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 learned that the Dragons built the Moon to kill the Vampires, but it didn’t function as expected. Now, he sets out protect the whole planet by eliminating the orbital super-weapon hanging overhead.
While the Fellowship is in Bogden, other adventurers arrive. A Dwarf gives a speech about waterways and prosperity, then turns into a Rain. No one really knows how to react to that.
The Fellowship brainstorms how to get to the Moon:
- The Anti-Moon Weapon was designed to deliver (destructive) payloads to the Moon, but it’s been broken twice. Stella and Buckle don’t like the idea of being shot out of a cannon.
- Lanterns have strange technology that might get them to the Moon: hard light bridges, and dimensional shenanigans. Professor Gummidge could help, but he’s hard to find and might not be on this plane of existence.
- There was a teleporter specifically built to bring people to and from the Moon, but Buckle destroyed it. Can they learn to build another?
Stella: The teleporter sounds sensible, but Lantern tech is cooler. I like Lantern tech because we could use it, but not enable other people to use the teleporter nefariously.
Buckle: I don’t want to go back to Vieport, but that seems like the place where they could find Lantern technology.
Perhaps magical safeguards could be added to the teleporter to prevent unauthorized people from using it. Alas, the magician that the Fellowship knew, Samantha, died in defense of the Hidden Library. The Fellowship decides to repair the teleporter. The Hidden Library was hidden before the Moon appears, so it doesn’t contain any information about the Moon or teleporters. It does contain an old atlas marked with the former location of Dragons. Since Dragons built the teleporters, Dragon sites are a good place to start their search. Baffle, the town Technician, is coming along with the Fellowship to make sure Buckle doesn’t misuse technology.
The Fellowship leaves Bogden and sails down the tributary on the Miranda. As it tries to sail across the Mighty River, a large ship coming up the river doesn’t yield. A collision is imminent! It’s a big, squarish cargo ship with a paddlewheel at the back. Buckle runs up and down the Miranda’s deck.
Buckle: Hey! Hey! Don’t you see us?
A lookout on the bow notices and uses semaphore flags to communicate to the bridge, far away near the stern. The ship reduces speed and an officer comes from the bridge to see what’s happening. This ship’s crew is all Elves, so the officer runs on the railing, not on the deck. The officer’s name, Ossi-Fer, means “iron bones” which is
Ossi-Fer: Move that aside. Our cargo must not be delayed!
Stella: Rude!
Buckle: You’re going to run into us! Stop!
Stella stands on the hook of the Miranda’s cargo crane and orders a companion to swing her up to the deck of the Elf ship. She lands in a power pose: the three-point superhero landing. That doesn’t impress Elves. They admire landing on one foot.
Ossi-Fer: We’ve been boarded!
The lookout signals wildly and Ossi-Fer stumbles back to protect the cargo on the ship’s deck. The cargo is secured under giant palm fronds, so Stella can’t tell what the ship is carrying. The ship accelerates to move past the Miranda and avoid boarding parties. It’s a very long ship, so that will take a while. Elf Marines emerge from the bridge and fire arrows with incredible accuracy from the other end of the ship.
- Group of Elven Marines: Experts with the bow. They say elven archers never miss.
- Perfect Shot: Damage this stat to shoot something out of their hands.
- An Even More Perfect Shot: Damage this stat to make something ridiculous happen.
- 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.
Stella starts freerunning and takes a hard right. All three arrows hit the same spot where she used to be standing. Stella escapes out of sight, under the palm fronds. The cargo hidden inside are cages containing exotic animals. A pair of elephants, a giant zebra, and a Spelltoad.
- Spelltoad: A big fat frog the size of a small car. Its colors shift and its croaks cause weird magical effects to happen. Sometimes seen with a wizard hat.
- Croaking Hex: The spelltoad’s voice carries magic upon it. Whenever it croaks, everyone nearby suffers from a weird magical setback, causing them all to lose progress towards something they wanted to do. If they weren’t doing anything right now, the hex has only benign or silly effects on them.
- Manadart Magic: The spelltoad’s skin is highly reactive. Anyone touching it suffers a weird magical side effect, and must pay a price. When this stat is damaged, the one who damaged it becomes cursed.
The Spelltoad startles awake, but Stella shushes it so it doesn’t croak.
