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Oh a yeah you bet your bippy WotC wants to do Darksuns. They will put in the most over the top most obvious and sickening global warming analogy that even my dog will go, wow that's bad. They will remove slavery from it and have it be the good vegan totally open and advanced tribes vs the evil and regressive tribes who uses the old dark magic even though its killing the world. As part of your xp advancement you plant 10 magic trees every level /s.
A level 1 character in AD&D would need 14 on a d20 to hit a 6AC. (Ignoring start bonuses) On 5e, a level 1 character needs only to roll a 12 to hit an AC of 14 because of the proficiency bonus. (again ignoring start bonuses) Wouldn't it be more accurate to subtract the old AC from 22?
@@muboizin though its also worth keeping in mind bounded accuracy, i.e. ac in 5e is usually alot lower by design giving around a 60% chance to hit against the average monster per level and hp is usually Alot higher too to balance this,
Spelljammer was written towards the tail end of TSR, when the execs knew they were driving the company into the ground, so there was basically no oversight on the writers, and they decided they'd just do the wackiest stuff they could just to get away with it. They picked basically "D&D but Star Trek/Marvel space stuff". Also, the gnomes had a sort of Magic Steampunk technique, and they used ships clearly based on old steam paddleboats. When someone asked what the big wheels were for, the artist thought for a second, then responded, "that's where the giant space hamsters that power the ship go." This is the source of giant space hamsters and miniature giant space hamsters, like Boo. Also, never seen anything like a Fractine? A 2d mirror-like object that traps dangerous creatures? Really? Not even in Superman 2? Because that's clearly where they got it, Son of Jorel.
Phlogiston (FLAH-jis-tun) is a material, from back when humans didn't really understand elements. It was what allowed things to burn. My guess is that the designers turned the idea of aether--the material of which the heavens were mythologically filled--into a realm, and needed something to replace it. So they seized on phlogiston. It was a rainbow-colored fog, and could only exist between the realms; when brought into a realm, it disappeared.
In the original spell jammer the universe was filled with "crystal spheres," that each contained a different campaign setting. Outside those spheres it was a rushing ocean of Phlogiston. Like you guessed it couldn't get inside the spheres. It's based on ancient Greek ideas of astronomy. IMHO it was SO much cooler than the astral Sea.
Dark sun is a fun setting and I loved the spell use mechanics as well as the lore. If it is ultimately included as a setting in 5e, those who have never been in the setting will find a world where magic operates differently and over use has repercussions will make for some fun times.
@@syvajarvi2289 the good ones are hunted be the evil tryants, and the evil ones are seen as competition. Yup big story there haha and how dragons are the final ascension of these evil tyrants haha, evil psychic tyrants.
Thing about the lutum is...all you have to do is observe people in MMOGs and who they give money to in game, to know that the lutum's tactic is absolutely correct.
Yeah the 10 monsters they just released include 4 from these 2e compendiums, 1 from Dark Sun, and I'm not sure about the others. So they're definitely taking inspiration from these older supplements, but we'll probably get many brand new monsters!
my perspective is that they shouldn't revisit too many old monsters. they already exist and can be converted to 5e without much problem. give us something new!
Is it really lazy for a species in D&D to be evil? You can always add nuance at the table as a DM but having that lore and alignment in the monster manual makes it easier.
Definitely think they’re pushing to do a little bit of Dark Sun, especially because they expanded their insect races in most recent books! The Nightmare Beast was a dead giveaway!
A few years ago I'd have been excited about the idea of Dark sun getting new content but after seeing the way they've ruined Ravenloft and half-a$$ed spell jammer I almost want them to leave it alone..
ok um so just first of all I just wanted to say, absolutly great work man. I have been watching you videos for a while, and they are just great. You put in so much effort for this channel and us, thank you. Also is it just me or does anybody else find these videos really relaxing? your voice is kinda ASM-y, idk. But yea, amazing work, keep it up (:
The elephant in the room here is Psionics. Quite aside from any modern-day ethical objections to Dark Sun, Psionics is an important (possibly even vital) part of the setting. A few UA mentions notwithstanding, there simply isn't any Psionics within 5e. So either "they" have to build what is basically a completely new large-scale mechanic from scratch at a time when the fanbase is considering 5.5e... or "they" can release something else.
No, there are psionics. Unless the literal psionic power subclasses and the psionic spells from aberrant mind and the innate spellcasting psionics from gith aren't psionic enough for you.
@@g80gzt With respect, everything you mentioned above is literally just existing spells that are called "Psionics," or in the case of the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer or Psi Warrior (both from TCE), special abilities. I already mentioned the Psionic "classes" you refer to as UA articles, which are not RAW or even official canon. I don't consider an invisible Mage Hand (or one short paragraph in SCAG) to be Psionics, so I guess the answer is no, existing "Psionics" isn't "Psionic" enough for me. Did you ever play 3.5e? Do you remember the Psionics Handbook or the Complete Psionics? That is the level of detail I mean when I say "large scale mechanic."
@@BobWorldBuilder I just saw some D&D icons of the realms - Spelljammer, ship miniatures and space monsters/obstacles loaded for preorder on WizKids website.
