Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for June 23, 2026, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game 1st Edition, 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 team decided to visit Snagy’s contact, Rhedda Boltmark to see if she had any information on the missing people.  She did not but gave them a few potential ideas and said she would ask around.  They then went to the home of one of the missing women, Hessa Varn.  They met her brother, Heath, a longshoreman and fisherman.  He told them everything he could about her, such as how she makes quilts that she gives to homeless children and repairs the clothing of their neighbors.  While they talked with him, Hekera and Ursay decided to walk the few blocks to the Forest Gate just to get an idea of the area.  They could tell the gate was very heavily guarded, and it would be particularly difficult for a person to be snatched near the gate without being noticed.  Unless the guards are in on it.  They noticed a man hiding in the shadows apparently watching the guards and making notes about them.  He had his cloak hood pulled up, and they could see embroidered cloth manacles and chains adorning his sleeves.  Ursay decided to stay and watch him while Hekera went back to the rest of the team.

After the next shift change, about four hours later, the man left and Ursay followed.  To his surprised, the man went to the Tenderloin Lodge!  He was staying in a room near the groups’ rooms.  Ursay went back to meet the group at Heath’s house.  He found them sitting around listening to Heath’s fish stories.  They decided to go and try to talk to the man and left heading to the Tenderloin Lodge.

Inside, they spoke with Pella about the man.  She said he was very quiet.  Inexplicably, she once again handed Hekera his massive warhammer and told him he should probably hang on to it or tie it to his tail.  She also handed them a key she said the man they are talking about left lying around.  Ursay went and knocked on the man’s door.  Through the door he heard the man open the window and take off running down the street.  By the time the team got outside, the man was long gone.  Ursay was unconcerned.  He sniffed the air, tasted the wind, and peered at the cobblestones.  He definitively pointed down a street and declared the man went that way.  The group heading along and came across the market.  They could see the man over by a stall looking in the general direction from which they came.  They tried to nonchalantly approach, and Ursay spoke to the man, spooking him.  He darted through the crowd tripping people and hurling them down behind him.  The ever nimble Ursay easily caught him in the crowd and put him in an arm bar.  The man screamed for help, and in the busy market, the Saiones guards closed around them in moments. 

The man and the party were all detained and questioned at the guard house one at a time.  They all gave fairly similar report of events.  After several hours, the team was fined 5 gp each for disturbing the peace and released.  The man, however, was apparently not released. 

The group returned to the Tenderloin Lodge, and Ursay agilely leapt through the man’s window and searched his room.  He found many papers and prayer book, but being illiterate had no idea what it said.  Callum and Helg read through it all and learned this man is associated with the Chain Breakers, a religious group fighting for freedom, liberation, and an end to oppression.  They found notes about the missing people and thoughts about the Upright Men being involved.  It did not take long for the realization to set in that this was one of the good guys.  Four of the five of them had told the Saiones about him making notes on all their shift changes and movements.  Could he have been charged with espionage? 

The team went back to see Rhedda and learned the man could be in serious trouble.  His day in court would be an arena battle with the prosecution, a minotaur.  They asked how to get him out of jail, and she took them to see Thessal Murvak of House Murvak.  Allegedly, she is one of the heads of the thinly veiled crime family.  They told Thessal the story of the man, their investigations for Rathun Brangus, and their need to rescue him from the arena.  She told them she would help but wanted to be present when they question him.  The team agreed, and she had them wait in the parlor.  A few hours later, she returned with the man, Jorvek Ashwill.  She revealed he was now in her custody, and the team offered to buy his release. 

Jorvek and the team talked and realized the ridiculous series of misunderstandings leading to their current situation.  He realized they were all working toward the same end, the rescue of missing people.  He told them he believes the guards are corrupt and under the sway of the Upright Men, a thieves’ guild.  Decades ago, liquor was smuggled through tunnels under the gate into The Loaded Keel, a nearby gambling den.  If liquor could be moved unseen, so could people.  Jorvek’s theory is the tunnels still exist and people are taken underground and on to who knows where. 

