📘 Session 1 – “The Beginning Chapter”2

"The Beginning Chapter"
(A Bardic Ballad for Lute)

[Verse 1]
On a stormy night by the Sword Coast’s brim,
The rain came down, the light grew dim,
A lighthouse stood with a tavern’s glow,
Where fate would call and legends grow.
Rig with his wrench, a shadowed man,
Grabbed five ales with a steady hand,
Lagerick drank, his cares set free,
A dwarf with peace ‘neath a stormy sea.

[Chorus]
Oh, strum the lute, let the tale take flight,
Through the dark and storm of a fateful night,
High Jinks leads with a warlock’s cheer,
The Beginning Chapter starts right here!
From tavern’s warmth to the road’s cold stare,
Adventure calls through the wild, wet air,
With gold in hand and a song to sing,
The stars await where our fates will swing!

[Verse 2]
A Githyanki bold, with a wanderer’s dream,
Stranded far from the astral gleam,
High Jinks danced with a tabaxi’s grace,
Her cat-born power lit up the place.
Sir Gwen in gold, with a knightly boast,
Spoke of a beast on the mountain coast,
A sphere with eyes, a terror’s reign,
Five hundred gold to ease his pain.

[Chorus]
Oh, strum the lute, let the tale take flight,
Through the dark and storm of a fateful night,
High Jinks leads with a warlock’s cheer,
The Beginning Chapter starts right here!
From tavern’s warmth to the road’s cold stare,
Adventure calls through the wild, wet air,
With gold in hand and a song to sing,
The stars await where our fates will swing!

[Verse 3]
Miners roared with a drunken plea,
“Guard our road to Westbridge, we’ll pay your fee!”
Ten gold a day, and a hundred more,
To brave the vanishings folklore swore.
Then up the tower, an elf stood high,
Spyglass fixed on a darkened sky,
A caravan shook with a monstrous sound,
Fifty gold down, and a quest unbound.

[Bridge]
Valen Pyre, a shadow still,
Silent strength on this stormy hill,
Through rain and roar, our band takes flight,
Lute strings hum in the dead of night.
The guards stood strange, with foam and glare,
A mystery brews in the midnight air,
Rig stumbled back, his stealth undone,
But the tale’s just begun, oh, the tale’s just begun!

[Chorus]
Oh, strum the lute, let the tale take flight,
Through the dark and storm of a fateful night,
High Jinks leads with a warlock’s cheer,
The Beginning Chapter starts right here!
From tavern’s warmth to the road’s cold stare,
Adventure calls through the wild, wet air,
With gold in hand and a song to sing,
The stars await where our fates will swing!

[Outro]
So raise your mug to the storm outside,
To quests unknown on this wild ride,
The lighthouse beams, the night unfurls,
A bard’s first verse for a cosmic world.

🪐 Campaign Arc

Campaign: Spelljammer – Homebrew Hybrid
Session Title: The Beginning Chapter
Date Played: 20th March 2025
Dungeon Master: James/Jamie (Sicareus)
Setting: Sword Coast, Forgotten Realms – with foreshadowing ties to Spelljammer spacefaring themes.

🧭 Overview

On a storm-wracked night along the Sword Coast, five strangers found shelter in a remote lighthouse-tavern perched above the Red Rocks, a day’s travel north of Waterdeep. As rain pounded the coast, the adventurers encountered mysterious patrons, drunk miners, tales of monstrous disappearances, and the promise of gold. Each character brought a unique background and skillset, and though most had never met before, fate pulled them toward three concurrent quests: investigating a darkened caravan, protecting a miner convoy, and pursuing a rumored beholder in the Sword Mountains.

Hazy with mead and tension, the group quickly bonded through opportunism, dramatic flair, and tactical savvy. The evening ended with them accepting a job to investigate a nearby caravan whose guards now appear to be... not quite right.

With their boots on the muddy High Road and the smell of wet earth in the air, the party's legend begins.

"Valen and Rigg chatting about past quests"

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Party Members

📍 Key Locations

• The Lighthouse-Tavern – A newly constructed structure built by a retired sailor. Overlooks the Red Rocks. Offers beer, mead, and “road brew” in clever travel contraptions.
• The High Road – Stretch of treacherous roadway plagued by disappearances. Leads toward Waterdeep and the Sword Mountains.
• Red Rocks Cliffs – Rugged coastal landmark nearby, often shrouded in mist and rain.

🧑 Notable NPCs

• Sir Gwen: Shining knight from Neverwinter seeking info on a beholder; funded tavern drinks. Offers gold for intel or victory.

• Miners (Sunbrim Hills): Drunken dwarves and humans planning a mining operation near Westbridge; fear for their lives on the road.
• Elf Guard (Lord’s Alliance): Stationed atop the lighthouse; tasked with investigating High Road disappearances. Professional and alert.
• Off-duty Guards & Tavern Patrons: Rowdy, possibly mercenary types; flavor the tavern with tension and energy.
• Barkeeper: Gruff and clever ex-sailor who built the tavern; skeptical of travelers but offers no-nonsense service.

📜 Active Quests

🎭 Key Events

• The adventurers meet for the first time in the lighthouse-tavern during a brutal storm.
• Rigg snags free drinks and makes a scene.
• High Jinks boldly takes charge of conversations with Sir Gwen and the elf guard.
• Laydrick drinks heavily but is pulled into action by his new companions.
• Dino Roar observes and analyzes, keeping his motives close.
• Valen Pyre remains quiet due to technical issues but is physically present.
• Miners upstairs drunkenly demand protection—gold teeth flashing, promising coin.
• The party accepts the elf guard’s caravan investigation job and leaves the tavern.
• On the High Road, they spot the caravan, which quakes with an internal roar.
• Four guards stand eerily still in the rain, eyes glazed, mouths foaming, torches dead.
• Rigg attempts stealth, fails dramatically, and feigns drunkenness before retreating.
• The party watches from the shadows, planning their next move...

🧮 Current Situation

• Location: On the High Road, in stormy darkness, 100 feet from the suspicious caravan.
• Threat: Four seemingly mind-controlled guards; odd behavior suggests magical or psionic interference.
• Status: Mission in progress; session ended before combat or engagement.
• Tactical Notes: High Jinks considered Minor Illusion to create a sound distraction. Rigg fell back after being confronted.

✨ Additional Notes & Threads

• Party Wealth: Each adventurer begins with 500g from prior mercenary work (e.g., merchant escorting, bandit suppression).
• Spelljammer Foreshadowing:
  • Dino Roar’s desire to leave “this ball of Earth” hints at planar or spacefaring themes.
  • High Jinks’ patron, an alien cat-like being, suggests extraplanar influence.
• Worldbuilding Layers:
  • The Lord’s Alliance is involved in monitoring regional instability.
  • The tavern’s lighthouse setting feels deliberately positioned—potentially a planar signal or Spelljammer dock?
  • Behaviors of guards suggest mind control, possession, or parasitic influence—possibly beholder-adjacent.