10/28/00
This is
the second document in a series of conversion notes and house rules. It makes references to concepts introduced
in the other documents, so I recommend you read them in order. The entire series is available at my web site.
This
document represents two major changes to the standard Spelljammer rules. First, it includes a number of conceptual
changes to the Spelljammer setting, with house rules affecting a number of
small but significant elements of the game.
Second, it is a conversion of that modified setting to the new D&D
"3rd edition".
While I considered splitting these into two separate documents, one for
changes to the setting in 2e and another to convert to 3e, I ultimately decided
that was going to be too much work. For
those who intend to use Spelljammer with its original 2nd edition
AD&D rules, there may still be some conceptual ideas and house rules in
this document that you may find interesting, but some of them will need to be
backwards-converted to 2e.
This
document also contains a LOT of ideas that are not my own. I've been influenced by several members of
the Spelljammer-L mailing list and various web page authors, which I've listed
in the Notes and Bibliography section.
|
Term |
Abbrev. |
Definition |
|
Spacejam,
Spacejammer, Spacejamming |
SJ |
These
terms refer to travel through space, and have no implication for the nature
of propulsion being used. More
specific terms do have specific connotations, where lifejammer vessels make
use of lifejamming helms, spelljammer vessels make use of spelljamming helms,
etc. |
|
Normal
Scale |
NS |
This
is a term to differentiate between Ship Scale and Normal Scale combat. Normal Scale combat uses hit points, armor
class, melee weapons, 6 second rounds, and the normal 3e rules. |
|
Ship
Scale |
SS |
This
is a term used to differentiate between Normal Scale and Ship Scale
combat. Ship Scale combat uses
Structure Points, Hardness Ratings, Evasion Ratings, heavy weapons, one
minute turns, and my other modified rules for ship-to-ship combat. |
|
Round |
-- |
A
round is a standard 3e six second round. |
|
Turn |
-- |
A
turn is one minute, or 10 rounds in 3e. |
|
Hex |
-- |
A
hex is 500 yards, the same as a 2e SJ hex. |
|
Tactical
SJ Speed |
-- |
A
vessel moving at tactical speeds will cover one or more hexes per turn, based
on its Speed Rating. |
|
Full
SJ Speed |
-- |
A
vessel moving at full SJ speed is moving at approximately 100 million miles
per day in a straight line. |
|
Speed
Rating |
SR |
A
ship's Speed Rating is the number of hexes it can travel per turn (10
rounds). |
|
Maneuver
Rating |
MR |
A
ship's Maneuver Rating represents how quickly, easily and accurately a vessel
can turn. |
|
Evasion
Rating |
ER |
This
is the ship scale version of armor class.
It represents size, design and maneuverability. Unlike AC, it does not represent armor or
materials used in the vessels construction. |
|
Hardness
Rating |
HR |
This
is my implementation of the 3e Hardness concept in the ship scale system. |
|
Structure
Points |
SP |
This
is my equivalent of Hull Points. I
changed it to Structure Points both because it is a more accurate term, and
the abbreviation won't be confused with Hit Points. |
|
Spacejammer
Tonnage |
Ton |
An
SJ Ton is a measure of size and volume, not mass or weight. An SJ ton is 100 cubic yards, or 2,700
cubic feet. |
Most of
the standard D&D races remain the same in a Spacejammer setting. However, many worlds from both canon
WotC/TSR products and homegrown campaigns will have "house rules" or
modified abilities. Generally speaking,
all such characters should keep their native abilities when they migrate into
Wildspace. For example, an unaging elf
from Birthright doesn't suddenly grow feeble with age just because he leaves
his native world.
However,
the DM is always allowed and encouraged to say that any given world and its
inhabitants are not among the Known Spheres in his SJ setting, and that
characters from those worlds are not allowed in his campaign, if the rules for
that world would conflict with his interpretation of the Spacejammer setting.
Races and
sub-races that are specific to the Spacejammer setting are detailed below.
???
???
To make up
for the preparation spellcasters getting cantrips/orisons dynamically, bards
get a bonus to the number of spells known per spell level. Use the Bonus Spells chart but base it off
of Intelligence (not Charisma).
