There is a vast expanse of space beyond Krynn, and outside that sphere, even more worlds. Let’s take a look at Krynnspace. Buy Krynnspace: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17254/SJR7-Krynnspace-2e?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
This is the first in a series of episodes, so buckle up!
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Krynnspace. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing the SJR7 Krynnspace Spelljammer accessory for this information. If I misspeak or leave anything out, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons has had the idea of a multiverse from the beginning. This multiverse is referenced in the Players Handbook, appendix IV: The Known Planes of Existence. It is explained that “There are an infinite number of parallel universes and planes of existence”, and that “All of these ‘worlds’ co-exist”. This is ultimately up to the referee whether it is explored or even addressed, but when TSR had finished writing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, and already had three fleshed out worlds under its belt in the form of the campaign worlds of Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Dragonlance, one author brought up an inspired idea in order to connect them all through Dungeons & Dragons in Space.
It was 1988 at Augie’s, a local bar in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin where TSR R&D Managers James Ward and Warren Spector took the designers out for an afternoon-long brainstorming session with the goal of planning TSR’s boxed sets for the next year. Time of the Dragon, a boxed set exploring the continent of Taladas for Dragonlance; and Spelljammer came out of that meeting. Spelljammer was Jeff Grub’s brainchild and it was up to him to flesh out. Now ultimately Spelljammer would give way to campaigns like Planescape, which defined the multiverse even more. But until then, it was now possible to travel from Krynn, Oerth, and Toril with the same characters and it was all accomplished through this orthogonal way of traversing space. This naturally left some issues to address, like if this is a shared multiverse, why are each world so different without a unified cosmology? Though Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition addresses this by stripping away campaign differentiation in favor of homogeneity, Jeff Grubb contained each work within their own sphere, where their laws and campaign quirks had full dominion.
Krynnspace is different from the other spheres because it is the gods who take the primary role in shaping the sphere’s destiny, rather than the mortals who live within it. Aside from Krynn itself, most of the planets are named after gods. The star portals are what form the constellations. Krynnspace is approximately 8,000 million miles in diameter. It’s shell appears as a sparkling disk, which is impenetrable. Outside each campaign world’s sphere is the deadly phlogiston. This is the infinite expanse of multi-colored gas that the spheres drift through; it can also be understood as a Transitive Plane. The way I see it is that the Phlogistan is the universe, and the spheres are solar systems. This is an oversimplification of a convoluted science fiction/fantasy creation, but it works for me. Inside each sphere is wildspace. Wildspace is not the flammable gas of the phlogistan, rather it is much closer to our actual space. Now, the spheres do have mystically appearing openings, which resemble circles edged in silver-blue that vary in size from a yard to a half-mile across. These openings are enchanted, preventing the phlogiston from entering the sphere, but they allow life to pass through. It is believed that these openings are controlled by the gods themselves, allowing some to enter to test the denizens of Krynn and expose them to dissimilar societies and races. This is how we see the Illithid’s in Taladas (remember the Time of the Dragon boxed set was created at the same time) and Drow in Southern Ergoth from the DLS4 Wild Elves accessory.
Stars as seen from the inside of the sphere are actually small portals to the quasi-elemental plane of Radiance. They cannot be seen from the outside of the sphere, and though they make up the constellations of the gods of Krynn, they cannot be used as a portal into their plane. The ‘stars’ are able to actually move, disappear or reappear based on the Gods activity. Krynnspace is also decidedly cooler than other spheres. This is believed to be the cause of the billowy, nearly transparent clouds, otherwise known as the Clouds of Freezing Vapor. These are created by the gods to conceal their machinations on Krynn. These clouds may be between one to a hundred miles thick, and they are also known to be seen on planets and bodies furthest from the sun, specifically Nehzmyth and the Stellar Islands. The clouds seem to dance and flicker with particles of white, pale yellow and azure. They actually mesmerize those who travel through them. Direct exposure to a cloud will freeze a mortal instantly.
There are a few societies that dwell in the wildspace of Krynnspace. One of which is the Lakshu. These tall, thin, green haired amazon fey are strong, beautiful and deadly. There are known to be approximately five dozen of them in total. When they take to land, they are often mistaken as Irda. Another group is the Reigar. They are a legendary race of beautiful men and women. They are fewer in number than the Lakshu, but are equally influential. Both societies originated outside Krynnspace; many actively warn the people of Krynn and Reorx particularly about threats entering the sphere.
At the center of the Sphere is the Sun. It is by all regards the same as our sun save that it is inhabited by Efreet and Helians, though no Spelljammer has been closer than one million miles from its surface and survived the immense heat. Sirrion is the closest planet to the sun, and is considered an inert fire body. Though it has no moons, it does have ports open to all. Reorx is the second planet from the sun and is an earth body. It has one moon which can sustain life and the planet has many ports. Krynn is the third rock from the sun, and features only two ports, one in both Palanthas in Ansalon and the Imperial City in Taladas. Krynn has three moons, Nuitari, Lunitari and Solinari. Chislev is the fourth planet classed as a liveworld by Shou Lung from Toril. It is sparsely populated and covered in dense jungles. Zivilyn is the fifth planet and the largest in the system. Ironically it hosts the smallest population as well. It is an air body that hosts large continent size floating boulders that spin through the atmosphere.
Nehzmyth is known as the vanishing planet. Its orbit takes it behind black clouds, seeming to disappear then reappear elsewhere in space. In truth the planet is populated by the vodyanoi (aquatic umber hulks), Neogi, treants and giant reptiles. The Stellar Islands are the seventh ‘world’ from the sun. It consists of five oasis-asterids, each between one-hundred to four-hundred miles across. They are connected by glowing ribbons. These are enchanted walkways constructed by a gnomish wizard decades ago. The islands are populated by generally good species which interact and celebrate with each other. Long term living grands incredible health effects. Black clouds are mysterious gaseous clouds that only the light from a star can penetrate. They generate incredible heat and have been the doom to many unknowing Spelljammer ships. It is in fact the essence of evil beings who have died in wildspace, which are then drawn to and collected in the black clouds.
This is meant to be a primer to Krynnspace. I will return to this topic to explore the nature of the Gods of Krynn, different organizations and even the creatures of Krynnspace in separate episodes. Now, if you think this is the most dramatic introduction to Dragonlance, I would remind you of the Fifth Age and the SAGA System. Inte restingly enough, it was Jean Rabe who would end up authoring the Krynnspace supplement and the new fifth age Dragonlance trilogy Dragons of a New Age.
Outro
But that is all the time I have to talk about Krynnspace. Have you played Spelljammer before? Are you familiar with AD&D’s multiverse? And if you could travel to one planet in Krynnspace, which would it be and why? Leave a comment below.
I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content.
This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you’ll join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
A sphere is merely something to contain worlds, asteroids, and creatures. But ask yourself: What contains spheres?”
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