Tag: light of xaryxis

Spelljammer 1:7

NIGHTMARES

Less than 24 hours ago, your world was destroyed, and your life turned upside down. Since then, you have been informed of the bizarre history of a race of Space Elves, who kill other planets to keep their sun alive, including yours. You have discovered that there is a vast and complicated multiverse beyond your small planet, and you have been thrust unwillingly into a position where you must try to save your world and prevent other worlds from being compromised by the Space Elves. Needless to say, you are tired. As you turn in for the night, your mind and body happily shut down, and you fall into a deep sleep quickly. However, your sleep is not peaceful, and you experience strange nightmares that seem all too real.

In your nightmares, you wake up floating naked in a glass vat filled with viscous blue fluid. You notice that your companions are also floating in similar glass tubes. You instinctively try to break free, but no matter how hard you try, you cannot shatter the glass. Even the spellcasters among you seem unable to call upon their supernatural abilities. As you look around, you see a cat lying on a long rug in front of your vats, which are lined up in a single row in a large, richly decorated room. The cat opens its eyes, arches its back, and then yawns, showing its pink tongue and sharp, white teeth.

At that point, you jolt awake, fear lingering in your stomach. Daylight streams through a nearby window, indicating that it’s morning, and you realize that you’ve slept throughout the night.

GLITCHING IN PHANDALIN

You find yourself standing on the deck of The Lucille, taking in the breathtaking view of New Phandalin. The sun is shining brightly, casting its warm glow over the town. The townspeople are bustling around the town square, going about their daily business. Children are playing on a lush green field at the edge of town. Meanwhile, further out, workers are busily constructing log houses for the many new inhabitants of the frontier town.

As you gaze upon this idyllic scene, something strange happens. The colors blur and glitch before your eyes, and the world around you seems to stretch, shrink, and jump. Suddenly, you realize that New Phandalin has changed significantly. The log houses in the town center have expanded from fifty to sixty. Flowers and grass have replaced the packed dirt landscape in seconds. The muddy streets have been replaced by cobblestone pavements. The children playing in the field are gone, and instead, there is a vast cornfield. In addition, the ticky-tacky log houses have extended beyond the original town core, spreading several miles.

Gareth and Rania watched as Morkax and Arlen descended the walkways from the dock to the town. Arlen smashed in the door of one of the ticky tacky houses using his mighty wrench. Nothing happened beyond nearby workers coming to investigate the vandalism. He scolded the workers on shoddy craftsmanship then as they hurried off to get materials to repair the door, Arlen mended the door with a touch of his magical wrench.

Afterwards, they visited the lumber mill and ordered a few cords of wood for The Lucille. With that, the two returned to the ship.

At that moment, the Helmsman’s voice echoed throughout the ship, “Captain, we’re ready for departure. We should be in orbit at Toril in roughly 2 hours.” From the other end of the ship, you hear Captain Solomon’s voice shout, “Take us out!” The ship begins to shiver and hum slightly as it slowly lifts away from the docks positioned high above the town. You instinctively grip the railing for support as you prepare to set sail on the Astral Sea at dazzling speeds.

JARNATHAN AND PRISONER 13

In the frozen north of the Sword Coast on the world of Toril, there is a fortress prison called Revel’s End built to hold the most dangerous criminals of the region. One of the earliest prisoners of this prison is a dwarf named Korda Glintstone, also known as Prisoner 13. She has been in confinement for three years, and now as Magistrate Jarnathan departs The Lucille, she is escorted by armed guards onto the ship. Her destination is the brig, a special cell designed to hold powerful beings for transport.

Korda is a dwarven woman with tightly muscled body, red hair cut short, and wearing a simple white prisoner’s uniform. She has bronze skin covered in tattoos that stretch from her collarbone to her ankles. As she is led away by the guards and some of the crew members of Lucille, she surveys them with unimpressed eyes.

After a while, the guards of Revel’s End depart, and the Helmsman calls out to Solomon, “Captain, our course is plotted, and I’m ready to take Lucille out. We will be in Athasspace at the coordinates for the derelict Illthid ship in approximately 8 hours.” The Captain responds through the crew communicators from somewhere below decks, “Take us out. Alright, heroes, we’re on our way to salvage your ship!”

SALVAGE OF THE LUCENT EDICT

Eight hours later, what would be about 9 in the evening if you were on a world rather than in the Astral Sea, you feel the ship begin to slow and vibrate, indication that you’re reaching your destination. The Helmsman speaks to the crew in a disembodied voice that softly echoes through the interior of the ship: “We are arriving at the derelict ship known as the Lucent Edict. We’ll be in orbit around Athas, the homeworld of our guests.” A few seconds later, Solomon speaks through the communicators with a yawn: “Alright, heroes, it’s your time to shine. Meet me on the deck in ten.”

The Heroes of Athas boarded the Lucent Edict and slowly cleared the derelict ship room by room. They discovered several beheaded Mindflayers, killed within the last few hours by someone else who must have explored the ship. Heading down into the lower decks, the group was surprised by young Psurlon beasts that resembled spiders. These creatures are often kept as “guard dogs” by Illthid. The beasts must have escaped death by hiding, and attacked the crew due to their hunger.

After clearing the ship, Arlen discovered a Time Chest, a treasure chest that was bolted to the floor of the Lucent Edict’s lowest deck. The chest exists in all times at once: past, present, and future. Using it, items can be placed within the box and transferred through time. They were unable to open the chest until Breeze used his magical doorknob, easily opening the box.

Inside, Breeze discovered two items: a small diary and a metal scroll case. He quickly pocketed the diary, recognizing the carved symbol on the leather cover as his own personal symbol for signing documents. He handed the metal scroll case to Arlen who opened it, finding coordinates to a nearby location identified as “Tooplah’s Tower.” Arlen noticed that the document was written in his own handwriting, so he quickly stashed it without comment in his belt.

With the Mindflayer ship cleared and secure, the crew of the Lucille made ready to tow the derelict to The Rock of Bral. Solomon explained that he knew an old friend named Mirt who runs a “Spelljammer Academy” at Bral that would be able to retrofit the Lucent Edict for use by sailors other than Illithids. “He’s the only one I trust to do this,” explained Solomon. “He’s a good man, and he’ll do the work for a good price. Even run a tab for you until you can get enough gold together.”

It wasn’t long before the Lucille was soaring through the Astral Sea again, towing the Lucent Edict behind it. Solomon said that he would drop the Heroes and Prisoner 13 off at New Toril, and then continue towing the Illithid ship to the Rock of Bral.

“Deliver that prisoner to Thornton at the Miner’s Exchange. Collect the fee, but remember I get half of that. You keep the rest to put towards fixing up that ship. Arlen, Rania, and V can make use of the Second Wind and meet us at Bral in a few days. Dock in High City and look for the rest of us at the Happy Beholder.” He paused and shrugged. “See if you can’t get Commodore Krux back into the swing of things. I think he could be helpful in the fight against the Space Elves.”

“Captain,” the Helmsman called out. “At present course we will be in Realmspace and New Toril in roughly 8 hours.”

Solomon winked at you. “Get some rest, you lot.” He smiled. “You’re gonna need it.”

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NEW TORIL

Spelljammer Planet Types

New Toril is a newly colonized Earth World with only one true settlement, named New Phandalin. The world is about half the size of Toril, the planet it was named after making is a spherical Size D earth celestial body. The planet is approximately 71% land and 29% water. It is located in the Realmspace system.

