Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.
The fellowship: Boris the Remnant, Ol’ Jardiner the Harbinger, Yonne the Rain.
Last time, the new Fellowship set out to find the acidic lake where Yonne was born. Instead they found themselves in the castle of Baron von Till. a depressed Vampire Lord. Ol’ Jardiner told Baron Von Till that he wanted to look around the castle before accepting a job as groundskeeper. He planned to just run, but Boris stayed behind with Baron Von Till, so the Fellowship can’t make a clean getaway.
Yonne is curious about the strange color of the inner gatehouse. The ground floor of the western side of the inner gatehouse is two storeys tall. The inside walls are scorched and marked by big parallel scratches.
- Tell me about what’s kept here? How could it hurt or help me?
- A large powerful monster was kept here. The scratches are consistent with large claws. Ol’ Jardiner sees some purple embers and recognizes Necrofire.
- Is something hidden or out-of-place?
- Yonne feels along the walls with her fluid body, testing for the smallest cracks. The room above the Dragon’s chamber contains a trapdoor in the floor and several empty cages. Perhaps they dropped prisoners to the Dragon.
- What will happen if I lock someone in this chamber?
- The Dragon’s cell has a large and heavy door. Ol’ Jardiner would have trouble moving it. Baron Von Till could just turn into a bat and fly out of the trapdoor.
Ol’ Jardiner: I know this creature. Right, you weren’t there. There was this big skeleton of a Dragon. It didn’t have wings. It also didn’t have a head, so the fire just came out of the spine. I’m pretty sure this is where it was kept.
Yonne: I thought Dragons needed heads. This one was alive?
Ol’ Jardiner: It was dead. Do you have a head, or do you just look like you have a head?
Yonne: I look like I have one. A lot of the creatures I have met that are capable of complex language look kind of like this, so…
Ol’ Jardiner has a professional interest in thiss ruined castle, but he’s more concerned with getting Boris away from the Vampire and his minions. A well supplies fresh water to the inner courtyard so that defenders can withstand a long seige. At least, it did before the whole area became a dead swamp. The well is still there, but it’s flooded, and every so often the groundwater overflows the rim. It’s a perfect escape route for Yonne, but Ol’ Jardiner has to remind her that he needs to breathe and his solid body can’t squeeze through an aquifer. He also doesn’t have much skill in direct combat.
Ol’ Jardiner: I’m just leaning on my Friendly Face. Not literally leaning on my face. That would hurt.
Yonne: I think it’s a good idea to make them think we run, then they chase us, then we circle back, then we all hide when they come back.
Ol’ Jardiner: I think we should all run while they’re gone. We need to pick a place to hide.
Yonne becomes invisibile when she sit still in water, so she can hide anywhere. Ol’ Jardiner climbs the southwestern tower of the inner keep and hides under the rubble. This rubble was probably a ballista at one point. Ol’ Jardiner sends a message to Von Till.
Ol’ Jardiner: Boris, we have escaped out the western wall. Join us as soon as you can.
Von Till is fooled and thinks the message was accidentally delivered to him. He sends the Twin Dancers out immediately and whistles for other servants. The barracks in the outer courtyard are flooded, so Von Till’s soldiers have built quarters on the roofs. Two Brawlers jumps down and splash their way to meet Von Till. He orders Boris to be secured in one of the cages above the Dragon’s chamber.
- Beast Brawler: A beastfolk warrior who loves direct confrontation.
- Brutal Warrior: The Brawler hits you where it hurts. When they deal damage to someone who is already damaged, they can make one of their existing damage Necrotic instead of damaging a new stat.
- Hard To Kill: When someone rolls a 10+ to Finish Them against the Beast Brawler, unless they rolled with Wisdom, damage this stat and negate their Finish Them attempt. It fails, and the brawler survives.
Boris figures he can eat his way out of the metal cage, so he does not resist when the Brawlers put him in the cage. Once Boris is locked in, Von Till turns into a bat and flies away to the west. Ol’ Jardiner sends message via thought bubble.
Ol’ Jardiner: Now’s our chance to escape!
He emerges from the rubble at the top of the tower. Yonne rises from the well. Boris starts chewing through the bars of his cage. One Brawler climbs the tower to chase Ol’ Jardiner. The other moves to prevent Boris from escaping. Boris dashes across the room at lightning speed. The Brawler gets his poisoned blade in front of him. Boris runs into the blade but eats the Brawler’s torch, so the two of them are in darkness. Outside, Ol’ Jardiner flees the Brawler climbs after him by cannonballing into the well! He lands safely in the water and goes right through Yonne! She exits the well as quickly as possible to avoid digesting Ol’ Jardiner.
