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, Lucia the Brave the Heir/Halfling Sheriff
Last time, the Fellowship stopped at the Sapphire Island and found a crew of Elves who can be trusted with the location of their final destination: The Forgotten Lands. Edna is elsewhere.
Oloris Ovoran, a noble from the Sapphire Islands, comes along as navigator. He’s making an atlas, since he’s fascinated by the outside world, which residents of the Sapphire Islands do not visit often. He wants to chart a winding course to explore every part of the southern ocean. Lucia wants a direct route, because calling the Conclave is pressing business. They argue very politely, neither really saying what they mean. Averiela rolls her eyes.
Averiela: Queen, may I suggest we visit certain outlying islands. Exploring them with only delay us two days, and we can refill our water supplies.
This compromise pleases everyone. Lucia gives the order, Oloris charts the course, and the crew gets to work. Soon they arrive at The Silver Ring, an arc of 9 islands. The sand on the beaches shines in the sunset, giving the islands their name. The largest island is to the south, and the islands get smaller as they go north.The second island has a fresh spring, but Elves whisper ancient rumors of a magical cave on the third island. Perhaps it hides precious treasure! Lucia orders the Luna Penumbra to the third island to seek the cave. The ship lands and anchors easily, but the surf hides sharp rocks, so rowing the lauches to shore is dangerous. The Luna Penumbra can fly, so Lucia orders it to hover over the beach. Everyone but Will (the pilot) descends on ropes, then Will lands the ship in the harbor to await further orders.
The silver beach is about 50 feet wide, then the jungle begins. There’s no sound but the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks. No animals or birds. The leaves of the jungle are moving, but not rustling.
Dryden: Does the white sand make you miss your Unicorn, White Sands?
Dryden scoops some sand into a vial and stores it behind his cape.
Lucia Bloodline Power: Detect Evil
Lucia senses evil in the jungle, but Oloris wants to reach a high point and triangulate points for his chart, so he starts marching towards the jungle. Dryden approaches the jungle and sees that the trees and bushes are covered and choked by Stranglethorn Vines!
- 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. Standard Scourge threats may still appear, they just make up the minority.
Dryden cuts a vine with his sword, but the vines aren’t especially mobile, so the vine just falls to the ground.
Dryden: What should we do here? Cut our way through? Fly over? Light a match and leave?
Oloris wasn’t listening and just marches right in. Soon the Fellowship hears him struggling against the grasping, thorny vines. Dryden considers which weapon to use to free him. The big Dwarven hammer? Can’t cut. The cursed sword that shows enemies their worst fears? Lucia draws her beautiful blade and hands Dryden her plain back-up sword. Simple, proven tools are best. Together they hack through the dense vines to reach Oloris.
Lucia Overcome (+hope, Dryden’s assistance) 7-9 temporary solution
GM note: the “temporary solution” turned into “added complications”
They reach Oloris and Lucia frees him from the thorns but the jungle is full of Blighted Rats!
- Blighted Rat Swarm: Hundreds of rats, all swarming and striking as one.
- Ankle Biter: Anyone trying to Get Away from a rat must pay a price.
- Corrosive Touch: Anything that touches a Blighted with their bare skin must pay a price.
- Swarm: A swarm fills the space they are in. You cannot move into a swarm or Keep Them Busy without paying a price. A swarm can be pushed back or distracted by standard weapons and attacks, but they can only take damage from Burning, Dangerous, or Area attacks, or from attacks made by Groups, Gangs, Armies, or other Swarms.
Dryden Queen Of The Wild: You are the leader of all Beasts, and they can’t help but serve you.
Dryden attempts to talk to the Blighted Rats, but they’ve been turned into Aberrations by the influence of the jungle. They are no longer Beasts! With diplomacy ruled out Dryden swerves hard to violence! He takes out the telescoping staff from the Robotics Facility in Thaumatown and jars of a substance used for the Everburning Brand. He smashes one jar with each end of the bo staff and the goop inside ignites!
Dryden Curious Curios Trickery: Add Dangerous tag until the end of the scene
Swarm of Blighted Rats Swarm: You cannot move into a swarm or Keep Them Busy without paying a price.
Dryden pays a Price: lose a Strange Curio (Useful)
Dryden Keep Them Busy 7-9 their attention is on you & they will retaliate
Dryden swings his flaming weapon about, driving the Blighted Rats back and igniting the dead plants under the Stranglethorn Vines. Lucia’s ready to hustle Orolis back to the beach, but their path is blocked by fire!
