Spelljammer Collector's Guide Revisited (1.6)
Spelljammer Collector's Guide Revisited (1.6)
The updated edition you are now reading has been revised and many new sources of
Spelljammer lore have been added. There are bound to still be a few things missing, but this is
as thorough a collection of Spelljammer references as you are likely to find. The guide is
presented in chronological order of release, so it doubles as a history of the setting. A checklist
of Spelljammer products is included at the end.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to everyone who commented on the two earlier versions of the Collector’s
Guide, particularly David Shepheard (@Big Mac), whose Spelljammer insights were extremely
valuable in filling in some gaps. A tip of the hat is also due to the community at The Piazza
whose passion for all D&D settings has helped keep them alive during long periods when they
did not benefit from any official support.
SPELLJAMMER got its start in 1988 at the same meeting that spawned the TALADAS
campaign setting. It was a department-wide brainstorming meeting at a local bar and
grill. “I remember sitting there and saying, ‘What about D&D in space?’” says designer Jeff
Grubb. “At first they didn't get it so I started describing a guy in plate mail armor standing
on the deck of a ship that was sailing through space.
Spelljammer Collector’s Guide Revisited PDF version 1.6 1
Someone asked how the guy was breathing.
Steve Winter confirms Jeff Grubb's involvement (and notes the influence of alcohol on the
setting's genesis) in 30 Years of Adventure:
Suffice it to say, sometime in 1988 the two managers of R&D, Jim Ward and Warren
Spector (who liked to say they were so completely in sync that they jokingly dubbed
themselves “the two managers with one brain”), took the designers to a local bar for an
afternoon of brainstorming. Two ideas came out of that marathon drinking session with a
solid go-ahead: Taladas (a major expansion to Dragonlance) and Spelljammer. Zeb Cook,
fresh off over two years working on AD&D 2nd Edition and eager to work his way back
into polite society, was assigned to write Taladas. Spelljammer fell to the man who'd
championed it, Jeff Grubb.
The Spelljammer line was initially supported from 1989 to 1993. As well as a line of
twenty-one Spelljammer branded RPG products, TSR released a series of six novels, one
Endless Quest book and hundreds of Spelljammer-themed Collector's Cards. They also licensed
a Spelljammer computer game and a series of DC comics.
Although Dragon and Dungeon magazines didn't provide as much support for Spelljammer as
they did for some of TSR's other settings, Dragon ran a dozen or so articles, and Dungeon ran
eight adventures with Spelljammer flavour. Polyhedron too carried a dozen or so Spelljammer
articles, including the slightly controversial mini-game reboot Shadow of the Spider Moon in
Polyhedron #151.
The influence of the setting can be seen in the illithid lore of 3rd edition, and in the planar
cosmology of 4th edition, where Spelljammer ships are used to traverse the Astral Sea.
Following on from a number of hints and references in earlier 5th edition sources, Wizards of
the Coast announced the Spelljammer: Adventures in Space set for release in August 2022.
After nearly a third of a century, this brings us full circle from the release of the original,
almost identically named, Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space.
July 1989
Polyhedron #48
● Spelljammer: AD&D Game Adventures in Space, p23
A one page article titled Spelljammer: AD&D Game Adventures in Space is the
first detailed mention from TSR of their new setting. It is authored by Jeff
Grubb, and highlights most of the key points of the setting: phlogiston,
crystal spheres, ships with envelopes of breathable air, the Spelljammer
ship, neogi, and of course the important point (at least from TSR's
cross-marketing point of view) that all this means players can travel between the worlds of
Dragonlance, Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms. The article doesn't reveal anything new
about the setting, so it is interesting only from a historical point of view, and not for collectors
of Spelljammer lore.
October 1989
Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space
● Concordance of Arcane Space (96 pages)
● Lorebook of the Void (96 pages)
● 4 poster maps
● 24 card sheets (20 ship cards, 4 sheets of counters)
● 24 plastic ship stands
This is the original Spelljammer boxed set, released a mere six months into the lifespan of
AD&D 2nd Edition and designed by Jeff Grubb. This boxed set is one of the thinner (inch deep)
boxes characteristic of TSR's late 80s/early 90s products, but it packs in more content than
many of the deeper boxes used later in the 2nd Edition release cycle. As well as two 96-page
rulebooks, the box includes four colour poster maps, 24 card sheets (twenty containing
information on Spelljamming ships, and four with cut-out ship counters) and 24 plastic stands
for the ship counters. The poster maps are of the Spelljammer, the Rock of Bral, a Planetary
Display Map and a hex grid for playing tactical space battles with the fold-up ships.
The first of the two books, The Concordance of Arcane Space is the rulebook for the setting,
covering Arcane Space, AD&D Rules in Space, Ships of Wildspace, Movement & Combat,
Celestial Mechanics and four appendices. The second book, Lorebook of the Void, details more
of the fluff of the setting—races, ships and monsters that populate the crystal spheres of the
Spelljammer universe.
A hybrid fantasy/space setting isn't everyone's cup of tea, and Spelljammer accumulated
enough quirky parts over the years to make it easy to mock. Some of the basic rules for the
setting—gravity planes, air pockets—do feel rather forced. Still, the initial boxed set does what
it sets out to do, which is to provide a framework for playing D&D in space. If you are a
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
January 1990
Dragon #153
● Awash in the Phlogiston, p94
This article, written by Jeff Grubb, lead designer of the Spelljammer boxed set, includes
cunningly disguised errata. It deals with three frequently asked questions about the boxed set,
namely:
1. How many ship cards are supposed to be in the box?
(24, and yes, some are duplicates.)
2. What happened to the “Proficiencies section” mentioned in the rulebook?
(That's a mistake, there is no such section.)
3. Where are the mentioned navigation charts for the phlogiston?
(There aren't any, that mention is just poor wording.)
January 1990
Dungeon #21
● Jammin', p29
The adventure involves the exploration of a crashed Spelljammer ship named the Halcyon, and
although some of the creatures and magic items are Spelljammer-flavoured, the adventure is
really just a short dungeon crawl that happens to take place on a Spelljammer ship. Although it
can be run by a DM without the Spelljammer boxed set, there are an irritating number of hooks
of the variety “for more information on this, you should consider buying the Spelljammer
boxed set”.
The adventure assumes that the participating adventurers begin as landlubbers, and the
action starts with the anchor of a Spelljamming craft crashing into the ground nearby. This
leaves the rope joining the anchor to the ship begging for exploration. If the PCs take
this—almost literal hook—they will eventually find themselves dealing with space-faring
beholders and an ancient weapon capable of destroying civilizations, sealed in a floating
asteroid.
Despite the fun plot, reviews of this adventure are not very positive, marking it down for
assuming that the PCs are gullible fools.
April 1990
SJR1: Lost Ships
● Softcover book (96 pages)
Written by Ed Greenwood, Lost Ships is the first of eight products in the SJR
(Spelljammer Reference) series. It is 96 pages in size, and about a third of
the book is a Ship Catalog describing twenty new Spelljamming craft. Three
short adventures take up another 26 pages, with the balance being new
rules (4 pages), new spells (4 pages), new equipment (11 pages), new monsters (13 pages),
and Flotsam of Space (6 pages), a delightful collection of interesting space phenomena to spice
up journeys.
This book is a pretty solid addition to the Spelljammer line. Many of the ships herein are likely
to see repeated use in game, as are some of the spells, monsters and new equipment. If a
revised Spelljammer boxed set had ever been produced, chances are that much of the content
of Lost Ships would have been absorbed into the core set.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
June 1990
SJA2: Skull & Crossbows
● Adventure booklet (64 pages)
● Cover (3 panel)
● Poster map
The first adventure is designed to prod the PCs into a career in “pirate-hunting”, and many of
the subsequent chapters continue this theme. There are also plenty of unrelated encounters
which can easily be dropped into any Spelljammer campaign. Despite not being an adventure
in the traditional sense, Skull & Crossbows is one of the strongest titles in the Spelljammer line,
and a great resource for a DM to page through for ideas and adventure seeds.
July 1990
Dragon #159
● Cover
● Rough Times on Refuge, p10
● Bazaar of the Bizarre: Magic from the Stars, p15
● The Dragon's Bestiary, p30
The theme of this issue of Dragon is “Beyond the Sky Itself”, and it includes
three Spelljammer articles and a cover picture (The Privateer by Robin Wood) which shows a
half-elven captain looking out on a double planet and the legendary Spelljammer itself.
In Bazaar of the Bizarre: Magic from the Stars, Steven Schend provides four pages of
Spelljammer magic items, including two artifacts. One of these, Blackjammer's cutlass, went
on to be featured in the Book of Artifacts.
The final Spelljammer article, The Dragon's Bestiary contains three new creatures in standard
Monstrous Compendium format: the andeloid, infernite and metagolem.
August 1990
Hollow World Campaign Set
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
August 1990
LC2: Inside Ravens Bluff, the Living City
● For the Byrrds, p12-13
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
August 1990
MC7: Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix
● 64 loose pages
● 4 dividers
● Cover
It is difficult to know what to say about the product that gave the world giant space hamsters.
Perhaps this extract from the About This Product page sums up the design philosophy best:
Folk from many different departments at TSR came together to design this project. They
were attracted by the challenge. They were attracted by the downright weirdness of it.
But most of all, they were attracted by the idea that the money that would normally be
spent for freelance design would go into the Party Fund, so we could throw a few bashes
that were more than a bathtub full of soda and some cheese logs.
In short, there are some solid creatures in here, and there are some not-so-solid creatures in
here. This is worth getting for any Spelljammer collector, or any DM who thinks inflicting
two-headed phase doppelganger giant space hamsters on their players sounds like fun.
In the late 80s/early 90s, TSR had a comic licensing deal with DC, which
included lines of comics for Dragonlance, the Forgotten Realms and AD&D (for
which, confusingly, the stories were also set in the Forgotten Realms).
Although billed as an Annual, there was only a single issue in the TSR Worlds
series, and it might as well have been titled Spelljammer issue #0, since it contains a single
story introducing the characters from the subsequent Spelljammer comic series.
The story begins on Unipaxala, the Peace Asteroid with the captain of a small spelljamming
ship accepting a commission to rescue a priest captured by neogi pirates. The action continues
on to the continent of Taladas on the world of Krynn before heading to the Forgotten Realms,
where the heroes tangle with a devious lich. From there, they are pursued by a fire-breathing
creature into the phlogiston, with explosive consequences.
Like some of the other earlier Spelljammer marketing, this comic feels a little like a punt to
cross-sell TSR's different settings. Each chapter was written by different authors, so the flow
of the story isn't as even as it could be, but this serves as a decent introduction to the rest of
the Spelljammer comic series.
August 1990
Dragon #160
● Up, Away, and Beyond, p38
August 1990
The Unsung, Fantastic & Perilous Expedition of Ironhelm
Jones' Rock Bottom Dwarven Mining Company
September 1990
FOR1: Draconomicon
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
September 1990
The Horde Barbarian Campaign Setting
It seems likely that TSR had some sort of internal requirement that any
new setting or subsetting had to include at least one Spelljammer
reference. The Horde is no exception. The map card for Almorel includes the
wreck of a crashed spelljammer ship, the Little Dragonfly, in the bay.
