Setting Showcase: SpellJammer

Name: SpellJammer

Produced By: TSR Inc (now part of Wizard of the Coast)

System: Dungeons and Dragons, 2^nd edition

Genre(s): Space Fantasy

Dungeons and Dragons... IN SPAAAAAAAAACE!

Of all the D&D settings, past and present, SpellJammer is quite possibly the most 'What The Fuck' of all of them. It's also one of my favorites.

SpellJammer takes all of the major races and puts them in space. Beholders, Illithids, Elves, Drow, Dragons, Gobliniods, and everything else is thrown in to a interstellar melting pot with new races like Neogi, Giff, and Arcane. These races travel around in 'space ships'. Yes, sailing ships moving between the planets. I'm not making that up. Of course, not every race uses sailing ships, but those are the most common ones you'll see. Or at least things that look an awful lot like a sailing ship.

This setting was developed for 2^nd edition AD&D and there doesn't seem to be any attempt to make an official update for any of the newer editions. I know that fans have made some attempts for 3/3.5, and a quick article in a Dungeon magazine, but I'm not sure if there's been anything beyond that. There are some bits and pieces of the setting spread around in the 3.5 source books (the inclusion of the Neogi in the Monster Manual 2, the Mercane in Manual of the Planes, and even the variant Beholders in the Lords of Madness source book. Oh, and a Neogi space ship, too). There's some mentions of things in SpellJammer in 4^th and 5^th editions, but that appears that's all we're going to get.

You have to love that old D&D art

In SpellJammer, every setting is in the same universe. Yes, the actual universe. You see, each major setting in D&D is inside a crystal sphere. Inside that sphere is the sun and planets of that setting. On the inside of the sphere, the constellations are glowing spots, not stars like in our world. Between the planets, there's vacuum like you might expect. When a SpellJammer (a ship that can travel between worlds) leaves a planet, it takes an amount of air with it. This air only lasts so long before it becomes fouled, so you have to be careful when heading out in to the void. Thankfully, the Pholgiston (which looks like a ProgRock album cover) between the spheres is breathable and you don't have to worry about bringing enough air for interstellar journeys. Of course, the Pholigson is very flammable. That's not a good thing for the setting, as almost every culture in the settings use candles for lighting. How's that for dangerous?

How do you fly a sailing ship through space, I hear you asking? That's a good question. You see, most species have these things called Helms (yeah, I know, just go with it). An arcane magic user powers the Helm which moves the ship through space. There's rating for Helms and a chart for character levels that are manning the Helm. It's as simple as that.

Of course, the next question is, what about divine casters? Well... They have a problem. If they're in a Sphere that their deity is worshiped, they're all good. But, when they leave that Sphere or enter one that doesn't worship their deity, they only have the spells they prayed for before leaving their home, and can't get any more no matter how hard they pray. Thankfully, there's a few fixes: you can spread the word of your deity (because why not?), you can worship the Duality, or you can pick some very popular deities. Otherwise, you are screwed. 

These are Illithid ships. If you see them, RUN!

 

While the line was canceled before too long (and replaced with Planscape as the multiversal hub), they did release a fair number of supplements. There's a book for all of their major settings like Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and Forgotten Realms. I own the “Realmspace” supplement and it's a hoot. Did you know that Elminster has a satellite? Because he does. With a portal to Ed Greenwood's house. There is some other stuff that's actually pretty cool. Like a castle in space. This is why you should be very careful with those wish spells, folks... Waterdeep is also the main hub of interstellar trade and that's one of my favorite things in the book.

They also put out a whole bunch of adventures, including an introduction adventure to bring your merry band of adventurers out into space. Another one deals with a unique solar system that's been screwed with. There's a two-parter about preventing the Goblinoids and Orcs from building a war fleet and taking over the known Spheres. My favorite one involves a giant Beholder ship that has rooms based on their eye beams. Because Beholders are an important part of the setting, it makes sense.

Now, you're wondering how the setting got its name, there's a box set for that. It's The SpellJammer boxed set. That's right, THE SpellJammer. It's a giant manta ray ship with a city on it's back. Because there's a city there (a literal city) you have a fully fleshed out campaign all but ready to go. It doesn't really explain the history of the SpellJammer, who made it and so on, but does fill in some blanks. I actually like the set and what it gives you to use. You can easily run a campaign around chasing The SpellJammer from sphere to sphere, trying to study it and learn about it from a distance, and then culminate with the party landing on the thing. Or, you could have a campaign start on the SpellJammer, with the party having landed on the SpellJammer and are now living out their lives. You could deal with politics and intrigue, or with having to defend the city (and the ship) from outsiders trying to take it over. Lastly, there's rules in there for being the captain of the SpellJammer. Yeah. How's that for cool?

Undead Space Pirates! Oh.... Shit...

Now, I should probably talk more about why I like this setting so much. Aside from the cool factor, even if the setting seems absurd to you, there's some really good stuff in here. You get to see races you're used to in a whole different light. Beholders, as I've mentioned, are a major part of the setting. They even work together. If you've never seen in, the old D&D Monster Manuals, they said that Beholders were from “The darkness between the stars” and SpellJammer takes that and runs with it. They make the Illithids something even more scary as they can freely travel in ships and away from stars. The Neogi, and their Umber Hulk slaves, make for some truly terrifying enemies. The elves are something akin to the guardians of the stars in their ships, which look like castle towers with huge butterfly wings. But, the one everyone probably knows about are the Gnomes. Yes, Gnomes. In the SpellJammer setting, they're the inventors and tinkerers of the setting. Their ships are powered by giant hamsters. And that's where the joke about Boo in the Baldur's Gate game comes from. Get it? I had a good laugh when I learned about it, so screw you.

To me, the setting has done a great job of bringing together the best parts of fantasy (the magic, the power, etc) and combining them with the best parts of science fiction (the sense of exploration and adventure, etc). And it works. Sure, this is the “metal van art” type stuff, but come on, what's not to like? I admit it is hokey and old, but that's part of the charm.

In the end, SpellJammer is done and gone. Even before Wizard bought TSR, the game line was canceled. Aside from the little allusions here and there, it doesn't look like its coming back. Which is a shame. I don't see why Wizards can't dust the game off and put out one (just one, that's all I'm asking) source book for the setting. If they include a conversion guide for 2e, that would be great. It might not sell a whole lot, but I'm sure they could make more than enough from old fans and new fans alike. Maybe we'll get something for 5e. If so, I'll buy whatever I need to play. That's more sales, too.