Line #9 TabletopGame/Spelljammer


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Spelljammer_4016_2701.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Franchise/StarTrek''. It's like [[NerdGasm porn for nerds.]]]]
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4	''Spelljammer'' (released on November 1, 1989) is an ''Advanced TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting that adds up to D&D [[JustForFun/RecycledInSPACE in SPACE]]. It has a small but loyal following. Created during a dark era of ExecutiveMeddling (see [[Trivia/{{Spelljammer}} the Trivia page]] for details), it was an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the StandardSciFiSetting in a fantasy RPG.
5
6	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, some were 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]].
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8	[[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.
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10	''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, SpacePirates, [[Franchise/BaldursGate giant space hamsters]], [[BritishStuffiness stuffy British]] [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]], and [[OurGnomesAreWeirder gnomes]] who [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder think that catapults are a good replacement for staircases]].
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12	Due to the limited print run (again due to ExecutiveMeddling), the ''Spelljammer'' materials can mainly be found at [[http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/ DriveThruRPG.com]].
13
14	A parody setting released by the guys who made ''TabletopGame/HackMaster'', ''[=HackJammer=]'', attempted to fit the setting to a well-tested set of rules that made it more playable, but for many it was too little too late.
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16	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.
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18	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 the setting 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"...
19
20	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.
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22	There's one series of novels (''[[http://spelljammer.wikia.com/wiki/Cloakmaster_Cycle,_The The Cloakmaster Cycle]]''), one short-lived DC comic book series, one [[Literature/AWildRide gamebook]], 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]].
23
24	----
25	!!''Spelljammer'' provides examples of:
26
27	* AgentPeacock: The Reigar. Beautiful, androgynous artistes... and if pushed into actual combat then several hells break loose!
28	* AllTheoriesAreTrue: Phlogiston! Crystal spheres!
29	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: One of the first major ''D&D'' settings to start playing with this, from Nazi elves, to a community of relatively decent illithids, to a non-evil mutant Beholder bartender.
30	* AmazonBrigade: The Lakshu. These "teeth-gritting, armored harridans" were stupid enough to try to attack the "namby-pamby artistes" that are the Reigar, who promptly subjugated them and reshaped them all to look identical so as to make them into a single work of "art". Now they serve as muscle for their Reigar masters.
31	* ArtificialGravity: Technically, gravity "carpets" on small objects were a natural phenomenon.
32	* ArtisticLicenseSpace: ''Spelljammer'' defies actual astronomy so obviously that it can only have possibly been intentional. The stated design intent was to create a game where a medieval knight standing on the prow of a sailing ship currently floating in space would be completely normal.
33	* AttackReflector:
34	** A symbiont is a animated fungus found in space. Any spell cast at a symbiont is reflected back at the caster at full strength.
35	** The buzzjewel is an insect-like critter found in Wildspace. It can reflect spells cast at it back at the caster.
36	* TheBattlestar: Tsunami (Human--Wa), Armada (Elven) and Mammoth (Ogre) are heavily armed carriers of small crafts.
37	* BishieSparkle: The Reigar have this as an inherent part of their physical appearance, to the degree where they have ''weaponized'' it.
38	* 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.
39	* 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.
40	* CanonImmigrant:
41	** Arcanes were also part of the ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' setting from its inception.
42	** The Neogi were re-introduced to ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'' by the ''Lord of Madness'' sourcebook.
43	** The Neogi and the Giff both appeared in ''Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes'', a 5th edition sourcebook primarily for the ''Forgotten Realms'' and ''Planescape'' settings.
44	* CaptainErsatz:
45	** The bionoids are basically mass-produced Manga/{{Guyver}} units, right down to the chest cannon.
46	** Gammaroids for Film/{{Gamera}}, if the name doesn't qualify them as a ShoutOut.
47	** 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.[[invoked]]
48	* CastOfExpies: 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.
49	* ChestMonster:
50	** [[SpaceX Space Mimics]] are a variant of common mimics found in Wildspace. They have most of the same physical abilities, but are much more intelligent; they can levitate and cast low-level illusionist spells. Space Mimics are interested in books, scrolls and magic as much as in food, and sometimes barter for both.
