Yeah, I'm going there. I think this adventure path is just the shot in the arm Pyrespace(from Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon) needs to get more people into it! Is anyone with me? I'll start working on stuff asap.
Yeah, I'm going there. I think this adventure path is just the shot in the arm Pyrespace(from Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon) needs to get more people into it! Is anyone with me? I'll start working on stuff asap.
I'm with you. It sounds like a brilliant idea. I hope you plan to downplay some of Spelljammer's sillier concepts, however.
Speaking for myself, I always thought the Giff, Dohwar, and the bloody gnomes were beyond useless, more like sources of irritation. There were several parts of the setting that seemed to have been done for sheer campiness.
I would love to see an SJAP, but one that treats the material seriously. I have nothing against a little levity in a game, but when a setting seems to be asking for a laugh track, I lose interest.
What sort of concepts did you have in mind for this Wildspace AP? If you don't mind my asking.
Preach on brother! I, too, would love to see more SJ material.
Yeah, I'm going there. I think this adventure path is just the shot in the arm Pyrespace(from Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon) needs to get more people into it! Is anyone with me? I'll start working on stuff asap.I'm with you. It sounds like a brilliant idea. I hope you plan to downplay some of Spelljammer's sillier concepts, however.
Speaking for myself, I always thought the Giff, Dohwar, and the bloody gnomes were beyond useless, more like sources of irritation. There were several parts of the setting that seemed to have been done for sheer campiness.
I would love to see an SJAP, but one that treats the material seriously. I have nothing against a little levity in a game, but when a setting seems to be asking for a laugh track, I lose interest.
What sort of concepts did you have in mind for this Wildspace AP? If you don't mind my asking.
Oh me oh my! I didn't expect feedback so quickly. Well, first things first- I am going to separate Pyrespace from Greyspace on this one. As you said, you aren't a fan of the giff or the gnomes. I'm not sure what the dohwar are, however, please fill me in on that one. But I have a couple of boxed sets for the original Spelljammer, so I think I can cobble something together. I'm flipping through the old issue of Polyhedron even as we speak, so I should have my first post for both before the end of the day.
if anyone needs a reference point for any of the 2nd ed spelljammer material, I've got a complete set sitting on my shelves (including the greyspace supplement). :D
while I'd personally love to see spelljammer given a solid 3.5 treatment, I can understand why it hasn't gotten it. while I agree that there were elements which were just too comedic, I will always hold dear a place in my heart for Giant Space Hampsters. fear them. love them. feed them! As is, I think this AP might be an interesting fit with spelljammer, and when it comes out i'll probably read it with the possibilities of spelljammer in mind.
Sasserine = Rock of Bral, the Isle of Dread = a large asteroid in the grinder (spherical asteroid belt surrounding the center of greyspace)....hmmmm....
Oh me oh my! I didn't expect feedback so quickly. Well, first things first- I am going to separate Pyrespace from Greyspace on this one. As you said, you aren't a fan of the giff or the gnomes. I'm not sure what the dohwar are, however, please fill me in on that one. But I have a couple of boxed sets for the original Spelljammer, so I think I can cobble something together. I'm flipping through the old issue of Polyhedron even as we speak, so I should have my first post for both before the end of the day.
If memory serves, the dohwar are penguin-like traders who refer to the Arcane as 'our competitors'. Irritating little buggers. Like so many things in the SJ setting, they seemed to have been tossed in because someone in charge thought they were funny.
First post by the end of the day? Right on! Looking forward to seeing what you've got.
Yeah, but for every penguin creature and giant space hampster, you also had ideas like the orcs actually dominating Wildspace for a while, and humanoids creating doomsday biological weapons for mass scale warfare. Overall it was a cool idea, and heck, I do still have a soft spot for Giff (think about how nasty Hippos are in real life sometime, no matter how silly the idea seems).
The main thing that bothered me was when the things that were set up in the initial boxed set had a way of being forgotten, like that fact that it was suppose to be REALLY hard to find a route TO Krynn, but that there were "rivers" in the Phlogiston that lead away from Krynn. Then later on we get supplements that act like Krynn has all of these busy Spaceports and that people are zipping back and forth between Krynnspace, Greyspace, and Realmspace. Its funny, because recent threads have mentioned that it was "too easy" to reach Krynn in 2nd edition, but the way it was intended in the initial boxed set, it was pretty rare to sail INTO Krynn, but since Krynn didn't allow for what we now refer to as epic level characters, such characters could leave relatively easily, they just couldn't go back. Sorry, had to vent there.
At any rate, it would indeed be interesting to see a Spelljammer conversion of this whole she-bang, though I would be interested to see how the madness spreading issue will work across various planets.
Sorry I took so long- work beckoned. Here's what I have for Pyrespace so far- I hope it inspires and entertains(and Andy Collins forgive me if I’ve taken too many liberties!).
The port city of Sasserine is on the water planet, Quelya. It is one of the planet's few sources of lumber, and a natural hub for business. Certain elves of the forest world Perianth- which holds a monopoly on timber- viewed the isle with jealous and savvy eyes. They sent an envoy there to destabilize the industry. Unfortunately for them, their agent was more ambitious than loyal, and she ended up marrying into a prominent Quelyan merchant family and making a name for herself instead of her patrons in the Royal Court of Fleuris.
