Starstuff is an exotic material found exclusively in Fellspace, having been a foundational component in the formation of Mote and other startouched worlds, and with rare deposits found in free-flying asteroids. It is best known on the world of Mote as the source of comet and meteorite impacts, with all the destructive power that can bring. The continent of Esterfell contains rich veins of starstuff deep underground from an ancient meteorite impact that reshaped the lands. Most starstuff in the continent is found in Lenya but would require deep mining operations to access.
For the enterprising individual with a propensity for risk-taking, starstuff is a tempting resource to collect within the stretches of Fellspace. The high danger of gathering such a potent material, along with the inherent dangers of the monsters and bad actors found between the stars, is potentially offset by starstuff's great value not only as a fuel source, but as a commodity to be exchanged within the broader market of the multiverse.
Starstuff can be found wherever a comet or meteorite has impacted a world in Fellspace. The largest such historical impact in Esterfell was in the center of Lenya, at a site which became the Esterfell Sea.
Though starstuff was instrumental in forming the world of Mote and other rocky bodies in Fellspace, over time the material was buried by erosion and sediment and is difficult to obtain in large quantities on Mote's surface today, making a study of its physical and magical properties difficult. Starstuff is not plentiful in the stars of Fellspace, but larger deposits have been discovered by the Antipelan Society, which continues to explore the full capabilities of the valuable mineral.
As a strong and durable metal, starstuff is well-suited for weapons, armor, and other metalwork, if enough of it can be collected for tempering and smithing.
The primary current use of starstuff by the Antipelans is to power arcane technology that forms the foundation of their growing fleet of spelljammer vessels. Though a spelljammer ship needs only a helm to move within Wildspace, starstuff provides the ability to power magical technology such as weaponry. The development of the astral cannon was made possible through the use of starstuff channeling magic from an arcane core and its repository of spell knowledge.
In some cases, the stellar impacts that brought starstuff to a planet can create waypoints between planes.
Starstuff is shelf-stable and does not degrade or lose potency over time, unless it is exposed to a dreg antimagic field, in which case it will permanently convert to more dreg within 1d4 hours if not removed from the vicinity. This effect only occurs if the volume of dreg is equal to or greater than the volume of starstuff; for example, a Medium chuck of starstuff can only be affected in this manner by a Medium or larger chunk of dreg.
A spelljammer ship capable of collecting starstuff (such as a starfire ship with its solar scoops deployed and functional) can attempt to do so as it traverses Fellspace. For every day the spelljammer ship moves its full flying speed through a region of Fellspace determined to contain starstuff, the ship's quartermaster can make a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check. A failed check indicates no starstuff is found during that day; roll on the Failed Harvest table to determine the outcome. On a successful check, roll on the Starstuff Harvest table to determine your starstuff yield. Any collected starstuff is immediately added to the starstuff engine, unless the engine is nonfunctional.
| d6 | Outcome |
|---|---|
| 1 | Micrometeorites tear through the collector, which takes 14 (4d6) Force damage. |
| 2 | A deposit of unstable starstuff appears in the engine. This starstuff can be used to power a starstuff engine as normal, but at the start of each day, the spelljammer ship must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution Saving Throw or its air degrades from fresh to foul, as the material randomly emits noxious radiation. The ship's engineer can attempt to eject unstable starstuff from the engine as an action by succeeding on a DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) check; if this check fails, all starstuff deposits are ejected alongside the unstable deposit, depleting the engine. |
| 3-4 | Roll on the Fishing table in the Astral Adventurer's Guide (see Chapter 2: Astral Adventuring) to determine an accidental fish catch as something gets tangled in the solar scoop. |
| 5-6 | Roll or select from an Astral Encounters table in Boo's Astral Menagerie (see Introduction: Creatures A to Z) to determine a random encounter in Wildspace or the Astral Sea. |
| d8 | Yield |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | A thin layer of starstuff microparticles coats the interior of the solar scoop. The starstuff is too small to collect into the engine, but any damaged ship components regain 2d6 Hit Points as the starstuff glitter mends random breaks and tears. |
| 4-6 | A deposit of starstuff appears in the engine. |
| 7 | 1d4 − 1 deposits of starstuff appear in the engine (minimum 1). |
| 8 | A hyperdense starstuff ore deposit appears in the engine. While this deposit is in the starstuff engine, any ship actions that consume starstuff deposits cost 1 less starstuff deposit (minimum 1). If not consumed, this deposit dissipates after 1d6 days. |