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, Ol’ Jardiner the Harbinger
Last time, the Fellowship explored the caverns with their Dwarven hosts, who left them for dead when a Forgotten Beast attacked. They defeated it and an Undying Demon. now, they leave the caverns and pursue other adventures.
Dryden opens Infinite Windows to fetch Ol’ Jardiner, who is resting in Sugar’s Crossing with his other friends. The Fellowship decides that Sugar’s Crossing is a better place to be than the underground caverns, so they go through instead of bringing Ol’ Jardiner through.
GM note: That’s not how Infinite WIndows works. Infinite Windows cannot be moved while any portal is open, so Dryden couldn’t bring it with him. But we didn’t notice until it was too late to go back and do it “correctly:
The Fellowship emerges in the courtyard of a Halfling apartment-hotel-home in Sugar’s Crossing. There’s a gate on one side, a big dining room on the other, and many bedrooms all around on multiple stories. In the center of the courtyard is a fountain. Ol’ Jardiner introduces his other friends. His third adventuring party, after Edna, Vestri, and Yuri retired.
Markus recognizes Boris from storybooks. The Forgotten Lands are forgotten because they were part of an older civilization that was cursed for its hubris. Ravenous, mindless boarmen overran the land, and the survivors fled to the Forgotten Lands and created magical protections to hide. Boris is one of those Boarmen, except he became intelligent and stuck around after the old civilization was destroyed. Ol’ Jardiner doesn’t know how old he is. Boris himself has forgotten.
Yonne rises out of the water in the fountain. She’s a Rain, and is composed of mostly acidic water.
Dryden remembers meeting an Acid Rain long ago, but that wasn’t Yonne. She’s happy to hear about another of her kind. Dryden thinks he wasn’t too far away. He asks what she’s been up to lately. Ol’ Jardiner talks over her.
Ol’ Jardiner: We escaped a flooded castle where a despressed Vampire Lord wanted to hire me to fix the castle that he let fall to ruin. The force of his despression is so powerful that it hurts to walk into the castle, and he’s basically killed the whole forest.
Dryden: How did you escape?
Ol’ Jardiner: Boris here is extremely fast, so I rode on his back. Yonne was a distraction because knives go through her and she’s impossible to grab. She walked slowly over to the well.
Yonne takes the shape of von Till’s guard and imitates his futile attempts to harm her.
Dryden: Do you know of any adventures around here?
Yonne: We had too many adventures. We had to take a break.
Ol’ Jardiner: There’s always something going on in town. We could meet people in the forum. Sarah Miller knows what’s up. She’s a gossip.
Markus: Where’s our ship?
The Luna Penumbra and half of the companions are waiting on the north side of the Treacherous Mountains.
Remember those rough gems? They’ll be precious items if the Fellowship finds someone to cut them.
Ol’ Jardiner: I met a Dwarf who cut my three gems, but she kept one. Maybe there’s a group rate. Don’t tell her that you got it from her caverns.
Markus: I would not be sad to buy another weapon to go with my simple sword, like a spear orrrrrr… are there any cool souvenies I can buy?
Averiela: Markus. Don’t touch anything. Don’t talk to anyone.
Markus goes into town to explore. Averiela sees a show at the theater sponsored by Edna about the assault on the library. It’s not a complete vanity project. Edna is presented as one of many heroes. She and Dryden watch the play, while Markus asks around for a gem cutter. Some events were edited for pace, but it’s basically accurate. Most of the actors are humans and elves, like their characters, but in the big battle scene where Edna appears, a tall human plays Edna, and all the other characters are played by Halflings. After the show, Dryden goes up to the actor who plays him and signs his sword, “Star-Rider, Hero Of The West”
Markus attracts the attention of Sarah Miller, who always wants to get the scoop on new-comers. She thinks Markus is a rube and will mess with him a little.
- Sarah Miller, she/her, Human Nosy Neighbor: A local busybody who is way too interested in everyone else’s business. Especially yours.
- Window Watcher: The nosy neighbor knows everything going on in the neighborhood, and will happily share this information with anyone who asks.
- Loose Lips: You may ask the nosy neighbor an extra question when you Speak Softly or Speak Harshly with them.
