 TheSpelljammer logo | |
| Designers | Jeff Grubb |
|---|---|
| Publishers | TSR, Inc. Wizards of the Coast |
| Publication | November 1, 1989; 35 years ago (1989-11-01) |
| Genres | FantasyTabletop role-playing game |
| Systems | |
Spelljammer is acampaign setting originally published for theAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons (2nd edition)role-playing game, which features afantastic (as opposed toscientific)outer space environment. Subsequent editions have includedSpelljammer content; aDungeons & Dragons5th edition setting update was released on August 16, 2022.
Spelljammer introduced into theAD&D universe a comprehensive system of fantasyastrophysics, including thePtolemaic concept of crystal spheres. Crystal spheres may contain multiple worlds and are navigable using ships equipped with "spelljamming helms". Ships powered by spelljamming helms are capable of flying into not only the sky but intospace. With their own fields ofgravity andatmosphere, the ships have open decks and tend not to resemble thespaceships ofscience fiction, but instead look more likegalleons, animals, birds, fish or even more wildly fantastic shapes.
TheSpelljammer setting is designed to allow the usualsword and sorcery adventures ofDungeons & Dragons to take place within the framework of outer space tropes. Flying ships travel through the vast expanses of interplanetary space, visiting moons and planets and other stellar objects.
Like thePlanescape setting,Spelljammer unifies most of the other AD&D settings and provides a canonical method for allowing characters from one setting (such asDragonlance) to travel to another (such as theForgotten Realms). However, unlike Planescape, it keeps all of the action on thePrime Material Plane and uses the crystal spheres, and the"phlogiston" between them, to form natural barriers between otherwise incompatible settings. Though thecosmology is derived largely from thePtolemaic system ofastronomy, many of the ideas owe much to the works ofJules Verne and his contemporaries, and to related games and fiction with asteampunk orplanetary romance flavor. A strongAge of Sail flavor is also present.
Shannon Appelcline, in the bookDesigners & Dragons (2011), highlighted that in 1989 Spelljammer was the first of a host of new campaign settings published by TSR. It was created byJeff Grubb and "introduced a universe of magical starships traversing the 'crystal spheres' that contained all the earthbound AD&D campaign worlds. It suggested a method to connect together all of TSR's settings and at the same time introduced fun new Jules Verne-esque technology that had never before been seen in the game. It was innovative and popular".[1]: 26 Appelcline commented that Spelljammer "offered a way to connect every singleD&D fantasy world, was thus one of the first true crossovers" in role-playing games.[1]: 219
TheSpelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space space fantasy boxed set was released in 1989.[2] Several ofTSR's other campaign worlds had their own sections in theSpelljammer Boxed Set -Realmspace for theForgotten Realms,Krynnspace forDragonlance, andGreyspace forGreyhawk. Along with the new sphere -Clusterspace - they were known as the "Big Three and Astromundi".Dark Sun,Ravenloft andMystara weren't included, as the first two did not fit with the setting and the Mystara only used the D&D rules, not the AD&D rules.[citation needed]
The product line would be expanded with a number of boxed sets and accessories such asLost Ships (1990),[3]Realmspace (1991)[4] andThe Astromundi Cluster (1993). Appelcline commented thatThe Astromundi Cluster acted as "a soft reboot of theSpelljammer line" and was more of setting focused sourcebook than previous Spelljammer books which acted more "as a conduit between all of the other AD&D settings".[5] The first adventure module, titledWildspace, was released in 1990; four connected adventure modules followed it.[6][7] A longer campaign module,Heart of the Enemy, was then published in 1992[8] followed by an adventure anthology,Space Lairs, in 1993.[9]
The monsters ofSpelljammer were detailed in two installments of theMonstrous Compendium series,Spelljammer Appendix in 1990 andSpelljammer Appendix II in 1991.[10][11]
In 1993,Space Lairs andThe Astromundi Cluster were the final products of the line.[9] Appelcline commented on the end of the setting in theAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons era: "TSR's fifth second-edition campaign world,Planescape (1993), was released to replace Spelljammer, which had just then ended. TSR wanted a new world-spanning setting andSlade Henson came up with the answer by suggesting a new setting built on Jeff Grubb's first-editionManual of the Planes (1987). [...] Unlike Spelljammer this new setting had a strong geographical centre, the City of Sigil, resolving a flaw in the Spelljammer setting that denied players a good home base".[1]: 26
