Spelljammer Academy: Behold H’Catha
Source: Spelljammer Academy
Introduction
This adventure, designed for three to seven 4th-level characters, is the last in a series of four adventures. The adventure takes place in Realmspace, a Wildspace system described in the series’ third installment, Spelljammer Academy: Realmspace Sortie!
Note
Playing in the Adventurers League
You can play the Spelljammer Academy adventures as a part of the D&D Adventurers League Forgotten Realms campaign. These adventures have been designed to be fully compatible with Adventurers League play and require no additional adaptation. Follow the guidelines present for the D&D Adventurers League for character creation and rewards, available in the D&D Adventurers League Player’s Guide (https://dnd.wizards.com/ddal_general).
At some events, these adventures might use a code to be identified more easily. The code for this adventure is SJA-04.
Background
Tasked with retrieving a meteorite from the planet H’Catha, the characters and their fellow Spelljammer Academy cadets boarded a derelict tyrant ship (a stone vessel built by beholders). After installing a spelljamming helm aboard the ship, the characters ran into some trouble.
A fire aboard the tyrant ship killed the characters’ supervisor, Petty Officer Ryeback. An investigation revealed Cadet Miken Haverstance to be the saboteur. After his capture and interrogation, Miken told the characters that he’d been hired by a mercane (a blue-skinned giant), who holds a grudge against one of Spelljammer Academy’s founders, Mirt the Merciless. The mercane’s name is Vocath, although neither Miken nor the characters are aware of this fact.
Overview
Despite setbacks, the characters are authorized to resume their mission to H’Catha. The skies above H’Catha are patrolled by beholder tyrant ships. The characters’ goal is straightforward: slip past the planet’s defenses, find the meteorite, and bring it back to Spelljammer Academy.
This adventure is split into three parts:
Part 1: The Spindle. While exploring the Spindle (a mountain that rises from the center of the disk-shaped world H’Catha), the characters encounter beholder-like creatures and might have to fight them to claim the meteorite.
Part 2: Journey Interrupted. As the characters travel back to Toril, they cross paths with an asteroid and run into a githyanki agent of Vocath looking to retrieve Miken.
Part 3: Homecoming. The characters return to the Spelljammer Academy, and soon after arrival, face a strike force sent by Vocath. Their graduation is tinged with loss, and an ominous future awaits.
Adventure Hooks
This adventure picks up where Spelljammer Academy: Realmspace Sortie! leaves off. If one or more characters died in that adventure, assume their replacements are fresh cadets from the hammerhead ship Flighty Foundling. The characters have a rendezvous with the Flighty Foundling before resuming their voyage to H’Catha, as described in part 1.
Part 1: The Spindle
In this part of the adventure, the characters arrive at the planet H’Catha and search for the adamantine meteorite at the base of a soaring mountain called the Spindle. In a cave, they encounter others who also appreciate the meteorite’s value.
Trek To H’Catha
After securing the tyrant ship and capturing the cadet saboteur Miken, the characters wait for the hammerhead ship Flighty Foundling to double back and take Miken into custody.
Two Spelljammer Academy faculty members are aboard the Flighty Foundling: Boatswain Tarto and Saerthe Abizin (see the accompanying sidebars). They have decided to accompany the characters to H’Catha to ensure no further mishaps occur aboard the tyrant ship. Saerthe assumes the role of captain and spelljammer, while Tarto takes the characters under her wing and oversees the mission.
Wizpop, the autognome stowaway whom the characters encountered in the previous adventure, boards the Flighty Foundling and returns to Spelljammer Academy with Krik’Lit, Pffred, and the other cadets.
Readaloud
The Flighty Foundling returns to Toril with the other cadets and the autognome Wizpop, but your destiny lies elsewhere! You must remain aboard the tyrant ship, but you won’t be traveling to H’catha by yourselves: faculty members Saerthe Abizin and Boatswain Tarto have taken command of the mission and brought more supplies with them. Tarto grimaces and gnaws on her cigar as she assigns you to dull tasks. Meanwhile, Saerthe takes control of the tyrant ship’s newly installed spelljamming helm.
The trek to H’Catha takes many days, and the planet’s description doesn’t do it justice. H’Catha is a watery disk thousands of miles wide, with a towering mountain called the Spindle at its center. Saerthe maneuvers the tyrant ship so that it hovers a few feet above the surface of the water at the Spindle’s edge.
