Picks of #Spelljammer on tumblr

Whenever I trawl through RPG-tumblr I am struck that there is this persistent Spelljammer vibe, a sense that that setting thrives there in campaigns, fan-art, home-brew and general chatter more than anywhere else. I have no explanation but I am fascinated and I think it is great to see.

To contrast, the Planescape tag is channel-jammed by the old computer RPG Planescape: Torment and then what remains is mostly all Sigil - not bad if you like those sort of things but once you go past those two the rest of everything you get is so much more diffuse. There are flashes of brilliance in there for any given thing you might be interested in but with so much involved in the Planescape setting as a whole, you don't get much for any single thing.

I was pondering why I like what I see in the Spelljammer tag and I think it is because you can pretty much grab any good idea you see there and drop it into your own campaign as a wandering encounter, an NPC you run into or a site you find because you could come across anything in Wildspace, anything at all, whereas most other settings, require a touch more filtering for terrain-appropriate ideas (Planescape included, though swap in 'plane-appropriate').

I do not know why Spelljammer strikes a nerve - perhaps 'D&D in Spaaaace' falls closer to peoples hearts than it did, perhaps the kaleidoscopic-skies aesthetic aligns, who knows - but for whatever reason it is, if you are at all interested in Spelljammer, browsing the tag on tumblr is a good place for inspiration. Afterwards Reddit will give you crunch and answer questions once you have specific ones or you can delve into the vast wells of knowledge on forums like The Piazza.

Some of my favourite things I found:

@dailyadventureprompts gives us Drafting an Adventure: Setting Sail in the Astral Sea - good content for the Astral.

@dailyadventureprompts gives us Drafting the Adventure: Spelljamming - significant thought on running Spelljammer right.

@leavingautumn13 gives us Reimagining the Neogi

@madlabgames writes Spelljamming, Reimagined: The Flow, The Void, and The Hull - delving back into AD&D lore and doing a complete rework of the whole concept. A solid alternate concept.

@spyglassrealms shares a More interesting Realmspace

@honourablejester throws out a bunch of Spelljammer Concepts for characters.

@dnd-5e-homebrew compiles some hombrew rules for Sailing the Astral Flow

@flailsnails gives us A Spelljammer Buyer's Guide - your grand list of capsule reviews for all the old AD&D products.

@nothingrpgzone gives us Spelljammer Advanced Sphere Generator - a nice revamp of the old AD&D sphere generator way, way more cleanly put together.

@thatboomerkid collates their SpellJammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon (Special Rules) from their campaign - for Pathfinder, but ideas useable whatever your system.

@madlabgames gives us 🦗 The Orthopterans: Threat Assessment & Cosmic Order ⚙️

@dailyadventureprompts gives us Monsters Reimagined: Mindflayers

@elbiotipo has Some thoughts for a D&D Spelljammer setting and gives us another trove of 'take as you please' ideas to tweak your own tables version.

@amarynceus compiles Old Spelljammer Artwork from their high-school game - great notes from someone who used the setting in anger.

@d20-dimwit worked up alternate 5e versions of the Spelljammer Races.

@kor-artificer works up Skyship Weatherlight as a vehicle so needs a touch more conversion work but a good start for a Spelljammer.

@dmsden gives us Shiver Me Timbers - Notes on running a pirate-themed campaign

@madlabgames shares 🔮⚓ Arcane Engines: Three Unique Spelljamming Helms for Your Crew! ⚙️💫