Tag Archives: Spelljammer ships

May 28 2017

Rebranding the Toy Soldier Saga

You may have noticed that I’m making some changes around here.

In light of long years of trying to get the attention of Wizards of the Coast, to no avail, I have decided to revamp and rebrand the Toy Soldier Saga to scrape out all the Wizards related copyrighted material.  I may seek a publisher, or I may publish it on my own.

Fans of the existing Toy Soldier Saga will need to know that the second and third novels will remain unfinished in the Spelljammer version.  They will be finished, but only in my new universe, and only after the reformatting is completed.  You can still get the first novel in its fan-fiction format here and I’ll be posting it on FanFiction.net as I promised as well.

Here’s a few of the changes that you’re going to see:

  • I took all the Spelljammer naming stuff out of the title of my site and my Facebook group (obvious, I should think).
  • Over time I will be replacing the art, currently only included as inspiration, with stuff that I have either commissioned or done myself.
  • I am renaming most of the elven characters, since their names are largely drawn from elven aristocratic houses in the Forgotten Realms setting.  Their names will be things that relate to nature (Vesper, Goldenbough, etc.)
  • I am renaming most of the places mentioned, and changing some significant details, for the same reason.
  • I am changing the names of the deities mentioned back to the real-world deities they were drawn from.  For instance: Corellon Larethian becomes Lugh, Angharradh become Brighid, Hanali Celanil becomes Freya, etc.  These deities will be used in ways that differ slightly from their real-world mythology and will be explained as human-elven cultural differences.
  • I am renaming or changing major monsters (beholders, illithid).  These changes will be the same sorts of minor changes that other RPG settings have used to get around this issue, and likely they will remain somewhat recognizable to the dedicated RPG fan.
  • I am changing the way the arcanology of travel through the stars works.  This is probably the most significant change and it will have some effect on plot elements.  I’ll reveal the details of my changes in a forthcoming blog post.  I’m excited because this change allows me to connect this world to the world of The Forever Throne as well!  Stay tuned for more details.
  • I am changing the racial divides among elves.  They will remain known for forces of nature (sun elves, moon elves, wood elves, etc.) and will remain similar in appearance (sun elves will be mostly warm and golden-shaded, moon elves will be pale and cool-coloured, etc.)  However, they will be known as the Alfar and the Sidhe (real-world mythological elves from the Norse and Celtic cultures respectively).  Drow will be known as Svartalfar or night elves and I’m sure you’ll see some cultural differences there too, but I’ll worry about that when they become more relevant to the story.  I’m not sure yet whether sun, moon and star elves (the “aristocracy”) or the moon, wood and earth elves (the “commoners”) will be Alfar or Sidhe.  I’m still deciding that.
  • I am changing and removing much of my use of the Elven language, since it is Forgotten Realms Espruar.  I’ll likely make more up as I go, but I’m sure my use of it will be less liberally sprinkled throughout the book.
  • “Scro” will be called “high orcs,” and the cultural elements I borrowed from Spelljammer (such as the name Dukagsh for the homeworld and their racial hero) will be changed.
  • I am changing the names and essential natures of Forgotten Realms characters or Spelljammer characters that appeared in the books.  They might still be recognizable to some but there will be significant differences.  I’m also eliminating or combining contradictory characters (such as — who is really the Grand Admiral of the Elven Navy?)
  • I’m making some minor changes to the way magic works, because D&D magic sometimes doesn’t make a lot of sense, and so since I’m changing stuff anyway, why not?
  • I am changing the name of the Elven Imperial Navy to the Imperial Avalonian Navy or the Imperial Fae Navy.  Bite me.
  • The titles of the fourth and fifth books will change.  The fourth book uses a catchphrase from the elven culture of the Forgotten Realms, and the the fifth book uses the word “Arvandor.”

Things that will stay the same:

  • Since I made up every word of the orc language used in the story, I’m keeping all of it.
  • Since I invented the system of steering and navigation used in Spelljammer vessels, aside from the helm itself, I’m keeping that too.  There WILL still be a symbiotic telepathic/empathic link with the helm, because that is by no means unique to Spelljammer (it’s a staple of sci-fi and has been since at least the 1950s) so they can’t copyright that.
  • NONE OF THE ESSENTIAL STORY WILL CHANGE.  I just adapted a major battle scene to a novella which I’ve submitted to a magazine; it worked just fine, so don’t worry, the essential story will not change at all.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

Changing the Toy Soldier Saga is one of my featured projects at my Patreon this month!  If you want to see this thing come to life, you should support my Patreon. 😉

 

Dec 12 2014

Last Descent

Wildspace: The Spelljammer Fanzine

Because David Shepheard has been so patient in asking and waiting for this piece to be posted … here is Last Descent, a cover that painted for a Dungeon cover back in the early 90s. It’s acrylic on illustration board mounted to light plywood. The space scape was created using a wet in wet technique shown me by artist Randy Asplund. I used this in several paintings. The space ship, a nautiloid comes from TSR’s Spelljammer campaign setting. It’s damaged and going down to a planet surface for the last time. I actually built a rough model out of Sculpey for the ship to get an idea of how to draw the forms in perspective.

This was obviously one of my own favorites and hung on my walls at home and the office for years. Now in the hands of a private collector.

 ~ Jennell Jacquays, Artist

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May 30 2014

Lionheart: Part 4 – Secrets

Ideas percolating . . .

Wildspace: The Spelljammer Fanzine

The Lion’s Heart

By Adam “Night Druid” Miller

New Artifacts

Lion’s Heart

The Lion’s Heart is a great multi-faceted gemstone over five feet across. It appears to be made of crimson-hued diamond, but is far harder than any known substance. The overall shape is circular, but it seems to pulse with a life all its own. The Heart emits a low, reddish glow and has a low, deep rhythmic sound resounding from it, as if it were a living, beating heart.

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May 24 2014

Lionheart: Part 2 – Defenses and Structure

Wildspace: The Spelljammer Fanzine

IEN Flag by John "Paladine" Baxter. Used by permission. IEN Flag by John “Paladine” Baxter. Used by permission.

By Adam Miller (Night Druid)

I love the work Adam has done on the Elven Navy and its denizens. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! ~ Blessings, Sable

Notes

This is my rendering of Lionheart, headquarters of the IEN. It is my attempt to try to give this place the detail that it both needs and deserves. I have taken great liberties with this document, as the details of the base were left vague at best. I have read the tiny little description in the Radiant Dragon novel, but my version does vary from what was written. I’ve tried to stay as true to form as I can, but recent releases detailing elvish magic and power have changed things considerably. By necessity, I’ve had to include High Magic and its implications on the Fleet, as well as…

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May 23 2014

Lionheart: Part 1 – Introduction and History

Reblogged from Wildspace: the Spelljammer Fanzine

Wildspace: The Spelljammer Fanzine

IEN Flag by John "Paladine" Baxter. Used by permission. IEN Flag by John “Paladine” Baxter. Used by permission.

By Adam Miller (Night Druid)

I love the work Adam has done on the Elven Navy and its denizens. Adam introduces us to that most glorious of elven strongholds – Lionheart itself! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! ~ Blessings, Sable

Notes

This is my rendering of Lionheart, headquarters of the IEN. It is my attempt to try to give this place the detail that it both needs and deserves. I have taken great liberties with this document, as the details of the base were left vague at best. I have read the tiny little description in the Radiant Dragon novel, but my version does vary from what was written. I’ve tried to stay as true to form as I can, but recent releases detailing elvish magic and power have changed things considerably. By necessity, I’ve had to…

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