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Spelljammer: Difference between revisions
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An ''Advanced [[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' setting that adds up to D&D [[Recycled in Space|in SPACE]]. It has a small but loyal following. Its origins are actually a good [[Real Life]] example of [[When Life Gives You Lemons|making lemonade]] when the [[Pointy-Haired Boss]] of a gaming company hands her writers lemons; really crafty writers realize that the only difference between "[[They Just Didn't Care]]" and "[[Protection From Editors]]" is ''[[Sweet and Sour Grapes|perspective]]''. See "[http://grubbstreet.blogspot.com/2011/02/spelljamming-innnn-spppaaaaaace.html the secret history of Spelljammer]" in Jeff Grubb's blog.
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But the [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent]] writers hit upon a [[Zany Scheme]]; though they were [[Cosmic Deadline|denied time]] to [[Obvious Beta|playtest the game]], they ''could'' cram the poor thing with as much [[Crazy Awesome|Crazy Awesomeness]] as they could, as she wasn't paying attention to them. So was born ''[[Spelljammer]]'' - the most bizarre and wonderful setting ever seen in gaming.
Linking each of then-popular ''D&D''
[[Space Sailing|Flying ships]], called spelljammers (not to be confused with ''the'' Spelljammer, a legendary ship miles in length) [[Space Is an Ocean|traverse wildspace, the void within each sphere]], traveling from world to world (which always seem to support life no matter their distance from the sun). The ship picks up an "air envelope" when it leaves the atmosphere, so breathing is limited by the number of crew and the size of the ship, and gravity is always directed toward the deck from both above and below. And ''outside'' the crystal spheres (accessible through natural portals or transportation magic), lies the Phlogiston (or "the Flow"), a gaseous, highly incendiary substance that's all the colors of the rainbow and lets your ship travel at warp speed as long as you're in one of its currents.
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=== The setting contains examples of: ===
* [[All Theories Are True]]: Phlogiston! Crystal spheres!
** [[Crossover Cosmology|All Cosmologies Are True]]. Somewhere.
* [[Always Chaotic Evil]]: One of the first major ''D&D'' settings to start playing with this, from
* [[Artificial Gravity]]: Technically, gravity "carpets" on small objects were a natural phenomenon.
* [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever]]: lots of, up to Giant Space Hamsters <ref> Including breeds like the Subterranean Giant Space Hamster, Sabre-toothed Giant Space Hamster, Rather Wild Giant Space Hamster, Invisible Giant Space Hamster, Sylvan (or Jungle) Giant Space Hamster, Miniature Giant Space Hamster (otherwise known as...a hamster; the breeding came full circle...), Armor Plated Giant Space Hamster, Yellow Musk Giant Space Hamster, Ethereal Giant Space Hamster, Carnivorous Flying Giant Space Hamster, Two-Headed Lernaean Bombardier Giant Space Hamster, Two-Faced Giant Space Lagan Hamster, Fire-breathing Phase Doppleganger Giant Space Hamster, Great Horned Giant Space Hamster, Abominable Giant Space Hamster, Tyrannohamsterus Rex, and the legendary Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen. ...See?</ref>
* [[The Battlestar]]:
** [[Space Fighter]]: The main limitation on such tactics is the cost of power sources for every warboat, thus Wa churn out rudders of propulsion for Locusts, elven Flitters are built upon starfly wings and goblinoid Blades use relatively cheap
* [[Bishie Sparkle]]: The Reigar have this as an inherent part of their physical appearance, to the degree where they have ''weaponized'' it.
* [[Bizarre Alien Biology]]: Almost anything.
** Even peaceful plants, such as ''starfly'' tree
* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]: The giffs as a race -
* [[Captain Ersatz]]: The bionoids are basically mass-produced [[Guyver]] units, right down to the chest cannon.
** And [[Gamera|Gammaroids]], if the name doesn't qualify them as a [[Shout-Out]].
* [[Colony Drop]]: Not typically, but still, it's considered a possibility.
{{quote| '''Zelva Twogg''', Secretary for Wildspace Affairs, New Waterdeep: If we could find some way to tow that old dwarven citadel into orbit around our world, we'd have a fantastic station from which we could open trade to the other worlds in this sphere. We'd probably do best to contact some adventurers to do the work for us.<br />
'''Skrund the Bald''', Undermarshall for Pan-Goblin Affairs, New Trollmoor: If we could find some way to tow that old dwarven citadel so that it was heading right for New Waterdeep, we'd be rid of those damned humans in an eyeblink. We'd probably do best to contact some pirates or monsters to do the work for us. }}
* [[Crossover]]: Spelljammer crosses over with [[Dragonlance]], the [[Forgotten Realms]], [[Greyhawk]], and it can crossover with [[Planescape]], but the two rarely if ever did because they were both ways for adventurers to visit different worlds. The setting has the potential to crossover with [[Ravenloft]] even, as it has been noted that the Mists can appear even in Wildspace, but the two have never really crossed over due to Spelljammer being a much goofier setting than [[Ravenloft]].