- What can you tell me about cool souvenirs?
- I should represent the Miller family and tell you to go on the tour of our mill, but I must admit that the secret night-time tour at the le Grind mill is actually better. There’s a side door. Go there at midnight.
- Dryden: I’ve been on that tour!
- What can you tell me about gem cutters?
- Cattan, a Dwarf who came into town a few days ago. She’s staying in a certain house.
- Bolder, a Halfling man who is more adventurous than most Halfings. He lives here and has a shop in his home.
- What were you doing? What will you do next?
- Right now I’m mingling and meeting people. Sadly I have an afternoon shift and have to go to the mill.
- What would you have me do?
- Go away, you’re so nosy!
Averiela, Dryden, and Markus go to Bolder’s shop. He has a well-lit desk with magnifiers and fine tools, but also large powerful machines to break rough gems out of stones. Danger is his style! As the Fellowship arrives, he cranks a handle on one machine five times, then presses a button to release a hammer that smashes a gem-containing rock. Now he can use a handheld chisel.
Markus: Ooo, what are you doing?
Bolder: I’m going to free this gem from the rock where it has been imprisoned for untold years.
Markus: Will that make it happy?
Bolder: I like to think so.
Markus: Then what will you do? Will you sell it as a whole gem? Will you cut it to sell it or sell it as a whole gem?
Bolder: If you’re looking to buy, I have rough gems and cut gems. The cut gems are much more valuable. They make excellent trade goods, but make sure you secure them because they’re good targets for thieves.
Dryden: Are thieves a big problem in town or a little problem?
Bolder: Little problem, but having a day’s wage snatched is one thing, and having a bag full of gems snatched is much worse.
Markus: Do you cut other gems that people bring to you or just the gems that you yourself get out of these giant rocks?
Bolder: I’m not prejudiced. So you’re bringing gems instead of buying? You should have made that clear.
Bolder offers to cut all six gems and keep two, but Markus and Dryden talk him down to one.
Ol’ Jardiner: You know, Dryden, the forgers who made that fake Dwarven dagger you found are right here in the garrison. Wanna meet them?
Markus: Can I come? I want to see felons!
Averiela: How do you deal with felons in the Forgotten Lands?
Markus: We don’t have any. Everyone is so happy. It’s an ideal world.
Averiela: No one breaks the rules?
Markus: People break al the rules all the time but we don’t think locking them up helps. They just get banned from certain places, like Dryden from the library.
Averiela: And if they steal a sheep and eat it so they can’t give it back?
Markus: They should pay for it, or they have to go work on the sheep farm until their debt is paid. But who would eat a sheep? We don’t eat sheep. Barbarians eat sheep. We get the wool. If they ate a sheep, they must have been very hungry.
Soday & Tomay, the forgers in question, are jailed in the gatehouse because Colanda (an Elven sheriff) didn’t think that Ol’ Jardiner’s former employer had the authority to take them back to Lady Evelynn. The Elven garrison has left, replaced by a force of Snakefolk from Vieport, but their time is almost up. Next month is Fairmeadow’s first turn defending Sugar’s Crossing.
Ol’ Jardiner walks up to the gatehouse and greets the soldier at the door.
Ol’ Jardiner: Hello, my good snake, I would like to see the forgers Soday and Tomay please.
- Burmer, he/him, Snakefolk commander: A buff, powerful snakefolk with a bad attitude.
- Jaws: The snake’s bark is as bad as their bite. His bite is a Melee, Piercing weapon. Anyone trying to use Speak Softly, Talk Sense, or Keep Them Busy against Burmer must damage their Wisdom to do so, as Burmer berates them and belittles them all throughout.
- My Turf: Burmer is king of his turf. Nobody messes with him without facing the consequences. he can command other Snakefolk Innocents to do as he say, without question.
Burmer: Are you a forger? Will you help them escape?
Ol’ Jardiner: No! I’m their laywer. I’m here to make sure all their rights are being respected. The arresting officer–not one of your soldiers–didn’t follow proper procedures.
Burmer: You can go in if you give me a good show, magician. I’m bored here. You have to teach me one of your tricks.
