History TableTopGame / Spelljammer

The premise of the setting is to link each of ''D&D'''s then-popular campaign settings together by means of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aether_theories the old Ptolemaic view of the cosmos]]; the worlds of ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'', ''TabletopGame/{{Dragonlance}}'', and the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' were (along with thousands of other worlds) stated to be contained in their own "crystal spheres", massive hollow balls large enough to each contain a whole solar system. Some were heliocentric systems, sometimes geocentric, and some were [[WorldShapes flat worlds]] set upon the backs of great tortoises or other "starbeasts". Or something else entirely. The stars you see from your bedroom window are ''not'' other suns -- they're actually balls of light (or glowing gems) stuck to the interior of your world's crystal sphere. Unless, of course, you're in a sphere that has giant glowing ''beetles'' slowly crawling on its inside surface. [[AllMythsAreTrue It happens]].

[[SpaceSailing Flying ships]], called spelljammers (not to be confused with ''[[SpellMyNameWithAThe the]]'' Spelljammer, a legendary ship miles in length) [[SpaceIsAnOcean 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.

Spelljammer received some references in Fourth Edition material: it was one of the settings listed as possible to see print, and some Spelljammer content has made it into the Manual of the Planes (as a ship to sail the Astral Sea and to use to Plane Shift) and Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (specifically referring to the crystal spheres and phlogiston). Sadly, nothing came of this; as 4e ends there is no Spelljammer in sight (though an Epic Destiny in ''Heroes of The Elemental Chaos'' lets you become a Reigar). Mike Mearls said that this wasn't so much due to [[ComedyGhetto Spelljammer being too silly]] but rather [[ContinuitySnarl how hard to pull off the crossover aspect is.]] He said that if they were going to do it in ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition D&D Next]]'', it'd be "its own thing"...

Then, during the D&D Direct event on April 2022, Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast announced that the Spelljammer setting will finally return for the game's Fifth Edition with a sourcebook bundle consisting of ''Astral Adventurer's Guide'', ''Boo's Astral Menagerie'', and an adventure module titled ''Light of Xaryxis'', which released on August 16, 2022.

* CanonImmigrant: The Neogi and the Giff both appeared in ''Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes'', a 5th edition source book primarily for the Forgotten Realms and Planescape settings.

* {{Expy}}: Some of the races are recycled from the aliens in Creator/{{TSR}}'s earlier sci-fi RPG, ''TabletopGame/StarFrontiers''. Rastipedes are based on ''Star Frontiers'''s vrusk, hadozee are yazirians, syllix are sathar, and plasmoids are dralasites.

* SpaceX: Many variant monsters. The best known would likely be "giant space hamster" thanks to the nod in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate''. Other creatures found in Wilspace include asteroid spiders, astrosphinxes, feesu (space-going moths), gossamers (space jellyfish), mortiss ("termites of wildspace"), [[ChestMonster space mimics]], [[TheOwlKnowingOne space owls]], spacesea giants, space swines, [[SelkiesAndWereseals star selkies]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent stellar dragons]], [[TheUndead stellar undead]], zurchins (star urchins)...

** 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' "[[RubeGoldbergDevice ships]]" to wipe this dishonour off the space lanes. It's not that tinker gnomes weren't generally nice guys, but since [[MacGyvering minoi]] [[MilitaryMashupMachine mashup]] [[HomemadeInventions 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 [[KickTheSonOfABitch at least as likely to be approved as condemned]].

** Ontalak Plasmoids are giant ooze creatures that can produce a fibrous covering imitating most common materials. They generally take the appearance of a derelict ship in the Void and wait for a crew to board it for salvage, at which they attack with their tentacles to devour them. Ontalaks can take other forms on the surface of a planet, such as a ghost ship or a haunted house.

