The Stolen Spark [a homebrew D&D one-shot]

About the adventure

Whoever you were in your past life means nothing. You serve the Artificer's Guild now. By their grit and determination, the Banished Sky survives. By their grace and ingenuity, the Banished Sky thrives. They are the keepers of the godsun and all of its sparks. Someone has stolen a spark, and you must do your duty and find them. Retrieve the spark. There can be no more suns without the blessing of the Artificer's Guild. This is a single-session D&D adventure for 6th-level characters set in a homebrew world I call the Banished Sky. Players new to D&D are welcome! Inspired in part by a book called Sun of Suns, this world takes place inside a giant sphere the size of the moon. Inside the sphere, there is near-zero gravity, so creatures without a fly(hover) speed would float untethered. Sunlight is the source of life, sustenance, and therefore power. Artificers have figured out how to create miniature suns, and it’s a closely guarded secret. The larger factions maintain their control by squashing smaller factions’ attempts to create their own suns; a sun means freedom. Rings are constructed around the suns that simulate gravity as they spin; the rings are where crops are grown and cities are built. The major flavors of this game are going to be swashbuckling, revolution, and political intrigue. History of Banished Sky as commonfolk know it: "Ages ago, there was a terrible war between gods. These gods fought their war on the material plane, on the earth that was reserved for we mortals. The nations, desperate to see the gods' war ended, began choosing sides and joining their armies in the war. And when the war finally began to turn to a final victory, the gods that would be defeated became desperate themselves. They would rather see their domain torn asunder and rule over a broken earth than yield to their enemies. They gathered their powers and ripped the very earth from beneath the god's feet that was their enemy, and sealed them in an impossible sphere before hurling it away. This cruel prison did not just carry the conquering god, but also our ancestors; mortals trapped in floating darkness with crumbling lands and an angry god. Those were our darkest times, in every way. It took many years to find our footing again, to navigate the dark horrors of our banishment. But our first Artificers, the ones who gave us Sky and Light, they captured that angry and destructive god. They changed the god into the Great Sun at the center of our Banished Sky. Do not pray to the gods, for they cannot hear you here, nor would they listen if they could. Only the godsun, whose light and warmth gives us life and magic, deserves your worship. Only the Artificers, whose courage and ingenuity gave us the godsun, deserve your devotion."

Additional Details

How to prepare

You will need a decent microphone for Discord chat (preferably set to Push-to-Talk), a Roll20 account, and a D&D Beyond account. Beyond that, just be ready to have some fun and tell a story together!

What I provide

I have every sourcebook on D&D Beyond, so you have all the character creation options available to you. There are subclass restrictions based on the setting.

Gameplay details

Lines are topics we don't touch on in the game at all. Veils are topics that happen "off-camera"; mentioned but not described. Players can let me know anytime if there are other topics that should be added to the Lines and Veils. Current Lines: sexual violence and harassment Current Veils: torture, violence against children and pets I also have X, N, and O cards for use during play. Players can make use of the safety tools available, and can always message the DM privately if they wish about any issues they might have.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Lines and Veils
X, N, and O Cards

How will character creation work

Character creation will happen ahead of the game. If you need help making a character, you can message me on Discord and we can work on it together. There will be some Class and Subclass restrictions to fit with the setting: Artificer is a restricted class and requires approval and input from the DM. Barbarians only have the following Path options: Beast, Berserker, Storm Herald (Tundra only), Totem Warrior, Wild Magic Bards only have the following College options: Eloquence, Lore, Spirits, Swords, Valor, Whispers Clerics only have the following Domain options: Light or Peace Druids only have the following Circle options available: Spores, Land, Moon, Wildfire Fighters only have the following Martial Archetypes available: Arcane Archer, Battle Master, Champion, Eldritch Knight, Chemslinger (homebrew variant of the CR Gunslinger), Psi Warrior, Samurai Monks only have the following Monastic Tradion options available: Way of Mercy, Way of Shadow (characters originating in the Pitch only), Way of the Drunken Master, Way of the Four Elements, Way of the Kensei (characters originating in the Adamir Dominion only), Way of the Long Death, Way of the Open Hand, Way of the Sun Soul (characters originating in the Dawnstar Empire only) Paladins only have the following Oath options available: Conquest (characters originating from the Adamir Dominion), Devotion or Crown (characters originating in the Dawnstar Empire), Redemption (characters originating in the Free Farmers Alliance or rogue settlements) Rangers have the following Archetype options only: Beast Master, Drakewarden, Gloom Stalker (characters originating in the Pitch only), Hunter, Monster Slayer, Swarmkeeper Rogues have no subclass restrictions Sorcerors only have the following Sorcerous Origins options available: Aberrant Mind, Draconic Bloodline, Shadow Magic (characters originating in the Pitch only), Storm Sorcery, Wild Magic Warlock is a restricted class and requires approval and input from the DM. Wizards have access to all Arcane Traditions except for School of Conjuration. Summoning magic in the Banished Sky is frowned upon. Beings ripped into the Banished Sky cannot return to their original plane. When a conjured creature dies in the Banished Sky, its essence remains and reforms later as a monstrosity or aberration. The wild skies of the Banished Sky are populated with all sorts of horrors that were once familiars or conjured companion animals. Conjuring is also more difficult, and when a player casts a Conjuration spell, they must roll a d20; on a roll of 1 or 2, the spell fails and spell slot is expended. The only exception to this appears to be Elementals. Spells that rely on interaction from the gods also fail.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.