1 day ago
Spelljammer Campaign Setting Review
Forgotten Realms was originally intended to provide a place
for 2e adventures, however with the heavy editing and playtesting which took
place during the writing process, nobody really knew what the final ruleset was
going to be, and they didn’t want to have Forgotten Realms on the back burner
for two years, so in 1987 they began the process of releasing it.
Besides the Realms, people who didn’t want to invent their
own worlds could play in Greyhawk, or Dragonlance, but the first true setting
of the 2e era was a strange one. SPELLJAMMER! The Manual of the Planes had
talked about linking worlds together, but this product was the result of a long
and productive brainstorming session which took place at a restaurant with the
intention of linking the worlds through space travel. What it became was much
bigger than that! Space travel kind of took a back seat as the ideas produced a
true setting that was unique to itself.
At the time, SPELLJAMMER was a huge flop with consumers. I
remember walking into a Kaybee Toy Store in the mid-90’s and seeing a shopping
cart full of Spelljammer box sets going for $5, I’d like to say that I’d picked
it up, but I can’t. Spelljammer was way ahead of its time, few players bought
into it, but today it is a huge cult hit that is actually still supported by an
Official Website at spelljammer.org
Spelljammer is not Science Fiction in any way, the laws of
physics and magic all hold true to high fantasy architypes; space ships are not
designed to function realistically, they are powered by magic and the less one
thinks about it, the healthier their mind will be.
Since the system contained lots of rules that were unique to
it, and because Jeff Grubb was able to get enough solid information out of Dave
Cook to sync it up with 2nd Edition rules, Spelljammer was able to
get a release date in 1989 with product 1049: Adventures In Space
Campaign Setting Boxset.
Buyers got two rulebooks, full color cards depicting a huge
collection of fully mapped ships, a giant map of the Spelljammer craft itself,
as well as a good collection of new monsters unique to the setting. It was one
of those products that offered a bang for one’s buck, and with a cover price of
only $15, you’d figure that Spelljammer would had sold like hotcakes! It of
course didn’t. I think that the low price scared many people off, not to
mention that many believed that it was a Science Fiction genre thing, but for
this box specifically, you had people trying to learn the new 2e ruleset, and
they just didn’t want to be distracted at this point by some weird space game.
My biggest problem with it was that it wasn’t labeled well. There
were a total of 4 boxsets published, with no real labeling as to which one was
the original, which would be this one, Adventures In Space. To me, that
always sounded like it was a supplement, so I had no idea what to get. I’m the
kind of DM who prefers to write my own supplemental material and adventures;
when I buy into a setting, I want enough there to actually play with, without
having to head right back to the store to get more information. Did SPELLJAMMER
satisfy this requirement by giving us complete information? From looking over
the material available on PDF format, I think that they did.
Buying into Spelljammer is expensive. Retailers shipped tons
of unsold copies back to TSR and they were eventually destroyed, making them
rare in today’s market and highly desired by collectors. Finding a complete
copy of the setting on the used market is difficult, so prices are going to run
higher. I rarely promote PDF play, but a DM’s got to do what a DM’s got to do,
and in this case, it is cheaper to print off your own copy.
This is a neat and unique setting to have adventures in, it
was one of those products that pushed the game forward (a bit too far forward
at the time), but now that people are more willing to try new things,
Spelljammer has finally found its market. At the time I would have graded this
product as an F, I had no interest in it; this grade has improved, I now give
the product a B+ I’m not sure how sturdy this one box is on its own, but as it
pushed the game so hard, and it is so original with tons of adventure ideas and
hooks at the DM’s disposal, I publicly take back all of the mean and
unwarranted criticism that I had bestowed upon it in my early gaming days. Now
I wish that I would have bought it, and I have a feeling that I’m not alone
with this assessment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My Blog List
-
I saved the timeline! - One of the other participants in the game jam I joined produced a Game Boy adventure called OuttaTime. You can try it yourself in your browser here: http...
-
Moons around the Storm God - What moves the wind, brings the rain, boils the clouds into the sky and freezes them into snow? Not the Storm God. He is rather the one who takes what t...
2 days ago -
The Light Dawns - THIS!!! Yes, a thousand times, this! Back in the day, I referred to this as “neo-classicalgaming,” which is to say, the sorts of games that came ou...
