Re: Krynnspace - Giving the sphere a 3e DL makeover

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Trampas Whiteman" <dragonhelm@??????????.net>
Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2006 6:13 AM

>>I like the idea of the loss of the old Krynn and the creation of the new
>>Krynn and its moons making some of Krynnspace's inhabitants want to move,
>>but I'm not so sure about the outsiders. They don't feel so Dragonlance-
>> ish to me.
>
> Herein lies the interesting part - how to make it "Dragonlancey" and still
> be Spelljammer.

My take on how to achieve the mix of Spelljammer and another campaign
setting (in this case Dragonlance) is to:

1) Use SJCS rules to allow all local spellcasters to spelljam throughout the
crystal sphere (with ability dependent on caster level),

For Krynnspace I'd let Wizards of High Sorcery or Cha'asi Wizards spelljam.

2) Try to infer from the local campaign setting if specialised spellcasters
can operate outside the crystal sphere,

Wizards of High Sorcery get their power from Krynn's moons, so I'd be
inclined to somehow limit them outside Krynnspace (as this is a prestige
class added to normal wizards, I'd say that their low level abilities can
never be lost). Depending on how I felt I'd either give them clerical-like
limits and only give them 1st and 2nd level spells or put them permanently
at low sanction. If they landed on their own moon, I'd probably put them
permanantly at high sanction. I might also let WoHS carve shrines from the
rocks taken from their moons and use these sites to power up to high
sanction level.

I'd have to think about Cha'asi Wizards, but even if I let them regain
spells outside Krynnspace, I'd make it impossible for them to teach
outsiders how to cast spells (or learn new spells from other types of
wizards). As this is nature magic I'd make their power source the nature of
Krynnspace (including *all* of its worlds).

For the new sorcerer class, I'd have to disagree with you. This class has
recently appeared in all crystal spheres (i.e. its in the new PHB), so I
would probably say that this new type of innate arcane spellcasting has been
spread from world to world via spacefarers and planewalkers. If we limit the
sorcerers of Krynn/Krynnspace we would also have to limit all other
sorcerers. It wouldn't be good to limit any "standard" class or any
"standard" race from the overall SJCS (although I'd be quite happy to have
specific crystal spheres where sorcery doesn't work because of local
campaign logic).

As for the Mystic class, Night Druid rightly pointed out that I had got the
timeline wrong and that this class appeared on Krynn after the move.
(However, I have to say that the person who invented this new class was a
genius and that it should really have been included [minus the DL fluff] in
the standard D&D PHB.)

I think that it could be interesting to allow a few "weird" groundlings into
a SJ campaign, so wouldn't want to shut the door on local classes or races
without a really good reason. Ultimately I'd leave it up to the DM if they
wanted to let local specialised spellcasters leave their home area. If
someone enjoys playing a Wizard of the Red Robes who journeys across the
spheres trying to recover a stolen dragonlance, then why stop them when you
can just make things hard for them instead?

3) Use the local campaign setting to impose additional restrictions within
the crystal sphere.

In this case stuff like psionics not working and certain outer planes (the
non-DL ones) being blocked from direct travel. (As I've said on this list in
the past, once someone gets onto another plane, like the astral, they are
not really in the campaign setting any more and can have additional movement
options that are denied to them on the Material Plane.)

4) Try to spread groundling religion throughout the crystal sphere.

This creates a local community of "sphere-bound" helmsmen who need to use
the Contact Home Power spell once a week if they leave the crystal sphere.
Local gods can always have half a dozen new names if it helps.

This gives you a good excuse to have NPC helmsmen to fly "system ships". It
also gives you a good reason to have plenty of shrines and temples dedicated
to Krynn's gods throughout Krynnspace. Spacefarers from outside are going to
import churches of spacefaring religions, but these should really be 50/50
or outnumbered by local churches to retain the "local feeling".

5) Override local restrictions at most times* to allow clerics of Celestian,
Ptah and other spacefarer gods to work alongside spacefaring versions of
local groundling religions and work out what should happen with outsider
groundling gods (like Bane from Realmspace or Thor from the Norse pantheon).

While this might not seem so attractive from the point of view of the local
campaign setting, it is essential to do this to get Spelljammer to function.
However, I don't see any reason why spelljammer gods couldn't be prohibited
from doing certain things (like starting up a temple on Krynn).

* = Krynn has had times when all clerical magic has been blocked, and it
would be illogical for spacefaring clerics to have spell access on Krynn
during those times (or any other groundling world with similar clerical
restrictions). But except during those special times we need a helmsman to
be able to land, recover spells and fly away.

6) Override local restrictions at most times* to allow clerics of groundling
gods from other crystal spheres to use 1st and 2nd level spells and consider
the use of the Contact Home Power spell.