It cannot be understated how BONKERS Spelljammer was. In all the best ways. Mostly. Fun fact, the Miniature Giant Space Hamster is about the size of a normal hamster. Hee hee.
I love spelljammer’s wackiness so much… and there’s so many more great races and monsters still to explore! I loved the Neogi (spider-like enslavers with dominated umber hulks) and the Scro (smarter, militaristic space orcs), both of which were the featured adversaries in some spelljammer modules
Looking over the monsters on D&D beyond I noticed something with the Yggdrasti. If there are two of them they could use their lightning discharge feature on each other and deal damage to everyone they've grappled and also recharge their ability. Just something a DM could exploit if they wanted.
I honestly don't remember how we ran monsters with these statblocks. Maybe it's because I was 15 and had more tolerance for kludgy subsystems? Probably I just ignored most of it.
Great video, love the breakdown of weirdness. I hope they don't just change the phlogiston for the astral sea, the idea of having ghosts trapped between worlds unable to move on was my favourite little bit of info I saw in classic Spelljammer, I may need to rework things a little if they do just go astral sea.
I mean, you could keep using this book if you want! There's print versions on DMs Guild, but I definitely think the 5e version coming out will be easier to interpret whichever edition you're more familiar with!
nice video!! I didn’t really care for Spelljammer (I had thought the concept was just another space adventure) but the monsters here are actually piquing my interest
Trilateral symmetry is something you've seen before. It happens on earth. It's just a form on radial symmetry just like bilateral symmetry is. I'll be it there likely are a few features it has that not going to fit that pattern just like how we have evolved to be less radial over time.
To answer the radiant golem, I would go on a quest to kind a good, immortal being and bring the two together Probably a computer - or “I” if they can talk.
@@BobWorldBuilder yeah for me giants are cool but always feel the same just flavoured differently, but Colossus feels so unique especially with the clothing, herbivore, and mode of death
@@BobWorldBuilder Omg, you actually answered :O Just wanted to let you know that I genuinely enjoy your content. Watching every video and also feeling educated doing that. Thank you!
I'm a huge fan of one of the goofiest campaign worlds in D&D history : Mystara, it has a ton of weird stuff, but somehow I never warmed up to Spelljammer, to me the bigger universe is best represented by Planescape.
Ah yes, I do like playable aranea. If you wanted to do that in 3e, without rebuilding, you needed to take 7 racial HD and 6 LA... on a race meant to be a wizard. Generally, though, that started the trend away from Tolkien-style "all non-humans are just (possibly short) humans with pointy ears" and went straight to furries as alternate races... a trend that continues to this day. (Although the catpeople in Mystara were named something like rakshasans... they reused that name elsewhere.)
I think just having a desert setting where magic works differently is still a fun new direction for 5e. The "dark" social implications of that environment and magic system are only part of what made Dark Sun what it was
That is why I'd prefer they don't bring back Dark Sun. WoTC has made it clear they shouldn't be trusted with old settings. I'd rather they made something that is similar to Dark Sun but isn't Dark Sun proper so that way we don't get the Ravenloft treatment
@@BobWorldBuilderIMHO the darker stuff was a key part of the world feel for D.S.. I'd love to see it done right but I don't trust wizards at this point. Not after what they did to Ravenloft..
The phlogiston pronounced Flo-Jest-an. Is a flammable gas that spell jammer ships use to travel and navigate between crystalline spheres (worlds). I'm kinda disappointed their removing it because it's a really cool concept that borrows from the Greek cosmology and ether and old 1600 Sci Fi. It provided genuine challenge for paladins and clerics as they were cut off from their divine powers (gods). The Astral Sea kinda seems like a massive step back as it's just kinda seems like the same environment that we're used to with new paint.
The astral sea is even worse actually. It's just another name for the astral plane (WOTC has been using the two words interchangeably) there are so many complications that come from this. You no longer age, need food or water and don't even need air on the astral, gods are no longer restricted from just popping into a world that they don't have dominion over, Spelljammer's core premise of physicly flying between worlds without having to leave the material plane is gone, Planescape has been rendered redundant now Spelljammers can fly to any outer plane they want. Oh and that's not even getting started on how distance isn't somrthing that actually exists or can be measured on the astral plane, the DMG just says it takes xdx days to find the entrance to the outer plane you want. Also this makes the material plane technicly being on the astral plane (some interviews have mentioned that to get to this "astral sea" you just need to fly far enough and you'll just end up there)
Considering how Radiant Citadel echoes one aspect of Sigil but is otherwise very different, I expect if they made a survivalist, low-magic grit setting, it would either be Dark Sun itself or be very different from Dark Sun.
I’m looking for more ship-board hazards. What lurks in the back of that last resource bay on that derelict the party repairs? A ship is so costly, finding an abandoned ship is a treasure few could pass up and many die for!
8:45 Trilateral symmetry appears in Larry Niven's 1984 novel The Integral Trees, which would make a wonderful Spelljammer setting IMO. Other examples include the triskelion symbol from my grandfather's native Isle of Man and the long-extinct creature Tribrachidium heraldicum.
The asteroid spider is my favorite. I remember as kid, imaging raptors that live in the asteroid belt, something like Jurassic Zerglings, but a giant spider that preys on ships is way more interesting.
