Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.
The party: Buckle the Beast/Heart of Earth, Stella the Halfling/Hunter
Last time, Buckle entered the Saline Caverns, home of the Imperial Geologists, and encouraged the magic of the land to take Platyperson form! This time, the Empire and the land are both confused by this development and lash out.
- Corum she/her Dwarf Head Geologist
- Strong Arm: attacks knock down and briefly stun
- Zeal: when you Speak Softly with her, she will give you advice. Hope on your next roll that follows it, or Despair on next roll that opposes it.
Geologist: damage this stat to make the land do something
- Group of 10 Geologists
- Loyal: this stat must be damaged, before the person they defend can be damaged
Geologist: damage this stat to make the land do something- Group: they can affect two targets at once. Then the Group is destroyed, two individual Geologists remain.
- Nate he/him radical Geologist
- Chosen One: He takes the most heroic action available
Geologist: damage this stat to make the land do something
GM note: Adjusting from being a subcontinent to a person is hard. Rocks and people operate in different ranges of size, speed, temperature, and pressure. The Land reacts emotionally, not logically. Every time it acts, roll 2d6 on the following table.
- 3- disaster. The room collapses
- 4 imperceptibly slow reaction
- 5 8 segment clock before reaction
- 6 action affects entire location
- 7 action gains Area tag
- 8 burn hazard
- 9 crush hazard
- 10+ normal reaction, like a person
Nate thinks it’s great that The Land has taken the form of a person. Corum can’t abide the idea of The Land, the thing that literally makes the Empire superior to other nations, could become a mere person. She raises her ceremonial pick (which is still a very real and heavy metal tool!) and charges at the Rock Creature (that’s the stone Platyperson that embodies the Land, not Buckle, the flesh Platyperson who people thought embodied the Land) Buckle is still holding its hand and hears Corum coming up behind him. He twists around. When he sees a raised weapon, his eyes flare white. The rest of his fiery body flares white in a threat display.
Buckle Overcome 7-9 temporary solution
Corum falters, giving Stella a moment to react. She calls upon the Naked Mole Rats for help! it will take some time for them to get here. Stella jumps onto Corum’s back.
Stella Animal Trait: Jumping Spider
Stella Lived In A Shoe: you can change size from an apple to a good chair
Stella Keep Them Busy 10+
She shrinks to the size of an apple, lands on Corum’s back, and climbs to her shoulder.
Stella: Wet willy!
Corum is distracted. The loyal Geologists try to use their Geology powers, but nothing happens! One runs to a tunnel at the edge of the cave and calls for “Damascus” The others rush in to grab Stella.
Anger the boss: increase the response level to 3
New response move: Guardian. A threat appears to guard an important location.
Stella Overcome 7-9 pay a price for a permanent solution
Stella damages Courage
Stella goes under Corum’s coat. The loyal Geologists slap and pound on Corum’s body, trying to crush Stella. One hits her. The Geologists can’t see Stella moving around, so they assume they got her.
Just then, the Naked Mole Rats arrive, running in from the two tunnels that access the cave. Damascus also arrives. It’s a living robot, like Redstone from Thaumatown.
- Damascus it/its Soul-Filled Killing Machine: A standard killbot, except its begun learning to appreciate life and the world around it.
- Exterminate: Killbots are Melee, Ranged, and Piercing. If they are trying to kill you specifically, you need to pay a price whenever you go near a Killbot.
- Not Soulless: This killbot refuses to harm the weak or the innocent. It has no qualms about killing those it considers evil, or anyone who has damaged this stat. The longer it lives, the better its morality becomes, and the more able it is to resist orders from its superiors.
Loyal Geologist: We can’t call on the land, so we have to use this foreign creature with an independent power source. Kill those Platypeople!
Damascus nods and starts moving towards Buckle and the Rock Creature.
The Naked Mole Rats try to surround Corum and the Loyal Geologists try to shoo them away.
Stella: Make a wall!