We need to have a discussion about outsider gods and groundling worlds to
come up with rules that respect the spirit of both the individual campaign
settings and Spelljammer. However, the SJCS implies that this spell works
some of the time.

Krynn is such a closed off world (with respect to religion) that Krynnspace
is most likely to be the sort of sphere where Contact Home Power does fail.
However, Krynnspace is said to be part of the Radiant Triangle, and it is
implied that a lot of spacefarers travel though it.

Even if Contact Home Power is in Krynnspace, blocked clerics could still be
given 1st and 2nd level spells. Higher level spell slots would *not* be
lost. A cleric could fill them with 1st or 2nd level spells or possibly (we
need to talk about this) use metamagic feats to bump up the power of 1st and
2nd level spells. (If groundling clerics can use metamagic to bump 1st/2nd
level spells in crystal spheres where Contact Home Power doesn't work then
metamagic could become more useful to spacefarers!)

* = See my above comment about times when Krynn (or any other groundling
world) has special restrictions on clerics.

7) Try to make local branches of multi-sphere organisations, like the elven
navy fit in with local culture.

So in Krynnspace I'd put some Kagonasti, Qualinasti, Silvaniesti and
Armachnesti and "Tamirenesti" [can't find the proper name for these guys -
"hosk'i imou merkitsa" is too long] into the Elven Imperial Navy.

I'd even put a small amount of Dimernesti and Dargonesti into Krynnspace.
They could serve on ships like bloatflys or man underwater facilities at
landing sites on Chislev's lakes. (Sea elves would be especially good at
cutting back underwater plants and rocks that might damage spelljamming
ships landing on lakes. They could also hide navy supplies underwater where
they wouldn't be found by the EIN's enemies.)

The elves on Chislev don't have a proper name ("Chislevnesti" isn't right
for an entire world - I'd like there to be at least two types of elves on
Chislev), but I'd put some of them into the Elven Imperial Navy too.

8) I'd try to give all the communities living within the crystal sphere
names, culture and abilities that somehow tie in with the campaign setting
of the groundling world.

So in the case of Krynnspace elves I'd give them *all* (except "outsider"
elves) the "Elven Sight" ability (as per page 18 of DLCS) instead of normal
low-light vision given to elves of other crystal spheres (i.e. not the low
light vision of the PHB/SRD).

Going back to the elves of Chislev, I'd want to create sub-races that work
in a similar way to the ones on Ansalon and Talidas. As I've said before,
Chislev is so big that there could (and in my opinion should) be at *least*
two types of Dragonlance-ish elves here. The volcanoes just north of the
equator and the mountains and hill giants living in the mountains just south
of the equator form a natural barrier that could separate Chislev's elves
for long enough for them to form slightly different cultures. The write up
makes them nomadic uncivilised elves, so I'd suggest one tribe that was like
Wood Elves and another tribe that was like Wild Elves:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm#wildElf
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm#woodElf

Although as I said, I'd replace "low-light" vision with DLCS "Elven Sight".
Until someone (with an Elvish-English dictionary) suggests *proper* elvish
names I'll nickname them the "Northnesti" and the "Southnesti"! ;-)

The Shou had no luck "civilising" either of these races, but both the
Northnesti and Southnesti *could* have limited contact with representatives
of the Elven Imperial Navy. If those contacts were sea-elves living under
the surface of Chislev's ponds, then the Shou might not know about them.
Doing something like that would give players the ability to play
spelljamming characters that fit in with the spirit of DLCS. (Plus it would
give them players who wanted to run multiclass rangers or sorcerers two
local alternatives.)

The elves on Zivilyn (on the Triad) are a handful of elves from elsewhere 
who were shipwrecked there, so they don't need special treatment (roll 
random Krynnspace/non-Krynnspace subraces for these ;-) ). Gilean's 
inhabitants are spelljamming settlers, so they could easily be immigrants 
from Krynn or other places in Krynnspace. The elves of Shinare are not 
explained properly. We could go in *any* direction with them. Although, I'd 
prefer to make them natives and create a "Shinarenesti" background.

Zeboim doesn't have elves listed, but we could stick a city under the ground
and have "artic elves" ("Zeboimnesti") living along side other artic races:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm#arcticElves

Obvioulsly I'd give the "Zeboimnesti" the "Elven Sight" tweak.

I think we could do the same thing for all the other races/subraces, 
including the ones that are not known on Krynn.

David "Big Mac" Shepheard
Virtual Eclipse Role Playing Club
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/virtualeclipselrp/links/d20_system_001071937434/Spelljammer_001071430476
http://www32.brinkster.com/virtualeclipse/