Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for January 10, 2023, 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), Jiraiya (Hurwaeti Freebooter played by Andrew Renfrow), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team nursed their wounds and searched the last room of the viper ship hold.  Within they found supplies to repair a ship along with a single medium chest.  Jiraiya tried to pick the lock only to later discover it wasn’t locked at all.  Within they found a horrifying item, a severed mind flayer head!  They realized it was preserved and tentacles braided together down into a handle.  Someone had crafted and enchanted a flayer flail!  Jiraiya immediately adopted it into his arsenal.  They also found several copper ingots and some amethysts. 

As they began searching the enemy bodies, they heard the giff and several human soldiers board the ship from the squid ship.  They met each other and began talking.  The giff, Captain Horatio Macefist, was thankful for their taking of the goblinoid vessel and let them know it was theirs by right of plunder.  Thus, the team acquired another ship, the Deathbite.  They learned it was powered by a lifejammer helm that permanently drains lifeforce to power the ship.  Unwilling to make that sacrifice they realized they lacked the helm-power to get the new ship, the cargo barge, and their ship to port.  After debating cutting the barge loose, they then asked Captain Macefist if he had any spare helms.  He told them he had an emergency furnace helm he could loan them since they were heading to his home base of Refuge.  He let them borrow it and stationed one of his men with them.  The tinker gnomes were overjoyed to have the unstable, potentially explosive, dangerous helm strapped in to their ship!

Two days’ journey later, they came across another Arcane squid ship, the Pride.  Jiraiya used semaphore to communicate with them and learned they were looking for them specifically and had a visitor seeking them.  The ship came alongside and requested permission to board.  Several soldiers crossed over along with an aging red-robed catfolk with brown fur and black stripes (tinged with silver).  He walked with a cane and urgently asked to speak with Botticelli.  He introduced himself as Needle and told the tortle that he had traveled from the nation of Wa in the lands of Kara-Tur of the planet Toril in Realmspace, the home of Botticelli’s egg clutch.  He informed Botticelli he is prophesied to be one of four heroes destined to become the mightiest samurai ever known.  Needle had come to return him to Kara-Tur and begin his training in the martial arts.  He also offered to hire the Perry and team to take them to the planet, which is just a short jaunt away from the Rock of Bral.  The party agreed, and he paid them 500 gp now, five potions of cure moderate wounds, and will pay another 2,500 gp when they arrive.  Next, he presented Botticelli with a beautiful matched set of daisho—a samurai katana and wakizashi. 

Botticelli’s training began immediately, and the team watched the proceedings in wonder and fascination.  Needle noted their interest and offered to teach the basics of ninjitsu to them as well.  So, the party has begun the process of learning from Master Needle! 

Game summary for January 3, 2023, 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), Intevar Dagella (Centurian Drow Silent Hunter played by Casey Scruggs), Jiraiya (Hurwaeti Freebooter played by Andrew Renfrow), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

Helg channeled positive energy and healed his allies.  The team then surged down into the main deck searching for more foes.  They found a hobgoblin in the galley, but he was cut down quickly.  The team opened the hatch to the cargo deck and found it full of enemy crew!  Enemy crew hurling lit fuse grenades through the opening!  Jiraiya rolled into the cargo hold and engaged the entire force himself!  He disarmed one and dealt several blows before being forced to flee.  Helg cast create water and put out two fuses.  The third was extinguished by Intevar.  Neko stepped forward and cast fireball through the hatch and burned the enemies below, but it also hit Jiraiya!  The already injured hurwaet was rendered unconscious from his wounds. 

Helg rushed forward and spontaneously cast cure critical wounds on Jiraiya.  Hekera, Intevar, and Khesen went down into the hold.  Intevar used targeting foreknowledge and tore into a corsair.  Khesen and Hekera then finished up the stragglers. 

Game summary for December 27, 2022, 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), Intevar Dagella (Centurian Drow Silent Hunter played by Casey Scruggs), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The viper ship, not secured to the Perry, separated and started moving away with half the party on one ship and half on the other!  Intevar and Neko, stuck on the Perry, started shouting for the gnomes and fighting the blaze on the top deck.  Helg began channeling energy to heal the badly injured Hekera and Khesen, while the two of them began positioning to hurl area of effect items through the hatches.  One of the tinker gnomes came on deck with some kind of gnomish fire suppression system.  He promptly blew himself off the side of the ship, knocked himself out, and had to be rescued by Neko.  Intevar was able to finish extinguishing the fire.