** It was specifically stated that players could not reach Athas, the world of ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'', by spelljamming because there were no longer any flows headed in its direction -- presumably because it would provide the Athasians a way to escape their CrapsackWorld or to bring in outside help, either of which would have been thematically at odds with the ''Dark Sun'' setting. (Note that you ''can'' reach ''Ravenloft'' from Athas, because after all, ''Ravenloft'' is arguably an even worse place.) This still feels a bit odd, since ''Dark Sun'' had by far the most "alien world" vibe of any of the other D&D settings, but then again, it was simple enough for individual DM's to ignore the rule and take their spelljamming campaigns there anyway.

* TheEmpire: 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.

* FantasyKitchenSink: And admits this (and encourages in others):

* LivingShip: Although, technically, this was supposed to refer almost exclusively to the Spelljammer itself, 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 -- Neogi vehicle powered by [[PoweredByAForsakenChild life draining]], designed to be used as a "saddle" for [[SpaceWhale something big]]. And some people just live on the backs of [[SpaceWhale kindori]] -- they are big enough for a village and travel in herds.

* OurElvesAreDifferent: The Imperial Elven Navy was a vast but loose empire of elves made up of almost every known subrace from many ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]'' settings. The IEN was a sovereign entity with its own leadership, but it kept groundling elf nations in touch with each other. The Spacefaring Elves had the unpleasant characteristics of their landbound cousins turned up to eleven. They were haughty, aloof, snobbish and though of everyone else as semi-civilized smelly yokels. They were supposed to play the role that the Spanish/British Navy do play in swashbuckling fiction.

** The Arcane are the pre-eminent example of this in the setting, as their entire culture revolves around trading.

* ObviousBeta: ''Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace'' wasn't too buggy, but has a great deal of stuff obviously cut short with an axe.

* MacGuffinTitle: While a "spelljammer" is a genetic name for a ship ([[IAmNotShazam among other things]]), the setting is named after ''the'' Spelljammer, a legendary, sentient ship that everyone in the setting dreams of finding and commanding. Whoever succeeds will gain unimaginable power.

* RentAZilla: 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, Giant Space Hamster of Fear and Flame, Tyrannohamsterus Rex, and the legendary Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen (aka "Wooly Rupert").

* RentAZilla: 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, Giant Space Hamster of Fear and Flame, Tyrannohamsterus Rex, and the legendary Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen.

* SpaceX: Many variant monsters. The best known would likely be "giant space hamster" thanks to the nod in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate''. Other creatures found in Wilspace include asteroid spiders, astrosphinxes, feesu (space-going moths), gossamers (space jellyfish), mortiss ("termites of wildspace"),[[ChestMonster space mimics]], [[TheOwlKnowingOne space owls]], spacesea giants, space swines, [[SelkiesAndWereseals star selkies]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent stellar dragons]], [[TheUndead stellar undead]], zurchins (star urchins)...

* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins: Spelljammer has the Dohwar, a race of telepathic, merchant penguins [[RecycledInSPACE in SPACE]], who ride flying pigs, wear swords on their beaks, and get drunk by eating apples.

* SpaceX: Many variant monsters. The best known would likely be "giant space hamster" thanks to the nod in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate''.

Spelljammer received some references in Fourth Edition material: it was one of the settings listed as possible to see print, and some Spelljammer content has made it into the Manual of the Planes (as a ship to sail the Astral Sea and to use to Plane Shift) and Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (specifically referring to the crystal spheres and phlogiston). Sadly, nothing came of this; as 4e ends there is no Spelljammer in sight (though an Epic Destiny in ''Heroes of The Elemental Chaos'' lets you become a Regiar). Mike Mearls said that this wasn't so much due to [[ComedyGhetto Spelljammer being too silly]] but rather [[ContinuitySnarl how hard to pull off the crossover aspect is.]] He said that if they were going to do it in ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition D&D Next]]'', it'd be "its own thing"...

!! The setting contains examples of:
* AgentPeacock: The Reigar. Beautiful, androgynous artistes...and if pushed into actual combat then several Hells break loose!

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: 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, Giant Space Hamster of Fear and Flame, Tyrannohamsterus Rex, and the legendary Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen.