Lucia Get Away 7-9 bring Oloris along
Lucia damages a stat
Lucia grabs Oloris, climbs a tree, and goes over the fire. Well, over most of the fire. Back on the beach, Lucia signals the Luna Penumbra, although Will might already know something’s up from the smoke rising from the forest.
(Averiela didn’t pay attention to this commotion. She’s concerned about the trees that died under the weight of the Stranglethorn Vines, and started running around the island to see if any trees are left.)
Back in the jungle, the Blighted Rats recover from their surprise and start encircling Dryden. Drdyen spins his flaming bo staff with one hand and grabs his flying device with the other.
Blighted Rats Ankle Biter: Anyone trying to Get Away must pay a price.
Dryden loses leaf from Samantha’s Swamp
Dryden Get Away 10+ avoid harm, avoid notice
Dryden zooms up and back, through the smoke and away from the rats. One rat already climbed up his leg and grabbed the leaf from Samantha’s swamp before falling off. Since he’s already flying, he flies over the island to get a sense of the island’s geography, and look for signs of life. He sees Averiela around the other side.
Dryden: Averiela, what did you see?
Averiela: Nothing good. It’s like the whole island is covered in traps!
Dryden Look Closely 7-9 Ask 3 questions, find 1 answer the hard way
- What’s going on? What do my senses tell me?
- The island is about four miles across (Averiela runs fast!) and besides the thin strip of sandy beach all around, the jungle fills the interior.
- What’s hidden or out of place?
- There’s a bare outcropping of rock. Not the central peak of the island, but a local maximum.
- Tell me about the bare patch. How could it hurt or help me?
- The bare patch is free from Stranglethorn Vines, but there’s a skeleton dressed like a pirate there! He’s cutting vines at the edge of the outcropping with a huge set of shear made of two sabers.
Dryden lands and hails the strange person.
Dryden: Ahoy, matey! Looking for a way to get rid of the vines?
No-Eyed-Jack: Ay, they’re always encroaching on me rock.
Dryden: The easy way is to light the whole thing on fire. But your shears seem to work to defeat the vines, maybe you’re interested in defeating the evil on the island?
No-Eyed-Jack: Stick to the first one. I’ve got no flesh to burn.
Dryden: I’ve already started a fire. Is there anything you want preserved, or is the whole jungle dead?
No-Eyed-Jack: Sadly the vines are alive. I wish it was all like me.
Dryden: OK, thanks for your advice. I’ll check with the queen about defeating the evil of the island.
No-Eyed-Jack: Can’t let you do that!
No-Eyed-Jack is the evil on the island! He advances with his giant shears!
Dryden Get Away 10+ avoid harm, bring No-Eyed-Jack along
Dryden uses Harpoon Gun
Dryden flies out of no-Eyed-Jack’s reach, then fires his Harpoon Gun. The hook passes through No-Eyed-Jack’s ribcage, then springs open, so No-Eyed-Jack is pulled along below Dryden. Dryden flies back to the beach, where the whole Fellowship is congregating.
No-Eyed-Jack: Howling Hurricanes! Put me down, you jackalope! Blatherskite! Coelacanth! You gibbering gelatinous gadabout!
No-Eyed-Jack cuts the harpoon’s line with his shears and falls towards Averiela.
Averiela Get Away 7-9 avoid harm
Averiela rolls aside and No-Eyed-Jack lands shears-first, burying them in the sand with all his weight.
Averiela: Oh no, what has Dryden done now?
No-Eyed-Jack: No life-loving do-gooders with keep No-Eyed-Jack from his duty!
- No-Eyed-Jack, Skeletonized Human, he/him
- Just Bones: Skeletons do not take damage from anything that would slip right through them or is made to harm flesh. Most piercing weapons, ranged weapons, slashing weapons, and poison or fire-based attacks will have very little effect on a Skeleton.
- Rampage: This threat is difficult to evade. If your Grace is damaged, you cannot defend against this threat’s attacks.
Lucia Bloodline Power: Detect Evil
Lucia detects that No-Eyed-Jack is evil, and advances, but realizes that her sword will do little to old bones. How does one kill what is already dead? What is this guy’s deal? She hopes to disable and question this aggressive skeleton.
Dryden Finish Them (+Sense, disable) 6-
Using flight to his advantage, Dryden dives with his heavy two-handed Dwarven hammer, aiming to knock No-Eyed-Jack’s arms off. No-Eyed-Jack gets his shears free and steps forward. Dryden smashes into the sand behind him, and how his weapon is buried to the hilt and unusable! Averiela moves into engage No-Eyed-Jack blade to blade.
