Official Proposal
Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon
As a companion to the original synopsis, here's the official article proposal I presented to Erik Mona for publication in Polyhedron Magazine.
You can see that it's a lot closer to the final product than the synopsis was, representing the evolution of our thoughts on the game and the setting, as well as the realities of space limitations. As before, I've added some italicized comments.
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Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon
At the center of the system lies The Pyre, the fiery body that warms and illuminates the inner worlds. Some claim the Pyre is a gate to the Elemental Plane of Fire, while others claim it was once a world like any other, but infernal magics cursed it to an eternity aflame. Salamanders, mephits, and other fiery creatures live here.
Closest to the fiery sun is Ashen, a searing hot world covered by a desert of white dust. Whatever once lived here—and the half-buried pyramids give silent voice to some culture existing here long ago—has been dead and gone for eons. Despite their age, these ruins continue to attract treasure seekers from across the system, for the hoards of magic hidden beneath the sands are legendary.
The first truly habitable world is Verdura, covered from pole to pole by lush, thick tropical jungles and dominated by reptilian beasts of all sizes and shapes. Once a thriving center of civilization, the mighty temples of Verdura have long since crumbled under pressure from the tendrils of the jungle. The depraved yuan-ti rule this planet, though before their bloodline became tainted their reach stretched far beyond it.
Third from the sun orbits the watery world of Quelya, studded by long chains of islands crisscrossing her blue face. Humans and halflings rule the surface of this world, gathered into merchant clans that lay claim to various archipelagos (and who also trade with distant worlds). Beneath the still waters lurk the evil sahuagin, who believe themselves to be rightful owners of the entire planet. Stories tell of even greater evil in the deepest parts of the oceans.
Perianth, the last of the inner planets, is dominated by thick, ancient forests of evergreen and deciduous trees. The elves rule here, as they have for millennia, in quiet grace and dignity. However, behind the façade of serenity lies a churning turmoil of political intrigue, as various noble houses angle for power. Gone but not quite forgotten from Perianth are the dark elves, banished to the Spider Moon that crawls across the starlit web of the heavens and who plot their cold revenge upon those who wronged them.
The asteroid belt known as the Chain of Tears separates and protects the inner worlds from the harsh environment beyond. Reputedly once a planet in its own right, the Chain now provides homes to creatures of all varieties, though it is most famous for three groups of inhabitants: gnomes, supposedly the original natives of the world that became the Chain; pirates, who use the chaotic swirl to hide their caches and bases; and the insectlike formians, whose colonizers continue to spread across a wide swath of the Chain. One of the larger asteroids is home to the “city” known as Discord, where scoundrels, spacehands, and fortune-hunters of all stripes rub shoulders.
[I knew the setting needed an insectoid race, and I was originally considering the xixchil or even the thri-kreen. But neither of those races gave me the feeling of "irresistible force of nature" that I was looking for. Plus I'd have to spend extra space statting them out, whereas by using the formians I could use that space to present something else critical to the setting.]
Beyond the Chain of Tears is the outer zone, where hurtling comets, deadly meteor showers, and stranger celestial phenomena endanger unwary travellers. Perhaps most lethal of all is the simply bone-numbing cold of the region, as the Tears block most of the heat emanating from the Pyre.
The lone planet of any size in this area is a dark, mountainous world known to most in the system as Moradin’s Forge (or more simply, the Forge). Though the frigid surface is generally uninhabitable to most species, the geothermally heated tunnels deep within the planet are fairly comfortable. Though this world once knew only unending conflict between the dwarves and orcs native to it, it now lies in the iron grip of the invading illithids. Some small enclaves of dwarves or orcs resist enslavement at the hands of the mind flayers and their grimlock warbands, and in some rare cases, the orcs and dwarves have even been known to ally against their common foe.
Conflicts in the Setting
The primary conflict of the setting is the mind flayers’ attempt to conquer the rest of the system. The mind flayers have allied with the dark elves (or a faction thereof) to work together against the elves of Perianth. Once the elves have been defeated—or so the illithids believe—the rest of the system will soon fall under their sway. Of course, even the mind flayer “conquest” of Moradin’s Forge isn’t quite complete, and PCs could join up with groups of dwarven “freedom fighters” there.
[Erik pushed for me to include a central conflict, rightfully pointing out that however cool all of this was, the setting needed a "hook" so that players and DMs would know what they were supposed to be doing. Neglecting that hook (or, alternatively, providing too many hooks) is a common flaw of many RPG settings, and can doom an otherwise great concept.]
A few smaller, secondary conflicts also exist. Regardless of the illithids, the elves have ongoing problems, both with internal politics and with the threat of the dark elves of the Spider Moon. The formian colonization efforts threaten to extinguish the gnomish presence in the Chain of Tears, and the formians are also beginning to send exploratory missions toward other worlds, which foretells potential colonization efforts. The characters could have run-ins with pirates anywhere in the system (but particularly in/near the Chain of Tears). The human vs. sahuagin conflict is another local concern which can involve PCs with interests on Quelya.
The mysteries of the two innermost planets’ ancient history—and what, if any, influence the Arcane may have had there—is an overarching setting concern that may or may not affect the PCs.
[As you can see, the arcane are still hanging around, even in this nearly final outline. Like I said, they almost made it in the game, and in retrospect, I probably should have tried harder to get them in the basic setting. Hindsight...]
New vs. Old Spelljammer
This setting represents a slice of the juiciest, meatiest part of what previous versions of Spelljammer have offered. Gone are any “funny” elements (no giant space hamsters or talking penguins), as well as the dull or restrictive parts of the game (no more fresh air bookwork or pilots who lose all their spells).
