Vagabonds Campaign Recap

Campaign Prelude (Session 0: Campaign Prelude Report )

Once the Sun of Realmspace is reignited and the blockade of Toril is broken (after the Drow were driven off and the Illithids mysteriously withdrew), life starts to return to normal. 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 in Realmspace, where multiple races that are in open conflict elsewhere mix for commerce, diplomacy and intrigue. With the sun's light restored, the Rock of Bral quickly returned to being a critical hub. Adventurers and merchants from across the sphere flocked there, seeking new opportunities.
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, which is en route to a distant sphere known only by the captain. Unfortunately, Hobart turns out to be unstable, and attacks and defeats a small Beholder ship in the Phlogiston near Greatspace. When Hobart boards the wreck with his first mate Stonecrop, the rest of the crew rebel and take the ship.
Flying to Greatspace (which is still recovering from its own sun being darkened, and the evil machinations of the vampire T'Laan), the ship arrives at Port Shurius (on the moon Myle orbiting the capital world, Thesalys), where they take on new crew (including Jessalena Glyphrivet, a gnome tinkerer; Windy Clockitude, a construct with a damaged memory; BN Sue, a fierce fighter; and Praxis, a handsome and respectable trader), all of who have their own reasons for looking to leave Greatspace. They also hear many rumors about how King Bruin is trying to delicately balance the influence of the Vodoni Empire and the Imperial Elven Navy.

Adventures in Greatspace (Session 1: The Mysteries of the Skyrunner Report to Session 9: Attack of the Radiant Draconians Report )

The new group searches the hidden areas of the Skyrunner together, and interrogate the crew that was aboard when some of them first joined at Bral. They learn that the crew are polymorphed former animals, and that Hobart was apparently a beholder in disguise, and on a mission to reach something called "the Hive" in a distant sphere called Runespace. They befriend Lenny (a large golem hidden in the ship), and learn that Hobart was in debt to an Arcane named Merquat.
Striking a deal with Merquat to retain the ship for now, the party takes on additional crew, and receives Letters of Marque from the Pragmatic Order of Thought to go after pirates in Greatspace. They travel to Hecht in the outer system, en route finding the wreck of the GNS Reliant (apparently a remnant from T'Laan's time, in which the crew successfully rose up against a disguised mind flayer that was controlling the officers, but perished in the attempt). They also meet the (oddly helpful and polite) pirates called the Grey Sword in the Aegis asteroid belt.
At Hecht, they turn the wreck of the Reliant over to the Greatspace Navy, which gratefully resupplies their ship and provides them some information on pirate activity. Based on that info, they decide that they will travel between Hecht and the portal to Pirtelspace, posing as a merchantman, in the hopes of luring pirates to attack.
Before long, they are attacked by the triop Elf's Blood, captained by the notorious goblin pirate Bonebreaker. Allowing the ship to close and board, they manage to defeat the goblin crew and take the ship. During the attack, one of the goblins shouted "The clockwork man! General Gorgash will reward us!" at the sight of Windy.
On the long voyage back in-system to Port Shurius, when interrogating Bonebreaker, he claims that General Gorgash (who captains the Scro Mantis, and commands the goblinoid forces here in Greatspace overall) told the crews "some crazy priests" have put out a bounty for the capture of "a clockwork man", undamaged. Zayre befriends the goblin shaman, Zreestram, and the rest of the goblins soon adjust to their new situation, and begin to identify with the party and human crewmen who treat them quite fairly.
On arrival at Port Shurius, they decide to accept some of the goblins as new crew, including Zreestram, turn Bonebreaker and his closest thugs over to the authorities, and cut a deal with Merquat to return the Skyrunner to clear their debt, keeping the Elf's Blood (rechristened as the Surprise). They are invited to dine with the governor, Grane (who has a tragic history), along with the well-known sage Keriacus. The sage has a few disturbing rumors about Runespace to share. When returning to their ship, they are attacked by a group of dragon-men, apparently minions of a radiant dragon, who attempt to seize Windy "as a gift for their mistress".
When they later talk to the sage Keriacus again, he tells that in addition to Blacklight in Pirtelspace, there was a radiant dragon here in Greatspace that was active for centuries, by the name of Grizella (a.k.a., Magpie), but she has not been seen for over two hundred years. He also tells Windy that his design, in addition to having obvious gnomish influences, also somewhat resembles old drawings of creatures called "Clockwork Horrors", which travel in fleets of stolen Neogi ships. (Session 10: Voyage to Runespace Report )