Back on the viper ship, Hekera hurled a swarm spider grenade down one hatch while Khesen hurled a dung grenade down another.  Screams (and smells) erupted from down below!  The group opened the hatch to the helm a bit too early, and the swarm was driven out by the fires from the helmsman.  The spiders flowed over Helg and Hekera, biting and stinging!  They soon disappeared into ether as the magic ran out, however.  A trio of pirates swarmed up out of the other hatch and tore into the group, but they were quickly cut down. 

The Perry came around, and Intevar and Faylen used a rope and the ballista to tether the two ships.  Meanwhile, the squidship got closer and cheered the team on for using explosives!  The Perry was able to pull alongside the viper ship, and Neko tried to jump aboard.  He tripped and fumbled, falling down between the ships and was smashed as they bumped together!  Badly injured, he dragged himself back up onto the Perry. 

A trio of enemies came up out of the helm and attacked the team.  The corsair was brutal with its cutlass, and the pitborn bugbear evoker nearly killed Hekera with a magic missile!  However, the group rallied and brought to bear a horrendous assault, cutting down the rest of the enemies. 

Game summary for December 20, 2022, 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), Intevar Dagella (Centurian Drow Silent Hunter played by Casey Scruggs), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The Perry swept in alongside the goblinoid viper ship after the team cast a couple spells to prepare.  The upper deck was swarming with goblinoids and their allies, and four goblin vulture pilots circled overhead.  The goblins hurled bombs down at the party and started the Perry on fire.  Neko blasted the monsters with a fireball, killing several.  Hekera jumped onto the viper ship to engage with his sword upon which Helg had cast bane weapon.  Shockingly, the massive ogre began casting a spell!  It covered the Perry‘s upper deck with a stinking cloud and incapacitated much of the team (and one of the vulture riders). 

Khesen (on fire) jumped blindly out of the fog onto the viper ship.  He and Hekera fought against the creatures in melee while orcs and gnolls unleashed arrows at them.  One of the ogren corsairs charged across deck and savaged Hekera with its cutlass.  The ogre cast snakeball but none of the party were poisoned.  It then cast deep slumber at Hekera, but he shook it off.  Neko unleashed scorching ray and magic missile while Intevar used arrows.  Faylen killed a hobgoblin that jumped onto the Perry, and put the ballista to work on the ogre.  The team cleared the upper deck and then killed all the vultures out from under the goblin pilots! 

Game summary for November 22, 2022, 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), Intevar Dagella (Centurian Drow Silent Hunter played by Casey Scruggs), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The Perry had smooth sailing for a few more weeks through the beautiful Flow.  While sailing along, a pair of vicious flowfiends swept up over the rail and attacked the crew!  A flowfiend ripped into Hekera with its four arms and teeth!  Another grappled Neko and flew off the deck with him!  It took a ballista bolt to the side for its efforts and fled toward the edge of the air envelope with Neko while the other continued tearing into Hekera.  Khesen charged into the fray while Helg slashed away with spiritual weapon.  Intevar made her way on deck and hurled shuriken at the fleeing flowfiend.  Khesen drank a potion of fly while Hekera cut down the flowfiend fighting him.  They learned, though, it was regenerating!  Helg told them it required fire to kill them, and they are in the explosive phlogiston!  Neko used mind thrust III and a wand of magic missiles to incapacitate his assailant, and Khesen used his magical flight to outstanding effect to shuttle the unconscious flow fiends to the edge of the air envelope and off into the Flow.

The team made it to Refuge and spent a couple days seeking a portal.  Once within, they talked to Botticelli and convinced him to sign on as their cook rather than departing in Refuge. 

They went two days into Refuge and came upon a battle!  A squidship flying the flag of the Arcane was embattling a vipership packed with goblinoids!  The team debated and took a vote.  They would board the vipership and help the Arcane vessel!  The Perry began to close in as the team prepared their spells and weapons.

Game summary for November 15, 2022, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Hekera Nephera Mawhesk Vyk’sebekenka (Sebek-ka Fighter played by Preston Harmon), Intevar Dagella (Centurian Drow Silent Hunter played by Casey Scruggs), Jiraiya (Hurwaeti Freebooter played by Andrew Renfrow), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

About two weeks further into their phlogiston journey, they swept up a petrified body in their air envelope.  Having once been lost in the Flow, Jiraiya leapt into action, literally.  He tied off a rope and jumped 30 feet into the air and grabbed the floating body!  The team then reeled them both in.  The body was that of a female elf wearing archaic armor.  She was also missing her left arm right below the elbow, and it was tied with a tourniquet.  They placed her in the barge shack, and Jiraiya and Neko stayed to watch over her as she “thawed” from stasis. 

