Spelljammer Book Creation thread - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Spelljammer Book Creation thread

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Nov 01, 2005 18:22:29 Okay, i'm going to use this thread to bounce around ideas and such.
First thoughts:
All the stuff on spelljammer.org is good but it assumes that you own the old 2.0 books

Secondly the old rules simply don't have the same level of customizability that 3.5 has.

Thirdly, Andy Collins has (sort of) attempted this before, and while he made a good start i'm thinking he missed the mark a little bit(like dropping the concept of Ship's Rating)

Fourth, insofar as i can tell there never was any comprehensive for 2.0.

Finally, this book will probably end up being like 300-400 pages. That's long. So along with this book, a 'primer' will probably need to exist. Something that's provides a quick and dirty intro to spelljammer.

These are only my initial thoughts. I implore everyone out there who loves SJ to get inspired and dig out all your old stuff and help me. Comments are a MUST and i have no problem with constructive criticism, but please be gentle if you criticize
#2
Dragonhelm
Nov 02, 2005 9:32:05 I had a few tidbits of advice on the other thread, so check that out.

Also, Andy Collins has 3.0 conversions of the SJ races on his site, so that will be a huge start.
#3
savant_warlord13
Nov 02, 2005 15:23:29 [INDENT]I am currently engaged in a Spelljammer version 3.5 campaign, but I think the ship combat system presented in many websites is unbalanced and overly complicated. Wizards needs to bring back Spelljammer itself, even if it has to wait until fourth edition. Just out of curiousity, what is the normal amount of time between new editions of DnD, and when would that put the estimated release of 4th edition? [/INDENT]
#4
zombiegleemax
Nov 02, 2005 23:23:03 yehaww! I've actually put some more thought into this now and i've started to create an outline for the e-book. I'll post that when it's done. However, in the meantime, i am thinking of divorcing SJ from the spheres of the more traditional D&D worlds(greyhawk, FR, Krynn) i won't simply say, no SJ on those spheres, but i'm not going to include too terribly much specific info on those areas. Instead I'm creating a sphere from scratch and placing it into the existing cosmology. So the unhuman wars, etc have affected this sphere, but not to the defining degree that the others were affected. Also, anybody have any thoughts on Krynnish gnomes(personally i hate them) but what's the reason they were even used at all?
#5
Dragonhelm
Nov 03, 2005 7:18:45 A couple of quick things...

For ship stats/combat, you might want to check out Airships by Bastion Press. Great resource, and tons of inspiration for SJ.

My own thought on cosmology is that Spelljammer must have its own cosmology, yet be a tool that you can add any sphere. So you could have generic SJ, or you can add in any world, such as Krynn, Toril, Oerth, etc.

As for tinker gnomes, the answer lies in what is common between DL and SJ. Jeff Grubb. ;)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Nov 01, 2005 18:22:29	Okay, i'm going to use this thread to bounce around ideas and such. First thoughts: All the stuff on spelljammer.org is good but it assumes that you own the old 2.0 books Secondly the old rules simply don't have the same level of customizability that 3.5 has. Thirdly, Andy Collins has (sort of) attempted this before, and while he made a good start i'm thinking he missed the mark a little bit(like dropping the concept of Ship's Rating) Fourth, insofar as i can tell there never was any comprehensive for 2.0. Finally, this book will probably end up being like 300-400 pages. That's long. So along with this book, a 'primer' will probably need to exist. Something that's provides a quick and dirty intro to spelljammer. These are only my initial thoughts. I implore everyone out there who loves SJ to get inspired and dig out all your old stuff and help me. Comments are a MUST and i have no problem with constructive criticism, but please be gentle if you criticize
#2 Dragonhelm Nov 02, 2005 9:32:05	I had a few tidbits of advice on the other thread, so check that out. Also, Andy Collins has 3.0 conversions of the SJ races on his site, so that will be a huge start.
#3 savant_warlord13 Nov 02, 2005 15:23:29	[INDENT]I am currently engaged in a Spelljammer version 3.5 campaign, but I think the ship combat system presented in many websites is unbalanced and overly complicated. Wizards needs to bring back Spelljammer itself, even if it has to wait until fourth edition. Just out of curiousity, what is the normal amount of time between new editions of DnD, and when would that put the estimated release of 4th edition? [/INDENT]
#4 zombiegleemax Nov 02, 2005 23:23:03	yehaww! I've actually put some more thought into this now and i've started to create an outline for the e-book. I'll post that when it's done. However, in the meantime, i am thinking of divorcing SJ from the spheres of the more traditional D&D worlds(greyhawk, FR, Krynn) i won't simply say, no SJ on those spheres, but i'm not going to include too terribly much specific info on those areas. Instead I'm creating a sphere from scratch and placing it into the existing cosmology. So the unhuman wars, etc have affected this sphere, but not to the defining degree that the others were affected. Also, anybody have any thoughts on Krynnish gnomes(personally i hate them) but what's the reason they were even used at all?
#5 Dragonhelm Nov 03, 2005 7:18:45	A couple of quick things... For ship stats/combat, you might want to check out Airships by Bastion Press. Great resource, and tons of inspiration for SJ. My own thought on cosmology is that Spelljammer must have its own cosmology, yet be a tool that you can add any sphere. So you could have generic SJ, or you can add in any world, such as Krynn, Toril, Oerth, etc. As for tinker gnomes, the answer lies in what is common between DL and SJ. Jeff Grubb. ;)