As I recall, back in the day the pilot couldn't cast any spells after taking the spelljamming helm off until they took a rest. So it's a double play on wind jammer and that yes, they do indeed jam one's spells.
They were called that because they had to be piloted by spellcasters who used up spell slots to power the ship. So yes, you couldn't cast and pilot simultaneously.
Animals, if they have symmetry, are either radial (jellyfish, etc.) or bilateral (most everything else), or some that are bilateral as larvae, but pentaradial as adults (starfish, etc.). Closest to trilateral might be in plants... there is a group of plants (monocots) where all of their flower bits are in multiples of 3s...
I imagine for the murderoid it assumes you'd use ship weapons fight it... Though that's still pretty rough. I had this book back in the 90s. I remember there's an entry for a species penguin-like traders who get drunk on sugar.
Evil monsters being lazy isn't neccisarily the case In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you had the case of vampires (And other demons, though vampires are the ones that kept to it) who were always evil. This is explored in many ways, and it's interesting throughout. At first, vampires are representations of the demons people face - Their darkest aspects in their lives life, left to push forward in a body that cannot do good. The vampires and demons the cast fight are stand-ins for the things they may face in life. There is a huge amount of allegory and nuance to that, and one that was well-tread throughout the show. It's like, what does this evil monster represent? What is it teaching us, and how does it reflect on the cast? Thus, we will meet vampires who represent deep vices, such as a memorable one who was a revived high school bully, without her social clout, and who faces an unfulfilling life as she is unable to grow past her high school mentality. For example. The show starts introducing characters who were vampires, but allied to the main cast. Angel is a good vampire... With an asterisk. He can only be good because outside factors have given him a human soul, and there is this element of tragedy to that, and an underlying danger where he cannot have happiness of that soul will go away and the evil creature it inhabits will desire to destroy everything around him. And, you have Spike, who joins the main cast for selfish purposes and has his own element of tragedy as he cannot help but hurt the people he wants to appreciate. Spike is an asshole who always brings harm to the people around him in the long term and cannot help but act selfishly, and struggles to fight that through the latter half of the series. These two are always evil races treated as full, heroic characters, who are interesting because of that inherent evil and not in spite of it. There are more such examples in-show and all over the place. Looked at that way, it shows how an always evil race can be thematically resonate and deep and interesting in it's own right. ...However the one mentioned here just seems like it's a bit of a generic evil alien monster and was probably not thought about all that deeply. So that's all kind of moot.
This is absolutely hilarious! I’m kinda pissed that 5e’s Spelljammer will be set in the Astral Sea instead of the Flow and Crystal Spheres though. Also, some of these monsters are just *gold*, though mostly because of how stupid or goofy they look
The Lutum taking advantage of men's propensity for helping women they pine after. Makes total sense. It's more of a slight towards men for them falling for the oldest trick in the book then anything else. Do not feel insulted by the fact other men are so foolish, your not other men.
I love spelljammer. It's my second favorite old-school campaign setting (My Planescape books are the only non-core 2nd Ed that I kept for the last 30 years.) I literally just missed it, I had used books but it was a dying campaign setting even in 93 when I started playing. The stat block is consistent but mostly we used hand copied condensed blocks like the ones you see in old modules. The hard part was the tendency to throw mechanics into the flavor text box. It was awful but 1st was the same so most old school DMs were used to it when I started. I still love 2nd Ed even ran it 6 years ago and would do it again.
In 2nd edition, Athas/Dark Sun was unreachable by Spell Jamming. The difference of how magic works there likely being the reasoning. I would prefer if this is kept, even if the setting is reworked.
It wasn't reachable because it's crystal sphere had been sealed off from the rest of the universe. It's implied that it was done to stop defilers from spreading out. There were a few Athian liches that escaped somehow so you could use them for the Dark sun flair without having to bring in the entire setting.
14:48 So, calling things as they are then. Life's easier if you're attractive. Moreso if you're an attractive woman. For humans, at least, that's not a bad strategy to implement.
Honestly I think the ship leech could work if it are SPELL SLOTS, not one’s memory of spells. Like the zoologist Sorcerer is admiring what he thinks is a barnacle on the side of the ship and suddenly his only use of Polymorph for the day is gone LOL
In 5e it would be spell slots. To explain, sorcerers weren't really a thing in 2e, and the premise of Vancian magic is that spells were a one shot deal where you forgot them after casting them, which is why a wizard or cleric would end up memorizing Magic Missile or Cure Light Wounds or whatever a bunch of times. If you didn't memorize it enough times, or you needed Sleep or Grease or whatever instead of that fourth Magic Missile? Tough luck, buddy.
Great recaps! I liked your enthusiasm and your sense of feel for the spelljammer environment. Spelljammer wasn't perfect but parts of lore was fun and cool.
2e AC6 = 5e AC14 so the way it works AC starts at 10 and armor LOWERS the AC by it's value, where 5e INCREASES AC by it's value. studded leather armor: 2e=AC8. 5e=AC12 AC-1 in 5e would be AC21
In the 2e version its sphere was sealed off from the rest of the universe. Obviously that's up to a DM but they did canonically state that a few defiler liches had escaped before the seal we up. Sorta let you use dark sun stuff without opening it up if you didn't want to..