The union produced two children. Sadly, just as they reached the age of majority, their parents died under mysterious circumstances (although it is widely believed that assassins were to blame). It was not long before former business partners sought to collect debts. The siblings were of very different minds when it came to resolving this problem. Lavinia, the daughter-heir, sought to do so through legitimate means, but her younger brother Vanthus preferred to make ends meet through the more direct approach of piracy. A gifted spelljammer in his own right, Vanthus became the helmsman of a rough-crewed gnomish wreck called the Void Whore, and entered into a life of crime.
As Lavinia struggled to pull the family business back into the black, Vanthus enjoyed score after score while staying one step ahead of his enemies. In Pyrespace, any divine or profane being of any real power has a heavenly body that is part of their portfolio and carries something of their essence with them. Pelor has the Pyre(the sun), Wee Jas has the void and stars(which symbolizes the eternal night of death and the eternal beauty of a shining star), and Fharlanghn has claimed spelljamming itself as his own(travel). Unfortunately for the younger Vanderboren, the black pearl that he recently acquired as part of a large score is actually part of Demogorgon’s Eye, a malevolent living comet that passes through the system once in a lifetime. It enters the atmosphere of several planets in the system releasing meteor-like fragments (black pearls) that cause any who come into their possession to go mad (and plowing through any ships that cross its path). Vanthus has taken off to his hideout on the jungle planet of Verdura (The Isle of Dread) to wait for the heat to die down. Once discovered by the PC’s, he flees to Sasserine, but since he is suffering from madness due to his proximity to the pearl, his flight is not nearly as subtle as it normally is, and a host of his family’s enemies pursues him. A free-for-all occurs in the skies above Sasserine, and Vanthus escapes with Lavinia in the meantime. After the battle, the PC’s discover that he has probably taken her to a safe house in the city of Discord (Scuttlecove) in the Chain of Tears. It is there that the PCs discover that Vanthus isn’t running from the PCs as much as he’s running towards Demogorgon…
Sorry I took so long- work beckoned....
Very Nice Freehold. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the basic gist of Spelljammer, but all that Krynnspace and Realmspace and whatnot always got me down. I'd love to see something similiar to the Spider Moon setting from Polyhedron done in a hardcover format, so that Spelljammer could be it's own inclusive setting, but I know it'd never fly. Please post more when you get the chance!
Very interesting. I look forward to seeing more.
Just a quick shout to let anyone who's still interested in this thread know I haven't forgotten it- I've been superbusy with work and research on how to do a proper Greyspace hook. I should have something within a couple of days.
First of all, apologies. This took me a lot longer than it should have. Here's the Greyspace teaser I've been working on for so very long (which does not take Dungeon #138 into account).
The elder Vanderborens have a secret: They are not from around here. Although they are one of Sasserine's most prominent lumber families, they were born nowhere near Furyondy or even Oerik: their home was once far beyond the night sky among the stars. There, they were spelljammers and privateers of great renown, and although they preferred to relieve illithids and other monstrous foes of humanity of their valuables under the guise of freedom fighters, forays into out-and-out piracy were occasionally necessary. During one of these jaunts, they ran afoul of the Imperial Elven Army Captain Thanial- a troubled soul driven to the brink of madness when his oldest family heirloom (really a necklace with a black pearl as the centerpiece) was stolen at spellpoint by a pair of grotty humans. With the mad captain on their tail along with the bulk of the unhuman races gunning for them, the Vanderborens made for the backwater of Oerth to weigh their options. When one of those options came out at a healthy 9 pounds, life among the groundlings became a necessity. Still, it was not entirely unpleasant- their potent magic made it easy for them to masquerade as yet another wealthy wizard couple, and their skill at arms helped them to clear out and claim part of what the locals referred to as the “Isle of Dread” and put it to good use as timberland. Old spelljamming contacts and mundane shipwrights came to them for wood for vessels, and when the couple was blessed with another child around the time money came in, they officially retired from the void.
The void, however, was not done with them. Sensing the pearl even through the depths of space, Captain Thanial makes his way to Oerth and lands his ship in the deep ocean, making his way to Sasserine under the guise of a humble trader. Once he makes port, the elder Vanderborens catch him breaking into their estate, and a battle ensues. He escapes with the necklace, but not before fatally injuring the elder Vanderborens and dealing the young master of the house, Vanthus, a disfiguring scar. The eldest child, Lavinia, nurses her brother back to health, but he never fully recovers. The sword that wounded him had a black pearl of its own for a pommel- he is connected to his malefactor in the same way Thanial was connected to the necklace. He takes to space in secret with the help of sympathetic friends of his late parents, he makes his way to the asteroid city of Scuttlecove, and becomes captain-helmsman of a roughship after he dispatches the former in front of the crew. Meanwhile, Lavinia contacts the PCs in hopes of finding and healing him, suggesting that they first check out the Isle of Dread.
Magically linked to one another, Thanial and Vanthus unconsciously both head for the Oerth, and yet another battle erupts, this one in the sky. The PC’s rush back to Sasserine to discover the city aflame, and wild tales of a pair of flying ships that tore into each other with magic before one- apparently captained by her long-lost brother- struck a telling blow and "sank" the opposing galleon right into the heart of the city! Her brother’s crew then sacked the Vanderboren estate and made off with the heiress during the confusion. The party now has to salvage the spelljamming helm and take to the void to rescue Lavinia from her brother's madness.
Meanwhile on a plane of existence far from the prying eyes of arch-mages and the mundane ones of the PC’s, Demogorgon smiles…
That’s all for now. Tomorrow, I’ll go over conversions for the stuff that appears in Dungeon #138. After that will be The Savage Tide Player’s Guide, and then finally the adventure that appears in the upcoming issue of Dungeon.