On January 11th I started running Pyres of Nocturnus, taking place in a homebrewed campaign setting I spent 3-4 years developing. I'm ooving this campaign and it might be the best I've created, which is good because I am getting up there in age and I may not create more campaign settings after this. This is my campaign journal. Sessions are recorded, edited, then uploaded to YouTube @VTTeamPlayers
The world of Aquaria was once mostly water...until a cataclysm caused the world to become tidal locked with its sun. As a result, one sides of the world is bathend in eternal light, the other side in eternal dark. Between them is a blending of light and dark...a twilight area.
The setting has 3 full campaigns, each from levels 1 to 20.
Pyres of Nocturnus takes place on the dark side, but it actually hegins in Sidney, Australia. The player character board a flight heading for New York City. Through a dramatic series of events, the flight is caught up in a magical storm and transported to Aquaria. It crashes in the snowy terrain of the dark side...called Nocturnus.
Not all passengers survive the crash. There are 14 NPC passengers, plus the player group. All are (currently) human. All are level 0.They begin with no class, but with real world professions.
Before Session Zero (which I did not record unfortunately), I asked each player to create lists of 3 species and 3 spclasses they most wished to play. From these, I created card decks for each player...Species cards and Class cardas. In session 0, they each drew a card from their decks to determine what they would eventually become. Only the DM and player knows the results.
The plane breaks in half and crashes, leaving a huge opening in the back. The back of the plane fell away in the crash...along with several occupied seats (intentional...in gives me a window to bring in new players if I need to later). Every wakes. Bodies are everywhere. A blizzard rages outside. The survivors haul the dea out through the big opening, and then use blankets to close off the rear flight attendant station in order to block the cold. There is a tear in the rights side of the plane as well, which they cover with more blankets. Still, it is very cold...but at leats they have some protection from the harsh climate.
There are 14 surviving passengers, plus four player characters (we're adding a 5th player soon).
The rest of the session is spent treating the wounded and salvaging what they can from the wreck. They have no magic yet...so they must rely on two first aid kits (10 uses of 1d6 healing each) and a portable defibrillator (10 revive uses). Keep in mid they character limitations at the start:
Ability scores of 10 across the board, and I gave each a +2 to perception checks.
They are using NPC character sheets , at CR 0, until they reach level 1
I gave them 20 hit points each to give them a fair shot at surviving what's coming.
They start with no weaponsunarmed strikes only.
I created rollable tables for 5 preflight trinkets (the table has 100 items ) These are items that they can carry onto the flight, and they included them in their backstory if the could...for example, one player got a wheel chair, so he was paralized from the waist down when he boarded the plane (after the frash, he found that he could walk again; like Locke from LOST)
I also created a huge table of items they could salvage from the crashed plane. These ranged from the little alchohol bottles to seat cushions to two revolvers (marshal and pilote, who both died in the crash). They ended up with items that could be used as improvised weapons as well...a tripod, a cane, etc. They found bottles of water, heat packs. Snacks. Blankets of various colors. They took jakets off the dead to aid the living.
Two hours into the three hour session, the VTT starts glitching with tech issue (site-wide), so we had to end early.
I'm out of practice with OBS and such, so there were a couple issues I had to fix while editing...but it has been uploaded.
SESSION 2 (JFeb 1, 2026) - Note: We play the first 3 Sundays each month, starting at noon eastern time. Not streamed live.
In this session, we started with a little more salgvaging, just to loosen up the players and calm their nerves. Then, hehe, they heard growling outside the plane. A polar bear was lurking about. It found the dead bodies and dragged one off to munch on. No conflict. Whew!
Then on of the fharacter decided to go to the back office f the plane and look around just outside. While just outside tohr big opening, he coughed on smoke rising from the broken wing. A coughing fit came over him (failed con save) and the noise of it attracted 7-8 zombies that were nearby.
Rolled Initiative for the first time!
During the battle, the most of the ammo in the revolvers was used up ( I didn't expect that...I though they would try to save amnor for laterer battles since it's unlikely they would find more). Most of the fired shots missed, lol. One player was reduced to zero hit points and she made one death save and failed one...before another used a first aid kit to heal her for a few points.