Averiela Keep Them Busy 7-9 their attention is on you & they will retaliate
Lucia swaps her beautiful blade for nunchaku from the Robotics Facility, capable of bashing a skeleton apart.
Lucia Finish Them 10+ TAKEN OUT
Lucia knocks No-Eyed-Jack’s skull off. The body takes a few steps, then collapses.
Dryden: I was hoping to question him, but he was more formidable than I expected.
Dryden has never encountered living skeletons before. Averiela heard a story from old times, but hasn’t seen one herself until now. The story said something about separating the bones so they don’t find each other, but she doesn’t remember the specifics.
Dryden: So we chuck a bone overboard every day?
Lucia: Let’s bury the head now.
Averiela: We should bury it on that rock outcropping. If we bury it on the beach, the sand will wash away.
Lucia: Not near its lair!
Lucia buries the skull at the edge of the jungle. Luna Penumbra arrives and drops ropes to let the Fellowship board.
Dryden examines No-Eyed-Jacks shears. The metal is very old, but not corroded. He places them in a special bag, woven from spider silk (the spiders consented to have their silk used for this purpose, of course) The silk is very strong, so the sharp shears won’t cut through it. Dryden puts the sack behind his cloak. The headless skeleton goes into a normal sack, and is hauled aboard the Luna Penumbra. There are no paths through the jungle to the outcropping, so everyone boards the Luna Penumbra and they fly there. As they approach they see another skeleton come out of a cave, pour a bucket of water off the edge fo the outcropping, then go back inside the cave.
Lucia Bloodline Power: Detect Evil
This skeleton is also evil.
Lucia: Why is it pouring water on the vines?
Dryden: Let’s make this one talk. How do we threaten a skeleton?
Averiela: We could offer some rum.
Dryden: nothing to do but go down and see. Maybe we should have someone on the ship’s guns?
The Fellowship takes stock of how Luna Punumbra can help them. Oloris is busy drawing a map of the island, so he’s no help.
Luna Penumbra Exo Suits: When a Quartermaster is assigned, they can give Protection to anyone leaving the ship. This Protection lasts only a few hours, and the Quartermaster must stay behind to keep it working.
Assign Mara as Quartermaster
Mara equips Dryden, Lucia, and Averiela with Exo Suits that will let them move through the Stranglethron Vines freely. The suits are covered with razors that slash through the vines as the wearer moves. The three descend on ropes into the jungle, and the ropes are pulled up behind them. They wait and observe the skeleton as it emerges from the cave with another bucket of water.
- Molly Skeletonized Human she/her
Molly: No-Eyed-Jack’s not doing his duty. The outcropping isn’t clear!
She turns and goes back into the cave, just like she did before. Dryden has no problem laying a trap for her, since she has an obvious pattern and spends significant time out of sight in the cave. The next time she comes out, she steps right in it! Dryden’s Vine Trap is a bundle of small Ranged Ropes that burst out and entangle whoever triggers it.
Dryden Bear Trap: immobilize 1 enemy
Dryden: I tried to question the last one. Anyone else want to give it a try?
Lucia Speak Softly 7-9 ask 3 questions, 1 answer is unhelpful
- What can you tell us about your role?
- The captain told me, “Molly, you keep that cave dry!” so every time the tide comes in, here I am bailing out the cave with me bucket.
- What should we be wary of when dealing with you?
- I ain’t telling you me secrets!
- What can you tell us about the Stranglethron Vines.
- Them’s new. Sure they make No-Eyed-Jack’s job harder!
Lucia: Especially because you water them.
Dryden: No-Eyed-Jack’s job seems a lot easier than yours.
Molly: You don’t pick your assignment. You just gotta do it.
Averiela: If you could, what would you pick?
Molly: Jellylegs has the best job, that’s a fact!
Dryden: You’d do better than Jellylegs, I’m sure.
Molly: They’d never trust me with such a task.
Dryden: I’ll take the bucket.
Molly: Finally!
When Dryden takes the bucket, Molly’s skeleton collapses. It’s constituent bones no longer hold together. Dryden has taken the cursed bucket that forced Molly to do her job long after her death, and now that job is Dryden’s!
END OF SESSION MOVE
- Did we thoroughly explore a new location: NO
- Did anyone find what they were seeking: YES, working on Averiela’s mission to deal with the Dragon Egg.
- Did we learn something new about the world and it’s peoples? NO
1 boon: level up Averiela and Luna Penumbra
Dryden Workaholic: Spend 1 Food to heal a stat, belonging to you or one of your Companions. Heal Dryden.
Dryden Workaholic: Spend 1 Food to heal a stat, belonging to you or one of your Companions. Heal Lucia.