* [[Crossover Cosmology]]: Any imaginable cosmology is likely to be implemented in at least one crystal sphere. Somewhere.
* [[Death From Above]]: Averted. A flying weapon platform obviously could have an enormous advantage over groundlings, but spelljammers are
** An example
* [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors]]: The distribution of Fire (suns) and Earth (planets) especially, determined the structure of a system, and the fact that Air tended to "stick" to objects and people made interplanetary and inter-sphere travel possible.
* [[The Empire]]: The campaign-length adventure ''Under the Dark Fist'' introduced the Vodoni Empire, a totalitarian and expansionist human empire that controlled no less than twelve solar systems.
* [[The Emperor]]: Vulkaran the Dark, overlord of the Vodoni Empire.
* [[Everything's Better with Penguins]]: Spelljammer has the Dohwar, a race of telepathic, merchant penguins [[Recycled in Space|in SPACE]], who ride flying pigs, wear swords on their beaks, and get drunk by eating apples.
* [[Expy]]: A lot of the races are recycled from the aliens from TSR's earlier sci-fi RPG, ''[[Star Frontiers]]''. Rastipedes are based on
* [[Fantastic Racism]]: Not much, given [[Loads and Loads of Races]], but still.
** There's human organization Xenos, guys who hate all other races.
** Elven Imperial Navy are generally benign, but are haughty enough to annoy everyone else (Sindiath Line's readiness to receive less belligerent elves upkeeps this status quo). After which they are loudly aggrieved that it was ''Unhuman'' War.
*** The branch on the Spelljammer is outright genocidal
** Normal gnomes tend to think that tinker gnomes make the whole race look like clowns; a few of them even go so far as to hunt down tinker gnomes' "[[Rube Goldberg Device|ships]]" to wipe this dishonour off the space lanes. It's not that tinker gnomes weren't generally nice guys, but since [[MacGyvering|minoi]] [[Military Mashup Machine|mashup]] [[Homemade Inventions|machines]] are plain dangerous for any settlements they may try to land at, those who break them up before they fall on people's heads are [[Kick the Son of a Bitch|at least as likely to be approved as condemned]].
** Beholders ''always'' run on this trope, but here they can engage in their pointless race wars in full view of everyone else with entire fleets going at it.
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* [[Grey and Gray Morality]]: Scro vs. IEN frequently approaches this. Scro are [[Lawful Evil]] but honorable in their own way and elves are theoretically Good Guys, but they're official [[Jerkass|jerks]] who frequently poke into other people's business. Both think that a piratical attack on a neutral party is perfectly acceptable if there's a little chance to get the strategical advantage from it. In the ''Cloakmaster Cycle'' some IEN guys even topped it with a random murder just to show they're serious about it. While acting offended that others weren't too eager to join their side in the First Unhuman War, no less. Both try to control all the wildspace as they see fit; and as far as other races are concerned, neither the idea of bloodthirsty scro collecting tribute nor excitable haughty elves snooping around makes for a particularly ideal situation.
* [[Honest John's Dealership]]: Rastipede. They are also eager to [[Snake Oil Salesman|take an advantage of a client's gullibility]] while sticking with the letter of bargain only. Arcane are even greater traders, but they are reliable... though not above using rastipede go-betweens while knowing their habits.
** Dohwar peddlers try to do the same, but end up as a [[Plucky Comic Relief]]
* [[Human Resources]]: The infamous
* [[Humongous Mecha]]: Elven Spirit Warriors, giant undead artificially-grown insect bodies controlled by a pilot in the torso.
* [[I Am Not Shazam]]: Sort of--''the Spelljammer'' is a legendary [[Living Ship]], ''spelljamming'' helms are the [[Applied Phlebotinum|phlebotinum]] that powers space travel, and ''spelljammers'' can refer to ships (usually just "'jamming vessels") or sailors (as opposed to [[Talk Like a Pirate|landlubbers]], er, ''groundlings''). Or only helmsmen.
{{quote| '''Jeff Grubb''': In the game we used it to describe the act of moving through space magically. And it was the class of ship that moved through space. And it was the proper name of the legendary Spelljammer, a supposed Flying Dutchman/White Whale. It was a noun, a proper noun, and a verb. If I could have made it an adverb I would have done that as well.}}
* [[Living Ship]]: Though, technically, this was supposed to refer almost exclusively to the titular Spelljammer, it is applicable in a much less interesting fashion to the Elven vessels, which are shaped from a living spacefaring plant. Reigar Esthetics are more potentially dangerous as a lifeform, though just as mindless. Borderline cases are Tick
* [[Loads and Loads of Races]]: That's a lot of people collected from most D&D setting and then some more.
{{quote| '''Gaeadrelle Goldring''', {{spoiler|[[Half-Human Hybrid|half-kender]]}} on the [[Truce Zone|Rock of Bral]]: I used to think that a lizard was a lizard, you know, but then I saw that there were as many types of them as there are of people like us. I met some trogs once, not very friendly ones at that, and, wow, did they ever stink. It was incredible. Then I met dracons, saurials, sithp'k, and, of course, the wasag, like that little blue guy over there.}}
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'''Rozloom''': This one calls you "sir". ''An elf shows you respect? If you are not great captain, you must be small god''. }}
* [[Our Gnomes Are Weirder]]: [[Dragonlance|Hoo]] ''[[Dragonlance|boy]]'' [[Dragonlance|are they.]]