They needed the help of a couple passengers to defeat the zombies.
About the other passengers: I told them that when they reach the first city, and passenger who arrives alive with them provides a +1 to all of their ability scores on top of rolled stats (which they will roll when they reach the city). A doctor and the two flight attendants are worth 2 ability points each. This might seem like a lot considering they started with 14 surviving passengers, but stay tuned. They are at least 6 sessions from reaching the nearest cited...and lots of dangers. It did, however, make them reluctant to ridk the passengers in battle
Exhausted after the battle, and with the cold draining energy as well, they decided to rest.
There were no VTT glitches for this session..but...I forgot to unmute our microphones for the recording! Ahhh! Thankfully, I also have zoom set up to record audio and video in separate files...I had to learn some new editing software within a couple days time but I was able to sinc the sound with the video and add some sound effects. On to of that, our theme song was finished and sent to me, so I was able to add it to the beginning of the session! One issue with the editting software..lI didn't scheck my volumes, so they game volume ended up being louder than the song video...viewer will need to lower their folume when they watch it. But...Session 3 turned out perfect!
This session began with a flashback. One of the characters in the group dreamed a memory, and she was the first to wake. A passenger had been keeping watch. After a few moments, she realized she could hear something at the back of the plane. Slurping. Munching. Low growls. I'm guessing she though the polar bear was hack, feeding on another body. The zombie bodies were out there now as well. If not for the freezing temperatures, the smell would have been unBEARable ;)
At this point, the newest player looked out a side window, only to see a huge eye staring right back at him. He immediately moved away...and the very large Woolly T-Rex tore a large hole in the side of the plane to try to get at him and the other passengers. The npc doctor was immediately gobbled up. He was worth 2 ability points, hehe. There was another T-Rex at the huge opening at the back of the plane. It circled to the other side and started bashing the plane, causing those inside to make dexterity saves (they all succeeded, amazingly).
Key Note: The characters are level 0. The Woolly T-Rex monsters are CR 9. The goal was to get them out of the plane. Staying there into session 4 would have become boring, and this is a horror campaign...I had to push them out into the world. Still, players are unpredictable. They could have done something unexpected and I would have had to improvise. Thankfully, this was one of those very rare occurrences where things went according to the DM''s plan. Amazing!
The group rushed the passengers into the cockpit...in which the front winows of the plane had been shattered and the crew bodies dragged off by some unknown creature. Everyone climbed through the windows and fled northward into the blizzard. Four passengers had died in the encounter...leaving only 10 remaining.
Each PC and NPC had something to survive the cold environment. Blankets, jackets, hot packs...a range of items. They were still feeling the cold, but it wasn't killing them. Behind them T-Rex's demolished the remains of the plane. There will be no shelter if they returned.
Onward they tread, not knowing where they were going in the darkness...but eventually the blizzard ended. Snow still fell in light fluries, but the moon somehow broke threw the clouds and provided a little light. Hours passed. They came upon the remains of a dwarf, on his knees, frozen solid. From it, they salvaged a warhammer, a hand crossbow, and a breastplate. Continuing on for long hours, they were nearing the point of exhaustion when they saw a gargantuan humanoid-shaped silhouette...and at it's feet? An old abandoned cabin. Needing rest and with the blizzard starting up again, everyone headed for the cabin. The giant figure showed no sign of life. It was frozen in place.
Reaching the cabin, the door was frozen shut. Opening it required some force...and it resulted in a bit of noise...but they made it in, built a fire in the fire place, and found some items including a +1 mace. The also killed to rats they found in a pile of junk...and made a stew, then rationed it between themselves and the passengers.
In an old chest they found the journal of someone named Shiela. On the last page, ahe described how she and her friends were infected by some sort of virus. It transformed her friends into zombies, and at the time of her writing, she could feel it starting to change her as well. She had decided to go out into the blizzard and let the cold take her. Also in her writings, the group learned a couple things about the huge ice statue behind the cabin. The blizzard seemed to be coming from it. Sheila and her friends had tried to destry it, but it seemed indestructible.
