Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.
The fellowship: Edna Crusher-Harcourt the Ogre/Knight, Vestri the Dwarf, Yuri the Outlander
Last time, the Fellowship traveled to Saarland, an abandoned town split between Ents returning it to nature, and undead creatures who won’t move on.
Infinite Windows opens. Edna and her companions step through. Pulmero is not with them. Ol’ Jardiner’s left arm is noticably longer than normal. His fingers almost drag on the ground.
Yuri: I am a medical doctor if you need assistance.
Yuri wants to show that he’s good at practicing medicine. He hasn’t had a chance to demonstrate this skill recently. Ol’ Jardiner doesn’t volunteer any information and smirks as Yuri examines his arm.
Yuri Look Closely 10+ ask 3 question
- What do my senses tell me?
- Ol’ Jardiner’s hands are the same size. The upper and lower arm are longer, not thicker, and the joints are hyper-mobile.
- Tell me about the arm growth. How could it hurt or help me?
- A longer arm is useful for reaching things. The unusual length and hypermobility reduce its dexterity. It’s kinda floppy. Ew.
- What will happen if I attempt to dispel this affliction?
- Dispel is a good choice of words. This is caused by a lingering magical effect. Dispelling the magic will return the arm to normal.
Yuri: So is there an easy way to dispel this? Is this something you want to keep?
Ol’ Jardiner: You should have seen this 15 minutes ago. It will wear off eventually.
Vestri: What were you doing?
Ol’ Jardiner: We needed a magic stone to open a mysterious door. I got tired of waiting for the others to solve the puzzle, so I did it myself.
Yuri: You did this yourself?
Ol’ Jardiner: Overwhelming power!
Ol’ Jardiner raises his hands over his head. His left hand wobbles around as he gestures. He then extends his left arm for Yuri to fix.
Yuri has a medkit with Earth technology, so he wants to find local magical medicine. Maybe the Ents know which plants have magical properties.
Yuri Talk Sense (+sense, explain plan) 10+
Yuri asks Tree Shepherd which plants remove lingering magic. Tree Shepherd knows of two
- Creeping Moss is found on the shady side of tree trunks. Not the side that gets the most shade. The side that is in the shade right now. It moves back and forth to avoid the sun. It opposes power and encourages a low-energy state.
- Cinfoil is identified by clusters of tiny flowers. They’re called the “birth-egg flower” because of their yellow polleny centers and petals the color of egg yolk. They grow in patches on tree roots and in wet depressions. When brewed into a claming tea, Cinfoil promotes a return to a natural state.
GM note: We accidentally recreated Chamomile tea.
Yuri seeks out and gathers the plants. He sterilizes a flat rock with isopropyl alcohol and crushes the plants on it. He pulls a little tray of pill forms from his medkit and carefully measures tiny amounts of the medicinal paste into each one. Ol’ Jardiner looks on appreciately. He respects people who have the tools to do what they need. That’s how he operates.
Yuri: Take one or two pills, two times daily, with food and water.
Yuri spends 1 use of Medkit
Ol’ Jardiner heals Overwhelming Power
Edna: What are we going to do about these Nightmaws?
Vestri: We were going to bury the bodies to make the shadows disappear. The shadows seemed happy when we removed that one body. But none of us know how Elves lay their people to rest, and that body we found was a Human, not an Elf. During the day, when it’s safe, we should try to find other bodies.
Edna: Seems complicated. I can’t punch a shadow.
Vestri: You’re a woman of culture. Do you know about Elven traditions?
Edna: Hmmm, I didn’t ask Averiela. What if I jump to the roof and smash open the dome?
Vestri: Take me along to help!
Edna Toss Aside: an ally can ride on you
Edna Mighty Leap: jump to anywhere you can see
Edna picks up Vestri and jumps to the dome on top of the Saarland Mint.
Vestri Clear The Path (+hope, Edna’s assistance) 10+ leave a path for allies
Edna and Vestri stomp a hole through the dome, letting sunlight stream into the interior of the Mint.
