Re: Spelljammer 3E Thoughts

On Thursday, February 6, 2003, at 01:01  PM, Enochscion _ wrote:

> What I'd like to bring up are some thoughts I've had regarding how I 
> think Spelljammer could best be adapted to 3E. 



Before I continue, a few notes about me:

  1)  I love Spelljammer. It is my favorite RPG setting of all time
(and I have played a lot of them). I have not lost interest in it
after all these years (and I was there Day One when the first
boxed set hit the shelves).

2) I am an avid gamer who has not lost interest in the hobby,
and still play whenever I can. RPGs are my primary hobby.

3)  I write tons of game stuff. I have written several major
systems for 3e Spelljammer.

4) I think any new blood involved in SJ is a good thing. I
welcome newcomers with open arms.


Now, with all of that said...

Get ready to be very disappointed.


The Spelljammer community suffers from three major
problems:

1. We are small. Very small. Spelljammer was not a popular
setting, and it has been out of print for something like 10 years,
which leads to a lot of loss over time.

2. We are fractured. SJ was not a well defined setting in most
ways. SJ was more of a Do It Yourself setting, where people
had to put a lot of work into it to make it playable, unless they
stuck only with the three primary spheres. Over the course of
time people's versions of SJ developed, and many are
divergent from each other. My version and Adam's version and
Static's version and Paul's version are likely all different.

For example, there are many suggestions you make in your
writing that I disagree with, and wouldn't likely participate with if
it was part of a major project. Not because they are bad or
wrong, just not how I want SJ to grow and develop.

Add to that the elements of 2e vs. 3e or tech vs. non-tech and
so on and you have a lot of people who don't agree with what
direction to go with SJ.

3. The growth potential for SJ fans is limited. SJ wasn't popular
in the first place, and even the 3e-based Spider Moon didn't
really do us much good. It brought in some new fans, but only a
limited number.


The end result of this is that, in my opinion, SJ will continue to
develop the way it has for the last decade or so: individuals or
very small groups putting out SJ material that is appreciated by
only a fraction of the SJ community. Trying to set up guidelines
for anything other than your personal approach or maybe a
small group is fruitless.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck, really. I don't think much is
going to happen, but I would love to be proven wrong.



Leroy Van Camp III
malacoda@????????.net
ICQ #20039817

"My hamster had five babies last week. This morning when I
looked in the cage she had ate two of them little babies.

What the heck. Had a couple myself."

               Earl, Red Meat