In the dark dungeon, Boris reaches out with dark magic and sucks the lifeforce from the Brawler, then eats the dessicated husk. A terrifying sight, but no one can see it happen.
The second Brawler comes down the stairs after Ol’ Jardiner. Yonne presses herself against the wall and waits to ambush him when he reaches the ground. Ol’ Jardiner wants to feel useful, so he telekinetically grabs the Brawler’s feet to trip him. The Brawler keeps his balance and comes after Ol’ Jardiner. Ol’ Jardiner takes a deep breath and dives into the well, but the Brawler just waits for him to come up for air. Yonne surrounds the Brawler, burning him with acidic fluid. The Brawler stops, drops, and rolls then lashes out with his serrated blade. It’s goes right through Yonne’s fluid body without harm, but she sells the illusion of combat by imitating the sounds of various animals that she have enveloped and digested. A different animal each time. Her understanding of pain comes only from observation. Ol’ Jardiner grips his acidic dagger, but is afraid to engage. Boris zooms down from the upper storey and attempts to bite the Brawler’s weapon and separate the blade from the handle. Putting his face next to the enemy’s weapon isn’t very smart and he gets stabbed for his trouble.
Yonne: You go. I stay. I catch up.
Ol’ Jardiner doesn’t need to be told twice, but Boris hesitates before leaving his friend.They run out the entrance at the south. When they leave the outer wall, they leave the field of corruption and they can breathe easier.
Boris: We just traded my position for hers.
Ol’ Jardiner: No, she’s water!
Yonne retreats to the well and goes down and down and down. The Brawler can’t grab her and can’t damage her with his saw, so he’s powerless to prevent her escape. She squeezes through an aquifer and emerges under the collapses western wall in what used to be the moat, disturbing some bottom-feeding fish. Ol’ Jardiner sends her messages every so often so she can tell where he is, and eventually the Fellowship is reunited.
Yonne: See? I’m fine.
The Fellowship needs to be elsewhere when Von Till figures out he has been deceived and comes back. They look around and head towards a shadowy mass on the horizon. It doesn’t quite look like a hill. As they approach, they see it is a supernaturally large willow tree. There’s a distinct border between the Dead Swamp and the Willow, like a line of battle. A Blighted Owlbear is tearing through vines as new vines grow and try to grab it.
- Stranglethorn Forest: A briar of tangled vines and thorns. The thick kudzu strangles the life out of all other plants and many smaller animals.
- Kudzu Growth: The stranglethorn vines spread over nearby plants, killing them as they go. Food cannot grow here, and local wildlife must either adapt to the thorny, poisonous environment, starve to death, or flee the bastion.
- Unnatural Forest: Rather than Aberrations or Undead, the forest is mostly filled with Blighted Beasts.
- Owl Bear: An Owl Bear is only as scary as a bear is, but for some reason being part owl makes them angrier and viciously bloodthirsty.
- Corrosive Touch: Anything that touches a Blighted with their bare skin
must pay a price. - Claws and Death: When an owl bear causes damage, it deals damage again. This extra damage must be dealt to a different enemy within reach. This repeats until everyone within reach has been damaged, or it chooses to stop.
- Corrosive Touch: Anything that touches a Blighted with their bare skin
Ol’ Jardiner is tired of fighting and tired in general. He’d really like somewhere to rest.
Ol’ Jardiner: Can’t jump. Can’t fly. What good am I? I can make a shiny light so everyone can see me to attack me.
Boris: We could set up camp in one of the larger branches.
Ol’ Jardiner: If that tree is fighting Von Till’s place, it’s probably better over there.
Boris: I feel like I could easily scale this. Get to the top and sleep over everyone’s death.
Ol’ Jardiner: Can you carry me?
Ol’ Jardiner climbs on Boris’ back as he attempts to eat his way through the vines. Ol’ Jardiner is scratched by the grasping vines, but he holds on because he’s sure he couldn’t get through on his own. He’s still annoyed and blames Boris for his injury. Yonne just walks through and lets the vines pass through her. Now that they are past the battle, they see the giant willow tree clearly.
- Old Wood: An ancient tree with a twisted heart. It strikes out at those who enter its territory without permission.