The Many-Windowed Tower stands on the shores of the Yal Tengri sea. According to A
Guidebook to the Endless Waste, Volume II, it is currently occupied by Demchungchumrub, a
lich who is assembling an undead crew to man his spelljamming craft (pages 80-81).
September 1990
Polyhedron #55
● Spelljamming Monsters, p15
The first official Spelljammer comic continues the story of Meredith, Pax,
Jasmine and Tember as they crash-land on a world where Spelljamming is
unknown. They meet a group of the native inhabitants and tell their story; this
serves as a convenient way to recap the events of TSR Worlds #1. At the end of
this issue, Meredith launches the ship rather suddenly, accidentally taking a group of native
stowaways with them. Although it isn't stated in this issue, it is the first of a four-part arc titled
The Rogue Ship.
October 1990
SJA3: Crystal Spheres
● Adventure booklet (64 pages)
● Cover (3 panel)
The third adventure in the SJA series, Crystal Spheres is a 64-page adventure
written by J. Paul LaFountain. It includes a colour poster showing the
relative sizes of many Spelljammer ships. The adventure is for four to eight
characters of levels 5-7, and is designed for PCs who already have some spacefaring
experience.
The PCs are approached by the heir to the throne of Thesalys, a planet located in Greatspace. A
vampire named T'Laan has seized control of that crystal sphere, and plans to snuff out the sun,
as he has already done in Darkspace.
This adventure is a fun romp through several new crystal spheres, although
one—Herospace—is rather far-fetched. (Only heroes are allowed to live there, and they must
live on one of nine planets matching their alignment.) The story suffers from a heavy
dependence on the PCs actually wanting to assist the heir to the throne of Thesalys, but the
villain is complex and memorable and he has some epic plans which should be satisfying to
foil.
October 1990
Spelljammer comic #2
● The Rogue Ship, Part Two
Part two of The Rogue Ship arc continues with the crew and their unexpected
stowaways—who call themselves “the People of Song and Story”—being
attacked by a neogi mindspider while travelling through the phlogiston. While
November 1990
Spelljammer comic #3
● The Rogue Ship, Part Three
December 1990
Spelljammer comic #4
● The Rogue Ship, Part Four: Song's End, Tale's Beginning
In the final part of The Rogue Ship arc, Tember and the People of Song and
Story (all invisible) make their way to the tower where Jasmine battles a
group of umber hulks, and Meridith and Pax remain trapped. Tember breaks
the crystal which is preventing Unipaxala's ice ring protections from working,
and the neogi inside the shield are forced to surrender. Pax remains behind on Unipaxala,
while Tember, Jasmine and three of the People of Song and Story decide to accompany
Meredith on her journeys. Although it is by no means A-grade fiction, the first Spelljammer
comic story arc is an entertaining enough read, and does feel like a swashbuckling D&D
adventure in space.
January 1991
Dragon #165
● Sage Advice, p91
In this issue's Sage Advice, Skip Williams explains that being thrust into a
vacuum in a fantasy setting doesn't necessarily work the same way as it
does in the real world. He mentions that the Spelljammer rules assume
everything carries its own atmosphere. Yes, there's a mention of
Spelljammer in this issue of Dragon. No, it's not worth collecting this issue just for the
Spelljammer content.
The second four-part story arc in the Spelljammer comic series takes place on
the jungle planet of Boroda. Although there is some development of the
characters who make up the ship's motley crew, the story adds very little to
the Spelljammer universe.
In this issue, we meet Meredith's son, Bors, who has settled in a small village on Boroda. The
villagers are dealing with a “wandering monster” problem. Since his arrival Bors has helped
them herd all the dangerous creatures into a protected valley, and created a barricade to keep
them there. Now, something has destroyed the barricade, and the beasts are loose.
February 1991
SJR2: Realmspace
● Softcover book (96 pages)
● Poster map
Written by Dale “Slade” Henson, this is a tour of the crystal sphere which houses the Forgotten
Realms, beginning with the Sun and working through all of the celestial bodies in the sphere.
There are some interesting revelations, such as the fact that the moon Selûne is inhabited, but
masked by a godly illusion making it appear otherwise to the residents of the planet below.
(So what happened after Leira was slain by Cyric? Did the residents of Toril wake up one
morning to a very different moon?)
This is probably a useful product for any DM whose characters start in the Forgotten Realms,
or who want to visit there, but it isn't as inspiring or interesting as many other Spelljammer
products. It does come with A Trve and Accvrate Map of Realmspace, designed in an attractive
Olden Days style, which might be the best part of this product.
The back of the screen contains a few generally useful tables (weapons, saving throws), but
most of them are specific to the Spelljammer setting, including ship statistics, firearms, typical
weather conditions, celestial body classification and crew morale. These tables are handy, but
an ordinary AD&D DM's screen will likely be more useful for a typical game.
The ship fold-ups (designed by Diesel) are an improvement over the stand-up counters from
the original set, but their utility will depend heavily on how much tactical ship-to-ship combat
there is in a DM's Spelljammer campaign.
February 1991
Spelljammer comic #6
● Circle of Fear
As might be guessed from this issue's cover, the one responsible for destroying
the barricade turns out to be a young red dragon, who has tricked the children
of the village into thinking he is a friend. While Meredith, Jasmine, Bors and
Kirstig go catoblepas hunting, Tember is led away from the party by his new
friend Tenah to meet Wildfyre, the red dragon.
Kirstig discovers that something is blocking her access to her deity, the Great Mother of
Melody, but Meredith brushes this problem aside. When the hunting party returns to the
village, they find it a smoking wreck, littered with burnt corpses.
March 1991
Ruins of Undermountain
The Campaign Guide to Undermountain in this boxed set includes the first
mention of Stardock and its connection to the rest of Halaster’s
megadungeon (page 14). It also contains mentions of several Spelljammer
creatures: an archlich, argos, neogi and a silver clockwork horror (pages 78,
March 1991
Dungeon #28
● Cover
● Visitors from Above, p50
This is a solid adventure, with a plot that makes sense, NPCs who have clear motivations and
goals, and some fun encounters. It is a little light on Spelljammer flavour, but could be a fun
adventure to run even in a campaign that doesn't involve any space-faring at all. Worth noting
is the nautiloid cover art, titled Last Descent by Jennell Jaquays.
March 1991
Spelljammer comic #7
● Paying the Price
As the villagers begin to pick up the pieces, Tember, Tenah and the other
children return. But they are no longer children, having been magically turned
into adults by the dragon Wildfyre. Furious with their betrayal, Bors exiles
them from the village. Jasmine follows the “children” as they return to the
dragon, and witnesses Wildfyre's execution of their leader as a demonstration of his power.
Jasmine swoops in to rescue Tember.
Meanwhile, Meredith and the others are following the trail of a large, purple slime creature,
and Kirstig is pondering her failed connection to her god. At the end of this issue, Meredith's
group comes face to face with the dragon.
There are 64 loose five-hole punched pages, plus the obligatory four full-colour card dividers.
Many of the pages in this volume have a lot of whitespace, which makes this product feel a
little light in content. Still, one can never have too many D&D monsters, and any Spelljammer
collector will want to pick this up.
April 1991
Spelljammer comic #8
● Monster
Having spent three issues building up to a confrontation with the red dragon
Wildfyre, Meredith resolves the situation abruptly, but rather amusingly, with
a single finger of death spell, slaying the dragon instantly!
The rest of this issue wanders all over the place. Tember, Tenah and Jasmine open a portal
inside the spelljamming ship which leads to Meredith's private treasure horde. Kirstig begins
to think that it is Meredith who is blocking her connection to her god, but comes off second
best when she confronts Meredith. Finally, Meredith announces that it is time for them to
again take to the skies.
May 1991
Spelljammer comic #9
● The Geas
Written by Jeff Grubb, creator of the Spelljammer setting, this stand alone
issue (titled The Geas) is one of the strongest in the line of Spelljammer
comics. Captain Meredith tells her ship a story from her past, while some of
the crew listen in, unseen.
Lady Chaos and Chancel foil his geas by hiring so many ships to assist them that when they all
gather, a pitched battle breaks out, and Kavaros is slain in the crossfire. The story features
plenty of Spelljammer flavour and is a fun read.
June 1991
SJA4: Under the Dark Fist
● Adventure booklet (64 pages)
● Cover (3 panel)
● Poster map
The fourth Spelljammer adventure was written by Grant Boucher, and like
its predecessors, it is 64 pages long. It comes with a large colour poster,
and makes good use of the available real estate, with the inside cover containing deck plans
for the three new ships introduced. The adventure is for 4-8 players of levels 10-14 and comes
with a warning that it is not intended for novice players.
Under the Dark Fist has some suspiciously familiar plot elements. The PCs are chosen to “carry
the banner of resistance” for the Free Space Alliance, and are pitted against Emperor Vulkaran
the Dark and his army of stormtroopers were-warriors.
Unfortunately, the adventure doesn't quite live up to its own hype, but there is plenty of solid
Spelljammer lore here, including an outline of twelve new crystal spheres and an interesting
new race of villains—the Vodoni. This is worth picking up as a source of inspiration, if not to
run the adventure as is.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
June 1991
Dragon #170
● Sage Advice, p95
This issue of Dragon contains only a tiny nugget of Spelljammer lore. In the
Sage Advice column, Skip Williams answers a question on personal air
envelopes at high altitude. (Short version: personal air envelopes only
occur in wildspace or the phlogiston. They don't happen during mountain
climbs.)
Much like issue #9, this is a stand-alone story. Unlike the rest of the comic
series, it features none of the regular characters, with the exception of
Meredith, who appears in a flashback. Instead, this issue is the story of Sir
Giles Warwick, a pilot who crashes his ship onto the Krynnish continent of
Taladas. There he meets Riva Silvercrown, and over dinner, Warwick tells her the story of the
noble Astrylonian race, and their betrayal at the hands of Meredith—then known as Nimone.
Unusually, a full half of this comic is presented as prose, with a few accompanying
illustrations. This issue feels a little out of place, since it doesn't really tie in to the rest of the
series, although the Astrylonians do pop up again in issue #15.
June 1991
1991 Trading Cards (wave one)
These trading cards were TSR’s response to the growing popularity of collectible card games.
Unfortunately, they suffered from recycled or poor quality art, and minimal functionality. They
could perhaps be used as props for an existing D&D campaign, but couldn’t be used to play a
game by themselves.
The first wave was released in July, and contained seven Spelljammer cards:
● #183: Pryessant
● #184: Chandalar
● #185: Mind Flayer
● #238: Dirck of Windspace
● #279: Mind Flayer
● #280: Neogi
● #281: Giff
July 1991
SJR4: Practical Planetology
● Softcover book (64 pages)
● Poster map
The fourth book in the SJR series, Practical Planetology, was written by
Nigel Findley. It has 64 pages and comes with a large, colour poster map of
the earth bodies and non-standard worlds detailed inside.
The book presents a selection of planets that can be dropped into a Spellljammer campaign, or
fleshed out to serve as the basis for an adventure. There is a chapter on earth bodies (five
samples), fire bodies (two samples), water bodies (three samples), air bodies (two samples)
The book sometimes feels more like Star Trek than AD&D in space, but it is a useful source of
ideas for interesting places to send PCs during a Spelljammer campaign. There is also some
overlap between some of these locations and the novel line.
