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, the party introduced two groups of Rain to each other, got some fire-proof suits, and returned to their damaged boat.
Before they see the ship, they see smoke rising over the trees. Gus, Stella’s chef, runs up to them. His face is black with soot and wisps of smoke rise from his hair, which stick up in all directions.
Gus: Thank goodness you’re back!
Stella: Are you OK?
Buckle sniffs the air.
Buckle: Is that–hair?
Gus: No. And yes. That egg you found hatched. It’s all fire and flying around and—
Buckle: My egg!
Buckle runs towards the Miranda. Stella and Gus follow. The Miranda is suspended over a ravine by Giant Spider silk. Their attempt to carry the Miranda over the rapids below went wrong, and the Miranda got stuck. It’s outrigger broke off and lies on the riverbank nearby. The top of a nearby tree is on fire because a baby Phoenix decided to perch there. It doesn’t see anything odd about the situation. The Phoenix is magical, so Stella’s power over Beasts does not apply.
Buckle: Ichabod! It’s daddy!
- Ichabod, baby Phoenix. An eagle-sized bird made of fire
- Fireproof: not damaged by fire or heat
- Fire Eater: Ichabod can breathe fire as a weapon with Ranged & Burning tags. Ichbod can consume a roaring fire (at least campfire size) to heal.
Ichabod recognizes Buckle’s voice, because Buckle talked to it while it was inside the egg. Stella dons one of the fire-proof suits.
Stella: Buckle, maybe you could also set a tree on fire to show that you’re a friend.
Buckle goes to another tree and sets it on fire with a touch.
Buckle Heart of Earth: You are burning hot & involuntarily set fire to
any flammable item you touch
Ichabod imitates Buckle and flies to another tree to set it on fire. This tree isn’t as isolated as the first two, so once again the Fellowship is in danger of starting a forest fire. Stella and Buckle reach out with mental power to pull Ichabod towards them.
Stella & Buckle Wizardry: Touch, push, or grab as if you were somewhere else that you can see.
Buckle (+hope, Stella’s aid) Keep Them Busy 6-
Ichabod resists the magical influence and lands on a tree, setting it on fire! Buckle waves and yells, to no effect. Giant Spiders emerge from the forest, fleeing the flames.
Buckle: Do you have any snacks? Can you share a snack with me?
Stella gives Buckle one of her Halfling Snacks. Buckle sets it on fire and waves it to get Ichabod’s attention.
Stella spends 1 Halfling Snack
Buckle Pyromania: When surrounded by fire, you have Hope
Buckle Keep Them Busy (+hope) 10+
Ichabod flies over and lands on Buckle with one flaming claw on his head and the other on one shoulder. Ichabod leans down to eat the snack from Buckle’s hands. Gus stands a safe distance away, fretting because that is not the proper way to prepare or serve that food! Now that Ichabod is calmly attentive, Buckle manifests a glowing aurora around himself.
Buckle spends 1 use of Medallion of Cleft Sky
Buckle Aurora 7-9 forge a bond with 1 member of an attentive audience
Buckle forges a bond with Ichabod. It’s a touching scene, but the Giant Spiders and other forest creatures don’t care. Their home is still in danger! Stella uses King Of The Hill’s oversized sword like an axe to chop away at the base of the tree. She and Rose push the tree over so the burning tip falls away from the rest of the forest.
Rose spends Get Right In There
Stella Overcome (+hope, Rose’s aid) 10+
The fire is contained! The rest of the forest is safe.
Stella: Hey, Buckle, how do you feel about getting rid of some spider webs so we can get the Miranda out of here?
Buckle: We can handle that. How are we going to get the outrigger back on?
Stella: That is a good question that we will figure out after we get the first part done.
Buckle goes along the shore, touching each sprand of web to melt it. Ichabod follows and imitates him. When all the supports on one side are gone, the Miranda drops and swings towards the other side of the river. It lands hard in the river.
Miranda damages All Ahead Full
Stella takes a running start and jumps into the Miranda.
Stella Overcome 10+
Stella lands safely in the deck and hears a voice from the forest.
Celemir: That was soooo cool!
Two Elves emerge from the forest. They carry walking sticks and large backpacks.
- Celemir, Elf pilgrim she/her
- A well-intentioned bystander who wants to help, even if they really can’t.
- I’ll Help: The bystaqnder leaps into trouble! She will pay a price for someone, then damage this stat. If the price dealt damage to her, she dies.
- Ossorim, Elf pilgrim he/him
- A ruthless Elf of means, intent on using those means to gather as many riches as possible.
- Expansionist: Ossorim always wants more, and will do anything he can to get more. Anyone trying to Talk Sense with him is in Despair to do so.
- Rich: Ossorim has infinite Precious things to spend. He can buy anything and anyone that can be bought.
Stella: Yeah, super cool. Could you help, please?
Celemir: Yes, of course I’ll help!
Ossorim: We should not delay our pilgrimmage.
Celemir leaps aboard the Miranda without stopping to learn what help is required.
