Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.
The fellowship: Dryden of Conwall the Collector/Hunter, Averiela the Elf/Elven Elite, Markus the Squire, Pierre Jardiner the Harbinger
Last time, the Fellowship recovered at the castle they thought they owned. Those people don’t work for them anymore, and even tried to kill them, so the Fellowship fled.
This time, they fly to the Empire, a large nation to the west.
GM note: The players did a lot of world-building at the writer level, so this write-up includes information that our characters have no way of knowing yet.
Pierre Jardiner tells the rest of the Fellowship to call him “Pierre” now. “Ol’ Jardiner” is what his former employers called him, and he doesn’t work for them anymore.
The Luna Penumbra floats over the Simple Savannah. To the west, a wall stretches north to south as far as the eye can see. It’s actually a fault line. The ground to the west has risen hundreds of feets above the ground to the east. The two levels are separated by a steep and narrow ravine. Every 500 meters or so, a stout cable holds a balloon that rises up to where the air is thin. Every 8 balloons is replaced by a zeppelin with a large gondola underneath. Averiela and Markus examine these unusual structures. Something glints between the stout vertical cables that hold the balloons. Nearly invisible horizontal threads form a net that will catch anything that tries to fly through. This is a border wall. The zeppelins are watchtowers.
The closest watchtower has noticed the Luna Penumba and sends a scout to investigate: a knight rising a giant bat. He carries a gun-lance: a 4-meter spear with a rifle built in. Dryden calls out a high-pitched greeting to the bat. Knows-Too-Much (Averiela’s wolf) reacts, so the bat did respond, but Dryden can’t hear those frequencies. The bat lands on the mast and hangs underneath. The knight flips down from the saddle and lands on the deck. The gun-lance looks humorously oversized now that the knight isn’t on the giant bat.
The knight’s name is Barry, and the bat’s name is unpronouncable by most humanoids. “Eek-ee” is his nickname. Barry asks the Fellowship what they are doing at the border of the Empire. The Fellowship says they are adventurers whoare traveling the world. Barry says the Empire doesn’t need adventurers. If the garrison can’t handle a situation, they send word uphill and a Rapid Response Team is deployed to deal with it. The Empire does welcome tourism and is happy to show the world its art and culture.
The Fellowship decides to enter the Empire on a tourist visa. Barry and Eek-ee lead the Luna Penumbra back to the watchtower. The wires beneath the zeppelin are arranged to create a gap through the fence where flying vessels can pass through the frontier. The border guards examine the ship and interview the crew. They immediately notice the ship’s gun. They fit a device over the muzzle that will prevent it from firing. A flight license is more expensive than a license for a ground vehicle. Even though the Luna Penumbra can move on the ground (with the legs from the Giant Robot Spider), they can’t just promise to not fly. They must take the flying license. The Empire has license requirements for lots of things, like using magic. Pierre’s Academy credentials count. Atlas reveals that they tried to sneak into the Empire before joining the Fellowship and was caught, so they are banned. Dryden hides Atlas in the ship’s smuggling compartments. They put Tomay and Soday in there too, since they are former criminals. Each member of the Fellowship must answer the same questions:
- Do you have enough money and food that you won’t be a burden on our society?
- Averiela: three food, two precious item, and some artifacts
- Dryden: seven food, one precious item
- Markus: four food, one precious item
- Pierre: one food, one precious item
- Are you affiliated with a foreign government?
- Pierre: I graduated from the Academy. Although I didn’t have classes in those buildings, parts of the Academy are in the Empire. Of course I wouldn’t act against the Academy, or nations that contain it.
- Averiela: I’m older than your nation.
- Markus: I’m the prince of the Forgotten Lands.
That completely changes the conversation. The imperial soldiers confer, then one scurries off to another room. A cannon on the stern of the zeppelin fires. A short while later, a projectile hits a conical structure on the stern of the zeppelin. which guides the projectile to the hole at the center. The Empire sends long-distance message by bullet! The Prince Markus can enter the Empire with a diplomatic license and an honor guard. The diplomatic license is an object mounted on the bow of the Luna Penumbra that glows purple.
- Cirrus she/her human Imperial Sky Commander. She wears a metal breastplate, but the rest of her armor is light and flexible, so she can cast spells.
- Uplifting Command: All nearby Horde threats, including this one, can fly. Any threats that are flying when this stat becomes damaged or when the sky commander is Taken Out come crashing to the ground, taking damage.
- Group of Horde Knights, The armored backbone of the Horde. Knights are tougher than the rank and file, and are well equipped to deal with many foes, but their more expensive gear and tougher training mean the Horde has less of them. Knights are never found in Gangs or Armies.
- Big Sword: The Knight’s attacks are Giant.
- Cool Armor: This stat must be damaged twice.
With a Diplomatic License and an honor guard, the Luna Penumbra can enter the Empire. From the air, they have a good view of the area. The terrain is similar to the western United States: brown hills covered mostly with grass, with a few scrubby trees. Several points of interest are visible.
A ground entrance to the Empire. A fortress overlooks a steep ramp that crosses the ravine that separates the Empire from the rest of the continent. The Luna Penumbra can fly and already passed through a checkpoint, so they have no reason to go there.