51	** 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 time 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.
52	* ColonyDrop: Not typically, but still, it's a possibility.
53	-->'''Zelva Twogg''', Secretary for Wildspace Affairs, New Waterdeep: If we could find some way to tow that old dwarven citadel into orbit around our world, we'd have a fantastic station from which we could open trade to the other worlds in this sphere. We'd probably do best to contact some adventurers to do the work for us.\
54	'''Skrund the Bald''', Undermarshall for Pan-Goblin Affairs, New Trollmoor: If we could find some way to tow that old dwarven citadel so that it was heading right for New Waterdeep, we'd be rid of those damned humans in an eyeblink. We'd probably do best to contact some pirates or monsters to do the work for us.
55	* {{Crossover}}:
56	** 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}}''.
57	** 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 [=DMs=] to ignore the rule and take their spelljamming campaigns there anyway.
58	* CrossoverCosmology: Any imaginable cosmology is likely to be implemented in at least one crystal sphere. Somewhere. It is implied that this is why creatures and Gods from historical Mythology show up in D&D realms, settings, and homebrew with wildly different interpretations.
59	* CrownOfPower:
60	** The Crown of the Stars in the boxed set allows the wearer to propel a ship as if they were sitting on a spelljamming helm.
61	** The Crown of the Void in ''Lost Ships'' gives its user their own breathable atmosphere, allowing them to live in the vacuum of space.
62	* DeathFromAbove:
63	** 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''?
64	** An example: "The Three Greenwings Wars". IEF sent Monarch Mordent to aid the defenders of [[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Myth Drannor]]. It helped a lot, but as the name implies, emerged in one piece from only two battles. The third time man-o-war descended to have a good shot, one nycaloth flies up and starts chopping a wing with great axe, simply ignoring most of the stuff elves can quickly hurl at him without breaking their own ship. The wing falls off, spelljammer shock kills their helmsman, the ship crashes.
65	* DefeatEqualsExplosion: From ''Lost Ships'', Tinkerers are comical-looking spherical creatures with 6 eyes and 4 arms (maybe distant cousins of beholders). They move around by expelling gas, and if hit with a piercing weapon for too much damage, can explode violently from the gas they contain.
66	* EarthShatteringKaboom: The Master Stroke, which was the Reigar's grand attempt to achieve the ultimate artistic expression of war -- by blowing up their own home planet! It's not an accident that most sane people try to avoid these guys.
67	* ElementalRockPaperScissors: The distribution of Fire (suns) and Earth (planets) especially, determined the structure of a system, and the fact that Air tended to "stick" to objects and people made interplanetary and inter-sphere travel possible.
68	* TheEmperor: Vulkaran the Dark, overlord of the Vodoni Empire.
69	* TheEmpire: The campaign-length adventure ''Under the Dark Fist'' introduced the Vodoni Empire, a totalitarian and expansionist human empire that controls no less than twelve solar systems.
70	* {{Expy}}: The Space Clowns' modus operandi -- travelling to populated worlds, setting up tents to lure inhabitants, and hunting them for sport with toy-like ray guns before eating their dead victims' flesh -- makes them extremely similar to the Film/KillerKlownsFromOuterSpace. The Phantasmal Form spell also mentions that they can hide behind the illusion of a single floating balloon to catch their prey off-guard, evoking [[Film/It2017 the film version of Pennywise]].
71	* FantasticRacism: Not much, given the LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces in the setting, but still.
72	** There's human organization Xenos, guys who hate all other races.
73	** 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.
74	** 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 at least as likely to be approved as condemned.
75	** Beholders ''always'' run on this trope, but here they can engage in their pointless race wars in full view of everyone else with entire fleets going at it.
76	** 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 above-mentioned 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.
77	* FantasyAliens: These are a major feature of the setting, in the form of both original species found wandering in magic starships through the pseudo-ptolemaic universe and traditional fantasy races who went up and joined them.