July 1991
Beyond the Moons (The Cloakmaster Cycle #1)
It's hard to ponder the heyday of TSR's 2nd Edition AD&D release cycle without
considering the large number of novels published to support each setting. The
Forgotten Realms, and Dragonlance had always had strong novel support, and
even Greyhawk spurred a short line of paperbacks from '86-89. But with the
rise of the many campaign settings, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, Dark Sun,
Planescape, Birthright and Mystara all got lines of supporting fiction. Only the Al-Qadim
setting escaped this fate.
Spelljammer had just one novel series, titled The Cloakmaster Cycle. The series spans six
novels and has five authors, starting with Beyond the Moons by David Cook. The book is
shamelessly promoted as “set in the Dragonlance fantasy world” and even has the
Dragonlance logo on the back. The story tells the tale of Teldin Moore, a Krynnish native. A
ship crashlands on his farm, catapulting him into a spelljamming adventure. There isn't much
actual spelljamming in this book though, and the action sticks largely to Ansalon.
July 1991
Dragon #171
● Sage Advice, p90
● Letters, p101
Skip Williams dedicates half of this issue's Sage Advice to the Spelljammer
setting. He covers custom-designed spelljamming vessels, simultaneous
ship ramming, missing proficiencies, errors with weapon ranges, gravity
wells on planets, time taken to regain spells after using a helm and whether breath weapons
can be used to poison an air envelope.
Also worth noting is Roger E. Moore's response to a letter, in which he mentions his love of
giant space hamsters, and invites readers to write in about them. This led to the editorial in
issue #175, which we’ll get to shortly.
July 1991
Spelljammer comic #11
● Serious Trouble
We join Meredith, Jasmine, Tember, Kirstig and the rest of the crew where we
left them at the end of issue #8—flying into a cloud of golems. During the
ensuing fight, half of the crew leave the craft and end up stranded in
wildspace. Despite Kirstig's protestations, Meredith refuses to go back for
them, and continues on to her destination, a once great dwarven citadel.
The inhabitants of the citadel capture Meredith, and although Kirstig has come to believe that
Meredith is evil, she finds herself unable to let her be killed. Kirstig comes to her rescue, only
to have Meredith kill her dwarven captors with a meteor swarm, much to Kirstig's distress.
August 1991
Spelljammer comic #12
● Alone
Kirstig is about to end Meredith's life, when Pip crashes into the ship controlled by the Pirates
of Gith. Tember rescues Jasmine, and the two of them end up having a romantic liaison in a
bathtub. Meredith recovers, and seems to have no memory of Kirstig usurping her control of
the ship.
Written by Tom Prusa and Sam Adams, His Majesty’s Spacial Service was
an RPGA-sanction Spelljammer scenario first run during Gencon 1991.
The blurb for the event says “Six heroes risk their reputations and lives
on an urgent mission”. The adventure was later reprinted in Polyhedron
#81 with a slight change of title.
Other Spelljammer events on the Gencon program in 1991 included Spelljammer by Night,
billed as “a discussion of the past, present and future of the Spelljammer universe” with Jeff
Grubb and the Spelljammer team, and Black Dragonfly, an unofficial scenario where the PCs
crash on a backwater rock and must follow the legend of a Spelljamming craft that may be
their only way home.
September 1991
The Legend of Spelljammer
● Captains and Ships (96 pages)
● The Grand Tour (64 pages)
● Legends and More (32 pages)
● 2 poster maps
● 12 card sheets (10 ship cards, 2 NPC stats cards)
The second boxed set was written by Jeff Grubb, like the first. It deals with the legendary
Spelljammer, a very large spacecraft, unique in all of the crystal spheres. For a product
dedicated to the Spelljammer, a craft so unique it gives the whole setting its name, this boxed
set is a bit of a let down. It turns out that the ship is really just a very large creature with a
settlement on its back.
In terms of physical content, this is another box packed full of stuff. The box contains two
large, colour maps of the Spelljammer's decks, ten new ship reference cards, and two
reference cards of ship-dwelling NPCs. The first of three books, The Legend of Spelljammer, is
32 pages long. It collects lore about the great ship, and reveals the Spelljammer's true nature
and life-cycle. The second, The Grand Tour, is a 64-page atlas of on-board locations. The third,
Captains and Ships, is 96 pages of new ships, NPCs and adventure hooks.
The boxed set does a good enough job of describing the lay-out and politics of the ship, but
somehow doesn't make life on board the Spelljammer seem quite as exciting as it ought to be.
More of the secrets of the legendary ship are revealed in the last two books of the Cloakmaster
Cycle than in this boxed set.
Meredith has sealed herself into the room where the ship's helm is located.
The rest of the crew have gone for three days without food, and are banging
on the hatch to try to get her attention. When she receives a mysterious
missive from agents of the Elven Imperial Navy, Meredith takes the ship and
the crew to a gigantic Elven Armada.
The elves, who know Meredith as Larabet Vintara, persuade her to relax, but this turns out to
be a ruse to distract her while they capture the ship. Meanwhile, Tember and Jasmine run into
trouble with the elves, and Jasmine has to rescue Tember from a rather painful death by being
pulled apart by elven flitters.
The crew manage to escape the clutches of the elves, but back aboard the ship, Meredith
declares her intention to return Jasmine to Toril, and Tember to Unipaxala. She also hints that
she has some sort of dark plan in mind for Kirstig.
September 1991
1991 Trading Cards (wave two)
The second wave of TSR's Trading Cards was released three months after the
first. It contained a nine-card set of Spelljammer ships, plus four additional
cards:
● #548: Wasp
● #549: Man-o-War
● #550: Nautiloid
● #551: Dragonfly
● #552: Tradesman
● #553: Neogi Mindspider
● #554: Neogi Deathspider
● #555: Hammership
● #556: Squid Ship
● #716: Trooper Herphan Gomja
● #717: Captain Hemar
● #718: Teldin Moore
● #723: T'Laan
October 1991
Into the Void (The Cloakmaster Cycle #2)
The second novel in the series picks up where the first leaves off, continuing
the story of Teldin Moore and his crew. Into the Void is written by Nigel Findley,
and contains some nice cross references to his Spelljammer RPG products.
October 1991
Spelljammer comic #14
● Before there was Meredith… there was Nimone!
Meredith—going by the name of Nimone—is travelling with her son Bors, and they are busy
with a raid on the Citadel of the Keepers of the Flame. Things do not go well, and in a
confrontation with the high priest Kouros, Bors finds himself cursed to never again be able to
ignore the difference between right and wrong. When he meets up with Meredith/Nimone
once more, he finds her in the middle of double-crossing an Arcane trader. They argue, and
find themselves accidentally drawn into the Sea of Lost Ships.
November 1991
DLS4: Wild Elves
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
November 1991
Dragon #175
● Cover
● Editorial: Reeeeeep!!!, p6
This issue of Dragon also includes a cover illustration, by Jennell Jaquays, of a world called
Bramble, in the Thorn World crystal sphere. This thread on the Piazza notes a possible
connection between Thorn World and the world of M5: Talons of Night.
November 1991
Spelljammer comic #15
● The Song of the Einheriar
Meredith/Nimone and Bors temporarily part ways, despite being stranded in the Sea of Lost
Ships. They encounter a blazozoid, chattur, a delphinid, einheriar (who turn out to be the
spirits of the Astrylonians from issue #10), ancient mariners and pirates of gith, and must deal
with the Arcane trader whom Meredith double-crossed in the last issue.
The Spelljammer line of comics was abruptly cancelled at this point, leaving numerous loose
ends, and in particular Meredith's nature, entirely a mystery. The quality of the series varied
significantly from issue to issue, but it is a pity that the writers did not have an opportunity to
draw the series to a more natural close.
November 1991
1991 Trading Cards (Factory Set)
A box collecting all 750 cards from the 1991 booster packs was
released in November 1991. These cards had a different border colour than the ones from the
sealed packs, but were otherwise identical (at least the Spelljammer ones).
December 1991
SJS1: Goblin's Return
● Adventure booklet (64 pages)
● Cover (3 panel)
The Unhuman War took place centuries ago, and is part of the established history of the
Spelljammer setting. This adventure is set against a backdrop of a brewing second Unhuman
war, as the PCs are hired by the Grand Admiral of the elven forces to infiltrate a scro base in
Moragspace, in order to gather information about what the scro are planning.
Goblin's Return uses a number of creatures from the second Spelljammer Monstrous
Compendium Appendix in effective ways. The fact that this is essentially an infiltration and
spying mission gives the adventure a fresh feel. The inside art, although black-and-white,
stands out, particularly the illustration of the creature in the central chamber of the scro base.
This is a recommended adventure for any DM interested in the setting's second Unhuman War
meta-plot.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
December 1991
FR13: Anauroch
Circa 1991
Spelljammer bookmark
At some point, most likely during 1991, but possibly as late as 1992, TSR released a
number of promotional bookmarks, each one marketing one of its novel lines. The
Spelljammer bookmark shows part of the cover of Beyond the Moons on the front along
with the tagline “Journeys through Fantasy Space”. The back lists the first two books in
the Cloakmaster Cycle. This is likely to be a challenging item for a Spelljammer
collector to track down.
February 1992
Dragon #178
● Novel Ideas, p79
● Sage Advice, p92
The 1992 novel releases for the Spelljammer line (The Maelstrom's Eye and
The Radiant Dragon) get a few paragraphs in Novel Ideas.
In a Sage Advice special on Dark Sun, it is noted that Athas lies within a closed crystal sphere,
and cannot be reached by spelljammers.
March 1992
SJQ1: Heart of the Enemy
● Softcover book (96 pages)
● Poster map
In preparation for a second Unhuman War against the elves, the scro have created a weapon
with the potential to destroy a whole planet. This weapon is hidden in Gamaro Base, and the
scro are lacking only a special sort of key to be able to activate the weapon, and begin the war.
The rest of the adventure is a race to the mysterious crystal sphere known as Shadowspace, to
find the key before it falls into the hands of the scro. The mission is complicated by the
presence of a spy travelling with the PCs, whose identity they must attempt to ferret out
during the course of their travels.
March 1992
FOR3: Pirates of the Fallen Stars
Lith, a tiny island east of Hawk’s Isle on the Inner Sea, is the site of a crashed
neogi broodship destroyed in a battle with a Shou Lung dragonship three
centuries ago (page 62). Generations of neogi have now lived on the island.
They are unable to leave the island, and the pull of Toril’s gravity forces
them to remain seasonally dormant for long periods of time. Apart from the
confusing implications of this situation on neogi physiology, this source is only of marginal
interest to Spelljammer collectors.
March 1992
Dragon #179
● Ladders to the Sky, p89
● Sage Advice, p95
This issue's Sage Advice answers a reader who wants to know the effect of a ring of wizardry
on the ship's rating (SR) of a spelljamming helm. Answer: Not much, except that a wizard can
cast spells from the ring first, so still be fresh for spelljamming even after casting.
April 1992
War Captain's Companion
● The War Captain’s Guide (96 pages)
● Ship Recognition Manual (64 pages)
● Combat Among the Stars (32 pages)
● 2 poster maps
● 12 cards (6 of fold-ups, 3 ship cards, 2 player aids, 1 sheet counters)
War Captain's Companion is the third Spelljammer boxed set, written by Dale “Slade” Henson.