TheSpelljammer line of products was discontinued by TSR before they were acquired byWizards of the Coast in 1997.[12]
In May 2002,Paizo published an article for Spelljammer inDungeon #92 titled "Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon".[13] Using theD20 system, it provided new rules for firearms and spelljamming, as well as skills, feats and prestige classes.Spelljammer monsters such as neogi and giff were not used. Instead, it featured creatures from theMonster Manual such asdrow, formians and yuan-ti.[citation needed]
In May 2005, Wizards of the Coast updated the neogi to the3.5 edition rules in the supplementLords of Madness (2005).[14] The book included a chapter with a sample map of a crashed Spelljamming vessel, cultural habits of the neogi, and the monster's stat blocks.[citation needed]
ASpelljammerhomage appears in the 4th editionManual of the Planes;[15] the sourcebook highlights Spelljammer ships as one method of traveling betweenplanes and provides information for in-game use of Spelljammer vessels.[16]
Spelljammer content also appears in the5th Edition adventure moduleWaterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (2018). In the adventure, a spelljamming ship and its illithid captain appear stranded in level 19 of the titular dungeon.[17][12][18] Then in October 2021, Wizards released the PDFTravelers of the Multiverse which is part of the "Unearthed Arcana" public playtest series. Of the six player races it included, four races (autognome, giff, hadozee, and plasmoid) are closely associated with theSpelljammer setting. BothPolygon andBleeding Cool highlighted that this playtest could indicate a futureSpelljammerreboot.[12][18]
Wizards of the Coast released a new boxed set titledSpelljammer: Adventures in Space on August 16, 2022; this release updates theSpelljammer setting for the 5th Edition.[19][20] The box set includes a Dungeon Master's screen, a double-sided poster map and three 64-page hardcover books:Astral Adventurer's Guide (a Dungeon Master guide),Boo's Astral Menagerie (a bestiary), andLight of Xaryxis (an adventure module).[21] A special edition, with cover art by Hydro74, was also released.[20] A prequel adventure module, titledSpelljammer Academy, was released for free on the Wizards of the Coast website and onD&D Beyond in July of the same year.[22][23]
Monstrous Compendium Vol 1: Spelljammer Creatures introduced ten creatures from theSpelljammer setting to the 5th Edition in April 2022.[24][25]
Spelljamming helms are the central setting concept which allow interplanetary and interstellar space travel for vessels which would otherwise not be spaceworthy, in the form of ahelm.[26] Any spellcaster may sit on a spelljammer helm to move the ship.[26] The mysterious race known as the Arcane is the sole manufacturer and distributor of spelljamming helms.[26] Within theDungeons & Dragons universe, they are a method of converting magical energy into motive power.
All bodies of a sufficiently large size havegravity. This gravity usually (but not always) exerts a force equal to the standard gravitational attraction on the surface of an Earth-sized planetary body. Gravity in theSpelljammer universe is also an exceptionally convenient force, and almost always works such that "down" orients itself in a manner most humanoids would find sensible.
All bodies of any size carry with them an envelope of air whenever they leave the surface of a planet or other stellar object. Unlike real-world astrophysics, this air envelope is not dispersed by the vacuum of space. These bubbles of air provide breathable atmosphere for varying lengths of time, but 3 months is considered "standard".
A crystal sphere (also known as a crystal shell) is a gigantic spherical shell which contains an entireplanetary system. Each sphere varies in size but typically they are twice the diameter of the orbit of the planet that is farthest from the sun or planet at the center of the sphere (the system's primary).
The surface of the sphere is called the "sphere wall" and separates the void of "wildspace" (within the sphere) from the "phlogiston" (that surrounds and flows outside the sphere). The sphere wall has no gravity and appears to be impossible to damage by any normal or magical means. Openings in the sphere wall called "portals" allow spelljamming ships or wildspace creatures to pass through and enter or exit from a crystal sphere. Portals can spontaneously open and close anywhere on the sphere wall. Magical spells (or magical items that reproduce their effects) can allow a portal to be located. Other magic can open a new portal or collapse an existing one. Ships or creatures passing through a portal when it closes may be cut in two.
Note that unlike thePtolemaic system, the crystal spheres are not nested within each other.