Ol’ Jardiner: I didn’t bring my training manual. I’ll have to go get it. Please excuse me.
Ol’ Jardiner leaves, then circles back to a place where he can see the barred windows of the gatehouse. He projects his vision inside and sees Soday and Tomay in one of the cells. They look very bored. He looks around to learn the layout of the gatehouse. Impulsively, he decides to free the forgers to spite Burmer. He blows a thought bubble and sends it to Tomay.
Ol’ Jardiner: Be ready to leave at midnight.
Burmer sees the thought bubble floating into the gatehouse and thinks that was Ol’ Jardiner’s show. Ol’ Jardiner returns to the Fellowship.
Ol’ Jardiner: Hey, Markus, check it out. You’re getting two adventures for the price of one. Y’all are going to provide cover for Tomay & Soday. That jerk Burmer wouldn’t let me see them, so I’m going to get them out.
Markus: That’s appropriate. It’s your fault that they’re in there.
Ol’ Jardiner: It’s their fault that they are in there–you know, it’s complicated.
Averiela: Jardiner, what is your intention with these forgers?
Ol’ Jardiner: Uhhh, Dryden wanted to meet them?
Averiela: But what’s next? Do we want free forgers?
Ol’ Jardiner: Free forgeries would be great.
Dryden: Lady Evelynn needs to lose as much as she can. If she gets to them, it will not be a good thing. We can inspire them to be good people and use their skills to make the world a better place.
Averiela: I will approve, only if that happens.
Before the jailbreak at midnight, Dryden looks for Bingo, Star-Rider’s biggest fan. When Dryden knocks on the door of Bingo’s house, Bingo already knows it’s him. He got the Eyeball Droids that Dryden gave him working and installed them like a Ring camera on his door. Bingo jumps from his bedroom window and floats down with a big blanket, imitating his hero’s big cloak.
Dryden: So, you’ve fixed the Eyeball Droids. How else have you been making Sugar’s Crossing a better place?
Bingo: I’ve been tattling on my neighbors! I have the Eyeball Droids, so I can watch them without them knowing. I just wait for them to do something wrong and get them in trouble.
Dryden: Ah. I think the next step for you is to find a local mentor to teach you the ways of surveillance. And next month, a good sheriff is coming. You should volunteer your services.
Bingo: That’s in two days!
Dryden is hesitant to give Bingo anything else. He’s not sure if he’s creating a superhero or a supervillain.
At midnight, the Fellowship gathers to help Ol’ Jardiner psring the forgers from the gatehouse. Averiela has big reservations about this jailbreak, but Markus just wants an adventure. He’s heard bad things about Lady Evelynn, so doing something against her is probably OK. Dryden has a harpoon gun that he took from Lady Evelynn long ago. He wants to use it to frame Lady Evelynn for the jailbreak. She has connections, so she’s unlikely to go to jail, but it will give the other two mills a political advantage.
Ol’ Jardiner: Averiela, I need to get to the wall outside their cell. It would be really cool if you could camouflage me.
Averiela: I want to know the whole plan.
Ol’ Jardiner: The whole plan is I use the ley-lines of magic to open the cell so they can walk out. Then I say, “You want to avoid Lady Evelynn, right? You’ll be safe on our flying ship!” Are you convinced this is a good idea?
Averiela: Convinced this is a good idea? No. Willing to go along? Fine.
The Fellowship thinks about the various ways that they can avoid attention. Averiela can camouflage any number of allies. Dryden can stalk prey unaware. Markus can do anything if someone talks him through it. Ol’ Jardiner imagines him and Markus using Do Not Trifle With Wizards together to instantly detonate a huge threat. Awesome. But this plan doesn’t require any explosions! It should be quiet and unnoticed.