It is a worthwhile addition to any Spelljammer collection, with the caveat that it contradicts
some established lore, particularly how aware groundlings are of Spelljamming activities. The
The War Captain's Guide is 96 pages of new Spelljammer rules. There are a few pages of
proficiencies, but ship construction and new magical items make up most of the book. The
second book, Ship Recognition Manual, is a 64-page encyclopedia of all of the spelljammer
craft detailed thus far in the product line, as well as some new ones. This book is well done,
and makes the boxed set worthwhile by itself. The short (32 page) third book, Combat Among
the Stars contains the rules for the tactical ship-to-ship game.
In addition to the books, the box contains two poster maps with tactical scale hex-grids and six
more pages of fold-up 3-D ships, to match the ones that come with the DM's screen. There are
also six sheets of cards: three with ship deck plans, two Player Aid Cards, and a sheet of
tokens, again for use with the tactical game.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
April 1992
Dragon #180
● Sage Advice, p77
May 1992
The Maelstrom's Eye (The Cloakmaster Cycle #3)
In The Maelstrom's Eye, Roger E. Moore continues the Cloakmaster Cycle with another
enjoyable novel. It has plenty of Spelljammer flavour. The setting's meta-plot of the second
Unhuman War gets some development here, and Teldin's path onwards seems to point
towards the Spelljammer.
May 1992
Polyhedron #71
● Highlander, p7
The winning entry, The Drunken Giff, is a Spelljammer encounter with Drake Eldredge and His
Band of Merry Space Pirates, written by Timothy D. Minniear.
June 1992
WGR2: Treasures of Greyhawk
● The Neogi Nest, p13
This five page adventure involves a group of neogi traders who have
established a base near the City of Greyhawk. They control a captured
galleon, disguised as a legitimate trading ship. This craft is named Starfarer,
presumably on the assumption that nobody will take the name seriously.
The neogi and a mind flayer ally intend to set up a slave trading network in Greyspace.
Defeating them gives the heroes access to the Starfarer and TSR the potential to sell
Spelljammer products to Greyhawk fans.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
June 1992
Dragon #182
● Sage Advice, p29
In another Sage Advice special on Dark Sun, Skip Williams again addresses
the issue of access to Athas using a spelljammer. He puts forward the
prevailing theory that Athas is part of an alternate Primate Material plane
where spelljamming does not work, but then gives a hypothetical opinion
June 1992
1992 Trading Cards (wave one)
The 1992 series of TSR Trading Cards had many more Spelljammer themed cards. The first
wave released contained 24 Spelljammer cards, including another 9-card ship mini-series:
● #17: Dracon
● #25: Noj's Shield -1, Missile Attractor
● #33: Theon's Folding Boat
● #34: Dunhill's Spelljamming Apparatus of Kwalish
● #69: Ilswyn of the Isles
● #70: Master Khotus
● #105: Aylia
● #115: Pellinor
● #119: Checklist 41-80
● #143: Violet Dindower's Dust of Disappearance
● #153: Noj's Necklace of Not-so-smart Missiles
● #174: Gelonna
● #208: Grazzle
● #276: Whaleship
● #277: Battle Dolphin
● #278: Cuttle Command
● #279: Gnomish Whelk
● #280: Unity Ship
● #281: Quentin's Libraria
● #282: Smalljammer
● #283: Octopus
● #284: Illithid Dreadnought
● #306: Selma Moore
● #360: Checklist 441-480
July 1992
Dragon #183
● Cover
● Avast, ye swabs, and heave to!, p21
The special attraction section of this issue is titled Alien Realms of Science and Fantasy, and it
contains one Spelljammer article: Avast, ye swabs, and heave to! by Richard Baker. The article
is a 5-page look at the role of pirates and privateering in the Spelljammer universe. It is a very
readable article, and includes some useful random encounter tables for the phlogiston and for
both deep and well-travelled wildspace.
Spelljammer scores covers on both of TSR's magazines this month with The
Sea of Sorrow by Jennell Jaquays gracing Dungeon #36. The adventure
inside, also titled The Sea of Sorrow, is a 30-page beast written by Steve
Kurtz. It is the first Dungeon adventure which actually takes place in space, and it starts in
Refuge, a crystal sphere near Realmspace maintained by the Arcane (as detailed in Dragon
#159).
The story is an epic hunt for a ghostly galleon apparently causing the loss of ships near
Pirtelspace. Except that the return of an Arcane-sponsored expedition to Pirtelspace reveals
that the cause is actually a radiant dragon. The PCs are hired to slay the dragon.
The Sea of Sorrow is a detailed, cleverly plotted adventure that would be worthwhile as a
stand-alone release. The fact that it still shines within the space constraints of Dungeon speaks
highly. It is designed for characters of levels 7-9, and is recommended for anyone wanting an
entertaining Spelljammer adventure for those levels.
July 1992
Polyhedron #73
● An 1889 Crystal Sphere, p26
This article is a conversion guide for adapting Space: 1889 characters to AD&D rules. It covers
basic abilities, languages, physical characteristics, age, races and classes, skill and
proficiencies, and a final section on equipment, especially weapons. Potentially useful for
players of Space: 1889, the second half of this adaptation (in Polyhedron #74) has more
inspirational value than this article.
August 1992
SJR5: Rock of Bral
● Softcover book (96 pages)
● Poster map
Baker packs a lot into this book. He gives Bral an interesting history, messy politics, richly
interwoven personalities, some juicy criminal intrigue and a detailed and logically developed
geography. Teeming with adventure hooks, the Rock of Bral makes you want to base a
campaign on it. Highly recommended for any Spelljammer collector.
August 1992
Dragon #184
● Magic With an Evil Bite, p92
Magic With an Evil Bite by Jason M. Walker is a short, but well put together
collection of neogi-themed content: five new spells (venom bite, spider gout,
arachnophobia, identify race and lethal hatchling), three new magical items
(charm of distraction, bands of the serpent, bands of the arachnid), and one
new monster (the undead hulk). Handy for any adventure or campaign featuring neogi.
August 1992
Polyhedron #74
● A New Crystal Sphere, p21
The last half of the article presents Monstrous Compendium style entries for four of the races of
Space 1889: Earthman, Venusian Lizard Man, High Martian and Moon Man. Although mainly
useful for players of Space: 1889, this article has more of a description of the Space: 1889
setting than its predecessor, and could be useful in fleshing out a new sphere.
The second wave of the 1992 release schedule for TSR's Trading Cards added another 39
Spelljammer-themed cards to the set:
● #381: Noj's Bag of Misplacing
● #393: Noj's Claw of Magic Exchange
● #394: Chandrasakar's Air Spores
● #423: Noj the Double-Edged
● #429: Savion with the 11 Fingers
● #438: Violet Dindower
● #459: Purity Valor
● #478: Checklist 441-480
● #491: Kasharin
● #492: Aartuk Warrior
● #493: Aargos
● #494: Blazozoid
● #495: Colossus
● #496: Focoid
● #497: Hadozee
● #498: Slinker
● #499: Wryback
● #500: Zard
● #514: Noj's Bracers of Brandishing
● #530: Sun Dragon
● #531: Moon Dragon
● #532: Radiant Dragon
● #548: Danelesty
● #552: Lipoec
● #558: Jobinov
● #559: Thiawskeen
● #588: Pysander
● #589: Posaydal
● #600: Checklist 561-600
● #611: Astereater
● #612: Chattur
● #613: Esthetic
● #614: Gravislayer
● #615: Jammer Leech
● #616: Plasman
● #667: Chandrasakar
● #679: Belonda Artes
● #716: Rather Wild Giant Space Hamster
● #719: Checklist 681-720
August 1992
1992 Trading Cards (Gencon promotional set)
September 1992
Dragon #185
● Sage Advice, p76
Two Spelljammer questions are answered in Sage Advice. The first clarifies
whether life-draining undead lose their ability to drain if cut off from the
Negative Material Plane in the phlogiston (answer: no). The second clarifies
whether psionicists can use illithid series helms (answer: also no).
September 1992
1992 Trading Cards (Factory Set)
What would an AD&D 2nd Edition setting from TSR be without at least one
video game? A lost licensing opportunity! The solitary Spelljammer release from SSI was
Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace, and it combined a trading game with a tactical ship
combat system and a semblance of an RPG-style plot.
In GameSpy's excellent History of D&D Video Games, Allen Rausch describes Pirates of
Realmspace as “occasionally interesting due to its bizarre premise”, but unfortunately plagued
by “an incredibly annoying series of bugs”. Set in Realmspace (but with these Spelljamming
ships mysteriously unable to enter the phlogiston), GameSpy calls Pirates a “nice try, but a [...]
game everyone can easily miss”.
November 1992
CGR1: The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook
● Softcover book (128 pages)
The book was written by Curtis Scott, who tragically died in a car accident three months
before it was released. (The book is dedicated to his memory.) He packs a lot into this book,
for both players and DMs. Players have nine new playable races, twenty spacefarer kits, five
pages of proficiencies, and a chapter detailing the logistics of space voyages. DMs get a bunch
of spacefaring organisations, advice on designing a spelljammer campaign and a too-short
chapter on building strongholds in space. Whether you are running a Spelljammer campaign,
or playing a Spelljammer character, The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook is an excellent
reference book to have.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
Elaine Cunningham does a good job with the fourth novel in this series. On his
quest to find the great ship Spelljammer, Teldin Moore finds himself caught up
with the elven Imperial Fleet and the events of the second Unhuman War. He
also returns to Realmspace, visiting Evermeet. Unfortunately, this is the last
strong entry in the series, with the quality going downhill after this volume.
December 1992
SJR6: Greyspace
● Softcover book (96 pages)
Most of the book is a tour of the various bodies in the sphere, with a few pages of NPCs,
adventure ideas, new magic items and new monsters at the back. It might be useful for a
Spelljammer campaign starting in the Free City of Greyhawk (or elsewhere on Oerth), but
there are more inspiring Spelljammer books to get first. Sadly, this book doesn't come with a
poster map.
December 1992
FR15: Gold & Glory
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
The Complete Book of Elves dedicates a page and a quarter to the elves of the
Spelljammer setting (pages 27-28), and in particular the Elven Imperial
Navy. The interactions between the Navy and major elf nations of various
worlds are outlined, and the role the Navy plays in protecting the rumoured
elf homeworld is touched on. The text makes some observations on the
impact the Second Inhuman War has on elven culture.
January 1993
DLR3: Unsung Heroes
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
January 1993
1993 TSR Master Catalog - Collector's Edition
● The Stars Beckon: A Look at the Spelljammer Campaign, p22-23
The Spelljammer essay is titled The Stars Beckon: A Look at the Spelljammer Campaign, and is
written by Dale “Slade” Henson. The essay doesn't add anything substantial to the setting, and
will be of interest only to the most serious Spelljammer collector.
January 1993
Dungeon #39
● Flowfire, p18
February 1993
SJR7: Krynnspace
● Softcover book (96 pages)
● Poster map
The poster map is back for the last instalment in the *space series.
Krynnspace comes with A Trve and Accvrate Map of Kyrnnspace, similar to
the one in Realmspace. This book is a 96-page tour of the crystal sphere
which houses the world of the Dragonlance setting. It was written by Jean Rabe.