Voyage to Runespace Session 10: Voyage to Runespace Report

After resupplying their ship and gathering some new crew, the Surprise travels to the edge of the system, where they make the jump to the Phlogiston, and follow Hobart's charts towards the mysterious Runespace. Within a few hours, they come across a Neogi deathspider which appears abandoned. Boarding the floating hulk, they find many dead, apparently the result of neogi slaves rising up against their capture. They rescue a small group of salamander-like creatures, called "Syllix", who gratefully agree to help crew the Surprise.

Adventures in Runespace

After a rough transition into Runespace, where the connection to magic seems much weaker and more variable that normal, one of the crew is revealed to be a magically-disguised Hobart. When cornered in the hold, he says his goal is to enter the Hive, and "retrieve the Queen's Eyes to unify the beholder tribes". When Hobart betrays a brief truce, the party destroys him. (Session 12: Encounters In Runespace Report )
Continuing in system, the party encounters the ghostly Paraxin Naval Ship Resolution, captained by Capt. Gregory Mathis. The captain seems confused, and the party learns that this system was once home to a star-spanning civilization, centered on the planet here in the system with the strange energy signature indicated on the planetary locator, Paraxis. The party concludes that the Resolution and its crew are likely ghosts, created by some cataclysm that destroyed the civilization. Their planetary locator also reveals that Chandos, a planet that disappeared from Realmspace about three years ago, somehow ended up in this system.
Heading in system, the ship encounters turbulence, magical disruptions, and dimensional lightning, and the crew briefly exchanges places with another ship through a dimensional veil (the HMS Avenger, proud ship of the British Navy on Colonial Mars in 1889) (Session 13: The HMS Avenger on Mars Report ).
Continuing on, they find a ship (Session 14: Boarding the Wreck of the Vlerryn Report ) that is the apparent source of a distress signal on their planetary locator, the Vlerryn. Boarding the very badly damaged ship, which appears to have been half melted in a strange way, they find dead crew, crystalline growths, and a ghost captain that tells them (believing Zayre to be his commanding officer) that "the AI entity Mozck has gone rogue, and taken over most systems on the ship. He has set a course for the Vendav Ring in the Phaeton Halo, expecting that transit through the ring would disrupt Mozck". The party speculate that perhaps the ship never made it to this Vendav Ring--or perhaps they did, and that is what damaged the ship so badly. They also recover a small shuttle (much to Jessa's joy), a robot spider (named "Spider Buddy" by Windy) and some other interesting equipment. Meanwhile, another Runestorm approaches, and once again dimensional barriers are breached and the crew of the Surprise can briefly see another strange (Flash Gordon-style) ship through the rift, firing on a huge space kraken. (Session 15: Runestorm and the Vlerryn Report )