The majority of the planet’s biomes are forests and jungles. New Toril was chosen for colonization for its rich mineral and timber resources.

Native species of creatures are numerous. The main humanoid inhabitants appear to be mainly Goblinoid. New Phandalin’s location was chosen in a sector of the planet that seemed to be uninhabited by these native Goblinoids.

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Light of Xaryxis 1:6

In Spelljammer episode #6, the “Heroes of Athas” raided The Second Wind intent on defeating Captain Fel Arda. Morris, the deck wizard for The Lucille, cast Invisibility on the group before Teleporting them into the Mess Hall of the Second Wind. Here they worked in unison to focus their attacks on the Tiefling Captain.

Their tactics were sound, and Fel Arda was surprised an overwhelmed. She was forced to make goo her escape by using Plane Shift, abandoning the ship to save her life. With the captain gone, the Second Wind crew surrendered. They were loyal to the Captain but none of them really liked her or her practices.

“V” declared himself acting Captain of the Second Wind, and after both the survivors and Commodore Krux were tended to, ordered Ian the Helmsman to take the ship to New Toril for delivery of the survivors to New Phandalin.

Arriving at New Phandalin, they saw that the other companion ships were already in dock. There was Elaina Sartel’s Moondancer and The Incorrigible the Gith ship captained by Daar’Vik. They saw The Lucille arrive and begin docking as The Second Wind settled into place. They would later learn that Captain Gizmod had arrived and already departed.

The process of getting the survivors from the ship to the village was a lengthy one. Luckily, the Welcoming Committee had already been through the process several times. As the survivors were escorted to their new home, the town Mayor, Wester, introduced himself and explained how the survivors would be assigned temporary housing and employment until their individual homes could be build and leased to them.

Phandalin was very much a fledgling frontier village on a frontier planet. It consisted of 40-50 log cabins resting on stone foundations. The streets were little more than muddy paths, but plans to lay stone and brick were part of the development plan for the future. For now, focus was being placed on timbering, wood refinery, and the construction of homes. Land was being sold at 1 acre for 50 gold, and both “V” and Breeze purchased a few plots for the future.

“V” made fast friends with Qelline Alderleaf, a Halfling farmer whose son, Carp, rode on The Second Wind to the village. “V” used his ability to divine that Qelline’s wife was alive and nearby. After the happy reunion, “V” asked Qelline to be a contact within the village during future visits.

The party decided to spend the night in port, resting and maybe exploring the village. They made themselves comfortable, and before splitting up they discussed their plans for tomorrow: they would go with Captain Neegan to Revel’s End Prison to drop off Ambassador Jarnathan and then assist with the transportation of Prisoner 13 back to New Phandalin. Before returning to New Phandalin, Neegan agreed to seek out and salvage the Lucid Edict, the Mindflayer Nautaloid that had been damaged by the Astral Elves over Athas. The damaged parts from the ship had been seen falling into the mountains like meteorites from Bleak Hollow.

The group would be responsible for clearing the Lucid Edict of any dangers inside. After it was secured, Neegan would tow the vessel back to The Rock of Bral for repair. “I know a guy there,” explains Neegan. “He can be of great help in retrofitting the Illithid ship if you really do decide to claim it as your own. Otherwise, he’s the only guy I can think of that I’d trust with selling something like that and not double-crossing you. His name is Mirt. He used to be a Masked Lord in Waterdeep. Now he runs a Spelljammer Academy at the Rock of Bral.”

And so the party remained in New Phandalin for the night. In the morning, they will leave for Revel’s End Prison on Toril.

As of tomorrow, they have 6 days until they need to meet their companion Captains at the Rock of Bral to discuss plans on how to act against the Xaryxian Empire.

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Light of Xaryxis 1:5

Last session, in Spelljammer part 5, the party boarded Captain Solomon Neegan’s ship “The Lucille.” They were introduced to the eclectic crew, assigned cabins, and waited for all the other ships to set sail. Afterwards, they prepped to head for Phandalin on New Toril when the Helmsman called out that the Halfing ship “The Unexpected Party” was hailing them in distress. They had 300 survivors from Rockholm aboard but were being besieged by Astral Blights.
Solomon told the Heroes of Athas to make a call whether to assist Captain Onyx and the Unexpected Party. They opted to help, and so The Lucille turned broadsides to board the Halfling ship.
The heroes defeated the Astral Blights and only one Halfling crewman was killed. With the ship and 300 survivors now safe, Captain Onyx agreed to take them for refuge to New Toril. Soon, the Halfling ship soared off into the Astral Sea.
Captain Solomon called for the Helmsman head for New Toril. The ship shot out into the Astral Sea momentarily, but slowed as something began to approach the ship. It was a dragon!
The dragon introduced itself, explaining that it was a Time Dragon. It placed a chest on the deck. It explained that Time Dragons exist in all time and space at once, so it had met them in the future and it was “happy to meet them again for the first time!” The box, the dragon explained, was sent to them from “future them” because when they explored Doomspace (in the future) something terrible occured and half of them were killed. The dragon delivered the box as a fulfillment of a boon, as their future selves had saved it and its wyrmlings.
The heroes found magic items in the box. These items will help them in their endeavors until later when apparently they will need to send the box back with the dragon … again. Oddly though, whenever they interacted with the items from the future, the Warforged Druid noticed that the others would flicker and “glitch” momentarily, possibly due to bending and altering the timeline through the intervention of the Time Dragon.
Using a Sigil Mimir included in the box, they discovered bits of information. One interesting tidbit was that in the future they were unaware (until it was too late) that Fel Arda made a deal with Neogi Traders to sell the survivors rather than transporting them to Phandalin.
Armed with this information, they decided to intervene and attack Fel Arda’s ship,the Second Wind.
They strategized with a powerful wizard in Neegan’s crew named Morris. Morris has knowledge of The Second Wind having served temporarily on it when it was still under the ownership of Commander Krux, a Giff Pirate.
The heroes devised a plan to teleport on to the Second Wind, neutralize Fel Arda, and rescue the survivors before they are sold into slavery.

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Light of Xaryxis 1:4

Astral Seeds fall on Athas

Zin recovered from his coma as the Obsidian Shard in his pocket absorbed the Power Word: Kill spell and then crumbled to dust.

The adventurers decided to flee to Bleak Hollow, recalling that “The Moondancer” was in port recently. At the same time, three more adventurers arrived, having been sent to Eldagast by the Blacksmith: Arlen Strangeways, City Watch Sergeant Koval, and Lady Rayna Mithrow.

Phrred became distraught and essentially gave up, collapsing to sit down near the Blacksmith shop. Koval proved to be rather unhelpful, mocking Phrred and suggesting he turn into a blob so Koval can carry him around in a bucket. This only adds to the Plasmoid’s dispair making him completely despondent.

As Khale, Cadramar, and Strangeways, and the Helper Bot loaded the wagon with Khale’s hoarded provisions, the others realized that something terrible was happening at the Mandolin Inn.

The TWO SPIES (Elanod and Rehmand) finally made their move, slaying the remaining survivors of the Starwood as ordered by Prince Xeleth who had used his authority to assign them to his sister’s ship. Rehmand fled after the survivors were killed but Elanod remained, determined to murder Princess Xendalli to gain favor from Prince Xeleth.

However, the arrival of the adventurers interrupted Elanod and he fled to the roof where he was confronted by Breeze and Zin. Rayna shot the assassin in the leg, and a well placed shot from Strangeways’s hand cannon killed the assassin. They realized that one of the Astral Elves was missing, but they didn’t have time to look for him. They loaded up the wagons and rode towards Bleak Hollow.