Much like its two predecessors, this book does an adequate job of fleshing out a crystal sphere
of a popular gameworld, but also like its predecessors, it ends up being merely okay, and
lacking in both Spelljammer flavour and in flavour from the original Dragonlance setting.
Disliked by Dragonlance fans for arbitrarily placing a major spelljamming port in Palanthas,
this is a book that collectors will want to pick up eventually, but not as a priority.
March 1993
PHBR9: The Complete Book of Gnomes & Halflings
The Legend of Spelljammer set introduced the “lost tribe” of polar halflings,
known as the Furchin. Their backstory is fleshed out further in PHBR9: The
Complete Book of Gnomes & Halflings, where it is revealed that they
originated on the world Falakyr (“home” in the Furchin tongue). They were
wrenched from the blissful isolation of their home planet by an evil
spelljamming wizard.
March 1993
Dragon #191
● Sage Advice, p78
Having dealt with the overlap between Spelljammer and Athas twice
already, in this Sage Advice, the Sage explores what happens if the crew of a
spelljammer becomes trapped in Ravenloft. In short: They become trapped
just like anyone else; flying a spelljammer into the Mists doesn't work as a
way to escape, since Ravenloft is a demiplane, not a crystal sphere.
March 1993
1993 Trading Cards (wave one)
More than forty Spelljammer cards were included in the 1993 TSR Trading Cards, which was
also the last set TSR produced before shifting strategy to produce Spellfire in 1994. The release
pattern was changed this year, with boosters released in three waves instead of two, and the
rare cards were numbered separately and not included in the Factory Set.
Complicating things further, while most cards in the boosters had gold borders, some (less
frequently) had a ruby border instead. Hence it was possible to collect cards 1-495 in both
gold and ruby borders from the boosters, and then pick up a Factory Set for a silver bordered
run. (The sixty rare cards didn't have different borders.)
The following Spelljammer cards appear in the first third of the series:
● #3: Dragon, Stellar
● #8: Rastipede
● #19: Syllix
● #22: Aric's Staff of Power
● #32: Shalandain
● #35: Aric Cozar
● #36: Gamalon Idogyr
● #37: Basa Lianin
● #38: Meredin Sandyfoot
● #60: Golem, Furnace
● #62: Owl, Space
● #76: Gamalon's Gem of Infravision and Detect Magic
● #82: Meredin's Short Sword +1 Luck Blade
● #105: Slronde the Elder
● #133: Shalandain's Boots of Starstriding
● #134: Shalandain's Holy Avenger
Although this article is grouped with this issue's April Fool's content, the devices are properly
designed, and will add some spice to ship-to-ship combat. Worth picking up if you have an
encounter with Spelljamming gnomes planned.
May 1994
FR16: The Shining South
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
May 1993
The Broken Sphere (The Cloakmaster Cycle #5)
Nigel Findley's second contribution to the Cloakmaster Cycle is weaker than his
first. There is still plenty of Spelljammer flavour, and the book is worth reading
for the descriptions of the places Teldin visits as he continues his hunt for the
Spelljammer. But the plot which has been building up over five books begins to
falter, as it heads towards the final chapter.
May 1993
Dungeon #41
● Mammoth Problems, p36
June 1993
SJR8: Space Lairs
● Booklet (64 pages)
● Cover (2 panel)
Nicky Rea and Wes Nicholson share the credits for the eighth and final
book in the SJR series. Much as you'd expect from the title, this is a 64-page
collection of space lairs. These are varied and unusual enough to suit the
Spelljammer setting, and each comes with a short adventure. Not all of them will suit
everyone's play style—one, for example, involves cleaning parasites off the back of a floating
colossus, who is the lair—but with 14 lairs to choose from, something will likely appeal.
Space Lairs is a handy toolbox for any Spelljammer DM, and as far as the SJR series goes, it
ranks tied third with SJR4: Practical Planetology in the usefulness list (after SJR5: Rock of Bral
and SJR1: Lost Ships). Not a bad title to finish up this series.
June 1993
1993 Trading Cards (wave two)
The second wave of this year's Trading Cards continues with a number of Spelljammer cards:
● #170: Gossamer
● #171: Lakshu
● #195: Sebastian the Red
● #202: Ryag Meth
● #216: Sioson
● #222: Clockwork Horror
● #223: Feesu
● #225: Grav
● #278: Flowfiend
● #291: Pirate of Gith
● #300: Sebastian's Chime of Opening
● #318: Hajallian Thremintha
● #320: Kneyalotep Knekopot
● #321: Staan of the Way
● #322: Uritel of the Garden
● #323: Oswuggle
● #324: Obbi Skyfoot
The City of Delights boxed set for the Al-Qadim setting contains a few
spelljamming references. Spelljamming vessels are no strangers to the
Trade Harbor of Huzuz; the Golden Huzuz booklet notes the legends of the
first visit of a giff-crewed ship flying down from the sky to trade in the city
(page 21). It also notes that other such craft have visited since. One of the
Grand Caliph’s concubines is an elf who arrived in the city via a spelljamming craft (page 39).
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
August 1993
The Astromundi Cluster
● The Celestial Almanac (96 pages)
● Adventures in the Shattered Sphere (64 pages)
● The Astrogator’s Guide (32 pages)
● 2 poster maps
● 24 card sheets
The Astromundi Cluster is the last of four boxed sets for the Spelljammer setting, and the last
RPG product released as part of the original 1989-1993 line. Sam Witt has the lead design
credit. The setting is Clusterspace, a crystal sphere that traps visiting spelljammers (except
elves), and which houses the remnants of several planets and moons shattered in an ancient
cataclysm.
The Astrogator's Guide is a 32-page overview of the sphere, which could be given to players to
read as an introduction to an Astromundi campaign. It gives some great surface level detail,
but the juicy secrets of Astromundi are left to Adventures in the Shattered Sphere (64 pages).
One of the two main plot elements provides an origin story for the illithid that is contradicted
by much other D&D lore, and the second paints the Arcane in a most unfavourable light as
willing to sell an entire crystal sphere to some unsavoury business partners. The third book,
The Celestial Almanac is a 96-page tour of the places and people of Clusterspace. The extras
are two poster maps/charts and 24 colour reference cards.
The Astromundi Cluster seems as if it would be a fun place to set a campaign, and there is
enough information here to do exactly that. This was a solid final product for the Spelljammer
line, but suffered from being disconnected from the rest of the Spelljammer universe, and
contradicted by later D&D lore on illithids.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
This book was likely commissioned towards the end of Spelljammer's release
cycle, and it feels like the author (Russ T. Howard) drew the short straw in
getting this assignment. The Ultimate Helm seems rushed, and manages to be
inconsistent with both the Spelljammer setting and several of the preceding
novels in the series. Teldin finally makes it to the Spelljammer, but despite
following his journey for six books, it is hard to care. This book is a let down to an otherwise
okay series.
September 1993
Dragon #197
● Sage Advice, p21
In this issue's Sage Advice, the Sage deals with the overlap between some
very similar proficiencies in The War Captain's Companion and The
Complete Spacefarer's Handbook.
The Sage suggests using Wildspace Navigation and Phlogiston Navigation and dropping
Celestial Navigation, notes that Slow Respiration and Slow Breathing do slightly different
things, so both might be useful, advises picking either Semaphore or Signalling and dropping
the other one, and thinks there is space for both Freefall and Zero-Gravity Combat.
September 1993
Polyhedron #87
● Eye of the Leviathan, p10
The third and final wave of 1993 Trading Cards contained eight more Spelljammer cards:
● #354: Cymboli's Pipes of Sounding
● #405: Intier's Ring of Shooting Stars
● #435: Talus Mindswift
● #475: Grabelli the Grey
● #476: Basif the Blue
● #477: Intier the Indigo
● #482: Cymboli Starsong
● #495: Checklist 441-495
October 1993
Book of Artifacts
● Artifurnace
● Blackjammer’s cutlass
Although the Spelljammer RPG line had come to an end with The
Astromundi Cluster, there continued to be occasional Spelljammer
references in other products. There are two Spelljammer artifacts in this
book, the artifurnace (originally from the Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space boxed set)
and Blackjammer's cutlass (originally from Dragon #159).
By the time Book of Artifacts (by David “Zeb” Cook) went to print, TSR must have already taken
the decision to terminate the Spelljammer line—all of TSR's other settings are marketed in the
book's end-papers, but not Spelljammer.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
October 1993
Champions of Mystara: Heroes of the Princess Ark
The Designer’s Manual included in this boxed set has a one page
Spelljammer Conversion Guide which can be used to adapt the Spelljammer
rules for use with the skyships of the Mystara setting. This doesn’t provide
any new Spelljammer material, so isn’t likely to be of too much interest to a
Spelljammer collector.
Fritz Leiber’s world of Nehwon is likely not a setting you would expect to
be linked to Spelljammer, but it seems that TSR was reluctant to leave any
of its published worlds untouched by the phlogiston. According to
Lankhmar: City of Adventure, Nehwon’s sphere is an unusual one,
completely filled with water. Continents float inside the sphere, each one
contained in a small bubble of air.
November 1993
Dragon #199
● Campaign Journal: The Black Pegasus Trading Co., p48
● Sage Advice, p94
This issue is worth getting for this excellent article, but as a small bonus for the Spelljammer
completist, in this issue's Sage Advice, Skip Williams is asked if lizard-man PCs from
Spelljammer gain an AC bonus from using a shield. (He says “yes”.)
December 1993
1993 Trading Cards (Factory Set)
This year's Factory Set contained all of the regular cards 1-495
with a silver border, but didn't include any of the rare cards.
The 1993 set contained a separately numbered run of 60 rares, which were only available in
boosters (and in some cases as special promos). There were only two rare
Spelljammer cards:
● #4: Wilhemina the Petite
● #40: Icarus
January 1994
Dungeon #45
● An Artist's Errand, p8
The adventure is set in Pirtelspace, the same crystal sphere as The Sea of Sorrow in Dungeon
#36, but it isn't connected to the previous story. Here, the PCs are hired by a reigar to recover a
lost necklace. As well as a solidly plotted adventure, there is a lot of Spelljammer lore in this
article, including more details of Pirtelspace, Realmspace and a look at some spacefaring drow.
February 1994
Deck of Encounters, Set One
April 1994
FOR5: Elves of Evermeet
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
April 1994
Dragon #204
● Sage Advice, p81
The Sage explains that crystal spheres don't shatter that easily, and even if they did the whole
event probably wouldn't warrant more than 1,000 XP. This is clearly an April issue of Dragon!
May 1994
First Quest: The Introduction to Role-Playing Games
● Adventure Book (64 pages)
● Monsters & Treasures Book (32 pages)
● Rules Book (16 pages)
● Wizard's Spell Book (8 pages)
● Cleric's Spell Book (8 pages)
● First Quest audio CD
● 3-panel Dungeon Master's Screen
● 8 card sheets
● 6 plastic miniatures
● 7 dice
● 1 poster map
● 1 poster
The adventure is a fairly vanilla introduction to the setting, but might still be of interest to
ardent collectors, particularly since it creates a link between the Spelljammer and Mystara
settings. Make sure that you get the version of this box with the blue dragon on it; the set was
updated and resold as the Introduction to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Game in 1995, but
the adventure Across Wildspace! was edited out of that version.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
July 1994
Deck of Encounters, Set Two
August 1994
Corsairs of the Great Sea
According to the Campaign Guide (page 16), Shing Jaw-long, one of the
members of the Corsair Council, was originally from Shou Lung and was
accorded a place on one of the emperor’s Dragonships. After overthrowing
the captain in a mutiny, Shing Jaw-long decided not to return to Shou Lung
to risk the emperor’s wrath, but settled in Hawa instead. His stolen craft,
The Dragon, is a familiar site in the harbour.
