This review has been sponsored by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
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Designed by: Caitlin Bradbury (NotTheSmoooze), Elias Garoufalias (Aevilok), Israel Moreira, Proph, Ryan Miller, Ryan Rose (Portent Press), Shiloh Berscheid (Portent Press), Steve Fidler, Xenken
With its odd 3-in-1 supplement-bestiary-adventure release, Spelljammer: Adventures in Space isn’t exactly the slam-dunk for 5e that we were expecting. The Astral Adventurer’s Guide in particular is lacking in a lot of content for players and DMs (check out my review).
Thankfully we’ve got the Spelljammer’s Guide to the Galaxy, a 50+ page space-themed supplement with races, subclasses, spells, cybernetic enhancements, and more.
Spelljammer’s Guide to the Galaxy features a lovely, professional design filled with blue and purple clouds, and gorgeous artwork. I love the little class symbols above each subclass!
The supplement is organized into four chapters, with the 20 subclasses of Chapter 2 taking up half the book.
Three new races are detailed in chapter one, the Astral Genasi, Metamorph, and Lumen.
The races are the weakest additions, especially compared to the much more interesting races in the Astral Adventurer’s Guide.
The Astral Genasi feels way too strong, with built-in flight and the ability to swap between three very useful forms after each long rest, while the Metamorph looks like two races-in-one that can freely swap between them.
The 20 new subclasses of chapter two are inspired by all things space, including heavenly bodies, stellar travel, gravity, and black holes.
When judging subclasses I’m looking at three main factors: theme, originality, and early abilities.
Most subclasses nail the theme, and smartly front-load signature abilities. A few, such as the Artificer Spellwalker and Monk Way of the Raging Sun, might lack in originality but end up improving upon their similar counterparts (Armorer and Sun Soul respectively) with much more dynamic and interesting features. Summon an entire mech suit! Leak hit points to create Ki to fuel new radiant abilities! Nice.
The new gravity-based class options are among my favorites.
The Circle of the Void Druid can expend Wild Shape to transform into a miniature gravity well, exuding magical darkness while pulling creatures toward them.
The Galaxy Magic Sorcerer can create an asteroid belt around themselves, providing half cover and dealing bludgeoning damage.
The Meteor Knight Fighter and the Way of Wandering Paths Monk can manipulate speed, gravity and their own gravitational pull, resulting in some hilariously awesome and flashy abilities.
The wizard gets a lot of love with three new subclasses, each of which can play around with AOE spells. The Cosmomancer adds additional effects to AOE spells, such as radiant damage or speed reduction, while the Shipbreaker and Assault Mage can turn any AOE spell shape into a laser or conical blast.
Shotgun wizard, at your service!
Not every subclass offers fun ideas or mechanically satisfying abilities. The barbarian, cleric, paladin, and bard subclasses offer mostly boring, passive abilities, even if their themes are sound.
Overall I ended up loving over half the new subclasses, which is a big win.
The rest of the book adds some new spells, magic items, and new enhancements in the form of cybernetics and mutations.
If you follow my live stream D&D campaigns, you know I’m a fan of cybernetics as loot! All the usual fun stuff is here – arm weapons, laser eyes, spider-legs, steel wings, etc. They’re a fun add, though we’re not given any tables for cost, time, or any other information that would be helpful for DMs, other than rarity.
A miniature bestiary adds a few new creatures, mostly statblocks for cybernetic and mutated humanoids. The real treat for Dungeon Masters are the new Wildspace Environments.
One of my biggest complaints for the Astral Adventurer’s Guide was the lack of worldbuilding (spacebuilding?). For a DM wanting to craft an adventure in the Astral Sea, we have the Rock of Bral, the included adventure book, and that’s it.
While Spelljammer’s Guide to the Galaxy doesn’t add any adventure ideas or locations, it does feature Wildspace Environments. Taking a page from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, these hazardous areas add a fun layer of exploration in between, or in combination with, adventure sites.
New environments include gravity fields, gelatinous nurseries (gigantic nebula-size gelatinous cubes that spawn oozes), and mirror fields a la Doctor Strange.
If you were underwhelmed with Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, Spelljammer’s Guide to the Galaxy may not change your mind when it comes to adventure content, but players should love creating a more space-themed character, even if they never reach the stars.
Pros:
- 20 Wildspace-themed subclasses.
- Over a dozen mutations and cybernetic enhancements.
- Creative and interesting Wildspace Environments.
- Attractive, professional layout and design.
Cons:
- Lacks cost tables for mutations and cybernetics.
The Verdict: Injecting an appropriately spacey theme to new races, subclasses, creatures, and enhancements, Spelljammer’s Guide to the Galaxy fills a black hole-sized void in the Astral Adventurer’s Guide.
A review copy of “Spelljammer’s Guide to the Galaxy” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.
Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.
RogueWatson 