SPELLJAMMER

100 years ago, the Lords’ Alliance fell victim to slander and accusations of
abuse of power, the natural result of any overbearing governmental authority. Some
argued various criminal syndicates launched a “shadow war” against the Lords’
Alliance, targeting their reputation and seeking to dismantle the public’s trust in
them. Others argued that their own pride and resistance to change set them back so
far as to hinder their authority. Whatever the case may be, the Lords’ Alliance is
currently a shell of what it used to be. It went from having countless paladins,
lawmakers, merchants, and soldiers to now a measly dozen or so retirees and
pedigrees. 
Replacing the Lords’ Alliance happened practically overnight, with the cities
reclaiming their own right to defense and the frontierlands being protected by
mercenaries and do-gooders. Many merchant organizations were happy to spread
influence and build rapport with disloyal Lords’ Alliance members. Organizations
such as the sprawling Grand Mercantile Generosity were able to secure power and
influence away from the Lords’ Alliance, surpassing them via technological
innovation and greed. The public began to see great economic advancements that
did genuinely increase the wealth and access to luxury to most people. There were
still those who struggled and were poor, but of course there was an entirely new
method of securing riches: Wildspace piracy.

That’s right, we be go to space.

Wildspace is an airless and nongravitational area that surrounds the various

celestial bodies in Realmspace (the name of the solar system). There is a large
bright star, called the Sun, which shines light on 8 other planets in Realmspace
besides Toril. These are (in order from closest to the Sun to the farthest):
 Anadia: a small (moon-sized) planet with a large red ring and two green
poles
o The red ring is dry land veined with deep, hot canyons. It be close to
sun
o The two green poles are actually biomes of warm, temperate forests
and rolling hills, where two
separate Halfling populations exist.
 The “top” pole is known as
the Northern Polarate, and is
generally friendly with
visiting ships.
 The “bottom” pole is known
as the Southern Polarate and
is VERY isolative. Any
approaching spelljammers are
warned to turn away or be blasted out of the sky.

 Coliar : a white planet with swirls of grey

o Although much larger than Toril, Coliar has a fraction of the
population. This cloudy planet is home to several avian life-forms,
such as Aarokokras,
Lizardfolk, and Dragons.
Cloud Giants and air genasi
are common here as well,
as flying is the only way to
get from one place to
another.
o Civilizations on this planet
are situated upon floating
discs, with tall buildings that are only accessible via flying.
o Cloud City vibes

 Toril: it do be like Earf

o Faerun and shit
o Has cake and syphilis and cool cities, u know the vibes
 Karpri: an oceanic world with large, sprawling icecaps that can be seen
from space
o Not much to see here: many sea elves live in underwater coral
kingdoms, living
peacefully (or
sometimes
dangerously) with
the larger sea
creatures that inhabit
this watery place.
o There is no land,
save for the ice caps
at the poles. These
places are desolate and the thickness of the ice varies from place to
place, meaning landing risks plunging into the icy depths below.

 Chandos: another oceanic world, smallest of the 5 planets, yet teeming

with ships, islands, and treasure
o Rumored to be
where most space
pirates hide their
treasure, the many
islands that
encompass Chandos
are filled with
primitive Toril races
including humans,
orcs, and dwarves.
o Many spelljammers avoid this planet due to the enmity of both the
locals and the visiting pirates.
o Assassins Creed 4 vibes
 Glyth: a triple ringed purple planet said to be totally desolate
o The surface is hot and
lacks any vegetation
o There is nothing living
here
o Remnants of destroyed
ships and signs of
extreme warfare can be
found, indicating that
this was likely a settled
planet at some point in
the past.
o Don’t even try, I will
send 500 murder comets to come get you IRL
o Seriously, just don’t

