spelljammer d20 review

Ok here is my indepth review of the new spelljammer setting.

Chapter one
Races-all the stuff here is specific to the system.  No new races just the one from the PH.

Classes-core classes talked about for about a page then we get the 5
prestige classes, which are master Scavenger,Planetary Explorer,
Spelljammer Ace, stellar Corsair, and Storykeeper.
master scavenger is for gnomes only,and has 5 levels
Planetary Explorer a 10 level class good for rangers not much else
spelljammer ace-10 levels gives +1 to spellcasting level each level, a must have for any ship
stellar Corsair-10 levels this and the spelljammer ace makes up for the other classes
storykeeper- 5 levels +1 to spellcasting level each level, if your not a bard this class is not for you

Skills-
knowlege local-pick a planet
knowlege space-anything in space
pilot-this is the spelljamming skill, allows you to up the
maneuverability of the ship to do a movement that it normally could not
do.
profession added spacehand

Feats-
acrobatic- + to jump and tumble
athletic- + to climb and swim
ballista specialist- + to attack roll
ballista master-+ to attack roll
cannon master &specialist- as ballista
craft spelljammer helm-make a helm
endurance + to save for effect of foul and stale air
spelljammer helm operation-makes the pilot skill a class skill
spelljammer specialization- pick a ship hull type get a bonus to your pilot skill with it
stealthy- + to hide and move silently
 background feats can only be taken at 1st level
Born spacer, education, from the gutter, Mysterious heritage, and no identity
these are like regional feats from the FRCS

Chapter two
spelljamming helms- major can power up to a size awesome ship minor can power up to size gargantuan ship

movement- two speeds cruising and tactical, major helms are twice as
fast the minor ones(note the article only deals with the planets and
does not talk about the outer parts of the system so shells could still
be there if you want them )

natural gravity-deals with how far you must be from something before you
can hit cruising speed. to much math for me.

air-gives rules for air, a helm help Maintains the air by recycling it.
it takes some time to improve the air from one cat to another.

crew- effects pilot checks and attack rolls

ship combat- uses a grid with 30 ft squares

spelljammer size- adds a new category awesome 128 ft and up(or for those
of you using really big ships 128 to 256 ft)size modifies ac and pilot
checks.

tactical speed- depends on your ship size and the helm you are using, anywhere from 180 ft to 30 ft per round

spelljammer facing-deals with facing and weapon facing

maneuvering- has a chart like the one in the dmg. not all ships can
hover only good and prefect :) it gives rule on how to use pilot skill
to increase your maneuverability.

failed maneuvers- rules for failed maneuvers

ramming(and Crashing) dmg is done to both ship. dmg is determined by
size and speed. if the ramming ship has a ram it takes only half dmg

Attacking- general rules for attacking and repairing dmg

Spelljamer descriptions

ships have the following stats
helm type
size
face
crew- min/max and quality
material-hardness is used
HP-range from 30 to 600 for the ships listed in the article
initiative
speed in ft plus mc class
arm-ships weapons
Sa-special attacks
sq-special qualities
lc-landing
cargo-cargo space in tons

 the rest of the chapter gives the stats of the ships. 14 ships in all.
the vehicle rules in Dragon are much better. their is no clear way to
figure out a ships hp it looks like they just picked a number they
liked. this is the worst part of the article.

chapter 3
Equipment and magic
weapon's-adds the cutlass,flamegun(5 shots before reload),pistol(1
shot),rifle(1 shot),scattergun(5 shots before reload), cannon and
billlista. has nice table with all of them on it.

Equipment
add an airsuit allows you 12 hours of air before filter needs to be replaced, gunpowder and passage costs

spells- no new spells just details how some spells work in space

magic items-adds the float anchor(levitates the ship),
gadabout(no longer gives food and only functions for two hours of flight time still makes air) 
lifejammer-a two seat helm one drain the other controls does con damage
per hour of use cost 15000 gp minor 40000 gp major
spelljammer helm-tactical speed based on ship size, recycles air,cost
20000 gp minor 50.000 gp major needs a caster level of 12

artifacts- only one crown of the stars is a minor artifact can override
a normal helm on a ship does not say if it works as a minor or major but
I think it would be a major if it can override a normal helm

chapter 4-setting
the system has a sun  5 planets and asteroid belt(former gnome homeworld)
3 of the planets are homeworlds to the main races 1 is desert world with
lots of old ruins, the other is a jungle world with a fallen empire of
yuan-ti. the chapter  gives a brief description of each planet and the
races the live on it.also gives adventure ideas for the planets. this
system is nice and would make a good back water system.

chapter 5- enemies
list the goals and motives of the 5 main enemies in the system which are
mind flyers, drow, yuan-ti, Formains, and sahuagin

Overall I like setting and equipment (helms are a little too cheap but
can live with that) but most of chapter two should be replaced with the
rules from dragon. It feels like they did real work on everything but
the ship rules and just threw something together quickly for the ships
from the various rules that are on the web. The rules in the current
dragon are much better and just and the helm rules
too them and you are good to go.

Daniel Davis -aka The Cat Lord
Yahoo ID- thecatlord
MSN ID- thecatlord
ICQ# 138016824