The Naked Mole Rats stand in front of the Platypeople and start piling in top of each other. Damascus spins one arm around so the “elbow” is facing forward. The arm splits into a number of sharp metal spines that it can launch as projectiles. The Naked Mole Rats are innocent, but Damascus thinks its aim is good enough to shoot past them.
Nate Chosen One: He takes the most heroic action available
Nate tackles Damascus, but it got a shot off first. It hits a Naked Mole Rat.
Damascus: Error. Invalid target.
Buckle holds hands with the Rock Creature trying to make a mental link with it. When the spine takes out a Naked Mole Rat, they both turn to look at Damascus. Buckle tries to give the impression of friend, love, compassion and extends that feeling to the Geologists.
Buckle Talk Sense (+Wisdom, appeal to emotion) 7-9 owe a favor
The Rock Creature will attempt to express love, to Buckle first, then the Geologists.
Rock Creature reaction: 10+ like normal
The Rock Creature brings Buckle in for a hug, then turns and waddles towards the loyal Geologists surrounding Corum.
It’s hard for Stella to know what’s happening from under Corum’s thick leather coat. She cuts a slit in the coat with her halfling longsword and looks through. She’s looking the opposite direction from Corum, so instead of the Rock Creature and Naked Mole Rats, she sees Nate and Damascus. Damascus doesn’t have a solid body, so Nate has tackled half of its floating metal components to the ground. The aether and energy connecting the components crackle with the strain of being out of position. Stella doesn’t have strong feelings about those two, although she thinks Damascus is rude for killing a Naked Mole Rat. She tickles Corum.
Stella Keep Them Busy 10+
Corum isn’t ticklish, so tickling just feels like getting poked repeatedly. She hates it. It’s distracting. Nate and Damascus tussle, but one is a Geologist without Geology powers and the other is a killbot.
Nate damages Chosen One TAKEN OUT!
Damascus damages Not Soulless
Damascus was trying to cleanly take out its target, but other creatures keep interfering with its mission, so it’s just going to kill everything between itself and the Rock Creature.
The loyal Geologists stand between Corum and the Rock Creature, who lumbers towards them with arms out-stretched. They raise their ceremonial picks (not as large or fancy as Corum’s) and attack the Rock Creature.
Buckle Medallion of Cleft Sky: St Elmo’s Fire
A dazzling aura surrounds the Rock Creature. The Geologist shield their eyes, and the Naked Mole Rats run underfoot and trip them. All the Fellowship’s opponents are momentarily incapacitated, except the Killbot.
Buckle: You want the Land to like you. It’s trying to show you love. Just love it!
Buckle Talk Sense (+Wisdom, appeal to emotion) 10+ success
The Rock Creature hugs one Geologist. It’s not an attack. It doesn’t crush them. The Geologists realize they were wrong. One by one they approach and hug the Rock Creature. Since the Rock Creature is “in melee” now, Damascus rushes in to use melee attacks. Buckle intercepts it with a tail slam.
Damascus Exterminate: Killbots are Melee, Ranged, and Piercing. If they are trying to kill you specifically, you need to pay a price whenever you go near a Killbot.
Buckle pays a price: damage Venomous Spurs
Buckle stumbles over a Naked Mole Rat and bangs his feet on a stalagmite.
Buckle Keep Them Busy 7-9 for a moment
The tail slam lands and Damascus turns to attack him.
GM note: Stella is more upset about the dead Naked Mole Rat than about Nate. Nate knew what he was getting into (did he, though?) and made his choices. The Naked Mole Rats are here because Stella called them, so she feels responsible.
Stella pops out of Corum’s collar and grows to normal size so she’s standing on Corum’s shoulders. She swings her longsword to clothesline Damascus as he passes by.
Stella Finish Them (+Blood, kill) 6-
Stella aimed to behead Damascus, because she doesn’t want a soulless killbot on the loose. Damascus doesn’t have a neck, so Stella’s sword goes through an energy field. She’s shocked, and so is Corum, since Corum is the path to eletrical ground. Stella drops her sword. Corum drops her pick and Stella.