Stella: Actually, could you get the outrigger down the river?
Celemir runs up the ravine wall and downstream to fetch the outrigger. Stella’s impressed to meet another wall walker.
Ossorim: Please do not distract my impressionable companion. We will need all our strength for the climb.
Buckle calls out from the other side of the river.
Buckle: What climb?
Ossorim: We are going to climb that mountain. It builds character. It’s said that from up there, you can see what’s important to you.
Ossorim points upstream to the mountain that towers over Lichenton.
Stella: I see why they say that. There’s a lot of surprises up there.
Ossorim: Have you made the pilgrammage? If it would not be rude, may I ask what you discovered?
Stella: It seems like you can see the whole world from up there. But also there are wolves, and you might freeze to death. You’ll learn what’s important to you, because what’s important will be surviving.
Ossorim: We do have a lot of gear, but I didn’t know about the wolves. You survived, so I wish to buy your protection from the wolves. You can fight them.
Stella: Absolutely not. They were nice to me.
Ossorim: Oh, if they are kind wolves–you mentioned them with the cold, so I thought they were a danger.
Stella: You misunderstand. They were kind to me because I can talk to them. How’s your howling?
Ossorim: I can yell…
Ossorim yells across the river to Buckle.
Ossorim: You seem like a useful guide in cold weather, Can I convince you to come up the mountain with us?
Ichabod flies towards Ossorim because he’s making noise. Ossorim is rich and a coward, so he has a plan for danger. He throws a handful of gems in one direction and runs in the other direction, back into the forest! Ichabod gobbles down the gems to use as gizzard stones.
Celemir returns, breathing hard, without the outrigger.
Celemir: That’s a lot bigger than I thought. I don’t think I can move it by myself.
Ossorim: Look out! They have a dangerous beast!
Buckle: Ichabod wouldn’t be dangerous if you didn’t yell so much!
GM note: What are Ichabod’s pronouns? Are Phoenixes sexually dimorphic? Laying an egg is a good test, but Ichabod’s egg wasn’t laid. The old Corrupted Phoenix burned, and the egg appeared in the ashes. Maybe Phoenixes don’treproduce. Maybe there are a constant number of Phoenixes in the world that are reborn forever.
Celemir is confused, thinks for a moment, then gets close to Stella and whispers.
Celemir: The outrigger is a lot bigger than I thought. I don’t think I can move it by myself.
Stella Queen of the Wild: All Beasts are your companions
Stella commands the Giant Spiders of the forest to drag the outrigger up to the Miranda with their webs. They obey.
- Group of Giant Spiders they/them
- Wall Crawler: Giant spiders can walk across any solid surface with ease, no matter the surface’s orientation. They can also spin webs to cross gaps or create bridges or build homes.
- Creepy: Giant spiders are terrifying. If your Courage is damaged, you cannot stand up to a Giant Spider
- Group: This enemy can act against two people at once. When this enemy is
destroyed, this stat is damaged, or this is their only stat left, replace the Group
with two normal enemies.
Ossorim: Looks like you have this well in hand, so we’ll keep going.
Ossorim walks around the Miranda, staying far away from all these strange people. Celemir follows, but Stella gives her some advice before she leaves.
Stella: Seriously, there are wolves!
Re-connecting the broken spars with spider silk, which is basically rope, is a challenge. Fortunately, the Fellowship proved themselves as mechancial engineers in the Singing Hills, and Buckle’s people have a lot of scientific knowledge, if they can be bothered to remember it.
Buckle: Tell your spiders that they need to make a truss. They’re just wrapping it. That’s not structurally stable.
Stella: What’s a truss?
Buckle: Triangles! You need triangles!
Buckle explains a truss to Stella, and how the webs need to connect to the outriggers and both spars and the main hulls.
Buckle Talk Sense (+Sense, explain plan) 7-9 owe a favor
The Spiders understand Buckle’s instructions, but they want him to do something in exchange for this complex, precise task. There’s a nest of predator birds deep in the forest. The Spiders want him to set fire to that next.
Buckle: I don’t like killing birds. Maybe we can get them to leave you alone?
Spiders just don’t want to be eaten. They don’t care how Buckle does that. They start constructing the truss. Buckle requests one Spider lead the Fellowship into the forest.
- Giant Spider Guide it/it
- Wall Crawler: Giant spiders can walk across any solid surface with ease, no matter the surface’s orientation. They can also spin webs to cross gaps or create bridges or build homes.
- Creepy: Giant spiders are terrifying. If your Courage is damaged, you cannot stand up to a Giant Spider.
To avoid setting the forest on fire, Buckle dons a fire-proof suit. He tries to put another fire-proof suit on Ichabod, but it’s not really shaped for him, and Ichabod isn’t a fan of wearing clothes.
Buckle Overcome 10+
Buckle succeeds, so the two fire-based monsters can safely enter the forest. Buckle can’t use his fire-based powers while in the fire-proof suit. He doesn’t set things on fire with a touch, or shine brightly.The Giant Spider Guide leads Buckle & Ichabod into the forest, to a clearing with a tall tree where the Harpy Eagles make their nests.
