D&D (5e)... In Spaaaaace!

[Goober4473]

A friend and I put this together a while ago, but I've only more recently been playing a game with it.

The whole document can be found by clicking HERE. This isn't just an idea I'm tossing around I actually made this. I'm not sure everyone saw the link so now it's very obvious.

The basic idea is, what if you took D&D, as is, but set it in space? Races have homeworlds instead of home countries, regions, or continents. Wizards keep their spells on tablet computers. All the weird monsters are aliens. Fiends and celestials and the like are aliens from extra far away. Technology is retro-tech, reminiscent of Star Wars, itself essentially space fantasy. Guns exist, but they're no better than the high tech versions of swords, axes, and bows.

So far, it's been remarkably fun.

[the_david]

You mean like in Speljammer?

[Goober4473]

You mean like in Speljammer?

Not quite.

Spelljammer uses what amount to magic boats that travel between alternate realities. D&D In Space is much more scifi in its approach, with star ships, FTL drives, and laser guns, and it has a much more limited cosmology. Rather than visit different medieval fantasy worlds, you explore a galaxy of varying planets.

[Mutazoia]

Soooooooooooooo..... Warhammer 40K with magic?

[Goober4473]

Soooooooooooooo..... Warhammer 40K with magic?

Haha. Closer!

More like straight up Star Wars, only the space wizards are legit wizards, and the aliens are elves and dwarves and stuff.

[Mutazoia]

Haha. Closer!

More like straight up Star Wars, only the space wizards are legit wizards, and the aliens are elves and dwarves and stuff.

Sooooooooo....Shadowrun in space?

[Goober4473]

Sooooooooo....Shadowrun in space?

There we go.

[Mutazoia]

There we go.

Honestly, your best bet is going to be creating your own setting with an existing rule-set (such as GURPS or D6). Trying to create everything from scratch, even if you use the OGL D20, is going to be a lot of work making sure everything balances.

[Goober4473]

Honestly, your best bet is going to be creating your own setting with an existing rule-set (such as GURPS or D6). Trying to create everything from scratch, even if you use the OGL D20, is going to be a lot of work making sure everything balances.

I'm not creating everything from scratch. Did you look at the document at all? It's literally D&D, but set in space. Wanna make a D&D In Space character? Make a D&D character. Put it in space. Done. Want a space monster? Take a monster. Put in in space and call it an alien. Space sword? It's a sword, but now it's in space. Elves? Space elves. Wizards? Space wizards. Very simple.

All I've done is I added some more races (all but the droid exist in older D&D editions) plus a couple other character options, added firearms that are balanced with existing weapons plus some simple items like datapads, and made a system for star ship combat that you don't even really need to use.

Agreeing that it was basically Shadowrun in space was just a joke. Maybe no one saw the fact that this is a homebrew that is actually finished, and not just an idea? I'll make the link to the document more clear in the original post.

[Fast Jimmy]

I'm not creating everything from scratch. Did you look at the document at all? It's literally D&D, but set in space. Wanna make a D&D In Space character? Make a D&D character. Put it in space. Done. Want a space monster? Take a monster. Put in in space and call it an alien. Space sword? It's a sword, but now it's in space. Elves? Space elves. Wizards? Space wizards. Very simple.

All I've done is I added some more races (all but the droid exist in older D&D editions) plus a couple other character options, added firearms that are balanced with existing weapons plus some simple items like datapads, and made a system for star ship combat that you don't even really need to use.

Agreeing that it was basically Shadowrun in space was just a joke. Maybe no one saw the fact that this is a homebrew that is actually finished, and not just an idea? I'll make the link to the document more clear in the original post.

I like it.

What throws me for a loop is that creatures normally who live in other planes, like Celestials or Infernal beings live in another star system. So how would a spell like Plane Shift work? Would it be like an instant FTL travel...? Also, would elementals be summoned from the Plane of Fire? I'm just trying to wrap my head around how the setting works with extra-dimensional aspects when the line has been blurred.

[Goober4473]

I like it.

What throws me for a loop is that creatures normally who live in other planes, like Celestials or Infernal beings live in another star system. So how would a spell like Plane Shift work? Would it be like an instant FTL travel...? Also, would elementals be summoned from the Plane of Fire? I'm just trying to wrap my head around how the setting works with extra-dimensional aspects when the line has been blurred.

If you take a look at the magic section, Plane Shift has been replaced by Planet Shift. So yes, it's instant FTL, if you have the right tuning fork. The only real other "plane" is the ethereal plane (where ships go when they use FTL), so summoning would either pull a creature from another planet, or perhaps create it from conjured materials in the case of an elemental.

[Fast Jimmy]

If you take a look at the magic section, Plane Shift has been replaced by Planet Shift. So yes, it's instant FTL, if you have the right tuning fork. The only real other "plane" is the ethereal plane (where ships go when they use FTL), so summoning would either pull a creature from another planet, or perhaps create it from conjured materials in the case of an elemental.

Ah, I apologize that you covered my question in the document.

This is an impressive amount of work - I really like the flavor of some of the alien classes. Haven't had time to give any balance feedback yet, was just trying to get an overall feel with my first pass. Hope to have more for you soon.

[tsj]

What about Sci fi classes like gun mage,
tech priest, etc... or is it strictly fantasy classes?

[Goober4473]

What about Sci fi classes like gun mage,
tech priest, etc... or is it strictly fantasy classes?

I'm using the modern magic Unearthed Arcana they released, which has some tech magic, including cleric, warlock, and wizard subclasses. My friend also created an urban druid subclass for he setting.

You could also always reskin some stuff. You could use a gun as a wand, for instance, to make a gun mage.