Stella damages Wisdom
Corum damages Zeal
Damascus has both arms flipped around to knife mode and rushes at Buckle. Buckle freaks out and spews Dragonfire directly into its face.
Buckle Dragonfire: destroy anything that’s not Dwarf-Made
Damascus TAKEN OUT
Damascus’ head is vaporized and the energy connecting its components disappears. The pieces fall lifeless to the floor.
Meanwhile, the loyal Geologists lined up to take turns hugging the Rock Creature. The Rock Creature goes to hug Corum, who doesn’t know that it’s trying to hug her. She scrambles back and shakes a fist that isn’t holding a pick anymore.
Corum: Stay away from me!
loyal Geologist 1: Hug it!
loyal Geologist 2: I’ve never had such a direct connection to the land!
Corum: That can’t be the land! Look at it. It’s some weird thing the stranger invented. He was never the Avatar of the land. We’ve been deceived!
GM note: Corum’s Zeal is damaged, so she’s not as convincing as usual.
Corum flees. Stella sends the Naked Mole Rats away. The Rock Creature comes over to hug Stella. She’s also confused because she didn’t see most of the hugging. The Rock Creature wants to hug everything in the room, including Nate’s body.
Rock Creature reaction: 8 burn hazard
The Land has witnessed everything that happens on the land, so it has seen the Empire’s cremation rituals. When it realizes that Nate is dead, it does the cremation ritual, properly laying his body to rest.
GM note: Phew, we came up with a way to respect the dice without corpse desecration, which is off-limits for this game.
The Geologists that remain are convinced that the Rock Creature really is the avatar of the land. They talk to it, but it doesn’t know language yet. Sometimes it moves its mouth and makes grinding noises. When it has finished the cremation ritual, Buckle touches its shoulder and tries to send peacefulness and satisfaction.
Buckle Talk Sense (+Wisdom, appeal to emotion) 10+ success
Rock Creature reaction: 8 burn hazard
The Rock Creature detects the warm and fuzzy feeling from Buckle and mirrors it, glowing red with heat. The Geologist retreat from the chamber. A few have heat exhaustion. Buckle leads the Rock Creature out of the chamber and up to the surface. They don’t take the tunnel that Corum took. Buckle figures bringing the Rock Creature into the open air is the best way to disappate the heat. Buckle and Stella must keep people away as they move through the chambers to the surface.
They emerge from the Saline Caverns on the shore of the Saline Sea, a landlocked lake. Rivers drain into it and can only leave through evaporation. The Rock Creature looks up at the sun and goes completely still. It cools down to ambient temperature.
Geologists crowd around. One arrives late and thinks Buckle is the Avatar and the Geologists have already erected a statue in his honor. Buckle holds hands with the Rock Creature to try to feel how it’s feeling.
Buckle Look Closely 6- ask 1 question, find out the hard way
- Tell me about the Rock Creature. What is it doing? That will it do next?
- After several minutes, he notices that its head has slightly turned, following the sun. It’s watching the sun, and that will take all day.
Buckle: You’re right. The land was meditating on the sun.
The Geologists don’t know how to address the Rock Creature. They can’t call it “The Land” and people were calling Buckle “The Avatar” so calling someone else “The Avatar” would be confusing.
Buckle: What does the avatar of the land mean to you?
Buckle Speak Softly 6- ask 3 questions, 1 false answer, 1 unhelpful answer
- What can you tell me about the Avatar?
- It’s a new concept. People hasn’t considered the possiblity before. Some people think this indicates the land is in crisis. Other people think the land can now rule itself, without an Emperor.
- What should I be wary of when dealing with them?
- The Geologist sense “vibration” in the land and only use rocks without it. That vibration is actually the magic of the land. Now, the Geologists don’t detect any vibration. It’s a special event! All rocks are available for us! But actually, the magic is concentrated in the Rock Creature and has gone out of the land!