Averiela uses Elven magic to camouflage the whole Fellowship. Ol’ Jardiner moves back and forth and watches a cobblestone pattern move across his body to make him blend in with the street. They sneak up to the gatehouse. The forger’s cell is on the wall way from the river. Ol’ Jardiner puts his hands against the wall and makes a square with his fingers, like a film director visualizing a shot. He pulls the corners of the square apart and a hole appears in the wall between his hands. Inside, two Dwarves are looking towards the door of their cell, not the back wall. They are on alert like the message said, but they don’t expect anyone to come through the wall. There’s a guard at the entrance of the hall of cells, but he’s not looking directly at the Fellowship. Averiela walks in, puts each hand over the mouth of a Dwarf, and pulls them back towards the hole. Dryden sneaks in and leaves the Harpoon Gun carefully propped up in the corner. The Fellowship sneaks away from the gatehouse. To an outside observer (hopefully there are none) the party looks like two confused Dwarves. They retreat to a safe place and Averiela dismisses the camouflage.
Soday: You! You were with the Ogre. You were going to turn us in to Lady Evelynn!
Ol’ Jardiner: I’m independent now. I don’t think that’s a good idea. That’s why I broke you out. You don’t want to stay in town near Lady Evelynn. My friends and I have an independent adventuring company with a flying ship. Your skills would be very valuable. What do you say? Do you want to join up?
GM note: Everyone gets a bond with Tomay & Soday for saving them from imprisonment and Lady Evelynn.
Soday & Tomay: Yeah, great. Where’s the ship? How do we get out of here?
The Fellowship wants to get Soday & Tomay out of town, but they want to stay so they don’t look guilty. They’d like to be welcome in Sugar’s Crossing in the future. Also, Ol’ Jardiner owes Burmer a magic show. Dryden thinks Infinite WIndows is too risky to use. Hiding them in Sugar’s Crossing is risky because Sarah Miller knows everything that’s going on, and Bingo is spying on people. The Fellowship considers nearby locations. The apple orchards to the west seem safe enough. Averiela will take the forgers out of town. She’s aloof, so people won’t be suspicious when she’s not with the others. She likes the forest, so making camp among trees will be nice.
Averiela camouflages everyone, including the forgers, and walks the Fellowship back to where they are staying. After dropping them off, she takes the forgers and leaves town for the apple orchards. Back inside the Halfling hotel, the Ol’ Jardiner, Markus, and Dryden go to bed.
Ol’ Jardiner: Hey, Markus, are you awake? Burmer wants me to teach him magic. I can’t teach him magic, but I can teach you magic. So if you come and follow my instructions, clearly I’m giving a good lesson and it’s just him being thick.
Dryden: Or if she does it from the side, he’ll think he’s doing it.
Ol’ Jardiner looks through his Endless Scroll for a ritual that he can teach. The ritual can a catch of side-effect. What’s the catch for fireworks? Setting things on fire? Not that one! We won’t create something based on your innermost feelings, because Markus won’t know Burmer’s innermost feelings. There’s a waterbending exercise that dehydrates the caster.
Ol’ Jardiner: I’ve got it! I don’t need your help. I’ll use Doodle’s Illusion power. I won’t have to use real magic at all.
The next morning, Ol’ Jardiner goes to the gatehouse, which is in an uproar because prisoners are missing.
Burmer: Get out of here! Wait, I still want the magic. Fast!
Ol’ Jardiner: Cool, cool. The energy’s not right here. Especially now. Come over here to a spot that I’ve prepared.
Ol’ Jardiner leads Burmer to a courtyard where Doodle is lying flat on the ground imitating the paving tiles.
Ol’ Jardiner: Stand across from me and do these hand gestures.
Ol’ Jardiner does some gestures that are not magical, and the tiles near him change colors in a cool pattern. Burmer tries, and Doodle creates the same pattern of colors around Burmer.
Ol’ Jardiner: Wow, you’ve got it! Tell me about what’s happening at the gatehouse?
- What should I be wary of when dealing with him?
- He’s very rude and tempermental
- What can he tell me about the commotion?
- Burmer: The commotion is a regular scheduled drill, the night before we depart to test security. It’s none of your concern.
- What is he doing? What will he do next?
- Burmer: Now I’m doing magic, and next, I’ll send you away! I got what I wanted.
Ol’ Jardiner happily takes the exit offered, and does not remind Burmer that he wanted to see the prisoners that escaped last night. He looks at a nearby shop, and when Burmer leaves, he returns to the courtyard to fetch Doodle and return him to the Endless Scroll. Now the Fellowship is going to leave town like normal travelers. Dryden talks to Sarah Miller before they go.