Boatswain Tarto flicks away the stub of her smoldering cigar as she orders you to unfurl a rope ladder.
“Here’s the deal, see. You have one sending stone, and I have the other. When you find the meteorite, contact me and let me know, then await further instructions.”
Tarto tosses you a satchel. “This here is a bag of holding. You can use it to contain the meteorite. The impact site is nearby. If the meteorite isn’t there, search the nearby caves. Saerthe and I will stay here and guard the ship.”
Keep track of who has the other sending stone and the bag of holding. Once the characters climb down the rope ladder and exit the tyrant ship, they can see their surroundings more clearly: they are standing on the rocky shore of the Spindle, a mountain bigger than any they’ve seen before. The sun is a distant speck, and daylight on H’Catha is no brighter than a starry night on Toril. Review the “H’Catha Features” section, then continue with the “Finding the Meteorite” section.
Note
Spelljammer Academy
While adventurers of all stripes explore Faerûn and deal with the perils of ancient ruins, malevolent cults, and long-forgotten tombs, those who come through Spelljammer Academy on Nimbral strive to protect the world from far greater threats. Spelljammer Academy trains cadets for service as Spelljammers and members of the Spelljammer Corps: both branches of a magical navy sworn to protect Toril and to explore other worlds beyond. Few people know of the academy’s existence, and its leaders try to keep it that way.
Mirt the Merciless—also known as “the Old Wolf”—is Spelljammer Academy’s founder and chief financial officer. He manages the institution’s operations alongside a small group of powerful high-ranking officers, known collectively as “the Bridge.” While most of its candidates are from Toril, the academy occasionally recruits from outside Realmspace (the Wildspace system that is home to the planet Toril) to bring individuals with unique talents into their ranks. Giff, githyanki, hadozee, plasmoids, and myriad other peoples can join the cadets alongside folk native to Toril.
The academy was founded by Mirt as part of a joint investment with the retired elf adventurer Elmandar, who operates a shop on the Rock of Bral—a city built on an asteroid. Prince Andru, the monarch of Bral, has invested heavily in the academy, though his support has waned of late over questions regarding security within the institution.
H’Catha Features
H’Catha has the following features:
- Dimensions and Terrain. H’Catha is a disk-shaped water world with a single large mountain called the Spindle jutting from its center. The disk tapers at the edge to form a rim. The Spindle is 200 miles across at its base and tapers to a peak 1,000 miles above sea level.
- Light. The shores of the Spindle are dimly lit. The distant sun provides little warmth or illumination.
- Shore of the Spindle. Rocky ground worn smooth by eons of gentle waves extends about 500 feet from the water’s edge to the Spindle’s sheer cliffs. Standing on the shore, characters can see numerous caves in the Spindle’s base.
- Sounds. Nothing stirs in the shallow water. In the distance, sea birds call to each other, swooping and diving for food in the deeper waters.
Note
Boatswain Tarto (Spelljammer Corps Training Officer)
Hadozee Seasoned Boatswain
The scars that Boatswain Tarto (pronounced BOE-sun TAR-toe) bears are testament to her status as a battle-hardened veteran. Despite having one of her wing flaps torn away long ago, she remains as capable as ever while on board a ship. Spelljammer Academy has no better person to spearhead the training of raw recruits—and Tarto knows it. Never one to mince words (even when those words are directed toward those who outrank her), this old, grizzled hadozee has light-tan skin and ebon-black fur graying at the temples. She’s perpetually shrouded in a thick haze of cigar smoke, the smell of which often signals her imminent arrival.
Quote: “Listen to what I tell you; it might just save your life.”
Note
Saerthe Abizjn (Spelljammer Training Officer)
Human Spelljammer
Despite their extravagant showboating, Saerthe Abizjn (pronounced SAIR-th ah-bih-ZEEN) remains as mysterious as the isle of Nimbral from which they hail. Although relatively inexperienced in comparison to some of the other instructors at the academy, Saerthe is an experienced spelljammer. Their eyes shimmer like pools of quicksilver, allowing them to see magical auras.
