The upcoming Spelljammer: Adventures in Space set for Dungeons & Dragons will feature information about 16 spelljammer ships, some of which players will use as their own vessel and others which they will need to fight or flee from, as they are created and crewed by monsters. Spelljammers are magical D&D ships with the ability to sail through space, which have the magical ability to fly through the air and provide a hospitable atmosphere to the crew so that they don't instantly perish the second they leave their planet's atmosphere. This is possible thanks to an item called a Spelljamming Helm, which is a magical chair that is implanted into a ship and is used to guide it through the void, so long as a spellcaster is able to man the helm and use its power.
The most basic spelljammer ships are literal sailing ships that have had a Spelljamming Helm attached to them. This means that they retain their sails, crow's nest, and mounted weapons, allowing for a sort of intergalactic naval D&D campaign. There are some spelljammer ships that are a lot more alien in design, as they are created by monster races. The neogi race are spider-like monsters that use insect-shaped ships to tear enemy vessels apart; the mind flayers use a ship called the Nautiloid, which comes with massive tentacles that can be used to nab people so that they can be dragged aboard and turned into slaves; and the beholders also have terrifying Tyrant ships, which channel their power into incredibly destructive magic attacks.
The Spelljammer campaign setting originally debuted in the '80s as part of the second edition of D&D and content from the setting has only rarely been mentioned in the editions that have come out since. This is because Spelljammer was seen as something of a strange anomaly for D&D, with most players preferring to adventure in places with a more familiar fantasy feeling, such as Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms. Spelljammer: Adventures in Space not only has the chance to bring back the classic ships from the original setting, but to introduce brand new ones for players to use. In a recent press event for Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, D&D Designer Chris Perkins revealed just how many spelljammer ships the players can expect to find in the box set.
The Astral Adventurer's Guide Will Have 16 Spelljammer Ships
According to Perkins, the Astral Adventurer's Guide will include 16 ships. He also confirmed that the set won't include rules for designing new ships, but that's not going to slow down DMs who wish to homebrew some of their own. It's possible that more could be introduced in future supplements, but that will likely depend on how successful Spelljammer: Adventures in Space is. A lot of the ships in the Spelljammer campaign setting have been revealed in artwork or as part of the Spelljammer Academy prequel campaign that is being released ahead of the full box set.
The Nautiloid ship used by mind flayers appears on the cover of the Astral Adventurer's Guide and it's no surprise that it's part of the setting, as a Nautiloid features prominently in the opening of Baldur's Gate 3, so it's the spelljammer ship that new players are most likely to be familiar with. The Galleon ship has appeared in the trailer for Spelljammer: Adventures in Space and in several pieces of artwork for the set, and the fact that it's such a basic design means that most players will likely get their hands on one as their starting spelljammer.
The artwork for Spelljammer: Adventures in Space has also revealed that the Squid Ship is returning. The Squid Ship looks like a massive squid, with two tentacles primed to act like a battering ram. Surprisingly, the Squid Ship design wasn't created by mind flayers but is believed to use elements stolen from their ship designs, as created by former mind flayer slaves. The beholder Tyrant ship appeared in the third Spelljammer Academy adventure, with players tasked with stealing an abandoned ship and using it for a mission. The first trailer for Spelljammer: Adventures in Ship revealed that the Neogi Deathspider ship will be part of the game, which isn't surprising, as the neogi are villains that are (mostly) unique to Spelljammer, so they should be a big part of the setting. The back cover of the Light of Xaryxis campaign book that comes with Spelljammer: Adventures in Space depicts an elven Man-O-War ship in the background.
D&D's 16 Spelljammer Ships Have Likely Been Revealed By WizKids
The identity of the 16 Spelljammer ships has likely been revealed by WizKids D&D mini figures, which is releasing a set of Spelljammer minis and battle maps. This set is called D&D Icons of the Realms: Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, and it contains a number of minis for games. These minis include sixteen spelljammer ship designs, though it's notable that some of the ships have had their names changed from the original version of Spelljammer. These ships are:
- the Sea Galleon
- Flying Fish
- Nightspider (formerly the Neogi Deathspider)
- Nautiloid
- Tyrant Ship
- Squid Ship
- Bombard
- Shrike Ship
- Hammerhead
- Wasp
- Living Ship
- Turtle Ship
- Lamprey
- Scorpion Ship
- Star Moth (formerly the Man-O-War)
- Damselfly
It's possible that the Neogi Deathspider and Man-O-War only have different names in the WizKids figures due to an issue with the words "Death" and "War", though this is just speculation. Spelljammer: Adventures in Space will provide groups with lots of options for ships, and while the set might lack a full ruleset for building new ships, it should still have enough new information to let players and DMs work out how to implement their own designs into the game. If Spelljammer: Adventures in Space finds a large enough audience, then Wizards of the Coast will likely release more sourcebooks for the setting, which could include new ships for players to use, as well as rules for designing ships. The 16 ships presented in the Astral Adventurer's Guide offer a decent selection for players and their enemies to use, and there should be more than enough content for a single campaign.
The Spelljammer: Adventures in Space campaign set for Dungeons & Dragons will launch on August 16, 2022.