Clerics can
cast orisons dynamically, without preparation, as per a sorcerer.
Druids can
cast orisons dynamically, without preparation, as per a sorcerer.
Rangers do
not automatically get the Ambidexterity and Two Weapon Fighting feats. Instead, rangers get one bonus feat at level
1, and another bonus feat at level 2.
The bonus feats must be taken from the following list: Alertness, Ambidexterity, Endurance, Great
Fortitude, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Toughness, or Two Weapon Fighting.
To make up
for the preparation spellcasters getting cantrips/orisons dynamically,
sorcerers get a bonus to the number of spells known per spell level. Use the Bonus Spells chart but base it off
of Intelligence (not Charisma).
Wizards
can cast cantrips dynamically, without preparation, as per a sorcerer. The number of cantrips a wizard gets is
increased to be in line with the Cleric/Druid:
|
Level |
0
Level Spells Per Day |
|
1 |
3 |
|
2 |
4 |
|
3 |
4 |
|
4 |
5 |
|
5 |
5 |
|
6 |
5 |
|
7+ |
6 |
Every
character at 1st level gets 4 extra bonus skill points that must
be spent buying skills that are appropriate to his childhood
(pre-apprenticeship age). Regardless of
class skill lists, these points always buy 1 rank of a skill per 1 point spent.
All
characters can include the following skills as Class Skills, regardless of
their class:
Climb,
Craft, Jump, Profession, Spot, Swim
This skill
is used to design, build, modify and repair spacejammer vessels. For rules regarding designing and/or
building a ship, see my Ship Construction system/conversion (available at my web site).
Check: As per the normal Craft rules.
Retry:
As per the normal Craft rules.
Special:
As per the normal Craft rules.
This skill
provides a detailed knowledge of celestial bodies, celestial phenomena,
elemental environments, crystal spheres, etc.
This skill
provides the character with an in-depth, if academic, knowledge of Wildspace,
the creatures, plants, and general cosmology.
It is the space-faring equivalent of Knowledge [Nature].
The ship's
navigator is responsible for plotting courses through Wildspace and the
Phlogiston, identifying and tracking the ship's location, and identifying
celestial bodies and wildspace phenomena.
The navigator's many responsibilities make him one of the most important
members of the crew.
This skill
includes the use of a wide range of mundane and magical navigation instruments
and charts. It also includes the
ability to develop your own charts, although it is a slow and difficult
process.
Check:
A Navigation check is made whenever setting a course in wildspace or the
Phlogiston.
|
Task |
DC |
|
Plot
a course to a major celestial body |
12* |
|
Plot
a course to a minor celestial body |
15* |
|
Determine
your exact location in wildspace |
15* |
|
Plot
a course to a specific spot in wildspace |
20* |
|
Create
accurate charts |
25 |
|
Plot
a course to a known sphere through the Phlogiston |
20 |
|
Plot
a course to an unfamiliar sphere through the Phlogiston |
30 |
* Tasks with an asterisk next to the DC assume
you have both navigation instruments and accurate charts for the Sphere. If not, add +5 to the DC if either one is
missing, or +10 if both are unavailable.
Navigation
rolls should be made by the DM; a character should not know whether he failed or
succeeded.
Plotting a
course assumes you correctly know your current location. If you do not know your location,
determining it must be completed first.
If that location roll is failed, the amount it is failed by is the best
result possible for the course check.
For example, if you fail your roll to locate your current position by 4
points, you cannot do any better than failing by four points on the course
check. And if the course check is
failed, lengthen the journey by 10% per point the skill check is below the DC.
Note that
simple deviations from your course at tactical speeds are relatively negligible
on the scale of a Crystal Sphere and can be safely ignored. However, the rapid and extensive course
changes that are required in combat situations mean you always need to
redetermine your location after the fight in order to get back on the correct
heading. You don't need to actually
reroll the course though, since the original course is still valid, but you do
need to find your exact bearings again.
On the other hand, if the vessel ever accelerates to full spacejamming
speed on the wrong course (eg, when retreating from battle without making sure
you are on the right heading first), then both position and course will need to
be recomputed.
