The mistress of wildspace.
The grandest ship of the stars.
The Spelljammer itself.
The Spelljammer is a ship in the shape of a colossal manta ray with a city on its back and its tail swept up over the city. The ship is 1,575' long and over 3,100' from wing tip to wing tip. Over 30 towers rise into wildspace from the ship's back, some only two stories tall, others climbing as high as 30 stories high. Inside the towers is a maze of passages and chambers that stretch on for infinity. The chambers can range from simple alcoves to vast compartments the size of small worlds. Most residents keep close to the tower exits and rarely explore the deeper cavities of the ship.
The Spelljammer is home to thousands of humans, demi-humans, and monsters. The intelligent inhabitants have established a civilization of sorts for trade and survival purposes. Many are former pirates and ship crewmen who blundered across the Spelljammer and tried to loot it, while others were born and lived their whole lives aboard the Spelljammer.
The predominant creatures native to the Spelljammer are called Shivaks. These enigmatic creatures have the basic appearance of the many creatures that have come to call the Spelljammer home, if largely featureless and bulky. The Shivaks maintain the Spelljammer, repairing any damage done and delivering food to the residents. The Shivaks are mute and do not interact with the other residents of the ship.
The Spelljammer itself is a ship that wanders through wildspace at its own whims. Portals into the endless interior passages can only be found aboard the ship and nowhere else. The Spelljammer has hundreds of portals into its interior, the largest of which are the two large 'hanger doors' at its side, each over 200' across. Every tower has at least one portal that leads into the maze-like interior, many have several. Each tower has a section that exists in 'real space' and entrances into the endless passages.
The Spelljammer has its own Ethereal Plane which is not connected to the Ethereal Plane of the Prime Material. The Spelljammer's Ethereal Plane is home creatures native to any Ethereal Plane, such as ghosts, ethereal filchers, and phase spiders. Travel through the Spelljammer's Ethereal is dangerous, attracting the attention of all nearby ethereal monsters. Many powerful individuals that die aboard the Spelljammer arise as ghosts to haunt the back passages.
The Spelljammer also has its own Shadow Plane which is not connected to the Shadow Planes of other Planes. Entering the Spelljammer's Shadow Plane feels much like entering the Void: there are stars all around, the air is cold, and it is hard to breath (though unlike the Void, the Shadow Plane does have some air). Rooms and passages are only faintly visible outlines hanging in the Void.
The Astral Plane touches the Spelljammer and it is possible to Astral Project onto the ship. Additionally, the ship can enter the Astral Plane at will, though it rarely does so.
As a ship of wildspace, the Spelljammer enters the Phlogiston on a regular basis. When it does so, its portals into the endless interior are sealed, leaving only the portions of the towers existing in 'real space' available. Access to all other Planes is cut off, including the Spelljammer's Ethereal Plane. During these times, factions are divided between those trapped on the Spelljammer itself and those trapped in the interiors. Such times are dangerous to those unprepared with supplies. Some factions may attempt to take advantage of these situations to attack their rivals to gain valuable ground.
All Smalljammers are connected to the Spelljammer's Ethereal Plane. Portals in the far back passages of the Spelljammer can lead to Smalljammers, though these portals are very difficult to find and sometimes are unreliable. Through these portals, it is possible to invade a Smalljammer from the Spelljammer but this rarely happens. There are other portals as well, leading to ancient sites that may or may not be connected to the Spelljammer in some fashion. Travel through such portals can be very dangerous, dumping the traveler on the surface of a blazing sun, a moon without an atmosphere, or the bottom of an alien ocean. At the DM's option, these portals can lead to alternate prime material planes or planes that are alien to the mindset of the characters, such as the Far Realm.
While the Spelljammer is a indestructible Plane, it is a physical ship as well that is vulnerable to destruction. The Spelljammer can be destroyed and many past Spelljammers have met their fate at the hands of warlords, disasters, and other calamities. When a Spelljammer is destroyed, the plane is cut off from the Prime Material Plane while the nearest Smalljammer begins to grow to take its place. The Smalljammer enters the Phlogiston to grow for a period of one year.
