My circle has talked about playing D&D for a long time, we just never quite got around to it. On New Years, 2021, it randomly came up in conversation and we pretty quickly decided it was something we should try. To solidify the plan I quickly purchased the trifecta of fifth edition (5e) books. Having learned my lesson in the past about going from thinking about doing something to actually doing it, I knew that we needed to start pretty quickly after the “mood” had struck, or it would have fizzled out before it even began. So I reached out to some family and a friend to fill out an adventuring group of five. From there, I had to quickly get a campaign together.

I’ll try not to bore you too much with campaign planning, but I’ll give you a little background. I read some advice about not going too deep into planning right off the bat, especially before you know your players and their backgrounds; in retrospect, this is fantastic advice. I did, however, want to get some of the legwork out of the way while making sure I could leave room to weave player’s characters into the narrative I was building. To do this, I drafted up some basic themes of my world and a bit of history surrounding the land. I felt myself trailing into too much detail when I began drafting up a timeline of an entire world history. Once that happened, I reigned myself back in. Alas, I’m not trying to write a Robert Jordan series, I’m just trying to run a fun campaign with some intriguing plot points.

One last thing before we begin. If you see text formatted like this, think of it as my commentary. Alright, without further delay!

The Heroes

Our first meeting was to establish the player characters. I worked with each player to make sure the background would at least mesh into the campaign without any glaring issues. To be honest, I didn’t have to do much.

Bingles Nucklestamp

Bingles is a Forest Gnome Rogue who lived the life of an urchin, though not by choice. She once traveled the world with a loving family. Her mother and father were merchants that moved from city to city, following commerce where it was most fruitful.

Her mother, a particularly bright woman, had an inquisitive mind and a curious spirit. Being a merchant, she spoke to many across the land, listening to their stories. She took a particular interest in the history of Kythus and Baelthe and began collecting her learnings in a compendium. She filed away rumors, stories, discoveries, and songs related to the strange history of Elytrian. Bingles noticed her mother’s attitude slowly changing the more time she spent on her journal. It was a gradual change, but Bingles swore her mother had become paranoid. Glancing over her shoulder frequently, avoiding crowds, swearing she’d seen men watching them. She filed it away as stress of traveling. That was until…

One night, while trying to put some distance between them and Ulden, their latest stop-off, a stranger stopped them on the road. He asked if he could pay his way aboard their wagon. Her mother was restless and insisted they keep moving. It was then that she heard it. A loud screeching sound, clanking metal, and a hiss. Suddenly, her world flipped upside down. Her head hurt and someone was holding her hand. “That’s strange”, she thought. Suddenly, she was standing near a treeline with her father knelt before her. “Bingles, run…” He pushed her, she tried to resist, so he shoved harder. She glanced over and saw fire spreading over their wagon. The next thing she knew, she was spriting through the woods.

Years passed and Bingles has bounced from city to city, eking out a living in the cracks of society. Being short of stature helped her in that regard but her wit could take most of the credit. Her latest venture was in Dekon, a bustling central city of Elytrian. Bustling meant business, and business meant some coin that people could part with. It was all well and good until she stole from exactly the wrong sort of person, a friend of Saida Elvalur - leader of Mistwatch. She hadn’t known it was a problem until she noticed a letter in her pocket that wasn’t there before…

“Little Gnome, if I weren’t impressed by your skill, I’d be inclined to take action against you. Instead, I offer you this, join Mistwatch or be prosecuted. See you soon.”

Siradius Blumeid

Siradius is a Tiefling Wizard. He had a troubled childhood, encountering prejudice due to his race. His father abandoned him at a young age and his mother was murdered by vigilantes. Ultimately, Siradius was left to his maternal aunt and uncle in a remote village sustained by its draotium mining operation. In this new life, he became the caretaker for his younger siblings. Conditions in the town were abysmal, to say the least; nothing more than captives to the enterprise that owned the mine: Sturme Materials. Under these pretenses, Siradius fell into a life of crime, stealing to make ends meet for his family. Maybe a few overseers fell into the mine…

Apparently enough Sturme associates “went missing” to warrant an investigation from Mistwatch. While in town, Siradius - in private - pleaded for an opportunity to join them, admitting to the suspected crimes. Fortunately for Siradius, the captain of this arm of Mistwatch felt for him and offered to take him back to Dekon to see about joining their ranks.

Thorim Stormwalker

Thorim, the Human Cleric. Stormwalker desires to follow in the footsteps of his father, Balfour Stormwalker, who was one of the most powerful Mjolnir’s Lightning to have lived in recent memory. It is rumored that Balfour would have been the next Thor’s Hammer had he not met an untimely end to the legendary ice dragon Sindragosa.

Thorim’s master - a Dwarf named Neradem Strongale - seeing his prowess with the warhammer and his mastery of the basics of storm magic, decided Thorim needed to seek out his own adventure. “Give the bards something to sing about boy!” were the dwarf’s parting words to Thorim. Before leaving, Thorim’s mother Freylon bestowed his Father’s old training warhammer, Ungrelding.

On his journeys, Thorim heard of a group called Mistwatch. Of particular interest were stories of their feats in vanquishing magical threats. Of course, in Thorim’s valor hungry eyes, he hopped on the opportunity to join their ranks and slay the darkness.