As they left, they saw that Phrred was single-handedly fending off a monstrous Otyugh Astral Mutate. Phrred shouted that they should flee while they could, and they left Belisarius’s horse behind in the hopes the Plasmoid might use it to escape.

 They observed that the Astral Seeds falling from the sky as intermittent intervals, embedded in the ground, sprouted vines that grew to be 50 feet around and thousands of feet high, sprouted roots that drilled deep into the ground, and then began pulsing with energy.

Astral Blight

Spider-Things crawled all over the vines, weaving webs that began making a canopy twenty feet in the sky, linking the vines together. More Otyugh Astral Mutates and Humanoid-shaped Astral Blights sprouted from the Astral Vines, seeking out and slaying any living creatures nearby.

When the Adventurers arrived in Bleak Hollow, they went to the docks to see that it was a madhouse of citizens trying to load on to the three remaining ships in port. The city was in ruins, citizens lay dead throughout the streets, monsters rampaged in hoards slaying everyone in sight, and Traevus and his Markano thugs were on the docks pummeling people for sheer cruel delight.

Belisarius used Command to make Traevus and his thugs rescue a group of trapped citizens from a nearby collapsed building.

The the party fled to the former Watchtower, now a lighthouse, and Belisarius continued to use the Ring of Shooting Stars to call for help from “The Moondancer.”

The Moondancer!

Soon the Spelljamming galleon arrived and rescued the adventurers. There were about 150 Bleak Hollow citizens on board along with the cargo of 12 donkeys and a prize winning dairy cow named Daisy which needed delivering to the frontier town of Phandolin on a planet called “New Toril.” 

Captain Sartell

They met Captain Elaina Sartell and her Spelljamming Helmsman, Flapjack the Flumph. They rode on “The Moondancer” into Wildspace and met with several other Spelljamming ships that had just escaped from Athas as well: “The Lucille” captained by Solomon Neegan, “The Incorrigible” captained by Daar’Vik a Gith pirate, “The Last Breath” captained by a vampire named Gizmod, and “The Second Wind” captained by a Tiefling named Fel Arda. 

Captain Fel Arda

As the crews of the ships were helping survivors from Athas reunite with their families, Breeze was below decks helping the Bleak Hollow survivors settle into the cargo decks, get food and water, and recover from shock. He spied the Astral Elf named Rehmand trying to blend in with the refugees. Breeze captured the assassin and had Arlan take the Elf to the brig where he was interrogated in front of Xendalli.

Again, Sargent Koval proved to be unhelpful and subversive, taunting Xendalli throughout the interrogation.

The adventurers, the Captains, and Princess Xendalli talked about what to do with the refugees and how to best travel to Xaryxispace to seek audience with the Astral Elf King. Xendalli is convinced that if they gather enough witnesses to testify against her brother, the King will agree to stop the Light of Xaryxis from devouring Athas and its galaxy.

They all agreed that taking the refugees to New Toril and the frontier town of Phandolin, then the individual ships will make their contracted deliveries and meet back up at THE ROCK OF BRAL in a galactic week (7 days) but sooner if possible.

Solomon needs to get Ambassador Jarnathan back to Revel’s End Prison on Toril.

Daar’Vik wishes to report to the Gith Lich Queen to report the war crime committed by Prince Xeleth. 

Fel Arda agrees to transport her refugees to Phandolin but says she’s not interested in helping in this mess unless they want to hire her as a mercenary at an expensive fee. She is transporting a cache of Healing Potions to the Black network from the Cacuzzo Crime Family.

Xendalli promises that if the adventurers help her lay claim to the Xaryxian throne, she will do everything in her power to prevent further harm to Athaspace and ensure the Light of Xaryxis device is never misused ever again.

Princess Xendalli and First Mate Phrred

  

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Map of Xaryxispace

Xaryxispace is a small star system in wildspace that was home to the Xaryxian Empire of Astral Elves.

The system consisted of the star Xaryxis and three natural satellites, the planets Rivus, Vaerduran, and Xaryndar.

Also situated within the system was the elf-made Imperial Citadel of the Xaryxian elves. The citadel siphoned power from the star Xaryxis directly, by means of a beam of light. However, siphoning energy from the star required the empire to destroy other worlds by siphoning energy from planets and stars to repower Xaryxis in a neverending cycle.

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Light of Xaryxis (So Far!)

Episode Zero: “Bleak Hollow: – Bleak Hollow is the home of all the adventurers in this campaign. They came to live in the city for different reasons, but overall its because they want to live somewhere that the rest of the world doesn’t seem to give any mind to at all. The city is a sea port surrounded by a treacherous mountain range. Bleak Hollow got its name from the Bleak Family who originally settled the area and struck gold in a prosperous mining endeavor. Folk flocked to the city which would become “Bleak Hollow” and over time it become a booming town with flourishing mining, timber, fishing, and shipwright industries. But all good things must come to an end, and after several years the mines were depleted and the timber succumbed to a blight, causing both companies to ultimately shut down. After a time, the King lost interest in the declining city, and withdrew his attention and his garrison from Bleak Hollow. He selected five affluent families and named them nobles, granting titles and land. Now Bleak Hollow is a trade hub for seafood, but it is also a secret hub for Spelljammers. The Black Network started it all, seeing the opportunity to benefit from the city’s misfortune. They installed two Crime Families, the Cacuzzos and the Markanos, creating a network for smuggling, labor trafficking, and criminal enterprise. Before long, the Black Network Spelljamming ship called Damnation’s Pride, captained by the notorious pirate Thadeus “The Turncoat” Thundercloud was a regular fixture in port, moving Black Network packages in and out of the city. Word spread, and Spelljammers started frequenting the isolated port, providing much needed supplies to the Merchants of the city, and carrying out transportation for exports not only to cities on Athas but also to planets beyond Black Hollow’s very solar system. 

Episode One: “Eldagast Heist” – The adventurers were hired by Halla, a Cacuzzo Mafia Princess, to steal a cache of healing potions from Eldagast, a nearby village. They found the village abandoned, and would later discover that Princess Xendalli contacted them and they fled to the Feywild using a magical portal opened by the village Star Priest. They found a star chart of the Athas galaxy, one depicting it without a planetary alignment and the other with a planetary alignment. They also found an idol of Corellon Larethian, god of the Elves,  depicted as an Astral Elf pointing to the heavens. They trapped a gang of Markano thugs in a warehouse, killed them, and returned successfully with the Healing Potions for Halla. While in the village, Zin looted two Ancient Elven Longswords from one of the homes. The adventurers could hear the sound of rushing water, but were unable to determine its source. Nirvana was the closest to solving the puzzle, but did not pursue it enough. The Elven Village has a bound Water Elemental that protects the city and lends its innate energy to maintain the magical effects on the structures that prevent them from age and damage. The sound of water was the Elemental attempting to communicate in Aquan.  

