¶ Astral Adventure Guide
Astral Plane section exists to give you an idea of how the Astral Sea works.
You can safely skip this and jump to important stuff..
¶ Astral Plane or Astral Sea
Every world of the Material Plane is situated in Wildspace, or more precisely, in its own Wildspace system. Wildspace systems are airless oceans teeming with space-dwelling life forms, including spores, space plankton, and larger creatures that resemble fish and aquatic mammals. The ones that need air to survive either generate their own air envelopes or live in the air envelopes of other creatures.
Wildspace is where the Astral Plane overlaps with the Material Plane. Creatures and objects in Wildspace age normally and exist on both planes simultaneously. This overlap enables creatures to use spells such as teleport and teleportation circle to travel from Wildspace to a nearby world, or vice versa.
Diagram 2.2 illustrates how the Astral Sea surrounds all the Wildspace systems, as well as the astral dominions of gods and the floating remains of dead gods (see the "Astral Dominions and Dead Gods" sidebar). Many Wildspace systems have names; for example, Realmspace is a Wildspace system that contains, among other things, the planet Toril—home of the Forgotten Realms setting.
- Astral Dominions and Dead Gods
Many gods have dominions in the Astral Sea. These locations typically take the form of floating islands or cities of fantastic proportions. Astral travelers might visit these dominions as they would any other ports of call, though a dominion's divine ruler always knows when visitors have arrived and what their intentions are. Because these dominions are part of the Astral Sea, they are timeless; nothing ages there, and creatures can survive there indefinitely without food or drink.
The Astral Sea is also where one can find the petrified remains of gods who were slain by more powerful entities or who lost all their mortal worshipers and perished as a result. A dead god looks like a gigantic, nondescript stone statue that bears little resemblance to the divine entity it once was. Githyanki, mind flayers, psurlons, and other natives of the Astral Plane sometimes turn these drifting hulks into outposts and cities, many of which are hollowed out beneath the surface.
The following sections describe how astral travelers can get from one Wildspace system to another, as well as features of the Astral Plane that are likely to come into play.
¶ Air & Gravity
¶ Air Quality
The air envelope around a body or ship can be fresh, foul, or deadly. Air can change from one quality to another over time.
Fresh air is completely breathable. Under normal circumstances, the air envelope of a ship remains fresh for 60 days. If a ship carries more creatures than its normal crew complement, they exhaust the supply of fresh air more quickly.
Foul air is stale and partially depleted. It is humid and smells bad. Any creature that breathes foul air becomes poisoned until it breathes fresh air again. The air aboard a ship with a normal crew complement degrades from fresh to foul on day 61, and the foul air turns deadly 60 days later.
Deadly air is unbreathable. Any creature that tries to breathe deadly air begins to suffocate.
¶ Travel between Worlds
World-to-world travel requires a spelljamming ship, a teleport spell, or some other kind of magic.
Within a Wildspace system, the DM must decide how long it takes a spelljamming ship to travel from one world to another. This task is made easier if the DM has a diagram that shows how far away each world is from the center of the system. Using such a diagram, you can calculate the shortest possible voyage (when the two worlds are as close to one another as possible) and longest possible voyage (when the two worlds are as far apart as they can be).
¶ Travel between Systems
A creature or ship that wants to travel from one Wildspace system to another must cross the Astral Sea unless it has some other magical means of traveling from one world in the multiverse to another.
Wildspace systems aren't fixed in certain locations in the multiverse. Because they're constantly in motion, like corks bobbing in water, no reliable devices exist to help plot a course from one Wildspace system to another. Fortunately for travelers, the nature of the Astral Sea makes such journeys relatively easy, as discussed in the next section. A creature doesn't need a vessel to travel through the Astral Sea. In this realm, a traveler has the option of propelling itself by thought alone. The more intelligent a creature is, the faster it can move.
