Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for April 28, 2026, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Callum Spellhardt (Human Sorcerer played by Parker Harmon), Hekera Nephera Mawhesk Vyk’sebekenka (Sebek-ka Fighter played by Preston Harmon), Helg Ingvar (Aasimar Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Polaris Helmsmeade (Dwarf Templar played by Peyton Harmon), and Ursay (Mongrelfolk Slayer played by Paul Potter). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The pirate captain jumped from the crow’s nest and landed a little harder than planned on the deck before leaping over the rail and bobbing up and down in the gravity plane.  One of her crew threw a line to her, and she began to haul herself back to the Diamondback.  The giff hit her with a ballista bolt while Helg cast spiritual weapon to attack the pirates still on the viper ship deck.  Polaris cut down the pirate trying to scramble back up on deck.  Meanwhile, Hekera charged up the stairs, jumped the rail, and charged through Helg’s blade barrier to cut down a pirate!  He took the deep slashes gleefully to inflict carnage himself. 

Ursay hit the pirate captain with several arrows, and she finally asked for parley.  They took her aboard and she tried to negotiate leaving with the cabin boy, Jax.  She would not really say why.  Meanwhile, Polaris took the boy aside and heard his tale.  He shared what he learned with the group about being part of the crew of half a dozen shrike ships that were captured by a combined group of Black Company pirates and very organized and militant orcs.  They killed all the crew, except for Jax who hid.  They delivered the ships to a much larger fleet of orcs, and while being towed, Jax cut the tow rope and drifted into the Phlogiston. 

The team decided to have the pirates walk the plank into the Phlogiston and then searched the vessels.  They found a chest filled with incredible wealth including platinum and gold coins of unknown origin.  The gold coins seemed stamped with scythe and mantis while the platinum bore emblems of a spiked mace and warthogs.  Aboard The Lark Ascendant shrike ship, they found a brass maker’s plate with some kind of cog or gear and anvil logo.  It was stamped AW-3SC-17-R / SHK-OP / Q3 / GF / LN-2. 

They moved all their cargo from their barge onto the other ships and cut the cargo barge free.  The party then began towing both The Lark Ascendant and The Diamondback. 

About two weeks later, a Davey, a Phlogiston-petrified body, drifted into their atmosphere.  They revied the young man, Marek, and learned he had only recently been lost in the Flow.  He was aboard a tradesman called The Coconut hauling weapons and armor out of Mount Nevermind on Krynn to the Free City of Greyhawk on Oerth.  Marek has been knocked off the ship when they were attacked by a giant scorpion that started ripping their ship apart! 

Helg talked to Marek a bit and finally deduced Marek is really a woman pretending to be a man.  Perhaps due to some ship crews’ superstition about women sailing with them.  They offered Marek a job and quarters until they could get to Krynn.

Game summary for April 14, 2026, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Callum Spellhardt (Human Sorcerer played by Parker Harmon), Hekera Nephera Mawhesk Vyk’sebekenka (Sebek-ka Fighter played by Preston Harmon), Helg Ingvar (Aasimar Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Polaris Helmsmeade (Dwarf Templar played by Peyton Harmon), and Snagyndar Blackthorn (Huldran War Master played by Casey Scruggs). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team reached the edge of the Greyspace Crystal Sphere, and Helg made some final prayers to prepare his spells going into the mystical Flow.  With 36 days to Kyrnnspace, they hoped for a peaceful journey.

About 3 days into travels, they came across a strange sight.  A gaudy tradesman ship drifted in a calm pocket of the Flow, towing a thorn-black shrikeship on a long hawser. Lanterns and pennants fluttered as if it were a dockside fair. The name Mutual Benefit was emblazoned on the tradesman, while the towed bird-like shrikeship bore the name The Lark Ascendant.

A tiny gnome in a tricorn hat bellowed through a brass trumpet: “Lot of the day! One shrikeship, gently used, lightly stabbed, absolutely authentic! No refunds! No returns! Minimal screaming! I am Frongall Gamm of Gamm and Grubb’s Reputable Reclamations! We have here one of our fine reclamations, and you there look to be just the sort in need of this beauty!”

The curious gnome dandy launched into full salesman mode: “How much for this almost new, fully armed shrikeship? I am so glad you asked! Let us start the haggle at 25,000 gp! Rumor has it the Elven Imperial Navy has been buying lots of shrikeships in several spheres. Someone friendly with them could likely turn a quick profit! Hustle up now with those coin purses! This safe eddy will collapse soon, and I cannot loiter. With your ship and helm, you could tow this beauty and make a tidy profit! It still has that new ship smell.”

Helg began haggling in earnest, urged on by the rest of the party.  He gave a very lowball offer, and the game was afoot.  They went back and forth until they seemed poised to settle on 19,500 gp.  While discussing, Polaris caught a glimpse of a young boy through the window of the shrikeship trying to remain hidden. 

A small, slender ship drifted out of the Flow—a vipership armed with numerous siege weapons, its crew standing ready at their posts. The name Diamondback was painted along its sides. It flew a square flag of solid black.

A serious woman stood upon the deck, clad in a matte-black cloak, spotless gloves, and an exquisitely crafted rapier at her belt. Her glossy black boots clicked sharply against the deck as she moved. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a tight, neat ponytail.

The ship approached their vessels, and Frongall nervously licked his lips. They suspected he recognized the ship—or what it represented. He half-heartedly asked if they cared to bid on the shrikeship.

Much to his obvious surprise, the woman answered: “I offer 40,000 gp for the shrikeship. No one boards. No inspection. Tow transfer only.”

