Session 0: Campaign Prelude Report

General Summary

RECOVERY IN REALMSPACE

  The systems of the Triad, Realmspace, Greyspace and Krynnspace, are the core of the Known Spheres.   Realmspace has recently suffered from the attacks of the Drow and Illithids, as have many other spheres (including Pirtelspace and Greatspace). For over a year, the sun of Realmspace was shrouded in darkness, providing heat but no light.   Ultimately, the Knights of the Reluctant Circle, a group of adventurers who were sworn enemies of the Drow and Illithids, along with the ships of Toril and the Dark Alliance (a group of independent Drow, Scro and Neogi slavers) managed to defeat and disperse the Drow fleet--aided by an apparent rift between the Menzobarranzan-allied attacking Drow and the Illithids, in which the Illithids withdraw their ships at a critical juncture. As part of this, the sun of Realmspace is restored by the Knights in June of 854 TU (by the Greatspace calendar, about 8 months before the start of this campaign), and the situation begins to stabilize. See Recent Events in Realmspace for more details. The Rock of Bral, a major city and spaceport on an asteroid near Toril, has long been the mercantile and diplomatic heart of spelljamming civilization, where multiple races that are in open conflict elsewhere mix for commerce and intrigue. After the Drow were driven off and the Illithids mysteriously withdrew, and the sun's light was restored, the Rock of Bral quickly returned to being a critical hub. Adventurers and merchants from across the sphere flocked there, seeking new opportunities.  

SIGNING ABOARD THE SKYRUNNER

  Among them were a handful of adventures, including Zayre, celestial priest; Windellian Circinae, an Aarakocra Scout, and Hunter of Vodoni, a Kzin warrior. Seeking their fortune, fleeing their past, or both, this group signs on as crew with Captain James Hobart of the galleon Skyrunner. Hobart, a tall, bearded, bear of a man, is looking for a crew to help him search for an ancient treasure in a distant sphere. Once under way, the ship heads toward the edge of the system, taking an unusual heading (i.e., not towards any of the known portal locations), and enters the Phlogiston. Hobart evades questions on their destination, and does all the navigation personally. A long voyage ensues, in which a couple of spheres are spotted, but not entered, as the ship navigates from river to river in the Flow. En route, the new crew begins to notice odd things, including:

• The strange, furtive ways of some of the crew, including the helmsman, Gulug (short, bald, with fat jowls and a big stomach, and green, bulging eyes).
• The imposing "first mate", Stonecrop, a huge man over seven feet tall. His face looks like something pushed it in and stepped on it. He walks stiffly, and he smells of heavy perfume. He never speaks, never sleeps, is always on watch, and follows Hobart's commands to the letter.
• Hobart has odd mood swings, seems flummoxed at times by simple requests, and enraged by small irritations or questions. He frequently disappears to his cabin for hours at a time.
• The ship itself is well armed, and well armored, but with some strange design modifications. While it looks like a typical groundling galleon, it appears to have been designed with that goal: to look like a groundling galleon. It has retractable landing gear that would allow it to land on ground, but its keel is too small to keep it upright in a stormy sea. There are spaces in the ship that are locked off and hidden by the Captain
• Considering the ship has only one helmsman, they seem to be making far too much headway. Based on previous experience, Gulug should be exhausted after 8-10 hours, but he happily sits on the helm for longer, and the ship seems to sometimes spelljam even when he is not on the helm. This should be impossible, unless there is another, hidden helm somewhere. (Perhaps that is what Hobart does in his cabin, but why the deception?)

Hobart is evasive or angry when questioned, but ultimately tells the new crew that he is cursed with lycanthropy, and is a werebear. He must retire to his cabin to manage his transformations when needed. As for their mission, he reveals that he is pursuing an ancient beholder treasure, hidden in a rogue asteroid in an system unknown to most, beyond Greatspace.  

BATTLE AND MUTINY

  While the new crew is nervous, there is little they can do deep in the Flow, under Stonecrop's watchful eyes. While navigating a river in the Flow along the edge of a sphere that Hobart says is Greatspace, they encounter a small Beholder ship. While the xenophobic Beholders are incredibly dangerous to each other, they usually leave the "lesser races" alone unless provoked, considering them beneath their notice. Unexpectedly, Hobart orders the crew to battlestations, and insists on attacking the Beholder ship. When some of the new crew object, he flies into a blind rage. The Skyrunner defeats the small beholder ship, but at significant cost--the Skyrunner takes a good deal of damage, and several crew members are killed. After the battle, Hobart (still incredibly angry, and apparently completely unaware of the risk he is taking) takes a (magical) longboat, with Stonecrop and some of the other crew, to board the Beholder wreck. As soon as he is out of sight, the new crew rebel, and order Gulug to fly the ship away. He dutifully obeys, and none of the remaining (old) crew seem to object. Fortunately, the ship finds a portal into Greatspace only a couple of days away (using the built-in Portal Locator). Once in the system, Port Shurius appears as a destination port on their Planetary Display, and the ship heads there for repairs. En route, the party questions Gulug and the others. Gulug admits he is not a mage, and the old crew has little memories of their time before signing on with Captain Hobart. For safety's sake, the new crew locks the old crew into the brig, and chooses not to explore any of the hidden areas of the ship until they are safe. Fortunately, but disturbingly, the ship continues to spelljam without a helmsman.  

RECENT EVENTS IN GREATSPACE

  See the Greatspace History timeline for a full recounting of recent events, but in general Greatspace is still recovering from the chaos of its sun being darkened and T'Laan's malicious rule. It has been two years since the sun was restored and T'Laan was driven off, but distrust and resentment still linger, and many communities are still recovering from the widespread famine that was caused. Greatspace was for many years a peaceful and prosperous, but largely isolated, sphere with only occasional visitors from other system. Now, it's civilization is being rebuilt, under the influence of external powers, including the Imperial Elven Navy and the Vodoni, as King Bruin Shambrath navigates between them. Adventurers and merchants from other spheres have flocked here as "the new frontier".  

PORT SHURIUS

  Port Shurius (on the moon Myle orbiting the capital world, Thesalys) has gone from sleepy backwater to boom town--despite the The Grey Sword pirates and a small Scro fleet harassing merchant shipping in the sphere. And individuals from across Greatspace have come to Port Shurius to seek their fortune. (And this is where we introduce any characters from Greatspace--whether you are natives, or are from elsewhere). When the Skyrunner arrives in port, they find themselves short of funds to pay for repairs. Fortunately, the new arrivals sign on new partners (Praxis, a merchant from Thesalys, Jessalena Glyphrivet, a tinker gnome from Krynn, and TBD-1138, a clockwork construct whose master was recently murdered.), who invest their hard earned loot to get the ship repaired. As we start the campaign, on the Day of Renewed Light, the 2nd anniversary of the restoration of the sun and now a holiday for new beginnings and the appreciation of life, the new allies are being briefed on the history of Hobart and the Skyrunner, and getting ready to interrogate the old crew, and explore the parts of the ship that have remained locked off.