Nightmare Beast was one of those names that TSR kept recycling over and over again. It actually showed up first in a Spelljammer product (Can't remember which one off hand) and was a lot worse than Dark Sun's version. This is the version that they based this one off of. Not trying to rain on your parade about this, but I just wanted to give you a heads up on that. Personally, I think they may be folding in the ideas from Birthright into Dragonlance (Unfortunately) and that the two new settings may have been pushed back to next year...that is if Radiant Citadel wasn't meant to be one of those new settings.
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"I'm getting Spelljammed" lol
Oh a yeah you bet your bippy WotC wants to do Darksuns. They will put in the most over the top most obvious and sickening global warming analogy that even my dog will go, wow that's bad. They will remove slavery from it and have it be the good vegan totally open and advanced tribes vs the evil and regressive tribes who uses the old dark magic even though its killing the world. As part of your xp advancement you plant 10 magic trees every level /s.
A living stellar fragment? Maybe. It seems more of a programmed life form sent out from a plasma computer toting with the idea of sentience.
That colossus could probably survive a ships impact with a solid body
I love the open ended “missing” pieces of culture. It just invites the narrator to fill it in.
For Ad&d the AC conversation would be 20 - old AC, its B/X where the conversation is 19 - old AC, difference is down to what the base Thac0 was
Thanks for the adjustment!
A level 1 character in AD&D would need 14 on a d20 to hit a 6AC. (Ignoring start bonuses)
On 5e, a level 1 character needs only to roll a 12 to hit an AC of 14 because of the proficiency bonus. (again ignoring start bonuses)
Wouldn't it be more accurate to subtract the old AC from 22?
@@muboizin maby, thats another thing to think of when converting to 5e specifically
@@muboizin though its also worth keeping in mind bounded accuracy, i.e. ac in 5e is usually alot lower by design giving around a 60% chance to hit against the average monster per level and hp is usually Alot higher too to balance this,
@@Alex-sf5uz That's true. Wizards rolling d6s for health is still very odd for me who grew up playing AD&D and 3e.
I feel like I would homebrew the Chaos God Nurgle from 40K into this universe.
“Let the plague father give you his love”
Sounds like a good fit lol
Spelljammer was written towards the tail end of TSR, when the execs knew they were driving the company into the ground, so there was basically no oversight on the writers, and they decided they'd just do the wackiest stuff they could just to get away with it. They picked basically "D&D but Star Trek/Marvel space stuff". Also, the gnomes had a sort of Magic Steampunk technique, and they used ships clearly based on old steam paddleboats. When someone asked what the big wheels were for, the artist thought for a second, then responded, "that's where the giant space hamsters that power the ship go." This is the source of giant space hamsters and miniature giant space hamsters, like Boo.
Also, never seen anything like a Fractine? A 2d mirror-like object that traps dangerous creatures? Really? Not even in Superman 2? Because that's clearly where they got it, Son of Jorel.
He might be too young to remember Superman 2. Heck, he was confused by negative armor classes.
Spelljammer was released in 1989, the same year 2nd edition debuted. TSR wasn't purchased by WotC until 1997.
Ya, it was released near the beginning of the 2e.
Didn’t they kinda predict Evangelion?
@@sterilebroth8933 in what way?
Phlogiston (FLAH-jis-tun) is a material, from back when humans didn't really understand elements. It was what allowed things to burn.
My guess is that the designers turned the idea of aether--the material of which the heavens were mythologically filled--into a realm, and needed something to replace it. So they seized on phlogiston.
It was a rainbow-colored fog, and could only exist between the realms; when brought into a realm, it disappeared.
It was also extremely flammable
[Egon Spengler pantomimes "BOOM"]
In the original spell jammer the universe was filled with "crystal spheres," that each contained a different campaign setting. Outside those spheres it was a rushing ocean of Phlogiston.
Like you guessed it couldn't get inside the spheres. It's based on ancient Greek ideas of astronomy.
IMHO it was SO much cooler than the astral Sea.
Dark sun is a fun setting and I loved the spell use mechanics as well as the lore. If it is ultimately included as a setting in 5e, those who have never been in the setting will find a world where magic operates differently and over use has repercussions will make for some fun times.
Yes! And that is just the reason I think they may still bring it back in some way. It would be cool to mix up how magic works
@@BobWorldBuilder and the fact that spell casters are openly hunted makes for some interesting adventures.
@@syvajarvi2289 the good ones are hunted be the evil tryants, and the evil ones are seen as competition. Yup big story there haha and how dragons are the final ascension of these evil tyrants haha, evil psychic tyrants.
Died While Spelljamming is my favourite Alan Parsons Project album.
I prefer "Riding the Phlogiston"
Thing about the lutum is...all you have to do is observe people in MMOGs and who they give money to in game, to know that the lutum's tactic is absolutely correct.
Yeah it definitely served it's purpose
Was going to comment damn it, but true sometimes sensitivity makes my 90s self get aggitated guess I'm getting old.
Sounds cool
I like that you went back to the older edition to get a look at the monsters that will hopefully be in the new release
Don't be too hopeful, WotC has a hard time getting out of their comfort zone.