Frongall kept glancing at the black flag and swallowing nervously.  He tried to talk the party into raising their bid, but they would not.  So, he sold the ship to the woman.  As they exchanged a small fortune, a few triangular silver coins fell out of one of the coffers and rattled around on deck.  Helg tried to engage the woman in conversation, but she was hostile and dismissive.  She kept urging them to leave and mind their own business; of course, they refused.  Eventually, Frongall and his crew left while the crew of the Diamondback secured the Lark Ascendant to their ship for towing. 

Hekera tried to get Wizzlecrank to read some minds but found the gnome mind flayer curled up in a ball in a corner of the hull rocking back and forth.  Cut off from the mind flayer hivemind, he was terrified.  He had also been rescued from being petrified in the Phlogiston several months earlier, and the return seemed to have awakened some kind of trauma.  He was able to tell Hekera he believed the boy was in danger of his life, but that was about it.

Helg cast blade barrier, which severed the tow ropes and damaged several of the enemy crew.  Battle erupted as Callum cast dark way and created a bridge of shadows crossing between their ships.  The woman ordered her crew to gut the boy on the other ship, and they rushed to obey, cruel knives in hand.  Polaris and Hekera ran down the bridge to engage.  Much to their surprise, the woman flew across to the Shooting Star‘s crow’s nest!  She then did something truly horrific.

The tangleburn bag she dropped exploded, and the alchemical fire continued to burst and spread in an incredible sticky conflagration.  It covered a huge portion of the deck and scorched Helg.  Helg cast dispel magic on the woman and flopped down on the deck rolling around trying to extinguish fire with his own body.  Snagy activated his battle tactics and prevented the enemies from gaining tactical advantage.  Meanwhile, one of the foes tripped over a rail and dangled trying to pull himself back up.

Polaris and Hekera cut through the disciplined pirates trying to get to the boy hiding in the cabin.  Callum cast a coldball and nearly blew out the windows which would have killed the kid.  Fortunately, the glass broke but did not shatter. 

The fire continued to spread, and Hekera realized it was about to explode with tremendous force.  If it blew, the ship would be blown in half!  Desperate, he hurled his massive adamantine greatsword through the Phlogiston.  It spun end over end, propelled by the crocodile man’s prodigious strength.  It slammed into the mast and broke free the yard.  The sails plummeted and fell down on the fire.  The rush of air and smothering cloth miraculously extinguished the fire!  The woman tried to fly from the nest but found Helg had dispelled her potion of flying! 

The team began to close in and debate how to get to her. 

Game summary for April 7, 2026, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Hekera Nephera Mawhesk Vyk’sebekenka (Sebek-ka Fighter played by Preston Harmon), Helg Ingvar (Aasimar Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Polaris Helmsmeade (Dwarf Templar played by Peyton Harmon), and Ursay (Mongrelfolk Slayer played by Paul Potter). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team scrambled to board the goblin ship and take the fight to them.  Ursay nimbly ran down the mast and used feather fall to drop to the deck of the ship.  He then flipped open a hatch and could see goblins in the darkness working levers and gears to cause the ship pincers to attack.  Polaris rushed across the deck and joined Ursay on the upper deck of the goblin’s scorpion scout ship.  The other hatch opened on the others side of the deck, and a lit fuse grenade came up!  It had a quick-burn fuse and exploded spraying shrapnel across the intruders.  A rumble rowdy goblin emerged and attacked Ursay and Polaris.  Soon, a goblin scallywag clambered up too.  Both these goblins were very short but unbelievably stocky, no doubt the effect of a lifetime on Armistice, the exile planet of extreme gravity.  Hekera, still enormous from quaffing a potion of enlarge person began chopping the pincers off the attacking ship!  He took a few bumps along the way, but it did not phase the massive crocodile man.  One of the pincers ripped free, bounced along the deck, and spun into the burning boards, spreading the fire!  From within, the sound of spellcasting emerged, and a horrible fog erupted over the deck doing more harm to goblins than invaders.  Helg cast create water to extinguish the growing flames!  Meanwhile, the party’s giff hippo-men marines ran from the aftcastle catapult toward the forecastle ballistae in hopes of turning them against the close enemy ship. 

Ursay fired into ship and struck a goblin, driving him back into another chamber.  He and Polaris then dropped in the ship after clearing the upper deck.  Hekera chopped off another pincer while Helg cast dispel magic and dismissed the magical choking cloud.  Down in the ship a goblin witch-doctor gave Ursay the evil eye making him more susceptible to his evil magic.  The two goblins in the entry room were slain, but a door opened and the final goblin hurled in a grenade!  The explosion damaged Polaris and Ursay, but they cut down the last defender readily. 

Searching the ship, the team found a black and red battle standard with a pair of eyes upon it.  They believed it to have religious significance but did not know the deity depicted.  It was certainly not Gruumsh as he only has one eye.  They recovered a blood-spattered star chart of Greyspace with several locations marked out.  It still had a few places encircled including Hepmonaland on Oerth.  In a closet they found a stack of severed elven heads.  The team stripped the minor helm from the ship and put it on their cargo barge for transport.  The witch-doctor carried a bizarre string of knotted leather cords with humanoid and animal teeth tied within.  Their illithid ceremorph companion, Wizzlecrank, discovered it is a form of writing the orc language and translated it as “Kill elves, collect magical weapons, find the tablet.  For the glory of Dukagsh (doo-cog-ish).”  Within an ironbound chest they discovered a small fortune in coins, a magical mace, and a coffer of strange Silver Mammoth coins, triangular money not recognized by anyone in the party. 

They then went back aboard The Shooting Star and left the damaged and helmless scorpion scout ship drifting in space after decapitating the goblins in hopes of proving they are allies of the elves if ever confronted.