Edna Uncontrollable Strength: careless action causes collateral damage
The dome crumbles under their feet and they fall down onto the forge on the ground floor. The sudden burst of sunlight kills several Nightmaws. Now that they are inside, the Fellowship sees that the second floor of the Mint (where the Redrock dagger is hidden) is a balcony ring, not a complete floor. Looking around on the ground floor, they see a Group of Nightmaws, but no coins or precious metals.
- Group of Nightmaws: A shadowbeast that hungers like no other.
- Shadows: The Nightmaw can only move through shadows, along the surface. It cannot form in total darkness, and it cannot touch anything off the ground or in the light. It can only be harmed by fire and direct sunlight.
- Hunger: Whenever Nightmaw deals damage, it gains Armor (1 Use). It can hold a maximum of 2 Armor at a time.
- Group: can affect 2 people at once.
Vestri: What kind of mint is this? Here’s the smelter, but there’s nothing to smelt.
Edna: The fence outside looks like it used to be fancier too. I think it’s been looted.
Vestri: The sort of people who forge copies of stuff made from precious metals would probably steal precious metals if they found some.
Yuri picks up Ol’ Jardiner and leaps to the top of the dome.
Yuri Mighty Leap: jump to anywhere you can see
Yuri Overcome 6-
Yuri Fool Me Once: reroll one die 10+
Yuri uses the Toggluminator as a spotlight, following his friends to keep the Nightmaws off of them. He sings “Let The Sun Shine In” but no one else knows that song.
Yuri Keep Them Busy 6–
Yuri Fool Me Once: reroll one die 10+
Vestri and Edna advance to the second floor, defended by Vestri.
Edna: We have to find a secret compartment? I’m going to knock on the walls. Really hard.
Edna Uncontrollable Strength: You are strong enough to uproot trees, smash doors off their hinges, break through wooden walls or supports, and lift just about anything.
Edna Overcome 10+
Edna pounds on the wall until she hears a different sound, then winds up and punches at full power. The wall buckles inwards. It was a hidden door, and Edna has wrenched the hinges the wrong way. There was probably a hidden catch to open it properly.
Group of Nightmaws Shadow: The Nightmaw can only move through shadows, along the surface. It cannot form in total darkness, and it cannot touch anything off the ground or in the light. It can only be harmed by fire and direct sunlight.
Edna’s shadow on the front wall provides a path for Nightmaws to sneak around and enter the hidden chamber, which was too dark for them before the door was opened.
Edna God of War: When you fight against them by yourself, you can try to Keep Them Busy, even if they are a Group, Gang, or Army.
Edna Keep Them Busy 10+
Vestri sneaks in the hidden chamber between Edna’s stomping legs as she thrashes and swings, keeping the Nightmaws distracted. He sees some stone coffers and starts opening them.
Vestri: We Dwarves tell stories about…
Edna: Stay on task!
Vestri: Found it! Let’s get out of here. Take me with you, please.
Edna picks up Vestri and jumps from the balcony towards the sunlight in the center of the building.
Edna Toss Aside: an ally can ride on you
Edna Mighty Leap: jump to anywhere you can see
Edna Get Away 6-
Nightmaws in the shadows of Edna’s legs move up, entangling her feet and legs. Instead of leaping, Edna falls forward, smashing through the railing and getting tangled in the wreckage. Vestri slips from her hands and falls to the ground floor. Vestri runs to the pool of sunlight and wonders how he can help Edna. Would the flash from gunpowder destroy the Nightmaws? Perhaps a mirror could redirect sunlight into the building. Can Yuri pass the Toggluminator down?
Vestri: I’m safe, Edna! Don’t worry about me. I’m worried about you!
Edna Get Away 7-9 avoid harm
Edna breaks the railing, falls to the ground floor, and runs north, out the front door.
Vestri looks around the forge area for something reflective, but everything wasn’t nailed down has been stolen.
Vestri: I can’t jump like you two. I’ll just be brave. I must live and bring the dagger back home!
