Spelljammer: Adventures in Space is a boxed set for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The boxed set includes three sourcebooks: the Astral Adventurer's Guide (a Spelljammer campaign setting guide), the Light of Xaryxis (an adventure module), and Boo's Astral Menagerie (a bestiary of Wildspace and Astral Sea creatures). It was published by Wizards of the Coast and released on August 16, 2022.
Contents
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space is a campaign and adventure boxed set for using the Spelljammer setting in the 5th edition. It contains three 64-page sourcebooks, a Dungeon Master's screen, and a poster map of the asteroid-city Rock of Bral.
The three sourcebooks expand on game elements for the 5th edition, such as:
Astral Adventurer's Guide
Six new player races – Astral Elf, Autognome, Giff, Hadozee, Plasmoid, and Thri-Kreen Spelljamming ships – sixteen ship stat blocks Updated mechanics on Spelljamming, air envelopes, gravity planes, the Astral Plane and magic A guide to the asteroid-city Rock of Bral
Boo's Astral Menagerie
A bestiary that includes 72 Wildspace and Astral Sea creature stat blocks
Light of Xaryxis
An adventure module which mixes classic science fiction and high-seas themes
The module is broken into "episodes, each of which ends in a cliffhanger" It is designed to take player characters from 5th level to 8th level
Publication history
The Spelljammer campaign setting was introduced in 1989 with a boxed set, similarly titled Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space, for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition. In April 2022, Wizards of the Coast announced a new boxed set titled Spelljammer: Adventures in Space which was released on August 16, 2022; this release updates the Spelljammer setting for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Chris de Hoog, for CGMagazine, commented that "it's been about thirty years since the last officially published material in this realm, and since acquiring the game in 1997 Wizards of the Coast has only alluded to aspects of it sparingly".
The box set includes three 64-page hardcover books: Astral Adventurer's Guide (a Dungeon Master guide), Boo's Astral Menagerie (a bestiary), and Light of Xaryxis (an adventure module). On the decision to release Spelljammer: Adventures in Space as boxed set with three sourcebooks, lead designer Chris Perkins said, "Spelljammer has always been a bit of a weirdo. And so we felt like this was a great opportunity to play around with the form factor". "Perkins also noted that Spelljammer: Adventures in Space had a higher art budget than any other Dungeons & Dragons 5E product, which allowed for 'lavish illustrations' in all three books".
Editions
The standard edition has cover art by three different artists – Astral Adventurer's Guide cover art is by Bruce Brenneise, Boo's Astral Menagerie cover art is by Justin Gerard, and Light of Xaryxis cover art is by Ekaterina Burmak. The standard Dungeon Master's Screen features a Wildspace scene with art by Julian Koch. An alternate art edition, with cover art of all three books by Hydro74, was released for sale in local hobby and game shops. The alternate Dungeon Master's Screen features an Astral Sea scene with art by Jedd Chevrier. The contents of the two editions are otherwise identical. Spelljammer: Adventures in Space was also released as a digital product through the following Wizards of the Coast licensees: D&D Beyond, Fantasy Grounds, and Roll20.
Beadle & Grimm, another Wizards of the Coast licensee, is scheduled to release a special edition titled Spelljammer: Adventures in Space – Platinum Edition in October 2022. It will include the three sourcebooks as softcovers, an additional booklet of adventure encounters, pre-generated characters, game cards (for encounters, ships, magic items and spells), various maps and miniatures, physical props, and other handouts. Beadle & Grimm will also release a Silver Edition at a lower price point; this edition will include fewer items than the Platinum Edition.
Errata
On September 2, 2022, Wizards of the Coast issued an apology for offensive material included in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space. This content was removed from digital editions and will be removed from future print editions; errata was also released. Charlie Hall, for Polygon, wrote that this "apology is in reference to a race called the hadozee [...]. The primatelike creatures were called out for their association with in-fiction slavery, as well as problematic themes and images that together serve to reinforce racism against Black people".