerth. Let's stop by them all!" * I'd clarify whether the Milky Way and Earth—the setting of Alternity, d20 Modern, and d20 Future campaign models (and which has been visited by the Wizards Three, and so forth) exist in the same Material Plane as the D&D Galaxy or not. * I'd use the Spelljammer book as an opportunity to definitively correlate the timelines of the various D&D worlds. As the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance timelines have continued to advance, the other settings which haven't been seen since 2E are over a hundred years behind. [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?358019-Grand-History-of-the-Multiverse#ixzz3AxZFuIWd"]Here's a compiled list of timelines[/URL] (see especially the links to the Mystara timeline crossover discussions - it's pretty complicated to figure out how they line up!). * I'd make sure all of the Spelljammer material from previous editions is available on D&D Classics. * I'd bring the old Spelljammer novels back in print, at least in Kindle format. Does RPG Now/D&D Classics carry novels? * I'd get the Spelljammer comic series uploaded to Drive Through Comics. Many of the D&D, Forgotten Realms, and Dragonlance comics are already there. [URL="http://www.drivethrucomics.com"]www.drivethrucomics.com[/URL] * In the run-up to Spelljammer, I'd have my WotC team post a comprehensive Spelljammer webpage with a link to all these resources. * I'd open up Spelljammer to DM's Guild and Kindle Worlds (fan-fic novels and short stories). (And thereby finally get to see [URL="https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2013/04/OSK.html"]Bruce Heard's further Voyages of the Prince Ark[/URL]!) Edit: * P.S. Note that Mystara (at least in the "Classic D&D Reality") has its own skyship rules, which are consciously distinct from the Spelljammers - see "[URL="http://pandius.com/upaway.html"]Up, Away, and Beyond![/URL]" for a comparison of Skyships and Spelljammers. Also the Champions of Mystara boxed set, and Bruce Heard's updates: "[URL="http://pandius.com/s_ideas.html"]Ideas about space[/URL]", "[URL="http://pandius.com/air.html"]Mystaraspace: air[/URL]", "[URL="http://pandius.com/gravity.html"]Mystaraspace: gravity[/URL]", "[URL="http://pandius.com/navi.html"]Mystaraspace: navigation[/URL]". [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Worlds of Design: How Would You Design For Spelljammer?
Top