Thessal was delighted to hear all of this and suspected the Upright Men were involved.  Like Rathun, she would like to see proof of this (for no good reason, certainly).  The team agreed to share any evidence they find with her in exchange for her helping them get into the tunnels.  She revealed not all the Saiones are corrupted by the Upright Men.  Many are corrupted by House Murvak!  She told them the next night she would make sure those guards do not show up for work, which would make it easier to get into The Loaded Keel and down into the tunnels if a ruckus is raised.  They prepared to depart and wanted to take Jorvek with them.  Smiling, Thessal reminded them they offered to buy his freedom.  They settled on when they finish working with Rathun on this matter, she has a task for them.  They left with the rescued inquisitor of the Chain Breakers and returned to the Tenderloin Lodge. 

Game summary for June 16, 2026, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game 1st Edition, 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 team decided to explore the Athenaeum of Sargas to find clues about the tablet fragment.  They approached the beautiful building and discovered they had to be citizens, scholars, or have a letter of recommendation from a noble house to enter.  The ended up visiting House Valdurrak, which has strong affiliations with the Orders of High Sorcery.  There they met with Arch-Factor Gellus Valdurrak and were able to secure letters and hire Tessavra Valdurrak as a scribe to accompany them.  Back at the Athenaeum, they were now able to enter and began researching the upper tier books and scrolls.  They found just a few references to the tablet, but it was enough to seek deeper knowledge.  They paid the entrance fee and agreed for scribes to accompany and record each book and scroll they referenced.  On this tier they found quite a bit more information, which made them want to go to tier 3.  Unfortunately, they are unavailable to foreigners.  They got a meeting with the Keeper of the Athenaeum, Tharrek of the Third Horn, to try and convince him to let them in.  He was already aware of several of the things they had learned thanks to the documentation of the scribes.  They told him they were seeking the tablet for their business interests, and he told them it seemed something far too dangerous for profit and sale.  He politely but firmly escorted them out and revoked further access to the archives. 

The group then went to meet with Vesk at The Tenderloin Lodge.  While they waited for him, Pella was once again their server.  She shocked them all by pulling Hekera’s hammer from her pocket and telling him she had no idea how it ended up there.  They deduced the tiny kender must have some kind of bag of holding.  Soon after, Vesk arrived and told them Rathun Brangus agreed to meet with them in the morning.  They then had a meal, and Ursay tried to dance with the minotaur.  Unfortunately, he was a terrible dancer.  Or at least he was on that particular evening.  Vesk didn’t seem to mind. 

The next morning the team went to the Brangus Far-Reach Mercantile.  They first met Korrak Ironhorn, head of security.  Helg volunteered to hand over all their weapons, and they were escorted to meet with Rathun.  The minotaur struck a deal with the party.  Four of his employees have gone missing around the Forest Gate.  Only his people have gone missing, so it seems targeted by an unknown enemy.  He wants to know who.  He wants proof, a living perpetrator, and rescue anyone they can.  In return, he will uncover all he can about the tablet; if he finds nothing, he will pay them for their service.  He gave them his seal, and the team decided to go investigate.

Game summary for June 9, 2026, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game 1st Edition, 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), Snagyndar Blackthorn (Huldran War Master played by Casey Scruggs), Ursay (Mongrelfolk Slayer played by Paul Potter), and Vulkanthos (Nephilim Paladin/Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple/Eldritch Knight played by John Osborne). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team debated possible destinations and settled on Kristophan first.  They sailed into port and sent Vinnie on a mission to sell their cargo and the two towed vessels.  The group met with a contact of Snagy’s, Rhedda Boltmark, an arms dealer and fence.  They sold some items and asked her to find some gear for them.  She was also able to steer them to the Tenderloin Lodge to meet with a minotaur named Vesk who works for Brangus Far-Reach Mercantile. 

Once at the lodge, Ursay and Polaris went out carousing while the rest of the team chatted with a curious young woman named Pella.  She was their first interaction with a kender!  Soon, Vesk Orrun arrived, and the team ate and drank with him.  Snagy even shared a spirited dance while the bard played the flute!  He agreed to try and arrange a meeting with Rathun Brangus and told them to meet him back at the Lodge the next night.  He also told them about the Athenaeum of Sargas, a repository of knowledge and learning about numerous topics the minotaurs can exploit and weaponize.  Perhaps there is something about their tablet there.