Paraxis and the Moon

The ship continues on to Paraxis. En route, they learn that the Syllix have started to breed. After Zayre manages to again contact Captain Mathis of the Resolution, they learn a bit more about the cataclysm, which apparently involved a giant dimensional rift that swallowed the capital city of Paraxis, named Agadon. The rift also badly disrupted the entire system with dimensional rifts and Runestorms, and may have resulted from someone upsetting the delicate balance between magic and technology on which the Paraxin Empire was built. Captain Mathis asks the crew to seal the spatial rupture, and save Agadon, if it still exists.
The party lands the Surprise on Paraxis (Session 16: Voyage to Paraxis Report ) near a rough, walled town, well away from a hurricane-sized runestorm centered on what presumably was once Agadon. The inhabitants consist of metal men, mobile plants, humans, and animal men, and the town (the Freehold of Grantz) itself seems to be an odd combination of rudimentary building materials and scavenged, more high tech parts. While the townsfolk seem to have little information about their planet's history, or know much beyond their immediate surroundings, they do tell the party of the "Electric Monk" living in the nearby woods, who might be able to tell them more.
Eventually seeking out the monk, they learn he is a construct of some sort, a remnant of the ancient civilization here, though his memory has degraded over time. He confirms that the hurricane-sized runestorm they saw from orbit circles the spot where the once the capital city Agaddon sat, and that the monk believes that Agaddon may still exist, beyond the rift. He goes on to explain that there was a research station on the moon, that may still hold a "Planar Stabilization" device that can close the rift. He advises them on the dangers of visiting the moon, and suggests they take the shuttle (for which he provides parts and instructions to help repair). Unfortunately, unbeknownst to all, spider buddy carries the Mozck virus (which the ghost captain of the Vlerryn told Zayer about). The virus infects the monk, through Zayer attempts to help the monk with magical healing. The party flees (at the monk's orders), wondering what they may have unleashed here. (Session 18: Return to Grantz to prepare for the Moon! ) Returning to Grantz, Jessa and Windy repair the shuttle with help from the local mechanic Rylan, using the parts and instructions from the monk.
Flying to the (temporally-shifting) moon, the party and Rylan approach the north polar fortress in the shuttle, and are guided by a beam of light into a docking bay. (Session 19: To the Moon! Report ). Braving robots and a half-mad AI that calls itself "Martin", they follow the AIs instructions towards "the Depositorium", which is blocked by planar disruptions--slices of different dimensions, and a side effect of the planar research station.
The party navigates through several planar slices (Session 20: From the moon to the planes Report ), including an enormous jungle, a featureless black plane that appears to be the legendary "Bagworld" that Bags of Holding access, and then the whimsically-terrifying Wonderland. When they finally exit that world, they see apparent duplicates of themselves stepping back into the Hall of Doors, accompanied by someone they don't recognize: a middle-aged, balding thin man, with a large staff and a small, glowing hourglass on a chain around his neck. Beyond that, they QUICKLY navigate Dhizrend, the Kingdom of Ghouls, and find themselves finally outside the Depositorium. (Session 21: Wonderland, then Darkness Report )
Within, the party obtains a strange dimensional map, fight a strange hyperdimensional guardian, and re-engage the safeties, shutting down the planar slices, which allows them to exit safely with the device they sought. Martin allows them to leave safely, and they return to Grantz. After a rest and resupply, they fly the shuttle to the edge of the Runestorm-hurricane, barely managing to land safely as the engines start to fail