Retry:
Navigation rolls can be retried as often as desired. However, since you cannot know which rolls
are successes and which are failures, it has limited benefit. Nonetheless, most navigators will take
readings on their position many times per day throughout a journey. The DM is encouraged to treat this as a
wimpy version of Take 20: instead of
giving an automatic 20, because they won't know which "one" of the
rolls was the 20 and might instead settle on a less-good course, just treat it
as a single roll of 1d10+10. After all,
the frequent double checking should find any stupid errors, and multiple
readings of your location are likely to at least narrow in on the correct
location, so the overall result is unlikely to be really bad, but you might
accidentally ignore the 20 and go for the roll that was 12 or 15. The 1d10+10 shortcut also gives some benefit
to someone who might otherwise just Take 10 and do the calculations once. Let them keep busy on the trip and in
exchange give them some extra successes over the normal take 10.
Special:
Most uses of this skill take 5 minutes (50 rounds, or 5 ship
turns). For each -1 you accept on your
check, you may reduce that by 3 rounds.
Naturally, creating charts is a long-term endeavor that takes much
longer.
Magical
navigation instruments, such as Planetary Locators, provide a +5 bonus when
they are applicable. For example, a
Planetary Locator will help when locating your current position and plotting a
course to major celestial bodies, as well as plotting courses to any minor
celestial bodies that have a beacon or that have been manually entered, but do
not help in other navigation tasks.
While
anyone can use a helm for basic maneuvering of a ship, a trained pilot has
access to a variety of special maneuvers that can enhance a ship's performance
and fighting capability.
Check:
A check is made each round or whenever the helmsman wishes to perform a
special maneuver. Only one maneuver can
be attempted per round, and the helmsman cannot have performed any personal
actions that round.
|
Maneuver |
Type |
DC |
Result if Failed |
Result if Successful |
|
Standard |
None |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Steady Attack |
Attack |
10 |
-2 ER |
+2 Missile Attacks, -2 ER |
|
Partial Evasive |
Defend |
10 |
-2 Missile Attacks |
+2 ER, -2 Missile Attacks |
|
Full Evasive |
Defend |
15 |
+2 ER, -4 Missile Attacks |
+4 ER, -4 Missile Attacks |
|
Ram |
Ram |
varies |
-2 Missile Attacks, -2 ER |
-2 Missile Attacks, -2 ER |
|
Evade Ram |
Defend |
10 |
-2 Missile Attacks |
Add Pilot skill to ER for avoiding a ram, |
Retry:
A failed skill check results in the penalties specified above. The same maneuver, or a different maneuver,
can be attempted next round.
Special:
The helmsman's skill is penalized by the vessel's MR modifier (0 for MR
A through -5 for MR F). The helmsman
can get a bonus to his skill if he is working in cooperation with his
sailors. If he selects a maneuver of
the same type that the sailors are prepared for this turn, he may get a +2. If he chooses a different type of maneuver,
he might get a -2.
This skill
is one of the most important for a well-run ship. Its primary impact is on the vessel's maneuverability and the
helmsman's piloting.
Check:
Each turn the Captain (or Sailmaster) orders the sailors to position the
rigging for a specific type of maneuver:
Attack, Ram, or Defend. That
stance lasts for the entire turn.
A check
can be made each round. Take the
average skill bonus for all of the sailors, and roll against a DC 10 (you
cannot take 10). If successful, the
helmsman gets a +2 on his maneuver this round, otherwise the helmsman gets a
+0.
However,
this only applies if the helmsman is using the same type of maneuver (see
above). If the helmsman is using a
different type of maneuver (an attack maneuver when the sailor's are set for
defense), then the helmsman suffers a -2 on top of the result of this skill, so
either a -2 if this skill failed or a 0 if it succeeded.
Retry:
This check is retried each round.
Special:
For every two ranks in this skill (round down), you have a minimum
effective bonus of +1 in Balance, Climb and Use Rope. However, this bonus does not stack with any ranks you have in
those skills, so you just use the better.
It does stack with the attribute bonus or other bonuses, though.