 Garden: a grouping of large asteroids and pieces of a torn-apart planet held

together by an impossibly large
plant
o The vines that are embedded
in each rocky piece are all part
of one living plant creature
known as Yggdrassil’s Child
o All of the asteroids and planet
bits share an atmosphere with
Yggdrassil’s Child
o Yggdrassil’s Child goes
through periods of flourishing
and decay, blooming and
withering.
  H’catha: a disc-shaped planet of water, with a singular mountain in the
middle of it, giving it a wheel-like appearance
o The
mountain is
known as the
Spindle, and
at 1000 miles
tall and 200
miles wide at
its base, is
the tallest
mountain in all of Realmspace
o Its rotation kept it always facing the Sun, making it a nice even 50
degrees Fahrenheit all the time.
o Currently inhabited by beholders who are highly unpredictable. Trade
with them can be extremely lucrative…if you survive.

If you venture too far into Wildspace, everyone aboard the ship would begin
to notice a silvery haze similar to fog begin to encompass the ship. Pirates refer to
this haze as “death’s cold grasp”, indicating that it is high time to turn around and
haul ass. Wildspace is home to very few creatures or living life forms. It truly is the
final frontier. But what exactly is spelljamming?

Spelljamming is the action of piloting a ship with a spelljamming helm on it.

The pilot is known as the spelljammer. A spelljamming helm usually takes the
shape and form of a floating throne or chair. The spelljammer sits upon the helm
and must attune to the helm in order to fly
whatever ship the helm sits upon (although it is
known that some highly experienced
spelljammers can instantly pilot any helm they
sit upon, without the need for attunement). The
spelljammer must be a spellcaster. A minor
helm can control a ship that weighs 50 tons or
less, while a major helm can control ships that weight up to 100 tons.
Hypothetically anything can be a spelljamming ship, however years of study and
practice have proven that there are some ships that work better than others, and your
characters would only be aware of the classical ocean-bound vessels: galleons,
schooners, and frigates. Spelljamming is expensive as shit, with the smallest
spelljamming vessel costing at least 10k gold. Your average spelljamming galleon
(the most common in Realmspace) costs 30k gold. It is known that unique ships can
be found throughout the galaxy ripe for the taking, based on how generous the DM
is feeling.

Spelljamming started around 100 years ago, when a group of Faerunian arcane
scholars and extraterrestrial elves worked together to further Toril’s shared
knowledge. The highly secretive Astral Elves only shared necessary information,
but withheld where they came from or what their home was like. They only referred
to it as “very, very far away”. Other than spelljamming, a new school of magic was
introduced by the astral visitors: Dunamancy. Dunamancy is the ancient and
esoteric study of the magic called dunamis which is based on potentiality and
probability. Dunamis was discovered to manage and control time, gravity, and fate,
removing chance from mortal actions. A collaboration between these Astral Elves
and high mages of Strixhaven sprouted, called the Strixwing Covenant. The goal of
the Strixwing Covenant was to prepare the many cities of the Sword Coast for
Wildspace travel, both culturally and technologically. The result of this covenant
was an overwhelming success, with the influx of new knowledge and new goods
from other planets providing the average Faerunian with a more comfortable life.

Now, hundreds of ships populate the region of Realmspace. Their crews range
from merchants to laborers, from settlers to conquerors, and from priests to pirates.
They’ve spread out across the galaxy, settling on various moons, planets, asteroids,
and practically anywhere else they can land. There is a lot to loot out there,
including luxury goods such as rare spirits, spices, and materials. Furthermore,
exotic creatures and plants can be found on other worlds. It is well known that a lot
of them cannot exist outside their home planet, so none are found on Toril.

