Adventure Type: One Shot
Adventure Goal: Sail across the Bazagon Archipelago, inspect and record three possible nesting sites of the rare white-winged mirror tern
XP Reward: AL-appropriate XP and GP rewards.
VTT: Foundry VTT local server
Call: At session time, see Voice Channels on the Discord server.

Important Note

This is a low-combat naval expedition designed for different tiers of play:

AL 3 for character levels 2–4
AL 6 for character levels 5–7
AL 9 for character levels 8–10

This adventure focuses on exploration, investigation, navigation, puzzle-solving, naturalist fieldwork, and faction consequences. Combat may happen depending on player choices and complications, but this is not primarily a battle-focused adventure.

Leave a comment when signing up if you are also available for other ALs with your other characters. The final AL level run for the adventure will be decided by the amount of signed-up character tiers.

Notes

A. Character Preparation
If you are bringing a character or features from Esper’s book, please provide those beforehand — if I have enough time, I will automate them for your convenience on Foundry. To save time converting your characters to Foundry VTT, please provide one of the following no later than 1 hour before session:

• a D&D Beyond sheet;
• a filled-out PDF or plain-text character sheet;
• a fully filled-out character sheet on the website.

B. Rules
Server rules RAW.
5.5e rules RAW.

C. Naval and Expedition Rules
This adventure uses homebrew rules for sea hexploration and naval travel. You do not have to know them beforehand, as I will guide you through the mechanics.

The adventure will also use structured skill challenges for the expedition sites. Each POI has its own objective, complications, and success/failure track. Different characters will be able to contribute through skills, tools, magic, role-play and practical problem-solving.

Link here.

Description

The white-winged mirror terns have returned to the Bazagon Archipelago.

Each year, the pale sea-birds arrive with the turning of the season, their wings flashing like pieces of morning light over the reefs. Their nesting grounds are watched by naturalists, priests, sailors, and scholars alike. Some say their migration marks safe waters. Others say their flight remembers routes older than the Empire itself.

This year, the birds came early. They came in unusual numbers. And they did not return to only one rookery.

Three possible nesting sites have now been reported across different parts of the archipelago: an abandoned old rookery near low burial reefs, a lantern-marked rock chain where the birds circle in confusion, and a dangerous outer shoal where thousands of white wings have been seen at dawn.

The Astariad Order wants the birds’ flight patterns and dawn alignments recorded. You are to sail between three sites, gather evidence, protect the birds where possible, and return with a defensible conclusion for this year's phenomenon. The nesting period usually lasts for 10 days so your task is of utmost haste.