The announcement that Dungeons & Dragons fans have waited nearly thirty years to hear has finally been made, as the Spelljammer campaign setting is returning to the game, in the Spelljammer: Adventures in Space box set. Spelljammer is a D&D campaign setting that takes the players to outer space, where they can sail the stars behind the helm of a magical sea ship.
Spelljammer debuted during the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons era of the game, bringing sci-fi concepts to the D&D multiverse. It was now possible to travel between the D&D campaign worlds by flying to them by ship. This meant that players could become intergalactic pirates, while still fighting with swords and magic. The Spelljammer campaign setting stopped being supported during the D&D 3e era, but it has been referenced many times in the following years, both in the D&D gamebooks and video games.
Wizards of the Coast held the first-ever D&D Direct event today, where it was finally announced that Spelljammer is making its return, in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space. In a departure from the other classic campaign setting books, Spelljammer: Adventures in Space is actually several items in a slipcase. Spelljammer: Adventures in Space contains a DM screen, a poster map of the Rock of Bral, an asteroid-city that can serve as both an adventure location and a campaign hub in the Astral Plane, and three books: Astral Adventurer's Guide, Boo's Astral Menagerie, and Light of Xaryxis. Fans won't have to wait long to take to the stars, as Spelljammer: Adventures in Space will launch on August 16, 2022.
Astral Adventurer's Guide contains rules for the Spelljammer campaign setting, including six new playable race options. The recent D&D Unearthed Arcana Spelljammer article hinted at these races, as the book will contain astral elves, auto gnomes, hadozee, giff, plasmoids, and the thri-keen. Boo's Astral Menagerie stars the famous miniature giant space hamster from the Baldur's Gate series and it acts as the Monster Manual for the Spelljammer setting. Light of Xaryxis is a new adventure set in wild space and the astral sea, containing twelve different exciting episodes. There will also be a prequel adventure released in July.
The nods to the Spelljammer setting over the years had given fans hope it would return someday, such as the opening of Baldur's Gate 3 taking place on a Nautiloid ship. Spelljammer was one of the most highly-anticipated D&D classic campaign settings and it's amazing to see it return to D&D 5e. The groups that are looking for something new and different can't go wrong with Spelljammer, as there is an entire universe of adventure waiting to be found.
The Spelljammer: Adventures in Space campaign set for Dungeons & Dragons will launch on August 16, 2022.