Of Mercanes and Megapedes, a Spelljammer Adventure

In the shattered and violent system of Doomspace, rapacious pirate factions vie with one another for the favor and patronage of the mercane arms dealer, Vocath. When would-be heroes from a distant system appear seeking his help to build an alliance, the shrewd powerbroker sees a unique opportunity. The price of Vocath’s influence is small—collect on an outstanding debt. But what will the heroes do when that small task becomes lethally huge?

A Spelljammer: Light of Xaryxis Expansion - What's this all about?

In Light of Xaryxis, chapter 8, “Arena of Blood,” after rescuing Warwyck the giff in Doomspace, the party seeks an audience with Vocath the Mercane in order to unite a group of factions into a coalition against the astral elves. In the book, Vocath proposes that the party participate in a pit fight in order to garner favor with the spectating factions. While the premise of an arena pit fight is certainly exciting, this supplement offers an opportunity to add further complexity and nuance to the relationships between Vocath and the factions. On this quest, the party explores a new small “dungeon” location, Katch’kaht (catch-CAUGHT) XI, with exploration, a bit of mystery, and some high-stakes combat. 

This adventure provides a personal quest on behalf of Vocath such that he feels indebted to the party and has a stronger motivation to help them achieve their goals. The adventure also ties in another one of the factions, to make the negotiations in chapter 9, “Discord and Diplomacy,” carry more weight. 

As always, it is up to you how much of the content you want to use. It’s perfectly fine to use some parts of this supplement while discarding others, or simply let the ideas presented here inspire new ideas of your own. This supplement assumes a party of four to six characters of 7th level.

Vocath makes a deal with the party: they recover megapede eggs for him, and he will use his influence on their behalf to get the faction leaders to meet. 

When the party arrives at the asteroid, Katch’kaht XI, they must search the surface to find the hidden hatch entrance. Once inside, the party must contend with a hungry eye monger named Bloatdust. In the aftermath, the party can find clues about an accident with the megapedes and some equipment. Later, the party discovers that the asteroid base has no spelljamming helms and can be taken over. In the next room, the party can find more details about what happened at the base, discovering empty canisters that were used to house the megapede eggs. 

A pair of large cargo hatches in the floor leads to a massive storage bay below. Hidden under the rubble and debris is the last remaining megapede, fully grown, carrying a sticky clutch of eggs on its back, and violently hungry. The party must find a way to retrieve Vocath’s eggs and survive the experience.

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