Collateral Damage (burning those trees earlier) increased Response Level to 3
Ragin Rapids gains Wild Animal: A Beast Threat attempts to eat someone
- Group of Harpy Eagles they/them
- Dive Bomb: The eagle deals damage as a Hard Cut when it descends from high above onto its prey.
- Get Carried Away: The eagle can fly off with anyone they deal damage to. If they are not stopped quickly, they will escape to the skies. They will never willingly drop someone they carry until they reach their destination.
- Group: This enemy can act against two people at once. When this enemy is
destroyed, this stat is damaged, or this is their only stat left, replace the Group
with two normal enemies.
Group of Harpy Eagles Dive Bomb
Giant Spider Guide damages Creepy
Buckle Damages a stat
Group of Harpy Eagles Get Carried Away
As soon at they emerges into the clearing, the Harpy Eagles attack! Buckle and Giant Spider Guide are snatched up into the air by the eagles’ great claws!
Buckle Wildspeaker: you speak the language of beasts and monsters
Buckle: What do you think you’re doing? Do you know who I am? Put me and my companions down!
Buckle Talk Sense (+Grace, impress) 10+ they do as you ask
The Eagles are impressed by Buckle’s glowing eyes and commanding voice. They put Buckle and Giant Spider Guide down, and Giant Spider Guide scurries back into the undergrowth. The Harpy Eagles spiral up into the tree. There are three nests up there. One nests contains a pair of Harpy Eagles. The second nest has a pair of adults and a few little babies. The third nest only has a single Harpy Eagle.
- Buckle Speak Softly 10+ ask 3 questions
- What can they tell us about their relationship with the Giant Spiders?
- Giant Spiders are reliable food. They don’t taste as good as the Walking Salmon, but the Walking Salmon are only available for a short time.
- What do they want, and how can I help them get it?
- The safety of their chicks is their highest priority. Buckle sympathizes. He also has a newborn bird to care for. The Harpy Eagles worry that something may invade the nest while they are away. To prevent creatures from crawling up the tree, Buckle could put a ring of fire around the tree!
- What can they tell us about other Harpy Eagles elsewhere?
- Harpy Eagles live in the Fulheim Forest to the east. Long ago, they lived in a forest far to the west, but that forest is dead now.
- What can they tell us about their relationship with the Giant Spiders?
Buckle: Would the Giant Spiders be willing to create webs to protect the Harpy Eagle’s tree from small predators? In exchange, the Harpy Eagles will not eat Giant Spiders.
Buckle Talk Sense (+sense, explain plan) 10+
The Giant Spider Guide agrees on behalf of its species. Not being eaten by Harpy Eagles is wonderful!
Buckle Talk Sense (+sense, explain plan) 10+
The Harpy Eaglesgleefully anticipate eating the egg-eaters that will be caught in the Giant Spiders’ webs. They agree to leave the Giant Spiders alone. Buckle brings the Harpy Eagles back to the Miranda to explain the agreement to everyone. Buckle has brought peace to the forest!
The Fellowship gains the fellowship of the Raging Rapids
Raging Rapid offers Fellowship move: Hunting Partner. A Harpy Eagle accompanies the Fellowship. Each member of the Fellowship may form one Bond with it.
- Elektra Harpy Eagle it/it
- Dive Bomb: The eagle deals damage as a Hard Cut when it descends from high above onto its prey.
- Get Carried Away: The eagle can fly off with anyone they deal damage to. If they are not stopped quickly, they will escape to the skies. They will never willingly drop someone they carry until they reach their destination.
Buckle is happy to have another bird for Ichabod to socialize with and learn from.
In the mean time, the Giant Spiders have successfully attached the outrigger to the Miranda.
Miranda heals All Ahead Full
Stella cuts the remaining webs from the Miranda and steers it downstream to flatter ground, so the rest of the Fellowship can board.
Stella: So what do you think, Buckle? Books? Or Rain?
GM note: Now that Buckle has the fire-proof suits he promised to the Ghost Librarian of the Hidden Library, he should be able to access the Hidden Library and its knowledge. When King Bernard gave the Fellowship a ride back to Lichenton, he mentioned a settlement of Rain near Willow’s Landing that he’d like the Fellowship to check out.
Buckle: To the library!
Actually, the Fellowship decides to rest for a week.
Fellowship Recover: Restore all stats and gear
GM note: They have the Fellowship of the community, Stella can command all Beasts in the area, and Buckle can talk to all the Beasts in the area. They are very safe.
Raging Rapids increases Response Level to 4
Raging Rapids gains Bad Weather. Heavy rains cause a bloom, so the air is full of pollen and bugs, reducing sight distance.
RAGING RAPIDS MESSAGE BOARD
Buckle: Remind the Eagles not to eat the spiders of they’ll be in trouble. Also make sure wolves didn’t eat Ossorin and Celemire.
Stella: Spiders are very helpful. Look up for eagles. If you see the walking salmon, see how they are doing.