From Polyhedron #48

This was from Polyhedron #48, I think it expresses what Spelljammer
is about really well. I invite you to compare the tone to the
editorial in the recent d20 Spelljammer Polyhedron/Dungeon. There is
a real difference in how fans are treated.

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Spelljammer

AD&D Game Adventures in Space

by Jeff Grubb


Spelljammer is:

     A)
            A wizard trained in the art of space navigation.
     B)
            The Lost Dutchman of space, a massive starfaring craft.
     C)
            A new campaign setting for the ADVANCED
            DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game, linking the
            established AD&D game worlds.
     D)
            The next revolution in role playing games.

The ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game takes off for the stars late
this year with the introduction of the Spelljammer universal fantasy
campaign setting.

But those stars are very different from the ones we know in the
"real" world. The Spelljammer fantasy setting is just that - fantasy.
It is not elves with
blasters. It is not Elminster in the 25th Century. It is not medieval
fantasy with ray guns and battle armor. It is the world and rules of
the AD&D game taken
into space. And the same laws that make the sword-wielding warrior
and spell-casting wizard the kings of their earthly realms are now
turned loose among the stars.

Fantasy space is not the safe, organized, spinning of the celestial
spheres known to modern man. In fantasy space there are flat worlds,
bowl-shaped planets, inhabited asteroid clusters and gas clouds, and
worlds in the shapes of spindles, wedding cakes, and cubes. They
orbit their primary stars in some cases. But in others they are the
center of their solar systems, with the sun orbiting around them; and
in others they are carried on the backs of huge giants, turtles, and
elephants.

There's more. Each solar system is itself bounded by huge crystalline
shells which in turn float on a rainbow ocean of flammable liquid
called Phlogiston.
Great rivers of phlogiston span the void of space, running between
the various shells containing the planets. These rivers join Krynn,
home of the
Dragonlances, with the worlds that hold the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk.

And there are voyagers on these great rivers. Space itself is
unbreathable, but large masses can bring along their own envelope of
breathable air, so great ships ply the heavens in search of trade,
conquest, and adventure. These only vaguely resemble the sailing
ships of the groundling worlds below. They appear as huge insects,
birds, and sea creatures transported into space and made into ships.
All are powered by the magical energies of wizards and priests, who
are both engine and navigator for the great ships. These men and
women are called spelljammers.

Humans are not the only travelers in Spelljammer space. Dwarves plod
between the planets in their flying mountains, while elves mount wars
of conquest from
armadas of butterfly ships. Mind flayers maintain powerful and evil
trading empires between the stars, and the various beholder races
engage in bloody civil
war with their nest-ships. And there are new creatures in space as
well, such as the mammoth Celestial Dragons, with wingspans of
several miles, and the
mysterious Neogi, a nasty cross between wolf spiders and moray eels,
which use umber hulks as slaves. And then there is the Spelljammer.

The Spelljammer. While a wizard running his ship can take the name
spelljammer, when the pirates and barbarians refer to the
Spelljammer, they are talking
about a ship, the ultimate ship of fantasy space. It looks like a
cross between a manta ray and an unbreachable fortress, with a
wingspan of half a mile and
armed to the teeth. It is said to need no wizard to power its huge
mass. It is said to be self-regenerating. It is said to be immortal,
returning like a phoenix each time it has been destroyed. It is said
to be intelligent, and on a quest of its own. Whatever the truth, the
Spelljammer is the Holy Grail of space, the ultimate goal of many a
would-be worldbeater and adventuring space voyager.

In the Spelljammer Campaign Setting, the AD&D game takes a bold
flight out into the void, attempting something that never has been
before - defining
fantasy space in terms of fantasy, as opposed to bringing the high
technology of the "real future" into a medieval world.

The answer to the quiz at the start, then?

     E)
            All of the Above. And a whole lot more.

Spelljammer is one of the first major supplements specifically
designed for the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 2nd Edition game. It
will premier
in October or November with a boxed set. The set will include two
96-page booklets, four poster-sized maps, and counters and bases. In
addition, it will
contain 24 8 1/2" by 11" sheets with ship maps. Spelljammer can be
used with campaigns set in Krynn, the Forgotten Realms, and Greyhawk.
--
"We sleep safely in our beds, only because rough men stand guard in
the night, ready to visit violence upon those who would do us harm."
H.G. Wells.

Paul Westermeyer,  westermeyer.3@???.edu
Phd Candidate, History, Ohio State University
Instructor, Humanities, Columbus State Community College