A low-circular wall surrounding a huge circular area that’s covered by a tent. Dryden asks Cirrus about it. She explains that it’s a farm. Food is very important, so it’s protected. The tent above has two functions. It protects the crops inside from harsh sunlight. Water in the air condenses on the fabric and dips down into catch basins to be re-used.
Cirrus points out a nearby village and recommends the New Year celebration as a way to see Imperial culture and tradition. Markus agrees. Cirrus recommends that the Luna Penumbra lands outside of town and crawls in. Aircraft are unusual in the Empire. There’s no chance of avoiding notice, though, since Markus is surrounded by Imperial Knights. They don’t have to shove through the crowd. People see them coming and make room. There’s food and dancing. Villagers dance to complicated percussion rhythms, all stomping in unison.
Cirrus recommends Imperial food. She says that the subtlety of the Imperial palette is renowned. Markus likes food. They approach a street food vendor named Harold. He’s proud to represent Imperial cuisine to a foreign dignitary, and happy to accept the large coins that Cirrus gives him. All his food is flatbread topped with crushed grain and some sauce, all in various shades of brown. Dryden picks one and eats it. It’s pretty bland. Cirrus asks which kind Markus wants. He wants to try everything. Harold makes a samplar tray just for him. He cuts small pieces of flatbread and tops them with various crushed grains and sauces. Markus eats each of the bite-size samples. They all taste basically the same. Maybe one was a bit spicier than another. Markus is politely interested in the food. What kind of spices does Harold use? Where are they grown?
Imperial palettes are so subtle because they don’t have many food options, and must make tiny variations of a few ingredients. Food from outside the Empire is overwhelming and hard to stomach for them.
The town Geologist stands on a raised platform in the middle of town for the main event. He’s a Dwarf named Asa. The Geologist badge on his chest shimmers as he moves. He pulls a plumb line from his picket and holds it aloft. The villagers cheer! He carefully lowers it into a hole in the middle of the platform and inspects it closely.
Asa: 1.6! The ground has raised this village by 1.6cm last year!
The villagers cheer! 1.6cm is an impressive amount. The next village over was only raised by 1.3cm. The festival winds down and the Fellowship leaves.
Back on the ship, Pierre takes Watson (a clever Kobold from the Moon) aside to ask a question.
Pierre: How do I get leverage on Cirrus?
Watson: She’s too much of a straight arrow. Perhaps she or a family member did something against the Empire and she’s working extra hard to be a good citizen.
The next evening, the Luna Penumbra flies over a hill whose steep rock face has been carved into beautiful complex patterns hundreds of meters across. Cirrus recommends that the Luna Penumbra stop to see another aspect of Imperial culture. The Luna Penumbra lands, and Cirrus introduces Markus and the Fellowship to the Geologist in charge of the camp.
The Geologist explains that the land is very important to the Empire. It literally lifts them up! Thus, no one is allowed to damage the ground by improper digging or mining. Only trained and licensed Geologists know the land well enough to work with it, not against it, and extract only what the Empire needs, in a way that is respectful and beautiful. Some people volunteer to dig, because it’s an honor to work with the land in this way. (That implies that some people were forced to do this hard, manual labor.) Stone is a valuable building material, unlike wood. Trees grow all the time. Cut one down and another will take its place. Averiela doesn’t like that! She questions how long it takes for a new tree to grow. On a geological timescale, no time at all.
Cirrus excuses herself and leaves the Knights to watch over Markus. Averiela camouflages herself and follows her. Cirrus enters the carved structures in the hillside. The first carvings created living quarters for the workers. She finds her eldest brother, Morgan, who is only slightly surprised to see her. She visits as often as she can. Morgan worries that people will notice, and it will reflect badly on Cirrus. They embrace, then a secret game, just for the two of them. Cirrus empowers Morgan to fly, and he leads her through the complex stone passages which he has memorized. They zip between the dark stones, each completely trusting the other.
GM note: Morgan works at this stonecutting camp as punishment for disrespecting and harming the land. It’s hard to grow food in the Empire, and Morgan noticed that volcanic ash made plants grow better. There wasn’t enough ash, so he took some pumice stones, ground them into powder, and mixed it into the soil. He’s trying to help his people, but removign and destroying stones is a crime. He was sentenced to work under a Geologist, working with the land instead of plundering it, until he’s cut X times the amount of stone that he crushed. It’s possible to pay off his debt and be restored to society, but it’s a large multiplier, so he might not finish his sentence within his lifetime.
Averiela looks through Morgan’s room while he’s gone. Inside a basket, he’s hidden a flower. A glowing fungus grows under the lid of the basket, replacing the sun from which the flower must hide. Averiela goes out into the scrubland around the camp, finds a small sapling, and adds it to Morgan’s secret garden with a note. She signs it with an Elven glyph.
Averiela: From a friend from afar. We’ll be checking in.
Meanwhile. the Knights notice that Cirrus has been gone for a long time, and want to look for her. Dryden tries to distract them by showing them a beetle. Beetle have armor too, he says, but they don’t listen. They rush off to find Cirrus and knock Dryden over in passing. Cirrus is an expert in slipping away, so she returns Morgan to his room, then appears to her Knights in a different direction. She as checking the perimeter.
NO END-OF-SESSION MOVE