Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.
The fellowship: Boris the Remnant, Ol’ Jardiner the Harbinger, Yonne the Rain.
Last time, the Fellowship reached the Sapphire Islands, repelled and invasion, and spent quality time with the locals. This time, they tarry on the Sapphire Islands, then head for the Forgotten Lands.
GM note: Last time, Ol’ Jardiner’s player wanted more downtime to replace the knife that he threw into a metal-eating slime. We forgot and did something else.
As a condition for lending Ol’ Jardiner a ship, Edna sent a delivery to the Sapphire Islands: something stolen by O’Later and stored in his contraband warehouses, which Edna now controls. She wants people all over the world to know and like Port Fennrick. The artifact has a big spike on the bottom and vibrates when activated. Ol’ Jardiner thinks it’s some kind of jackhammer and takes it to a mason.
Elven masons ponder each stone to understand its essence, the shape hidden within, before carving it. Like the saying goes, to carve an elephant, start with a block of stone and remove everything that doesn’t look like an elephant.
Ol’ Jardiner: Hello, I have this thing that was stolen to you, but I didn’t steal it. I’m trying to give it back to you, but I’m not sure it’s yours.
Mason: I–just show me what you’ve taken, and we can see where we land after that.
Ol’ Jardiner: I didn’t take it. Oh, right, I have a little speech. As a token of good faith from Edna Harcourt-Dragonbane, the new ruler of Port Fennrick, she is returning all the artifacts and valuables unlawfully taken by the previous ruler. Here, we are presenting this stone drill? to you?
The device is old, but so are Elves. They don’t die from old age. This mason recognizes it and knows the Elven jeweler who built it many years ago. The mason takes the device to the gemcutter’s guild. It’s real purpose is to find sapphires. The spike goes into the sand on the beaches and vibrates with a precise pattern to make sapphires rise to the surface. The jeweler introduces himself as Mir.
Ol’ Jardiner: That’s short and easy to pronounce. You’re right to the point.
Mir: That’s my first name. I won’t burden you with the remainder of my long name. We, as Elves, have time for lengthy names, but not all people do.
Ol’ Jardiner: It’s a concern. When Edna added a fourth name, she had to drop one.
Mir: Wow, this is the original design. The gemcutter’s guild wanted to build upon it, but we had to re-make the design from memory. This will be great to compare the original design to the current design, to see if there’s anything they can glean from it. Thank you for returning this. May we offer your ruler a fine bracelet or beautiful ring?
Ol’ Jardiner: Fine, but you’ll probably have to make a new one, She’s really big. I have her measurements because I had to repair her clothes. She’s an Ogre. She wears brooches as earrings sometimes.
Mir: We would love to take those measurements. How long are you staying?
Ol’ Jardiner: We do have pressing business elsewhere, but we are making a round trip, so we can pick it up on our way back.
Yonne swims to the center of the lagoon and dives to the bottom. This is the remains of the volcano that exploded many years ago, forming the ring of islands and lagoon that comprise today’s Sapphire Island. Elves and fishes know not to go too close to the cracks in the bottom of the lagoon. As the tide rises and falls, water is forced through the narrow cracks at high pressure, causing dangerous jets and suction, alternately.
Beneath the cracks in the lagoon’s floor is an anoxic zone where life does not use oxygen. The creatures there think of the oxygen-rich waters above like humans think of outer space: a strange and lethal realm. Their bodies are rich in phosphorus, sulphur, magnesium, and other materials that are dangerously flammable in the presence of oxygen. Even in water, they would burst into flames! There are tiny fish, carnivorous sea-weed, and crabs with crystalline shells.
- Carnivorous Sea-weed: Its leaves are covered in a sticky (and flammable) substance that catches and disgests its prey. Once a creature is caught, the long strand of seaweed coils around it. It catches fire when exposed to oxygen.
- Crystalclaw Crab: This beautiful translucent crab has diamond claws, capable of snipping through just about anything. The crystals that jut out of its back are hard but brittle, exposing its soft insides once they shatter. It catches fire when exposed to oxygen.
- Diamond Blade: The crystalclaw is Melee and Piercing. Its claws can cut through anything in its way.
- Fragile Armor: The crystalclaw is immune to electricity, and anyone trying to ride on it takes damage from its spiky crystal armor. While this stat is damaged, the crystalclaw’s fleshy insides are exposed, giving everyone Advantage over it. When this happens, it will try to flee.
Yonne slips easily through the narrow cracks. Her fluid body re-shapes to fit spaces that would be dangerously tight for most humanoids. Seaweed tries to grab her, but she just flows around it. She wants to bring a crab back to the surface to show everyone. The crab snips at her ineffectively. When she comes out into the lagoon, the crabs starts to get hot. She shoves it inside her body, which is acidic, so not really any safer for the poor crab. She swims to the surface as fast as possible and shows it to Boris and Ol’ Jardiner. The crab’s shell cracks on the way, but when she brings it out into the air, it bursts into flames, sending diamond shards everywhere!