Yeah the 10 monsters they just released include 4 from these 2e compendiums, 1 from Dark Sun, and I'm not sure about the others. So they're definitely taking inspiration from these older supplements, but we'll probably get many brand new monsters!
my perspective is that they shouldn't revisit too many old monsters. they already exist and can be converted to 5e without much problem. give us something new!
Is it really lazy for a species in D&D to be evil? You can always add nuance at the table as a DM but having that lore and alignment in the monster manual makes it easier.
Ok never mind having the stats hidden in the description makes it harder 😆
Definitely think they’re pushing to do a little bit of Dark Sun, especially because they expanded their insect races in most recent books! The Nightmare Beast was a dead giveaway!
Yeah I didn't even realize thri kreen also came from DS first!
@@BobWorldBuilder Thri-Kreen were in AD&D 1st Edition. Monster Manual II. Pre-dates Dark Sun.
A few years ago I'd have been excited about the idea of Dark sun getting new content but after seeing the way they've ruined Ravenloft and half-a$$ed spell jammer I almost want them to leave it alone..
ok um so just first of all I just wanted to say, absolutly great work man. I have been watching you videos for a while, and they are just great. You put in so much effort for this channel and us, thank you. Also is it just me or does anybody else find these videos really relaxing? your voice is kinda ASM-y, idk. But yea, amazing work, keep it up (:
The elephant in the room here is Psionics. Quite aside from any modern-day ethical objections to Dark Sun, Psionics is an important (possibly even vital) part of the setting. A few UA mentions notwithstanding, there simply isn't any Psionics within 5e. So either "they" have to build what is basically a completely new large-scale mechanic from scratch at a time when the fanbase is considering 5.5e... or "they" can release something else.
No, there are psionics. Unless the literal psionic power subclasses and the psionic spells from aberrant mind and the innate spellcasting psionics from gith aren't psionic enough for you.
@@g80gzt With respect, everything you mentioned above is literally just existing spells that are called "Psionics," or in the case of the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer or Psi Warrior (both from TCE), special abilities. I already mentioned the Psionic "classes" you refer to as UA articles, which are not RAW or even official canon.
I don't consider an invisible Mage Hand (or one short paragraph in SCAG) to be Psionics, so I guess the answer is no, existing "Psionics" isn't "Psionic" enough for me.
Did you ever play 3.5e? Do you remember the Psionics Handbook or the Complete Psionics? That is the level of detail I mean when I say "large scale mechanic."
@@g80gztI think he means there's nothing like the built out systems 2 and 3e had.
(Doctor enters the exam room, adjusts his glasses as he flips through a clipboard)
"You've got murderoids..."
🤣
dear god
@@BobWorldBuilder I just saw some D&D icons of the realms - Spelljammer, ship miniatures and space monsters/obstacles loaded for preorder on WizKids website.
It cannot be understated how BONKERS Spelljammer was. In all the best ways. Mostly.
Fun fact, the Miniature Giant Space Hamster is about the size of a normal hamster. Hee hee.
I love spelljammer’s wackiness so much… and there’s so many more great races and monsters still to explore! I loved the Neogi (spider-like enslavers with dominated umber hulks) and the Scro (smarter, militaristic space orcs), both of which were the featured adversaries in some spelljammer modules
Yeah and they're cool enough that they've been in 5e for a while!
@@BobWorldBuilder oh, very cool, I've only played 3 or 4 sessions in 5e so far and didn't realize they're already in the sourcebooks!
Looking over the monsters on D&D beyond I noticed something with the Yggdrasti. If there are two of them they could use their lightning discharge feature on each other and deal damage to everyone they've grappled and also recharge their ability. Just something a DM could exploit if they wanted.
So evil, I love it!
3 per day per Yggdrasti becomes infinite if they just alternate unless I'm missing something
Nice find!
Bananas are an example of trilateral symmetry in living organisms.
I honestly don't remember how we ran monsters with these statblocks. Maybe it's because I was 15 and had more tolerance for kludgy subsystems? Probably I just ignored most of it.
Yeah I couldn't help but thinking that people probably did a lot more improvisation in those days!
Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Bingo! Thanks haha
Great video, love the breakdown of weirdness.
I hope they don't just change the phlogiston for the astral sea, the idea of having ghosts trapped between worlds unable to move on was my favourite little bit of info I saw in classic Spelljammer, I may need to rework things a little if they do just go astral sea.
Since 5e doesn't have a lot of concrete lore for the astral sea (that I know of), they may change it to be more like the classic phlogiston!
They basically counted on the idea of crystal spheres unfortunately
The RP memories this brings to mind. Enjoyable video, thanks. I have such hopes for the Spelljammer release.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Since we are enjoying some flashbacks, the Fractine reminds me of the glass prisons from Superman 2 🙂
Spell jammer can get goofy but do it right and it’s Great - especially as a one-off, flip or pressure reliever sessions
Thank you-2nd DM shout out -sad when i had to give up this book
I mean, you could keep using this book if you want! There's print versions on DMs Guild, but I definitely think the 5e version coming out will be easier to interpret whichever edition you're more familiar with!
Bob, your videos are always fun. Thanks for the great content. Now I have to insert some of these critters in my game!
I really appreciate that! Enjoy!