- What is going on? What do my senses tell me?
- The cages holding these animals aren’t logs or boards lashed together. The wood has grown in the shape of a cage. There is a separate piece for the door, and an overcomplicated, beautiful lock securing it. The lock has a polished gem face so one can see the gears move when turning the key.
- What is hidden or out of place?
- There’s a hatch leading below deck. Ossi-Fer has a ring of keys on one side of his belt, and an Elven dagger on the other side. The giant zebra is pregnant.
- What will happen if I start making a ruckus?
- The animals would join in, including the Spelltoad.
When Buckle sees the Elves attack Stella, he freaks out.
Buckile: Rose! Rose, take evasive action. I’ve got to get to the ballista!
Rose deftly steers the Miranda away from the giant cargo ship. Buckle works to load the ballista as the Elves close in on Stella’s hiding place. When Ossi-Fer lifts the lead that Stella’s hiding under, Buckle fires the ballista at the ship’s paddlewheel. The giant stake jams the paddlewheel so it can’t turn. The cargo ship lurches as Ossi-Fer pulls the leaf aside and spots Stella.
Stella: Sing with me!
Stella sings a silly song that Halfing children sing in Stella’s home village. The Spelltoad joins in. Stella’s skin changes color, shifting to match the Spelltoad’s color-changing skin. Ossi-Fer’s skin becomes almost frictionless, so he has trouble standing, moving, and grasping. He tries to draw his dagger and stab it into the deck to steady himself, but he can’t keep a grip on it. The wooden bows and arrows of the Elven Marines sprout leaves and flowers, preventing them from using them. Stella steals his keys.
The paddlewheel explodes, showering the Miranda with debris! Buckle sees one very big piece of debris and tells Elektra to catch it. She grabs it out of the air, but the Miranda’s deck is covered with flaming debris.
Back on the cargo ship, Stella takes advantage of her enemies’ impairment and unlocks the elephant’s cage.
- Elephant: This tough beast wears a shell of hardened armor, and strikes out at its enemies with its mighty tusks.
- Thick Hide: This stat must be damaged three times. When the elephant would be destroyed, fully damage this stat instead.
- Mighty Tusks: When the elephant deals damage to an enemy, they are sent flying away from it. If your Courage is damaged, you cannot face the elephant head on.
Stella sends the elephants to bowl over the Elven Marines, but they evade, leaping and climbing over the elephant with supernatural grace. Their bows are back to normal and they shoot Stella.
At the back of the cargo ship, sailors race to control the damage. The captain emerges from the bridge.
- Elven Captain, she/her: A master of the elder arts, secret magic known only to elves.
- Ship’s Power: The elder knows everything that happens on their ship. They can command the crew however they like, and capture sleeping or downed foes in the brig.
- Mystic Power: The elder can damage this stat to cast a powerful spell. The
spell does exactly as they say it does.
Captain: What is going on?
Buckle: You tried to run us over! Then you shot at my friend!
She tells the semaphore Elf on the bridge to contact the lookout on the bow to confirm this. Even if it’s true, Buckle’s response seems disproportionate. The Captain starts casting a powerful water spell.
Buckle: Stop, stop, this is clearly a misunderstanding. Let’s talk and sort this out.
The Captain turns her spell, which creates a big wave. Instead of going sideways, swamping the Miranda and putting out the fire on the cargo ship, it goes forward, putting out the fire and moving the cargo ship past the Miranda. The Captain nimbly leaps through the wreckage of the paddle wheel and stands on the piece that extends furthest towards the Miranda.
Captain: OK, how did this happen?
Buckle: First of all, you nearly ran into us.
Captain: Look how big my ship is. You should have seen us coming.
Buckle: Yes, small vessels have the right of way on the river?
Captain: Is that the rule on this continent?
Buckle:Then my friend tried to talk to you and you shot at her. That’s why there’s an arrow in your paddlewheel. Let’s get her back here and we’ll fix your boat.
The Captain tells the semaphore Elf to signal the Marines to stop attacking Stella. Meanwhile, Ossi-Fer regains the friction on his skin.
