Re: The Known Spheres - Was: Known Space

From: "Adam Miller" <night_druid3000@?????.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:08 AM
Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] Known Space


> --- David Shepheard <david_shepheard@???????.com>
> wrote:

<snip>

>> I'm pretty sure that "deserted" doesn't work for
>> Greatspace, but I'd go with these spheres having
>> groundling planets.
>
> Deserted = little/no SJ activity, not uninhabited.
> Major worlds are inhabited, but moons & asteroids are
> not.

I see what you mean, but the word "deserted" is ambigous in the original 
context. Maybe we could defind spheres as "groundling spheres" and have that 
definition imply that their is no spacefaring civilisation. "Deserted", just 
says "uninhabited" to me.

>> I'm not sure why, but that still doesn't do it for
>> me. I'm thinking that we are going to need a
>> groundling world, where elves discovered (or were
>> taught) spelljamming and then spread it to their kin
>> on other worlds.
>
> I'm mostly going off of the Evermeet novel.  It
> implies that Realmspace was unknown to the Elven
> Fleet.  I'm ok with making the Elf Fleet originating
> from beyond "known space"; it has a Star
> Frontiers-style feel to it :)

I really need to make up a shopping list of the novels I need to buy and 
read.

I like the idea of the elven navy coming from outside Realmspace. As I said 
in another post a "home sphere", that doesn't have a TSR campaign setting in 
the middle of it, will make creating a background history for the elven navy 
(that doesn't conflict with TSR or WotC canon) a lot easier to do.

>> I think I'm going to need homeworlds for all of
>> these SJ ancestor races. (At least homeworlds for
>> the spacefaring versions of the races. I'm happy for
>
>> grounding versions to exist in multiple spheres.) I
>> don't mind if these homeworlds are outside Known
>> Space, in fact I want them to be outside Known
>> Space and to either be hard to find or legendary.
>
> I'd say that for many races, they have many homeworlds
> (krynn/oerth/toril).

I think that many races should be treated as "generic" races that have 
appeared on a large number of worlds. But at the same time, I think that 
there should be a single subrace that gains spelljamming technology first 
and spreads it to their cousins. (That is what I meant when I said the 
"spacefaring versions of the races".) Just as Toril has Moon Elves and Krynn 
has Kagonesti Elves, I think that wildspace elves should have originally 
have been a single elven race.

However, I think that those elves should have interbred with elves from 
dozens of other planets and today's Void Elves should really be mongrel 
elves who look like High Elves or Grey Elves, but are a mixture of several 
types of High Elves or several types of Grey Elves. I think you could even 
make a case for creating a generic race of elves that is a mixture of High 
Elves and Grey Elves.

>> I'm willing to go with illithids being time
>> travelers if, and only if, we sort out an
>> Astromundispace for them to timewarp back into
>> *and* come up with a reason for them not jumping
>> back to the begining of time.
>
> Heh, I could go either way.  I'm not sure I care for
> the whole time travel bit.

It is a tricky subject. I need to read up on it before I'd be happy to go 
with any solution. I suggest we ignore it for a couple of years and 
concentrate on filling out the backgrounds for *playable* races.

>> Hmm. These races can not be "new". They should all
>> start of as groundling races. Someone should
>> deleberately be bringing new races into wildspace.
>
> New to known space SJ. :)

Even outside the Known Spheres, I'd like all races to start of as 
groundlings on one or more worlds and then to discover spelljamming.

>> I think we either need these races to live in
>> spheres where the elves or another group arrive, or
>> to be spelljamming races from outside Known Space
>> that send out explorers, who arrive in Known Space
>> during this period.
>
> Pretty much.

We need a very vaige period in early history where the Juna, or some other 
semi-mythical race goes around giving helms and other items to random races. 
Looking at other campaign settings, I don't think we need accurate 
information - the sort of speculation that Estriss would have made, would be 
good enough for me.

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