¶ Astral Sea Navigation
One doesn't need a map to navigate the Astral Sea. Here, all creatures are blessed with directional awareness. In other words, a creature can get to where it wants to go by thinking of its destination, at which point it becomes aware of the most direct route to that location. The destination must be somewhere in the Astral Sea or in Wildspace, such as "the nearest githyanki outpost," "the astral dominion of Hestavar," or "Realmspace." This directional awareness doesn't reveal how safe the route is, and the DM decides how far away the destination is and how perilous the trek through the Astral Sea is.
¶ Races
Players are advised to choose a race that is not available on the usual settings like Gith, Kender, Plasmoid, Astral Elf, Giff, Thri-kreen or one of the above homebrew races.
Hadozee race is replaced by Grommans (because they suck) but you can choose any of the two.
Autognome are banned because fuck Autognomes.
All the already available races of Faerun are good to go.
¶ Classes & Subclasses
¶ Astral Marine (NOT READY-NOT AVAILABLE YET)
¶ Monk
¶ Ranger
¶ Rogue
¶ Warlock
- Accursed Archive (Playtest Phase)
All the already available classes of 5th Edition are good to go.
¶ Backgrounds
All the already available backgrounds of 5th Edition are good to go.
¶ Weapons
The Astral Adventure will introduce energy weapons that use Energy Cells as ammunition.
| Name | Properties | Damage | Range | Reload | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laser Pistol | Finesse | 2d6 Radiant | 50/150 ft. | 12 Shots / Energy Cell | Starting | - |
| Laser Sword | Martial Finesse | 1d10 Radiant | 5 ft. | 1 Energy Cell / Long Rest | Starting | If the Energy Cell is depleted Laser Swords act as Rapier |
| Photon Axe Made by StarCo |
Martial Versatile | 1d10(1d12) Necrotic | 5 ft. | 1 Energy Cell / Long Rest | Starting | Sheds light in a 30 foot radius. If Energy Cell is depleted it acts as BattleAxe |
| Retractor Wrist Short Blade Made by StarCo |
Finesse Thrown | 1d4 Slashing | 5 ft. or 30/60ft. | - | Starting | This weapon is hidden. |
| Retractor Wrist Long Blade Made by StarCo |
Finesse | 1d6 Slashing | 5 ft. | - | Starting | This weapon is hidden. |
Special
| Name | Properties | Damage | Range | Reload | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laser Rifle | Martial TwoHanded | 2d10 Radiant | 80/240 ft. | 5 Shots / Energy Cell | 650g | - |
| Rocket Rifle | Martial TwoHanded | 1d12 Radiant + 1d12 Fire | 80/240 ft. | 2 Shots / Energy Cell | 1500g | Special, Consumes Action & Bonus Action, -10 ft. Movement |
Energy Cells are usually easy to find and cost from 5 to 15 gold each.
¶ Armors
| Armor | Cost | Armor Class (AC) | Strength | Stealth | Effect | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Armor | ||||||
| Technomancer's Coat | Starting | 11 + Dex modifier | - | - | Energy Cells to enchance your technomancy | 1 lb. |
| Heavy Coat Made by StarCo |
Starting | 11 + Dex modifier | - | Disadvantage | Conceal Firearms | 6 lb. |
| Leather Jacket Made by StarCo |
Starting | 11 + Dex modifier | - | - | - | 4 lb. |
| Light Undercover Shirt Made by StarCo |
Starting | 11 + Dex modifier | - | - | - | 2 lb. |
| Medium Armor | ||||||
| Plated Long Coat Made by StarCo |
Starting | 13 + Dex modifier (max 2) | - | - | Conceal Firearms | 4 lb. |
| Light-duty Vest Made by StarCo |
400 gp | 14 + Dex modifier (max 2) | - | - | - | 8 lb. |
| Tactical Vest Made by StarCo |
750 gp | 15 + Dex modifier (max 2) | Str 10 | Disadvantage | - | 10 lb. |
| Heavy Armor | ||||||
| Iron Plated Combat Suit Made by StarCo |
Statring | 16 | Str 10 | Disadvantage | - | 10 lb. |
| Special Response Vest Made by StarCo |
200g | 17 | Str 10 | Disadvantage | - | 15 lb. |
| Marine Power Suit Made by StarCo |
1,500 gp | 18 | Str 13 | Disadvantage | 8 hours Breathing | 20 lb. |
| Shields | ||||||
| Riot Shield Made by StarCo |
Starting | +2 | - | Disadvantage | - | 10 lb. |
All the already available armors of 5th Edition are good to go.
