Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.
The fellowship: Edna Crusher-Harcourt the Ogre, Vestri the Dwarf, Yuri the Outlander
Last time, the Fellowship explored a Remnant dungeon and found four items that should unlock the purpose of the dungeon, and the source of Yuri’s apocalyptic visions.
The Fellowship approaches the only door they haven’t yet been able to unlock. They aren’t sure what they will face, but are sure it will be their greatest challenge so far.
GM note: I thought there was a good chance that everyone would be Taken Out and encouraged the players to think about what that means for their characters. I also had to consider what would happen if the Doomsday machine actually went off. Actually destroying the world was not allowed because that would end the game for all three parties. Instead I imagined disasters disrupting nearby Locations. I was pretty excited to reshape the world!
Yuri: I’m willing to jump into a dragon’s mouth and die!
Vestri: I’m OK with dying … after saving the world.
Edna: I want to live!
Ol’ Jardiner: Should be a good time either way. I kinda want to see Yuri’s apocalypse.
Edna tears open some cans with her fingernails and pours the food into her mouth like Popeye.
Edna spends 1 food to heal 1 stat
Edna is holding the water orb and the ring of air. Yuri has the Toggluminator, the fiery sword, and the stone amulet. They open the the doors and see…
A two-storey chamber with a huge hourglass in the center. It’s actually a century-glass, and the sand has almost run out. Wrapped around the century-glass is a dragon, rousing itself from slumber. The Doomsday Device must be powered by Dragonfire, breathed into the left and right holes on the far wall. Dragons are proud and cruel, so they give their enemies a chance to de-activate the Doomsday Device, so they will feel worse when the Dragons inevitably triumph (because Dragons always win). The failsafe for the Doomsday Device hides behind a poisoned waterfall in the center of the far wall.
Vieraugen, the dragon sleeping in the chamber, hears the door open and sees the Fellowship enter.
Vieraugen: Our final stronghold has been breached!
- Vieraugen, Dragon, he/him
- Weak Point: The boss cannot be damaged normally. It has a weak point, and only by striking this weak point can damage be done. You can only attempt to Finish Them with Blood or Sense, and on a 10+, you damage this stat instead of killing or defeating them. You cannot Strike From Advantage or damage any of their other stats while this stat is active. Once this stat is damaged, you can damage them normally.
- Use The Key: The boss is unbelievably powerful, and nothing will give you an Advantage over it… with one exception. When you use the key to Overcome its attacks or Keep Them Busy, the boss becomes temporarily vulnerable. The player using the key cannot also attempt to Finish Them – you need teamwork to get through its armor. Once this stat is damaged, the evil is weakened, and you no longer require the key to gain Advantage over them.
- Triple Threat: The boss is Giant. Their attacks can target up to three of
the fellowship at once, and their Cuts apply to all of them equally. - Dragonfire: The dragon is Melee, Burning, and Ranged. When the dragon attacks, it may choose to deal damage to everyone in front of it instead of picking a target.
- Wings and Claws: The dragon can fly, and its attacks are Piercing.
- Unbreakable Scales: This stat must be damaged twice. When the dragon would be destroyed, damage this stat instead.
Vieraugen breathes fire on the entrance! Yuri leaps to the balcony!
Yuri Mighty Leap: jump to anywhere you can see
Yuri Overcome (+despair, damaged Grace) 10+ avoid harm
Vestri hunkers down to withstand the flames. His armor takes most of the damage, and the intense heat distorts and partially melts it.
Vestri Overcome 7-9 pay a price
Edna drops her snacks and takes a defensive posture.
Edna Overcome 7-9 pay a price
Edna: Activate the machine!
Ol’ Jardiner takes the Hoop of Air from Edna. She drops the Water Orb, and leaps into the fray. Vestri picks it up.
Edna Mighty Leap: jump to anywhere you can see
Edna God Of War: You can Keep Them Busy no matter who they are or how bad your position is.
Edna Keep Them Busy 10+ their attention is all on you
Edna jumps directly into Vieraugen’s head, wraps her arms around his jaws, and starts wrestling the giant reptile like she’s the Crocodile Hunter
GM note: Use The Key means that Edna isn’t giving her teammates an Advantage over Vieraugen, but she is preventing him from taking other actions
Yuri jumps down from the balcony, right in front of Vieraugen’s face, and anti-shines the Toggluminator at him, blinding his four eyes.