The new Spelljammer is a giant manta ray without towers. Once the growth period is over, the Spelljammer enters the nearest sphere. Upon entering, it heads straight to the largest fire body where it orbits for a period of one month. During this time, the towers grow out of the ship's back and the portals reopen. The portals have a 50% chance of realigning to the tower that it was connected to before the previous Spelljammer's destruction; otherwise, it connects to a new tower. Well-prepared inhabitants can wait out these times in their strongholds. The less prepared either starve or perish in the back passages of the Spelljammer as they hunt for provisions.
Each Spelljammer has a unique 'soul' or 'personality' that vanishes when the physical ship is destroyed. According to myth aboard the ship, there is a demiplane deep in the far recesses of the ship that is a gigantic ocean where the souls of previous Spelljammers rest. Returned to their basic instincts, the dead Spelljammers blissfully swim in the endless ocean.
The Spelljammer is home to thousands of beings from across the Known Spheres. Humans rub shoulders with elves, dracons, and even illithids. Beholders haggle with giants while neogi sulk in the shadows. All are stranded or are the descendents of visitors that became stranded aboard the Spelljammer. Virtually any race that has spelljammers have found their way to the Spelljammer and many have established small but thriving communities. The strongest factions control the towers and the nearby passages, though other factions lurk deeper in the ship. Food and other resources are hotly contested aboard the ship. Currently, the strongest communities include several human factions, an illithid house, a beholder clan, two dwarven clans, a few lizardmen tribes, and an outpost of the elves.
The only creature that seems to be native are the shivaks that maintain the ship and the connected passages. They repair any damage done to the ship or passages, bring food to the residents, and act as enforcers to remove any threat to the ship itself, such as people that wantonly destroy towers or chambers. They seem to be rather mindless, much like automations directed by the will of the ship itself.
The Spelljammer has a mild charm effect that affects everyone aboard. Whenever someone comes aboard the ship, they must make a will check (DC 15) for every hour they're aboard. This charm ignores racial modifiers, such as elves' normal immunity to charm, but has no effect on undead or constructs. The charm has the following effects:
Few creatures wander the deepest chambers of the Spelljammer. Rumor has ancient beings dwelling there, from mighty dragons to leftover witchlight marauders to even the ancient zookeepers some call Juna. Ventures into farthest rooms can be dangerous even for a very powerful and well-equipped expeditionary force, so most people keep close to the tower exits. Every door could lead to the lair of a deadly monster surviving since days of ancient races now long extinct. Few are willing to take that risk.
Any individual of any race has the potential to achieve the rank of Captain of the Spelljammer. A candidate for the rank of Captain needs to have meet all of the following criteria:
Once a Captain has claimed the Spelljammer, the Gardens will close for a period of 14 weeks. During these 'Dark Times', a flight of hundreds of new Smalljammers is grown. These times are called 'Dark' because no food is delivered to the tower residents, and wars over food are fought. Many Captains perish during these times, destroyed by the wars raging through the streets. Once they have matured, the hanger doors will open and the Smalljammers scatter into wildspace. At the same time, seeds for new Ultimate Helms are scattered through wildspace as well, sent out to seek new magic items to enchant with the power to claim the Spelljammer. If the Captain survives, he now commands great political and magical power aboard the ship.
Captains loose their Ultimate Helms as part of the joining ritual, but gain the following abilities until his death or removal:
A Captain's authority aboard the ship largely depends on how many and how powerful his followers are, but can be very far reaching. The Spelljammer itself has the ability to remove a Captain from his office if he violates any of the following proscribed actions:
Former Captains are captured by the Shivaks and hauled away to the Dark Tower, where they are cared for the rest of their natural lives. Associates of the former Captain may integrate into the rest of the crew or are destroyed in a bloody revolution, depending on their actions aboard the ship.
The Spelljammer has the shape of a gigantic manta ray, 1,575' long with a city of thirty towers upon its back. The towers are a jumble of rooms, staircases, and grand hallways. They are built of stone with the standard 'window dressing' furniture common to all typical buildings, suited to the tastes of the inhabitants. The furnishings are on the rich side, always well made and elaborately decorated. Items removed from the rooms will be replaced eventually by the shivaks. Everything is dimly lit by small glowing gemstones embedded in the wall.
The tunnels that lead into the deeper portions of the ship become increasingly maze-like and twisting the farther an individual travels away from the tower entrances. Passages can shift in the back areas, closing off certain areas while opening up new areas for exploration. Mapping these areas is impossible, though this does not stop long-time natives from selling maps to newcomers.