In the middle of the night, Ursay returned from his carouse little worse for wear and with his coin purse intact.  Polaris returned much later.  He had experienced a much more interesting evening. 

After a night of boasting that “a proper dwarf can tell true stone from ornamental rubbish by smell alone,” Polaris discovered a squat stone marker outside a dockside drinking hall. A few locals had been complaining about “the beast at the Breakwater” that had been “eating cargo,” which Polaris interpreted as some sort of burrowing monster undermining the street.

In truth, “the beast” was dockworker slang for a badly placed freight route marker that regularly caused wagons to bottleneck, tip, or scrape cargo against a tight corner.

Polaris, righteous, drunk, and absolutely certain this was a public menace, tested the “beast” with dwarven seriousness. By morning, the loadstone marker lay in three heavy chunks, the road edge was cracked, and every cargo crew using the Third Harbor spur was arguing about which way to go.

By dawn, rumors spread that the “Third Harbor Beast” was finally slain by a mysterious stone-smasher.  Dockhands are leave little cups of cheap ale beside the rubble as offerings to the unknown hero. Unfortunately, three wrong turns later, a spice wagon blocked the Breakwater and the harbor master offered a modest reward for information about whoever “heroically vandalized a public navigation marker.”  The rumor is out the smasher is a dwarf, but so far, Polaris’ identity is safe. 

Game summary for June 2, 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), Snagyndar Blackthorn (Huldran War Master played by Casey Scruggs), and Ursay (Mongrelfolk Slayer played by Paul Potter). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

Ursay searched for secret doors while Helg cast detect magic and discovered strong conjuration magic on the warp pipe.  As they approached the pipe, the rim shimmered like heat rising from stone.  Beside it rose up a squat pedestal topped with a row of five chunky glyph-buttons: a mushroom, a flower, a star, a shell, and a crown.  Above them, painted in bright, childish letters, a rhyme curled across the stone like graffiti.  Somewhere in the painted sky, a woman’s  voice sang sweetly:  “Plumbing is simple.  Even you can do it… if you follow directions.”

They team examined the riddles and came up with a sequence to press the buttons.

The last symbol clicked into place, and the pipe answered like a living thing—one heavy swallow, followed by a violent reversal.  The pedestal’s light bar filled to the top, and the rim of the pipe flared emerald-bright.  The suction struck like a giant hand.  They were dragged through a tunnel of glossy bricks and rushing wind.  For an instant, they saw other pipes—hundreds of them—stretching like veins through a world that was not their own.  Something cold and amused brushed against their thoughts, as though someone had leaned close enough to whisper directly into their minds.

Then came the impact.  They tumbled back onto their own deck, gasping.  The ship lurched as if it had felt the pull as well.  Loose objects bounced across the planks, and something small—something bright—clattered across the deck.  A single gold coin bearing Bowser’s crest skittered to a stop near one of their boots, warm as though freshly minted.  The pipe mouth remained open for one final second. A sultry woman’s voice curled out of it like smoke: “Tell the stars my father sends his regards. I’ll be back for the rest.”

The pipe snapped shut.  The deck was left damp, and the air carried the lingering scent of hot stone and mushrooms—impossible, yet unmistakable.

The team examined the coin and decided to ask their shipboard fence, Vinnie Getz, about it.  Vinnie took the coin, held it up to the light, squinted at it like he was appraising a diamond — then squinted harder.  He flipped it over.  Flipped it back.  Tapped it on the table.  Bit it.  Nodded slowly, as if that told him something.  It did not.

“Okay, okay, okay — so.  This is a coin.  Right?  Gold.  Heavy.  Somebody stamped an 872 on it, which — look — that’s a number.  Could be a year, could be a serial number, could be somebody’s address, who knows.  I seen a lotta coins in my time.  Lotta coins.  And this one?  This one’s got a crest on it.  Some kinda big fella, shell on his back, very intimidating, very… spiky.  Very dramatic.  Somebody spent money on this stamp, I’ll tell ya that much for free.”

He set it on the table and slid it back toward the party, then immediately picked it up again.

