Player Character Races (CSH)

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Much has been said about each of the spacefaring races, in Chapters 1 and 2 of this book and in the Concordance of Arcane Space. Rather than detailing each race again in this section, we'll talk about how the AD&D® game rules for races should be applied in a SPELLJAMMER® campaign.
Class Restrictions and Level Limits. One component of a SPELLJAMMER campaign is diversity. With thousands of worlds in hundreds of spheres, any type and level of adventurer can be found if you just look hard enough.
While this is indeed true in an idealized way, the same reasoning that recommends class restrictions and level limits in a groundling campaign is appropriate in a spacefaring setting.
In the SPELLJAMMER campaign universe, humans are not the dominant species, but they are the most abundant. If class restrictions are eliminated or level limits are raised, humans may fall into disuse as PCs.
People want to play nonhuman PCs because they provide options unavailable to humans. Multiclassed characters represent a long-term benefit; special racial abilities are a source not only of power but also of interest for the character. Since the AD&D game is intentionally humanocentric, there must be a counterbalance that keeps these more interesting races from dominating.
Creating New PC Races. Another component of diversity in a SPELLJAMMER campaign are the new races. While the number of PC races in a groundling campaign is limited, in space there is the added charm of playing a totally alien species. The rastipedes, for example, are more different from either humans or elves than the latter two are from each other.
The DM of a SPELLJAMMER campaign is encouraged to design new PC races using the rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide. While caution is called for whenever introducing any new character race, the effect need not be as severe in a spacefaring campaign as in a groundling one. If the first dracon PC seems to unbalance the campaign, don't let anyone else play one until you have fixed the problem. This is easy to rationalize, as dracons should not be so common as to find two in one adventuring party.
DMs are also encouraged to base SPELLJAMMER campaign races on those they find in science fiction and fantasy literature. In space, weirder is better. A three-eyed, three-toed, giant yellow apple-eater is easier to explain in space than on the ground.
Examine the races within this book and the other entries in the SPELLJAMMER campaign appendices for the Monstrous Compendium. Use these as a guideline for developing your own character races.