Apocalyptica Arcanum I
| Player Character | Player | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bludarious De'Tempoon | Curtis Renner | Resolved |
| Nebish | Nathan Gade | Resolved |
| Mickle Cobblelob | Michael Leyland | Resolved |
| Grundel | Dustin Hinrichs | Resolved |
| Draven Gray | Noah St. Michael | Resolved |
| Khalid al-Mazouz Ibn Fazira | Noah St. Michael | Deceased |
| Amnon the Tormentor | Noah St. Michael | Deceased |
| Vladimir Vladislav | Bjorn Pederson | Retired |
| Sodster | Scott Keeney | Retired |
| Xilleth | Joshua Hoffer | Retired |
| Ark | Todd | Retired |
| Professor Clank | Brian Klinnert | Retired |
| Bruenor Silverhammer | Jason Edwards | Retired |
| Garbajio | Colin Guare | Retired |
| Drathus, the Arisen | Gibb Sheets | Retired |
| Toots Bagoots | Amanda | Retired |
Set more than a millennium after the fall of The Meteor, this campaign explores a world where nations have reformed, magic has stabilized, and the scars of apocalypse have hardened into ambition. The age of survival is over; this is the Age of Conquest.
The journey begins in the devastated ruins of East America, the central battleground of the American Foreverwar. Here, the superpowers of Amazonia and Cordoba fight an attritional proxy war across shattered cities and poisoned skies, reducing the land to blood-soaked ash.
The Narrative Journey
Spanning 36 sessions, the campaign follows a group of conscripts who escaped a military mutiny to become one of the most notorious mercenary crews in the hemisphere. Their journey is defined by several major narrative arcs:
- The Fugitive Arc (Sessions 0–2): Following a shared psychic vision known as the Panama Premonition, the party escapes a Cordoban prison train and salvages the crashed airship, the Spring Wind.
- The Father of Werewolves (Sessions 3–7): The party investigates a lycanthrope outbreak in Lobo Village, culminating in a confrontation with Shusiva, the Father of all Werewolves.
- The Pirate Lord of Caracas (Sessions 8–12): Operating out of the smog-choked city of Caracas, the party enters the service of The Baron (Harvey Proudbottom) before ultimately betraying him to the Amazonian Navy.
- Voyage of the Sloop Dogg (Sessions 13–25): The crew renovates their own vessel, the Sloop Dogg, survives a Skracken attack, and navigates treacherous waters to slay a Dragon Turtle.
- The Macabre Game (Sessions 26–29): Transported to a nightmare island, the party defeats the demon Makalo in a dark carnival and undergoes a spiritual trial by Brandi, the Angel of Relief.
- The Gorgon Sewers (Sessions 30–35): After a Shard-surge transports them to Gorgon, Nepal, the party hunts a gargantuan, psychic Neolithid within the city’s narcotics-infested sewers.
Key Figures
Captain Barnabus “Barnaby” Harrier: A Lemurian privateer and former Cordoban officer who served as the party’s founding mentor and employer. Haunted by the death of his partner, Miranda, his personal quest for resolution drove much of his early guidance of the crew, culminating in his decision to reclaim the Wind's Revenge and depart on a solitary crusade of vengeance.
The Baron (Harvey Proudbottom): The halfling pirate lord and ruler of Caracas who initially employed the party as a strike team before being betrayed by them. His capture by the Amazonian Navy and eventual execution by the party in a prison cell fulfilled a contract for the Deep Crimson Syndicate and resolved the Caracas narrative arc.
Abraham Wheeler: An influential underboss of the Deep Crimson Syndicate operating out of Manticore. He served as a high-stakes antagonist at the gambling tables before becoming a primary employer, returning the Wind's Revenge to the party in exchange for the assassination of The Baron.
Marshal Yasmin Santiago: The Captain of the Guard in Petrolina whose contracts for cleaning out the city's infested cemetery granted the party official status as “Heroes of Caracas” and paved the way for their acquisition of the Sloop Dogg.
Shusiva: Known as the “Father of all Werewolves,” this telepathic entity served as the campaign's first major supernatural antagonist. His confrontation with the party in the mountain vaults established the high-lethality stakes of the world's emerging manifestations.
Makalo: A demonic entity of the Legion known as the “Demon of Surprise” or the “Ringmaster”. He subjected the party to a macabre “game” within an illusory carnival on a nightmare island, serving as the bridge between the Caribbean and Nepalese chapters of the campaign.
Brandi, the Angel of Relief: A powerful celestial entity of the Choir who intercepted the party following the defeat of Makalo. She conducted a spiritual trial of their souls within a willpower-based realm, ultimately providing the party with a meta-explanation for the setting’s theology and granting them celestial blessings.
Legacy and Meta-Context
As the first modern campaign in the setting, this story served as an experimental testing ground for the world's mechanics and lore. During active play, the theology of the Choir and the Legion was in flux, and many early details were later retconned in the recaps to align with finalized setting canon.
The campaign is characterized by its high lethality, “wildly out of balance” homebrew weapons, and a reliance on random tables that reflected the chaotic nature of a world still being reshaped by Shardisite.
Session Resources
The Dungeon Master
André Palmier