2 weeks ago -
Daggerheart vs. the MCDM RPG vs. D&D: A Playtest Comparison - If games to suit every play style and new games bringing fresh ideas makes a golden age, then the best time for gamers is now. In the past weeks, I’ve play...2 weeks ago
-
MASSIVE GEEKOUT With David Finn Of Signal Of Doom – Episode 275 – 3/29/2024 - Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #275 – 3/29/2024 A wide-ranging geekout with David Finn of the Signal of Doom podcast. Lots of comic book and MCU chat (lik...2 weeks ago
-
Avanzamento e Punti Ferita in Original D&D - Cari Tutti, Ogni tanto capita di leggere un articolo su qualche blog che, anche dopo tanti anni, fa riflettere su come alcune meccaniche consolidate pot...
3 weeks ago -
Protect your Gamemasters (and don't call it "fudging") - *November last year I went to check out X. I had heard lots of promissing things about the changes there, and the possibilities that come with them. Gott...
5 weeks ago -
Attronarch's Athenaeum - Over at the forum El Borak mentioned Attronarch in his thread Hirelings, loyalty, and morale which you should take a look at. Attronarch has a website Att...1 month ago
-
Xandering, Jaquaysing, or Arneson-ing the Dungeon? - Yet another gamer firestorm arose shortly after the passing of Janelle Jaquays when it was noted that Justin Alexander had changed a rather well known p...
1 month ago -
Last move - to self-hosting! - As my vote regarding Substack in the “marketplace of ideas”, I’m moving to self-hosting. I’m now at (and hopefully staying for a long time at) Blog: ht...3 months ago
-
Sex-Crazed Falling Stars, Free Weather Magic, and Adventures: News of the Hill Cantons - *Grandma Gaya, the Rav-Witch of High Kezmarok*, seeks the stout of limb and humble of mind in the *obtaining of fallen stars* from an upcoming prophesied ...
3 months ago -
Thanks for your comments, friends! - Dear friends and followers of the blog, Thanks for all your comments over the years. When Google+ opened, I decided to jump on board. Everything got coupl...7 months ago
-
GUARDIANS OSR Superhero RPG- DC Heroics House Rules - It's been a rough year with sickness. But here I am. Let's go. Guardians is a fun little game from Night Owl Workshop games. They have a lot of fun OS...
10 months ago -
Coming Fast! 50th Anniversary of OD&D January 2024 (OGL comments) (& how Wizbro is stupid) - The 50th Anniversary, the 50th Birthday of OD&D is approaching and will be here in January 2024. Wizards of the Coast, instead of preparing for something s...1 year ago
-
Original Dungeons & Dragons Has Its 50th Anniversary In January 2024 (Feb 2023) - The countdown to the 50th Anniversary of the Original Dungeons and Dragons in January 2024 continues. Give the drama with Wizards during January 2023, it...1 year ago
-
I'm In!! The monthly posting challenge leadup to the 50th Anniversary of OD&D in 2024 - I am inspired by this post found here, to be part of the monthly posting during 2023 and 2024 to highlight the 50th Anniversary of OD&D. We were challeng...1 year ago
-
It's been a decade, now... - This is a tough time of year for me. So, with your indulgence, here's this link to a post I did a decade ago... EDIT: I have no idea why it didn't take. S...2 years ago
-
This Blog is now on Indefinite Hiatus - Greetings, I haven’t been able to post except sporadically for a while. I just found out I will need to find a new place to live within the next few months...2 years ago
-
Ind of the Year - The Colors of Magic - On December 1st, there will be a nice bundle of small, indie itch RPGs from around the world called the *Ind of the Year Bundle 2020* that includes *The Co...
3 years ago -
Be The DM, 1 - OK, I've run plenty of games and I've talked with and read the thoughts of many other DM's. One thing is certain; No two DM's are the same. I have seen ...3 years ago
-
The Crowning of King Harold - Here is a spooky story that comes from my latest novel, Lions Red and Gold, available now in digital and dead tree only on Amazon. I post it here in ho...
3 years ago -
MIDLANDS CHARACTER GENERATION - Character development (of Player via imagined formative experiences) in my dog in DMing. Placyer character development is a huge part of my sandbox. I use ...3 years ago
-
Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ... - Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ...: LINK to Description and Ordering: https://www.tlbgames.com/colle...4 years ago
-
Character Concepts: Planescape pt 3 - Part 1 Part 2 Continuing my series on oddball Planescape Faction Personalities... Harmonium Sidby the Stick (LG/halfling/fighter) - Sidby's a good enough b...4 years ago
-
D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets - In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants and...
4 years ago -
Announcing the Contest Winner! (Plus Some Interesting US Coin Facts) - The third semi-annual Save Versus All Wands contest - What is the Value of this Coin Hoard - is over. $1,000 was the winning guess, only a bit below the ...