This is
equivalent to Wilderness Lore but applies to Wildspace and the Phlogiston. It is used to understand the practical
(rather than academic) aspects of how wildspace physics work, what creatures
live there, how to check for fouled air, etc.
It can be used to hunt for game, recognize environmental dangers and
natural hazards, and avoid known trouble spots.
Check:
|
DC |
Task |
|
15 |
Spend
2d6 days (-1 per extra success, minimum of 1) to locate enough water to
refill your ship stores (enough for a few months with max crew?). This assumes you are in deep space and not
near an obvious, large water body. If
you know (or guess) where water is, don't bother rolling. |
|
15 |
Recognize
potentially dangerous natural hazards.
The DM can increase or decrease the DC depending on how rare or common
this type of hazard is (15 is for uncommon but occasionally discussed, 25 for
unique, 10 for common, etc.). |
|
20 |
Spend
12 hours (-1 per extra success) to locate game, enough to feed up to (3 men
times your skill check's total) for one day, or ½ as many for 2 days, etc. |
|
Varies |
Identify
creatures native to wildspace: DC 10
for common, 12 for uncommon, 15 for rare-but-talked-about, 20 for
rare-and-not-talked-about, 25 for very rare. |
Retry:
When foraging for food you get one roll per day. For water, yet can retry after spending the
2d6 days. To avoid natural hazards, you
get one check per situation.
Special:
This skill cannot be used untrained by groundlings. However, any character who has spent at
least 5 years (minus one year per point of Wisdom bonus, minimum of one) in
Wildspace can use it untrained.
You may
choose one exotic SJ weapon to be proficient with. Sample exotic weapons in SJ typically include: Firearms, Bombards, and Greek Fire
Projectors.
Prerequisite:
Base attack bonus of +1 or higher.
Benefit:
You make attack rolls with the weapon normally, and are able to maintain
the weapon in good working order.
Normal:
A character who uses a weapon without being proficient suffers a -4 on
attack rolls. Only one member of a ship
scale weapon's crew needs to be proficient to avoid this penalty.
Special:
You can gain this feat multiple times, each time choosing a different
weapon. Some DMs may decide that either
or both of the Bombard and the Greek Fire Projectors are common enough in their
game to count as standard Shipboard Weapons instead of exotic weapons.
You can
speed up the process of reloading a siege weapon.
Prerequisite:
Shipboard Weapon Proficiency
Benefit:
If you are supervising the loading of a siege weapon, you can reduce the
reload time by one round. Only one
weapon crew member needs to have this feat, and there is no additional benefit
if more than one crew member has it.
The minimum reload time is still 1 full action.
You are
proficient at using the standard Ship Scale weapons, which includes the
Ballista, Catapult, Jettison, and Gnomish Sweeper.
Note: Bombards and Greek Fire Projectors count as
exotic weapons and require their own proficiency feat. However, some DMs may decide that either or
both of these weapons are common enough in his game that they can be included
in the general Shipboard Weapon Proficiency.
Benefit:
You make attack rolls with the weapon normally, and are able to maintain
these weapons in good working order.
Normal:
A ship scale weapon used by a crew that does not have at least one
proficient character suffers a -4 on attack rolls. It only takes one proficient user in that weapon's crew to negate
this penalty.
You are
very familiar with travel through Wildspace and the Phlogiston. You know how to handle yourself in
zero-gravity, and are something of a jack-of-all-trades in space. You can puzzle out a basic course to reach a
destination, act as an emergency helmsman, adjust the rigging, and generally
contribute to any ship's crew.
Benefit:
You can use the following skills untrained: Profession [SJ Navigator], Profession [SJ Pilot], Profession [SJ
Sailor] and Wildspace Lore. However,
you still have zero ranks until you acquire the skills normally, and still
count as being untrained if that distinction is relevant.
In
addition, you suffer no attack, skill check or initiative penalties when
fighting in zero-gravity. You still
lose your dexterity bonus to Reflex saves and your dodge bonus to AC unless you
have the ability to fly.