Saerthe’s quick wit and sharp tongue provide them with an inexhaustible supply of jabs and quips (though never mean-spirited), accompanied to great effect by their natural talent with illusory magic. Saerthe’s white skin is so pale as to be almost translucent, and their blonde hair is worn in a fashionable, immaculately manicured pompadour.
Quote: “I make talent look good.”
Finding the Meteorite
Characters who search the shore for the meteorite don’t find it, but it doesn’t take them long to find where the meteorite crashed:
Readaloud
In the dim light of the distant sun, you see a blemish on the face of the Spindle where something must’ve struck it at great speed, shattering the rock and leaving a huge indentation. Whatever struck the mountainside tumbled down toward the shore, leaving a furrow of melted rock.
Characters can easily ascertain where the meteorite came to rest after tumbling down the mountainside. However, the meteorite is nowhere to be seen. Characters who search the area find a single set of tracks leading from the place where the meteorite came to rest to a 15-foot-wide, 20-foot-high cave mouth at the base of the Spindle, about 250 feet away. Any character who examines the tracks and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check identifies them as belonging to a Large Giant of some kind, possibly an ogre.
Spindle Cavern
If the characters follow the tracks into the cave, read:
Readaloud
The fifteen-foot-wide passage opens into a large, rough chamber with a sunken floor. A misshapen, vaguely oblong lump of metal sits in the middle of the chamber. A sliver of light streaming down on it from a hole in the cavern’s ceiling gives it a dark-blue sheen. Hovering near the meteorite are two identical creatures, each one a slimy green orb with a large central eye and four writhing eyestalks. Gathered around them are half a dozen smaller creatures of similar shape, each no bigger than a grapefruit. Sitting on a five-foot-high shelf overlooking the chamber is a massive, yellow-skinned ogre with one cyclopean eye. The ogre yawns and blinks slowly, appearing rather tired.
The cavern is depicted in the Spindle Cavern map (see below). The characters arrive via the northwest tunnel, which ends at a 5-foot-high ledge overlooking the cavern.
Cavern Features
The cavern has the following features:
- Exits. The cavern has multiple exits that lead deeper into the vast network of tunnels and caves that riddle the Spindle.
- Light. The cavern is dimly lit by the precious little sunlight streams through cracks in the ceiling.
- Meteorite. The meteorite looks like it was dropped in the middle of the floor. The 500-pound hunk of blackened metal takes on a dark-blue sheen when its surface is illuminated. The meteorite is 2 feet long, 18 inches wide, and 18 inches tall. It can fit inside the characters’ bag of holding.
Creatures
Two spectators and six gazers gather around the meteorite. The spectators can’t decide which of them should guard the meteorite, and they are anxious for someone to help resolve their dispute. The gazers were drawn to the cavern by the spectators’ argument but lack the intelligence to be of assistance. The cyclopean ogre is a simple-minded brute who found the meteorite and brought it here. The ogre serves a powerful beholder named Kurrzot who, fortunately, lives much deeper in the mountain and doesn’t appear in this adventure.
It doesn’t take the beholderkin long to realize that intruders have arrived. After a brief telepathic conference, the spectators use their telepathy to jointly reach out to the characters:
Readaloud
An alien voice in your head says, “Mysterious outsiders! I am Spectator Greelob. This is Spectator Orlob. Each of us claims the right to guard this strange meteorite, but only one of us may do so.”
A similar yet different telepathic voice adds, “We call upon you to mediate our dispute at once!”
By asking appropriate questions, characters can learn the following information:
- Greelob and Orlob feel compelled to guard the meteorite because it seems like a worthwhile treasure to protect. However, neither spectator tolerates the other’s help. (They each want sole guardianship of the meteorite.)
- Neither Greelob nor Orlob were told to guard the meteorite.
- The cavern is the cyclopean ogre’s lair. The spectators just happened by after hearing the ogre drop the meteorite on the floor. Greelob arrived first, followed by Orlob and the gazers.
The spectators want the characters to choose a guardian for the meteorite, but simply making a choice isn’t enough to satisfy either spectator: the characters’ proposal must include a reasonable explanation. The explanation can be as simple as, “Greelob arrived first, so Greelob should guard the meteorite.” Alternatively, the characters can claim that neither spectator should guard the meteorite, since it clearly belongs to the ogre, or that the ogre should choose the guardian. Whichever characters make the proposal must then make a DC 13 Charisma (Persuasion) check. If one or more characters succeed on the check, the spectators settle their dispute in the way the characters suggest. If no character succeeds on the check, the spectators refuse to accept the characters’ proposal, although characters can make a different one.