This Sage Advice contains a follow-up to the exploding crystal sphere matter
in Dragon #204, pointing out that the amulet of the planes couldn't be used
as described in the original scenario. The same person poses questions
about beholder reproduction, citing a Spelljammer reference, and goes on
to ask whether the Mists of Ravenloft can reach into the Flow.
In case you are wondering, the Sage thinks that the Mists can't enter the phlogiston, but they
can always wait for someone to return to within their grasp.
August 1994
The Worlds of TSR
August 1994
Hammer of Fire
Written by Dave Gross and Kevin Melka, Hammer of Fire was a two-round
Living City event run at Gencon 1994. In the first round, the party discovers
that a meteor is heading for Ravens Bluff, and must obtain a spelljamming
craft. In the second round of the adventure, they must fly the ship out and
stop the meteor from hitting the city.
September 1994
A Wild Ride (Endless Quest #5)
As noted in the entry for First Quest above, TSR planned to relaunch the
Spelljammer setting as part of their AdventureVision line of VHS-cassette
supported games, the first of which was Dragon Strike. The Wild Space Game
appears in the TSR Master Catalog 1994, with a June release date, and a
planned series of four novels: Battle Against Necros, Battle Against Lord Fear,
Battle Against the Flayons, and Battle Against the Draconians. (Wait, “flayons”?!)
Dragon Strike sold very well, enough that the entire initial print run was sold into distribution,
with orders for thousands more. But, the reprint was vastly larger than the demand warranted,
leaving TSR with far more copies than were needed. As a result,
TSR was stuck with these copies, and they tried (ever more
desperately) to move the remaining stock. Distributors and
retailers came to resent these tactics, and they expressed their
displeasure by not ordering any Wild Space products. Just
another case of TSR's upper management snatching defeat
from the jaws of victory.
There is a two minute trailer for Wild Space on YouTube. Watch it before you mourn too much
for the cancelled game. But what about A Wild Ride? This book was part of the 1994-1995
relaunch of the Endless Quest line, and was clearly produced after the cancellation of the
Spelljammer line, but before Wild Space was also cancelled. A Wild Ride thus holds a unique
place as the only Wild Space branded product to ever see release. The book is set (in part) on
the Rock of Bral, so it deserves a place in a Spelljammer list.
October 1994
Polyhedron #100
● Gorlash Spacescum, p9
November 1994
Encyclopedia Magica, Volume 1
When the Spelljammer line was cancelled at the end of 1993, Slade had
already started working on a product titled Infinity Sphere. Although that
book never saw print, seven magic items from the cancelled title eventually
made their way into the Encyclopedia Magica series. Three items appeared in
Volume 1:
● Crutch of lightning
● Phasing crystal
● Crystal ball III
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
February 1995
Dragon #214
● The Ecology of the Neogi: The Demons of the Flow, p52
The Ecology of the Neogi: The Demons of the Flow by Jon Winter follows a
common Ecology article style of a short story accompanied by numerous
footnotes containing additional game information.
The short story is an evocative tale of ship to ship combat, and the footnotes add some useful
new information to neogi lore, including their deities and creation myth. A worthwhile read
for anyone wanting more background on everyone's favourite slavers.
March 1995
Encyclopedia Magica, Volume 2
As noted above, several magic items from the cancelled Infinity Sphere
Spelljammer supplement made it into the Encyclopedia Magica. Only a single
item appeared in the second volume:
● Dimension mine
March 1995
Gates in the World of Greyhawk
The Campaign Book of the Ruins of Zhentil Keep set details Thergod, the
leader of the Blood Axe Smashers, a Zhentilar patrol (page 43). Thergod is
a scro who joined the Zhentarim when his spelljammer crashed near
Darkhold in the Year of the Harp. This is probably of only marginal interest
to Spelljammer collectors.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
June 1995
In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
September 1995
Spellfire: Powers expansion
In 1994, TSR launched the Spellfire collectible card game, to compete in a burgeoning CCG
industry. A number of expansion sets were rolled out in quick succession. According to the
History of Spellfire on the official Spellfire website, the 7th expansion was
going to be a Spelljammer expansion, but the rights to Spelljammer were
somehow tied up at that point (we can conjecture that this was somehow
linked to the failed Wild Space game) and so a Spelljammer expansion was
never made.
Despite this, three Spelljammer-themed cards made it into the Powers expansion:
● #49 of 100: Giant Space Hamster
● #1 of 20: Crystal Sphere
● #2 of 20: Rock of Bral
Three more magic items left over from the cancelled Infinity Sphere
Spelljammer supplement made it into the fourth volume of the Encyclopedia
Magica:
● Staff of the elements: air
● Staff of the elements: fire
● Transporter pad
December 1995
Realms of Magic
● Smoke Powder and Mirrors
● Gunne Runner
This Forgotten Realms anthology contains two short stories with Spelljammer
connections. In Smoke Powder and Mirrors, by Jeff Grubb, an overheard
conversation between wizards’ apprentices about smoke powder leads to one
of them becoming embroiled in the machinations of a pair of spacefarers visiting Waterdeep.
In Gunne Runner, by Roger E. Moore, the investigation of a murder leads to a group of scro
spelljammers who are trafficking firearms into Waterdeep. The action moves onto a
spelljamming vehicle, and chaos ensues when the helmsman is killed in battle.
May 1996
The Dragons at War
● Through the Door at the Top of the Sky
One of the stories in this Dragonlance anthology is Through the Door at the Top
of the Sky by Roger E. Moore. It tells the tale of a gnomish spacefarer being
pursued by illithids. After a crash landing, the pilot wakes up to find himself in
the care of a brass dragon, with whom he discusses the wildspace program of
the Mr. Nevermind gnomes, at least until the illithids catch up with the unlikely pair. The
outcome of the resulting conflict allows both the dragon and the gnome to deal with some
unresolved personal issues.
August 1996
Dragon #232
● Sorcerous Six-Shooters, p34
November 1996
Netheril: Empire of Magic
The Encyclopedia Arcana booklet includes the spell Proctiv’s breach crystal sphere, an
11th-level spell which permanently closes a crystal sphere to all traffic (page 11). Valdick’s
spheresail is a 10th-level spell that taps directly in the power of the goddess Mystryl to convert
magic into propulsion for more rapid spelljamming travel (page 12).
While the article aims to present the scro as a potential enemy in a non-Spelljamming
campaign, Moore's summary of the first and second Unhuman Wars (lovingly annotated with
footnotes) and the detailed description of the scro religion make this a valuable article for any
Spelljammer collector.
November 1996
Polyhedron #125
● Island Campaigns Part 4: The Wild, Wild Wildspace, p26
Part 4: the Wild, Wild, Wildspace is a 2-page article reviewing all of the published Spelljammer
material for the Tears, and then beginning the work of fleshing it out for a campaign.
December 1996
How the Mighty Are Fallen
The first part of this adventure takes place in the city of Yeoman’s Loft, the
spelljamming hub of Netheril. A detailed map notes locations including the
Spacefarers’ Guild, the Dock Hand Guild and various Shipwrights. Although
the story is set in Faerûn’s distant past, the details of Yeoman’s Loft could
easily be expropriated for use as a floating dock on any other spelljamming
world, so this is worth a look for a Spelljammer collector.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
January 1997
Dungeon #63
● Gnome Droppings, p22
The PCs investigate a shooting star crash site, and find a cargo cube full of autognomes, lost by
a group of gnomish spacefarers. There are good and evil factions of gnomes, and the PC's
involvement determines who triumphs. Not a bad adventure, but this doesn't add much lore to
the Spelljammer setting.
July 1997
Finder's Bane
This novel is a sort of multi-setting crossover with the action leading from the
Forgotten Realms to the outer planes, via a spelljamming ship. Finder’s Bane is
also noteworthy for the return of the character Jasmine, the winged lady from
the Spelljammer comic series. When we first meet her, she is being held
captive by Bane’s forces but once released she joins the protagonists for the
rest of their unusual journey. The spelljamming ship that features in the story used to belong
to Jas; she had apparently acquired it since we last saw her in the comic series.
October 1997
Polyhedron #126
● Island Campaigns Part 5: Ecological Nightmares, p26
November 1997
Dragon Annual #2
● Rogue's Gallery: Finder's Band, p54
December 1997
Tymora's Luck
December 1997
Polyhedron #127
● Island Campaigns Part 6: Strange Heroes, Strange Adventures, p30
Part 6: Strange Heroes, Strange Adventures finishes off the Island Campaigns
series, and the Spelljammer trilogy of articles within, with a look at
adapting Undermountain: Stardock for the hypothetical Tears of Selûne
setting developed in the last two issues.
This article would be fantastic for anyone planning to actually use Stardock in a Spelljammer
campaign, but it doesn't have as much to offer in general as the previous two instalments.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
March 1998
Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves
Collecting unusual coins brought by visiting spacefarers is a fad amongst the noble elves of
Cormanthyr (page 63). The wizard Sundamar’s floating tower is said to be a result of failed
spelljamming experiments (page 76). The ritual of Elaorman is said to play a role in the
creation of the Monarch spelljamming ships (page 138).
April 1998
Evermeet: Island of Elves
The novel Evermeet: Island of Elves provides an origin story for the squadron
of spelljamming ships located in Sumbrar, that were first detailed in
FOR5: Elves of Evermeet. An Elven Imperial Navy ship, badly damaged in a
skirmish with Q’nidar, was able to land in Sumbrar with the assistance of a
local elven mage. The captain of the fallen craft then assisted the mage to grow
a squadron of new ships.
The story of the crashed ship that Dretchroyaster now calls its home (see
FOR11: The Cult of the Dragon) is told in The Fall of Myth Drannor (pages
30-31). Sent by the Elven Imperial Fleet to aid their ground-dwelling allies,
the Monarch Mordent changed the tide of the war in the northern forest. It
provided the elves with several victories before a nycaloth shattered one of
the man-o-war’s wings causing the ship to crash into the forest below. Although this is an
interesting story, this isn’t a priority for Spelljammer collectors.
July 1998
Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins
This Greyhawk product provides some Spelljammer options for the Near
Domain (page 77). The text notes that the local clergy of Celestian keeps
records of its voyages into Greyspace in a hidden room below the Grey
College Observatory. The clerics keep knowledge of these travels secret
from outsiders. This source also notes that Snagtooth Shipbuilding, outside
the city’s west walls, does some business with visiting spelljamming ships, but the proprietors
are either ignorant about spelljammers, or pretend to be.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
August 1998
Masters of Eternal Night
For three years towards the end of the life of 2nd Edition, TSR/WotC
released the Monstrous Arcana series. This consisted of a main book
detailing one particular D&D monster and three adventures revolving
around the same creature. The main illithid book, The Illithiad, contains just
a brief—and dismissive—mention of the Astromundi Chronicles in the
History and Theology chapter, but at the end of the second adventure, Masters of Eternal Night,
the adventurers discover an ancient nautiloid ship.