- What do they want? How can I help them get it?
- Everyone needs to know about this amazing event. They climb the Saline Cavern’s communication tower and shoot messenger bullets to neighboring locations.
Buckle: I’m kinda hungry. Anybody got any fish? Let’s go find a river. I don’t think our rock friend is moving until the end of the day.
Buckle heads to one of the rivers that feed the Saline Sea. Some Geologists follow Buckle. Even if he’s not the Avatar, he’s involved and special. Someone runs from the Saline Caverns to where Buckle is fishing.
Messenger: We got a confused message from the nearby town. A few minutes before we sent the message that everything is wonderful, they got a message that everyone who can swing a sword needs to go to the Saline Caverns right now.
That sudden shift from “Help, help!” to “Everything is fine” is very suspicious. Seems like the Saline Caverns (or at least the communication tower) have been captured by some foe. Usually a Level Two Rapid Response Team would already be there, but their secret method of high-speed travel doesn’t work. It used the magic of the land, which is missing.
The Fellowship and Geologists spend a pleasant afternoon by the river. Only at nightfall to things get exciting.
Upset the natural order: increase response level to 4
New response move: Separation.
Level 2 Rapid Response Team
- Belloc Elf he/him Monstrous Cavalry: A skilled knight who rides atop a Rhinoceros.
- Beast Companion: The cavalry always appears riding atop their mount. They pick an appropriate Beast, which will always follow their commands perfectly. When this stat is damaged, the knight is thrown off their mount and will not be able to remount this scene, unless they are planning to run away.
- Knight’s Steel: The cavalry is wearing plate mail (Armor, 1 Use), and their mount is also clad in steel barding (Armor, 1 Use). They carry a lance and a sword, both (Melee, Piercing).
- Soft Spot: The cavalry has a soft spot for dangerous beasts of all kinds, but especially their own. They will not intentionally harm Beasts unless they have no choice. When their Beast mount is badly wounded, the cavalry will retreat from battle as soon as possible to tend to them.
- Rhinoceros: This tough beast wears a shell of hardened armor, and strikes out at its enemies with its mighty horn.
- Thick Hide: This stat must be damaged three times. When the rhinoceros would be destroyed, fully damage this stat instead.
- Mighty Horn: When the rhinoceros deals damage to an enemy, they are sent flying away from it. If your Courage is damaged, you cannot face the rhinoceros head on.
- Group of Elven Shadows: If you were to see an Elven Shadow… well. You won’t.
- Untraceable: An Elven Shadow trying to hide from or tail the fellowship can only be spotted or found by The Elf or The Orc.
- Right Where You Need Me: The Elven Shadow can damage this stat to be somewhere that is very bad for their enemies right now.
- The Welder he/him Dragon Commander: This incendiary soul grants firepower to the Horde.
- Blazing Command: All nearby Horde threats, including this one, have the Burning tag added to their attacks, and cannot be set on fire.
- Gang of 150 Imperial Militia. The militia can only ever appear in Groups, Gangs, or Armies. If a Group of them is defeated, no single militia threats appear.
- Spear Wall: The lockdown protects an area. No one can move through a Group, Gang, or Army of them, and anyone trying to Keep Them Busy fails.
A steampunky commander with a welding mask and heavy gloves leads a large column of troops with burning spears, or long-handled torches with blades. The lights bounce back and forth in neat rows in the distance. Ahead of them, a knight rides a rhinoceros. It’s enough to make the ground shake.
Stella wall-walks up the tower to see what’s going on. She finds Corum at the top.
Corum: You!
Stella: You!
Corum tries to push Stella off the railing that she climbed over.