Ahhh, I have all of this info. Good times. Man, 2e was kind of odd, looking back on it.
I can really see where DCC gets a lot of it's whacky inspiration from
nice video!! I didn’t really care for Spelljammer (I had thought the concept was just another space adventure) but the monsters here are actually piquing my interest
The original spell jammer had some awesome stuff. Some of the spheres were so radically different it made for an awesome time.
Trilateral symmetry is something you've seen before. It happens on earth. It's just a form on radial symmetry just like bilateral symmetry is. I'll be it there likely are a few features it has that not going to fit that pattern just like how we have evolved to be less radial over time.
The thri-kreen come back in spelljammer. They originated from darksun too.
Ahh I didn't realize they also came from DS! More evidence perhaps?
They feature in Ruins of Adventure (1st edition AD&D Forgotten Realms module from 1988), which I think was before Dark Sun. Though not as a PC race.
@@BobWorldBuilder Yeah It could very well be.
@@Ixnatifual Oh interesting. IN Dark Sun they were playable. A friend of mine had a gladiator called meatgrinder. It really was one though:D
Yeah, of the setting specific PC races they certainly stand out and add a lot of flavor to the setting.
To answer the radiant golem, I would go on a quest to kind a good, immortal being and bring the two together
Probably a computer - or “I” if they can talk.
Haha that's a great move!
I love Colossus! I honestly might need to add something like that into my homebrew world, they're really fun\
They're definitely my new favorite giant. I don't even think I had a favorite giant before them haha
@@BobWorldBuilder yeah for me giants are cool but always feel the same just flavoured differently, but Colossus feels so unique especially with the clothing, herbivore, and mode of death
Thank you so much for this, Bob. This is amazing stuff
Glad you enjoy it!
@@BobWorldBuilder Omg, you actually answered :O
Just wanted to let you know that I genuinely enjoy your content. Watching every video and also feeling educated doing that. Thank you!
I'm a huge fan of one of the goofiest campaign worlds in D&D history : Mystara, it has a ton of weird stuff, but somehow I never warmed up to Spelljammer, to me the bigger universe is best represented by Planescape.
Stargate vs Startrek… love them both. DS9 is the best.
Ah yes, I do like playable aranea. If you wanted to do that in 3e, without rebuilding, you needed to take 7 racial HD and 6 LA... on a race meant to be a wizard.
Generally, though, that started the trend away from Tolkien-style "all non-humans are just (possibly short) humans with pointy ears" and went straight to furries as alternate races... a trend that continues to this day. (Although the catpeople in Mystara were named something like rakshasans... they reused that name elsewhere.)
Unfortunately sanitizing Dark Sun would strip it of everything that made it interesting in the first place.
I think just having a desert setting where magic works differently is still a fun new direction for 5e. The "dark" social implications of that environment and magic system are only part of what made Dark Sun what it was
That is why I'd prefer they don't bring back Dark Sun. WoTC has made it clear they shouldn't be trusted with old settings. I'd rather they made something that is similar to Dark Sun but isn't Dark Sun proper so that way we don't get the Ravenloft treatment
@@BobWorldBuilderIMHO the darker stuff was a key part of the world feel for D.S..
I'd love to see it done right but I don't trust wizards at this point. Not after what they did to Ravenloft..
The phlogiston pronounced Flo-Jest-an. Is a flammable gas that spell jammer ships use to travel and navigate between crystalline spheres (worlds).
I'm kinda disappointed their removing it because it's a really cool concept that borrows from the Greek cosmology and ether and old 1600 Sci Fi.
It provided genuine challenge for paladins and clerics as they were cut off from their divine powers (gods). The Astral Sea kinda seems like a massive step back as it's just kinda seems like the same environment that we're used to with new paint.
The astral sea is even worse actually. It's just another name for the astral plane (WOTC has been using the two words interchangeably) there are so many complications that come from this. You no longer age, need food or water and don't even need air on the astral, gods are no longer restricted from just popping into a world that they don't have dominion over, Spelljammer's core premise of physicly flying between worlds without having to leave the material plane is gone, Planescape has been rendered redundant now Spelljammers can fly to any outer plane they want. Oh and that's not even getting started on how distance isn't somrthing that actually exists or can be measured on the astral plane, the DMG just says it takes xdx days to find the entrance to the outer plane you want. Also this makes the material plane technicly being on the astral plane (some interviews have mentioned that to get to this "astral sea" you just need to fly far enough and you'll just end up there)
@@ultimate9056 Oof your right that is worse.
Very well done. Thank you for what you do. I am personally looking forward to all the new monsters that I can incorporate into other adventures also.
Thank you very much! This was fun. May do a recap once the 5e spelljammer bestiary comes out to compare the changes!
@@BobWorldBuilder you make it and I'll view it.
Can wait to spec the Man Bear Pig - totally viable.
Considering how Radiant Citadel echoes one aspect of Sigil but is otherwise very different, I expect if they made a survivalist, low-magic grit setting, it would either be Dark Sun itself or be very different from Dark Sun.
Should have watched this before it took me ages to figure out what was going on with ac in Baldur‘s Gate😂 thanks again for yet another inspiring video
I’m looking for more ship-board hazards. What lurks in the back of that last resource bay on that derelict the party repairs?