The woman came awake and desperately sucked in air!  She fell out of the hammock and panicked when she saw Neko standing over her.  She snatched up one of Helg’s Valhallan idols and brandished it with her good arm.  She threatened Neko to stay back and started asking questions.  Initially hostile, she eventually calmed when Khesen came in to speak with her.  They soon figured out she was a sailor and marine in Elven Imperial Navy during the Unhuman Wars… over 4 centuries ago!  Her ship was under attack, and her arm was severed in the battle as she was thrown overboard.  She was somewhere outside of Krynnspace at the time and had drifted all the way out here! 

They told her where they were and where they were going, and she asked to hitch a ride.  She is native to the moon Selûne, which orbits the planet Toril in Realmspace.  The team is currently making its way to the Rock of Bral located in the Trail of Tears asteroids that follow behind Selûne.  She was very excited to have opportunity to return “home.” 

Close to a week later, the Perry flew into a spore cloud!  Large puff-like spores drifted all about, and when touched exploded in caustic acid!  The team rushed to action!  Khesen and Intevar used some outstanding spacemanship to help maneuver.  Hekera used his survival skills to protect the hull and crew while Neko engineered some makeshifts ways to generate some wind to blow the spores back away.  Jiraiya used his amazing jumping and acrobatics skills to use himself much like a fan as well and was occasionally joined by the shockingly nimble Intevar!  Several of the team suffered some minor acid burns, but the Perry made it through with only minor damage. 

Game summary for November 8, 2022, 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), Intevar Dagella (Centurian Drow Silent Hunter played by Casey Scruggs), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The Perry arrived at the edge of Pirtelspace’s Crystal Sphere and a portal into the Phlogiston.  First Mate Flick reminded them of safety precautions in the Flow such as not using sources of heat, fire, or sparks due to the explosive nature of the gas.  Also, extra-dimensional travel and spaces are inaccessible, so things like bags of holding, dimension door, blinking, and summoning monsters will not work.  He also reminded them that divine casters may use spells over 2nd-level, but they may not recover them until returning to a Crystal Sphere because the deities are unable to reach into the Phlogiston.  The team went through and stowed away their fire-based equipment.  The trip to Refugespace is estimated to take 45 days. 

The team then proceeded to leave Pirtelspace into the radiant splendor of the Phlogiston!  Its shear beauty was nearly overwhelming, and the immensity of it nearly maddening.  A day or two into their Flow travels, a pair of space stingrays were swept into the gravity plane.  While the creatures began to awaken, the party unleashed a barrage of ranged attacks upon them.  Neko used his wand of magic missiles, Intevar opened up with her hand crossbow, and Helg cast spiritual weapon.  When the stingrays came to, they began using fly-by attacks and proved fairly nimble at maneuvering.  The stinging creatures hit Khesen and Hekera with their barbed tails, and both were poisoned.  Khesen took the worst of the effects and fled into the ship for safety.  Helg enhanced his combat capabilities with more spells and began landing numerous hits with spiritual weapon.  Intevar had some success with her crossbow but was unable to poison the rays.  Neko used a mix of magic missiles and mind thrusts to tear into the animals.  Hekera finally caught one within reach and cut it down, and Helg brought down the other. 

After the battle, the team swarmed to their poisoned allies and nursed them to some semblance of health.

Game summary for November 1, 2022, 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), Intevar Dagella (Centurian Drow Silent Hunter played by Casey Scruggs), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The Perry slowed out of spelljamming speed as they came across a frosty asteroid.  Looking down they could see a cave opening and stones piled up spelling “HELP”.  They sent a landing party down to investigate and enter the cave.  There was one set of footprints entering the cave, so the team crept in.  They could sense magic and continued forward, finding the desiccated corpse of a dwarf.  Intevar noticed a massive cold mutated ogre spider dropping from the ceiling ahead, and another dropped down behind sealing off the escape.  Helg was bitten and terribly poisoned.  Moments later, Neko was also poisoned.  Intevar threw down a smoke bomb to help obscure the party but learned moments later the spiders could still sense their location through vibrations in the air and ground. 

Khesen and Hekera were a bit out of position, so it took a few moments for them to square up against the spiders.  During that time, Helg and Neko suffered horrifically from the spider poison.  However, once the big melee hitters got into position, they clobbered the spiders in almost no time. 

