A little chaos magic flew a Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) die high in Earth’s atmosphere.
A 20-sided die from the famous role-playing game launched high into Earth’s atmosphere on Aug. 3 for a new D&D space-themed expansion released two weeks later: Spelljammer: Adventures in Space. (opens in new tab)
The high-altitude balloon soared to 74,000 feet (14 miles or 22.5 km) before bursting in the stratosphere. You can watch the whole two-hour journey on YouTube (opens in new tab), resplendent with a 3D-printed Star Moth Spelljammer ship. (For those with young children within earshot, note that some of the video’s song lyrics may be explicit.)
“We wanted a fun, whimsical, and unexpected way to celebrate the release of a fun, whimsical, and unexpected product,” Shelly Mazzanoble, senior brand manager for D&D at Wizards of the Coast, told Space.com.
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D&D was first published in 1974 and is widely heralded as the game that launched modern tabletop gaming, while also heavily influencing the development of role-playing video games.
Players serving as dungeon masters help guide the gameplay through storytelling and world-building, and players shape their own characters through honing skills, collecting experience and engaging in collaborative problem-solving. The D20 die is used throughout the game to determine the outcome of complex actions through chance.
The new Spelljammer campaign focuses on the Astral Plane, which D&D says is “an infinitely vast celestial void where the stars and portals to the divine and demonic planes reside.” Spelljammers, or pilots, steer ships around the Astral Plane using a “spelljamming helm,” which operates through magic.
Wizards of the Coast commissioned the stratospheric balloon launch to celebrate the new game, and kept the campaign a surprise to even the most seasoned influencers. “We didn’t pre-announce our plans to send a D20 to ‘space’ — what if the mission failed? — so our community was truly surprised and delighted,” Mazzanoble said.
After the launch, Wizards of the Coast worked with Chris Funk from the indie rock band the Decemberists, along with the record label Kill Rock Stars, on a Spelljammer tribute album called “Spelljams.” The multi-artist music also forms a backdrop to the YouTube video and is meant to be played during D&D sessions.
“It’s a fantastic collection of artists who lent their talents to create original music inspired by this ‘out of this world’ setting,” Mazzanoble said.
She joked that it was a good thing the Star Moth ship flown on the balloon did not end up in the wrong spot, as the astral elves that usually fly them “don’t like it when these ships end up in the hands of others.” Her favorite part of the video, she added, was watching “the sun shining through its gorgeous wings as it makes its ascent into the atmosphere.”
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