Use the following chart to determine the rooms or other features encountered by anyone wandering the back passages randomly. All rooms have a 50% chance of being occupied by someone or something.
Nature of the Spelljammer's Back Rooms and Hallways
d% Type of Feature
1-10 Stairs (50% up, 50% down)
11-20 Side Passage
21-60 Door to living quarters
61-70 Door to storage hold
71-75 Door to library/study
76-80 Door to a tower different than the one
originally entered
81-85 Door to kitchen/mess hall
86-90 Door to museum gallery
91-95 Door to chapel
96-97 Portal to random demiplane attached
to the Spelljammer
98-99 Portal to a Smalljammer
00 Portal off the Spelljammer
The back rooms and hallways of the Spelljammer shift at random. In general, the farther one is from an entrance to a tower, the more the rooms shift and change. Rooms closest to the tower entrances are very stable, only rarely changing or altering. Mapping is possible in these areas but maps become increasingly unreliable as one travels deeper into the ship. All of the towers are connected though the connection may be through a long maze of passages and could change over time. A Find the Path spell, if the caster can overcome the impeded magic for divination spells, is useful in finding your way through the maze.
Smashing through doors and walls is possible, though this could end up dumping the offenders into the lair of a nasty monster or a random demiplane. Damage sections will shift to become unavailable and eventually repaired by the Shivaks.
All food aboard the Spelljammer is grown in the enormous Gardens, a demiplane connected to the Spelljammer. It connects to the great ship through the two enormous hanger doors along side the ship and the two smaller doors immediately aft of the hanger doors. Physically, it seems to occupy the space between the eyes of the ship and a point about midway to the tail of the ship, though the size of the gardens is many times the area this space would provide. The exact size of the Gardens is difficult to determine, as the landscape shifts and changes. It is at least 500 miles from end to end, sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller. The roof arches visibly overhead, above the storm clouds that form from time to time. The land is unusually rich, with crops reaching harvest mere days after planting. There are numerous forests, some with trees and creatures found nowhere else in the Known Spheres.
The current primary farmers for the Spelljammer are several tribes of lizardmen that cluster their villages around the main entrances to the Gardens. The lizardmen are very religious and consider their duties as sacred. They generally keep visitors out of the gardens, but they are easily bribed with gifts and magical trinkets. Some tribes attempt to use their position as primary food providers to leverage tribute from other communities, though the shivaks have put down such rebellions several times by simply emptying the lizardmen's own food stores. The lizardmen retain a strong position aboard the ship and are unlikely to relinquish it any time soon.
In addition to providing food for the natives, the Gardens have another special purpose. When a new Captain takes over the Spelljammer, the Gardens close for a period of about eighteen weeks and a flotilla of Smalljammers are grown. Hundreds of these craft can be grown in a single harvest, though most do not survive long in wildspace. When they are fully grown, the hanger doors will open and the Smalljammers will take flight in a great migration into the void. The leftover rinds of the Smalljammer 'fruit' is extremely tasty and nutritious, which provides for long feasts afterwards. Individuals that serve the ship exceptionally well may be given one of the ships by the Captain to leave by, though this is a rare occurrence.
The Gardens are home to a wide assortment of wildlife. There are creatures from all across the spheres, many of which have never been seen by human (or demihuman) eyes. The Gardens is an excellent area to introduce new and bizarre creatures into your campaign, especially if characters decide to go 'safari'. Such creatures hail from spheres yet undiscovered.
Accessed from the tower nestled in the tail of the craft, the Armory is an imposing structure. The assess portals to the interior are heavily bolted and locked with the finest locks in the Spheres (DC 45) and doors that are stronger than steel (hp xx, Hardness 20). Shivaks patrol the passages well and will attack intruders, attempting to drive them away.
The armory is so named for the many galleries and armories that can be found within its walls. The galleries closest to the entrance hold hundreds of magical and mundane items, weapons, armors and the like. The armory closest to the entrance, one of the few rooms that exist in 'real space', alone holds enough parts to build on hundred siege weapons and ammunition to fire them fifty times over. Further armories extend the amount of ammunition and number of replacement siege weapons infinitely. If the ship is attacked, the shivaks will remove weapons and ammunition from these armories to arm the natives against attack.