There are dozens upon dozens of minor mercantile organizations or individual

financers, although none match the size or manpower of the Grand Mercantile
Generosity. This group arose shortly after the fall of the Lords’ Alliance, and
actually absorbed most of their merchant connections and trade routes. The founder
of it, Mage Lord Sabal Umader, was a member of the high mages of Strixhaven. He
abandoned his council status to chase economic success after the creation of the
Strixwing covenant. Today, he is known to operate out of his stone fortress built
upon the ruins of Axeholm within the Sword Mountains. The Grand Mercantile
Generosity manages trading all along the Sword Coast, as well as provides eager
crews with ships to conduct all sorts of business including harvesting, guarding
merchant ships, privateering, and according to some, organized piracy. That being
said, it is well known that many individuals who sign up to join typically enter in a
contract that requires a debt to paid by years or even decades of labor upon the
vessel they are crewing. The marginal possibility of striking riches does appeal to
many on the Sword Coast, no matter how unlikely it may be. Hiring stations can be
found in practically every tavern from the Spine of the World to the very depths of
the Forest of Tethir. Many sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers
have signed up to join the Grand Mercantile Generosity, never to return to their
families.

The Lords’ Alliance did not see any benefit to exploring Wildspace.
According to their leaders, there are already too many problems to solve on Toril.
Their stubbornness prevented them from participating in any technological
advancement as they focused all their efforts into defending the land itself from its
numerous threats. Unfortunately for them, this meant cracking down on the newly
enriched societies. The overbearing nature of the Lords’ Alliance collided with the
newfound freedoms of the peoples of the Sword Coast, ultimately coming to a head
with the release of “The Alliance Manifesto”, a toxic document that revealed the
exact pockets in which the taxes of the people were going, as well as several crimes
that were committed. Trusted members of society now faced extreme scrutiny, and
forced resignations were aplenty. For the more egregious crimes of political
assassination and guard brutality pardons, some were totally exiled from society. In
less than a tenday, the Lords’ Alliance lost most of its members, all of their
financial backing, and an unrepairable amount of their reputation. The question still
lingers in the air, however: who released the Alliance Manifesto, and how much of
it rings true?

Fortunately, in the years that followed their downfall, loyalists that were aware
of the true nature of the Lords’ Alliance created secret bases from which heroes
could still defend the land from any threat, small or large. Although their numbers
were small, they secretly recruited outcasts of society, people down on their luck in
this new world, and pedigrees of former members. Now that well over a hundred
years of chaos and lawlessness have ruled, it is high time for the Lords’ Alliance to
finally reestablish order and peace. The planets in this wildspace quadrant are
teeming with danger and oozing with devious plots. In this universe, all sorts of
weird worlds: hot ones, cold ones, wet ones, dangerous ones, and the one we call
home. With all the differences that embody these planets, there is only one thing
they have in common: they are in need of heroes…

…or maybe just you guys.

 CHARACTER TIME:
 Level 8, any class, any race
 One green, one blue magic item
 750 gold worth of other items (or just add that to your starting gold)
 Come up with a reason for joining this secret society of the Lords’ Alliance
o They recruit SECRETLY, meeting with seasoned adventurers in
seedy taverns or by leaving notes in their belongings or via cloaked
individuals who ask for a word.
o At level 8, you’d likely be some sort of local hero or have
accomplished a cool thing or slayed a bothersome monster or
something. Come up with a reason WHY they would approach you.
o Keep in mind, they are DESPERATE. They will hire just about
anybody, as everybody knows of their disparaged reputation.
 DEEPEN those backstories. The more you give, the more I add. Name the
significant people in their life, and work with me so we can somehow
include them in story.
 I purposefully left a lot of detail out of the Faerunian side of the setting. I
wanted you all to inject ideas or groups that exist within the Sword Coast.
Please work with me on anything from your backstory that we can add to
the setting.

I do want to point out that I do not want this campaign to be TOTALLY

traumatic or gloomy. It is not Curse of Strahd lol. Goof-em-ups and funny bidniz is
ok, we are literally going to space. Previously DEADLY or SERIOUS monsters
may not be so deadly or serious, and with Wildspace being lawless, the only bounds
will be your character’s morals, so please no murderhobos.

As always, please reach out to me if you need help or have questions

regarding your character. As much as I enjoy the rules of the game, I am going to
try to be a bit more lax this time around. Rule of Cool will likely take precedence
over anything.