Yuri Mighty Leap: jump to anywhere you can see
Vieraugen Use The Key: Only the Toggluminator can create an Advantage over Vieraugen
Yuri Keep Them Busy 10+
Finally, a foe that Edna respects. She usually fights bare-handed and sends her foes running, but for this mighty foe, she’ll use a weapon and fight to kill! Edna takes her metal-shod walking stick and swings it like a bat into the back of Vieraugen’s head!
Edna Finish Them (+Blood, kill) 10+ TAKEN OUT
Vieraugen damages Weak Point
Vieraugen rears in pain, throwing Edna and Yuri off, and slashes at everyone with his claws.
Vieraugen Triple Threat: The boss is Giant. Their attacks can target up to three of the fellowship at once, and their Cuts apply to all of them equally.
Yuri Overcome 10+
Yuri blocks with his magic sword!
Vestri Get Away 7-9 avoid harm
Vestri ducks under Vieraugen and runs across the room to the waterfall.
Edna Overcome 10+
Edna grabs Vieraugen’s huge clawed hand, turns and throws Vieraugen!
Edna Toss Aside 6- they go were they please + crash into someone, damaging them
Vieraugen is shocked to feel himself start to move against his will, but one flap of his mighty wings arrests his motion and he falls straight down onto Yuri.
Yuri spends Armor
Yuri’s pinned under Vieraugen’s bulk, but has a hand free to anti-shine the Toggluminator in Vieraugen’s eyes again.
Yuri Keep Them Busy: 10+
Vieraugen Use The Key: Only the Toggluminator can create an Advantage over Vieraugen
Edna: Sorry, Yuri! I’ll make it up to you!
Edna comes in with another mighty swing of her walking stick.
Edna Finish Them (+blood, kill) 7-9 damage
Vieraugen Unbreakable Scales: This stat must be damaged twice. When the dragon would be destroyed, damage this stat instead.
At the far wall, Vestri trips and the Water Orb rolls into the waterfall. The poison water is cleansed. Now he can see, through the clear water, a slot that will fit the Stone Amulet. He runs back towards Yuri to get the amulet. Vieraugen sees that his enemies are working on the failsafe and moves to defend it. Vestri gets in his face, a tiny figure facing down an enormous monster.
Vestri Keep Them Busy: 7-9
GM note: Again, Use The Key prevents Vestri from giving his teammates an Advantage over Vieraugen.
Ol’ Jardiner tries to use the Hoop of Air on the failsafe device, but can’t get it to work.
Yuri: Double team again?
Edna: Teamwork!
Yuri deploys the Toggluminator again, and Edna swings again.
Yuri Keep Them Busy: 10+
Vieraugen Use The Key: Only the Toggluminator can create an Advantage over Vieraugen
Edna Finish Them (+blood, kill) 7-9 damage
Vieraugen Unbreakable Scales: This stat must be damaged twice. When the dragon would be destroyed, damage this stat instead.
Vieraugen slashes again with his claws, threatening all three heroes.
Vieraugen Triple Threat: The boss is Giant. Their attacks can target up to three of the fellowship at once, and their Cuts apply to all of them equally.
Yuri blocks with his magic sword!
Yuri Overcome 10+
Vestri could duck behind Edna for protection, but defends himself instead of hiding.
Vestri Overcome 6-
Vestri damages Courage
Edna Overcome 10+
Edna grabs Vieraugen’s huge clawed hand and swings him around into the centry-glass.
Edna Toss Aside 10+ they go where you want, smashing into something and taking damage
Vieraugen damages Triple Threat
Sand and glass go everywhere! Yuri rushes over to the failsafe device and inserts the Metal Amulet. The device whirs and folds out, past the waterfall. Vieraugen rears back to unleash a deadly gout of flame on Yuri and Ol’ Jardiner.
Yuri Mighty Leap: jump to anywhere you can see
Yuri Get Away 10+ avoid harm, bring Ol’ Jardiner along
Yuri grabs Ol’ Jardiner and leaps to put Edna between them and Vieraugen. Ol’ Jardiner drops the Hoop of Air as he’s yanked away. Vieraugen’s flame breath scorches where they stood a moment ago, but hits nothing. Vestri picks up the Hoop of Air and tries to use it on the failsafe.
Vieraugen breathes fire again.
Edna Overcome 10+
Edna You Have My Shield: When you Overcome the harm an ally would suffer and roll a 7+, you can redirect the harm instead of stopping it.
Edna comes in with a wild haymaker to Vieraugen’s jaw, snapping his head to the right, so instead of burning Vestri, Vieraugen’s flame goes into the right side of the Doomsday Device! It’s halfway to activation! If Vieraugen can activate the other side, the fight (and maybe the whole world!) is over!
