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, Pierre Jardiner the Harbinger
Last time, the Fellowship found a mostly-abandoned base from which some evildoers set out to destroy Sunpeak. This time, they follow the trail of destruction to find the culprits.
Ol’ Jardiner has been cursed by Trajan, an evil magician who was trapped in his own book of curses by Baron Von Till. When Ol’ Jardiner added that book to his Endless Scroll, Trajan came along. He has cursed Ol’ Jardiner so he cannot eat until he gives Trajan a body. Using mechanical bits from the Recruiter’s workshop, Ol’ Jardiner makes a little armature and covers it with snow from the Ice Fields. Ol’ Jardiner tests the curse by trying to snack as he works. If he can’t eat, he has to keep going. He performs a magical ritual to transfer Trajan from the mechanical snowman.
GM note: The magical ritual has a catch or side-effect. We thought up 3 possible consequences, some worse for Trajan, some worse for Ol’ Jardiner
- The snowman body will melt if Trajan goes somewhere warm
- Trajan allows Ol’ Jardiner to eat, but takes all of his food
- Trajan takes the move Dark And Terrible, preventing Ol’ Jardiner from cursing anyone else.
The dice selected option 1.
Ol’ Jardiner: Alright Trajan, I’d say it’s been nice knowing you, but it hasn’t. This body will melt if you leave the Ice Fields. I’m sure someone with your magical skills can figure out a way around that. Bye!
Ol’ Jardiner conjures a see-through shield that blocks magic. As he retreats to the escape pod, Trajan casts several curses at him, but they bounce off the shield.
Ol’ Jardiner: I’m sure that will have no long-term reprecussions.
Averiela: At least the ghost will have a friend.
The more heat there is, the faster Phoenixes grow. The crew stored them in a stove, so their heat is contained and magnified. Tomay and Soday, who still can’t understand why they have to take care of these dangerous beasts, report to the Fellowship.
Tomay and Soday: The stove is getting really hot and bumping around. We’re worried.
Averiela: We can’t release them on the Ice Fields.
Markus wonders about storing the Phoenix chicks in the smuggling compartments. Ol’ Jardiner recommends metal perches on the deck. They might fly away, but is that so bad? They put the Phoenix chicks into exosuits, which can hold them for a few hours.
Averiela found a tunnel leading south from the Ruins of Sunpeak to the Debris Bowl. it continued south, and the next location is the Treacherous Mountains. The City of Clay is under those mountains. There’s no grand metal Dwarven gate where the Debris Bowl meets the Treacherous Mountains, because any gate built more than a few days ago would be buried under the debris. There is a plain hole that might lead into the City Of Clay.
Dryden: We should land on the Debris Bowl, so we can build a bonfire for Tomay and Soday to monitor.
Markus: We could build some perches out of the debris for the Phoenixes.
Dryden: Or we could bring the Phoenixes with us, and then when we go into the City of Clay, we’d always have light. What could go wrong with a couple baby Phoenixes.
The Luna Penumbra can’t land on the ground, so the Fellowship wonders how to get down to the City of Clay. They could open Infinite Windows into the city, or use the afterburners to make the Luna Penumbra move unnaturally, like landing. They’d need to use the afterburners again to get airborne. Averiela is the pilot. She uses the afterburners to land the ship. The unstable debris buckles under the ship’s weight. Now the ship is stuck and the hull is damaged.
While they were discussing options, Dryden stepped off the side and used his Flying Device to catch himself. He calls out to the most noble birds and beasts in the area. There’s no wildlife left in the Debris Fields, but a snowy owl flies down from the Treacherous Mountains. Dryden has a long blinking conversation with the owl. Dryden asks the owl to impart its wisdom, survival skills, and nobility to the Phoneix chicks. Tomay and Soday are on Phoenix duty, so they build a bonfire for the chicks, while the Fellowship goes down the makeshift entrance to the City of Clay.
The tunnel is only wide enough for one person at a time, but Dwarven Engineers are working to stabilize and enlarge it. The city is recovering from some commotion. People are cleaning and clearing debris in the grand bazaar, not shouting and selling crafts. There are patches of frost and scorch marks, but little actual destruction. Ol’ Jardiner hails the nearest guard.
Ol’ Jardiner: Wow, what happened here? We’re on the trail of some ne’er-do-wells. Perhaps you had to deal with them.
The guard sends him to Limner, the Dwarf in charge.
- What can they tell me about a Giant Robot Spider and Ice Witch?
- Yes, they came through here. Limner takes Ol’ Jardiner around a corner to reveal a much larger hole punched into the city. Masons are repairing this hole. Big metal spider. Most people scattered. A few of our braver troops were stuck in blocks of ice for a while. We needed blacksmiths to melt them out. Everyone mostly got out of its way, and it didn’t seem to want to stay here. It went to the Underground Waterway Terminal, and went west.
- What were they doing? What will they do next?