If one spectator ends up guarding the meteorite, the other spectator takes the gazers and leaves via one of the other tunnels, disappearing into the mountain’s depths. The ogre stays behind. If the ogre ends up as the meteorite’s guardian, both spectators leave and take the gazers with them. The ogre, who is very tired, falls asleep shortly thereafter, allowing the characters to take the meteorite without any fuss.
Combat Erupts
The spectators won’t allow the characters to claim the meteorite under their watch. If combat erupts, the spectators defend the meteorite, the gazers scatter and flee in terror, and the cyclopean ogre wearily defends itself and its lair.
Back to the Ship
Once they’ve bagged the meteorite, the characters can use their sending stone to contact Boatswain Tarto, or they can simply head back to the tyrant ship. If they use the stone, Tarto replies as follows:
Readaloud
“Get back to the ship. This planet gives me the creeps.”
The characters have no encounters on their way back to the tyrant ship. Once they climb the rope ladder and get back aboard, Boatswain Tarto takes back the characters’ sending stone as well as the bag of holding.
With Saerthe at the spelljamming helm, the tyrant ship flies away from H’Catha, slipping past other tyrant ships on patrol. Saerthe then sets a course for Toril.
Lighting a cigar, Boatswain Tarto tells the characters, “Now comes the easy part.”
Part 2: Journey Interrupted
In this part of the adventure, the characters must deal with Qitru, a githyanki working for the mercane Vocath. Qitru’s mission is to retrieve Miken, the traitorous cadet. The githyanki doesn’t know Miken is no longer aboard the tyrant ship, so negotiations could get interesting.
Asteroid Ahead!
The characters’ tyrant ship encounters an asteroid a few days’ travel from H’Catha. Proximity to the asteroid causes the ship to reduce speed. Read the following:
Readaloud
It has been a few uneventful days, except for the revelation that Saerthe is an excellent dragonchess player. Tarto continues your training to keep your edge and stave off boredom. You’ve now memorized each card in the Wildspace creature silhouettes deck she brought along.
You’re gathered on the Command Deck at mealtime when Saerthe says, “Feels like an asteroid coming up on us.” As the ship slows down, Saerthe remarks, “I’m sure I’m right but go get a visual to confirm.” Tarto hands you back the sending stone. “Just in case. Now go stretch them legs.”
The characters need to head down to the Hollow Deck of the tyrant ship to get a good view of what’s slowed them down. As they climb down the rope ladders, they pass through the tyrant ship’s gravity plane before getting a good vantage point at the edge of one of the large openings on the deck. From this vantage point, they see the following:
Readaloud
A rocky debris field floats just outside your ship’s air envelope. About half a mile away, a pock-marked asteroid rotates slowly. The asteroid is at least three times larger than your vessel.
Attempting to hide behind the asteroid is a damselfly ship crewed by githyanki. Characters who succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check can see a brief glint suggestive of a metallic vessel moments before it disappears behind the asteroid.
If the characters send a message back to Tarto, she has a hunch that the hidden ship is a pirate vessel, since pirates are known to haunt this region of Wildspace.
Qitru’s Arrival
Read or paraphrase the following:
Readaloud
You see a strange distortion in space moments before a winged, sharklike creature appears in front of you. It has blue skin, four wings, and a hornlike protrusion on its head. An armored figure rides on its back. The rider says, “Hail to you. I’ve come to retrieve something that is of interest to my employer. Please produce the human named Miken Haverstance, and all will be well.”
Qitru, a githyanki warrior, rides a star lancer. The star lancer used Invisibility Cloak to approach the tyrant ship unseen.
Qitru is the first officer aboard the damselfly ship lurking behind the asteroid. The damselfly is one of several ships dispatched throughout Realmspace to intercept the characters and retrieve Miken. Qitru and her githyanki shipmates were told that Miken is traveling aboard a tyrant ship with several other cadets. Qitru’s ship was positioned in the right place at the right time to intercept the tyrant ship on its way from H’Catha to Toril.