Stella Overcome 10+
Stella ends up standing horizontally on the outside wall. Corum swings her pick over the edge, trying to hit Stella. It’s a human-sized safety rail, up to Corum’s chest, so she has a bad angle to swing her pick, and can’t really look over the edge to see where Stella is. Stella runs around the outside, avoiding Corum’s strikes. Even at this awkward angle, she’s putting the pick through the safety wall.
Stella Get Away 10+ avoid harm, avoid notice
Meanwhile, a war party marches along the river that Buckle picked for fishing. Buckle sits on a rock, kicks his legs, and watches them approach. When Belloc reaches shouting distance, he calls out a challenge.
Belloc: Cassiterite!
Buckle: What does that mean?
The Geologists near Buckle don’t know.
Belloc: That was the password and you don’t know it, so you must be the people I’m here to kill.
Group of Elven Shadows Right Where You Need Me: The Elven Shadow can damage this stat to be somewhere that is very bad for their enemies right now.
Everyone around the campfire finds an Elven dagger at their throat as the Elven Shadows emerge from hiding.
Buckle: Hello! Where did you come from?
Belloc: We’re here to stamp out a great threat to the Empire!
Buckle: Oh, what’s that?
Belloc: It’s you, because you don’t know the password. Are you going to come quietly?
Buckle: Sure, where are we going?
Belloc: That was pretty easy.
Belloc calls The Welder and his militia forward. They take everyone prisoner, even Buckle.
The Welder Blazing Command: All nearby Horde threats, including this one, have the Burning tag added to their attacks, and cannot be set on fire.
The Welder: That was super easy.
Belloc: Stay here, while we check it out.
The Elven Shadows disappear into the tall grass. It’s easy to avoid notice when everyone is looking at the knight in shining armor on a rhinoceros. Buckle tries to chat with The Welder, but he doesn’t want to talk to a dangerous prisoner. Buckle doesn’t shut up.
Belloc approaches the Saline Caverns and calls out.
Belloc: Cassiterite!
Corum: Tin! There’s an enemy! I’m in danger right now!
Corum waves from the top of the communication tower. Stella shrank to the size of an apple when she saw the knight approaching. She climbs into the funnel that directs incoming messenger bullets to the receiver. Her tiny head peeks out to see what will happen.
Black-cloaked Elven Shadows climb the tower and surround Corum. Their cloaks are reversible: black for night, sandy brown for daylight.
Elven Shadow: Secure! We don’t see anyone! Geologist, let us escort you to the commander. We’ve captured a bunch of people, including someone on fire.
Corum: That’s the one! He’s trying to undermine our whole nation!
They go down to meet Belloc. Corum explains that Buckle and Stella used trickery to reach the Empire’s most sensitive location to sabotage and destroy it!
The last glow of twilight fades, and the Rock Creature finishes watching the sun. It sees new people and tries to approach them.
Rock Person reaction 6: action affects the whole location
An earthquake pulls all the land within a mile several yards towards the Rock Creature! Everyone falls over. The communication tower starts to topple.
Stella wireport: throw one end and teleport to it.
Stella Overcome 10+
Stella wireports into a small tree, away from the tower’s path. The tree shakes, but doesn’t collapse like the stiff metal tower. The fuel for the cannon starts a fire when it hits the ground.
Corum damages Strong Arm TAKEN OUT
Belloc Knight’s Steel: The cavalry is wearing plate mail (Armor, 1 Use), and their mount is also clad in steel barding (Armor, 1 Use)
Belloc damages Armor
Rhinoceros damages Armor
Group of Elven Shadows damages Untraceable TAKEN OUT 2 Elven Shadows remain
Corum is knocked unconscious. Belloc is ready to attack Buckle, but the Rock Creature is right next to him. It reaches out to hug the Rhinoceros. Belloc puts the point on his lance in front of the Rock Creature.
Belloc: Stay back!
The Rock Creature walks forward until the tip of the lance stops it. It tries to move forward again, with more force.
Rock person reaction 3-: disaster
The Rock Creature becomes a hood ornament on the bill of a much bigger Rock Creature that runs over Belloc, Corum, the Elven Shadows, and the communication tower! Stella is very glad she hung back and waited.