“Now — and I’m just speculatin’ here, okay, I ain’t tellin’ ya nothin’ I know for a fact — a coin like this, with a crest like that, somebody important had this made.  Important or, y’know, crazy.  Sometimes those are the same guy.  The 872?  Could be a mint mark.  Could be there’s 871 more of these floatin’ around out there.  Could be this is the only one.  I genuinely, honestly, with my hand on my heart, do not know.”

He paused.  Drummed his fingers.  Leaned forward conspiratorially.

“What I will say — and again, pure speculation — is that whoever owned this coin?  They wanted people to know it was theirs.  That’s a power move.  That’s a guy who says, ‘This is mine, it’s got my face on it, don’t forget it.’  Very big energy.  Very… aggressive shell guy energy.”

He leaned back and shrugged both hands wide.

“Beyond that?  Seriously.  I got nothin’.  But if you find out what it’s worth — and I mean, really worth, like to the right buyer — you come talk to Vinnie.  Okay?  Okay.”

Unimpressed, the went to consult Wizzlecrank.  After telling them coinage is the trade standard of the inferior, he let them know he didn’t know anything about it either. 

The team sailed on for several days getting closer and closer to planet Krynn.  About a month out, their ship had to veer somewhat off course after approaching a massive cloud of freezing vapor, a phenomenon allegedly unique to Krynnspace.  While it was generally safe to traverse such clouds aboard a vessel, they were known to mesmerize observers.  Anyone unfortunate enough to fall overboard risked freezing solid and shattering.  No one knew exactly where the clouds originated.

Swinging wide of the cloud had inadvertently brought them into a small asteroid field.  It was small enough that they had not seen it coming, yet large enough to present a real danger.  Rocks of various sizes now threatened to crash through the deck of their ship or tear apart its sails.  Even worse, the field was inhabited.

Fiery creatures darted among the tumbling stones.  They resembled stone heads trailing flames, almost like living comets.  They streaked through the field with alarming speed.  The burning animate rocks appeared to have nudged one of the asteroids into the path of their ship.  Perched upon that asteroid was an even more terrifying sight: a centipede of staggering proportions.  Each of its legs was the length of a man.  Though the vacuum of space carried no sound, they could see its mandibles clacking hungrily.  Those jaws looked more than capable of biting a horse in half.

Small rocks struck the ship and shattered, scattering showers of scree across the deck.  They were not moving especially fast, and perhaps their impacts could be predicted.  Larger asteroids followed close behind, posing a more immediate threat than the approaching monsters.  Perhaps they could fire a few well-placed siege weapon shots and break apart the larger rocks before the creatures arrived.

Hekera took over aiming and firing the catapult while the giff shot the ballistae.  Ursay and Callum, in the crow’s nests, hurled arrows and spells at smaller rocks to knock them off course.  The team did a great job clearing the debris just in time for the hostile creatures to swoop in!

The fiery murder comets spit molten rock as they charged and then slammed into their opponents.  Up in the crow’s nests, Ursay and Callum proved tempting targets.  The megapede closed in, and the shockingly large monster nearly bit Hekera in half!  Helg furiously channeled positive energy into his injured allies while Snagy summoned Stingy, his magical flying wasp, and took to the air.  Callum discovered cold ice strike was particularly effective against the murder comets.  Meanwhile, one of the asteroids opened its single eye and gaping mouth!  An eye monger, this beholderkin drifted toward Polaris.  They exchanged a scuffle before it bit and swallowed him!  Hekera quaffed a potion of enlarge person and then demonstrated the power of an overly large sword. 

The giff fired numerous ballista bolts into enemies with great effect.  Multiple party members rained blows on the megapede, but it was Helg’s mighty flame strike that brought it low.  Ursay’s arrows kept landing in, and killing, murder comets which exploded when they died!  With the ship on fire, Callum was able to stagger to his feet after nearly tasting death and killed the fleeing eye monger!  Snagy flew out to the bobbing corpse and dragged it back to the ship where Polaris successfully used his spiked gauntlet to cut himself out. 

With all enemies slain, they found a magical rod and some gemstones in the eye monger’s gullet.  They shoved the bodies overboard and continued on their voyage.