Wildspace is similar to the outer space of science fiction, with planets, asteroids and stars, but with different physics.[26] Gravity is either none or the same as that of Earth, and is directed towards the center of planet-sized bodies; on large objects in space like spacecraft and enormous creatures gravity is directed towards a flat plane running through the object's long axis, allowing characters to stand on the decks of ships.[26]
Thephlogiston is essentially a big ocean of a unique element that is neither air, fire, water, or earth.[26] The phlogiston (also known as "the Flow") is a bright, extremely combustible gas-like medium that exists between the Crystal Spheres. A signature property of the substance is that it does not exist within the boundaries of a crystal sphere, to the degree that it cannot be brought into a crystal sphere by any known means up to and including the direct will of deities. Every crystal sphere floats in the phlogiston, very slowly bobbing up and down over time. Travel between Crystal Spheres is facilitated by the formation of "Flow rivers" — sections of the phlogiston which have acurrent and greatly reduce travel time. Travel through the "slow flow" (i.e. off the Flow rivers) is possible, but very dangerous.
TheSpelljammer is a legendary ship which looks like a giganticmanta ray,[26] and houses an entire city on its back. All spacefarers (people who live in wildspace) have heard of theSpelljammer but very few have ever seen it themselves. It is this ship that gives its name to "spelljamming", "spelljamming helms" and anything else connected with spelljamming. The ship has been reported to have been seen in countless spheres for as long as records go back. Even some groundlings (people who live on planets that have very little or no commerce with spelljamming communities) have legends about it. There are hundreds of conflicting legends about this ship, and a mythology has developed about the ship that is similar to the legends surroundingThe Flying Dutchman.
As a living thing (although it does not consume any matter, it does absorb heat and light through its ventral (or under) side and uses them to produce air and food for its inhabitants), theSpelljammer has a complex life cycle and means of procreation. Normally the ship has no captain and wanders the cosmos seemingly aimlessly. When theSpelljammer has a captain, obtained through another complex process, it will create Smalljammers (miniature versions of theSpelljammer) that go forth as its spawn. Apparently there can only be one Spelljammer at any one time. One Smalljammer will mature into a fullSpelljammer ship if its predecessor is ever destroyed.
Alien races inhabiting the Spelljammer universe includedhumans,dwarves, xenophobicbeholders, rapaciousneogi, militantgiff (humanoidhippopotami), centaurlike dracons, hubristicelf armadas, spacefaring orcs called "scro", mysteriousarcane, theThri-kreen insectoids, and bumbling tinkergnomes.Illithids were another major race, but were presented as more mercantile and less overtly evil than in other D&D settings. TheMonstrous Compendium series added many more minor races. The simian Hadozee were also introduced into the setting, and later incorporated into the 3.5 rules in the supplemental bookStormwrack.
Spelljammer has acted as the official campaign setting for multipleDungeons & Dragons roleplaying adventure modules, sourcebooks and accessories.
| Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AD&D box sets | |||
| Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space | 1989 | 0-88038-762-9 | Introduced the setting and provided the basic rules for spelljamming travel. |
| The Legend of Spelljammer | 1991 | 1-56076-083-4 | Expanded on the setting, in particular theSpelljammer itself. |
| TheWar Captain's Companion | 1992 | 1-56076-343-4 | Provided more detailed ship-to-ship combat rules. |
| The Astromundi Cluster | 1993 | 1-56076-632-8 | Provided a roleplaying campaign for the setting. |
| AD&D accessories | |||
| Lost Ships | 1990 | 0-88038-831-5 | Expanded the number of ships. |
| Practical Planetology | 1991 | 1-56076-134-2 | Assisted DMs who wished to create their own spelljamming setting. |
| The Rock of Bral | 1992 | 1-56076-345-0 | Provided a home base for adventuring parties. |
| Realmspace | 1991 | 1-56076-052-4 | Information about the crystal spheres housing TSR's three main campaign worlds. |
| Greyspace | 1992 | 1-56076-348-5 | |
| Krynnspace | 1993 | 1-56076-560-7 | |
| MC7Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix | 1990 | Part of theMonstrous Compendium series | |
| MC9Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II | 1991 | ||
| Complete Spacefarer's Handbook | 1992 | 1-56076-347-7 | Focuses on spelljamming travel. |
| AD&D adventure modules | |||
| Wildspace | 1990 | 0-88038-819-6 | A series of five connected adventure modules. |
| Skull & Crossbows | 1990 | 0-88038-845-5 | |
| Crystal Spheres | 1990 | 0-88038-878-1 | |
| Under the Dark Fist | 1991 | 1-56076-131-8 | |
| Goblins' Return | 1991 | 1-56076-149-0 | |
| Heart of the Enemy | 1992 | 1-56076-342-6 | A longer campaign module. |
| Space Lairs | 1993 | 1-56076-609-3 | Adventure anthology. |
| D&D 5th Edition | |||
| Spelljammer Academy | July 2022 | Adventure module released digitally. | |
| Spelljammer: Adventures in Space | August 2022 | Boxed set which contains three 64-page hardcover books:Astral Adventurer's Guide (a Dungeon Master guide),Boo's Astral Menagerie (a bestiary), andLight of Xaryxis (an adventure module). | |
Fifteen comics set in theSpelljammer universe were published byDC Comics between September 1990 and November 1991 with the creative team ofBarbara Kesel, Michael Collins andDan Panosian.[1]: 21 Spelljammer comics also uses Jasmine, a winged human character originally introduced fromForgotten Realms comics, as one of the lead characters.