The cargo ship pulls over to the side of the river. Elven sailors use axes and saws to cut down trees on the shore. The Miranda’s crane helps move the boards into position. Buckle oversees the labor and shouts orders to everyone. When the repairs are complete, Stella returns Ossi-Fer’s keys.
Stella: I saved these from going overboard when he was all slippery.
The cargo ship moves on, and the ships that had to wait while it blocked the river start to move on. The Fellowship goes to the Hidden Library. on the way they notice a dense forest on the north shore of the Mighty River, between Bogden and Thaumatown. That was not there the last time they passed through. At the library, they look at the atlas.
Buckle sketches a rough copy of the atlas that he can carry with him.
Buckle: The one that seems safest to go is Azurelle, in the ocean, because we have a boat.
Vieport is the nearest port, but the Miranda is on the Mighty River, so they’d reach the sea via Port Fennrick, which is now run by Edna, a fellow adventurer who helped protect the Hidden Library. Stella wants to take a quick side quest to the new Forest (Plant Ark) and Thaumatown.
The big trees of Plant Ark come right down to the river’s edge. The Miranda uses roots sticking out into the river as a dock. Some planks have been nailed down to make the root easier to walk on. Plant ark is densely forested and overgrown. Many different kinds of plants grow here. The Little Lights illuminate the gloom. Some flowers turn to follow them. Buckle sees mossferns, which should not grow at this latitude. Stella recognizes her companion’s namesake: a rose, yellow in the middle and pink at the tips. It’s too wet for roses to thrive, but these roses are thriving. Stella picks a few roses, then realizes she has lost sight of the others. She walks up a tree to get a look around from above the canopy. She spots her friends and rejoins them.
Buckle: This is kind of creepy. Do we want to continue through this creepy forest?
Mysterious voice: Trespassers! Why have you entered my domain?
Buckle: This wasn’t your domain before. Where did you come from? Who do you think you are?
Mysterious voice: I am the creator and master of this place! Are you from Port Fennrick?
Stella: No? Are you from Port Fennrick?
Mysterious voice: Certainly not! I shall open a path so that you may leave.
Branches and leaves, pulled back by thin strands of Spider silk, open a path through the forest to Thaumatown.
Buckle: Are you a spider?
Mysterious voice: Yes, what are you?
Buckle: A Platyperson.
Mysterious voice: You don’t look like a Platyperson, not even one from Willow’s Landing.
Buckle: I’m not from WIllow’s Landing. Where are you from? What’s your name?
Mysterious voice: Here! This is my place. I’m am Hank Holliday.
Buckle: You weren’t here before. We passed by. There was no big forest.
Mysterious voice: I’m not responsible for your inattentiveness. You also don’t notice the path leading you out.
Buckle: The leaves and branches shake, drawing attention.
Mysterious voice: Thanks, Hank. We’ll see you later.
Buckle: I hope not.
The path closes behind the Fellowship as they leave Plant Ark and enter Thaumatown. The docks have automated cranes loading and unloading ships. A clock tower rises from a large, low building in the middle of town. Another town rises alone from the edge of town. Most of the people bustling through the streets are Human, but some are robots! Robots direct traffic at major intersections.
Stella marches into town towards the Clock Tower. The base of the Clock Tower is the Civic Center, which has a Welcome Center for newcomers like Stella. She’s impressed by how tall everyone is. There’s a display dedicated to their founder: the great wizard Allan a Zham. They are also proud of their new democratic government. Stella chats about the city with Walter Grey, a middle-aged Human with a broom mustache and bald spot on top of his head. He works at the Welcome Center.
- What can you tell use about any issues the city is facing?
- We have minor problems like any place, but Thaumatown is peaceful and prosperous.
- What do they want? How can we help them get it?
- Don’t listen to Redstone. He’s spreading an awful rumor that Allan a Zham didn’t abdicate. He says there was foul play. One day, he’d replaced our plaque about Allan a Zham with all these unsubstantiated rumors. I think he wishes that Allan a Zham was still in charge. We’d like him to stop causing trouble.
- Buckle: Why doesn’t he vote you out?
- Walter Grey: There’s one of him and thousands of us.
- What would you have us do next?
- Redstone is usually in Allan a Zham’s tower. We’re trying to convert it into a museum, but he’s not allowing the workers in. Could you talk him down?
NO END-OF-SESSION MOVE