- I’m suddenly in charge of clean-up efforts because Sarvesh went with some fool who wants to chase it. A flaming Platyperson wanted to go the Fairy Forest. We’ve already had trouble with the fairies. Sprites. Tricksters. Not our regularly-scheduled watercraft. Those are fine. Dead reliable. Sarvesh is going to collapse the tunnel behind them. They can go fight that Spider, but she’ll make sure that it and the fairies can’t come back.
- What would they have us do next?
- Better you fight it than me. We were lucky, because it was here and it left, only hurting a few people. If you’re really set on chasing it, don’t bring it back here.
Dryden: Hmmm, it’s got an underground head-start.
Ol’ Jardiner: Do we need to buy any fine Dwarven crafts, while we’re here?
Limner: The merchants could use the boost.
Averiela looks for another sword. Her Moonlight Sword only works at night. There are plenty of sturdy Dwarf-made swords available. They’re heavier than Elven swords, but very tough.
Dryden: I need another beautiful cursed weapon.
Limner: That will be harder to source. If anyone is selling cursed items, they wouldn’t tell you.
Averiela wants something a little bit older with imbued gemstones with magical properties, and she’s willing to pay a premium. She chooses one that is immune to the elements and magic.
GM note: I offered Averiela’s player a choice of tags: Burning, Piercing, or Dragon-made. They chose Dragon-made.
Dryden buys Phoenix training equipment, which is mostly blacksmith’s gear: Fireproof gloves, a leather apron, tongs, the pizza shovel, a welding mask, and a bellows that spits flame.
The Fellowship returns to the Luna Penumbra. The Phoenix chicks have gotten excited and trying to fly off somewhere. Tomay and Soday are trying to corral them with their blacksmithing tools. They’re only the size of robins, but they’re on fire! Dryden gets excited and suits up in his new gear. As one does when young things are overly-excited, Dryden sticks them in a bath immediately. He uses the bellows to bathe them in flames. It works. They land on his fireproof shoulderpads.
Everyone gets back on board, and Averiela uses the Afterburners to boost the Luna Penumbra vertically into the air. They fly over the Treacherous Mountain to the Fairy Forest. Usually the Fairy Forest is an impenetratble tangle of trees and branches, but there’s a wide path of destruction from the middle of the forest to the south. Where the path crosses the river, the surface of the river is frozen. Surely this is the path of the Ice Witch and her super-weapon.
Dryden: I say we follow the frost.
The Luna Penumbra flies south, over the Drowned Forest, and sees the Giant Robot Spider approach Von Till’s castle.
Averiela: They’re coming for our base? Our castle?
Dryden: We’re just in the nick of time!
The Giant Robot Spider jumps on top of the castle walls and blasts a brilliant blue beam into the Smoldering Forest just to the south of the castle. The blackened trees turn blue and stop smoking.
Dryden: That’s interesting. That’s actually not a bad thing for us at the moment.
Ol’ Jardiner: Do we just let it do that? I’m sure the people in the castle are not happy.
Averiela: Let it finish freezing the forest.
Ol’ Jardiner: Maybe they’ll get tired.
Dryden: We should sneak up on it! Can we sneak up on it? We’re a giant airship.
Ol’ Jardiner: Do you have anything from Von Till’s castle? I have a jewel pried from his throne, so we could infiltrate from the throne room. Maybe I should just blast it with the ship guns.
Averiela: That’s our castle!
Dryden: I don’t know how to destroy this thing. We don’t know anything about it.
Averiela examines the scene from afar with her Elfsight.
- Tell me about the Giant Robot Spider. How could it hurt me? How could it help me>
- The Giant Robot Spider has so many stats that it needs its own page.
- Tell me about Petra. What is she doing? What will she do next?
- Petra stands on top of the tank. She is the source of the brilliant blue beam, not the Giant Robot Spider. She’s using the power of Frost’s Breath to extinguish all visible fire.
- What is going on here? What do my senses tell me?
- The outer wall of Von Till’s castle has been repaired, and the gatehouse is functional. The residents sealed the gates, but that didn’t matter because the Giant Robot Spider just jumped on top of the walls. The ground around the castle has dried out, so the moat is a distinct area of water. The residents huddle inside the keep.
Dryden: We have a moment to strategize. That’s not so bad.
GM note: The players discussed their special moves and planned how to engage. Hard to turn that into in-character dialog. They also shuffled assignments on the ship.
Dryden: I think we definitely blast it and pin it down.
While the Fellowship planned, Petra finished freezing the Smoldering Forest and got back into the Giant Robot Spider, which turns to face the big, obvious airship. The battle begins!
The eastern wall and towers have been repaired since this map was drawn. The Giant Robot Spider stands on the roof of the keep, which is the western side of the area inside the inner wall. The Luna Penumbra approaches from the north and above.