September 1998
Wizard’s Spell Compendium, Volume 4
The four volume Wizard’s Spell Compendium and the three volume Priest’s
Spell Compendium collected (and updated) all D&D spells published from
original D&D to nearly the end of AD&D 2nd Edition, so they are useful for any
D&D collector. They don't add anything new to Spelljammer lore, but since
they contain almost every D&D spell ever printed, the Spelljammer spells are
included here too.
The last book in each series contains an index. The list of Spelljammer wizard spells appears
on page 1136 of the Wizard's Spell Compendium Vol. 4, and includes 23 spells, five of which are
unique to the Astromundi Cluster.
October 1998
Dawn of the Overmind
In the final adventure of The Illithiad series, Dawn of the Overmind, the
adventurers use the ancient nautiloid vessel they discovered at the end of
Masters of Eternal Night to travel through the phlogiston to Truespace,
where lies Penumbra, the “dark heart of the ancient illithid empire”. The
ancient ship is substantially different from modern nautiloids, being
self-powered and partially autonomous. This is probably high on the list for Spelljammer
collectors, given that it is essentially a Spelljammer adventure.
In its introduction, the adventure correctly punts itself as including “aspects of the
Spelljammer campaign setting”, rather than being a full-blooded Spelljammer tale. As
presented, there are some inconsistencies with established spelljamming mechanics, but that
shouldn't distract from a fun plot and some distinctive villains in the form of the syllix. The
article comes with monster pages for the aartuk and syllix, both of which originally appeared
in MC7: Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix. They both get new art for this
adventure.
December 1998
Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Four
January 1999
FOR12: Demihumans of the Realms
FOR12: Demihumans of the Realms lists wildspace (or Imperial Fleet) elves
as one of the demihuman races, and provides information about their
homelands, classes, languages and deities (page 7). There is also a kit for an
Imperial Fleet Advisor (pages 17-18) which provides a fair amount of detail
on the functions of a member of staff of the Imperial Fleet.
There is also a note from Elminster (pages 138-139) that there would be many more wrecks
found in the waters of the Trackless Sea had Khelben Blackstaff not spent three decades
destroying all evidence of their existence in the 10th century DR.
November 1999
Drizzt Do’Urden’s Guide to the Underdark
December 1999
Dragon #266
● The Ecology of the Xixchil: Makeovers, p82
Johnathan M. Richards tackles the Xixchil race in The Ecology of the Xixchil:
Makeovers. It follows the traditional “Ecology of…” style with a fairly
humorous piece of fiction accompanied by extensive footnotes. The short
story is set in Refuge. The article includes a three page appendix on xixchil
body modifications and procedures, which reads like the menu at a drive-by plastic surgeon.
As noted above, the Wizard’s and Priest’s Spell Compendiums collected all
published D&D spells up to nearly the end of AD&D 2nd Edition, including
everything from the Spelljammer line. The last book in each series contains an
index of spell by setting. Priests have only eight new Spelljammer spells,
according to the list on page 801 of the Priest's Spell Compendium Vol. 3.
March 2000
Spelljammer: Beyond the Moons
July 2000
Dragon #273
● Sage Advice, p114
Circa 2000
Spelljamming ship deck plans
For 3rd Edition, Wizards of the Coast took the decision to make the
Forgotten Realms the only supported setting, and purged almost all
references to other worlds. However, in the Forgotten Realms Campaign
Setting there are some veiled references to spelljamming in the section
titled The Sea of Night (pages 230-231). The text is crafted more as an
astronomy lesson than anything else, but hints at “wizards who seek to climb above the sky”.
Rich Baker confirmed on the Wizards of the Coast forums that this was a deliberate
acknowledgement of the Spelljammer concept in the 3rd Edition Realms.
May 2002
Dungeon #92/Polyhedron #151
● Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon, p16
Some Spelljammer fans seem to hold this article in contempt, because it isn't faithful to the
original campaign setting material. To be fair, it never tries to be. It aims to be a self-contained
d20 setting based on Spelljammer, and it does okay at that goal. Even for someone only
interested in this for truly Spelljammer compatible content, it is still a good framework for
using the d20 ruleset, and the location described (Pyrespace?) could easily be a crystal sphere
in any campaign. This article is worth collecting, as long as you aren't expecting it to be 3rd
edition Spelljammer, because it isn't.
January 2004
Dragon #315
● Campaign Classics, p12
This is a nice enough retrospective on the setting, but it doesn't add anything to Spelljammer
lore. The essay does confirm Roger E. Moore's claim that the Giant Space Hamsters were
originally Jeff Grubb's idea though.
April 2005
Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations
Lords of Madness marks the first time that spelljamming was mentioned by
name in a 3rd Edition release. In the Origins of Aberrations section at the
beginning of the book, it is explicitly acknowledged that it is possible to
travel between the different worlds of the Material Plane via flying ships
known as spelljammers (page 6). The neogi are presented as one example
of an extraterrestrial race, but the origin story for the illithids also mentions their use of
spelljamming craft.
July 2005
HackJammer
January 2006
Dragon #339
● Races of Spelljammer: Wanderers of Wildspace, p26
Spelljammer returns to the pages of Dragon for the last time. Joshua Cole
gives three Spelljammer races the 3rd Edition treatment in Races of
Spelljammer: Wanderers of Wildspace.
The races covered are the giff, the insectare, and the scro. This is useful if you are using the 3.5
rules for a Spelljammer campaign, and a nice nod to the setting from Dragon under Paizo's
watch. Probably not of too much interest if you aren't playing with the 3.5 rules though.
August 2006
The Border Kingdoms: Free Barony of Felshroun
July 2007
Monster Manual V
The Monster Manual V details the mind flayers of Thoon, who are described
as explorers of “the cosmos outside their underground lairs, travelling the
Inner Planes and Outer Planes aboard vessels they call nautiloids”. This is a
significant part of the book, spanning 22 pages.
It should be noted that nowhere is spelljamming mentioned, and although the Thoon illithids
use nautiloids, they are only described as using them for planar travel, rather than space
travel. This heralds the approach taken in 4th and 5th Edition where spelljamming craft are
primarily found traversing the Astral Plane.
August 2007
Exemplars of Evil
Exemplars of Evil details the Much Kill, a massive black sailing ship crewed
by pseudonaturally deformed goblinoids. In the section on using the ship in
Faerûn it is suggested that this was once a spelljamming vessel that could
still move between worlds. This is a fairly obscure nugget of lore, but given
the paucity of Spelljammer in 3rd Edition, it seems worth mentioning.
December 2008
Manual of the Planes
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
January 2009
Dragon #371
● Hestavar: The Bright City, p18
Corsair was published less than a year after the release of 4th Edition, so it
comes as quite a surprise when, three-quarters of the way through this
swashbuckling tale, the crew of the Seadrake activate the ship’s spelljamming
helm and take off into space, for a journey to the Tears of Selûne. The book
never refers to this unusual activity as spelljamming, but there can be no doubt
that that’s what author Rich Baker is describing in his novel.
December 2009
The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos
The secretive Grave-Minders organisation operate a spelljamming galleon named Ice Princess
(page 40). A group of pirates operating on the Riverweb have the Drowned Window
spelljammer as their flagship (page 84). In 4th Edition, the Abyss is a hole in reality at the
bottom of the Elemental Chaos. It is at least theoretically possible to enter the Abyss by
following the vast, spiralling whirlpool that marks the border between the two. An enormous
stone spelljamming craft known as the Worldship has been attempting this journey for several
generations (page 108).
February 2010
CORE 2-2: Rising of the Dark
This is one of several Living Forgotten Realms adventures released for 4th
Edition that has Spelljammer content. The adventure centres on the
Mistress of the Night, a spelljammer commissioned by the Netheril, that
now lies sunken in the Sea of Fallen Stars. Initially tasked with retrieving
documents from the ship, the heroes may end up restoring the craft to an
airworthy condition.
Although there are fewer mentions of spelljammers in The Plane Above, the
theme of planar ships is expanded on and there are some excellent ship
illustrations which would be easy to steal for a Spelljammer campaign. This
book also contains a section titled Adventures on the Astral Sea which
becomes more significant given the 5th Edition approach to Spelljammer.
Available for sale in PDF and print on demand at Dungeon Masters Guild.
August 2010
CORE 2-10: Upon the Sea of Stars
In this adventure, the heroes catch up with the spelljammer Mistress of the
Night from CORE 2-2: Rising of the Dark. Now under the control of the
Chiang Emporium, they must “borrow” the ship from the docks of Ravens
Bluff, spelljam into the Astral Sea and navigate to the githyanki city of
Tu’narath where they need to conduct a clandestine mission.
November 2010
Dungeons & Dragon Miniatures: Lords of Madness
January 2011
CORE 2-11: The Sign of Four
Continuing the story from CORE 2-10: Upon the Sea of Stars, the adventurers
must again board the Mistress of the Night, this time to navigate the
Elemental Chaos to find I’Cath, the isle of the wu jen sorceress Tsien Chiang.
On their journey they may face threats which include demonic boarders,
rift incursions or simply a panicking crew.
The spelljammer Mistress of the Night from the previous adventures in this
series carries the heroes onto further adventures, visiting the Underdark
city of Sschindylryn via the Shadowfell.
February 2011
EPIC 3-1: The Glorious Hunt
In this final adventure involving the Mistress of the Night, the adventurers
must use the ship to travel to Arvandor, the astral realm of Corellon and join
the eponymous Glorious Hunt. Later in the adventure they must rush to
Nath Seldarie to defend the Court of the Seldarine. Unfortunately, these
journeys take place largely “off screen”, so the spelljamming craft plays no
significant role in the overall story.
June 2012
AD&D Spelljammer Boxed set artwork prints
In mid-2012, the Art of the Genre website made available a limited number of
250 prints of the artwork from the original Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in
Space boxed set. Each poster was 16” x 20” (40 cm x 50 cm) and signed by
artist Jeff Easley.
September 2013
Dragon #427
● Ecology of the Neogi, p24
November 2016
Volo’s Guide to Monsters
Nautiloids get their own subsection as part of the mind flayer coverage in
Chapter 1: Monster Lore. The text notes the ability of nautiloids to move
directly from one world to another in the Material Plane; it doesn’t describe
this as spelljamming and gives the impression that the ability to travel in
this manner is unique to the illithids’ ships.
Since illithids have apparently lost the secret of manufacturing new nautiloids, they are now a
rare sight, and the presence of one is likely to attract the attention of vengeful githyanki and
githzerai, who view the capture of a nautiloid as a great prize. Nautiloids have a mass of
rubbery tentacles which are used to scour the surface of a planet for interesting creatures to
study or feast on. Some rare examples of nautiloids are large enough to hold an entire colony.
March 2018
Icons of the Realms: Monster Menagerie 3
The giff are updated for 5th Edition in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes. They
are described as “spacefaring” mercenaries in military uniform who are
renowned for their martial training and their love of explosives. According
to their stat block, giff wield longswords, muskets, pistols, and
fragmentation grenades.