Vestri puts the Hoop of Air on the failsafe, and the gyroscopic effect of the air spinning rapidly within twists the mechanism, revealing a glowing red power conduit. Yuri leaps at the conduit with his magic sword, but Vieraugen tries to fly to intercept him!
Yuri Mighty Leap: jump to anywhere you can see
Edna Overcome 10+
Edna grabs a wing, holding Vieraugen back for a moment. Yuri cuts the red conduit and the Doomsday Device falls silent. Vieraugen can no longer destroy the world. He’ll have to settle for destroying the Fellowship.
Vieraugen: Alas! The Moon failed. Our last device failed! The Vampires have truly defeated us!
Vestri: We’re not vampires.
Yuri: We have a common enemy.
GM note: Vieraugen really should have tried this first. Hubris is a great explanation for non-optimal choices.
Vieraugen hits a switch and mirrors on the ceiling reflect sunlight into the chamber.
Yuri: I’m glad we can see better.
Vestri: I forget that you can’t see in the dark.
Vieraugen: Thralls! Nevertheless, you will be destroyed!
Yuri I Need To Know: You can Speak Softly even when you do not have time or safety. Enemies you Speak Softly with will answer your questions even if they would not talk to anyone else, and even in the middle of a fight.
Yuri Speak Softly 7-9: 3 questions, 1 unhelpful answer
Yuri: What do you want?
Vieraugen: I must destroy Vampires, my sworn enemies!
Yuri: I can help. I know where one lives. We have connections.
Vieraugen is still processing the final loss of his civilization and the personal defeat he just suffered, so he’s not really listening. He breathes fire on the Fellowship, who have gathered by the failsafe.
Vestri Get Away 7-9 avoid harm
Vestri ducks behind the waterfall, using the water as a shield.
Edna Overcome 10+
Edna You Have My Shield: When you Overcome the harm an ally would suffer and roll a 7+, you can redirect the harm instead of stopping it.
Edna uppercuts Vieraugen so his flame blast goes high, destroying the mechanism at the top of the chamber that pumps the waterfall into the room.
Yuri blinds Vieraugen with the Toggluminator again.
Yuri Keep Them Busy 10+
Edna picks up her walking stick and swings one last time at the back of Vieraugen’s head.
Edna Finish Them (+Blood, kill) 10+ TAKEN OUT
The mighty Dragon falls, and does not move. They’ve done it. The Fellowship has killed a Dragon!
GM note: Vieraugen has so many layers of defenses that we had to stop and carefully go through his stats. We could hardly believe it, but Weak Point was damaged, and Unbreakable Scales was damaged twice, so a 10+ would kill. Yuri had more questions left from his Keep Them Busy roll, but the fight didn’t pause for him to speak, and it ended before he could ask the remaining questions.
Yuri: He did it to himself, trying to destroy the world.
Edna: No, I did it. With this.
Edna holds her walking stick high in triumph. She found a worthy foe, the strongest and most terrifying foe she’s ever seen, and it is dead. She feels invincible! Vestri is in awe of his powerful friends. After a short time, his adrenaline wears off and he starts shaking. Edna takes Vieraugen’s head as a trophy, and Yuri collects some scales. Vestri assumes that Yuri wants to make some armor. Yuri doesn’t admit that he really wants to give the scales as a gift to impress Lucy.
The Fellowship is no longer threatened by a Dragon or a world-shattering explosion, but they are stuck in a hidden fortress whose only dorr is hudrends of feet up a sheer cliff face. They need to find a way out before the end up like the Kobolds in the Infinite Spiral. The sunlight that Vieraugen brought into the chamber had to come from outside. Yuri leaps up and finds some tunnels with a series of mirrors that lead outside.
Yuri & Edna Mighty Leap: Jump to anywhere you can see
Edna Toss Aside: an ally can ride on top of you if you let them.
With some careful leaps and a few trips, the whole Fellowship (including Viktor the butler and Steven the housecat, who had the good sense not to join the battle) find themselves outside, on top of a plateau.
END OF SESSION MOVE
- Did we thoroughly explore a new location: YES, the Remnant Dungeon
- Did anyone find what they were looking for: YES, Yuri prevented the disaster in his visions, and Edna found a foe worth fighting at full strength.
- Did we learn something new about the world and its peoples: YES The Moon was a Dragon weapon against Vampires. Cargo cult of Kobolds. What the Remnants did before they were Remnants.
3 boons: gear, heal, Level up Yuri & Vestri