¶ Spells
Technomancy
The modern ages demand the magic users to keep up with the technological advancements.
The Technomancy intruduces new features:
- You can consume an Energy Cell as a free action to empower your next 4 cantrips. Your 4 next cantrips deal 1 additional damage die.
- You can consume an Energy Cell as a free action to alter the characteristicts of a spell of 1-5th level, increasing its range by an extra 40 feet, or it's radius by en extra 15 feet.
- You can consume an Energy Cell as a free action to amplify the output of a spell of 1-5th level, increasing the number of dice by one for each Energy Cell used (Up to 2).
Since Technomancy was introduced many forms appeared from the different races and cultures that incorporated it. The Technomancy Feature can be found in the following forms; Armors, Implants, Drugs, Potions, Ancestry and others.
¶ Feats
All the already available feats of 5th Edition are good to go.
¶ Spelljammer Ships
- Bombard used by Giff
- Damselfly Ship used by Explorers / Pirates
- Flying Fish Ship used by Merchants / Adventurers
- Hammerhead Ship used by Merchants / Pirates
- Lamprey Ship used by Psurlon
- Living Ship by Druids / Rangers / Clerics
- Nautiloid used by Mind Flayers
- Nightspider used by Neogi / Umber hulk
- Scorpion Ship used by Orcs
- Shrike Ship used by Merchants / Pirates
- Space Galleon used by Groundling Humans
- Squid Ship used by Privateers / Patrols
- Star Moth used by Astral Elfs
- Turtle Ship used by Lizardfolks
- Tyrant Ship used by Beholders
- Wasp Ship by Adventurers
¶ Spelljammer Ship Weapons
¶ Directional Firing
Some artillery, such as ballistae, are generally assumed to be rotational and appropriately placed allowing them to fire in any direction. Other artillery, such as mangonels and side-mounted cannons, are generally assumed to be fixed and only able to fire in a specific direction. In such cases, the artillery’s area of range is expressed as a cone with a length equal to the weapon’s range. If needed, the DM has the final say on what a particular weapon can target.
¶ Ship Officers (PCs)
Each player character fills an officer position, which are listed below. While there can only be one active Spelljammer officer at a time, any number of characters can concurrently serve in the same officer position, in which case they share the responsibilities and duties of that position. The position that a character fills will impact some of their options and actions during spelljammer combat encounters and hazards, although a player character always has access to their normal actions and abilities (such as taking the Attack action, casting a spell, or using another character ability). On spelljammer ships, officers (whether they be the player characters or enemy NPCs) are represented by creatures that are individually managed (i.e., generally those that have their own stat blocks, tokens, and turns during combat).
Officers are not included in the crew count or statistics of a spelljammer ship.
¶ Crew (NPCs)
A ship requires a number of able-bodied sailors tocrew it. While player characters take the spotlight and fill officer roles, crew members work diligently in the background to keep a ship running. While they may not be the focus of the adventure, they are an important aspect of flying a ship.
¶ Crews in Combat
Managing an entire crew on an individual basis tends to be cumbersome and greatly slows down play during spelljammer combat encounters.
To simplify running crew in combat, the crew is treated as an extension of the ship itself, rather than individuals by using the following principles:
- Instead of tracking the specific positions of each crew member, assume that the crew is evenly spread out on the ship’s deck.
