Astromundi Cluster: a different viewpoint.

I guess I just had a knack for finding the good in things. I really
liked the concept of the Astromundi Cluster so much I ran not one, but two
campaigns in that setting. However I made numerous changes to edit out
the unpalitable aspects. I changed the ships around, such as not using
the Crystal Citidels and doing away with any "ocean-looking" ships all
together. I created my own letter-sized map so that I could mark it up
for "campaign ideas" and use as player handouts, etc.

Yes, the artwork was uninspireing and detracting beyond excuse. Shame
on the product editors for accepting it. I think that artwork
contributed toward killing the setting product line. Instead, I scavanged
pictures from other settings and online "space fantasy" sites to create my own
scratchbook of concept art.

The concepts that I really liked and I expaned on in the campaigns
were:

* The Antilans - A slave-using human empire who wear masks, are
somewhat like the Red Wizards of Thay in disposition and successfully waging
war with the Illithids.

* The Neogi are more middle men instead of just another monster race.
So much so that Neogi is considered the common trade tongue in the
Cluser. Sort of like the Ferangi from Star Trek: Next Gen, just a lot more
vicious.

* The Thoric being advance Viking culture or collection of cultures.
The vikings were actually a fairly sophisitcated people that accomplished
a lot of trading with distant lands.

* The elven Plant Worlds. Impreginble living fortresses that keep the
elves isolated but protected. Also, the concept of barbarian elves and a
native population that are not like the starndard Spelljammer Imperial
Elven Navy elves at all.

* The Inner Belt. A vast asteroid belt so large that almost every
concivible culture is present, but "overt" war is banned and enforced by
mutual concensus. I had a problem with "who do the populated worlds avoid
collisions".

* The Isle of Banshee being essentially an organized nation of undead.
I never used the picture in the book. I found a picture from another
product (can not find the orginal box set it came out of) that I used. It
was a beast skeleton of massive size with a city built in an on it.
Like a wolf skull and ribcage with windos the size of a penhead.

I ran the game as a trade campaign with the group starting out working
for an Thoric NPC who owned a "classic" tradesman and just needed
guards since he worked the rougher ports to avoid comptition. They players
bought and sold and seemed to enjoy keeping track of their profits. That
was all one of my players ever seemed interested in, the detail in his
ledger was impressive. However in the backdrop I using modivied
versions of the 2nd edition Monstrous Arcana modules: A Darkness Gathering,
Masters of the Eternal, and Dawn of the Overmind. I also tied the
Ravonloft product Thoughts of Darkness, also 2nd edition. These seemed to be
the adventures that were hinted at in the AC boxed set.

Over all, it ran well and had an exotic, dark flavor. The players had a
feel for the vast size of the sphere. Using the maps and "charting
their couse" seemed to please one of my players to no end. Just about any
adventure that was "island based" or isolated in some way was a
candidate for an asteroid settelment or dungeon.

I posted several things from my second campaign to the List server and
Static was kind enough (Thanks again!) to publish them on his sight.
Keep in mind this was all before 3.0 was published.

http://spelljammer.org/worlds/Clusterspace/




Terry Hawkins
Home E-Mail: TLHawk@??????.net
Home Number: 713-728-4227
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tlhawk@??????.net/my_photos