Instead, this game focuses entirely on what makes Spelljammer fun and cool: swashbuckling ship captains, strange foreign worlds ripe with adventure, and horrible evil presences waiting in the darkness of space.
Here’s a partial list of previous Spelljammer elements that I don’t want to include:
Giant space hamsters and their wacky tinker gnome owners
[Sorry, hamster fans.]
A million and one sentient races
[Too much to keep track of in a small presentation.]
A setting that ignores the presence of spelljamming
[Another flaw of the "world-less" original SJ campaign setting--it didn't tell you how to apply this wondrous new system onto an existing campaign world!]
Pages of rules on air, gravity, and other boring mundanities of space travel
[OK, so I didn't completely get away from this one, but boy, do I find such topics dry and dull.]
Spelljamming as a “linking mechanism” between Dungeons & Dragons worlds
[Since I wanted this to be a discrete, unique system without default links to other settings.]
And here are a few things from old Spelljammer that I want to capture and distill:
Unique ship designs for each spelljamming race
[When sci-fi movies & TV shows get it "right," an alien species' (or civilization's) ship designs tell you something about the race itself, from the deadly Klingon Bird of Prey to the awesome Imperial Star Destroyer. The original Spelljammer got this dead right, and I wanted to keep that feeling.]
Sense of ancient mystery
[It mostly creeps in at the edges of SJ, and I wanted to make it more overt with Spider Moon.]
“Empires” that control planets or sectors of space, with allies and enemies
[I didn't capture this as well as I had originally intended, though it's in there to some extent.]
Swashbuckling energy and enthusiasm
[I think I got this, but the proof is in the playing.]
The fact that you’re flyin’ a freakin’ ship through space!
[By which I meant that I didn't want it to feel too much like just a regular old spaceship game, but a weird hybrid of sailing and spacefaring.]
Spelljammer d20 Outline
I. Characters
A. Races
1. Humans
a. Swashbucklers
b. Native to Quelya
c. Divided into merchant clans
d. Chief enemy: sahuagin
e. Chief ally: halflings
f. Medium spelljamming capabilities
2. Dwarves
a. Freedom fighters
b. Native to Moradin’s Forge
c. Most enslaved by illithids
d. Chief enemies: mind flayers (& grimlocks); orcs
e. No spelljamming capabilities
3. Elves & half-elves
a. Ancient political empire
b. Native to Perianth
c. Society based on intrigue and politics
d. Taught humans spelljamming
e. Chief enemy: dark elves (banished to Spider Moon)
f. Significant spelljamming capabilities
4. Gnomes
a. Plucky survivalists
b. Native to Chain of Tears
c. Chief enemy: formians (rivals for space)
d. Low spelljamming capabilities (some retrofitted ships)
5. Halflings
a. Devious traders
b. Native to Quelya
c. Completely intermingled with humans
d. Chief enemy: sahuagin
e. Chief ally: humans
f. No spelljamming capabilities (use human ships)
6. Half-orcs
a. Brutal mercenaries
b. Native to Moradin’s Forge (most long-departed)
c. Chief enemy: illithids
d. Chief ally: none
e. No spelljamming capabilities
B. Classes
1. Player’s Handbook classes
2. Prestige classes
a. Corsair
b. Spelljammer ace
c. Planetary explorer
d. Planet-specific classes?
e. Encouraged prestige classes from other sources
C. New skills & feats
1. Pilot skill
2. Piloting-related feats
3. Swashbuckling feats?
II. Spelljamming
A. How it works—flying, air, gravity
B. Ship designs (unique style for each race)
III. Equipment, Spells, & Magic Items
IV. Setting
A. One system (no spheres/flow)
B. Several planetary bodies
1. The Pyre (sun; fire body)
2. Ashen (barren desert; old ruins of dead civilization)
3. Verdura (tropical jungle; yuan-ti, dragons, dinosaurs, ruins)
4. Quelya (aquatic w/many islands; humans, sahuagin)
5. Perianth (ancient forest; elves; dark Spider Moon holds drow)
6. Chain of Tears (asteroid belt; gnomes, formians, pirates, city)
7. Moradin’s Forge (cold, underdark; illithids conquering dwarves)
V. Monsters
A. Mind flayers
1. Cruel slavers
2. Control Moradin’s Forge
3. Relatively new to system
4. Chief enemies: dwarves, orcs (everyone)
5. Chief ally: grimlocks (servants)
6. High spelljamming capability
B. Drow
1. Banished renegades from elven society
2. Control the Spider Moon
3. Plot vengeance against the elves
4. Chief enemies: elves
5. Chief allies: none (illithids?)
6. High spelljamming capability
C. Formians
1. Determined colonists
2. Control area of Chain of Tears
3. Relatively new to system
4. Chief enemies: gnomes
5. Chief allies: none
6. Low spelljamming capability (turn asteroids into vessels)
D. Yuan-ti
1. Remnant of a once-powerful race
2. Native to Verdura
3. Chief enemies/allies: none
4. No spelljamming capability (lost long ago)
E. Sahuagin
1. Savage marine predator society
2. Native to Quelya
3. Chief enemies: humans, halflings
4. Chief allies: none (krakens? aboleths?)
5. No spelljamming capability (uninterested)
F. Arcane
1. Ancient mysterious magical race
2. Not native to system
3. Responsible for spelljamming technology?
4. Ruins on Ashen match Arcane architecture?
[See, there they are, still hiding in the outline. Time will tell whether they end up looking like this or as something much, much different.]
Read the original "Dragonstar" synopsis that led to this outline.