Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong marked their trip to space by raising an American flag on the moon. Wizards of the Coast took another approach, launching a twenty-sided die into space. The game creator behind Dungeons and Dragons celebrated the release of Spelljammer, a science fiction-eques setting for D &D campaigns, by sending one of the game’s dice into orbit.
Billed as a thrilling space-based adventure, Spelljammer: Adventures in Space takes place in the twilight realms of the Astral Sea and Wildspace. In this new D&D set, spell jammers can use magic to travel the D&D multiverse.
Nestled inside a protective plastic bubble situated within a scale model of a Star Moth spelljammer, the twenty-sided die was launched into outer space. A balloon was attached to the ship replica to hoist it through the atmosphere.
Wizards of the Coasts shared a 2-hour-long video on YouTube, showing the die’s ascent. The video entitled, Launching A Dice into Space was posted on August 30, 2022, and also has over 30,000 views.
Rolling a Natural 20
More impressive than the die’s launch is that the die quickly shifts in such a way that it rolls a natural 20 early on in the video. For those unfamiliar with tabletop games, a natural 20 is when a player rolls 20 on a twenty-sided die. For most of the video, the 20 faces the camera as the die makes its epic journey.
At the very end of the video, the die is jostled again. This time the die rolls a 1, which is often considered a critical fail in D&D campaigns. Almost as if the roll were an omen, the craft is immediately hit by intense winds. This result in the ship tumbling away from the camera’s view.
“Did you see those die rolls at the start and end?”, Wizards of the Coast said in a YouTube comment. “No, those were not planned (and extra fun if you count the die face looking at the camera as the roll).”
Tabletop game news
Dungeons and Dragons may be the first tabletop game to launch a die into space, however, it isn’t the only one getting an upgrade. Tilt Five is creating a holographic version of CATAN for its upcoming Tilt Five system. The AR tabletop game system is currently available for pre-order. Additionally, a crowdfunding campaign is happening now for a Kingdom Come Deliverance Board game. Said game will features NPC voice-overs through a mobile app. Likewise, Hatchet games has created a physical version of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Orlog.
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