Boris is immune to fire, and remembers too late that he can snuff out fires by touching them. Ol’ Jardiner screams as he’s hit by the flaming shards.
Yonne: Why was it on fire?
Boris: I don’t know. That’s why I didn’t think to snuff it out.
Ol’ Jardiner: Aaaahhh! You should have thought of that faster! Why do you have a fire crab? I didn’t want to see that.
Yonne tries to explain, but just lists events that happened, because she doesn’t know why it happened.
Boris: I don’t fault you for that. I wouldn’t expect things underwater to catch fire either. Maybe that’s why they’re underwater.
Ol’ Jardiner: Makes sense. Can’t catch fire underwater.
Boris takes a burning piece of shell, snuffs out the fire, and offers it to Ol’ Jardiner. It’s still hot, so Ol’ Jardiner uses Wizardry to make it float in front of him instead of holding it in his hands.
Ol’ Jardiner: It keeps getting hotter. It’s setting itself on fire.
Boris: It’s natural state is combustion.
Ol’ Jardiner starts digging a hole to bury the dangerous bits. Boris just eats them. Gone forever.
Boris wants to spend some time in nature near where he came from. There are forests on the bigger islands, so he explores one. Up until recently, he was hated by most natural beasts, so he hasn’t been around them much. Gleador the Druid accompanies him. He’s been learning from animals and teaching civilized people the ways of the animals. Gleador points out camouflaged animals and transforms into them to show Boris what to look for. There are many kinds of birds with different songs and colors. Their beaks are different shapes to get into different fruits and nuts. Small wild dogs run in packs. Boris is interested in them because they are four-legged mammals like him.
- Forest Hound: Hounds chase down fleeing prey with their excellent senses of smell and direction.
- Loyal: Hounds look out for their pack. If a hound believes their pack is in danger, they will dive in the way of trouble.
- Scent Tracking: Nobody can Get Away from a hound that has their scent.
Boris watches them from a distance. He’s trying to learn from different cultures, and wants to see how a normal animal society functions in the wild.
Gleador: I admire the Forest Hounds’ loyalty and teamwork. They take care of each other. I recognize this pack from years ago, before I left the Sapphire Islands. Some animals have different roles now. This one, with the kink in the tail, he used to be one of the fastest, but he’s older now. The younger hounds are faster, but they look to him because of his experience. Everyone in the society is doing what they can to help, but what that is could change, depending on where they are in their life, and how the society changes over time.
This hits Boris in the heart, because he is a beast whose purpose has changed because of time and circumstance.
Boris: That’s incredibly beautiful. I feel a kinship with these dogs. Is there anything I can do to help you in your ongoing work?
Gleador can only take the form of animals that he’s seen in person, and he’s always looking for new types of creatures to learn about. He asks Boris to keep an eye out for certain biomes, places he hasn’t reached yet in his travels. Gleador is already attuned to the Great Forest and Sapphire Islands. He’s never been to the vast desert, the stinking mire, or the frozen north. He’d appreciate any scouting information that Boris could bring back on such places, to prepare for his own voyage.
Sapphire Island’s Response Level increases to 4
new Response move: Wild Animal
Boris returns from his field trip with Gleador and wants to show his friends, so the three of them return to the forest. They wander into a clearing and disturb a group of Komodo Dragons.
- Komodo Dragon: They aren’t true dragons, but they’re bigger than your dog and have a much deadlier, venomous bite.
- Necrotic Bite: The Komodo Dragon’s venomous bite is Necrotic, as the venom prevents the wound from healing naturally.
- Hardened Scales: This stat must be damaged twice.
Atlas: Oh, I’ve heard of these!
They advance, heedless of the danger. Boris runs around the lizards at blinding speed, stirring up a dust cloud.
Boris: Get out of here!
Ol’ Jardiner: Atlas, come on come on come on!
Ol’ Jardiner and Yonne push Atlas away, not fast enough to avoid being bitten. Boris’ curse makes him immune to normal weapons, but isn’t sure if the Komodo Dragons’ poison will affect him.
GM note: We decided that it would do normal damage, not Necrotic damage
Boris dashes up a tree. The big Komodo Dragons stand on their hind legs and paw futilely at him. While he’s focused on them, he doesn’t see a young Komodo Dragon, still light enough to climb, sneak up and bite him on the leg. It actually hurts! Boris considers eating it, but it’s 4 feet long and weighs 70 pounds. Boris uses his speed and climbing ability to run around the tree trunk rapidly, swinging the lizard around. Its teeth tear his leg as it is flung away. The Fellowship escapes the Komodo Dragons and returns to civilization.