78	* FantasyKitchenSink: Admits this (and encourages in others):
79	--> ...the writer once described his own campaign as a "cosmic vacuum cleaner, sucking up every fantasy idea that crossed its path."
80	* ForgottenSuperWeapon: Second Unhuman War has elements of the Forgotten Super Arms Race, so to speak.
81	* 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?
82	* GreyAndGrayMorality: Scro vs. IEN frequently approaches this. Scro are Lawful Evil 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.
83	* HamsterWheelPower: Gnomish technology is often powered by giant space hamsters running in wheels.
84	* HonestJohnsDealership:
85	** 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.
86	** Dohwar peddlers try to do the same, but end up as a PluckyComicRelief -- they try to palm off flying pigs and think ''[[RubeGoldbergDevice gnomish contraptions]]'' are perfectly normal goods, for crying out loud.
87	* HumanResources: The infamous Death Helms or Lifejammers operate by using the life force of a victim strapped into it to power the ship. They're a favorite of neogi and other evil spacefarers.
88	* HumongousMecha: Elven Spirit Warriors, giant undead artificially-grown insect bodies controlled by a pilot in the torso.
89	* LivingShip:
90	** 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.
91	** Reigar Esthetics are more potentially dangerous as a lifeform, though just as mindless.
92	** Borderline cases are Tick -- Neogi vehicle powered by [[PoweredByAForsakenChild life draining]], designed to be used as a "saddle" for [[SpaceWhale something big]].
93	** And some people just live on the backs of [[SpaceWhale kindori]] -- they are big enough for a village and travel in herds.
94	* 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.
95	* MacGuffinTitle: While a "spelljammer" is a generic 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.
96	* MacGyvering: Nearly ''everything'' ever made by tinker gnomes.
97	* MadArtist: The Reigar. [[PlanetOfHats Every last one]]. Legend says that they [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroyed their homeworld]] due to their obsession with art. Add a spoon of MadScientist and two drops of ParodySue, shake until it tastes great and mildly scary.
98	* 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.
99	* MadeOfPhlebotinum: This [[{{verse}} setting]] as a whole.
100	* MagiTek: Crops up here and there, with the likes of Autognomes (whose malfunctions can be either hilarious or horrifying), and Clockwork Horrors, a race of mechanical spider-like robots that can strip a world of all life over a couple centuries.
101	* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover
102	* MassiveRaceSelection: That's a lot of people collected from most ''D&D'' settings and then some more.
103	-->'''Gaeadrelle Goldring''', [[spoiler:[[HalfHumanHybrid half-kender]]]] on the [[TruceZone Rock of Bral]]: I used to think that a lizard was a lizard, you know, but then I saw that there were as many types of them as there are of people like us. I met some trogs once, not very friendly ones at that, and, wow, did they ever stink. It was incredible. Then I met dracons, saurials, sithp'k, and, of course, the wasag, like that little blue guy over there.
104	* MonsterClown: Space Clowns, of course.
105	* TheMultiverse: The characters travel between Crystal Spheres, each containing a solar system or some variant thereof. Basically, [[CrossoverCosmology every]] non-scientific legend of what the stars and planets are wind up being literally true in at least one crystal sphere. Additionally, ''Spelljammer'' took place within the greater multiverse featured in ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}''.
106	* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Lots of. See also the footnote on [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Giant]] [[JustForFun/RecycledInSPACE Space]] [[FluffyTheTerrible Hamsters]] above.
107	* OneWordTitle: Also a {{Portmantitle}} because it's a compound word, and a MacGuffinTitle.
108	* OrganicTechnology: Several, elves are best known, as the creators of [[PersonOfMassDestruction Bionoids]] and [[LivingShip transport modifications]] of ''starfly'' plant (gadabout, flitter/man-o-war/armada). Reigar at least made their Esthetics and changed Lakshu to their current form. Goblinoid races once made [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Witchlight Marauders]].
109	* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: They live in giant stone space stations sculpted to look like bearded faces, but otherwise, still the same.