At this point, they heard zombies approaching the cabin. Sheila and her friends were returning. The characters bolted the door and reinforced it with an overturned table. They were safe, but trapped. The cabin, thankfully, has no windows.
Key Note: Sheila and her friends are the characters from the 1980s D&D cartoon...Zombified. I have tokens for each of them. Sheila, Hank, Diana, Eric, Presto, Bobby and Uni. They are zombies, but they also still have their equipment...qnd instinctually know how to use them. I like to add homages to my games. This is one example. The plane crash was a homage to LOST. More are interlaced with the campaign...just a fun thing I like to do.
And as the session was coming to an end, perception rolsls revealed that each of the characters and a few of the passengers were...changing...gradually...in various ways. One was taller by 3 inches. Another shorter by 2 inches. Another's skin had darkened slightly and she seemed to bruise easily. A child's neck seemed a tiny bit longer, and the child had dreamed of having green scales on her arm. One of the two female flight attendants had grown a 5 o'clock shadown and her nostrils widened. Two more had developed lumps on their heads.
The magic of Nocturnus was changing them.
The session ended...and that brings us up to date!
The group discovered the entrance to an escape tunnel under the bed (pure luck that they discovered it), and used it to get out of the cabin. Combat avoided!
They then turned northward again and started traveling until they needed to make camp or become exhausted. Using the salvaged plane seat cushions and packing snow, they constructed two makeshift under snow shelters to house the 5 player characters and 13 NPC crash survivors. Good rolls followed, so nothing attacked them in the night...however...
...an NPC keeping watch had fallen asleep on watch and was silently dragged out just before waking time, so when the characters woke, he was gone. They noticed him gone and investigated...
...and strange almost humanoid furry creatures rose up from beneath the snow, surrounding them. Some had bows. Some had spears.
Will they fight or will they surrender and be taken prisoner?
On January 11th I started running Pyres of Nocturnus, taking place in a homebrewed campaign setting I spent 3-4 years developing. I'm ooving this campaign and it might be the best I've created, which is good because I am getting up there in age and I may not create more campaign settings after this. This is my campaign journal. Sessions are recorded, edited, then uploaded to YouTube @VTTeamPlayers
The world of Aquaria was once mostly water...until a cataclysm caused the world to become tidal locked with its sun. As a result, one sides of the world is bathend in eternal light, the other side in eternal dark. Between them is a blending of light and dark...a twilight area.
The setting has 3 full campaigns, each from levels 1 to 20.
Pyres of Nocturnus takes place on the dark side, but it actually hegins in Sidney, Australia. The player character board a flight heading for New York City. Through a dramatic series of events, the flight is caught up in a magical storm and transported to Aquaria. It crashes in the snowy terrain of the dark side...called Nocturnus.
Not all passengers survive the crash. There are 14 NPC passengers, plus the player group. All are (currently) human. All are level 0.They begin with no class, but with real world professions.
Before Session Zero (which I did not record unfortunately), I asked each player to create lists of 3 species and 3 spclasses they most wished to play. From these, I created card decks for each player...Species cards and Class cardas. In session 0, they each drew a card from their decks to determine what they would eventually become. Only the DM and player knows the results.
Now, on to Session1!
VTTeamPlayers, formerly DnDPlay20
I am a DM who believes in fun, roleplay and storytelling. The dice always have a story to tell
SESSION 1 (Jan 18, 2026)
The plane breaks in half and crashes, leaving a huge opening in the back. The back of the plane fell away in the crash...along with several occupied seats (intentional...in gives me a window to bring in new players if I need to later). Every wakes. Bodies are everywhere. A blizzard rages outside. The survivors haul the dea out through the big opening, and then use blankets to close off the rear flight attendant station in order to block the cold. There is a tear in the rights side of the plane as well, which they cover with more blankets. Still, it is very cold...but at leats they have some protection from the harsh climate.
There are 14 surviving passengers, plus four player characters (we're adding a 5th player soon).
