Spelljamming
Abeir-Toril is but one of several other worlds in the Realmspace crystal sphere. To the natives of Faerûn, the wildspace above their heads is known as the Sea of Night. The two closest worlds to the sun in the middle of Realmspace are known as the Dawn Heralds, and they are barely visible only at sunset or sunrise. Beyond Abeir-Toril further out in the crystal sphere are the Five Wanderers, five worlds which flow through star-rivers in an uneven course through wildspace. Some of these worlds are inhabited by humans, dwarves, and orcs, but also more sinister races such as illithids and beholders.
History
It is said that in the beginning Ao created a crystal sphere called the Sea of Night, which he created from the raw material of the Phlogiston (the material between crystal spheres). Within this realm drifted several lifeless worlds, and it was from the remains of this creation process that two twin beings formed, one of dark (Shar) and one of light (Selûne). These two beings set in motion a series of events that resulted in life on these barren worlds. Exactly when the natives of Abeir-Toril themselves began to traverse wildspace is unknown, though it dates back to at least the era of Cormanthyr. The elves have always been known to have a strong presence in wildspace. Miirphys Irithyl (reign −1338 to −791 DR), an early coronal of the elven nation of Cormanthyr, was a supporter of the elven high mages desire to launch more spelljammer ships. The High Magic elaorman ritual was often used in the construction of the elven crystalline spelljammer ships, and was a requirement in the construction of the Monarch spelljammer ships. The reason that the elven high mages were so keen on creating more spelljammer ships was in order to counter the Netherese expansion into wildspace. The Netherese had been dabbling and exploring Realmspace for a while. The elves suspect that the Netherese discovered the magic of spelljamming as early as −1114 DR, though in truth it was much earlier since the epic spell Proctiv's breach crystal sphere was created in 1808 NY (−2051). The Netheril mage Oberon (2839–2905 NY) is said to be the founder of Netheril's spelljammer industry, the "Father of Realmspace" (or so his followers claimed at least). Oberon was born into the shipbuilding industry, his father having been a shipbuilder before him, and he dutifully followed in his father's footsteps. Unlike him though he imbued his vessels with magic, and it is claimed that he led the other mages of Netheril into building spelljamming vessels. It really wasn't until 2795 NY (−1064 DR) that the Netherese officially launched themselves into wildspace with serious intent. They found it to be an abundant source of wealth. The city of Yeoman's Loft became the center of Netheril's Realmspace activities. However, the also found the expense of maintaining the docking stations and spelljammer ships too high and the danger too great, and they stopped all spelljamming activity in 2895 NY. The Elven Imperial Navy (a conglomeration of elven interests in space, much bigger in scope than just Cormanthyr's spacefaring) is said to have constantly harried the Netherese as well. During the Weeping War in 714 DR, a series of short battles are known as the "Three Greenwing Wars" by the elves—named as such for their ally an elven man-o-war ship. The Elven Imperial Fleet of Realmspace sent the Monarch Mordent, a green-winged man-o-war spelljammer vessel captained by Oncith Ilbenalu. The Monarch Mordent provided heavy artillery and a crack crew of archers, bards, and wizards, which aided to briefly turn the tide of war in the northern forest. The ship fell in the last battle into the tree canopy below it. Its crystalline and photosynethetic wings continued to grow however, and a large web of thin crystal grew to wrap around that part of the forest in what is now called the Monarchs Fall glade.Spelljammer Powers
Pre-Spellplague
In the time shortly before the Spellplague hit, the elves of Evermeet are said to have a half-dozen spelljammer ships hidden in the Sumbrar fortress. The Starwing (Ruathimaer) ships that Evermeet employs are similar to the traditional elven Man-o-War spelljammer vessels. However, the real spelljammer powers on Toril are in Kara-Tur. Both the nation of Shou Lung and Wa are active in spelljamming, and is thus the area most visited by spelljamming traders. These nations are also known for creating very unique (and in some cases incredibly large and powerful) spelljamming ships.Post-Spellplague
Around the time of 1479 DR, it is unclear which nations still possess Spelljammer vessels.Post-Second Sundering
After the Second Sundering, a few rare mind flayer colonies still had their spelljamming vessels (the nautiloids), but had lost the secrets of manufacturing them. They kept their existence hidden and only used their ships in case of emergency, in fear of being detected by gith hunting parties.Speed of Travel
Tactical Speed
Spelljamming ships have two speeds, tactical and spelljamming. Tactical speed is a function of SR (Ship's Rating), which is in turn determined by the type of locomotion it has and the power of its helmsman. 1 SR translates into 500 yards per round (about 170 mph or 4090 miles per day), which compared to most ground movement is a fantastic pace. It is not, however, a particularly impressive speed when measured against the vast distances of space. That is where spelljamming speed comes in.Spelljamming Speed
When a ship is travelling at spelljamming speed, regardless of its tactical SR, it can travel 100 million miles per day, or 4 million mph. For those mathematically inclined, this is roughly 0.00596465972 times the speed of light. This speed can only be maintained in a straight line, meaning spelljamming ships must decelerate to tactical speed in order to turn. Despite this massive speed, spelljamming ships are in no danger of collision with other objects. Objects of less than 10 tons in volume lose relative velocity to the spelljamming vessel as soon as they touch its air envelope, bobbing across its gravity plane until they come to rest and are slowly expelled from the envelope. If the spelljamming vessel comes within 12,500 yards of an object of greater than 10 tons volume, it automatically and instantly decelerates to tactical speed.
Spelljammer is a D&D campaign setting that mixes fantasy elements (elves, dwarves, ships, catapults, magic, and the like) in a space setting. Officially cancelled in 1993, some material for 3rd Edition was created at the Spelljammer web page.
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