* [[Our Orcs Are Different]]: The [[Sdrawkcab Name|scro]]
** They were the result of goblinkind races being almost totally expunged from the spelljamming space by the Elven Armadas and hence recurring to strict discipline and regimentation to make a comeback -- [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]], literally. Some of them learned to speak Elvish well ''just so they could properly tell the elves who was killing them''. The comeback of the Scro formed the centerpiece of early editions of Spelljammer, with adventures including death star-like Scro stations which looked like [[Gamera]] and the "good" races of the setting having to put aside differences to fight the common threat.
* [[Our Monsters Are Different]]: There were whole new manuals about D&D species adapted to "Wildspace", and a few unique to the setting.
** Mindflayers and Beholders, already moderately popular in normal settings, were elevated to new heights of villanous complexity, while the Neogi, a cross between a moray eel and a goat-sized tarantula were introduced to serve as reavers and slave traders.
* [[Powered by a Forsaken Child]]:
* [[Proud Merchant Race]]: The Arcane.
* [[Rube Goldberg Device]]: Nearly ''everything'' ever made by tinker gnomes.
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* [[Sdrawkcab Name]]: [[Our Orcs Are Different|Scro]].
* [[Short-Range Shotgun]]: Jettisons, special anti-personnel weapons that fire slow clouds of debris. A good thing to use on pursuers ready for boarding, but useless in long range combat.
* [[Shout-Out]]: [http://www.spelljammer.org/ships/deckplans/Dolphin.gif Dolphin]: the ship with a detachable shuttle on top of an extended curved "neck"? Hmm, [[Star Trek|what]] this strange construction could possibly [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/File:MPost16057E-PlotDevices%2Ejpg resemble]?..
** The Rock of Bral is a shout out to Cosmic Boy from the [[Legion of Super-Heroes]], whose real name is Rokk Krinn of Braal. This in-joke was almost almost certainly done because of Rokk's last name being the same as the name of the [[Dragonlance]] planet, Krynn.
* [[Shrouded in Myth]]: The Spelljammer itself.
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* [[Space Pirates]]: Naturally. One variety is the "Pirates of Gith", who use hit-and-run tactics including temporarily shifting to another plane of existence.
* [[Space Sailing]]
* [[Space Whale]]:
** and giant space hamsters
* [[Space X]]: Many variant monsters. The best known would likely be "giant space hamster" thanks to the nod in [[Baldur's Gate]].
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*** There are mentions of beholders building a giantic weapon resembling an eye the size of a small moon. This eye was capable of destroying entire worlds...
* [[Weird Science]]: The ''gnomes''! Who happen to be a branch of the tinker gnomes from ''[[Dragonlance]]'' who found a way into space but never found a way back down...
* [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]]: Most humans -
{{quote| '''[[Roma|aperusa]]''' (ending a discussion on the elven view of [[Half-Human Hybrid|half-elves]] to [[Crowning Moment of Funny|
{{quote| '''[[Person of Mass Destruction|bionoid]]''': Because we are living beings and not intelligent, undead weapons, the elves consider us a mistake. Elves, as a rule, prefer not to acknowledge their mistakes.<br />▼
** ...which, of course, usually "helps" to unite even more people in disliking them than their more aggressive actions.
▲'''[[Roma|aperusa]]''' (ending a discussion on the elven view of [[Half-Human Hybrid|half-elves]] [[Crowning Moment of Funny|to follow a lady from IEN crew]]): Ah, but hypocrisy is a wonderful thing in an elven woman! My apologies, Captain, [[Lampshaded Double Entendre|but you understand]]? }}
▲{{quote| '''[[Person of Mass Destruction|bionoid]]''': Because we are living beings and not intelligent, undead weapons, the elves consider us a mistake. Elves, as a rule, prefer not to acknowledge their mistakes.
* [[A Wizard Did It]]: The setting ''runs'' on this trope. As one source book put it, "It's magic, and it ''[[Magic A Is Magic A|knows]]'' it's magic."
* [[World Shapes]]: All and any. ''Mostly'', planets in solar systems, but even these got tons of quirks.
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=== The specific stories and accesories contain the following: ===
* [[Clingy MacGuffin]]: The Cloak that Teldin Moore gets at the beginning of ''The Cloakmaster Cycle''.
* [[Cool Horse]]: Comet steeds. A timid herbivore (after all, they would need to fight only something they can't outrun). Rather smart -
* [[Earthshattering Kaboom]]: In the First Unhuman War at least one planet was blasted into asteroid cluster. By elves, of course (the Shattering of Borka). The Reigar blew up their homeworld in [[Mad Artist|some sort of performance]].
* [[Farm Boy]]: Teldin Moore, well, he is not exactly a boy anymore, being in his early thirties when the first book begins, but he still fits the trope.
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