Deeper into the Armory is a wide assortment of libraries, galleries, and additional armories. Those few that have broken in and survived to tell the tale speak of galleries of preserved figures of every race ever to visit the Spelljammer, enormous museums of every spelljammer imaginable, halls of previous captains immortalized in stone, and domed vaults of diamonds embedded into the roof with each diamond projecting the image of a single sphere. Magical wards are common, enough to slay outright most thieves who would seek to look the Armory.
The Armory serves as a sort of ship's 'memory' of all the races, ships, battles, and oddities that it has encountered in its endless wanderings. It is probably the most extensive collection of artifacts in all of the Known Spheres. Removing an item from the Armory literally removes it from the Spelljammer's memory. Fortunately, there are so many galleries, vaults, and libraries that it is nearly impossible for the ship to forget races, ships, or spheres. Removal of individual items or statues of persons is possible, however.
This large, two story tower serves as a sort of hub for trade, communication, and social interaction aboard the ship. The main floor exists in 'real space' and is a large market place with a roof soaring 40' overhead. Stairs to the side lead to a demiplane that exists 'above' the marketplace which consists of a warehouse that has a dozen or more levels. The warehouse serves as the main storage center for the communities aboard the Spelljammer, where they keep excessive food and other goods. Food that is placed within the Stores will not spoil and remain fresh. Each community keeps enough food in the Stores to see them through for at least six weeks, sometimes more.
The Stores are tended by halflings who are paid with a percentage of the goods stored within. The quartermaster is a slightly crippled beholder named Old Astor. The halflings adopted Old Astor as their mascot after they discovered him cowering in one of the storerooms. The halflings are responsible for the safety of the goods kept in the Stores which they protect with regular patrols of heavily armed halfling warriors and hired mercenaries. The stairs, as the only entrance into the storage areas, is always heavily guarded with at least twenty halfling and giff guards.
The trailing edge of the wings of the Spelljammer is protected by a row of towers and a high curtain wall that links them together. There are two small and one very large tower per wing, six towers in all. Each tower is heavily fortified and protected with numerous siege weapons. Inside is a maze of deathtraps for would-be invaders. Each tower has at least a dozen siege weapons ready to be fired at approaching ships or at other towers. Many communities use these fortresses as fall-back positions in case their home tower is invaded. Ownership of a battery tower is highly prized by natives. The tower interiors are endless, though most communities will seal off sections beyond their control for fear of the tower falling from within to a monster from the Spelljammer's depths. Passages from the battery towers do connect up to the other towers, and the first priority of any community owning one is to discover a safe route back to their home tower. Adventurers are often hired for such a task, clearing the way of dangerous creatures and sealing off side passages.
A small tower near the forward part of the ship is set aside for any current captain and his followers. The extensive interior galleries and quarters are the richest aboard the ship and will alter to suit the tastes of the captain. Each time a new captain claims the ship, the old quarters 'shift' back and new quarters, suited to the new captain and his advisors, appear. The farther one travels into the tower's back passages, the older the chambers become. The tower is filled with mementos from past captains, including trophies, treasure, and logbooks. New captains may travel to any of the older captains' quarters with a brisk walk of less than ten minutes by merely deciding to visit the quarters of a particular past captain. Any other visitor must hunt for any particular quarter, an effort that takes 10d10 hours.
The wings and underbelly of the Spelljammer is honeycombed with thousands of sewer-like tunnels. These tunnels serve many purposes, from sewers that dump sludge into a sphere of annihilation to catacombs where the dead are buried to the sanctuaries of wererats, rouges, and most importantly, undead. Numerous factions battle for control over the warrens with weaker factions driven farther from the warren entrances than stronger factions. The walls are a sort of leather-like stone that is easily burrowed into and the inhabitants will carve new passages into the wall.
The strongest faction currently inhabiting the Warrens is a nest of undead commanded by a so-called 'master lich' who calls himself the Fool. He commands a horde of undead to attack the inhabitants of the towers, hoping to destroy them all. The Fool obsesses with the destruction of the Spelljammer and all aboard her and doesn't hesitate to sacrifice his undead minions in his goals. Other factions include wererat and halfling thief guilds, a displaced house of drow, a rouge beholder or three, and many other renegades.