August 2018
CCC-SHINY-02: An Open Secret
October 2018
Art & Arcana: A Visual History
Two pieces of artwork from the Spelljammer setting are on display in the
Polymorph Self chapter of this book (pages 224-225). The commentary
notes that the Spelljammer line elicited heavy comparisons to the Star
Wars saga, despite being more steampunk than sci-fi. This tome adds
nothing to Spelljammer lore, but it is such a gorgeous book that it deserves
a spot on any D&D collector’s shelf.
November 2018
Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Level 19: Caverns of Ooze contains an actual spelljamming ship, the Scavenger, which Halaster
lured into Undermountain and captured. The captain of the Scavenger remains on board. He is
an illithid pirate complete with a peg foot and pirate garb. A sidebar explains that he comes
from the ringed planet Glyth, which hasn’t been mentioned in any D&D product for more than
August 2019
CCC-COS-01: The Only Way To Be Sure
Several years ago, a nautiloid crashed into the Moonwatch Hills. The pilot of
the ship, an illithid named Qhizalt, has been using the crashed ship as a
base and a laboratory ever since. The heroes in this Adventurers League
scenario are investigating the disappearance of all of the residents of
Vineford, which is located suspiciously close to the crash site.
January 2020
Figurines of Adorable Power: Giff
September 2020
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
The Places of Interest chapter in Rime of the Frostmaiden has a section titled
Id Ascendent which provides more than five pages of Spelljammer-themed
content. Seven days ago, a nautiloid crashed into the mountains. The crew
of this spelljamming ship are gnome ceremorphs: mind flayers created from
gnomes who retain some of their gnomish personalities and memories.
They may engage the services of the player characters to find a psi crystal they need to restart
their ship.
As well as maps of a (nearly) functional nautiloid to explore, Rime of the Frostmaiden also
provides some insights into 5th Edition spelljamming. The text repeats the claim from Volo’s
Guide to Monsters that mind flayers have lost the secret of making new nautiloids, making the
loss of any remaining craft a blow. Despite this, the nautiloid has a built-in self-destruct
mechanism which can be used to prevent the ship’s technology from falling into the wrong
hands.
November 2020
CCC-NUKE-01-05: Take A Bough (Plan Bee from Outer
Space)
March 2021
The tenth season of Adventurers League adventures was titled Plague of the
Ancients, and The Fallen Star is the sixth adventure in the series. Remember
the crashed nautiloid with gnome ceremorphs in Rime of the Frostmaiden?
A neogi deathspider was pursuing that ship. It has landed and the neogi are
enslaving everyone and everything they can, including a young white dragon. One of their giff
slaves has escape, but will need help to remain free.
April 2021
DDAL10-07: Into Darkness
Continuing the story from The Fallen Star, the next adventure—Into
Darkness— is a quest to rescue a group of goliaths taken as slaves by the
neogi from the visiting deathspider. Following the slavers’ trail leads to the
ancient Abeiran city of Xorvintroth deep within Wyrmdoom Crag. There,
May 2021
DDAL10-08: Volatile Thoughts
October 2021
Unearthed Arcana: Travelers of the Multiverse
April 2022
Monstrous Compendium Volume One: Spelljammer
Creature
This 14-page PDF was released at the same time that Spelljammer:
Adventures in Space was announced. It presents ten monsters suitable for a
5th Edition Spelljammer game and is reminiscent of the 2nd Edition
Monstrous Compendium series in style (thankfully without the five-hole
punched pages). Several of the creatures inside are updates of Spelljammer creatures from
earlier sources, including the clockwork horror, fractine, and gadabout, while the nightmare
beast originally appeared in MC12: Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix: Terrors of the
Desert. This monster collection is available for free from D&D Beyond.
May 2022
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
When this was released as part of the Rules Expansion Gift Set in January
2022, eagle-eyed readers may have spotted a hint that Spelljammer was
on the way. The giff entry from Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes is updated
and now says: “In Wildspace and the associated ports, giff are most often
encountered as spacefaring mercenaries.” This appears to be the first
mention of Wildspace in a 5th Edition release.
July 2022
D&D Spelljammer: Astral Adventures Generator
July 2022
DDAL-DRW-EP-04: Tears Among the Stars
Nearly thirty-three years after the original Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space, the setting
gets a 5th Edition treatment with this slip-case set of hardcover
books. The Astral Adventurer’s Guide covers the six new
spelljammer races, spells, magic items and spelljamming ships.
Boo’s Astral Menagerie is the setting’s Monster Manual and the final
book, Light of Xaryxis, is an adventure with twelve episodes, each
ending in a cliffhanger. The poster map is of the legendary Rock of
Bral. A version of the slip-case set with alternative cover was sold
exclusively in game stores.
August 2022
Spelljams
Late 2022
D&D Icons of the Realms: Battlemats
Late 2022
D&D Icons of the Realms: Ship Scale
In addition to the Spelljammer Adventures in Space set, WizKids will also be releasing a
separate Ship Scale line. These are figures made at 1:600 scale, presumably for use in tactical
ship-to-ship battles. There are six sets, each containing between four and
seven figures:
● Asteroid Encounters
● Astral Elf Patrol
● Attacks from Deep Space
● Threats from the Cosmos
● Welcome to Wildspace
● Wildspace Ambush
Late 2022
Beadle and Grimm’s Silver Edition of Spelljammer:
Adventures in Space
Late 2022
Beadle and Grimm’s Platinum Edition of Spelljammer:
Adventures in Space
RPG products
HackMaster products
☐ HackJammer (July 2005)
Spelljammer Collector’s Guide Revisited PDF version 1.6 82
D&D 3rd edition products
☐ Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (June 2001)
☐ Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations (April 2005)
☐ Monster Manual V (July 2007)
☐ Exemplars of Evil (August 2007)
Spelljammer novels
☐ The Cloakmaster Cycle #1: Beyond the Moons (July 1991)
☐ The Cloakmaster Cycle #2: Into the Void (October 1991)
☐ The Cloakmaster Cycle #3: The Maelstrom's Eye (May 1992)
☐ The Cloakmaster Cycle #4: The Radiant Dragon (November 1992)
☐ The Cloakmaster Cycle #5: The Broken Sphere (May 1993)
☐ The Cloakmaster Cycle #6: The Ultimate Helm (September 1993)
Comics
☐ TSR Worlds Annual #1: Jammers (August 1990)
☐ Spelljammer #1: The Rogue Ship, Part One: Journey's Song, Kirstig's Tale (September 1990)
☐ Spelljammer #2: The Rogue Ship, Part Two (October 1990)
☐ Spelljammer #3: The Rogue Ship, Part Three (November 1990)
☐ Spelljammer #4: The Rogue Ship, Part Four: Song's End, Tale's Beginning (December 1990)
☐ Spelljammer #5: Trial by Wildfire (January 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #6: Circle of Fear (February 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #7: Paying the Price (March 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #8: Monster (April 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #9: The Geas (May 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #10: Exile on Taladas (June 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #11: Serious Trouble! (July 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #12: Alone (August 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #13: The Armada (September 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #14: Before there was Meredith… there was Nimone! (October 1991)
☐ Spelljammer #15: The Song of the Einheriar (November 1991)
Catalogues
☐ 1993 TSR Master Catalog - Collector’s Edition (January 1993)
Promotional items
☐ Spelljammer bookmark (circa 1991)
☐ Spelljammer cloth patch (circa 1993)
Artwork
☐ AD&D Spelljammer Boxed set limited numbered prints (June 2012)
Magazine articles
Dragon Magazine
☐ Dragon #153, p94, Awash In Phlogiston (January 1990)
☐ Dragon #159, p10, Rough Times on Refuge (July 1990)
☐ Dragon #159, p15, Bazaar of the Bizarre: Magic from the Stars (July 1990)
Dungeon Magazine
☐ Dungeon #21, p29, Jammin' (January 1990)
☐ Dungeon #28, p50, Visitors from Above (March 1991)
☐ Dungeon #36, p40, The Sea of Sorrow (July 1992)
☐ Dungeon #39, p18, Flowfire (January 1993)
☐ Dungeon #41, p36, Mammoth Problems (May 1993)
☐ Dungeon #45, p8, An Artist's Errand (January 1994)
☐ Dungeon #63, p22, Gnome Droppings (January 1997)
☐ Dungeon #71, p30, Wildspawn (November 1998)
Cards
AD&D Collector's cards 1991 set (released June and September 1991)
☐ #183: Pryessant
☐ #184: Chandalar
☐ #185: Mind Flayer
☐ #238: Dirck of Windspace
☐ #279: Mind Flayer
☐ #280: Neogi
☐ #281: Giff
☐ #548: Wasp
☐ #549: Man-o-War
☐ #550: Nautiloid
☐ #551: Dragonfly
☐ #552: Tradesman
☐ #553: Neogi Mindspider
☐ #554: Neogi Deathspider
☐ #555: Hammership
☐ #556: Squid Ship
☐ #716: Trooper Herphan Gomja
☐ #717: Captain Hemar
☐ #718: Teldin Moore
☐ #723: T'Laan
AD&D Collector's cards 1992 set (released June and August 1992)
☐ #17: Dracon
☐ #25: Noj's Shield -1, Missile Attractor
☐ #33: Theon's Folding Boat
AD&D Collector's cards 1992 Gencon promotional set (released August 1992)
☐ #11: Bral
AD&D Collector's cards 1993 set (released March, June and September 1993)
☐ #3: Dragon, Stellar
☐ #8: Rastipede
☐ #19: Syllix
☐ #22: Aric's Staff of Power
☐ #32: Shalandain
☐ #35: Aric Cozar
☐ #36: Gamalon Idogyr
☐ #37: Basa Lianin
☐ #38: Meredin Sandyfoot
☐ #60: Golem, Furnace
☐ #62: Owl, Space
☐ #76: Gamalon's Gem of Infravision and Detect Magic
☐ #82: Meredin's Short Sword +1 Luck Blade
☐ #105: Slronde the Elder
☐ #133: Shalandain's Boots of Starstriding
☐ #134: Shalandain's Holy Avenger
☐ #170: Gossamer
☐ #171: Lakshu
☐ #195: Sebastian the Red
☐ #202: Ryag Meth
☐ #216: Sioson
☐ #222: Clockwork Horror
☐ #223: Feesu
☐ #225: Grav
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☐ #278: Flowfiend
☐ #291: Pirate of Gith
☐ #300: Sebastian's Chime of Opening
☐ #318: Hajallian Thremintha
☐ #320: Kneyalotep Knekopot
☐ #321: Staan of the Way
☐ #322: Uritel of the Garden
☐ #323: Oswuggle
☐ #324: Obbi Skyfoot
☐ #354: Cymboli's Pipes of Sounding
☐ #405: Intier's Ring of Shooting Stars
☐ #435: Talus Mindswift
☐ #475: Grabelli the Grey
☐ #476: Basif the Blue
☐ #477: Intier the Indigo
☐ #482: Cymboli Starsong
☐ #495: Checklist 441-495
☐ #4 (of 60): Wilhemina the Petite (rare card set)
☐ #40 (of 60): Icarus (rare card set)
Miniatures
Music
Soundtracks
☐ Spelljams (August 2022)
Computer games
☐ Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace (October 1992)
☐ Baldur’s Gate 3 (October 2020)
Websites
☐ Spelljammer: Beyond the Moons (March 2000 onwards)
☐ D&D Spelljammer: Astral Adventures Generator (July 2022)
Organised play