Wizards of the Coast released a soundtrack, titledSpelljams, forSpelljammer: Adventures in Space digitally on August 16, 2022;[27][28][29] each song on the soundrack corresponds with one of the chapters in the adventure moduleLight of Xaryxis.[30]
Six novels set in theSpelljammer universe were published byTSR, before TSR was incorporated intoWizards of the Coast. The novels were interconnected and formed "The Cloakmaster Cycle". The novels tell the story of Teldin Moore, a 'groundling' farmer on Krynn who has a powerful and apparently cursed magical cloak that was given to him. He then ends up on a quest, which takes him first into wildspace and then away from his home sphere to distant crystal spheres. The series showcases the wonders and perils of the Spelljammer universe. The novels are now out of print.
The onlySpelljammer computer game ever produced wasSpelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace, published bySSI in 1992.
In 2002 a team of freelance game modification developers created "The Arcane Space Tileset" forNeverwinter Nights.[31] This tileset included Spelljamming ships, space and atmospheric terrains, along with monsters and NPCs, all set within the Spelljammer Campaign setting.
Legends of the Multiverse is an officialactual play streaming series broadcast on theDungeons & Dragons channels which premiered on April 27, 2022 and is set in the Spelljammer campaign setting. It starsDeborah Ann Woll, B. Dave Walters, Gina Darling, Meagan Kenreck, and Todd Kenreck. It will also feature guest stars such asBrennan Lee Mulligan,Aabria Iyengar, Ginny Di, Anna Prosser, Deejay Knight, Emme Montgomery,Travis McElroy,SungWon Cho, andJim Zub.[32][33]
In the January 1990 edition ofGames International (issue #12), James Wallis was not a fan of the initial release,Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space, finding inconsistencies in the combat rules, saying that the cumulative effect of these inconsistencies is to make space combat unplayable. He did find the background "imaginative and consistent", but very little of it. Although he admired the production values of the components, he found the book disorganized to the point of "disarray and confusion". He concluded by giving the game a poor rating of only 2 out of 5, saying that "Spelljammer may score well physically but fails mentally [...] ScavengingAD&D players who enjoy stripping tasty ideas from the carcasses of dying games may find it of interest, but I cannot recommend it to anyone else".[34]
Alexander Sowa, forCBR in October 2021, commented that Spelljammer should be one of the classic settings Wizards of the Coast brings back for the 5th Edition. Sowa wrote that "players have been asking for Spelljammer to be introduced to5e since the release of the first setting sourcebook. Wizards tossed them a bone with the Dream of The Blue Veil spell added inTasha's Cauldron of Everything, but it's not a replacement for the niche Spelljammer previously filled. It's not just a way to travel between different campaign settings; it's a simultaneous fulfillment of sci-fi and fantasy dreams of exploration, venturing deep into unknown depths and contending with the strange and otherworldly".[35]
Spelljammer was #3 onThe Gamer's 2022 "The 8 Best Dungeons & Dragons Settings Ever" list — the article states that "Spelljammer is one of the most unique settings on this list, with endless possibilities brought up in its planet-hopping realms. The Spelljammer setting can almost best be surmised as 'pirates meets sci-fi fantasy' with its blend of magical worlds and galaxy-traversing galleons".[36] In a separate article forThe Gamer, in February 2022, Paul DiSalvo commented that "while D&D's second edition was home to a wide range of Spelljammer books including several adventure modules, the setting has since faded into obscurity, with it not being prominently featured within the game's third, fourth, and fifth editions".[37]
In his 2023 bookMonsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath called the game "gloriously bewildering." Horvath also noted the new edition being launched for the 5th edition ofD&D, commenting "I can't imagine something so weird as the original coming out today — the new version already seems different, a little less odd, a little more formulaic."[38]