- What can you tell use about the commotion?
- Two prisoners escaped. There was a loaded harpoon gun in the cell, which is odd. If they used the harpoon gun to climb out, it wouldn’t be loaded. Also, all the bars in the window were secure. Burmer’s mad. he’s yelling at everyone. Weird because the window of that cell is where your Halfling friend sent that bubble.
- What should I be wary of when dealing with you?
- She knows something is up and suspects the Fellowship is responsible for the prisoners’ escape.
- What are you doing? What will you do next?
- Wouldn’t you like to know!
- What would you have us do next?
- Make it worth my while to not tell Burmer that Ol’ Jardiner was doing magic on the fort just before the escape. It’s blackmail!
Dryden: Sarah, Ol’ Jardiner just did magic for Burmer. Burmer saw that thought bubble yesterday and thought it was cool. We don’t have anything to hide. I don’t know what you’re trying to do here.
Sarah realizes that she has nothing and leaves in a huff. Dryden, Markus, and Ol’ Jardiner leave town. They meant to spend a week in peace and recover, but they had too much adventure. They go to the apple orchards. There’s a small town in one and smoke rising in another.
Dryden: Averiela of the woods, I see smoke in the far corner. What do your Elf eyes see?
Averiela already went on a scouting mission before the others arrived.
- What is going on? What do my senses tell me?
- Neat rows of apple trees. This is a farm, not a forest. The farmers live in a small village at one end of the orchard, and smoke rises from the other end.
- Tell me about the area around the smoke? How could it hurt or help me?
- The smoke is mostly steam and it’s rising from a geothermal vent. Heat from deep underground has burst through to the surface and formed a pit. The pit in a stepped cone with various pools. Near the top, the hot springs are relaxing and refreshing, but further down the heat because scalding, then lethal.
- What is hidden or out of place?
- One of the lower pools moves in an unnatural way. It’s a Rain, relaxing in the heat. Down at the very bottom of the pit are two pairs of glowing eyes. Two fire-based creatures are enjoying extreme heat that would kill most creatures. They look like humans, but with reddish-orange skin.
Dryden: Acid Rain! and Helen! and Shasta!
Dryden leads the Fellowship to the Fire Pits to greet his old friends.
Dryden: Hello, how’s it burning down there?
Soday & Tomay: We are out of the furge and into the furnace, literally!
Ol’ Jardiner: I would re-assure you, but I don’t know what’s happening either. Dryden seems to think it’s fine.
Dryden: Oh, guys, these are my friends. I met them a long time ago. We’ve got Acid Rain, and Helen and Shasta. As long as you don’t try to destroy their geothermal vent, they’re good.
Helen is a cozy, friendly person. She’d give really good hugs if her skin wasn’t hundreds of degrees.
Averiela: Is this a good place to rest and recover?
Markus: The villagers were friendly, but there were werewolves! That’s one of the stories my sister told me. She tried to go chronologically, but she ran out of time.
Dryden remembers the presence of werewolves in the village, but he and Lucia went to Doctor MacLeod for help and discovered she was a vampire building a super-weapon, and they never went back to deal with the werewolves. The Fellowship stays at the Fire Pits for supper then plan to set off towards the Luna Penumbra.
Helen: It’s good that you’re leaving. The locals up top get rowdy sometimes.
Dryden: Have they been rowdy recently?
Helen: Not for about a month.
The Fellowship is about to open Infinite Windows to get to the ship instantly, but it can’t go through its own windows. They’d have to leave someone here and bring the ship back to get them. They decide to go overland instead of risking the dangerous artifact. They start walking north at nightfall as a full moon rises. There’s a howl from the village, then a few in response, then more! The village is probably all werewolves by now.
Ol’ Jardiner: Dryden, you fixed a werewolf once, right?
Dryden: I did. I used a Unicorn Sword.
Ol’ Jardiner: That’s disgusting!
Dryden: We reclaimed the sword from an evil person, Triple E, who had it.
Ol’ Jardiner: Yeah, yeah, the pink-haired lady that Edna smashed.
Dryden: She was using it for evil, so we used it for good, and left it with the Platypeople.