* BizarreAlienBiology: Almost anything.
** Even peaceful plants, such as ''starfly'' tree -- its seeds leave the atmosphere and go SpaceSailing until they meet a good icy asteroid. Then a seed roots itself, turns its shell into boiler with steam jets ''and slowly thrusts the ice boulder it sits on to a warmer orbit'' where it thaws.
* BoisterousBruiser: The giffs as a race--big hippo-people with a fetish for firearms and an even bigger fetish for bragging about their combat prowess and banging their ships against others.
* CanonImmigrant: The Neogi and the Giff both appeared in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, a 5th edition source book primarily for the Forgotten Realms and Planescape settings.

* {{Crossover}}: Spelljammer crosses over with ''TabletopGame/{{Dragonlance}}'', the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms and ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'', and it can crossover with ''TabletopGame/{{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 ''TabletopGame/{{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 ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}''.

* DeathFromAbove: Averted. A flying weapon platform obviously could have an enormous advantage over groundlings, but spelljammers are too clumsy in the atmosphere and thus are sitting ducks for anything that ''can'' get them. Spelljammer shock--which can be caused by any sort of damage--and failure to replace the helmsman in free fall before hitting the ground means TotalPartyKill. Did we mention helms are ''expensive''?

** 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. They have an especial hatred for goblinoids.
*** The branch on the Spelljammer is outright genocidal -- planning to engage in a war of extermination against all goblinoids that is ''not'' portrayed favorably just because they're evil -- but is fortunately prevented from actually acting on it by, well, being on the Spelljammer.

** The Spelljammer includes, amongst its assorted races and factions, a tower populated by the Shou, an Oriental human culture from TabletopGame/KaraTur who regard ''everyone'' who isn't a Shou as a simple-minded, barbaric gaijin. They're led by a mad magistrate who believes he is the captain of the Spelljammer and has total control over life and death over everyone (he doesn't, not outside the Shou tower, anyway), while his aide, who really runs things, is a secret member of the branch of the abovementioned Xenos and is planning on getting them to wipe out all non-humans so that the Shou can then conquer/eradicate the non-Shou humans.

* GoodGuyBar: The World Serpent Inn mentioned in several sourcebooks was built in its own demiplane by an archmage from [[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Toril]], an Arcane and an [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} Illithid]] as a [[TruceZone neutral ground]] when Sigil turned out to be too violent and inconvenient for quiet business and rest. Not only is it connected to many worlds, but is accessible to powers, and some gods visit it to relax and chat with creatures they deem interesting. It's a GoodGuyBar since no one wants to annoy peacefully grazing deities, and some clients in a common room ''can'' turn out to be gods on a tea-break. And even if there aren't any, TheBartender is an avatar himself -- if some god just likes to meet new people and thinks it's funny, why not?

* HonestJohnsDealership: Rastipede. They are also eager to [[SnakeOilSalesman 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.

* LotusEaterMachine: The Spelljammer, in a sense. Part of its protective elements is that it fills the air envelope it produces with [[CharmPerson arcane pheromones that subtly enchant those who set foot aboard it and inhale its air]]. The charm leaves their thought processes, nature, etc, fundamentally unaltered, but engenders a complete lack of a desire to leave the Spelljammer and a protectiveness that prompts them to fight off attackers or otherwise see to serious threats to the ship. Once removed from the Spelljammer's air envelope, this effect wears off in 2-12 hours. Of course, first you have to get them off, which is the tricky part.
* MacGuffinTitle: While a "spelljammer" is a genetic name for a ship([[IAmNotShazam among other things]]), the setting is named after ''the'' Spelljammer, a legendary, sentient ship that everyone in the setting dreams of finding and commanding. Whoever succeeds will gain unimaginable power.

* MadDoctor: [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor in the Xixchil. An ideal choice to acquaint all {{munchkin}}s in range with, and [[Funny/TabletopGames see]] [[BodyHorror what sort]] of HilarityEnsues.

* MassiveRaceSelection: That's a lot of people collected from most D&D settings and then some more.