110	* OurElvesAreDifferent: The Imperial Elven Navy was a vast but loose empire of elves made up of almost every known subrace from many ''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.
111	-->'''Rozloom:''' Please, Captain, you see before you a man in great danger.\
112	'''Teldin:''' [[ProperlyParanoid "Captain"?]]\
113	'''Rozloom:''' This one calls you "sir". ''An elf shows you respect? If you are not great captain, you must be small god''.
114	%%* OurGnomesAreWeirder: [[Literature/DragonLance Hoo]] ''[[Literature/DragonLance boy]]'' [[Literature/DragonLance are they.]]
115	* OurMonstersAreDifferent:
116	** There were whole new manuals about ''D&D'' species adapted to "Wildspace", and a few unique to the setting.
117	** Mindflayers and Beholders, already moderately popular in normal settings, were elevated to new heights of villainous complexity, while the Neogi, a cross between a moray eel and a goat-sized tarantula were introduced to serve as reavers and slave traders.
118	* TheOwlKnowingOne: [[SpaceX Space Owls]] are normal-sized owls with genius-level intelligence and great longevity. They are often used as navigators on spelljamming ships, being able to memorize all the heavenly bodies in a crystal sphere and orient themselves without even a star chart. They are also often proficient in some other subjects, such as astrology, ancient history, animal lore, engineering and spellcraft.
119	* PoisonIsCorrosive: Supplement ''Greyspace''. The horg secrete a corrosive, poisonous liquid from their teeth and claws. Any creature they bite or claw takes up to 20 HitPoints of damage per minute for 10 minutes.
120	* {{Portmantitle}}: Also a MacGuffinTitle-type OneWordTitle.
121	* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Death Helms or Lifejammers tap the life force of living beings to power vessels. Employed by Neogi and other evil spacefaring races.
122	* ProudMerchantRace:
123	** The Arcane are the preeminent example of this in the setting, as their entire culture revolves around trading.
124	** Downplayed with the Rastipedes, who definitely have a reputation as [[HonestJohnsDealership shrewd-bargaining, less than moral merchants]], but also do other things.
125	** Zigzagged with the Dohwar, who ''want'' to be this... but are absolutely ''terrible'' at it.
126	* 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.
127	* 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 (a.k.a. "Wooly Rupert").
128	* RubeGoldbergDevice: Nearly ''everything'' ever made by [[BunglingInventor tinker gnomes]].
129	* RuleOfCool: This trumps science every time. Though [[MagicAIsMagicA consistency]] beats it. Usually. There IS a planet full of giant lizards which are treated as the Tarrasque. EVERY. ONE. 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.
130	* SapientShip: "''the'' [[TitleDrop Spelljammer]]". It also spawns little cute Smalljammers -- unarmed, but very agile living boats capable of {{empath}}ic contact and [[{{Glamour}} magical mimicry]].
131	* SdrawkcabName: [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Scro]].
132	* 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.
133	* ShoutOut:
134	** [[http://www.spelljammer.org/ships/deckplans/Dolphin.gif Dolphin]]: the ship with a detachable shuttle on top of an extended curved "neck"? Hmm, [[Franchise/StarTrek what]] this strange construction could [[http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/File:MPost16057E-PlotDevices%2Ejpg resemble]]?.
135	** 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
136	** From ''The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook'' comes this reference:
137	--->"I love the bitter stink of smokepowder in the morning. It smells like... victory."
138	-->Sergeant-Major Orsin "[[Film/ApocalypseNow Apocalypse]]" Themus,\
139	716th Marine Regiment, Realmspace\
140	Second Unhuman War
141	* ShroudedInMyth: The ''Spelljammer'' itself.
142	* SpaceFighter: The main limitation on such tactics is the cost of power sources for every warboat, thus Wa churn out rudders of propulsion for Locusts, elven Flitters are built upon starfly wings and goblinoid Blades use relatively cheap Death Helms (a.k.a. lifejammers).
143	* SpaceIsMagic: Literally! "Space" here is generally filled with magic of all sorts from between realms, and many weapons are powered by magic.
