D&D Club Adventures Episode #1: Into Wildspace we go!!!

Greg Schaefer, Reporter
May 30, 2023

D&D Club regularly hold a D&D campaign for players that are not part of one or who are fresh to learn. Before I get into the first episode, let’s introduce our characters.

First, we have Sasukae Obenary, a Shadar-Kai Samurai of the Raven Queen, next we have Balathar the Brave, gold dragon-born paladin of Bahamut, next we have Thalin, Astral Elf Physic Fighter, next we have Journal Tinkerel, Auto-gnome cleric of Moradin, and finally the Large Pipo Feyfield, Giff Magic Gunslinger.

But before we get into the story, let’s explain how Dungeons and Dragons, or D&D for short works and how we play so that for readers who do not know can have a basic understanding for what happening behind the story I am about to tell.

How it Works

The core of D&D is about storytelling. The group of players essentially tell a collective story, guiding heroes through dangerous quests to search for treasure, battle deadly foes, and even carry out daring rescues. The adventure itself is only limited by the imagination of the players around the table. All that you really need to get started is a group of friends, a few supplies, and a good Dungeon Master.

What’s a Dungeon Master?
The Dungeon Master (DM) is the primary storyteller and creator of the adventure the heroes embark upon and are responsible for developing the setting, the goals each player must accomplish, and the rewards the heroes can earn. It’s the job of the DM to create an adventure that is fun, exciting, and challenging, while the objective of the players is to work together to survive.
Gather The Supplies
Getting started with D&D is easy. To begin a game, we recommend the following:
The Player’s Handbook (5th Edition)
One set of dice: a D4, D6, D8, D10, D12 and D20
Printed character sheets
Pencils
An adventure
Choose An Adventure
An adventure is basically a pre-made book that contains a story with fictional characters and monsters. For the very first adventure, we suggest selecting a “one-shot” (an adventure that can be completed in one session) instead of a multi-day campaign. One-shot campaigns generally come with lower commitment and take less work to get off the ground. A good place to begin is with a D&D Starter Set, a well-curated box that also contains pre-made characters, a rulebook, and dice. It’s a short adventure that provides an easy entry point into the game. If you want to jumpstart your foray into the world of D&D, we recommend finding a qualified Dungeon Master who can craft a customized adventure for your group. With an experienced DM, you’ll not only get the extra help to get started, but a richer, more immersive storytelling experience.
Create Your Hero
Before diving into the adventure, players must create their heroes. First, each player selects a race, or “species”, and a class, which is like the hero’s “job.” To get started, you’ll fill out a character sheet which is used to track the strengths and weaknesses of each hero. It’s important to fill in extra details too, like what the character looks like, what they wear, and the little quirks that make them unique. The hero should have a purpose that calls them to adventure – such as finding treasure, getting revenge, or seeking out a long-lost relative.
Picking a Race
 The character race gives players different sets of advantages and special abilities. For instance, a fighter could be a stubborn dwarf monster-slayer, a graceful elf blade master, or a fierce human gladiator. The character race not only affects the abilities and powers but also provides the first cues for building the character’s story. Some of the character races include:
Elf
Halfling
Human
Dwarf
Half-Orc
Gnome
Selecting a Class
 A hero’s class is the primary definition of what the character can do in the magical landscape of Dungeons & Dragons. A class is more than a profession; it is a character’s calling. A character’s capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by its class and will determine their available skills and abilities. Some of the character classes include:
Fighter
Wizard
Cleric
Rogue
Ranger
The thing to keep in mind when creating a character is that D&D becomes more intriguing and engaging when greater depth is given to each hero. Once the heroes have been established the DM can start to weave those details into the adventure.
Learn the Game Mechanics
 The thickness of The Player’s Handbook makes D&D seem complicated, but don’t let it be intimidating. In a nutshell, playing D&D is a three-step process:
Describe – The DM describes the scenario of the adventure
Decide – The heroes decide what they want to do
Roll – The hero rolls the dice to determine if they succeed or fail
From there, the cycle of steps continues, taking the heroes on a legendary adventure. The decision of each player is what makes the game unique and special, ensuring that no two campaigns are ever identical.
Establish Your Group
 It might come as a surprise to learn that the best D&D players are not necessarily gamers. Role-playing games are generally accommodating to all types of people, and most games take on the group’s collective personality. To have the most fun, we recommend groups embrace empathy and creativity, and are open to “going with the flow.”
These are all parts of D&D and the basics of it, take your time to read and process these parts of the game, now let’s me spin you the tale of the, Fired Five.