Episode Two: “The Search for Sky Metal” – The adventurers were hired by the Bleak Hollow Blacksmith to head into the Eastern Mountains to recover “sky metal” from the comet that was seen falling from the sky and impacting high in the mountains early this morning. Instead of the remains of a comet, they discovered wreckage from a Illithid Nautiloid including an ioun stone, a Lifejammer Helm, chunks of Plating from the hull that resembled aragonite shells, and several shards of obsidian. While investigating the Lifejammer Helm, they saw Illithid Tadpoles ( green worms) swarming on it. They wisely used magic to kill the tadpoles. They witnessed a second comet crash nearby and discovered it was an Illithid Escape Pod. They killed the Mind Flayer Captain and Zin looted its mask and breastplate. Zin also savaged several shards of obsidian from the interior of the escape pod. At that point, Princess Xendalli’s Elven Starmoth ship called “The Starwood” arrived quickly followed by Prince Xeleth’s Elven War-o-Mar ship called “The Dark Moth.”  The Dark Moth shot down the Starwood, and then started opening fire on the surviving Astral Elves who escaped the wreckage of their downed ship. Ten Astral Elves made it out alive along with Princess Xendalli (unconscious) and Phrred the Plasmoid First Mate. As the Dark Moth was departing, Zin shot Prince Xeleth with Magic Missiles. The Prince in turn cast Power Word: Kill on Zin, but the Obsidian Shard (now somehow formed into one shard instead of many fragments) in his pocket protected him from instant death, instead placing him in a coma. 

Episode Three: “Return to Eldagast” – The adventurers discovered that Zin was in a magical coma and that Princess Xendalli was under the effects of a 9th level enchantment called Slumber. Belisarius led the Starwood survivors towards Eldagast while Cadramar and Breeze returned to the Escape Pod crash site to properly sever the head from the killed Illithid to avoid more of its kind coming to recover its brain for addition to the Elder Brain Pool. Phrred asked for two volunteers to accompany the adventurers to the site, and the TWO SPIES (Elanod and Rehmand) loyal to Prince Xeleth quickly volunteered. Breeze found a magical doorknob in the wreckage and Cadramar collected several more Obsidian Shards (which would reform into a single shard by Episode Four) which were placed into his Bag of Holding. the TWO SPIES decided not to slay the two adventurers because overall it would not help their cause. The four of them headed towards Eldagast one horseback pulling the TWO SPIES on a sled that Cadramar had built out of materials salvaged from the Illithid Escape Pod. They met up with Belisarius and the rest of the group on the road as the noble had called for a rest to eat and refresh. At this point, Khale met up with the group and explained that he had been living in Eldagast the last few weeks. He talked about how the Markano Crime Family and a newly promoted crime boss named Traevus has claimed Eldagast as their turf and literally stole everything of value from the village. However, Khale managed to negotiate with them to leave one residence, the Bakery, and the Blacksmith shop untouched for his use. They returned to Eldagast where the Starwood survivors lodged in the Mandolin Inn to rest and recover. While Khale served the group a feast he had prepared, Phrred explained the dastardly plot involving the Xaryxisian Elves (Astral Elves) and the Light of Xaryxis, a powerful artifact controlled by the Astral King that siphon the life energy from a planet to revive their solar system’s dying sun. Phrred explained that Prince Xeleth has betrayed his sister Princess Xendalli in a cruel bid to depose her and become the heir to the Xaryxisian throne as the Astral Elf King is nearly the end of his life. The Plasmoid explained that Prince Xeleth will utilize the Astral Elven Armada to surround the planets, moons, and sun in this galaxy (he called the galaxy “Athas”) to seed them with Astral Seeds. The seeds are living creatures made of a rare crystal harvested from the surface of the Xaryxis sun that will germinate into huge vines that encase the planet and begin to leech away life force and arcane energy until the planet is a dry husk. The process takes one standard galactic month (28 days) to complete then the vines with discharge the siphoned energy in one powerful blast of light back to the Light of Xaryxis device, recharging their dying Xaryxis sun for a short time. Phrred knows that Princess Xendalli was trying to gather information about Athas to convince her father, the King, that Prince Xeleth was lying about Athas being a proper candidate for harvest, but that seems impossible now as the Starwood has been destroyed and they are stranded on Athas. Phrred says that he needs to get the Princess off this planet before it is seeded and escape becomes impossible. Escape must happen in a standard galactic day (24 hours.) He uses a Ring of Shooting Stars to send a distress signal to Captain Sartell of the Spelljammer ship “The Moondancer.” She will respond to the beacon and come to pick them up for escape off the planet. He suggests that the adventurers join him. However, as they all step outside they see that Astral Seeds are already falling from space. “The prince started early,” Phrred moaned in despair. “We’re doomed. We’re all doomed!” 

Episode Four: “Seeds of Destruction” – Zin recovered from his coma as the Obsidian Shard in his pocket absorbed the Power Word: Kill spell and then crumbled to dust. The adventurers decide to flee to Bleak Hollow, recalling that “The Moondancer” was in port recently. At the same time, three more adventurers arrive, having been sent to Eldagast by the Blacksmith: Arlen Strangeways, Koval, and Rayna Mithrow. Phrred becomes distraught and essentially gives up, collapsing to sit down near the Blacksmith shop. Koval proves to be rather unhelpful, mocking Phrred and suggesting he turn into a blob so Koval can carry him around in a bucket. His only adds to the Plasmoid’s dispair making him completely despondent. As Khale, Cadramar, and Strangeways Helper Bot loaded the wagon with Khale’s hoarded provisions, the others realized that something terrible was happening at the Mandolin Inn. The TWO SPIES (Elanod and Rehmand) finally made their move, slaying the remaining survivors of the Starwood as ordered by Prince Xeleth who had used his authority to assign them to his sister’s ship. Rehmand fled after the survivors were killed but Elanod remained, determined to murder Princess Xendalli to gain favor from Prince Xeleth. However, the arrival of the adventurers interrupted him and he fled to the roof where he was confronted by Breeze and Zin. Rayna shot the assassin in the leg, and a well placed shot from Strangeways hand cannon killed the assassin. They realized that one of the Astral Elves was missing, but they didn’t have time to look for him. They loaded up the wagons and rode towards Bleak Hollow. As they left, they saw that Phrred was single0handedly fending off a monstrous Otyugh Astral Mutate. Phrred shouted that they should flee while they could, and they left Belisarius’s horse behind in the hopes the Plasmoid might use it to escape. They observed that the Astral Seeds feel from the sky as intermittent intervals, embedded in the ground, sprouted vines that grew to be 50 feet around and thousands of feet high, sprouted roots that drilled deep into the ground, and then began pulsing with energy. Spider-Things crawled all over the vines, weaving webs that began making a canopy twenty feet in the sky, linking the vines together. More Otyugh Astral Mutates and Humanoid-shaped Astral Blights sprouted from the Astral Vines, seeking out and slaying any living creatures nearby. When the Adventurers arrived in Bleak Hollow, they went to the docks to see that it was a madhouse of citizens trying to load on to the three remaining ships in port. The city was in ruins, citizens lay dead throughout the streets, monsters rampaged in hoards slaying everyone in sight, and Traevus and his Markano thugs were on the docks pummeling people for sheer cruel delight. Belisarius used Command to make Traevus and his thugs rescue a group of trapped citizens from a nearby collapsed building. They fled to the former Watchtower, now a lighthouse, and Belisarius continued to use the Ring of Shooting Stars to call for help from “The Moondancer.” Soon the Spelljamming galleon arrived and rescued the adventurers. There were about 150 bleak Hollow citizens on board along with the cargo of 12 donkeys and a prize winning dairy cow named Daisy which needed delivering to the frontier town of Phandolin on a planet called “New Toril.” They met Captain Elaina Sartell and her Spelljamming Helmsman, Flapjack the Flumph. They rode on “The Moondancer” into Wildspace and met with several other Spelljamming ships that had just escaped from Athas as well: “The Lucille” captained by Solomon Neegan, “The Incorrigible” captained by Daar’Vik a Gith pirate, “The Last Breath” captained by a vampire named Gizmod, and “The Second Wind” captained by a Tiefling named Fel Arda. As the crews of the ships were helping survivors from Athas reunite with their families, the adventurers and the Captains has a meeting. They all observed that the all the celestial bodies (the two planets, their two moons, and its sun) were all being encased by the orange crystal vines which were growing into spheres that encapsulated the entire individual celestial body. The adventurers, the Captains, and Princess Xendalli talked about what to do with the refugees and how to best travel to Xaryxispace to seek audience with the Astral Elf King. Xendalli is convinced that if they gather enough witnesses to testify against her brother, the King will agree to stop the Light of Xaryxis from devouring Athas and its galaxy. They all agreed that taking the refugees to New Toril and the frontier town of Phandolin, then the individual ships will make their contracted deliveries and meet back up at THE ROCK OF BRAL in a galactic week (7 days) but sooner if possible. Solomon needs to get Jarnathan back to Revel’s End Prison on Toril. Daar’Vik wishes to report to the Gith Lich Queen to report the war crime committed by Prince Xeleth. Fel Arda agrees to transport her refugees to Phandolin but says she’s not interested in helping in this mess unless they want to hire her as a mercenary at an expensive fee. She is transporting a cache of Healing Potions to the Black network from the Cacuzzo Crime Family.  

