The Scavenger’s Ball: A new Spelljammer scenario

A special 5th Friday newsletter for you to enjoy.

K.J. Montgomery

and

Wazza’s Whimsical Wanderings

Jan 31, 2025

Welcome to our RPG community newsletter!

Hi, I’m K.J. Today, Warren Davidson (

Wazza’s Whimsical Wanderings

) reviews a new Spelljammer scenario set to release tomorrow, February 1st. It’s written by Richard Lackinger, a fellow 2024 PocketQuester who created the sharp pocket adventure Hellion City Heists.

At the end of the newsletter, you’ll find February’s mini-game. Enjoy!

🗣️ Want to connect more with community? Look for my Notes posted every 3-4 days and join the conversation.

Disembark on a Spelljammer tale in wildspace. An entire pirate fleet has been destroyed. The captain of the fleet survived, but without his crew or ships he has little resources left to salvage the treasures that are also floating among the wreckage. That’s where you come in!

Negotiate a deal with the captain and make your way through the derelict ships searching for treasure and survivors. The task seems easy enough, but there is a reason scavengers haven’t already pilfered the pirate’s fleet. Mysterious masqueraders have been seen haunting the wreckage field, and the distorted sound of carnival music can be heard coming from within.

Perhaps it is all just a bit of mischievous fun, or perhaps something more sinister awaits you. To find out you will have to attend a party of epic (and disturbing) proportions. Welcome to The Scavenger’s Ball! Features artwork by Lynn Nakasone and Mario de Belda Cid.

Adventure Information: The Scavenger’s Ball is a one-shot adventure for Dungeons & Dragons 5e which takes place in the Spelljammer setting. It is designed for 4-6 players with level four characters but can be adjusted for characters at levels three or five. It can be played in one long session or two short sessions (total time of 4-6 hours).

The Scavenger’s Ball: A Review

by Warren Davidson (aka Wazza)

************SPOILERS WITHIN************

Scavenger’s Ball is a 5th Edition D&D Spelljammer adventure by Arcana Prime and is available from the DMs Guild for $3.99. It’s written by Richard Lackinger and comes as an eighteen page pdf which includes the cover, credits page, a twelve page adventure, three pages of stat blocks and a back cover. There’s also four pages of maps to download as a separate file. Oh, and this review contains spoilers so no peeking if you plan on playing!

First off, I have to say the cover is one of the most evocative I've seen in quite a while, perfectly capturing the adventure’s atmosphere (something you should pay particular attention to in a Spelljammer adventure!) The disclaimer about no AI art is a nice touch too.

Spelljammer is a unique setting and one which warrants a different approach to most D&D adventures. So what do I want from a Spelljammer adventure? Here’s my list:

Colourful characters
Humour
Interesting locations
Space!
Zaniness

The Scavenger’s Ball delivers on these with a seemingly simple scavenger hunt turning into something far more sinister. So what’s going on? Your party of space-faring adventurers find themselves kicking back their heels on the Rock of Bral when a job opportunity comes their way in the form of Captain Squeaks, a RobinHood-style space pirate who gives less to the poor than he’d care to admit.

He has a simple enough job, salvage valuables from his recently defeated pirate fleet and retrieve a mysterious box from his flagship. There’s a nice section on how to negotiate rewards for this endeavour and Squeaks himself is presented as a quirky and colourful character. A rumours table allows inquisitive PC’s to gather more insight and perhaps a foretaste of what awaits them. We’re also introduced to Mr. Click-Clack, an autognome first mate who’s job is to escort the PCs to their destination and make sure they don’t renege on their deal. So ends Part One.

Part Two begins with the PCs arriving at Squeak's wrecked fleet and their initial explorations. We’re given a dozen locations to explore all of which are detailed and clearly labeled on black-and-white maps. A quick mention on these. They have been scaled for 11x17 Tabloid size paper and print out nicely, and there should be no problem importing them into your preferred Virtual Tabletop. Each area details skill checks to overcome the adversity of floating around is space and encounters with surviving pirates.

Part Three is when the zaniness kicks in when we’re introduced to the adventure's antagonists - Space Clowns! whose evil scheme is to lure hapless victims below decks to be devoured. How do they plan on doing this? By disguising themselves as guests at a masquerade ball, which ties in nicely with the cover art and adventure title. Cupcake, Cookie, and Corndog make up the terrifying trio and can prove deadly to an under-powered party, which is addressed in a difficulty adjustment section - a nice touch. Whether the PCs fall for this or not is besides the point as most groups enjoy a good climatic fight and the lower decks are strewn with devious traps and ambush points to waylay them. When it’s over they return to Squeaks for their reward. The product concludes with three pages of NPC stat blocks.

So my final thoughts? I enjoyed reading it, loved the cover art and found the maps to be serviceable whether printed out or displayed on a VTT. This adventure makes for a fun diversion and can easily be inserted into your campaign or played as a one-off. Recommended.

How to grab your copy: Use this affiliate link. (NOTE: Link will not be active until February 1, 2025.)