Scatterpoint

Jessa uses the Reality Comb from the planar research station to enter the storm and head towards Agaddon. Passing through a dimensional fog, they find themselves on a vast plain of dark stone under a sky smothered in low, whirling orange clouds, in which images of ghostly buildings and transportation fade in and out. They pass through a (ghostly) larger town, are attacked by very strange creatures, and meet the legendary Baba Yaga, to whom they are VERY respectful. Eventually, following the path laid out by the Reality Comb, the party passes through another foggy dimensional barrier, and find themselves elsewhere, in a vast, polluted steampunk city.
The party finds allies to help them shelter from a runestorm, and in return help them recover valuable runestones. (Session 25: Runestones and Shadowmoon Salvage Report), and are advised to seek out Terridar ShadowMoon at Twisted Fields. Reaching the settlement, they arrange a meeting with Terridar Shadowmoon, and eventually convince him that they are genuinely from "The Land Before", Paraxis. He is elated, and very willing to help them "save" Agaddon, now called Scatterpoint, because he believes the city has stagnated under the rule of the immortal Andari bureaucrats. He advises that they both need to figure out where to set off the device they retrieved from the moon, presumably at the site of the original Incident, and how to adapt it to work under the strange physical laws here. The party decides that they, with their resources and information from Paraxis, might be able to enter the Great Library, and find the information they need there.
Reaching the library, they find an army of Corrupted camped near the library, with a Malakar attempting (and failing) to break in to the Library with a pair of demons. They manage to avoid the enemies, and gain entrance to the Library with the Reality Comb. Inside, they are shown vivid recreations of the events leading up the cataclysm. Apparently, a thousand years ago both scientists and wizards believed their civilization was unstable, poised on the knife edge between science and magic--and both were intent on pushing it in the "right" direction. With this knowledge, and now knowing the original event occurred at a derelict Runetower called the Clocktower, the party descended into the Zone Underground to evade the Corrupted army.
They eventually find another ally, Prof. Lassiter, and persuade him to help the party adapt the Planar Stabilization Device from the moonbase to work under the strange physical laws here. They accept the help of Barbas, the Talus-in-old-man form, and the party sets off towards the Clock Tower (the site of the Incident), with a score of Converted under Barbas's command. Barbas and Zayer continue to talk, exchanging information on the planar powers, both current and the old (and petty) information Barbas is only too happy to share (since the Talus were apparently another faction of fiends, separate from devils or demons, that have been trapped here for a thousand years).
After successfully triggering the planar stabilization device at the Clock Tower (with lots of help from others, including Lady Umbriel), the party finds itself before a grateful divine Zurvon and Umbriel. Zurvon addresses the party, thanks them, and says "You have earned the right and the responsibility, and must now make the choice that was suspended a millennium ago. You have the choice to tip the knife edge to magic or science, and weigh your choice carefully, for it shall...". Multiple people in the party immediately interrupt Zurvan's exposition in succession, choosing "Balance", and saying that it served this world well for centuries, and it should again. Zurvan, mildy miffed at the interruption but in a generous mood under the circumstances, and clearly surprised by both the speed and the nature of the party's choice, asks them if they are sure. (Umbriel, meanwhile, seems quite pleased by the party's choice.)
The party speaks with (surprising) unanimity, and confirms their choice. Zurvon says, "So be it."
After explaining the true nature of the Phlogiston and how it relates to Runespace's history, and telling the party where a cache of treasure can be found to reward the more mercenary among them, Zurvon sends them on their way.
The party awakes to find itself inside the shuttle, where it landed just outside the Runestorm. In the distance, they can see that the great runestorm is clearing, and the spires of Agaddon/Scatterpoint are visible (though there may be a few less spires than before, as the transition back to this plane was rocky). The party decides to quickly leave before any of the millions of inhabitants find them (or worse, the Talus or Baba Yaga).

To the Hive

They fly back towards Grantz, and make a quick stop to find the rich cache of treasures that Zurvon told them about. (Session 29: The Saviors? of Scatterpoint Report ) After collecting their ship and crew (and discovering they had lost the Syllix and half the goblins, but gain Rylan). The party decides to fly directly to the Hive before investigating Chandos. The month-long journey is uneventful, except for a dramatic visit from Lady Umbriel, in which Windy learns that Grizella the radiant dragon of Greatspace pursues him as art, that other factions are interested in him as well, and that he should travel to Armon on Fairiespace, and seek out a temple to the clockwork goddess Brigh, if he wants to learn more about his dead master.
After studying Hobart's notes, they learn that the Hive is an ancient beholder artifact, containing a living weapon called the Ravager, and that it contains devices called "Queen's Eyes" that give their wielder great power (and what Hobart was apparently after).
After entering the Hive in the outskirts of the Runespace system, the party discovers a message from the Arcane, imploring any who made it this far to end the menace of the Ravager by destroying the ten lesser eyes, each of which dwells within its own domain. They soon learn that each eye has apparently developed into a sentient incarnation, over the centuries since the deaths of the Sazuar beholder nation (who built the hive).
The party destroys the incarnations of Charm person, Charm Beast, Slow Death Ray and Telekinesis. Along the way, they free the golden people from being charmed, remove the stabilizing control of the beasts, free dozen of nixies who had been transformed into slugs, introduce the King of the Ghouls (and his ghoulish minions) to a mummified beholder buffet, and recover several imprisoned dreamers.
They also discovered a vast central chamber, with immense murals telling the history of the creation of the Hive and the Ravager. They also learned that a crystalline starfish/scorpion entered the Hive, an instantiation of the Mozck AI, which took over the Vlleryrn and tried to dominate the Electric Monk. The Mozck AI is apparently trying to take over the Hive, and contending with some sort of intelligence of the Hive itself to do so.
Eventually, the Mozck AI assembles the Ravager (from the huge murals), with the party trapped inside, and leaves the asteroid to attack a Beholder fleet (who are intent on seizing the Hive, using information they earlier received, and rejected, from Hobart). The party manages to trigger the destruction of the Ravager, leaves a couple of beholder ships floating without power, and then help out the surviving victims of the Hive (including the dreamers, who were off a ship called the Windblade from a distant sphere). The party agrees to give the surviving crew their spare (minor) helm off the Surprise to use with a repaired beholder scout. In return the surviving crew of the Windblade will transport what people they can to Paraxis when the Hive eventually approaches it (in six months or so). (Session 37: The End of the Ravager Report )

