Where no nerd has gone before...
Maybe a little dramatic, huh?
What is this?
Hey there folks! My name is Robert, and I am a nerd. I’m coming up on three decades on this planet, and much of it has been spent as a fan of various forms of science fiction and fantasy. Two particular things I’ve developed an obsession for has been Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons. Star Wars, I had been a fan of since before I could even read. D&D, much more recent. My interest in tabletop roleplaying games didn’t spark until a year or two before the pandemic. Since then, I’ve developed a love of the hobby as both a player and a dungeon master. Given these two fixations I’ve mentioned, when I found out about Spelljammer, I was hooked.
But, what is Spelljammer? You ask a great question, self! When I pitched it to my players and friends, it was simply “D&D in space!” And that’s honestly not too far off. Spelljammer is a setting for Dungeons & Dragons originally released by TSR in 1989. It was, by the creators’ own admittance, something thought up in a diner in Wisconsin. What if there was a to move between official settings like Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance? What if it was in space, where wizards navigate open-faced ships without the worry about atmospheric pressure or oxygen, at least in the way we’d have to in ‘our world’? It’s the wacky, science fantasy you’d see in shows of the 80s and 90s, where every week has a new villain or settlement that needs rescuing.
What do I know?
Truthfully, I’m not going into this journey completely unprepared. Like a Dungeon Master who decided to prep an hour before the game, I technically have something ready. Forced metaphors aside, I am someone who got into D&D during 5th edition. I am no veteran to the edition wars, or can tell you what THAC0 is, besides the memes about it. I have run some 5th edition Spelljammer. My friends and I had run a slightly modified version of the Spelljammer Academy, that came out free on DNDbeyond. We then transitioned (Albeit awkwardly, since the adventures aren’t connected) over to the officially released adventure, Light of Xaryxis. We are on hiatus with the intent to continue, but like a responsible DM, I have read through the rest of the adventure.
Besides these? I read some homebrew to improve 5e’s version, and read plenty of complaints by veteran Spelljammer captains on Wizards of the Coast’s handling of the setting. I looked through wikis and some websites that come from the era of geocities, with that ‘old internet’ charm to it. But beyond that, I’m not thoroughly familiar with the setting. I can’t tell you what happens in Krynnspace or what the Halflings of Anadia are like. I hope by the end of this project, to be much more acquainted with these though.
What does this entail?
Another great question, myself. I may make another post with some rhyme or reason of how I choose to go through all this material, and what the exact names of everything is. But, from my research, it seems that there is: 4 box sets, 11 things that could be called “AD&D Accessories”, 7 modules, 6 novels, 15 issues of a comic, various magazine articles (Don’t worry I have a list), a CRPG from 1992, and if I’m feeling up for it a 20 episode Actual Play, with the Spelljammer segments being DM'ed by the famous Brennan Lee Mulligan.
As is, I have a decent chunk of the modules, accessories, and box sets in digital form. it would be a dream to have a physical copy, whether original or reprint, in hand but budget doesn’t allow for that luxury. I own the first 4 novels, and all 15 issues of the comics.
My intention is to make posts occasionally covering some of this material. Think of it as book reviews, or an opportunity to try to give insightful bits of information from these older books. I hope that this is something that can be found entertaining by veterans of the setting as I explore new (to me) and weird (to everyone) bits of lore, and also interesting to people who like me found this setting in the last few years and haven’t delved quite as deep.
I encourage people who are more knowledgeable than me to recommend where to start, and to correct me when I make incorrect statements. Thank you.