How do you run Spelljammer?

[prufock]

Has anyone here ever run a Spelljammer campaign. I like the idea and I have a few seeds of plot in mind, but I've never played in one. I don't really know what sort of adventures work well with the setting.

So have you played one? What did you think? How do you run it?

[Brookshw]

I dunk that setting into planescape. Take star trek, remove technology, insert magic, your done. Now get exploring!

[Lord Torath]

Ah, Spelljammer. My favorite setting I've never played. I wish I could be more help, but the best advice I can probably give you is to ask again here: http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/index.php
About half-way down the page there's a forum specifically for Spelljammer. Big Mac, ExTSR, and Night Druid are people you'll particularly want to talk to.

[CombatOwl]

Has anyone here ever run a Spelljammer campaign.

Only incidentally, as one part of a planescape campaign. One adventure involved spelljamming.

I like the idea and I have a few seeds of plot in mind, but I've never played in one. I don't really know what sort of adventures work well with the setting.

Eh, think Star Trek, but with magic and swords not science and phasers. Thematically, dramatically, they're basically identical. Crew encounters <some problem they've never seen before>, while trying to resolve it <some enemy> shows up to cause trouble, after much effort a solution is found.

You can also use a space piracy model for the game, but those tend to get boring once the characters grow so wealthy that there is no logical reason to support further piracy. You basically have to have a driven captain and dedicated crew united in the mission of doing some impossible task to make it work at high levels.

So have you played one? What did you think? How do you run it?

I prefer planescape by a mile in terms of 2e settings. It's a similar hub-and-spoke sort of game, but a lot more interesting with better material support in terms of books and pre-made adventures.

[Mutazoia]

Eh, think Star Trek, but with magic and swords not science and phasers. Thematically, dramatically, they're basically identical. Crew encounters <some problem they've never seen before>, while trying to resolve it <some enemy> shows up to cause trouble, after much effort a solution is found.

Pretty much this.

You can also use a space piracy model for the game, but those tend to get boring once the characters grow so wealthy that there is no logical reason to support further piracy. You basically have to have a driven captain and dedicated crew united in the mission of doing some impossible task to make it work at high levels.

Back during the 2nd Ed days, we had a S.J. campaign going in which we were trying to find goblin space and get intel on when/if the next goblin war was going to start. So..basically exploring uncharted spheres looking for Orc fleets.

Spoiler

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At that time one of the major plot hooks in S.J was rumors of the return of the goblins. The background for the setting told of a war in which the Orcs and other goblin kind attempted to take over much of known space but were eventually defeated. Several of the novels flirted with this but not enough to get anywhere.