Aerois (Campaign)

**Aerois** is High Rollers' second main campaign. It is an epic fantasy/sci-fi fusion campaign DMed by Mark Hulmes and is primarily set in the homebrew setting of the Aerois Nexus, inspired by a variety of sources including Star Wars and Final Fantasy. It ran for near-exactly five years from 1st July 2018 to 2nd July 2023.

The campaign follows the rise to heroism of a group of adventurers who become known as The Stormchasers. They meet as travellers on an airship voyage across Aerois: a planet left splintered by the effects of an interplanar invasion by the powerful Magitek-weilding Emperor Starbane and the war-ending sacrifice of the goddess Siaska five hundred years ago. Siaska's final creation of The Cradle, an aurora-like protective barrier around the planet, was successfully able to seal Aerois safely off from the rest of the planes. However, not all has been forgotten. When their airship is attacked by mysterious figures remeniscent of Starbane's old forces, the adventurers must band together to survive the crash into the dangerous wilderness below. As their decision to travel onwards together shifts from nececcity into strong friendship, the party uncovers mysteries and adventures both old and new as and they do so realise the true dangers lurking beyond the Cradle. The rest of the galaxy might not expect great heroes to arise from an isolated planet still puzzling out the rest of the galaxy's old Magitek, but no matter how far from home, so as long as there are clear skies, The Stormchasers continue sailing on.

Episodes were broadcast live on on Sundays from 5PM to 8PM BST/GMT on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd channel. Podcast episodes are split into two parts, with part one being uploaded to various podcast platform on Mondays, and part two on Sundays. Part two could be accessed early via the High Rollers Patreon on Mondays. YouTube VODs were uploaded on Thursdays at 5pm GMT/BST; VODs for the entire campaign are available in a YouTube playlist.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

## **Storyline**

### Overview

* There are 5 companions in the party: Lucius, Aila, Nova, Quill, and Sentry.  Lucius is a High Elf Sorcerer (using colour to focus his magic), comes from a rich family and was once a bit of a daddy’s boy - he has since matured and is now the captain of his own airship, the Stormchaser. Aila is a Wild Elf Storm Barbarian who comes from a mysterious clan, the Lair Dir Lann, that has power over fire, ice, or storm; she is very direct, sometimes painfully so, but can also be their best diplomat when the need arises. Nova is a mixed Air/Water Genasi Hexblade Warlock (now also an Echo Knight Fighter) who is a scholar and travels with the intelligent sword, Tiangong (the source of her Warlock powers). Quill is an Aarakocra Cleric of H’esper (now departed this world) with some Wizard abilities: he has a prosthetic wing and a magical eye. Sentry is a Guardian (homebrew warforged race) Paladin who is now the head of her race, known as the Prime - she is also the “mother” of the group.
* The group is on a planet called Aerois which was created by the Divine Goddess, Siaska, using a machine, a Genesis Relic, called the World Engine. This is a powerful and unique device.
* Thousands of years ago, a war was fought against a mad Divine, Hadar, which began consuming other Divines for their power. Hadar was defeated, but not destroyed (since any Divine that kills Hadar would simply become what it is), and trapped in the Far Realm, another plane of existence. Hadar has somehow been able to reach out and influence mortals and immortals in the same plane of existence as Aerois.
* 500 years ago, the planet was attacked by the Valkyrian Empire, led by the almost immortal man, Kalus Valkyrian. Kalus had been Siaska’s lover, but they had had a falling out over his plan to use the World Engine to defeat Hadar: doing so would have meant the destruction of Aerois. Siaska sacrificed herself to put a protective barrier, the Cradle, around the planet of Aerois. Until recently, that has kept Kalus away from the planet and kept it hidden from the rest of the universe.
* Kalus and Siaska had a daughter, Valla. She is not a true Divine (as yet), but has a Divine Spark within her. She is a demi-goddess of time and space and has considerable power. She has supported the party since the beginning, and while she was taken briefly by her father, she is now back with the party, aiding them in their pursuits.
* Within a year, the Cradle will fall, and Siaska will be reborn, leaving Aerois at the mercy of powerful beings: Valkyrian and his armies and Hadar to mention but two.
* Quill has a magical eye that grants him the power of a seer. He has seen that if Hadar is fed the World Engine, that all of reality will be consumed. He has shared this vision with Kalus, who is now off considering his options.
* There is a faction that has broken away from Kalus’ control, led by his  lieutenant, a cruel and powerful woman called Xarkira. She has allied with Hadar and is travelling between worlds, gathering power and knowledge. It is feared that she will be an incredibly powerful enemy when she resurfaces to confront the party.

### **Chapters**

*See also: List of Aerois episodes and Aerois Timeline*

Aerois consists of 25 chapters.

### **Non-Canon Oneshots**

A variety of one-shot specials have been played involving some or all of the Aerois characters, but outside the continuity of the main story.

### **Other Specials**

Aerois has had a number of other media projects including countdown videos, Q&A streams, and fanart videos.

## **Music**

Music is often used throughout the campaign to set an appropriate tone. All of the music used during Aerois is from Epidemic Sound, with the exception of the Aerois Theme Song, which was composed by Chris Trott. He also composed a special Episode 100 Version for the centennial episode.
Fan music is often played before the episode starts, however not during the game itself. Details of specific fan-made tracks can be found in the pages of the episodes in which they were featured.

* Country Soil by View Points (also credited as For Your Smiling Face by Bo Järpehag)
* Dreaming Of Tomorrow 3 by Johannes Bornlöf
* Down the Stream by Francis Wells
* Broad Horizons (or Perceptible Shades 3) by Francis Wells

Music used in the campaign:

* Lanterns by Hushed
* Infinite Staircase by Jolene Khor (Created for Aerois)
* Elegy of Entropy by Jolene Khor (Created for Aerois)
* Protector of the Sky by Jo Wandrini
* Hordes by Jo Wandrini
* Battle of Wills 1 by Jon Bjōrk
* Conquest by Dragon Tamer
* Our Last Hope by Dragon Tamer
* Knight’s Templar by Adriel Fair
* Army Of Angels by Edgar Hopp
* Heroic March 01 by Johannes Bornlöf
* We Are Heroes by Bonnie Grace
* Realm Of Gabriel 3 by Patrik Almkvisth
* Magnificent March 3 by Johannes Bornlöf
* A Place Among The Stars 2 by Johannes Bornlöf
* Rise Of The Phoenix 2 by Johannes Bornlöf
* Aerial 2 by Johannes Bornlöf
* Walk Tall by Johannes Bornlöf
* The Departure by Gavin Luke
* Dragon King by Jo Wandrini
* The Wisdom of Trees by Yonder Dale
* Ancestors by Gavin Luke
* The Slow Shift by Gavin Luke
* The Silver Locket by August Wilhelmsson
* Better Off by Jon Björk
* Remember by Emily Rubye
* Winds Of Winter by Jo Wandrini
* Odyssey by Mohammed Rasoul
* Goliath 3 by Johannes Bornlöf
* The Eternal War by Johannes Bornlöf
* Invasion 4 by Fredrik Ekstrom
* Chasma by Silver Maple
* A Cold Wind by Savvun
* "Solasta: Crown of the Magister" Original Sound Track (multiple tracks)
* Sunrise on the New World by Grant Newman
* Tomorrow is Another Day by Jo Wandrini
* A Temporary Solution by Infinity Ripple
* Supine by Peter Sandberg

## **Gallery**

Campaign LogoAlternate Campaign LogoPodcast cover artChristmas Special podcast cover art