-->'''Rozloom''': Please, Captain, you see before you a man in great danger.\\
'''Teldin''': [[ProperlyParanoid "Captain"?]]\\
'''Rozloom''': This one calls you "sir". ''An elf shows you respect? If you are not great captain, you must be small god''.
* OurGnomesAreWeirder: [[Literature/DragonLance Hoo]] ''[[Literature/DragonLance boy]]'' [[Literature/DragonLance are they.]]

** 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.

* ProudMerchantRace: The Arcane are the pre-eminent example of this in the setting, as their entire culture revolves around trading. Downplayed with the Rastipedes, who definitely have a reputation as [[HonestJohnsDealership shrewd-bargaining, less than moral merchants]], but also do other things. Zigzagged with the Dohwar, who ''want'' to be this... but are absolutely ''terrible'' at it.
* RoguishRomani: The Aperusa are usually in roles of harmless entertainers, salvage scavengers, petty thieves or scammers, or at most not-too-brave LovableRogue. They even travel on unarmed (and patchwork) ships. On the exotic side, they're slightly magic-resistant and immune to mind-reading, but can't have PsychicPowers. They also have an extremely misogynistic culture; men are the brains and the brawns while women do all the work and make babies, men get first pick at the loot, a widower can remarry but a widow must stay chaste, etc, and the menfolk in particular love to take advantage of non-Aperusa women who are foolish enough to fall for stories of the romanticism of the Aperusa lifestyle.

* RuleOfCool: This trumps science every time. Though [[MagicAIsMagicA consistency]] beats it.
** Say What? There IS a planet full of giant lizards which are treated as the Tarrasque. EVERY. ONE. OF. THEM. And did I mention said planet is full of them?
*** The ''good'' news is that they're completely docile lithovores... as long as they stay on that planet. It's suggested that the more familiar versions of the Tarrasque are what happen when they're relocated to other worlds, with atmospheres that '''don't''' keep them from going homicidally insane.

* ShortRangeShotgun: 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.

** The Rock of Bral is named due to the Rock of Gibaltrar ("the Rock of Bral (whose origins are the Rock of Gibraltar – again, I will take the blame for that one)." -http://grubbstreet.blogspot.com/2011/02/spelljamming-innnn-spppaaaaaace.html

* ViralTransformation: Aside of the usual ({{the undead}}): Bionoid, an artifical {{shapeshifting}} PersonOfMassDestruction can also be created by infection, as some eggs are still stashed here and there. Did we already mentioned that [[NeglectfulPrecursors elves are nice guys]]?
** For added subtext, the Bionoids are clearly an {{Expy}} of or ShoutOut to ''Manga/{{Guyver}}''.

* WeaponOfMassDestruction: Witchlight Marauders--a weaponized artifical HordeOfAlienLocusts whose only purpose in their life is to eradicate all biomass on a world and die, in preperation for terraforming a world by an invading race. Using them is generally considered a MoralEventHorizon.
** 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...

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Most humans--except Xenos, the club for rabid xenophobes--resigned such worries facing LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces. Usually it's "What Measure Is A Non ''Elf''": not only they remained true to their habits, but the strong fleet allows them to feel superior (and be asses about this) even more than usual.
--> '''[[PersonOfMassDestruction 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.
--> '''[[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} aperusa]]''' (ending a discussion on the elven view of [[HalfHumanHybrid half-elves]] to follow a lady from IEN crew): Ah, but hypocrisy is a wonderful thing in an elven woman! My apologies, Captain, [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre but you understand]]?

!! The specific stories and accessories contain the following:

* CoolHorse: Comet steeds. A timid herbivore (after all, they would need to fight only something they can't outrun). Rather smart--for a horse. Trails sparkles. Fast enough to make interplanetary travel practicable (only 1 point below Ol' Manta herself).
* EarthShatteringKaboom: 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 [[MadArtist some sort of performance]].

* MagneticPlotDevice: an Ultimate Helm.
** That's the magic item that lets you control ''the'' Spelljammer, for those of you who don't know.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Scro vs. IEN frequently approaches this. Scro are LawfulEvil 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.

