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Last night we kicked off our Spelljammer Academy campaign with Session 1, and it delivered exactly what I hoped for: explosive action, weird fantasy, and enough personality clashes to fuel a full-length space opera.
The cadets began their journey with a combat simulation aboard the doomed ship Moonraider, where they were hurled headfirst into chaos. Explosions rocked the deck, bodies flew into Wildspace, and pirate reavers stormed the ship. Our unlikely heroes—Buff, Hal, Glorp, and the little guy (Captain Maldrik)—held the line with style. Well, style and firepower.
Buff, our Giff warlock/artificer with serious anger issues and a cosmic vendetta, swears one of the reavers smiled at him. Just before the illusion vanished.
Steve the Great, is that you?
From there, the crew hit orientation. Glorp—my resident NPC plasmoid rogue (soon-to-be-thief)—managed to steal a gold-rank security helmet with gelatinous grace. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew picked up their welcome kits and settled into the dorms. Well, tried to.
Let’s just say four smug elven cadets tried to push Buff around. That didn’t go well. For them.
After crushing the obstacle course like pros (including dodging magical explosions, leaping over electric water pits, and climbing slippery poles), the cadets were handed a simple delivery mission:
Take this crate to Mirt the Merciless.
Nothing suspicious about that. Just a "normal" box going to the head of the Academy.
Naturally, it was filled with horrifying bug-things. The crew tore up Mirt’s quarters fighting off the neogi hatchlings while the hungover Old Wolf flopped around trying to find his pants. By the time he managed to draw his sword, the room was in ruins—and the real damage had already been done.
Because while all hell broke loose in Mirt’s boudoir…
The Academy was being robbed. Again.
It’s been a long time since I ran a published D&D adventure. Honestly, I think the last one might have been Tomb of Horrors back in 1996. Usually I write my own material, improvise on the fly, and let chaos guide the plot.
But Spelljammer Academy surprised me. It’s written like a fantasy tutorial level—guiding players and DMs alike through mechanics and setting, but never sacrificing the fun. There’s still room to breathe, roleplay, and go off-script without breaking anything.
More importantly, the tone fits my table perfectly. It’s space-fantasy with a big dose of comedy and absurdity. Think Guardians of the Galaxy meets Hitchhiker’s Guide, with a sprinkle of Starship Troopers. Every character has quirks. Every NPC has flair. And the vibe is just right.
Running Glorp is a blast. I always run an NPC rogue—it gives me an in-character way to poke the plot, get players into (or out of) trouble, and slide into the action without taking the spotlight. Glorp is gooey chaos in motion, and the crew already loves/hates him.
Honestly, this was one of the most fun sessions I’ve run in a while. The players dove into their characters immediately. The module gave us structure, but left space to breathe. And we’ve only just begun.
We’ve got at least two more sessions in Spelljammer Academy before the next arc. I can’t wait to see what happens when this crew hits Wildspace for real.