Ol’ Jardiner: That’s a long way away.
Dryden is Queen of the Wild, but can’t command Werewolves because they are not normal Beasts. They can smell the Fellowship even with Averiela’s camouflage. Shasta and Helen are safe, but the Fellowship can’t withstand the heat. Ol’ Jardiner has a ritual that makes people fireproof, but vulnerable to water, which is no help in a hot spring. Dryden suggests climbing a tree, but the apple orchard only has small fruit trees that wouldn’t keep anyone out of the reach of leaping werewolves. The howls are getting closer, so the Fellowship needs to make a decision quickly. Markus determines that the apple orchard offers no shelter, just rows of trees. A house in the village could be secured, if there were no werewolves already inside. He leads the way, rushing through the werewolves towards the village.
- Group of Werewolves: This beast is half man, half wolf, and all monster. During the month, they live an ordinary life, but under a full moon, they mindlessly murder their neighbors.
- Innocent By Day: During the month, the Werewolf has the stat block of an Innocent. They have this stat block only under a full moon. These stats replace their Innocent stat block entirely. When this stat is damaged, the werewolf returns to their Innocent form immediately. When damaged by a silver weapon, the werewolf is destroyed instead of taking damage.
- Deadly Claws: Werewolves have the Piercing tag.
- Tough As Nails: The first time a werewolf would be damaged or destroyed, damage this stat instead.
- 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.
Markus grabs Ol’ Jardiner and charges through. They are past the werewolves before they can turn to attack. They rush into the hearest house with an open door. Dryden pulls out his prank weapon and throws it far away. It explodes into what a werewolf fears the most: the sun! The werewolves hide from the illusion, allowing Dryden, Averiela, Soday, and Tomay to join Markus & Ol’ Jardiner inside the house. Ol’ Jardiner pulls a large, glowing needle from his vest and telekinetically moves it around the house, sewing all holes and entrances magically shut.
Ol’ Jardiner: I’m sealing the house. They’ll have to break it down to get in.
Markus: As long as there isn’t one in here with us.
There is one in there with them! A werewolf comes down the stairs from the attic. Drdyen pulls out his bo staff from the Robotic Facility and engages the werewolf.
Markus: Let’s get it up the stairs and block it up there!
The werewolf jumps over Dryden and slashes Markus with its claws. Averiela draws her Titanium Sword and Ol’ Jardiner rubs it with a weapon blanch, giving the blade a temporary coating of silver.
Averiela: If you have that, shouldn’t you put it on my arrows?
That would be a good idea, but he already put it on the sword and now the Werewolf is here! Ol’ Jardiner dives into the fireplace, hoping the Werewolf is too big to follow and attack him. It works and the Werewolf attacks Averiela. She tries to parry with her silver-coated sword, but the Werewolf is inside her reach, knocks her down, and prepares to bite her! Markus rushes to her defense and Ol’ Jardiner helps remotely, pulling its jaws apart with Wizardry. Markus tackles the Werewolf and his arrow spill from the quiver, poking and annoying it instead of inuring it. That’s enough for Averiela to get free. Dryden comes in with his two-handed hammer, but the Werewolf dodges. Averiela jumps up the wall and stabs down from the ceiling. She strikes a mighty blow, terrifying the Werewolf, but it’s still up and fighting.
Markus: Averiela, be prepared to attack again!
Markus rushes in with his sword, pushign the Werewolf back. While cowering in the fireplace, Ol’ Jardiner sends his acid dagger out to stab the Werewolf. It floats in and cuts the Werewolf on the legs. It howls in pain and rolls on the floor. It can’t continue the fight, so Ol’ Jaridner has time to perform a ritual. He pulls the caninity out of the Werewolf and into himself. The Werewolf resumes its human form, and Ol’ Jardiner turns into a small French Poodle for the rest of the night.
END OF SESSION MOVE
- Did we thoroughly explore a new location?
- YES The caverns
- Did we discover something new about the world or its people?
- YES Undying Demons! Forgotten Beasts! Fishmen!
- Did anyone find what they were seeking?
- YES Markus seeks adventure!
Three boons: Markus & Ol’ Jardiner level up, gear, gear