Qitru doesn’t know the tyrant ship’s combat capabilities, so she’s not willing to risk her entire crew to retrieve Miken. If the characters tell Qitru that Miken is not aboard the tyrant ship, Qitru assumes they are either lying to protect Miken. She asks, “Why risk your lives to protect a traitor?” She then demands that they produce Miken at once. If the characters refuse or reassert the fact that Miken is not aboard, Qitru and the star lancer attack.
Spoiling for a Fight
If combat ensues, Qitru and the star lancer close to melee range. When Qitru or the star lancer has fewer than 20 hit points remaining, Qitru orders the star lancer to retreat. On its next turn, the star lancer uses Invisibility Cloak and flies back toward the asteroid. If the star lancer dies before it can escape, Qitru casts misty step on her next turn, teleports next to a character, and attacks with her greatsword.
If a character uses the sending stone to request help from Boatswain Tarto, she says, “I’ll be right there!” and heads to the Hollow Deck. Tarto is armed with a musket (+7 to hit) that deals 1d12 + 3 piercing damage on a hit.
Capturing Qitru
If Qitru is captured, the characters can interrogate her. Under interrogation, she reveals the following information:
- Qitru and her crew work for a mercane named Vocath.
- Vocath has several vessels looking for the tyrant ship.
- The damselfly ship hiding behind the asteroid has a four giff and four githyanki aboard it.
Strange Sigil
Characters who search Qitru or observe her closely notice a strange sigil tattooed on the back of her right hand. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of transmutation magic around the tattoo. The tattoo is Vocath’s sigil, worn by those who are closest to the mercane.
Onward
Saerthe guides the tyrant ship out of the debris field and continues toward Toril. The ship picks up speed once it gets a mile away from the asteroid. Saerthe’s priority is to get back to Toril and make sure Spelljammer Academy knows that Vocath has operatives searching for Miken. “Hopefully, we’ll get to him before they do,” Saerthe remarks.
Damselfly Ship
The damselfly ship has a crew of four giff shipmates and four githyanki warriors (not including Qitru). As the tyrant ship moves away from the asteroid, the damselfly’s canny giff captain, Mustaf Shultz, instructs the ship’s spelljammer, a githyanki named Nalvoor, to follow the tyrant ship to Toril while keeping a safe distance.
The characters encounter the damselfly ship again in the next part of the adventure.
Part 3: Homecoming
Ten days after their encounter near the asteroid, the characters return to Toril:
Readaloud
Shortly after Saerthe parks the tyrant ship in orbit around Toril, the hammerhead ship Flighty Foundling arrives to give you, Saerthe, and Boatswain Tarto a lift back to the academy. Seasoned staff are left behind to take care of the tyrant ship.
After returning to Spelljammer Academy on the island of Nimbral, Tarto tells you to get some rest while she and Saerthe brief the senior staff. Tarto orders you to stay away from Miken and report for maintenance work in the morning.
The characters aren’t allowed to attend the senior staff briefing or see Miken, who is confined to his quarters. Two veterans stand guard outside Miken’s room, the door to which has an arcane lock spell cast on it.
Extraction Force
When the characters report for duty the next morning, they’re assigned to maintenance work on the Flighty Foundling: scrubbing decks and making minor repairs. The Flighty Foundling is moored on the side of the Spelljammer Academy’s structure, about 400 feet above the Sea Dock, roughly at the level of the Gymnasium (see handout 1).
The characters’ work is interrupted by a strike force that is determined to retrieve Miken and commandeer the Flighty Foundling.
Fight for the Foundling
Read the following:
Readaloud
As you’re deep in your tasks, a shadow of another ship passes over the deck of the Flighty Foundling. The ship looks like it’s preparing to dock on the level directly above you. The ship looks like a giant metal insect, its hull gleaming in the sunlight.
Ropes drop from the vessel and land on the main deck of the Flighty Foundling, near the sterncastle. Two brawny, hippo-headed Humanoids dressed for combat zip down the lines on steel loops. They land on the deck with a resounding thud. One of them points at you, snorts, and says, “Get off our ship.”
As soon as the giff land on the Flighty Foundling, the damselfly ship swings around to the other side of the academy’s tower, heading to make its second deposit—the team to extract Miken. The damselfly ship then departs.