Investigated the dwarven body, they found a small fortune in coins and magical equipment! 

Game summary for October 25, 2022, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Intevar Dagella (Centurian Drow Silent Hunter played by Casey Scruggs), Jiraiya (Hurwaeti Freebooter played by Andrew Renfrow), Ruby Rue (Blink Dog Rogue Cohort played by Dylan Whittinghill as secondary), Scraggy Lodgers (Werebear-Kin Gunslinger / Witch played by Dylan Whittinghill), and Zzyym (Zif Esoteric / Academy Sorcerer played by Kaliegh Belda). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

After speaking with Botticelli a while, they convinced him to ride with them to Refuge and then decide if he wants to depart or would rather become their new cook. 

A few days later, a pair of winged coldsnap basilisks drifted into the ship’s air envelope.  Void creatures, they began to revive when exposed to air.  Gunny was able to swivel the ballista and skewer one!  Scraggy alerted the rest of the team and warned them to avert their gaze lest they turn to ice.  The team tried to figure out a way to engage the basilisks without looking at them.  Gunny was turned to ice first.  Zzyym hit one of the basilisks with magic missiles.  Scraggy shot one with his musket, Jiraiya punched one square in the snout, and Intevar unleashed a volley of arrows.  The team unleashed a torrent of attacks at one of the basilisks, but the dreadful gaze of the creatures kept turning people into ice! 

One of the basilisks collapsed unconscious on the deck and was killed by a coup de grace from Ruby Rue.  The other snatched up Gunny and flew out of the air envelope, disappearing into wildspace!  Intevar and Ruby drained the blood from the basilisk and coated Zzyym, who was restored.  However, they knew they didn’t have enough to coat Scraggy and Jiraiya.  The revived Zzyym added its mind to the task at hand.  They mixed some of the remaining blood with Zzyym’s two potions of resist cold, and while not guaranteed to work, it was the best shot they had.  Miraculously, both were restored to flesh! 

Game summary for October 18, 2022, 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), Intevar Dagella (Centurian Drow Silent Hunter played by Casey Scruggs), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The group spoke with Admiral Antarra and agreed to hire on for a mission.  He asked them to deliver a sealed missive to the commander of the Elven Navy at the Rock of Bral in Realmspace with information about the Black Widow Nation.  In exchange, he offered to pay their crew costs for the journey as well as send them with a letter for Cap’n Gyudd, a merchant on Bral, to get the Perry “topped out” in the shipyards.  The team agreed and then went to the Skyport shipyards and negotiated a deal to sell the Elamshin damselfly for 17,700 gp.  They then reinvested half the money in cargo to take with them to Realmspace to sell.  Before heading out, they took the entire crew of the Perry to a tinker gnomish pastry shop for donuts.  The place was amazing.  Amazing in that it had not exploded.  But, the food was good, and the effect on crew morale was palpable. 

The party headed out to space, and two days’ out came across the smoking wreckage of a ship!  There were several pieces of smoldering hull and four large brown scavvers circling a trapped tortle!  The party immediately moved to rescue.  Neko burned one with scorching ray but was immediately snatched up in the creature’s maw!  Hekera cut one right in half when it approached him.  Khesen moved in and killed the one trying to eat Neko, and he flew from its mouth bobbing up and down through the gravity plane.  He made an astounding maneuver and caught the side of the cargo barge and scrambled back aboard.  Intevar came rushing up out of the hold firing her bow and hitting one of the beasts.  Helg stepped out and cast searing light coupled with targeting foreknowledge, which blasted a scavver to smoking pieces.  Gunny Havoka fired the ballista at a scavver but missed terribly.  Hekera and Intevar got hit by the acidic breath of the scavver right before Hekera cut the last one down, but he also fell off the ship in the process.  He was able to scramble back aboard.  Meanwhile, Khesen tied off a rope and jumped 30 feet into space toward the tortle!  He got to the wreckage, and they were able to drag it over to the ship.

The tortle introduced himself as Botticelli, former cook of the ill-fated Star Skimmer tradesman vessel.  The ship had been attacked by a vessel shaped like some kind of squid-snail-like creature with a ram.  Most of the crew had been taken captive by squid-headed men… mind flayers!  There were a few survivors among the wreckage after the Star Skimmer was destroyed, but all except Botticelli had been eaten by scavvers.  In thanks for his rescue, Botticelli offered to make them an excellent meal.