D&D’s ‘Spelljammer: Adventures in Space’ – First Impressions
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space is out in the wilds of space now. But is the campaign set worth it? Here are our first impressions.
The idea of taking something and mashing it into space for some reason is as old as time. Or at least as old as March 8, 2005 when Strong Bad showed us the best thing he’s ever seen, done, or eaten: the quickly canceled pilot of Limozeen: “But They’re In Space”.
All that to say, space is not just a place, it’s a whole genre. And in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, D&D 5E dips its toes into the final frontier. This isn’t the first time D&D has gone to space. Spelljammer was originally released in 1989 as one of a host of new settings published by TSR. It was designed to connect the disparate campaign worlds of D&D together via magical starships traversing the crystal spheres.
Inside you’d find the Forgotten Realms‘ planet of Toril, Greyhawk’s Oerth, and Dragonlance’s Krynn. As well as other, newer worlds and asteroids and the like.
Now, Spelljammer: Adventures in Space brings space to D&D once again. This is the first official reboot of the campaign setting since TSR. WotC has published a few articles, but this is the first big return to the campaign setting since the line was discontinued in 1993.
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
Perhaps the biggest question the campaign setting begs is what is it for? Unlike the original TSR set, this isn’t meant to be a grand unifying theory. D&D 5th Edition already accounts for multiple worlds and crossover between them. Characters from Greyhawk visit Faerun, and vice versa.
There aren’t any reams of information about the planetary systems of each of these worlds. In the original Spelljammer set you’d get descriptions of each of the moons and planetoids in Krynnspace or Realmspace or the like. But you won’t find that here.
Because the campaign setting isn’t about defining solar systems, it’s about opening up adventures in space.
In this three-book boxed set you’ll get rules for adventuring in Wildspace, a realm that borrows a page from fiction like Treasure Planet. It’s as much seafaring as it is starfaring. Out in the Astral Sea, you’ll find many fish-like creatures. You might be marooned on an asteroid, waiting for rescue.
Ships bring their own air envelope with them and will need to refresh them on occasion. Trees, surprisingly, play a big role in all of this.
You also get a pretty hefty monster manual. It’s packed with space creatures and new dragons. All of which lean into the campy yet cosmic tone of the new setting.
The Light & Dark of Spelljammer
It should be mentioned, though, that all of this feels like it’s in service to the new adventure, Light of Xaryxis.
And here we hit I think Spelljammer: Adventures in Space‘s biggest hurdle. The Light of Xaryxis takes up so much of the limited space in the set, it feels wanting. Where campaign-setting books like Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount and Mythic Odysseys of Theros had rules and new systems for grounding your adventures in those worlds. Spelljammer: Adventures in Space relies on the DM to do much of that work.
The module, Light of Xaryxis serves as the centerpiece of the product. Inside its pages you’ll come up against the creatures in Boo’s Astral Menagerie, you’ll use the rules in the Astral Adventurer’s Guide, but outside of the Light of Xaryxis‘ locales, space feels strangely empty. We get details on the Rock of Bral, an infamous pirate hub. But aside from that? Players and DMs are left to create their own systems.
This is fine, but the only reference in the book tells you to “use the two Wildspace systems in Light of Xaryxis” to make your own system. There aren’t even loose guidelines like those for making magical islands out of Mythic Oddyseys of Theros or for discovering new sections of the city, as in Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica.
For a campaign setting, Spelljammer: Adventures in Space doesn’t quite give you enough levers to explore it. Especially when contrasted with the recent adventure anthology that is Journeys through the Radiant Citadel. There’s more information in that book about the Radiant Citadel and guidelines for creating the lost civilization than there is on exploring the depths of space.
That said, it’s mostly DMs looking to make Spelljamming campaigns that will find the books lacking. Because everything else about it feels great.
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space Monsters & More
There are tons of monsters. And they can be lighthearted, like Space Clowns who launch pies from catapults. Or vampirates, who roam the Astral Sea in search of adventure and blood.
They can be beautiful, like the space-whale-like kindori. Or the monstrous scavvers.
And in Light of Xaryxis, you’ll get to see some prime examples of what you can do in Wildspace. There’s everything from lassoing and riding kindori to exploring a Wildspace system. It doesn’t have the depth other books have. But what it lacks in depth it makes up for in lighthearted fun.
And in the player-facing content, we get a glimpse of what lies in store for D&D’s future. The races feel more powerful by and large than their PHB counterparts. Though the Astral Elves feel like they’ve been watered down a bit, peoples like the Plasmoid and Thri-Kreen will surely become new favorites. The possibilities they engender are huge!
And we would be remiss not to mention the DM screen. This is hands down the best DM screen WotC has put out. It has everything you need to Spelljam on the fly in it. From random encounters to the quirks of different ships. It’ll even give you tasks to assign your PCs to do while traversing space. It’s a tantalizing look into daily life in Wildspace.
Final Thoughts
So wrapping up, should you get the book? We’ve been talking about it all week. There’s so much to like here. From the Spelljammer deck plans to the new magic items that will help you get around in space. It’s the biggest swing WotC’s made in a while, and it pays off.
If you want adventures in space, this book will open the doors. The Spelljammer is on the launching pad. It’s up to you to board it.
Happy Adventuring
