Spelljammer
Spelljammer is a campaign setting originally published for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which features a fantastic outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included Spelljammer content; a Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition setting update was released on August 16, 2022.
Spelljammer introduced into the AD&D universe a comprehensive system of fantasy astrophysics, including the Ptolemaic concept of crystal celestial 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 into space. With their own fields of gravity and atmosphere, the ships have open decks and tend not to resemble the spaceships of science fiction, but instead look more like galleons, animals, birds, fish or even more wildly fantastic shapes.
The Spelljammer setting is designed to allow the usual sword and sorcery adventures of Dungeons & 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 the Planescape setting, Spelljammer unifies most of the other AD&D settings and provides a canonical method for allowing characters from one setting to travel to another. However, unlike Planescape, it keeps all of the action on the Prime Material Plane and uses the crystal spheres, and the "phlogiston" between them, to form natural barriers between otherwise incompatible settings. Though the cosmology is derived largely from the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, many of the ideas owe much to the works of Jules Verne and his contemporaries, and to related games and fiction with a steampunk or planetary romance flavor. A strong Age of Sail flavor is also present.
Publication history
Shannon Appelcline, in the book Designers & Dragons, highlighted that in 1989 Spelljammer was the first of a host of new campaign settings published by TSR. It was created by Jeff 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". Appelcline commented that Spelljammer "offered a way to connect every single D&D fantasy world, was thus one of the first true crossovers" in role-playing games.''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (2nd edition)
The Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space space fantasy boxed set was released in 1989. Several of TSR's other campaign worlds had their own sections in the Spelljammer Boxed Set - Realmspace for the Forgotten Realms, Krynnspace for Dragonlance, and Greyspace for Greyhawk. Along with the new sphere - Clusterspace - they were known as the "Big Three and Astromundi". Dark Sun, Ravenloft and Mystara 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.The product line would be expanded with a number of boxed sets and accessories such as Lost Ships, Realmspace and The Astromundi Cluster. Appelcline commented that The Astromundi Cluster acted as "a soft reboot of the Spelljammer 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". The first adventure module, titled Wildspace, was released in 1990; four connected adventure modules followed it. A longer campaign module, Heart of the Enemy, was then published in 1992 followed by an adventure anthology, Space Lairs, in 1993.
The monsters of Spelljammer were detailed in two installments of the Monstrous Compendium series, Spelljammer Appendix in 1990 and Spelljammer Appendix II in 1991.
In 1993, Space Lairs and The Astromundi Cluster were the final products of the line. Appelcline commented on the end of the setting in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons era: "TSR's fifth second-edition campaign world, Planescape, was released to replace Spelljammer, which had just then ended. TSR wanted a new world-spanning setting and Slade Henson came up with the answer by suggesting a new setting built on Jeff Grubb's first-edition Manual of the Planes. 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".
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (3rd edition)
The Spelljammer line of products was discontinued by TSR before they were acquired by Wizards of the Coast in 1997.In May 2002, Paizo published an article for Spelljammer in Dungeon #92 titled "Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon". Using the D20 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 the Monster Manual such as drow, formians and yuan-ti.
In May 2005, Wizards of the Coast updated the neogi to the 3.5 edition rules in the supplement Lords of Madness. 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.
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (4th edition)
A Spelljammer homage appears in the 4th edition Manual of the Planes; the sourcebook highlights Spelljammer ships as one method of traveling between planes and provides information for in-game use of Spelljammer vessels.''Dungeons & Dragons'' (5th edition)
Spelljammer content also appears in the 5th Edition adventure module Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. In the adventure, a spelljamming ship and its illithid captain appear stranded in level 19 of the titular dungeon. Then in October 2021, Wizards released the PDF Travelers of the Multiverse which is part of the "Unearthed Arcana" public playtest series. Of the six player races it included, four races are closely associated with the Spelljammer setting. Both Polygon and Bleeding Cool highlighted that this playtest could indicate a future Spelljammer reboot.Wizards of the Coast released a new boxed set titled Spelljammer: Adventures in Space on August 16, 2022; this release updates the Spelljammer setting for the 5th Edition. The box set includes a Dungeon Master's screen, a double-sided poster map and three 64-page hardcover books: Astral Adventurer's Guide, Boo's Astral Menagerie, and Light of Xaryxis. A special edition, with cover art by Hydro74, was also released. A prequel adventure module, titled Spelljammer Academy, was released for free on the Wizards of the Coast website and on D&D Beyond in July of the same year.
Monstrous Compendium Vol 1: Spelljammer Creatures introduced ten creatures from the Spelljammer setting to the 5th Edition in April 2022.
Fictional setting
Spelljamming helms
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 a helm. Any spellcaster may sit on a spelljammer helm to move the ship. The mysterious race known as the Arcane is the sole manufacturer and distributor of spelljamming helms. Within the Dungeons & Dragons universe, they are a method of converting magical energy into motive power.Gravity and air
All bodies of a sufficiently large size have gravity. This gravity usually exerts a force equal to the standard gravitational attraction on the surface of an Earth-sized planetary body. Gravity in the Spelljammer 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".
Crystal spheres
A crystal sphere is a gigantic spherical shell which contains an entire planetary 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 surface of the sphere is called the "sphere wall" and separates the void of "wildspace" from the "phlogiston". 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 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.
Unlike the Ptolemaic system, the crystal spheres are not nested within each other.