144	* SpaceIsAnOcean: With ships, barnacles, angry pirates, tall tales, and Napoleon-style sweet uniforms.
145	* 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 "[[Creator/BlizzardEntertainment 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.
146	* SpacePirates: Naturally. One variety is the "Pirates of Gith", who use hit-and-run tactics including temporarily shifting to another plane of existence.
147	* SpaceSailing: The various spelljamming ships in this setting tend to be modeled fairly closely after ocean-going ships.
148	* SpaceWhale: Not to mention space dolphins and space sharks and an echinoderm or whatever those Esthetics are. And the eponymous Space Manta Ray.
149	* 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]], [[OurGiantsAreBigger spacesea giants]], [[FullBoarAction space swines]], [[SelkiesAndWereseals star selkies]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent stellar dragons]], [[TheUndead stellar undead]], zurchins (star urchins)...
150	* ThatsNoMoon: A few creatures of Wildspace can be confused at first glance for asteroids (astereaters, murderoids), small moons (meteorspawns, rogue moons) or even distant planets (gonnlingdaah) until you get close enough. Some are ambush predators, others use the camouflage just to be left alone.
151	* TreeVessel: Space vessels created by elves in the setting are grown, not built, from living, leafy trees.
152	* UnitConfusion: More than a whole army of umber hulks could make. Those "space tons", dagnabbit. In one {{sourcebook}} a mass of 1 ton allows an atmosphere of 100 cu.yd. of air, in another it means body's own displacement of 100 cu.yd., so...
153	* 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}}''.
154	* TheWallAroundTheWorld: Crystal shells.
155	* WeaponOfMassDestruction:
156	** 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.
157	** There are mentions of beholders building a gigantic weapon resembling an eye the size of a small moon. This eye was capable of destroying entire worlds...
158	* WeirdScience: The ''gnomes''! Who happen to be a branch of the tinker gnomes from ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' who found a way into space but never found a way back down...
159	* 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.
160	-->'''[[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.\
161	'''[[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]]?
162	* AWizardDidIt: The setting ''runs'' on this trope. As one source book put it, "It's magic, and it ''[[MagicAIsMagicA knows]]'' it's magic."
163	* WorldShapes: All and any. ''Mostly'', planets in solar systems, but even these got tons of quirks.
164	* XenomorphXerox: Yitsans are alien monsters with taut, hairless skin, scorpion stingers, sharp claws, and elongated, eyeless heads marked by bony crests. Unlike most Xenomorphoids, it doesn't implant eggs — rather, its eggs resemble gold coins, so as to trick humanoids into deliberately picking them up and carrying them around.
165
166	----
167	!! The specific stories and accessories provides examples of:
168
169	* ClingyMacguffin: The Cloak that Teldin Moore gets at the beginning of ''The Cloakmaster Cycle''.
170	* 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).
171	* EarthShatteringKaboom:
172	** In the First Unhuman War at least one planet was blasted into asteroid cluster. By elves, of course (the Shattering of Borka).
173	** The Reigar blew up their homeworld in [[MadArtist some sort of performance]].
174	* FarmBoy: Teldin Moore, well, he is not exactly a boy anymore, being in his early thirties when the first book begins, but he still fits the trope.
175	* GiantFootprintReveal: That ''big'' lake on the map in ''Herd''space... "Looks like something stepped there, doesn't it?".
176	* HalfHumanHybrid: And not just any, but a half-''[[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} kender]]''.
177	* HollowWorld: Herdspace, described in ''The Maelstrom's Eye'' by Roger E. Moore got an inhabitable landscape on its internal surface. Oh, it's rather small... for a crystal sphere.
178	* IAmDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: ''The Cloakmaster Cycle'' starts this way.
179	* MagneticPlotDevice: An Ultimate Helm. That's the magic item that lets you control ''the'' Spelljammer, for those of you who don't know.
180	* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: ''The Cloakmaster Cycle'' and at least one SourceBook has one honorable and even rather nice... [[BrainFood mindflayer]].

Context TabletopGame / Spelljammer