Temporal Cameo

At one point during the battle, without warning, a pinch-faced, balding, thin, middle-aged man in simple robes, with a glowing hourglass on a chain around his neck, a staff in one hand, and a small sword at his belt, appears as if out of nowhere. The party recognizes him as the man you saw with the altered images of yourselves, reflected in the mirror entering Wonderland just as you were leaving it. (And Windellian recognizes him as Skippy, a member of the Knights of the Reluctant Circle, based on his conversation with Al at the bar on the Rock of Bral many months ago. The man says, "Sorry about that, this should be the right spot. Now, as you will have just seen when you tried to re-enter Greatspace...wait, a minute! Seiko damn it! (mutters, I guess I won't be able to say that for long) Again? This place totally messes with me...Ok, I was never here. Forget you ever saw me. I will see you later, at -- Seiko willing and the time streams don't rise -- the right time. Good luck. I know you will be successful…unless by being here I’ve altered the timeline…again. But I am sure it will be fine...probably...almost certainly…forget I was here." (And disappears)

Saving Chandos

With that, the party decides to head in system, planning to investigate Chandos. When they arrive, they encounter a strange ship, which some of the party recognize as a Giff Great Bombard. The Giff are hippo-people who travels the space lanes as mercenaries for hire. Most sign on to other ships, and there are only a few of these Great Bombards reputed to exist. Eventually, they meet the captain of the ship, the legendary Chaos Mage Grimbald, and his partner from Archin in Pirtelspace, Khellek. Grimbald explains the tale of how he accidentally caused Chandos to be transported here, and how he eventually replicated the incident and brought this ship here--where it has been stuck with a malfunctioning helm for 3 months.
The party retrieves the original Not There cannon from Heisenberg's workshop on the surface, after helping an orc village led by Og Mosgog, descendants of the survivors of the crash of a spelljamming ship over a century ago. At one point, Zayer casts a divination spell, where he is surprised to talk with the Spirit of Chandos, since the planet is apparently a Life World. The party reassures the distressed spirit that they will help return the world home.
Returning to the Forlorn Hope, the Jessa works with the giff to prepare the magical bombard, refusing to let Grimbald anywhere near the process, while Windy works on repairing the helm. Zayer and others distract the pouting Grimbald, while Zreestram and Khellek hit it off, finding they have much in common ("Oh, you used to be evil too? What a coincidence!"
After a few days of work, very careful calculations, and shooing Grimbald away, Jessa is ready to fire the bombard. When she does, the spell envelops the planet and both ships, and they find themselves back in Realmspace. Grimbald, Khellek and the Giff are grateful, and the ships head in tandem towards the Rock of Bral. Zayer wants to charter a ship to save the orc tribe, as he promised. Jessa is intrigued by the idea of working with the Giff for future "weapons research". Grimbald is looking forward to return home, on the plane of Deeva, which is accessed via a gate at Bral.