Vestri crouches like a runner on the starting blocks, then sprints through the Nightmaws to the front door.
Vestri Clear The Path 7-9 expose self to danger
Vestri spends 1 Armor
Nightmaws bite and snatch at him as he passes, but Vestri emerges outside into the sunlight. He has the Redrock Dagger! The real one! His quest is successul! The Fellowship returns to their camp outside the city walls.
Yuri feels he should have brought some contraband back for Rose, who showed them the route to Saarland. Lady Evelynn set the Fellowship on the path to find the Redrock Dagger, and they haven’t done anything they promised her. She wants the forgers captured, and the real version of the forgery they sold her. The Fellowship wonders if they should return to the Redrock home, or pursue the forgers for Lady Evelynn.
Yuri: I don’t want to get on a rich lady’s bad side.
Vestri: We don’t know where the forgers went after we let them go. Should we return to the Oolite Mine to pick up their trail? Maybe we can send the Oolites a letter.
Vestri: Did we not promise the Ents that we would clear out the Nightmaws?
Edna: The deal was bodies for Nightmaws. If we don’t bring them bodies, it’s fine.
Yuri: No harm, no foul.
Vestri: Fowl, like birds? Do you know fowl? I’ll try to draw one for you.
Yuri: You have same nomenclature for birds? I have so many questions. But no, a foul is like a mistake. “No harm, no foul” means that if no one was hurt, the mistake is not a problem.
Vestri: That makes no sense. A mistake is a mistake.
Edna: Anyways, I think it’s a good social move to go after the forgers.
Vestri: How do we get out of this forest? Our path was uprooted.
Edna: Oh yeah, the Druid guided us.
The Fellowship discuss some options. Even though they can kill a dragon while disarming a doomsday device, they don’t know how to navigate through wilderness.
Edna: Did we bring anything from Oolite Mine or Fairmeadow? My friend will open a portal to get me. We could use it to go somewhere else.
The Fellowship goes through their packs and try to remember where they acquired each item. Yuri has some food from Bogden, which is out of the way, but at least they will know where they are.
Vestri: Traveling by portal! I’ve only used my feet.
Yuri: Me too.
Vestri: No! You teleported from another world!
Yuri: That’s not the same. It was a surprise.
Infinite Windows opens and the whole Fellowship steps through. They are in an underground chamber with three strange doors. A lanky Human man wearing a cape is operating Infinite Windows. A wolf stands nearby.
Yuri: It’s like a transfer. Take the D bus to the A bus.
Gm note: Infinite WIndows is based on Wisdom, and all three characters have low Wisdom.
Yuri Open A Window (+hope, Vestri’s assistance) 7-9 window opens to a safe place, doesn’t stay open, item is lost.
Yuri spends 1 Food
Edna Get Away (+hope, Yuri’s aid) 6-
Edna tries to scoop everyone into her apron before Infinite Windows closes, but she’s too slow. Yuri only has one more Food from Bodgen, so this really needs to work this time.
Yuri Open A Window (+hope, Edna’s assistance) 10+ window opens to a safe place & stays open, item is lost.
Yuri spends 1 Food
The portal opens onto a muddy field, with the palisade wall of Bogden not far away. The Fellowship steps through. Well, Edna, Yuri, Vestri, and their Companions step through. Dryden and Knows-Too-Much stay in the strange chamber. The portal needs to be closed, and Edna relies on Ol’ Jardiner’s expertise.
Edna Close Window 7-9
Spend a stat from a magic expert Companion after you Close a Window to automatically avoid the danger of the closing Window
Ol’ Jardiner damages No Sense Of Right And Wrong
END OF SESSION MOVE
- Did we thoroughly explore a new location? No
- Did anyone find what they were seeking? YES! Vestri’s long-term quest is complete!
- Did we learn something new about the world and its people? YES, Yuri learned about botany and plany magic.
Two boons: Heal (Yuri, Yuri, Ol’ Jardiner) and restore gear.