** WordOfGod [[http://grubbstreet.blogspot.com/2011/02/spelljamming-innnn-spppaaaaaace.html confirms]] the Clockwork Horrors as one for [[Series/DoctorWho the Daleks]], although they have more of a HordeOfAlienLocusts aspect to their methodology and look very different.

** It was specifically stated that players could not reach Athas, the world of ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'', by spelljamming because there were no longer any flows headed in its direction -- presumably because it would provide the Athasians a way to escape their CrapsackWorld or to bring in outside help, either of which would have been thematically at odds with the ''Dark Sun'' setting. (Note that you ''can'' reach ''Ravenloft'' from Athas, because after all, ''Ravenloft'' is arguably an even worse place.) This still feels a bit odd, since Dark Sun had by far the most "alien world" vibe of any of the other D&D settings, but then again, it was simple enough for individual DM's to ignore the rule and take their spelljamming campaigns there anyway.

* {{Crossover}}: Spelljammer crosses over with TabletopGame/{{Dragonlance}}, the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}, and it can crossover with TabletopGame/{{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 TabletopGame/{{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 TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}.
** It was specifically stated that players could not reach Athas, the world of ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'', by spelljamming because there were no longer any flows headed in its direction -- presumably because it would provide the Athasians a way to escape their CrapsackWorld or to bring in outside help, either of which would have been thematically at odds with the ''Dark Sun'' setting. (Note that you ''can'' reach ''Ravenloft'' from Athas, because after all, Ravenloft is arguably an even worse place.) This still feels a bit odd, since Dark Sun had by far the most "alien world" vibe of any of the other D&D settings, but then again, it was simple enough for individual DM's to ignore the rule and take their spelljamming campaigns there anyway.

** It was specifically stated that players could not reach Athas, the world of TabletopGame/DarkSun, by spelljamming -- presumably because it would provide the Athasians a way to escape their CrapsackWorld or to bring in outside help, either of which would have been thematically at odds with the Dark Sun setting. (Note that you ''can'' reach ''Ravenloft'' from Athas, because after all, Ravenloft is arguably an even worse place.) This still feels a bit odd, since Dark Sun had by far the most "alien world" vibe of any of the other D&D settings, but then again, it was simple enough for individual DM's to ignore the rule and take their spelljamming campaigns there anyway.

** It was specifically stated that players could not reach Athas, the world of TabletopGame/DarkSun, by spelljamming -- presumably because it would provide the Athasians a way to escape their CrapsackWorld or to bring in outside help, either of which would have been thematically at odds with the Dark Sun setting. (Note that you ''can'' reach ''Ravenloft'' from Athas, because after all, Ravenloft is arguably an [[UpToEleven even worse place.)]] This still feels a bit odd, since Dark Sun had by far the most "alien world" vibe of any of the other D&D settings, but then again, it was simple enough for individual DM's to ignore the rule and take their spelljamming campaigns there anyway.

* OurElvesAreDifferent: The Imperial Elven Navy was a vast but loose empire of elves made up of almost every known subrace from many ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]'' settings. The IEN was a sovereign entity with its own leadership, but it kept groundling elf nations in touch with each other. The Spacefaring Elves had the unpleasant characteristics of their landbound cousins turned {{up to eleven}}. They were haughty, aloof, snobbish and though of everyone else as semi-civilized smelly yokels. They were supposed to play the role that the Spanish/British Navy do play in swashbuckling fiction.

* BoisterousBruiser: The giffs as a race--big hippo-people with a fetish for firearms. Seriously.

* CrossoverCosmology: Any imaginable cosmology is likely to be implemented in at least one crystal sphere. Somewhere.

%%* SpaceIsMagic: Literally.
* SpaceIsAnOcean: With ships, barnacles, and, well...
* SpaceOrcs: The [[SdrawkcabName scro]] -- although bloodthirsty, xenophobic, and all-around unpleasant -- are quite intelligent and disciplined (even [[LawfulEvil honorable after a fashion]]), and verge on being "Blizzard orcs". 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 -- RoaringRampageOfRevenge, 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 Film/{{Gamera}} and the "good" races of the setting having to put aside differences to fight the common threat.