- Crew members do not roll their own initiative.
- Crew members do not take their own actions outside of the ship’s actions. Typically, the crew is too busy running the ship and manning the artillery to do anything else during combat.
- Reducing a ship’s crew reduces the number of crew members available to operate the artillery and reduces the number of attacks a ship can make, making them a tempting target in combat.
¶ Crew Member Stat Blocks
Because crew members do not take actions themselves, we do not need a full stat block for them. Instead, a crew member’s stat block is simplified to the following three components:
-
Armor Class: Armor Class represents how well the crew avoids being wounded in battle.
-
Hit points: Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck. A crew hit points function the same as for any regular creature. When a crew member’s hit points are reduced to zero, it dies.
-
Roll Bonus: Crew members are given a static roll bonus that applies to any saving throw or skill check the crew makes (such as one made during a hazard, see below).
-
Crew Member Statistics Table
| Tier of Play | Armor Class | Hit Points | Roll Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 10 | 4 | +4 |
| Tier 2 | 12 | 12 | +4 |
| Tier 3 | 15 | 25 | +5 |
| Tier 4 | 16 | 50 | +6 |
¶ Tracking Crew Hit Points
Single Pool: All damage dealt to any crew member is applied to a single one until it dies. Any remaining damage is then applied to the next crew member. For example, if four crew members with 4 hit points each were subject to an area of effect spell that dealt 3 damage to each of them, three crew members would die as the total damage dealt was 12.
¶ Attacking the Crew
-
Attack Rolls: Resolve individual attacks rolls made against crew members as normal by comparing the total of the attack roll against the crew member’s Armor Class.
-
Areas of Effect: When targeted by a spell or other effect that deals damage to an area, the spell or effect is assumed to hit a number of crew members equal to the number indicated on the table below based on the size of the affected area. If player characters are also affected by any AOE spell or effect, reduce the number of crew members affected by the number of player characters in the area of effect.
-
Crew Members Affected by Areas of Effect
| Circle Radius | Cube Side | Cone Length | Line Length | Crew Members Hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft. | 10 ft. | 15 ft. | 30 ft. | 1 |
| 10 ft. | 20 ft. | 30 ft. | 60 ft. | 2 |
| 15 ft. | 30 ft. | 45 ft. | 90 ft. | 3 |
| 20 ft. | 40 ft. | 60 ft. | 120 ft. | 4 |
| 25 ft. | 50 ft. | 75 ft. | 150 ft. | 5 |
| 30 ft. | 60 ft. | 90 ft. | 180 ft. | 6 |
| 35 ft. | 70 ft. | 105 ft | 210 ft. | 7 |
| 40 ft. | 80 ft. | 120 ft. | 240 ft. | 8 |
¶ Combat
This section provides advice and instructions on how to run a combat encounter involving spelljammer ships. These items focus only on the specific topics of running combat that are unique to a spelljammer setting.
¶ Initiative
A spelljammer ship shares its turn with the spelljammer officer. At the start of combat, the
spelljammer officer rolls their initiative as normal. On their turn, the spelljammer officer directs the ship’s movement and actions, in addition to their own actions. Each other player character rolls their own initiative.
¶ Spelljammer Ship Actions
The spelljammer officer directs the ship’s actions its turn, however these ship actions do not count as the spelljammer officer’s own actions. During its turn, the spelljammer ship can perform all or any of the following actions:
- Move up to its speed.
- Turn up to its agility.
- Attack with as many weapons that can be fully manned by the current number of crew members.
- Take any special actions that are specified in the ship’s stat block.
¶ Targets in Spelljammer Combat
During a spelljammer battle, characters, ships, and creatures can target any of the following with attacks, spells, and other abilities (provided they are within range to do so):
- A spelljammer ship itself.
- An artillery weapon onboard a spelljammer ship. Destroying another ship’s artillery will prevent future attacks.