Creatures
The two giff shipmates have orders to secure the Flighty Foundling while an extraction team retrieves Miken, dead or alive. The giff give the characters a chance to flee the vessel. If the characters stand their ground, the giff hurl grenades at them before closing to melee range.
If captured and interrogated, the giff reveal that they take their orders from Mustaf Shultz, the giff captain of the damselfly ship, who takes his orders from Vocath the mercane. Shultz and his fellow giff are mercenaries, and Vocath pays them well for their loyalty.
Hammerhead Ship
For this encounter, use the hammerhead ship deck map below. Boatswain Tarto and the characters are on the forecastle when the giff land on the main deck near the sterncastle.
Gallery
Shipboard Weapons
The ballista on the forecastle takes 1 action to load, 1 action to aim, and 1 action to fire. A ballista bolt (+6 to hit) deals 16 (3d10) piercing damage on a hit. The hammerhead ship’s mangonels are undergoing maintenance and have no ammunition available.
Shoved Overboard
A creature that is pushed over the edge of the ship must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw to grab hold of the side of the ship. On a failure, the creature plunges down to the water 400 feet below, taking 70 (20d6) bludgeoning damage.
Another Attack?
Right as their fight with the giff concludes, the characters hear an explosion coming from the other side of the academy, in the direction of the cadet quarters. They now have a choice: head toward what is clearly another attack (continue with “Freeing Miken” below) or remain aboard the Flighty Foundling (skip ahead to “Staying Put”).
Freeing Miken
If the characters leave the ship and race toward the cadet quarters, they hear sounds of musket fire as they get closer to Miken’s quarters. (See the inset map in the Spelljammer Academy map, handout 1.) They soon come upon the extraction crew:
Readaloud
You reach the bottom of the stairs and see a corridor filled with smoke. A half dozen dead bodies litter the hallway floor. Coming toward you, obscured by the smoke, are two gaunt figures in armor. One clutches a greatsword, while the other holds a struggling, badly wounded Miken Haverstance.
Hallway Features
The hallway in the cadet quarters is 10 feet wide and 60 feet to the bend at the south. The bodies on the floor belong to two dead sailors, two dead guards, and two dead members of the extraction force—one giff and one githyanki. Two rooms lie east of the characters: a laundry room about 20 feet from the stairs, and another dormitory 20 feet beyond that.
The hallway has the following features:
Errant Grenade
One of the dead giff’s grenades was primed but not released when the giff died at the bend in the corridor. At the end of each turn in combat, roll a d6. On a 6, the grenade rolls from the giff’s hand and goes off. Each creature within a 20-foot-radius area of the bend in the south end of the corridor must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 17 (5d6) force damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Light
This area is brightly lit by continual flame spells cast on wall sconces.
Smoke
The smoke is from a smoke bomb dropped by the giff when the extraction force moved to break Miken out of his makeshift brig. The smoke makes the hallway lightly obscured.
Creatures
Two wounded githyanki warriors (each with 30 hit points remaining) have Miken (an apprentice wizard with 2 hit points remaining and at-will spells only) in custody. The githyanki are heading toward the Flighty Foundling when the characters intercept them. The githyanki don’t bother engaging in dialogue. One of them grapples Miken while the other one attacks.
If one githyanki falls in battle, the other githyanki uses its next action to try to slay Miken and take his head. One hit is enough to drop Miken to 0 hit points, and a follow-up swing with a greatsword is enough to decapitate him. If the characters defeat the githyanki before Miken can be killed, Miken crumples to the ground and weeps like a baby. He neither helps nor harms the characters.
Never Fear, Wizpop Is Here!
If the characters are in danger of being defeated by the githyanki, help comes from an unlikely source.
The dormitory near the laundry room is the new temporary quarters for Wizpop, the autognome rescued by the characters in the previous adventure. Wizpop has been hiding in his room ever since the fighting broke out. Once he spies the characters, he gets the courage to make his presence known to them. Read the following:
Readaloud
From the room nearby, a tinny voice quietly says, “Over here. I can help!”
Wizpop is a noncombatant but has found his courage and wants to help in this dire situation. The characters might have him go to get additional help or cause a distraction. If he goes to find help, a few rounds later he returns with two guards (use the veteran stat block) to aid in the fight.