Normal:
The skills listed above normally cannot be used untrained. There is a -2 circumstance penalty to all
attack and skill checks when weightless, a -10 penalty to initiative, and you
lose any dodge bonus to AC or Dexterity bonus to Reflex saves unless you have
the ability to move (eg, flight).
|
|
Cost |
Damage |
Critical |
Range Inc. |
Weight |
Type |
|
Firearms |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pistol, Wheel Lock |
700 gp |
1d10 |
20 / x2 |
50' |
3 lb. |
P |
|
Arquebus, Matchlock |
500 gp |
1d12 |
20 / x2 |
75' |
10 lb. |
P |
|
Smokepowder, per charge |
30 gp ea. |
|
|
|
|
|
Firearms:
These
weapons make use of magical smokepowder.
In addition to be rare, and expensive, smokepowder is known to be inert
in some Spheres while working fine in others.
However, there are a number of reasons why firearms still are slowly
becoming popular.
Within
30', firearms count as ranged touch attacks that ignore armor, shield, and
natural armor bonuses.
Any time a
firearm rolls an 8, 10, or 12 for damage, another damage die is added (keep
going until another number is rolled).
However,
if the attack die roll is a natural 1, it misfires. Roll a 1d20, and on another natural 1, the weapon backfires and
the user takes the damage, otherwise the weapon just fails to fire. Either way, the weapon is fouled and cannot
be used until it is cleaned, which takes 2d10 rounds.
Cantrips
and Orisons do not need to be prepared by any spellcasting character. Every class can cast them dynamically, as
per a Sorcerer or Bard.
Cantrips
and Orisons are not drained by spelljamming helms.
Ships
crews are rated according to their relative experience: Green, Average,
Trained, and Crack. The crew's rating is determined by the number of folks
handling the rigging and weapons who have the appropriate proficiencies, and
how long they have worked together.
A. Green:
The majority of crew members have no experience at all. The average of the riggers' Sailor skill
(rounded down) is 0. There is not at
least one weaponeer per weapon who is proficient. The ship counts as having one level less of rigging (so Minimal
behaves as None, Standard as Minimal, and Topped-Out as Standard). The weapons all suffer a -4 on attack rolls
due to nonproficiency. The ship's
initiative roll has a -6 penalty.
B. Average:
The majority of crew members have some experience. The average of the rigger's Sailor skill
(rounded down) is 1-3. There is at
least one weaponeer per weapon who is proficient. The ship can make full use of its rigging and weapons. The ship's initiative still suffers a -4
penalty though.
C. Trained:
As per Average, except the average Sailor skill is 4+, there are at
least two proficient weaponeers per weapon.
The ship's initiative is at a -2.
D. Crack:
As per Trained, plus the crew has sailed together aboard the same vessel
for at least 3 months. The ship's initiative
is unmodified.
The above
document contains WotC/TSR trademarked material, as well as paraphrased
copyrighted material. This use should not be construed as a challenge to that
status.
TSR /
Wizards of the Coast
The core
rules and setting for the Spelljammer game were produced by TSR in the early
1990s. TSR was subsequently bought by
Wizards of the Coast. All Spelljammer
intellectual properties are copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast.
Similarly,
AD&D 2nd Edition (which is referred to as 2e) and D&D
(referred to as 3rd edition or 3e) are also copyrighted by Wizards
of the Coast.
Spelljammer-L
Mailing List (SJML)
The Spelljammer-L mailing list
is one major source for ideas and online community within the Spelljammer
game. A number of ideas in this
document are based on discussions from the mailing list. For more information, check out the Official
Spelljammer web page.
URL: http://www.darkwood.cx/rpg/compendium/
Eric
Thornber
Some of
the ship combat rules and descriptive text, and a few skill ideas, were taken
from Eric's conversion rules for D&D, which are available at his web site.
URL: http://www.pave-france.org/~didymus/sj/
Leroy
Van Camp
The ship
design ideas are strongly based upon Leroy's "Spelljammer Ship
System", which is available at his web page, the Tarkas Brain Lab IV. Other miscellaneous ideas from Leroy include
some of the skills and ship combat modifications, but they came from his posts
on the SJML and private emails.
URL: http://www.users.qwest.net/~malacoda/TarkasBrainLabIV.html