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Light of Xaryxis 1:3

“Return to Eldagast”

Active Characters this session:

  • Cadramar (4th level Human Arcanist)
  • Breeze (4th level Tabaxi Rogue)
  • Khale (2nd level Human Barbarian/Cleric)
  • Belisarius (4th level Human Paladin)
  • Karn (2nd level Warforged Druid)

Last time, our intrepid adventurers were hired by Bleak Hollow’s Blacksmith to accompany a young noble into the mountains in search of Sky Metal. To their dismay, they did not discover a smoldering comet in the craggy cliffs East of the city but instead the wreckage of some kind of odd craft.

They encountered a Mind Flayer and witnessed the attempted assassination of an Elven Princess. Now they are making their way through the mountains towards the abandoned village of Eldagast with the survivors of Princess Xendalli’s skyship crew.

Part One

AFTERMATH

The adventurers assisted the survivors of the wrecked Star Moth. Eight Astral Elves made it out along with Phrred the Plasmoid and Princess Xendalli. All ten seemed to be in good enough health save for the Princess who remained unconscious despite the application of a healing potion.

Belisarius stood nearby, quiet and resigned. He had practiced the part of a noble for many years. Remain quiet, observe, but appear to be in charge. 

Breeze called out to Cadramar, pointing to the unmoving form of Zin. The small Kobold Sorcerer lay on the ground, unconscious. Cadramar provided first aid, discovering that he had no discernable injuries. Therefore, he cast Detect Magic and soon reasoned that the Kobold was under the effects of a powerful enchantment spell similar to Power Word Kill. However, the spell seemed to be clinging to the Kobold, keeping him unconscious and dying but not slaying him outright. It was as if the spell itself was alive and clinging to Kobold like a parasite.

Belisarius used a fraction of his divine power to heal Zin. The warm energy passed through the Paladin into the Sorcerer, stabilizing him. However, the Kobold remained unconscious with the dread spell intact.

Inspection of Princess Xendalli led Cadramar to deduce the same: she was under the effects of a powerful spell called Imprisonment, causing her to remain in an enchanted slumber. Again, the spell seemed to cling to her as if it were alive.

Phrred suggested that both were under the influence of Xendalli’s brother, Prince Xeleth. He explained that the Elf was a powerful spellcaster and master of the arcane arts.

One of the Astral Elves reminded Phrred that the crashed Star Moth would be automatically beginning the “Scuttle Protocol” and that they should seek cover quickly. Phrred explained hurriedly that the ship would explode to eradicate its remains and avoid looting. They had only moments and should flee.

And so they put as much distance between the crash site and themselves as possible. The adventurers used horses while the Astral Elves fled on foot. Breeze quickly placed Zin on the back of one of the pack horses while two Elves carried the Princess. When the ship exploded they were far enough away to be safe but still were pelted with debris. The explosion shattered the mountainside shearing off a huge swath that connected the two impact sites by a smoldering cavity.

What none of them noticed was a single skulking form on the top of the mountain high above observing them. Kharn, a Warforged Druid, was still attempting to discern if these strangers were friend or foe. He decided to remain hidden and follow them.

Cadramar lamented aloud that he wished they had been able to tow back the Illithid Escape Pod to the Blacksmith for materials. One of the Astral Elves asked if the adventurers had severed the head from the Mind Flayer after killing it to break the bond between the Elder Brain and the individual. “The Mind Flayers are all linked together in a psychic web that connects them. The center of that net is the Elder Brain. If the Illithid’s head was not severed from the body, the Elder Brain will know where it is and send more of its kind to retrieve the brain for consumption.” Cadramar and Breeze exchanged glances, agreeing to return and see if the Mind Flayer’s corpse was intact after the explosion.

Phrred sent two of the Astral Elves with them as reinforcements while Belisarius led the rest of the survivors on the road toward Eldagast. The trip would take about 4 hours, so after about two hours of travel Belisarius called for a rest. He supervised the Elves making camp. While they ate the paladin regaled the survivors with stories about the history of Bleak Hollow, Eldagast, and how the Elves had recently departed mysteriously. The majority of the Astral Elves were polite and listened half-heartedly to Belisarius’s story. Phrred however was laser-focused and seemed to soak in all the information. At the end of the tale, Phrred questioned how time worked on this planet, and Belisarius did his best to explain that time was measured using sunrise, sunset, and the phases of the moons to measure intervals. Phrred worked out the concept that one rotation of the sun was essentially a day.

At about that time, Breeze, Cadramar, and the two Astral Elves arrived at camp. The Elves were riding on a sled crafted by Cadramar using the salvaged circular door from the Illithid’s Escape Pod. While Cadramar and the Elves positioned Zin and Princess Xendalli on the sled for more secure transport, Breeze explained that they had found the Mind Flayer’s corpse, and severed the head from the body.

They broke camp and were surprised to see Khale, a Barbarian Cleric from Bleak Hollow. He had seen the explosions earlier in the morning and decided to investigate. He joined with the group and explained to them that he had been spending a lot of time in Eldagast using the Blacksmith Shop, the Bakery, and spending the nights in one of the houses. He also explained that the Cacuzzo Crime Family had been making several daily excursions into the Elf village to pick it clean of anything that was of value. “They even took the curtains and rugs,” explained Khale. “But they were kind enough to leave the three buildings I’ve been using untouched.”

The group traveled the rest of the way to Eldagast unknowingly being followed by Karn. Once the Druid realized they were headed for Eldagast, he broke away and passed through the forest rapidly, intending to make it to the abandoned Elf village before them.

Part Two

REFUGE

The group of adventurers and survivors arrived in Eldagast midmorning. They decided to use the Mandolin Inn as a base of operations to relax and recover. As they settled in, Khale excused himself to go to the Bakery to retrieve some food and supplies for everyone. Meanwhile, Breeze and Cadramar pulled the sled to the Blacksmith shop to store the materials gathered from the impact sites, unloading the pack horses so they could be ridden by someone when they set off to Bleak Hollow. They also placed Zin next to the warm forge to stay warm.