- The crew of a spelljammer ship. Depleting the number of crew will decrease the number of attacks a ship can make.
- Creatures on board the spelljammer ship. These are the officers and other creatures that are individually depicted as tokens and separately managed (including the player characters). Defeating enemy officers will limit the ship's capabilities and eventually end the combat
¶ Ramming or Crashing a Ship
A spelljammer ship can attempt to ram another ship, creature, or object by moving into the τarget’s space and making a special attack roll (1d20 + the spelljammer’s proficiency bonus) against the target’s Armor Class. On a hit, both the target and the ship take damage as shown in the Crash Damage Table. Most spelljammer ships are considered to have a gargantuan size.
Based on circumstances, the DM may determine that a crash is unavoidable and that no attack roll is required. If the target of the ramming attack is at least two sizes smaller than the spelljammer ship, the target is either moved or destroyed.
If installed on a ship, special weapons called “rams” may change the amount, or type, of damage dealt or taken by a ramming spelljammer ship.
- Crash Damage Table
| Size | Bludgeoning Damage |
|---|---|
| Small | 3 (1d6) |
| Medium | 5 (1d10) |
| Large | 22 (4d10) |
| Huge | 44 (8d10) |
| Gargantuan | 88 (16d10) |
¶ Mishaps Happen
Sometimes things just go wrong, even with spelljammers.
If a spelljammer ship takes damage from a single source equal to or greater than twice its damage threshold, it must roll on the Mishaps table. If a mishap has a repair DC, the mishap can be ended by making repairs to the ship (see “Repairs” below).
- Mishaps Table
| d6 | Mishap | Repair Check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Locked Steering | The ship can move in a straight line only. DC 15 Strength (Artisan’s tools) |
| 2 | Helm Disconnection | The ship’s speed and agility becomes 0. DC 15 Strength (Artisan’s tools) |
| 3 | Weapon Malfunction | One of the ship’s weapons (DM’s choice) can’t be used until this mishap ends. If the ship has no functioning weapons, no mishap occurs. DC 20 Strength (Artisan’s tools) |
| 4 | Hull Breach | The ship’s damage threshold is reduced by 10 until this mishap ends. DC 15 Strength (Artisan’s tools) |
| 5 | Unconscious Crew | Five crew members become unconscious until this mishap ends. DC 15 Wisdom (Herbalism Kit) |
| 6 | Unstable | All creatures onboard must make a DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or fall prone. Until this mishap ends, the ship is considered to be difficult terrain. DC 15 Strength (Artisan’s tools) |
¶ Repairs
When a spelljammer ship suffers a mishap, an officer can attempt to make repairs to it as long as they are not manning the spelljammer helm and have the appropriate tools for the job as noted in the Mishaps table. “Artisan’s tools” can include any specific tool that is appropriate to the nature of mishap, but carpenter’s tools, smith’s tools, and tinker’s tools are the most common appropriate tools.
A creature can use its action to make an ability check based on the nature of the mishap (see the Mishaps table). The creature adds its proficiency bonus to the check if it’s proficient with the tools used to make the repairs. A successful check ends the mishap.
¶ Boarding
Characters can move themselves from one ship onto another by any means normally available to them, including jumping, flying, teleporting, running out a plank (as an action), or using a grappling hook (as an action), provided the target ship is within range for that method. If one ship is within 5 feet of another ship, creatures are presumed to be able move between ships safely and without concern.
Characters preparing to board an enemy vessel may want to take the Ready action to do so as the spelljammer maneuvers the ship to be within range.
¶ Ship Repairs
- Manual. Repairing 5 hit point of damage to a berthed ship takes 1 hour and costs 10 gp for materials and labor. Damage to shipboard weapons can be repaired just as quickly and at the same cost.
- Magic. Casting mending on a damaged ship or shipboard weapon restores 5 hit points to the target. The target can regain up to a maximum of 50 hit points in this way, after which it cannot regain any more hit points from the mending spell until it has first been fully repaired and regained all its hit points.