The Fellowship prepares the Trilobite to depart for the Forgotten Lands. Yonne and Ol’ Jardiner share a meal. Boris can’t join in because he doesn’t eat normal food. Ol’ Jardiner shares his flask of healing elixir so he and Yonne can heal their Necrotic damage. Ol’ Jardiner sends thought bubbles to Lucia every few hours and watches which way they go. That’s the way to the Forgotten Lands.
Ol’ Jardiner: I’m sending you messages so we can find our way to the Forgotten Lands.
Ol’ Jardiner: How have you been?
Ol’ Jardiner: Markus is doing well.
The trip is mostly uneventful. As they approach the Forgotten Lands, they must pass through a fog bank. Atlas uses the ship’s sensors.
- Is something hidden or out of place?
- The Forgotten Lands, obviously.
- The sensors offer an enhanced contrast mode, which let’s Altas see movement in the fog. they detect several cloud-producing objects moving around the island. The fog from the previous one covers the movement of the next one.
- Tell me about other ships in the fog. What are they doing? What will they do next?
- There’s one ship of unfamliar design patrolling the fog. It intends to sink the Trilobite, which it sees as an intruder!
Ol’ Jardiner can only send thought bubbles to people he knows, so he can’t communicate with the approaching ship. He sends a message to Queen Lucia, hoping the Forgotten Navy has rapid long-range communications.
Ol’ Jardiner: Please call off your patrol ship that’s trying to sink a crawler ship because that’s us.
Atlas: The ship is still coming. Maybe messages from the palace take a while to arrive.
Boris forms his slime pet around his feet to increase their surface area, then dashes across the surface of the water to the patrol ship.
From the perspective of the sailors on the patrol ship, they detected a ship, moved to intercept, and then the boogey-man appeared on deck! This isn’t just the monster they all heard about as children. They also learned about it in history class. It’s 100% real, forced their civilization to become forgotten generations ago and now it’s right here! It’s like Christopher Columbus appearing to a Native American.
Boris: We mean you no harm.
The sailors panic!
Atlas: Oh, good, they aren’t loading their cannons anymore.
Ol’ Jardiner: Yonne, I can take the form of a member of the royal family, but they’ll probably figure out I’m not them pretty soon and that might be worse.
Yonne: I think Boris took care of it. We should get a little closer and greet them, like, “Hi! Can you please guide us to the island? Chaperone?”
The Trilobite approaches and sees Boris near the bow and all the sailors by the stern.
Ol’ Jardiner: Ahoy, we’re all friends here. I see you’ve met my friend Boris here. He’s a nice guy. You might have seen me when Queen Lucia returned. We’re here to see her.
Captain: Absolutely not, you can’t go anywhere near the Queen.
Ol’ Jardiner: Let’s all calm down. Boris, maybe you should go back to the Trilobite. I’m sure you’ll receive a message shortly that will clear all this up. However you receive messages.
Ol’ Jardiner feels slighted. He was traveling with their Queen for a year and no one remembers him.
The lookout on each ship has special lenses and lights of the exact same color. They can flash the lights and those wearing the lenses can see them even through the fog.
Lookout: Message from shore! It has the royal signal! Do not attack crawler ship.
Yonne: That’s us. Please don’t attack.
Captain: OK, but we’re escorting you all the way in.
The Fellowship returns to the Trilobite and the two ships sail into port together. The Forgotten Lands are a semi-tropical island. Much of it is forested, but not so dense that it would be called a jungle. The port town is small enough that one can see both edges of town from the dock. The Forgotten Lands have an aura to make travelers forget them as soon as they leave. Their memories aren’t completely erased. If they are asked specifically about their visit, they can remember, but the Forgotten Lands just don’t come to mind otherwise. People from the Forgetten Lands carry talismans that remind them of home. Artisans don’t advertise these talismans, but visitors who are in the know can request one. It’s like ordering from the secret menu at a restaurant.
Pontia, the mayor, comes to greet the Trilobite. She’s escorted by her honor guard, but they are carrying real weapons, not ceremonial ones. The patrol ships sent a message back saying that the boogeyman was coming.
Ol’ Jardiner: Hello, it’s great to be back in the Forgotten Lands. Ah, Portia, I remember you from my last visit here, when we brought Queen Lucia back to you. You may have heard of people like Boris, but it’s been a very long time and he’s changed.
Boris recounts what he learned from Gleador: creatures in a society must change their roles based on changes to the society.
Portia brings out a yoke for oxen and the biggest chains available. She’ll only allow Boris to enter town if he’s securely bound. His arms and neck are chained to the yoke and soldiers follow him everywhere.
Ol’ Jardiner: This is not how I thought it would go. This will really get in the way.
Yonne: I think that we should go to the queen and demand that they take it off. You’re friends right?
Ol’ Jardiner: I’ve been sending her messages for the past few days.
