Thinking about running a campaign in Spelljammer despite my near total lack of knowledge of the setting...

Thinking about running a campaign in Spelljammer despite my near total lack of knowledge of the setting. Any stories/images/inspo?

Other urls found in this thread:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloric_theory
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlogiston_theory
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminiferous_aether
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etheric_force
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_discredited_substances
youtu.be/wJzPhRJRgFA
rejectedprincesses.com/princesses
freefall.purrsia.com/
youtube.com/watch?v=RjXEJTn-IG8
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

I love this sort of thing, so have some of my favoite bits of real life history of budding science for fun;

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloric_theory
The theory that heat was a weightless, massless, self-repellant gas that would fade in and out between objects. It has a less interesting sister; Frigoric; which was the same and was cool instead of hot. I'd use them as the excuse for magical heating and cooling devices.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlogiston_theory
Phlogston is the Midichlorians of fire, if you prefer. Objects seeded with it burn, and it happens that most things in the common world burn. In space, it would be something more like a hazard, where the sector may be dangerous to fight in- lest you ignite a star.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminiferous_aether
Once believed to be how light gets from star to planet, it may instead be something like motes of starry clouds, giving the void a dreamy nightlight.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etheric_force
A short lived theory in the real world; it could be incorperated as hazards of zones, such as blowing through Aether clouds, which cause Ghost-In-The-Machine tendencies in jammers; or could end up being the way that long distance communication happens.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory
"Night Air" could be a problem with longstanding settlements that don't have a natural advisor with them of any sort; such as druids or priests of nature. It may also loom around derelict Jammers and areas of battle, and cling to passing ships like a curse. I'd use it as an excuse for wild undead in space.

Pretty much, this whole site, but with a coat of snazzy fantasy; go wild
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_discredited_substances

Wow, this is brilliant! I'd heard of luminiferous aethre and miasma theory, but not the rest of these. Thanks, these are pretty neat.

... WEll, if I'm the only one posting here for OP, then, enjoy tunes; Search this guy's YT, he keeps a lot of old nerdy shanties.

youtu.be/wJzPhRJRgFA

This site is a lil feminism driven, but has some interesting characters in it, worst case scenerio you don't need it, best case it gives you inspiration for someone. I made a hot shot pilot off Bessie Stringfield; Coming from an agri-world as an artificial human
rejectedprincesses.com/princesses

A four panel soul webcomic that's been going on for far too long, but is lighthearted and doesn' take it's self too seriously; Relatively low fantasy scifi, but anything can be taken and mysticized easily. It is about a squid-creature from a tribal world, his companion, a robot from a series that have a universal defect in the way they store information, and then a genetically uplifted dog that they stole that acts as their party moral-core, or tries, as they torment a recently colonized world that is undergoing terraformation by a large company that employs mass numbers of above, defective robots. It's actually pretty comfy, I think
freefall.purrsia.com/

Watch Treasure Planet. Yes it's a kids movie, yes it is the closest thing you'll get to a Spelljammer movie.

I appologize that a lot of my references aren't specific fun ones, but I'd imagine you can find plenty of things to watch; a fresh set of paint on Star Trek and you've got a faction that's interesting and gives you inspiration. Actually, that should likely be your focus for watching- Figure out what mixes where. Such as, what do the Aboleths do in this age; are they still major threats, or have they been largely cordoned off to some area and range anything from rabblerousers to sages of the lost past. Is there a professional status known as "Ghost Buster" in your setting? Seriously, as far as I am concerned, you are just as brilliant as I am; I am just giving you what I think would be really neat to see in a space fantasy.

You will need to know about mind flayers. Here are some mind flayer facts.

Mind flayers controlled most of the known universe in the distant past, and/or possibly the distant future. Time travel was involved. They may will have been universal overlords, and they scheme to make this happen again for the first time.

Mind flayers feel no positive emotions. Mind flayers are egotistical super-geniuses. Mind flayers hate each other. Mind flayers are forced by elder brains to work in a harmonious communistic society, and they are not allowed to even think about how angry this makes them. They wouldn't admit it if they were, because they think they're too clever for feelings.

Mind flayers sail through space in giant nautilus shells, enslaving worlds and turning people into brain soup, or weird half-alive magic items with lots of squishy pulsating bits.

Mind flayers clothes tend towards the "glam-rock goth drag queen" end of the spectrum.

I love mind flayers.

This. And Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Solely because of the baller technology designs; not because it's spelljammer.

Definitely take this guy's advice. Mindflayers are to this setting, as Reavers are to Mass Effect. Everyone knows at least a little bout them, everyone is scared to death about them, the truth is they're not as great as they are talking, but the problem is that they can make slaves out of everything, are extremely versatile, and despite everything are very powerful personally.

Modrons are great for slipping somewhere as well; just say that they seem to show up wherever large collections of technology and knowledge exist, and seem to appoint themselves a role there; usually one that's highly specific and redundant, and, despite functionally doing nothing most of the time, will insist it's necessary.

Isn't it also just sort of a space-shifted Treasure Island?
I'm trying to think of the kind of hooks that Spelljammer would have that ordinary D&D wouldn't. Kind of got the impression it was more complicated than D&D in spaaaaaaaaaaaaaace