Wizards of the Coast debuted its new D&D Direct event today and started things off with a bang by introducing the upcoming Dungeons& Dragons space campaign setting guidebook, Spelljammer: Adventures in Space.
First teased with a trailer featuring a sea shanty to the tune of “Wellerman,” the reboot of the beloved campaign setting was then introduced by Chris Perkins, senior story designer for Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons, and Trystan Falcone, graphic design for Dungeons & Dragons. Spelljammer combines a space adventure theme with the excitement of nautical exploration. Along with a multi-volume set, Spelljammer adds six new races, a host of new monsters and a 12-episode module for players to engage in.
The three-volume set comes packaged in a slipcase and includes a double-sided map and a unique Dungeon Master’s Screen. Spelljammer gets its name from its eponymous starships, which are massive flying sailing ships piloted by wizards. These ships feature ope desks and wing-like sails, which allow them to travel through space, explore the sky on visitable planets and even traverse through different planes of existence. Because of these abilities, the ships allow players and DMs to connect disparate settings in the multiverse of Dungeons & Dragons, such as the Ethereal Plane and the Radiant Citadel or Count Strahd von Zarovitch’s Ravenloft and Barovia.
Astral Adventurer’s Guide is the first volume in the set, containing everything a DM needs to run a campaign. It also includes six new playable races: the starlight-eyed Astral Elves, the mechanically-built autognomes, the flying monkey-like hadozee, the mysterious bipedal hippo giff, the slime-bodied plasmoid and the telepathic insectile thri-kreen.
The second book is titled Boo’s Astral Menagerie. Fans of the original Baldur’s Gate video game might recall Boo as the name of the miniature giant space hamster that was featured in it. Aside from space hamsters, other creature oddities in space include evil space clowns, vampirates, murder comets, as well as solar and lunar dragons.
Last but not least is the adventure module Light of Xaryxis, making up the third book of the set. Set in Wildespace in the Astral Sea, the module contains 12 episodes, all of which end in a cliffhanger besides the last one. There is no word yet on what level the player characters start at, nor what level it takes them up to.
Overall, the books in the collection are much slimmer than the standard 5th edition D&D hardcover released. Recent releases have come in around 250 pages each, while each book included in the Spelljammer: Adventures in Space set are much smaller at only 64 pages each. Other announcements included the upcoming Neverwinter: Dragonslayer module, an update on the Dungeons & Dragons film, and new details on Baldur’s Gate 3 and Journey’s Through the Radiant Citadel.
Pre-orders are available now with a list price of $69.99. The release date is Aug. 16, although a prequel adventure titled Spelljammer Academy releases this July as additional downloadable content.
Source: D&D Direct via YouTube
Read Next
About The Author
