Re: SJ Core Spells - Was: Whatever happened to the 3.5e conversions to the Spelljammer Spells?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dreamer" <dreamer@??????.?????.??.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 10:13 AM
Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] SJ Core Spells - Was: Whatever happened to the 
3.5e conversions to the Spelljammer Spells?


> In <URL:news:local.spelljam> on Wed 29 Mar, David Shepheard wrote:
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> > From: "Loki" <george.williams.iv@?????.com>
>> > My suggestion is this: that we break them up according to waht product
>> > they originally apppeared in (with another category for new ones). It
>> > would mae for a more logical division. Personally I would classify the
>> > ones from CoAS as the "core," spells so useful and common that
>> > parrallel lines of arcane research have developed them in most SJ
>> > capable/based societies. Much like cure lt. wounds and magic missile
>> > are to groundlings.
>>[snip]
>> That sounds logical. You wouldn't even need the paralel reserch to happen 
>> as
>> helmsmen, travelling the spheres would take the spells *with* them. Even
>> with the reversible CoAS spells being seen as new spells, the SJ "core"
>> spell lists are still going to be very short.
> [snip]
>
> All this seems to make sense to me!
>
> Whether Helmsmen would distribute spells that they have learned
> in other spheres is an interesting question. The idea of 'guild
> secrets' might come in, if they were (mostly) organised in some
> way, or at least they might charge for them. Maybe even
> initiation to different levels within the guild (say at least
> Apprentice, Journeyman and Master). Non-guild Helmsmen might have
> to work quite hard to get any SJ spells.

Spells would almost certainly be seen as trade secrets. But trade secrets do 
get passed on. Organisations that perform that function already exist.

Helmsmen that are divine servants (clerics/druids/rangers/paladins) would be 
working for a particular church (see my earlier post for comments about 
divine spellcasters). They would obviously pass on spells/and recieve new 
spells at their places of worship.

Wizards and specialist wizards learn magic from the schools of magic. These 
schools should know all the SJ core spells. Bards would trade spells at 
bardic colleges. Sorcerers are more unusual, as they are a semi-chaotic 
class.

> Do people think that the idea of a Guild of Helmsmen is worth
> putting any effort into? So they are the ones that have the SJ
> spells, and get upset (maybe even hiring assassins) if the spells
> are getting distributed without their say-so? Various people
> would obviously want to break the guild organisation, or take it
> over? Join the guild, pay your dues, get access to the SJ spells
> and other guild facilities?

I think that the "core" SJ spells would be far too well known in most 
spheres for a guild to suppress them. Don't forget that they are all 
available to any Spacefaring character rolled up using the CoAS.

Despite the fact that spell sharing organisations already exist, a Guild of 
Helmsmen could be useful for other reasons. Most of the other organisations 
that spellcasters can go to are focuses around their spellcasting. A Guild 
of Helmsmen could be focused around piloting spelljamming ships.

A Guild of Helmsmen could help teach spellcasters how to take-off and land 
spelljamming ships, and how to fly them through wildspace and planetary 
atmospheres. They could also act as a clearing house for helmsmen and ship 
owners. Guild members wanting to travel between spheres could use the Guild 
to work their passage. Ship owners could use the Guild to find new helmsmen.

Ship owners are *already* able to search for spelljamming clerics at temples 
of wildspace deities (Celestians are especially keen to travel), but a Guild 
of Helmsmen would be able to deliver helmsmen that specialise in flying 
under all conditions. (This would be similar to drivers that get special 
licences for passenger vehicles.)

The Guild would be a good excuse to create a "Helmsman" Prestige Class - a 
PrC for spellcasters that devote a lot of time to spelljamming and neglect 
their magical research. They would get enhanced spelljamming abilities 
(Enhance Rating, Enhance Manoeuvrability, saving throw against Spelljammer 
shock, etc). For magic they would gain spells as if advancing in their 
original class, but would not advance in other class abilities (turning 
undead etc). I'd still let people take the PrC without guild membership, but 
the guild would be a good bit of background to justify its existence.

The Guild would also be a good excuse to introduce spelljamming related 
feats. There could be a [pilot] feat, that gives bonuses to any checks based 
on flying. There should be an [unshockable] feat that gives a helmsman a 
second chance to resist Spelljammer Shock (or a bonus to the saving throw). 
An [improved helmsense] feat could improve the secondary vision a helm 
grants to a helmsman (working in a similar way to alertness).

The guild could also set up a benevolent fund that helps out injured 
helmsmen and offer rewards to protect ships from piracy and slavery. This is 
kind of upside down from the way you saw them, but they could hire assassins 
and privateers to attack known pirates.

> At lot of this (and other SJ stuff) depends on how old the SJ
> society is in a DMs particular campaign. Older societies will
> very likely have wider information and spell distribution.

We have to *start* from how old SJ society is in the CoAS. We need a 
standard to agree on before GMs can think about modifying it. I don't 
remember exact details, but the First Unhuman War is supposed to generations 
ago. I'd say that *all* sphere's (that are not isolated like the Astromundi 
Cluster) would have full access to all CoAS spells.

David "Big Mac" Shepheard