Vaya

Vaya, the High Elf Druid. At the formative age of five, Vaya was effectively kidnapped by the Black Gate - a pirate organization - during their raid of Lazuli, a prosperous port town. Her bravery in the face of their leader, Borduk, - or as she called him, “Old Man” - earned her a position among their ranks. Borduk bestowed upon her the name “Rat”, as she was discovered hiding in Lazuli among the filth…

Rat continued her servitude for an arduous fifteen years when a powerful up-and-coming young pirate, Rodry, led a successful mutinee against Borduk, throwing him overboard to be swallowed by the sea. Rodry, recognizing Rat’s potential, rewarded her more responsibility. After 20 years under Rodry’s control, the Black Gate boasted 17 ships, earning Rodry the honor of being the first pirate admiral. It was during this time that Vaya captured her first ship, and in recognition of this feat, Rodry gifted her this newly acquired vessel with the name Golden Dawn and honored her with a new name: Vaya, meaning stormy sea.

The years passed and Vaya had earned her position as second-in-command next to Rodry until his death at the age of 70. It was then that Vaya took command of the Black Gate. She continued his legacy, furthering the reach and influence of the Black Gate. During a mission to snuff out a band of rival pirates, disaster struck… While en route to the rival’s stronghold, a terrible storm rose, one more violent than Vaya had seen in her many years at sea. All ships on the mission were crushed by the storm and utterly destroyed. Vaya found herself clinging to the jagged rocks. Through the raging sea, she glimpsed a raven glowing with the light of the moon. It called to her three times. She fought her way to the raven, assuming it was calling her to the afterlife. The last thing she remembered before waking on the beach was the raven covering her eyes with its wings as her mind descended into a fog.

10 years later… After the fateful storm, Vaya decided her time with the Black Gate had come to an end. She let her fleet believe she had perished. Having survived the storm, she sought answers to the mystery of the raven. She spent a few years isolated in the wilderness, meditating on her life. It was then that she encountered a druid named Madge. Madge was in no condition to provide for herself but refused to leave the sacred grove she had dedicated her life to. Vaya offered to care for Madge in exchange for tutelage in the ways of the druid. Vaya lived this way for 8 years until Madge’s passing. Vaya lit a funeral pyre and left the grove without any progress toward understanding the raven.

For the first time in 10 years, Vaya found herself in a bustling city, Dekon. It was here that she discovered Mistwatch, an organization known for their investigative abilities, particularly into the otherwordly. It was decided then…

Ancalagon

Ancalagon, the Dragonborn Barbarian. Not much is known of Ancalagon. He was discovered as an egg in the rough Klybere Wilderness by a lone barbarian, Tygus. Tygus, not usually the sentimental type, raised Ancalagon as his own. Together they survived, fought, and tamed a slice of Klybere.

One night, Ancalagon was shaken awake by Tygus. “Stay here, protect the camp… I don’t have time to explain”, he said. Without any delay, Tygus bolted from their cabin. Ancalagon grabbed his sword and ran outside. Lightning arced across the sky, rain pelted down in an unrelenting torrent. Moments later, a group of hooded men appeared at the treeline. The ensuing battle wasn’t pretty, graceful, or any such romantic event. Ancalagon thrashed, sloshing through the mud as he cut the men down one by one. The last remaining figure stood at the treeline, stepped back, and was gone. Ancalagon ran forward in pursuit but no trace could be found. Ancalagon stood as the rain soaked him through, no chance of tracking Tygus in the rain…

Months passed and Ancalagon grew restless. He needed answers. He suspected there was more to Tygus than he let on, but they never talked much deeper than of survival, which he regretted at this moment. Nothing was keeping him here, so he packed up and headed south. It wasn’t long until he discovered a caravan heading to Dekon. He welcomed a set of wheels and they a more than capable guard. Talk was small, but he explained he was looking for someone. “You’re headed to the right city then, friend. Mistwatch is headquartered there.”

The World

Welcome to Elytrian, a storied land of monsters and mystery. Unlike many realms, nearly 5,000 years ago, Elytrian underwent an explosion of scientific discovery the likes of which have never been repeated. This golden age of technology thrust the land into prosperity and - some would say - utopia. It lasted for a time.

Legends tell of Kytherus and Baelthe , the forbearers of this academic expansion who - under the reign of King Rhos’ - pushed the boundaries of understanding. Automation, machinery, and long distance magic telemetry were but a few of their contributions. Lore, however, also whispers of the catastrophic downfall at the hand of Baelthe; leaving scars upon the land and a lasting, innate fear of science. As with most history, the details are lost with time as is the technology…

Since then, kingdoms have risen and fallen, wars won and lost. Generations have passed and buried with it the remnants of the fallen utopia. But now, among the shadows, forces are at work; forces with a memory of the past that could upend Elytrian. Strange and unexplained occurrences have begun to surface across the land…

This is where your story begins. For various reasons, you all have joined Mistwatch, an organization that specializes in the unexplained and otherworldly. You have been dispatched from Dekon, the central keep of the Talavore Region - home of the Mistwatch headquarters - to Olban, a sleepy mining village that has been reporting troubles with a nearby excavation project.

You find yourselves at Took’s Shanty, a tavern that - despite its name - appears to be a gathering place for middle-class patrons. It’s dusk and patrons have begun to trickle in to take the edge off. Now the story is yours…

What you see above is the introduction I gave the players on our very first session. It set the stage for why the characters had come together. Essentially, each of them had their own reason for joining Mistwatch, either by choice or fate. I had originally planned on having them start in the middle of their first investigation, foregoing the tavern opening, but I changed that last second. I felt that a good ol’ tavern opening gives everybody a chance to get comfortable around each other and get oriented.

So that about wraps up the introduction to our D&D campaign. In an upcoming post, we’ll dive into the adventure that the players have undergone thus far and catch up to where they are now. I hope you enjoy following along!