5 years ago
Links to Suggested Stuff
6 comments:
I love me some Spelljammer! Of course it's hard to get any hard copies of those books, but the only true revision of AD&D 2E (Hackmaster 4E, naturally) managed to squeeze a supplement out there condensing 5 major Spelljammer supplements into one sweet volume: HackJammer. 128 pages of awesome and maybe (just maybe) easier to get than those other books. Worth hunting down, in my opinion ...
That is interesting Jens D. I had never really thought about Hackmaster as anything serious. I found a copy of that for $50, which is still more than I like to spend, but if you get 5 condensed supplements, and you are serious enough to really play it, that is a value!
HackMaster is a serious (and complete) revision of AD&D 2E, the presentation they chose is coming from a funny premise and many people didn't get it. As with every rpg, you can play the game as you like despite the tone it sports :) Wrote a love letter once about it, so if you are interested in reading a long and winded text about a game that deserves way more than that, you could look here:
http://the-disoriented-ranger.blogspot.de/2015/12/hackmaster-love-letter-for-4e-my-only.html
I tweaked AD&D 1 for combat realism. Spell-jammer came out in 1987. Grend Duchy of Karameikos setting came out in 1987. 1987 was a significant year in my life. A Separate post about that later. I fell in love with the Moldway dungeon design chapter in his red book, and since then I only run my own adventures. It's more fun to start from scratch. Literally. Spell Jammer has a special significance for me because Minsc's Boo is really a giant space hamster (Baldur's Gate CRPG).
Jens D.: I remember this article! It was a really good one, that I found surprising. I got tunnel vision with games. I have a few 3rd party products that are useless to me, but others are gold! I love the old generic Tunnels and Trolls stuff, but I've never personally bought anything for Hackmaster. If I find something for the right price, I'll pick it up!
Brooser Bear: I have never desired to really start from scratch. I suppose that I like to be motivated. My worlds are my own, I avoid mass plots unless they serve a purpose. When I fill in a city, it gets pretty detailed! I guess I prefer working on a small scale, rather then the large. There are things that I want to focus on, and things that I don't. Published settings have a good knack at filling in the stuff that I don't want to do for me.
Rip, I prefer small scale myself. Gygax never went in the direction of the players becoming immortals or kings, etc. High level AD&D gaming goes in a very different direction. The most overlooked piece of Gygax writing is his Appendix A, Random Dungeon Generator. It's not so much a random labyrinth algorithm, as it is a collection of his randomized descriptions, traps, special events, how the treasure is guarded and hidden. I am compiling all of the 1st edition writing on adventure design into one integrated whole, and I reviewed Gygax's appendices, and it suddenly occurred to me, that if you use Gygax's tables you will (i) DM adventurtes in the same style as Gygax and (ii) It will duplicate the setting described in the sword and sorcery stories much vaunted in the Appendix N. That was a touch of Gygax genius! Subsequent post-Moldway editions of Basic Expert Companion etc breaks down any kind of quality writing. Post Moldway edition cuts down verbiage and breaks down Moldway's language to dry instructions devoid of any kind of spark, and also breaks the spell by suggesting that the DM use explosive booby traps, anti-gravity fields etc for Dungeon Draps, amoing the most mundane pits and spring fired darts and arrows. Anti-Gravity fields, really? How about Uranium Hexafluoride gas in a flask in a Wizard's laboratory, one whiff and painful death in out world. No saving throw, for that matter how about V-Nerve gas condensate coated door handle. Also one of those painful death guaranteed things no saving throw allowed and by the time players figure out something is wrong, it will be too late to save the dum PC, since death will occur before the Cleric can cast any kind of a spell. I get it, it works great, but is it any kind of a medieval fantasy. Those books were written by dilettante hacks. Anyway, I thought you'd get a kick out of that.
Jens D: I got all the D&D books I want a long, long time ago. I can still buy some old AD&D Modules on e-bay, the way some people collect comic books, but hadn't started. I still buy books that have writing about DMing and about how to write adventures, but these are no longer gaming books. Compleat Strategist in Manhattan, New York, used to carry a selection of books related to gaming that were not hobby publications, but they stopped carrying those. I picked up a book called Hamlet's Hit Points, a few years ago. It was not a great book, but an interesting read. I bought some books on cuty, wilderness and dungeon design that were put out by d20 Layers and Legends and by Wizards of the Coast in the 3rd Edition Era, also a couple of books on the history of the role-playing game hobby, most were product promotional garbage written by industry insiders in the vein of Gygax books wrote in the heyday, the only one worth getting is Jon Peterson's Playing at the World, which is written like a serious history work written by a professional academic, a breath of fresh air.
Post a Comment