Staying Put
If the characters chose to remain aboard the Flighty Foundling, the two wounded survivors of Vocath’s extraction force come to them with Miken in tow:
Readaloud
Two gaunt figures in blood-spattered armor emerge from the academy onto the platform where your ship is moored. One clutches a greatsword, while the other holds a struggling, badly wounded Miken Haverstance.
Creatures
The two githyanki warriors (each with 30 hit points remaining) have Miken (an apprentice wizard with 2 hit points remaining and at-will spells only) in custody. One of them grapples Miken while the other one uses misty step to board the ship and attack.
If one githyanki falls in battle, the other githyanki uses its next action to try to slay Miken and take his head. One hit is enough to drop Miken to 0 hit points, and a follow-up swing with a greatsword is enough to decapitate him. If the characters defeat the githyanki before Miken can be killed, Miken crumples to the ground and weeps like a baby. He neither helps nor harms the characters.
If the githyanki defeat or drive off the characters, one of them begins the process of attuning to the spelljamming helm. The githyanki doesn’t finish the process—Mirt shows up with some aides to defeat the githyanki before too long. If one or more characters are dying, Mirt shows up in time for those characters to be saved by his aides.
After the Attack
The following sections tie up a few loose ends.
Strange Sigils
Characters who defeat the githyanki and examine them closely notice a strange sigil tattooed on the back of each githyanki’s right hand. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of transmutation magic around the tattoo. The tattoo is Vocath’s sigil, worn by those who are closest to the mercane. If the tattoos are brought to the attention of Saerthe or Tarto, they mention it to Mirt a few hours later. Mirt knows exactly what the symbol means, and eventually the characters are told as well. It is the mark of Vocath’s personal retinue; only the mercane’s most trusted operatives earn it.
Miken’s Fate
If he survives the attack, Miken is sentenced to five years of hard labor, to be served at a penal colony on a small island off the Sword Coast. He plans to turn over a new leaf and hopes to see the characters again once he’s a free man.
Damselfly’s Escape
After dropping off the extraction force, the damselfly ship is chased away by another spelljamming vessel. The pursuing vessel, which is crewed by academy cadets on a training exercise, is slower than the fleeing damselfly ship. At your discretion, the damselfly ship might reappear in some later adventure, with Mustaf Shultz in command and the githyanki Nalvoor at the helm.
Graduation Day
Two weeks after the attack, Graduation Day finally arrives. During the graduation ceremony, each character is brought forward and recognized for their deeds with great fanfare. Toward the end of the ceremony, Mirt closes out with a few words memorializing those that were recently lost and promises to keep Spelljammer Academy open and safe.
Each character can choose to remain at the Spelljammer Academy as a newly minted sailor in the ranks of the Spelljammers or the Spelljammer Corps. Conversely, the characters can enroll in a placement program whereby they are assigned to a ship under the command of a captain who is friendly toward Mirt and Spelljammer Academy. The characters are then dispatched to a coastal city and told to await the ship’s arrival.
Graduation Gifts
As a reward for their heroism, each character can choose one item from the following list as a graduation gift:
The End?
Readaloud
Your time at Spelljammer Academy is over. The promise of a new adventure awaits in Neverwinter, a city to the north. Boatswain Tarto gnaws on her cigar as she bids you farewell. “Don’t forget to write,” she says with a grin.
Far above you, in the space above Toril, a mothlike ship appears. Its purpose unknown, it waits, biding its time. …
Character Advancement
The characters advance to 5th level and are ready for Light of Xaryxis!
Note
To Be Continued!
The adventure doesn’t stop here! The fate of the world is at stake, and the adventurers are well suited to take on the challenge of saving it! Light of Xaryxis, the adventure in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, picks up the action right where this story left off.
If you’d like to keep your adventure set in the Forgotten Realms or if you’re running these adventures as a part of the D&D Adventurers League Forgotten Realms campaign, begin Light of Xaryxis in Neverwinter.
Creature Statistics
- Apprentice Wizard
- Gazer
- Giff Shipmate
- Githyanki Warrior
- Ogre
- Spectator
- Star Lancer
- Veteran
Handout 1: Spelljammer Academy Map
Gallery