A ship is so costly, finding an abandoned ship is a treasure few could pass up and many die for!
The Infinity Vine could be a good one for that. I skipped over it in this video but I really liked the idea
8:45 Trilateral symmetry appears in Larry Niven's 1984 novel The Integral Trees, which would make a wonderful Spelljammer setting IMO.
Other examples include the triskelion symbol from my grandfather's native Isle of Man and the long-extinct creature Tribrachidium heraldicum.
colossus is now a large himbo space worm farmer
It is decreed!
Poem?!? Come on man, everyone knows ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ was written by Iron Maiden…
Wizards really did say, "Aliens..."
Haha that guy should be a monster in this setting
That dolphin, is definitely a goblin shark
Colossus has a great future in the WWE.
Definitely! lol
The asteroid spider is my favorite. I remember as kid, imaging raptors that live in the asteroid belt, something like Jurassic Zerglings, but a giant spider that preys on ships is way more interesting.
People often wonder why I like 3e/pathfinder so much and as you pointed out 3e made things sooooo much easier for rule clarification.
It's a major level up in clarity of the mechanics for sure!
Murderoids are positively tiny compared to Constellates in the Spelljammer MC 2. You should take a look.
I was trying to remember what they were called
The real question is why a flying ship is called a Spelljammer
Does it stop casters from casting spells? No? then why that name?
I read that they're named after "wind jammers" which were real ships but idk anything about them
Mon, they be jammin'!
As I recall, back in the day the pilot couldn't cast any spells after taking the spelljamming helm off until they took a rest. So it's a double play on wind jammer and that yes, they do indeed jam one's spells.
They were called that because they had to be piloted by spellcasters who used up spell slots to power the ship. So yes, you couldn't cast and pilot simultaneously.
Also check out the Zodar... Very SciFi, very plot hook.
Animals, if they have symmetry, are either radial (jellyfish, etc.) or bilateral (most everything else), or some that are bilateral as larvae, but pentaradial as adults (starfish, etc.). Closest to trilateral might be in plants... there is a group of plants (monocots) where all of their flower bits are in multiples of 3s...
Albari are the seagulls of space, you can’t convince me otherwise, no other bird is that committed to chaos
I imagine for the murderoid it assumes you'd use ship weapons fight it... Though that's still pretty rough.
I had this book back in the 90s. I remember there's an entry for a species penguin-like traders who get drunk on sugar.
Evil monsters being lazy isn't neccisarily the case
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you had the case of vampires (And other demons, though vampires are the ones that kept to it) who were always evil. This is explored in many ways, and it's interesting throughout.
At first, vampires are representations of the demons people face - Their darkest aspects in their lives life, left to push forward in a body that cannot do good. The vampires and demons the cast fight are stand-ins for the things they may face in life. There is a huge amount of allegory and nuance to that, and one that was well-tread throughout the show. It's like, what does this evil monster represent? What is it teaching us, and how does it reflect on the cast? Thus, we will meet vampires who represent deep vices, such as a memorable one who was a revived high school bully, without her social clout, and who faces an unfulfilling life as she is unable to grow past her high school mentality. For example.
The show starts introducing characters who were vampires, but allied to the main cast. Angel is a good vampire... With an asterisk. He can only be good because outside factors have given him a human soul, and there is this element of tragedy to that, and an underlying danger where he cannot have happiness of that soul will go away and the evil creature it inhabits will desire to destroy everything around him. And, you have Spike, who joins the main cast for selfish purposes and has his own element of tragedy as he cannot help but hurt the people he wants to appreciate. Spike is an asshole who always brings harm to the people around him in the long term and cannot help but act selfishly, and struggles to fight that through the latter half of the series. These two are always evil races treated as full, heroic characters, who are interesting because of that inherent evil and not in spite of it.
There are more such examples in-show and all over the place. Looked at that way, it shows how an always evil race can be thematically resonate and deep and interesting in it's own right.
...However the one mentioned here just seems like it's a bit of a generic evil alien monster and was probably not thought about all that deeply. So that's all kind of moot.
This is absolutely hilarious!
I’m kinda pissed that 5e’s Spelljammer will be set in the Astral Sea instead of the Flow and Crystal Spheres though. Also, some of these monsters are just *gold*, though mostly because of how stupid or goofy they look
That's why I like DMing. The Flow and crystal spheres aren't going anywhere in any Spelljammer game I run...
Totally agree about the astral Sea being a letdown
Really some weird stuff.
100%!
The Lutum taking advantage of men's propensity for helping women they pine after. Makes total sense. It's more of a slight towards men for them falling for the oldest trick in the book then anything else. Do not feel insulted by the fact other men are so foolish, your not other men.
I love spelljammer. It's my second favorite old-school campaign setting (My Planescape books are the only non-core 2nd Ed that I kept for the last 30 years.) I literally just missed it, I had used books but it was a dying campaign setting even in 93 when I started playing.
The stat block is consistent but mostly we used hand copied condensed blocks like the ones you see in old modules. The hard part was the tendency to throw mechanics into the flavor text box. It was awful but 1st was the same so most old school DMs were used to it when I started. I still love 2nd Ed even ran it 6 years ago and would do it again.