- Get Off My Lawn: The old wood’s attacks are Giant, Melee, and send anyone hit by them flying out of its territory. The old wood’s territory is anywhere its branches can reach.
- Dark Heart of the Woods: The old wood is in such a state due to something wrong with the forest it calls home. If the source of its dark rage is found and dealt with, the old wood becomes calm and no longer a threat. While this source exists, however, the old wood will revive in a new tree whenever it is killed, cut down, or stripped of branches.
A long willow branch lashes out like a huge whip. Boris is great at climbing, so he jumps to grab on to the branch. Ol’ Jardiner is still on his back.
GM note: Ol’ Jardiner lost his bond with Boris when Boris’ action caused him harm. Usually when characters with no bond work together, they roll with Despair, but Boris can’t have Hope or Despair, so he’s unaffected. Also, Boris heals when he harms someone, and breaking that bond with Ol’ Jardiner counts.
Ol’ Jardiner: Okaaay, I guess that’s a good idea. Hope it doesn’t go like last time.
Boris misses the sarcasm, but the branch does not miss him. He and Ol’ Jardiner are sent flying over the Stranglethorns back into Von Till’s territory. The branch cuts Yonne in half and the two halves reconnect. She retreats out of range of the branches and tries to figure this tree out.
- Tell me about the tree. What are they doing? What will they do next?
- The great willow is fighting the corruption coming from Baron Von Till. It’s been locked in this battle for years and shows no signs of stopping.
Yonne: I do not think that can help here. Are you alright? I thought that it threw you.
Ol’ Jardiner: No, I’m hurt.
The Fellowship retreats from the Dead Forest. Yonne is disappointed that she didn’t get to show Boris her lake. They pass the Anti-Moon Weapon, go around Evelynn’s Estate because she wouldn’t offer hospitality to people who aren’t rich or important, and arrive in Sugar’s Crossing to rest and recover. Ol’ Jardiner meets a Halfling who is fourth cousins with someone he went to the academy with, so the Fellowship stays at his family’s home/apartment complex. Ol’ Jardiner mostly rests in bed. His hosts knock on the door to tell him when food is ready. The first two days he takes dinner in his room. A Halfling not coming down for dinner? That’s serious!
Ol’ Jardiner looks for a jeweler to cut the rough amethysts he acquired. He finds a Clay Dwarf who is scouting the territory in preparation for restoring the Dwarven Waterways. Her name is Catten.
Ol’ Jardiner: I have the fellowship of your people! It’s because of me and my friends (Not these friends. Other friends.) that you’re able to return to your old City of Clay. I found these gems in the caverns near your new fortress.
Catten: Then they’re practically ours. You should give me one.
Ol’ Jardiner agrees. He gets two cut amethysts and Catten takes the third.
Meanwhile, Yonne walks around looking into windows and watching people. Sometimes she gets spooked and retreats into a rain barrel or the river. As she gets more comfortable, she starts imitating the most interesting people she sees with varying degrees of accuracy. Sometimes she just copying their walk and sometimes she’s almost indistinguishable until the light hits her just right.
Someone in town didn’t like that.
Sarah Miller sees a friend and calls out, but when they turn around, they are not her friend.
Yonne: Hello, I am Yonne.
Sarah Miller: Yeah, OK, why are you not Jeremy?
Yonne: Umm, Jeremy? Because I’m Yonne. I apologize for not being Jeremy.
Sarah’s a gossip and spreads the word that Yonne is imitating people.
Boris feels that his relationship with Ol’ Jardiner is strained in some way. He doesn’t know what happened. A rift has grown between them. He doesn’t have any friends except these two, and he wants to keep them. Ol’ Jardiner was asking for food earlier. That helps him heal. Boris goes dumpster diving to find food.
What made that harder than you thought?
A chef goes out to throw trash in the dumpster and sees Boris in the dumpster. He feels bad
Chef: If you want food , you can work for it. I can’t just let you have it.
The chef wants to help Boris out, but where can he put this weird monster that won’t cause a panic or a health code violation? Boris acts as the kitchen’s garbage disposal, because anything he eats is completely destroyed.
Chef: There’s no compost bin today, Just throw stuff at that eldritch beast in the corner
Ol’ Jardiner is touched that Boris got a menial job to feed him, especially because Boris doesn’t eat food. Ol’ Jardiner forms a bond with Boris.
NO END OF SESSION MOVE