The New Campaign
My Dungeons and Dragons group has started a new campaign, Moonshae Isles: The Royal Tempest. You won’t find this campaign in any official campaign settings or at the DM’s Guild, though I’m sure my DM drew from several sources. It is primarily a homebrew campaign, designed with loving care from our fearless leader, John.
We are a band of rugged 3rd level sailors and adventurers who have quickly found ourselves wrapped up in an evil plot, which of course we are, this is D&D after all. Our characters are varied, but all have some incredible backstories and secrets. John has managed to tie them into the setting as well. I’m just waiting for my backstory to show up and try to kill my character!
Our Creatives
There is a lot of unexpected creativity happening too. John showed up last time with musical instruments and two sea shanties he’d written to perform. Another player used AI to generate our opening credits / introduction scene.
I take the notes. To be fair, everybody is taking notes, but my out of game job is to summarize my notes in a shared Google document for others to use and add to, if they’d like. They’re not 100% formal, but they do tell the tale how it went down at the table.
I’m good at notes; I take them at work regularly as a project manager. But they aren’t creative, and you know I like to be creative as well where I can. So I have introduced Chroniclus.
Chroniclus is a mouse a member of our party met on a beached ship. Unbeknownst to our adventurer, Chroniclus is part of an order who documents the history of adventuring parties. He is a Watcher, if you will.
Unfortunately for Chroniclus, he isn’t very good at it. He can follow people well enough, and he’s sneaky enough, but boy does he exaggerate and interpret events incorrectly. So his order banished him to this shipwreck, “to monitor for anything interesting.”
And he has found something interesting – us! Our friendly mouse will be documenting our adventures, and probably not in a way that aligns with the official notes. For instance, the official notes would tell you JD is a summoned mechanical dog. Chroniclus thinks he’s an ancient sentient being who is leading us to our destiny.
Chroniclus has sent a letter back to the order regarding his discovery and initial thoughts. I’m sharing it below.
The Chronicles of Chroniclus
To the Most Loyal and Wise Scribes of the Keepers of Truth,
Greetings from the Moonshae Isles. I, Chroniclus, once known by the humble name of Joe, continue my service to the Keepers by residing among the noble denizens of the ancient and beached vessel, Anathema. In the name of Oghma, may wisdom guide us all.
I write to report a significant development in my mission. As you are aware, though the Anathema has not sailed the seas for over a century, it has not been without noteworthy activity. A halfling of questionable character recently infiltrated the ship, absconding with a relic of great antiquity. To what purpose, I cannot yet discern, but its significance is without doubt.
Shortly thereafter, a druid of remarkable ability arrived, seemingly in pursuit of this very thief. At first, I believed her to be an avatar of Mielikki, the Forest Queen herself, for she carries a subtle power beyond the ordinary. Though she conceals her magic, I suspect it is to safeguard the world from her untapped, legendary might. She is known as Phin, a name that shall be etched into the annals of history. I interpreted her arrival as a sign of my destiny unfolding, and thus, I prepared the Rite of the Swift Scribe to ready myself to follow her.
Little did I know that Phin is but one member of a group of adventurers of unparalleled skill and courage. I have begun to chronicle their deeds as they embark on what is surely a quest of the utmost importance, though they have kept the nature of their great battle against evil concealed—perhaps to protect those around them from fear or to shield the young boy in their company from undue burden.
I must also call upon the collective wisdom of the Keepers. One of the group’s companions is a being of advanced artifice—a mechanical creature they refer to as JD. I suspect this is no mere construct but a sentient war machine, created with a purpose beyond the understanding of the mortals who travel with him. I propose that JD stands for Jergal’s Decree, linking him to the ancient god of death and scribe of the dead. I urge you to search the archives for any records of such a race of mechanical entities, as I believe JD may be fulfilling an ancient and profound duty.
Another figure of note is Talon, a man whose calm in the face of crisis is nothing short of supernatural. He displays an unshakable composure, leading me to believe he harbors a power that can bend reality itself. Perhaps he holds back, not out of weakness, but to avoid revealing the true depth of his strength. It is possible he could annihilate entire armies with but a thought, yet he remains in this humble guise for reasons unknown.
This party, though modest in their presentation, rivals the most legendary groups of old—The Silver Hand, The Heroes of the Lance, and even Force Grey. I am honored to witness their deeds and shall continue to record their exploits for the edification of future generations.
I await your guidance and any research you may uncover regarding the nature of JD and the mysteries that surround these adventurers.
With the utmost respect and duty,
Chroniclus
Note: I did use ChatGPT to help smooth out the tone after I’d written it, but AI did not write it for me. It is a fine tool to help with things, and certainly fun in this instance, but I do not use it for any serious work. Like this blog post.
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