Let's just say the Phlogiston will not be replaced by the astral sea in any of my games 😄
The rogue moon looks like an illustration from the cover of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".
I don't really see a problem with the attractive woman monster entry.
I have that, I DMed some of those monsters :-D
Well done, my friend!
In 2nd edition, Athas/Dark Sun was unreachable by Spell Jamming.
The difference of how magic works there likely being the reasoning.
I would prefer if this is kept, even if the setting is reworked.
It wasn't reachable because it's crystal sphere had been sealed off from the rest of the universe. It's implied that it was done to stop defilers from spreading out. There were a few Athian liches that escaped somehow so you could use them for the Dark sun flair without having to bring in the entire setting.
Xorn are also trilaterally symmetric.
14:48
So, calling things as they are then. Life's easier if you're attractive. Moreso if you're an attractive woman. For humans, at least, that's not a bad strategy to implement.
this means the radiant golem is the d&d equivalent of the forever alone meme.
Vampiric Giant Space Hamsters. Real Spelljammer monster - awesome.
My headcanon is that the lutums never actually learned that, they were just told that they'd do better as attractive women by a bunch of drunk sailors
Trilateral symmetry is just 3 way radial symmetry. It would be like calling a Starfish Quintlateral
Delphinid and "tri-lateral symmetry" - ISTR that the Earth-Elemental Xorn of the era also had this kind of symmetry.
@8:45 Xorn also has trilateral symmetry as well.
Honestly I think the ship leech could work if it are SPELL SLOTS, not one’s memory of spells. Like the zoologist Sorcerer is admiring what he thinks is a barnacle on the side of the ship and suddenly his only use of Polymorph for the day is gone LOL
In 5e it would be spell slots.
To explain, sorcerers weren't really a thing in 2e, and the premise of Vancian magic is that spells were a one shot deal where you forgot them after casting them, which is why a wizard or cleric would end up memorizing Magic Missile or Cure Light Wounds or whatever a bunch of times. If you didn't memorize it enough times, or you needed Sleep or Grease or whatever instead of that fourth Magic Missile? Tough luck, buddy.
I thought the rogue planet was a giant beholder. Idk if that’s a thing but it seems like in space that should be a thing haha
There's an "Astereater" that I didn't cover here which is written to be technically beholder-kin, but shunned by other beholders for being so dumb lol
@@BobWorldBuilder that’s one of the most wild things I’ve heard today lmao
Well this seems interesting.
I think "weird" and "interesting" are my two most-used words in this video haha
@@BobWorldBuilder they sure are. I like how you hunt all this stuff down. And it would be awesome to have some of this stuff in 5e
Great recaps! I liked your enthusiasm and your sense of feel for the spelljammer environment. Spelljammer wasn't perfect but parts of lore was fun and cool.
I've been watching Jammed on Nat 21 Adventures. They talked about the phlogistan a lot.
I love darksun. It's the Mad Max of D&D and it's very challenging.
I am glad a lot of people are excited for Spell Jammer. If you enjoy it, have fun.
Personally, I really couldn't care less for Spell Jammer.
So how many campaigns do you think will feature a quest to unirradiate the Radium Golem so the party can actually be friends with it?
The slinker looks like it belongs in Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass.
2e hit calculation; THAC0 - AC = #d20 you need to hit. I love the old "To hit Armour Class 0"....
I love Spelljammer!
2e AC6 = 5e AC14
so the way it works AC starts at 10 and armor LOWERS the AC by it's value, where 5e INCREASES AC by it's value.
studded leather armor: 2e=AC8. 5e=AC12
AC-1 in 5e would be AC21
I ❤ 2E
Oh hell yes, dark sun should be a spell jammer world!
In the 2e version its sphere was sealed off from the rest of the universe. Obviously that's up to a DM but they did canonically state that a few defiler liches had escaped before the seal we up. Sorta let you use dark sun stuff without opening it up if you didn't want to..
I believe a Xorn also has trilateral symmetry.
Samuel Coleridge Taylor: Rime of the Ancient Mariner author.
If you have never seen anything like the Fractine, you have never seen the 1980 movie Superman II .
Just pointing out. I'm older additions. A movement of 6 meant 6 squares, so meaning 30 ft
A low level set of monsters I would love to see are the ragamoffyn.
Can't wait for Dark Sun
Nightmare Beast was one of those names that TSR kept recycling over and over again. It actually showed up first in a Spelljammer product (Can't remember which one off hand) and was a lot worse than Dark Sun's version. This is the version that they based this one off of. Not trying to rain on your parade about this, but I just wanted to give you a heads up on that. Personally, I think they may be folding in the ideas from Birthright into Dragonlance (Unfortunately) and that the two new settings may have been pushed back to next year...that is if Radiant Citadel wasn't meant to be one of those new settings.
I'm feeling a lot of StarTrek in all of these monsters.
Aren't Xorn trilateral?
70 tons in about the weight of an M1 Abrams a modern Main Battle Tank which most tanks in history are lighter then that.
What are the odds that Wooly Rupert is a reference to Spiny Norman from Monty Python's Flying Circus?
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
movement is based on 12. so a move of 6 in 5e would be 15 feet