¶ Hazards
Travel in Wildspace or the Astral Sea is an innately dangerous proposition. An infinite number of unknown possibilities can threaten to delay, damage, or destroy even the grandest of spelljammer vessels. Other threats may arise from within; caused by the ship or crew itself. Broadly speaking, a “hazard” could be used for just about kind of non-combat encounter or other action that the party may attempt involving a spelljammer ship. This section presents a template for running hazards as group check skill challenges with a few examples of some more common hazards spelljammers are likely to face while they sail among the stars
¶ Group Checks
When faced with a hazard encounter, the spelljammer ship’s officers and crew make a special group check (see chapter 7 of the Player’s Handbook for how group checks work).
The description of a hazard presents suggested actions and corresponding officer roles that each player character can make.
Generally, each option can only be attempted once. These actions and corresponding officer roles are suggestions only; players are encouraged to be creative and think of other actions their characters make take to address the hazard regardless of role.
The DM adjudicates these suggestions and calls for an appropriate roll.
In addition to the officers, the crew members of the ship make a single check, a d20 roll + 4 (see the “Crew” section above for details). Each of these individual ability check contributes to one combined group check.
¶ Hazard Outcomes
Once all the checks related to the group check have been rolled, the ship’s success or failure is determined. Hazards typically offer four levels of success or failure determined by the results of the ship’s group check:
- Total Success. Every roll in the group check is a success. All negative impacts of the hazard are avoided or prevented, and the party may be able to use the hazard to their benefit in some way.
- Success. A majority (at least 50%) of the rolls in the group check are a success. Impacts of the hazard are minimal or none.
- Failure. A majority (at least 50%) of the rolls in the group check are a failure. The party is negatively impacted by the hazard. The hazard may not be resolved forcing another check.
- Total Failure. Every roll in the group check is a failure. The negative impact of the hazard is intensified or additional drawbacks are added.
The hazard may not be resolved forcing another check.
¶ Example Hazards
- Plot a Course
| Role | Task | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Spelljammer | Navigate | Intelligence (Arcana) or Wisdom (Survival) |
| Navigator | Advise course | Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Survival) |
| Bosun | Man the ship | Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) |
| Any | Other | TBD by DM |
- Total Success. Gain 1 hour. Used the gravitational fields to your advantage.
- Success. Successfully plot a safe and effective course.
- Failure. Lose 1 hour. Failed to account for gravitational fields of nearby systems.
- Total Failure. Lose 2 hours. Repeat the hazard.
¶ Example Typical Hazard Checks
The following table provides a variety of example skill checks that may be relevant depending on the hazard encountered.
| Skill Check | Example Uses |
|---|---|
| Strength (Athletics) | Man the ship and fulfill various stations and functions |
| Strength (any tool) | To prevent or minimize damage to the ship |
| Dexterity (Acrobatics) | Man the ship and fulfill various stations and functions |
| Dexterity (Acrobatics) | Maneuver around obstacles that would impact crew members more than the ship itself |
| Dexterity (Stealth) | To navigate and handle the ship to minimize noise and attention |
| Intelligence (Arcana) | Navigate or control the spelljammer ship with precision |
| Intelligence (Investigation) | To make logical deductions |
| Intelligence (spelljammer) | Use skill and knowledge of the ship to handle the situation at hand |
| Wisdom (Insight) | To determine a creature’s true intention, next move, or underlying cause of an issue |
| Wisdom (Medicine) | Treat or prevent an illness or injury |
| Wisdom (Perception) | Detect the presence obstacles or other objects |
| Wisdom (Survival) | To plot a course or navigate through difficult regions |
| Wisdom (Survival) | To guide and lead the ship and crew through peril |
| Charisma (Intimidation) | To forcefully motivate the crew into immediate action |
| Charisma (Persuasion) | To rally the crew and improve moral |