Previously, our party had return from a dangerous mercenary job to retrieve and protect an artifact known as the Forge of Spells, a forge specialized for the creation of magical items. But the party had failed the job by the hand of the organization they we’re protecting it from, Brothers Grimm. Grimm had stop and even killed one member of the party then stole and moved the forge of spell off the planet into the stars. So in a return of shame the party returned to their employer by escort of a neutral group, The Black Star company, who only aid the party because of one of the company’s members Drez relationship to the dead party member, Journal. So when they return back to their employer in the City of Luskan with their heads hung low, they return to Gregorian workshop and place Journal, his creation, on the work bench inside his shop for him to asset and decide what to do with Journal, so he dismisses his hired crew after they revile to him on the discovery they had found, a scroll with the spell Create Spelljammer Helm scribed in it which seem to slightly soothed his sorrow. So the group rest and recuperate themselves for days through many means, work, drinks, and research of personal topics. Eventually Balathar, Sasukae, and Pipo were called back to the shop for the next phase of their job and that’s where we pick up on.

When the current party Balathar, Sasukae, and Pipo enter back in the little front store that hides Gregorian’s massive forge and as they wait in the little shop their is a pounding at the door which drew out the small gnome known as Gregorian out and followed by a refurbished and commissioned Journal causing the party to be in shock & awe while Gregorian until the 10 to 15 locks of his front door to reveal a tall thin elven man wearing studded leather and a flintlock six barrel pistol in his holster and two scimitars across his back, looking at his face you can see small twinkles in his eyes as the party studies figure Gregorian breaks the silence, “Ah Thalin, took you long enough these here are the numskulls coming with you on the dancer, landing and everything ok? Nothing gone wrong? How bout maintenance?” The figure Thalin replies tiredly,”Landing was rough, other then the Helm ritual thingy. Everything is good.” “Well wonderful everyone come on back so I can set you on your task.” exclaims Gregorian as the all follow him behind the blood red curtains in the back of the shop to the vast workshops to a massive table with all sort of unorganized tools, blue prints, and mechanical components, “So first order of business, you Sasukae you carry the bag of holding I made for you all for easier transport BUT DON’T stuff another one in this one, you all know better” as he explains all of this he hands over a beautiful black pouch with the letters G.S. in gold stitching, “Now you Thalin, here” Gregorian tosses to the tall elven male two interlocking metallic rings big enough to fit their head, “That should help with the um. . . nightmares, just put one on your head before you trance.” as he finishes he stares around at the rest of the group as they look back at him seeming to expect things themselves and in response, “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, get out my shop, go make friends or something, you all leave tomorrow, NOW GET!!!”

Exiting the small shop, they all start discussing how they get to know each other, “So wanna grab a drink, I know a good place,” says Journal and as he leads them through the streets of Luskan, the ground starts to rumble violently and split as throughout the streets and the buildings massive, sharp, crystalline vines rapidly grow and smash all in their path causing the city to erupt into screams and panic with all the citizens running in panic towards the North and South docks to leave their destroying. In their wake of the grass green crystalline vines, orange amalgamations of humanoid creatures that trove in squads out of the rubble created from the vines and as they do, a dozen of these horrific humanoid tangle of vines advance on the party with their arm elongating to ten feet dragging on the floor and needle-like pricks in their claws, the orange leader swing both arms back like a whip then snap them forward at incredibly speeds and as they are about to impact into the party, that’s where we leave off.

Tune in next week when we roll in dungeons and slay dragons.