Unknown to all of them, Karn watched from the shadows. The Warforged sneaked from shadow to shadow, staying close to the buildings to observe. He ducked into the Bakery when he saw Khale approaching, deciding to speak to the Human about who they all were and what they were doing not only in Eldagast but also on the mountain.

After the initial surprise of Karn being in the Bakery, the two of them spoke briefly. Khale explained that they were adventurers from Bleak Hollow and that the group had just returned from a job directed by the city’s Blacksmith. Karn decided that the group seemed trustworthy, and agreed to accompany Khale back to the Inn.

A little later, the entire group sat down in the Inn’s common room to enjoy a meal. Khale had plenty of food on hand, and everyone seemed to enjoy the classic Elven fare. Afterwards, Phrred accompanied the adventurers to the Princess’s room to check on her. They found she was still unconscious. They discussed possible ways to help her recover, and Belisarius decided he would ride to Bleak Hollow and seek out a wizard for help in breaking the spell.

Belisarius returned an hour later, explaining that town’s wizard was not powerful enough to dispel the magic, and suggested that a wizard from Prism might be able to help. However, Prism was days away and they did not have that kind of time to address the situation.

Phrred reluctantly took the Ring of Shooting Stars from the Princess’s finger and placed it on his own. He explained that he could use it to call for help from a friend named Captain Elaina Sartell of the galleon named Moondancer. The Captain would come to their aid as quickly as possible, and be able to transport the Princess from this planet. He also suggested that they retire to a more private location to discuss the situation with Prince Xeleth and the threat to their planet. The adventurers suggested they talk in the Blacksmith shop.

Walking outside, Phrred held his hand up to the midday sky. The ring flared with a bright pink light and shot a solid beam into the air which seemed to continue long out of sight. It flared for nearly twenty seconds, and then faded.

“There,” he said glumly. “The Moondancer will be on its way.”

As they headed to the Blacksmith shop, Breeze shared how he had seen Moondancer in port recently, loading a herd of donkeys for delivery. With any luck, the ship was still close by and would be here faster than expected.

“I hope so,” sighed Phhred. “For all of our sakes.”

Part Three

THE LIGHT OF XARYXIS

The adventurers met with Phrred in the Eldagast Blacksmith’s shop to talk. He explained that he must get Princess Xendalli off this planet within one rotation of the sun. All in all, Phrred explained that the Elven star of the Xaryxis galaxy (called Xaryxispace) was burning out. Emperor Xvan, Xendalli’s and Xeleth’s Father, knew that their galaxy was at risk, and so had Artificer’s forge an artifact called The Light of Xaryxis to save its star, and likewise their galaxy.

The artifact has nourished the Xaryxian sun for millennia, serving as a wellspring for the magical power that the Astral Elves of Xaryxispace use to sustain their galaxy. However, the grim secret is that the artifact sustains the plane by destroying other worlds. The life-force to heal Xaryxis is sapped from another planet, leaving it a dry husk.

This process has continued for centuries, with Emperor Xvan sending out Heralds to search the galaxies for suitable worlds for the artifact to consume. It has become a practice that galaxies experiencing a rare planetary alignment are the ones ripe for harvesting and are sought out first by the Heralds. Each world is studied using several additional magical devices, and ultimately the Emperor makes a decision to call for the sacrifice of the chosen world.

Hundreds of years ago, Prince Xeleth was charged with leading the Heralds. He oversees the process and protocol of selecting viable worlds that meet the proper prerequisites including: no intelligent lifeforms, primitive societies, or a lack of evolving advanced species. Phrred explained that the Prince is nefarious and heartless, often approving planets that are vibrant with sacred lifeforms. It’s happened before, and its clearly happened again with your world, a planet he calls “Athas.”

Phrred went on to explain that the Princess listened to the voices of the Council who claimed that the chosen world, your world, was a poor choice as it not only contained Terrestrial Elves, but many other intelligent Species. She chose to defy the Emperor, taking with her a small crew to investigate this world for herself. What she discovered, of course, was that the world was clearly vibrant with intelligent life. She returned home, pleading with her Father to order Xeleth and the Heralds to seek another world.

“This is the part even my crew does not know,” explained Phrred. “And why I wanted to talk with you in private away from them.” He went on to explain that time was of the essence, and that Xaryxis was dying. There was no time to seek out another world. It was literally now or never, as the Light of Xaryxis works best during a complete planetary alignment and your world is going to be in full alignment within 24 hours of your planetary time. The Emperor ordered Xendalli to return to your world, called “Athas” by Phrred, and notify all Terrestrial Elves to depart the planet by whatever means available. That was three weeks ago.

“Two weeks ago,” mused Breeze. “The Elves from Eldagast disappeared and deserted this village.”

Cadramar shook his head. “How would they leave?”

Phrred shrugged. “Powerful magic. Planar Gates. Even Spelljamming ships, because your world does have a few ports that are frequents – mostly in secret – by spacefaring races.”

“The Diamond!” Khale shouted. “There was a receipt for a expensive diamond from the Miner’s Guild in the things we salvaged while searching the houses. They must have used it as a component to cast a powerful spell!”

Phrred nodded. “A valuable diamond is a spell component needed to open gates to travel to other worlds. Perhaps they returned to the Elven Home-Plane, the Feywild.”

At that moment someone started banging hard on the door of the Blacksmith’s shop. Breeze opened the door, and an Astral Elf stood at the door. He was frantic. He shouted at Phrred: “The Seeds! It’s started early! It’s beginning, sir!”

They hurried outside to see that the sky was full of falling meteors, a shower of Astral Seeds that would germinate and prepare the world for its destruction.

“It’s too late,” moaned Phrred. “The prince began the process early. We’re doomed.”

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Light of Xaryxis 1:2

Last episode, our intrepid adventurers accepted a job from Halla, an agent of the Cacuzzo Crime Family, to infiltrate the abandoned Elven village of Eldagast and steal a cache of healing potions from the alchemist’s warehouse. They were successful although they had to neutralize several agents from the rival crime family, The Markano, in the process

Two weeks have passed.

The Cacuzzo and Markano Crime Families are fueding but their skirmishes remain in the shadows.

The incident in Eldagast has been commonly referred to as “The Eldagast Heist” and none of you have been implicated although the common folk whisper that it had something to do with the Crime Families that secretly run the city.

Khale has been spending a lot of time in Eldagast, exploring the village and baking bread at the bakery.

Zin has been making his rounds throughout Bleak Hollow doing odd jobs for several of the merchants. Lately, he’s been helping the Blacksmith with menial tasks in exchange for tasty fish heads and yummy spoiled eggs.

Markax went out into the wilds to gather herbs and has not returned as of yet.

Nirhana has been busy working on a special “top secret” project for the Miner’s Guild.

Breeze has been working at the docks and spending time with the family he rents a bunk from on the regular. He has noticed two ships in port frequently in the past two weeks: The Lucille (Captain Solomon Neegan) and The Moon Dancer (Captain Elaina Sartell)

Cadramar has been working with the Merchants Guild to create Healing Potions. The city lacks a true medical doctor and has until recently relied heavily in the Elven Healing Potions made in Eldagast. With the Elves missing, the potions are gone as well

Rumor has it that the Markanos promoted a bully named Traevys to a boss position. He has been up to no good in the Rusted Dirk most every night.

Also, the Cacuzzos seem to be moving black market goods through the docks at night. A ship called “The Last Breath” comes in and departs in the wee hours of the morning. There’s no record of the ship in the Dockmaster’s logs.

