Are you taking your D&D game into the great beyond and sailing the astral seas?

Explore rules to augment a game with options beyond your campaign’s home world!

This installment looks at a few space-themed spells you can add to your adventures among the stars.

Detect Life

1st-Level Divination | Bard, Cleric, Druid, Ranger
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a drop of water)
Duration: Instantaneous

You target a creature or object you are aware of within 30 feet of you and determine if it is a living creature. If it is a living creature, you also learn the creature’s type and one resistance, immunity, or vulnerability (if any). If the creature has more than one resistance, immunity, or vulnerability, the GM randomly determines which you discover.

This spell has no effect on undead or constructs. The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you learn an additional resistance, immunity, or vulnerability (if any).

Foul Air

4th-Level Transmutation | Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a dead rat)
Duration: Concentration up to 1 minute

With a rude word, you hurl the rotted corpse of a rat and foul the air of an existing air envelope within range. The air quality of the envelope decreases by one step. The spell has no effect if the air quality is deadly, or the envelope is already under affected by foul air.

Navigate

Divination Cantrip | Bard, Druid, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 hour

You connect to the magnetic fields around you. You unerringly know which way is magnetic north and your current heading. If you are in a location without a planet, “north” is the nearest star. In addition, for the duration of the spell, always know the local time.

Patch Ship

3rd-Level Transmutation | Bard, Druid, Paladin, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous

A vessel you can see within range regains hit points equal to 4d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier. In addition, one part of the ship that has been damaged but not destroyed, such as a ballista, the sails, or the rudder, is repaired.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage repaired increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 3rd.

Phantom Crew

2nd-Level Transmutation | Bard, Paladin, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a small sailor doll)
Duration: 1 hour

You touch a vessel and create a phantom crewmember onboard the ship. The crewmember is Medium-sized and appears as a semi-real version of the caster wearing sailor’s garb. The crewmember performs the ship’s tasks as necessary by one of the standard crew complement but cannot replace the pilot or fire a ship’s weapon. Once summoned, it acts independently, doing whatever job is closest that does not have another crew member attending to it. As a bonus action, you can redirect the crewmember to another task related to the ship.

The crewmember has AC 13, 1 hit point, a Strength of 10, and it can’t attack. If the crewmember drops to 0 hit points, the spell ends. The crewmember cannot leave the ship, and the spell ends if it is forced to do so.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you create an additional phantom crewmember for each slot level above 2nd.

Radiant Shield

3rd-Level Abjuration | Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration up to 10 minutes

Sparkling motes of twinkling light surround your body shedding dim light for 10 feet. The motes absorb dangerous radiation sometimes found in space, providing you with your choice of resistance to radiant necrotic damage. You can end the spell early by using an action to dismiss it.

Refresh

2nd-Level Transmutation | Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (an inflated bladder that you pop)
Duration: Instantaneous

With a gesture and forceful word, you reinvigorate an existing air envelope within range. The air quality of the envelope increases by one step. If the envelope is already fresh, it remains so for 120 days. Toxins within the air are lessened and creatures within the envelope have advantage on saving throws caused by poisonous gases that were within the envelope when you cast the spell. The spell has no effect on poisonous gases added to the envelope at a later time.

Starburst

2nd-Level Evocation | Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 feet
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous

You momentarily glow with the blinding brilliance of a star. All other creatures within 10 feet of you that fail a Constitution saving throw take 3d6 radiant damage and are blinded until the end of your next turn. Creatures that succeed on the saving throw take half damage and are not blinded.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you do an additional 1d6 for each spell level about 2nd.

Summon Asteroid

6th-Level Conjuration | Druid, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 250 miles
Components: V, S, M (a diamond worth 500 gp)
Duration: Instantaneous

You conjure an asteroid within range. The asteroid is composed of ten contiguous 10-foot cubes of rock arranged as you desire. If you conjure the asteroid within range of a larger object, the asteroid assumes a stable orbit around that object. If you attempt to summon the asteroid outside of stable orbit, but within the gravity well of a larger object such that it falls into that object, the spell fails.

When created, the asteroid has no atmosphere, though it has sufficient mass to hold an air envelope if one is provided.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, you increase the size of the asteroid by ten cubes for each spell level about 6th.

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