The rest of the session is spent treating the wounded and salvaging what they can from the wreck. They have no magic yet...so they must rely on two first aid kits (10 uses of 1d6 healing each) and a portable defibrillator (10 revive uses). Keep in mid they character limitations at the start:
I created rollable tables for 5 preflight trinkets (the table has 100 items ) These are items that they can carry onto the flight, and they included them in their backstory if the could...for example, one player got a wheel chair, so he was paralized from the waist down when he boarded the plane (after the frash, he found that he could walk again; like Locke from LOST)
I also created a huge table of items they could salvage from the crashed plane. These ranged from the little alchohol bottles to seat cushions to two revolvers (marshal and pilote, who both died in the crash). They ended up with items that could be used as improvised weapons as well...a tripod, a cane, etc. They found bottles of water, heat packs. Snacks. Blankets of various colors. They took jakets off the dead to aid the living.
Two hours into the three hour session, the VTT starts glitching with tech issue (site-wide), so we had to end early.
I'm out of practice with OBS and such, so there were a couple issues I had to fix while editing...but it has been uploaded.
VTTeamPlayers, formerly DnDPlay20
I am a DM who believes in fun, roleplay and storytelling. The dice always have a story to tell
SESSION 2 (JFeb 1, 2026) - Note: We play the first 3 Sundays each month, starting at noon eastern time. Not streamed live.
In this session, we started with a little more salgvaging, just to loosen up the players and calm their nerves. Then, hehe, they heard growling outside the plane. A polar bear was lurking about. It found the dead bodies and dragged one off to munch on. No conflict. Whew!
Then on of the fharacter decided to go to the back office f the plane and look around just outside. While just outside tohr big opening, he coughed on smoke rising from the broken wing. A coughing fit came over him (failed con save) and the noise of it attracted 7-8 zombies that were nearby.
Rolled Initiative for the first time!
During the battle, the most of the ammo in the revolvers was used up ( I didn't expect that...I though they would try to save amnor for laterer battles since it's unlikely they would find more). Most of the fired shots missed, lol. One player was reduced to zero hit points and she made one death save and failed one...before another used a first aid kit to heal her for a few points.
They needed the help of a couple passengers to defeat the zombies.
About the other passengers: I told them that when they reach the first city, and passenger who arrives alive with them provides a +1 to all of their ability scores on top of rolled stats (which they will roll when they reach the city). A doctor and the two flight attendants are worth 2 ability points each. This might seem like a lot considering they started with 14 surviving passengers, but stay tuned. They are at least 6 sessions from reaching the nearest cited...and lots of dangers. It did, however, make them reluctant to ridk the passengers in battle
Exhausted after the battle, and with the cold draining energy as well, they decided to rest.
There were no VTT glitches for this session..but...I forgot to unmute our microphones for the recording! Ahhh! Thankfully, I also have zoom set up to record audio and video in separate files...I had to learn some new editing software within a couple days time but I was able to sinc the sound with the video and add some sound effects. On to of that, our theme song was finished and sent to me, so I was able to add it to the beginning of the session! One issue with the editting software..lI didn't scheck my volumes, so they game volume ended up being louder than the song video...viewer will need to lower their folume when they watch it. But...Session 3 turned out perfect!
VTTeamPlayers, formerly DnDPlay20
I am a DM who believes in fun, roleplay and storytelling. The dice always have a story to tell
SESSION 3 (Feb 8, 2026)
This session began with a flashback. One of the characters in the group dreamed a memory, and she was the first to wake. A passenger had been keeping watch. After a few moments, she realized she could hear something at the back of the plane. Slurping. Munching. Low growls. I'm guessing she though the polar bear was hack, feeding on another body. The zombie bodies were out there now as well. If not for the freezing temperatures, the smell would have been unBEARable ;)
At this point, the newest player looked out a side window, only to see a huge eye staring right back at him. He immediately moved away...and the very large Woolly T-Rex tore a large hole in the side of the plane to try to get at him and the other passengers. The npc doctor was immediately gobbled up. He was worth 2 ability points, hehe. There was another T-Rex at the huge opening at the back of the plane. It circled to the other side and started bashing the plane, causing those inside to make dexterity saves (they all succeeded, amazingly).