Active Characters:

Breeze (2nd level Tabaxi Rogue) Cadramar (2nd level Human Arcanist) Zin (2nd level Kobold Sorcerer) Belisarius (2nd level Human Paladin)

Each of our adventurers were awakened in the early hours of the morning. The Watch Commander visited each of them, rousing them to report to The Blacksmith for an urgent job.

The Blacksmith. Artist: Creative Uncut

Once gathered, they were offered a job to head into the mountains near Bleak Hollow to seek out Sky Metal. The Blacksmith explained that only a short time ago a fiery comet fell from the sky and impacted in the mountains. He gave them directions, a horse each, and two pack horses. He described the Sky Metal as a dark black material that will look like rock but have the feel of iron.

The Blacksmith explained that Belisarius, a young Paladin would be leading the operation into the mountains. Everyone recognized Belisarius as one of the Nobles of the city. When the King abandoned Bleak Hollow years ago, he left the region in the rule of five families. They were awarded titles of nobility and property. Although Belisarius’s Father is dead, his Mother still sits on the city’s Merchant Council.

The impact site was not hard to track. It was still burning like a large bonfire as they made the journey up the craggy cliffs and through the mountains. The expedition took about 3 and a half hours, so they were arriving at about 5:30 in the twilight hours of the morning. The impact site was still burning, pouring out thick black smoke into the surrounding area.

Searching the site, they were surprised to find a strange wooden chair at the center of the impact crater. Near it lay a single strange gemstone. And all around the site were shards of a strange grey crystal and what looked to be fragments of huge sea shells. Also, they discovered that several spots were covered with a thick black liquid that smelled like lantern oil and that was what was allowing the flames to continue burning. Obviously this black fluid was some kind of combustible substance that burned like Alchemist Fire.

Searching the crater, they determined that the chair was a strange magical device that radiated colored auras for all the Schools of Magic. The chair resembled some kind of high backed throne but it had a flexible metal tube connected to the back that leaked foul-smelling purple fluid. Also, the chair was infested with two small, fast moving chartreuse worms. After the worms were killed by Zin’s magic missiles, Belisarius ordered that the chair be secured to one of the pack horses along with samples of the “sea shell material” and the strange “grey crystals.” Meanwhile, Belisarius claimed the gem and discovered it was an Ioun Stone. There seemed to be no materials that resembled “Sky Metal.”

Suddenly, the morning sky lit up again as a second comet fell from the sky, striking the mountains nearby to the Northeast. As Belisarius and Zin remained to load the pack horses, Cadramar and Breeze rushed to the new crash site!

The path was treacherous and filled with jagged rocks. It took them about a half hour to reach the new impact site. They found another smoldering crater with the same black liquid burning and filling the air with thick black smoke.

With eyes watering, they found a large structure in the crater. It was shaped like a capsule and made of the same strange hard chitinous metal as they “sea shells” from the last impact site. Cadramar mentioned that it resembled a diving bell he had seen used on a ship years ago to explore the depths. As they investigated further they saw the rear of the capsule emit a fog with a loud hiss and it began to open!

The two hide themselves on either side of the strange device and watched in horror as a Mind Flayer stumbled out of its Escape Pod. The Illithid had survived long enough on its wrecked Nautiloid to enter a pod and eject from the ship. Crashing into the surface of this strange world had injured it greatly but some effort it might still survive. The Illithid blinked its eerie white eyes and looked around, unaware of the two adventurers hiding nearby.

Breeze and Cadramar had both heard of the horrors of Illithids. Several times fellow adventurers told the tale in some smoky tavern of having encountered one of the brain-eaters in the darkest depths of the Underdark. They knew they had one chance: strike hard and fast!

Cadramar cast his Shocking Grasp, blasting the Mind Flayer with arcs of searing lighting. As the creature cried out it pain telepathically, Breeze stabbed at the thing’s chest. The rapier slid mercilessly into the Mind Flayer’s chest, spurting out the same foul-smelling purple blood that was found in the hose attached to the strange chair earlier.

Luckily, Zin and Belisarius arrived during the battle to assist the others. The Illithid was injured and outnumbered, and fell after a few moments of combat. As the others recovered from battle and addressed their wounds, Zin was busy looting the Mind Flayer taking its Mask and Breastplate.

Then, Cadramar pointed to the sky. They all saw a strange gigantic green moth floating down from the clouds. As the thing got closer they realized it was some kind of strange aircraft, a skyship made to resemble a huge green moth.

Although none of them could know it, this was a Spelljamming ship called a “Star Moth.” These warships are used solely by the Astral Elf Armada. The Star Moth is one of the most beautiful ships in existence. The hull is made from an unknown organic substance, but whatever it is, the Astral Elves aren’t telling. It also has enormous wings of shimmer crystal extending out from the battle deck. It also has a large, curved nose-like structure in the front.

The Star Moth flittered slowly to the ground, stopping to hover about ten feet above the group. They could see that the “eyes” of the ship were portholes from which several light skinned Elves peered out. Above on the “head” of the Moth it was clear several other Elves were moving around on a deck. They watched as two huge Ballista were being readied to sight in on them to defend the ship. The bolts of the huge crossbows were the size of a man, clearly designed to be used as siege equipment against other skyships.

As they watched, they saw a young female Elf wearing gold and red armor moved to stand at the deck’s railing to look down at them. Her straw colored hair tussled in the wind. A featureless blue skinned humanoid stepped up to stand next to her. A huge sword was strapped on his back.

When she spoke, he voice was amplified and filled the air around the adventurers. “I am Princess Xendalli of the Xaryxisian Elven Armada. We come in peace! We wish to reclaim that Illithid and its escape pod for transport off your world. Please surrender now. Lay down your weapons!”

Zin was the first to react to the shocking situation. He shouted in Draconian that he was “Zin, King of the Kobolds” and they they should surrender to him. Fortunately, the She-Elf did not respond to this, and instead Cadramar began to negotiate a peace between them. As a result, the Elf said that she would send down her First Mate. They watched as they blue man descended from the ship on a platform secured to a huge anchor that crashed solidly to the ground nearby.

As the Blue Man, a Plasmoid, touched down to solid earth, he approached Cadramar in a friendly manner, introducing himself as “Phhred” (pronounced “Fred”) the Princess’s First Mate. As he walked closer to Cadramar, he extended his hand and transmorphed into a nearly exact duplicate of the old Arcanist. The only difference was that subtle details were missing or incorrect. It was Phhred’s attempt to set the adventurers at ease by assuming the appearance of another “Groundling Human.”

As this transpired, they saw that a second Star Moth was approaching rapidly from behind the first one. However, it did not slow. as it neared it opened fire on the other Star Moth. The large, curved nose-like structure in the front began to glow with a green light, firing off dozens of missiles that resembled Magic Missiles but much larger. It also fired its two huge ballista and its rear mounted mangonel catapult. Under the assault, the Princess’s ship crumbled, slowly crashing to the ground.

Phhred shouted in alarm, his shapechange form falling away slightly to resemble a caricature version of Cadramar with huge eyes and a wide mouth. The adventurers scattered, taking cover where they could as the huge Star Moth crumbled and crashed into the impact crater. Explosion erupted as weaponry on the ship ignited from the gouts of flame erupting from the wrecked ship. Elves screamed out in pain and terror as several died instantly during the crash. Several others poured from the twisted wreckage, stumbling alone or dragging their companions with them. only the rear deck remained intact, and it was already ablaze.