Activities at the Rock of Bral

Approximately 9 days before the current party arrived at Bral, the Vagabonds of Greatspace party helped Grimbald return the lost planet of Chandos back to Realmspace. (See f[ull campaign recap here](https://www.worldanvil.com/w/return-to-spelljammer-loubajuk/a/vagabonds-campaign-recap-article?preview=true).) Grimbald, Khellek and the Giff are grateful, and the ships head in tandem towards the Rock of Bral. Arriving on Bral (about a week before the current party), the Vagabonds party is surprised (and at least in Jessa's case, disgusted) by the hero's reception Grimbald gets. Apparently, Grimbald is well known on the Rock, and something of a celebrity. Grimbald is invited to the palace to meet with Prince Andru, and he invites Khellek and the Vagabond party along, introducing them as "the true heroes of Chandos".
Grimbald gives a reasonably accurate account of what happened, to Prince Andru and his advisers (including the Proconsul, and Jessa's sometimes-patron Lord Cartan, giving her a chance to reconnect with him). Andru asks a number of intelligent questions, and the Vagabonds party gets the strong impression that the Prince is not as charmed by the charismatic Grimbald as many others are.
After being feted as the heroes of the hour, the party discusses their next steps. After traveling together for months, the group decides to go their separate ways, at least for a while.

• - The group rebuffs the captain of the Scro Mantis currently docked at the Rock, the Hand of Dukgas, when he shows up demanding to know where they got the triop Surprise (which the party originally confiscated from a goblin pirate working for the Scro in Greatspace). The Scro captain leaves, but the party suspects he may cause trouble down the line.
• - After paying off the crew, the party decides to keep collective ownership of the Surprise as an investment. Since the crew works well together, the party decides to keep operating it as a trade ship.
• - They also get an invitation to join the Sons of Thesalys, a mercenary group operating out of Bral which was formed by the survivors of the fleet T'Laan sent to Greatspace to assist the Drow and Illithids. Several ships managed to overcome their Illithid controllers, or were freed when the Illithids withdrew their support of the Drow, and chose to stay in Realmspace rather than return to Greatspace. The Vagabonds decline for now.
• - Praxis (Scott F) will captain the Surprise, with BN Sue (Scott C) as his first mate. Windellian (Sean) and Hunter (Nick) also decide to stay aboard the Surprise for now. Ralgir, Baragor, Gulug and Skraal (the former animals uplifted by Captain Hobart) serve as the rest of the senior crew. Many of the crew agree to stay on, especially the goblins (who are paranoid about the Scro in port, and refuse to even leave the ship). Praxis is currently looking for valuable cargo to transport, or some other interesting and lucrative mission.
• - Zayre, who is originally from Bral, uses some of his funds to charter a ship to save the lost (but remarkably peaceful) orc tribe on Chandos, as he promised. After that, Zayre intends to write his book on the true nature of the Phlogiston, and share what he has learned with others (including Elmandar, of Elmandar’s Star Charts, who he is friends with.) He also thoroughly annoys some of the priests of the various temples on Bral, with his views on the Phlogiston.
• - Goblin Shaman Zreestrarm (a.k.a., Grandpa Goblin) decides to stay with Zayre for now, and enjoys exploring Bral and antagonizing Scro when he has the opportunity.
• - Jessa (Terry) is intrigued by the idea of working with the Giff for future "weapons research" aboard their Great Bombard ship, "The Forlorn Hope", and talks with her former patron (Lord Cartan) and the local representatives of the Trading Company (which has its main HQ on Bral) for possible contracts. She also meets Zoya Metalcure (Terry's current character) when trying to sell Elmandar copies of some of the starcharts the party made or recovered during their voyages.
• - Grimbald is looking forward to returning home, on the plane of Deeva, which is accessed via a gate at Bral. He pays off the Giff for their extended journey in Runespace--a substantial amount, at which Grimbald seems to hardly bat an eye. Khellek accompanies him back to Deeva.
• - Windy Clockitude is disappointed by the party going their separate ways. Windy is stuck on the Rock of Bral for now, trying to find out any relevant info (in case his former master traveled through Rock of Bral) and seeking passage to Fairiespace (where Lady Umbriel/Nuut told him to go, to learn more about his origins)