Key Note: The characters are level 0. The Woolly T-Rex monsters are CR 9. The goal was to get them out of the plane. Staying there into session 4 would have become boring, and this is a horror campaign...I had to push them out into the world. Still, players are unpredictable. They could have done something unexpected and I would have had to improvise. Thankfully, this was one of those very rare occurrences where things went according to the DM''s plan. Amazing!
The group rushed the passengers into the cockpit...in which the front winows of the plane had been shattered and the crew bodies dragged off by some unknown creature. Everyone climbed through the windows and fled northward into the blizzard. Four passengers had died in the encounter...leaving only 10 remaining.
Each PC and NPC had something to survive the cold environment. Blankets, jackets, hot packs...a range of items. They were still feeling the cold, but it wasn't killing them. Behind them T-Rex's demolished the remains of the plane. There will be no shelter if they returned.
Onward they tread, not knowing where they were going in the darkness...but eventually the blizzard ended. Snow still fell in light fluries, but the moon somehow broke threw the clouds and provided a little light. Hours passed. They came upon the remains of a dwarf, on his knees, frozen solid. From it, they salvaged a warhammer, a hand crossbow, and a breastplate. Continuing on for long hours, they were nearing the point of exhaustion when they saw a gargantuan humanoid-shaped silhouette...and at it's feet? An old abandoned cabin. Needing rest and with the blizzard starting up again, everyone headed for the cabin. The giant figure showed no sign of life. It was frozen in place.
Reaching the cabin, the door was frozen shut. Opening it required some force...and it resulted in a bit of noise...but they made it in, built a fire in the fire place, and found some items including a +1 mace. The also killed to rats they found in a pile of junk...and made a stew, then rationed it between themselves and the passengers.
In an old chest they found the journal of someone named Shiela. On the last page, ahe described how she and her friends were infected by some sort of virus. It transformed her friends into zombies, and at the time of her writing, she could feel it starting to change her as well. She had decided to go out into the blizzard and let the cold take her. Also in her writings, the group learned a couple things about the huge ice statue behind the cabin. The blizzard seemed to be coming from it. Sheila and her friends had tried to destry it, but it seemed indestructible.
At this point, they heard zombies approaching the cabin. Sheila and her friends were returning. The characters bolted the door and reinforced it with an overturned table. They were safe, but trapped. The cabin, thankfully, has no windows.
Key Note: Sheila and her friends are the characters from the 1980s D&D cartoon...Zombified. I have tokens for each of them. Sheila, Hank, Diana, Eric, Presto, Bobby and Uni. They are zombies, but they also still have their equipment...qnd instinctually know how to use them. I like to add homages to my games. This is one example. The plane crash was a homage to LOST. More are interlaced with the campaign...just a fun thing I like to do.
And as the session was coming to an end, perception rolsls revealed that each of the characters and a few of the passengers were...changing...gradually...in various ways. One was taller by 3 inches. Another shorter by 2 inches. Another's skin had darkened slightly and she seemed to bruise easily. A child's neck seemed a tiny bit longer, and the child had dreamed of having green scales on her arm. One of the two female flight attendants had grown a 5 o'clock shadown and her nostrils widened. Two more had developed lumps on their heads.
The magic of Nocturnus was changing them.
The session ended...and that brings us up to date!
VTTeamPlayers, formerly DnDPlay20
I am a DM who believes in fun, roleplay and storytelling. The dice always have a story to tell
Session 4 (February 15, 2026)
The group discovered the entrance to an escape tunnel under the bed (pure luck that they discovered it), and used it to get out of the cabin. Combat avoided!
They then turned northward again and started traveling until they needed to make camp or become exhausted. Using the salvaged plane seat cushions and packing snow, they constructed two makeshift under snow shelters to house the 5 player characters and 13 NPC crash survivors. Good rolls followed, so nothing attacked them in the night...however...
...an NPC keeping watch had fallen asleep on watch and was silently dragged out just before waking time, so when the characters woke, he was gone. They noticed him gone and investigated...
...and strange almost humanoid furry creatures rose up from beneath the snow, surrounding them. Some had bows. Some had spears.
Will they fight or will they surrender and be taken prisoner?
VTTeamPlayers, formerly DnDPlay20
I am a DM who believes in fun, roleplay and storytelling. The dice always have a story to tell