Revisiting Spelljammer

After finally getting a copy of "The Ultimate Helm" recently, I have embarked on a re-read of the old "Cloakmaster Cycle" of Spelljammer novels, which in turn has got me thinking about that setting again.

Personally, I'm inclined to view Spelljammer as one of those crazy ideas that TSR threw out that had a lot of potiential, but which just didn't quite work. The basic idea of "D&D in Space!" is good, and a lot of fun, but the execution just feels... off, somehow. There's probably just a bit too much weirdness going on there, but also there's probably rather too much emphasis on the aspect of it as a meta-setting - that is, it's a way to join up Dragonlance and Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms and...

Of course, all of that makes Spelljammer ripe for a possible remake, and since WotC aren't likely to come back to the setting any time soon the corollary to that is that it's ideal for a homebrew reimagining. So, some thoughts...

1. Its Own Thing: The first and most important change that I would make is to divorce Spelljammer from any of the other settings. Yeah, maybe "Realmspace" is out there... somewhere... but the campaign will never go there.
2. Ditch the Pretendy Physics: The Spelljammer novels and sourcebooks spend a fair amount of time talking about gravity planes, air bubbles, and other bits of fantasy-physics intended to provide some sort of veneer of realism to a setting that is fundamentally about sailing ships in space. That's rather a waste of time.
3. Many Small Settlements: One of the things I've found is that 'naval' games generally work best with lots of little islands rather than a few major continents. Basically, you want lots of reason for the crew to use ships rather than walking, and that's the easiest way to achieve that.
4. Non-flammable Flow: One of the conceits of the setting is that the Phlogiston (the rainbow river between spheres - basically, hyperspace) is highly flammable. I don't really have a problem with that, except that I need to change it so I can...
5. Advance to the Age of Steam: One of the things I always find very jarring about any D&D/Pathfinder 'naval' setting is that they tend to fit out the ships in the style of the Golden Age of Piracy (which is wise), but they also insist on fitting out the ships with catapults and ballistae rather than the cannon that were ubiquitous at the time (and firearms too, of course). This never really sits right with me, and so one of the changes I would very definitely be inclined to make would be to fit out the ships with those cannon. And, similarly, at least some ships (the Dwarven and Gnomish ones, and probably Human ones too) should have steam-powered Helms. In fact, I think I'd be inclined to make the whole thing a rather Steampunk setting, in much the same style as Eberron.
6. And Post-apocalyptic, too: In the setting as written, there's a grand Elven navy that seems to provide law and order for the known spheres. Yeah, not in my setting - in the remade version the elves did indeed win the Unhuman Wars... but they probably almost wish they hadn't. Because the legacy of those wars is that their power has been utterly broken, such that pirates, slavers, and raiders of all sorts are now rife.
7. Everyone's a Rogue: And, of course, one of the conceits I'm probably adopting in all my campaigns from now on, in every game and in every setting - the PCs are rogues, tricksters, bounty hunters, private detectives, or detached agents. They might work for an established power, but only in the loosest possible sense. That gives them huge autonomy... but also means they can't rely on the backing of a fleet when they need to throw their weight around.

Of course, I may well just play the new Star Trek game instead. That's probably less work!