Yonne thought the Forgotten Lands were supposed to be nice, but they tried to attack the Fellowship, then put Boris in chains. She thinks they are the worst people she’s met so far.
The royal castle, the Bastion Of Memory, is most of a day’s walk from the port, but Portia wants to speed Boris’ visit as much as possible, so they set out immediately. At one point along the road, Ol’ Jardiner points out a landmark.
Ol’ Jardiner: See that lake? Unicorns live over there!
Portia: Don’t tell him about the unicorns!
Yonne: I want to see the unicorns. Can we go see the unicorns?
Boris: That would be pretty cool. Not a lot of unicorns on the mainland.
As the group approaches the Bastion of Memory, Portia sends a crier ahead to warn people. The group comes through the gate in the outer wall into the outer courtyard. Lucia appears at the top of the inner wall, on a balcony she uses for royal addresses. More importantly, Boris would have to get past a lot of soldiers and fortifications to get to Lucia. Boris is wearing the bonds to be polite. He could set the yoke on fire and run up the wall.
Lucia is a human woman about 30 years old. She’s wearing armor of the same style that Ol’ Jardiner remembers her wearing, but fancier. Here at the castle she doesn’t have to wear it all the time, and she has multiple armorers to maintain it. Next to her is her chief adviser, Claudia. She’s 28 years old, and Markus’s serious girlfriend.
Ol’ Jardiner: Hello, Lucia, it is I: Ol’ Jardiner! Edna’s travelling companion? She sends her regards from Port Fennrick. We’ve made more of a disturbance than we meant to. We have Boris here–
Boris waves as best he can from under the yoke.
Ol’ Jardiner: I know that long ago there was some unpleasantness between your people and his people. Boris has been wandering the world for a long time, learning a lot of things, and so–what do you hope to get out of this Boris?
Boris: I want them to know that I am no longer in pursuit of their people, and would like them to feel forgiven by nature.
Ol’ Jardiner: Wow, you should be giving the speeches. He is here to officially end hostilities, so you can put this awful chapter–
Yonne: Would you consider removing his yoke as a token that you agree?
Ol’ Jardiner: Yes, he’s been such a good sport carrying these heavy chains to show that hostile.
Yonne is clearly angry. She’s less willing to forgive the Forgotten Lands than Boris.
Lucia: To show that you will no longer attack the Forgotten Lands, you must remove one of your tusks. Fetch a bonesaw!
After a short time, a soldier comes out with a bonesaw. She clearly does not enjoy getting close to Boris’ mouth, but she starts sawing away. The teeth of the saw break against Boris’ supernaturally tough body.
Yonne: I’ll do it, but I don’t like this.
Yonne steps in and uses her hand as an acidic lance to eat through Boris’ tusk.
Yonne: I yelled at a guy who was rude to Jardiner, and now I’m yelling at these people who are rude to you. Why is everyone so rude?
Boris: I did kill generations of–
Yonne: I don’t care about that. That was forever ago.
Ol’ Jardiner: Boris, if I promise not to harm you, do you promise not to harm the people of the Forgotten Lands? This will be a magically-enforced promise that you’ll be unable to break as long as I keep my word.
Boris: Yeah, sure.
Ol’ Jardiner shakes Boris’ hand with both of his hands, leaving his initials magically inscribed on the back of Boris’ hand.
Boris: We should test this. Technically I’m not hurting them if the fire hurts them.
Ol’ Jardiner: Those are good things to think about, but in this situation, you gotta make them feel good.
Boris: There’s no way I would harm them. I’m here to tell them that they will not be harmed.
Now Boris is free to move around the Forgotten Lands. He thinks about going around doing good deeds, but that would probably just scare people. Yonne still isn’t convinced that Boris was a bad person, even though she’s been told that he killed people long ago.
Yonne: I came to consciousness when things were falling inside me and I was just eating them until they dissolved into nothing.
Boris: Same!
The Forgotten Lands are only forgotten by the rest of the world. They value libraries and keep careful records. An ancient wall carving shows a massive boar-shadow-creature with fire and death everywhere.
Yonne: I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like that.
Boris: You’ve never seen me at night. When it’s very dark and I’m alone with someone, that is exactly how I look. There’s a shine in my eyes right before the light goes from theirs, it’s very close to that.
Boris turns to the librarian, who is excited to learn more about the past, but wishes it was happening some other way.
Boris: Your artisans are very good. If you have any questions about the accuracy of historical documents, I’m happy to help.
GM note: The party’s next goal is to find and explore the original homeland of the Forgotten Lands. We brainstormed some ideas, but Markus’ player owns the Forgotten Lands’ lore, so they have final approval. It’s a post-post-apocalypse. Surely someone has moved in on the long centuries since. The old homeland is forbidden to the people of the Forgotten Lands. They have never gone back. Is that enforced culturally or magically?
NO END OF SESSION MOVE