Then, during the D&D Direct event on April 2022, Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast announced that the Spelljammer setting will finally return for the game's Fifth Edition with a sourcebook bundle consisting of ''Astral Adventurer's Guide'', ''Boo's Astral Menagerie'', and an adventure module titled ''Light of Xaryxis'', which is set to be released on August 2022.

Spelljammer received some references in Fourth Edition material: it was one of the settings listed as possible to see print, and some Spelljammer content has made it into the Manual of the Planes (as a ship to sail the Astral Sea and to use to Plane Shift) and Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (specifically referring to the crystal spheres and phlogiston). Sadly, nothing came of this; as 4e ends there is no Spelljammer in sight (though an Epic Destiny in ''Heroes of The Elemental Chaos'' lets you become a Regiar). Mike Mearls said that this wasn't so much due to [[ComedyGhetto Spelljammer being too silly]] but rather [[ContinuitySnarl how hard to pull off the crossover aspect is.]] He said that if they were going to do it in [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition D&D Next]], it'd be "its own thing"...

''Spelljammer'' was utterly preposterous, didn't really care one whit about real-world astronomy or physics, and was completely aware of this. Never taking itself all that seriously, it was one of the few inherently ''[[RuleOfFun fun]]'' games that Creator/{{TSR}} was permitted to publish in that era. A very brief list of some of the things that you will find in Spelljammer, besides a deliciously crazy mish-mash of everything ''D&D'' has to offer: WeirdScience, {{Space Pirate}}s, [[Franchise/BaldursGate giant space hamsters]], [[BritishStuffiness stuffy British]] [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]], and [[OurGnomesAreWeirder gnomes]] who [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder think that catapults are a good replacement for staircases]].

Then, during the D&D Direct event on April 2022, Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast announced that the Spelljammer setting will finally return for the game's Fifth Edition with sourcebooks such as ''Astral Adventurer's Guide'' and ''Boo's Astral Menagerie'', as well as an adventure module titled ''Light of Xaryxis'', which are set to be released on August 2022.

[[caption-width-right:350:''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' meets ''Franchise/StarTrek''. It's like [[NerdGasm porn for nerds.]]]]

A 3rd edition remake of the setting appeared in an issue of ''Dungeon Magazine''. While thematically identical to the original Spelljammer (although with its own default campaign setting limited to a single system), it removes the Phlogiston/Crystal Spheres to replace them with the vacuum of space and star systems/galaxies, with the notable difference that suns are also portals to the Elemental Plane of Fire with their own atmospheres and natural satellites (apparently magic still outright ''replaces'' physics). Additionally, a later issue of ''Dragon Magazine'' included 3rd edition versions of popular Spelljammer races. Other than that it was mostly abandoned (no proper products) and left to fans.

Spelljammer received some references in Fourth Edition material: it was one of the settings listed as possible to see print, and some Spelljammer content has made it into the Manual of the Planes (as a ship to sail the Astral Sea and to use to Plane Shift) and Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (specifically referring to the crystal spheres and phlogiston). Sadly, nothing came of this; as 4e ends there is no Spelljammer in sight (though an Epic Destiny in ''Heroes of The Elemental Chaos'' lets you become a Regiar). Mike Mearls said that this wasn't so much due to [[ComedyGhetto Spelljammer being too silly]] but rather [[ContinuitySnarl how hard to pull off the crossover aspect is.]] He said that if they were going to do it in ''D&D'' Next it'd be "its own thing"

There's one series of novels (''[[http://spelljammer.wikia.com/wiki/Cloakmaster_Cycle,_The The Cloakmaster Cycle]]''), one short-lived DC comic book series, and one VideoGame (''Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace'') using this setting. The dedicated fan portal also tracking usenet groups and keeping mirrors of Spelljammer fan-sites that go down is [[http://www.spelljammer.org/ spelljammer.org]].