Corum takes damage again and dies
Rhinoceros damages Thick Hide 1 of 3
Belloc damages Knight’s Steel
2x Elven Shadows damage Untraceable
The cannon fuel in the Communication Tower explodes!
2x Elven Shadows damage Right Where You Need Me TAKEN OUT
Rhinoceros damages Thick Hide 2 of 3
Belloc damages Beast Companion
Belloc Beast Companion: When this stat is damaged, the knight is thrown off their mount and will not be able to remount this scene, unless they are planning to run away.
Belloc Soft Spot: When their Beast mount is badly wounded, the cavalry will retreat from battle as soon as possible to tend to them.
Belloc is knocked to the ground, then scrambles back onto his Rhinoceros and retreats. Stella free-runs after him.
Up-river, the militia and the geologists are knocked off their feet.
Gang of Imperial Militia damages Spear Wall TAKEN OUT Two Groups of 25 mperial Militia remain
The Welder damages Blazing Command TAKEN OUT
Buckle Overcome 7-9 pay a price
Buckle loses a list of magic users that he picked up in Thauma town
The Welder’s helmet is heavy enough to knock him out when he hits the ground. Most of the Militia panic, but two groups stand their ground. They can’t get near Buckle anymore, but try to keep the Geologists contained. There’s an explosion and they turn to see a dark shape rise on the horizon. Belloc, their commander, is galloping towards them.
Buckle: Are you OK? Did you get a hug?
As quickly as possible, Belloc climbs down, throws The Welder over his Rhinoceros’ back, then mounts up and orders the Imperial Militia to retreat. They take the Geologists with them.
Buckle: They don’t need go with you. We would like to stay with our friend.
Buckle points towards the giant Rock Creature. Since Buckle isn’t attacking them, the Imperial Militia continues to retreat, taking the Geologists with them. Stella likes them. They were able to take in new information and be flexible in their world view. She wants to protect them, but she doesn’t see a way through all those spears. The spears burst into flames!
Buckle Firestarter: You can start fires
They throw down their spears and it’s all Belloc can do to get them to all run in the same direction. The Geologists are free.
Buckle: Hey, let’s go check on the Rock Creature. I think something happened.
Stella: You should have seen it! It grew, and there was a little Platyperson on a big Platyperson and it gave them a hug!
Buckle holds the Rock Creature’s hands. It’s disappointed. Hugs were working so well, but then people were scared and angry. It didn’t work. Buckle thinks “small” and “calm”. Stella demonstrates shrinking for the Rock Creature to imitate.
Buckle Talk Sense (+Wisdom, appeal to emotion, +Hope, Stella’s assistance) 10+
Rock Creature reaction 8 burn hazard
The Rock Creature shrinks, but not by putting the extra material back into the ground, but by compressing itself. It gets very dense and very hot. Calm happiness is a warm, glowing feeling for the Empire.
Buckle: Geologist friends, where’s someplace good to take our new friend away from things it can make mistakes with.
Buckle wants to go somewhere that people can experience the benevolence of the land, but without major structures to knock over. Something pastoral. Maybe that farm they visited earlier. Upstream a different river from the Saline Sea, there is a fish farm on Samac Lake. Buckle loves fish! The Fellowship, the Geologists, and the Rock Creature leave the ruins of the Saline Caverns, where the Head Geologist was killed and a Level 2 Rapid Response Team was routed. This is the worst defeat the Empire has suffered in a while.
END-OF-SESSION MOVE
GM note: Oops, we forgot this for several month.
- Have we thoroughly explored a new location? YES, the Saline Caverns
- Did anyone find what they are seeking? YES, Buckle is looking for a place to belong, and power.
- Did we learn something new about the world and its people? YES, the world IS people
3 boons
- heal
- gear
- gear
GM note: The characters are level 13 and have no more advancements, so they can’t level up.