Cadramar saw two Elves on the ruined Star Moth’s rear deck, desperately trying to rally to fire the mangonel. He moved fast, climbed through the wreckage to assist in returning fire. Belisarius continued to hide behind a large jutting rock, but Zin and Breeze rushed forward to help the injured Elves escape the wreckage. They saw two heavily armored Elves emerge from the flames dragging the unconscious body of Princess Xendalli. Breeze quickly offered a healing potion to one of the Elves who muttered a thank you, and poured it into the lips of the Princess. She remained unconscious but several of her wounds healed before their eyes thanks to the magical concoction.

A loud, commanding male voice rose up over the chaos. “This is Prince Xeleth, Imperial Commander of the Xaryxisian Elven Armada and Captain of the Dark Moth. You will surrender and lay down your weapons immediately or we will open fire.” Seconds later, not waiting for the survivors and adventurers to respond to the issued demands, the second Star Moth opened fire. Large missiles of magical energy flew unerringly striking several Elven Survivors, as well as, the wreckage of the other ship. Clearly, the Dark Moth was targeting the Elves, not the adventurers!

At this point, Cadramar and the Mangonel Elf Crew fired at the Dark Moth. The large stone flew untrue, arching too high to hit the hovering ship. At the same time, Zin pointed at the form of a tall man dressed in red and gold armor standing on the front deck of the ship. The Kobold sorcerer spoke the words and three magic missiles shot from his fingers. The three darts of energy exploded on the man’s chest, rocking him back on his heels. At the same moment, the Dark Moth’s wings began to shimmer, and the ship zoomed away into the sky out of sight. The last thing they saw was the finger of Prince Xeleth pointing accusingly at the Kobold.

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Light of Xaryxis 1:1

The adventurers were hired by Halla, a Cacuzzo Mafia Princess, to steal a cache of healing potions from Eldagast, a nearby village. They found the village abandoned, and would later discover that Princess Xendalli contacted them and they fled to the Feywild using a magical portal opened by the village Star Priest. They found a star chart of the Athas galaxy, one depicting it without a planetary alignment and the other with a planetary alignment. They also found an idol of Corellon Larethian, god of the Elves,  depicted as an Astral Elf pointing to the heavens. They trapped a gang of Markano thugs in a warehouse, killed them, and returned successfully with the Healing Potions for Halla. While in the village, Zin looted two Ancient Elven Longswords from one of the homes. The adventurers could hear the sound of rushing water, but were unable to determine its source. Nirvana was the closest to solving the puzzle, but did not pursue it enough. The Elven Village has a bound Water Elemental that protects the city and lends its innate energy to maintain the magical effects on the structures that prevent them from age and damage. The sound of water was the Elemental attempting to communicate in Aquan.  

The following is a list of goods gathered mainly from the Larder Warehouse.

Trade Goods Pilfered

2 sacks of brewing grains, 2 kegs of Elven Mead, 1 draft horse, 1 wagon (Markano markings), 2 one pound bags wheat, 10 one pound bags flour, 4 one pound cakes of salt, 3 one pound boxes of fresh ginger, 5 one pound casks of pepper, 5 one pound casks of cinnamon, 2 one pound bag of cloves, 3 medium crates of salted fish, 6 medium crates of dried fruits, 4 one pound bags of walnuts, 1 large crate containing 36 days rations, 6 one pound sacks of dried vegetables, 5 jars of honey, 17 loaves of bread, 16 hardtack sailor biscuits, nine wheels (hunks) of cheese, 12 bottles of fine Elven wine, 7 Large Bags of Mixed Cooking Seasonings and Spices, 1 set Alchemist supplies, 1 set Brewer’s supplies, 1 set Cook’s utensils, and 2 vials of Holy Water. Additionally, gathering all money within the structures comes to a total of 200 gold. Lastly, a small envelope containing a bill of sale dated for last month from the Mining Guild for a diamond worth 5000 gold.

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Starting Spelljammer Again

My Complete Spacefarer’s Handbook from 1992

I dusted off my 1992 TSR Spacefarer’s Handbook and read through it again. It’s in great shape because it never got much use. By 1993, we were gaming less often and getting ready to scatter across the USA to attend college, start our families, and all that jazz

I’ve found that since WoTC bases most of their “new” books on past TSR material, I can usually dig out the old books and use them as supplements to the current storyline. For example, Ravenloft with Curse of Strahd, Age of Dragons and Dragonlance Campaign Guide for the Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and Tomb of Horrors with Tomb of Annihilation. You get the point.

So after I bought the 5th edition Spelljammer set on Amazon for a deep discount, I read through the three books. The weakest is the adventure book Light of Xaryxis, honestly. I thought everything else was good and any gaps were easily filled with either the ship material from the 5e Salt Marsh book or charts from the TSR Spelljammer books.

So like the Spacefarer’s guide says, you have two ways to start a Spelljammer campaign: on the ground or in space. Most modules start on the ground but use campy ways to get the characters into space quickly. I remember Dungeon magazine having an adventure where a ship crashes and they investigate it, discovering secrets about Spelljamming. There was another where nautical Dwarves hire them as deck hands and suddenly sail off into space. And one particular SPELLJAMMER module just had the characters in the city square when an anchor drops from the sky to clunk down in front of them. Cheesy but it works cuz cheese tastes good.

In Light of Xaryxis, the cheese is weak. Without spoilers, basically a bad thing happens in town and a pirate captain says: “I’m going to my cool ship to escape the bad stuff, you should come along!” And so the railroad into space begins.

Ick.

And let’s not discuss “Spelljammer Academy” from DDB because although it has redeeming factors and content … No. Just no.

And so my obvious decision was to look at my players. I have a mix, thankfully, of age ranges and experience. The majority of them know NOTHING about Spelljammer other than: “Oh yeah that’s like D&D in space, right?”

So starting them off as “groundlings” who are introduced to the Spelljamming world makes sense. So there you go. We have a place to start. But the cheese is weak with Light of Xaryxis, so it was time to brainstorm ideas and solutions

I started with YouTube. Most of what I found was people bitching that 5e SPELLJAMMER was the worst product ever yada yada yada. Useless. Others were just summaries of the tasteless cheese in the book, and then a number of live play yahoos live playing for clicks. Not helpful

Then I heard that Chris Perkins had based Light of Xaryxis on the old Flash Gordon movie and serials. So I watched some Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, The new Star Trek series, a few episodes of Firefly, some Lexx, a couple Farscapes, and some classic Star Trek before I realized I was just watching TV and not creating a plan for the campaign. 😂🤣

So I read over the Light of Xaryxis overarching plot, avoiding the heinous side treks, cameo appearances, and other bits of fluff. There is a main plot there of two siblings struggling to get what they want. So I focused on that. And I started formulating my own cheese 🧀 to get the groundlings into wild space.

And if you pay attention to the blog here, you’ll see what I came up with: a starting city created with input from the players in a “shared storytelling” situation, a campaign focused on “one shot” style stories that link together like a tv show, and a hopefully logical enough progression leading up to the “bad stuff” in Light of Xaryxis.

And that’s that. That’s how Stella got her groove back. I mean, how I started a Spelljammer campaign again.

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Return of THE LUCILLE

I am planning on running a SPELLJAMMER campaign using linked One-Shots. I will be using the “Light of Xaryxis” as source material but I’ll be altering the story significantly to fit my own tastes.

In the story, I’ll be reintroducing the crew of The Lucille from our “Really Bad Eggs” storyline. I’ve got a little sneakiness up my sleeve, so the deceased pirate captain Solomon Neegan will be appearing in the story.

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