As the Luna Penumbra approaches, Dryden and Markus hop on Dryden’s Flying Device and fly towards the Giant Robot Spider even faster. A direct confrontation suits Petra just fine. The Giant Robot Spider turns and jumps onto the Luna Penumbra! Markus jumps off the Flying Device, hoping to transfer to the Giant Robot Spider in mid-air! He misses and plummets towards the ground.
Onboard the Luna Penumbra, the crew and Companions scatter as the Giant Robot Spider lands on the deck. Below decks, Ol’ Jardiner realizes he’ll be no use as Gunner. The ship’s gun can’t shoot back at the ship. He runs for the ladder and the ceiling above him smashes in as the Giant Robot Spider drills through it. He tries to dive past the descending Drill Face to reach the ladder on the other side, but he’s too slow! The Giant Robot Spider smashes him and the deck into a pile of wreckage.
Averiela keeps the Giant Robot Spider busy with her new Dragon-made sword. Dryden has the opportunity to either exploit Averiela’s distraction, or assist Markus, who is plummetung hundreds of feet towards the ground below. Dryden commands the Phoenixes to help Markus, while he himself flies back to the ship.
GM note: The baby Phoenixes are only the size of robins, but the players argued that–in Harry Potter–a full-grown Pheonix the size of a macaw could carry 4 adults, so these tiny birds are strong enough to slow Markus’ descent. There’s precedent, plus one of the players has the ability to describe beasts, so it wasn’t really my decision.
Markus is windmilling and yelling as he falls,but he didn’t drop his bow. He holds it out and the birds grasp it with their claws and flap mightily. They’re still falling more than flying, but in a slower, more controlled manner. When he’s a few feet from the ground, Markus gets go of the bow and rolls. The Phoenixes, no longer weighed down, drop the bow and fly back towards Dryden. Markus lets the bow cool for a bit before picking it up.
Dryden pulls out an autonomous magical throwing start from Von Till’s castle and throws it at a Giant Robot Spider leg.
Dryden: Defend your homeland!
The throwing star flies true, but a Phalanx Drone runs across the Giant Robot Spider’s body and interposes itself! The Drone is destroyed and the Giant Robot Spider is unharmed.
The Giant Robot Spider turned away from the hole in the deck to fight Averiela, so it doesn’t notice Ol’ Jardiner (doing his Elven breathing exercises to stay calm) climbing up and towards the gap in the armor where Fafnir tore off a leg. He hopes to shut the machine down from the inside. He takes a swig of his magicla elixir to make himself feel better. (It’s healing, not alcoholic)
The Giant Robot Spider spits super-cooled pure water at Averiela. When the water touches anything, the impurities allow ice crystals to form, instantly solidifying and trapping the target. Petra didn’t count on supernatural Elven grace. Averiela runs up the stream of water, flips over the Giant Robot Spider, and lands behind it.
On the ground, Markus wonders about rallying the residents of the castle, but they’ve shut the gates and hidden in fear. The fallen wall and tower have been restored, so there’s no obvious entrance.
- Is something hidden or out of place?
- The tower that crumbled instead of falling over has been mostly put back together. There’s a path that builders use as a shortcut to outside. They figured it wasn’t a big deal. It’s only wide enough or a wheelbarrow. They forgot to close it when the Giant Robot Spider attacked.
- Tell me about the castle’s weapons? How could they hurt or help me?
- The domes on the northern towers contain ballistas. The caslte was built to defend against ground and air threats, so the ballistas can aim up.
- Tell me about the people in the castle. What are they doing? What will they do next?
- Markus can hear Rowdy yelling from inside the keep, but the others are too scared.
- Rowdy: Toughen up and defend your new homes! Adventurers aren’t around all the time. We gotta do it ourselves!
The Giant Robot Spider crawls around to the underside of the Luna Penumbra. Surely there are fewer defenders down there than on the deck. Ol’ Jardiner rushes to reach the access hatch before the Giant Robot Spider disappears over the side. He grabs a leg-tip and is flung overboard as it takes a step!
Doodle fires the harpoon into the Giant Robot Spider, tethering it to the Luna Penumbra. Now when it tries to get under the ship, it forces the ship to tilt to the side. Averiela returns to the helm and starts the ship diving towards the castle. She aims to scrape the Giant Spider Robot off as the ship flies just beside the castle.
Dryden: We have another!
He points, and the Phoenix chicks fly to catch Ol’ Jardiner. He holds out a reagent for them to grab onto. It’s fire-resistant, but not fire-proof. He’s lighter than Markus, so they are able to carry him back to the ship. The heat from the Phoenix checks ruins the reagent, but doesn’t burn Ol’ Jardiner.
The Luna Penumbra and the Giant Robot Spider are lcoked together, pushing and shoving as they hurtle towards the wall of a castle! Dryden pulls out his prank weapon: a mirage of the Ever-Burning Brand, a super-bright flame, exactly what Petra hates! The Giant Robot Spider turns its head to fire ice shards and super-cooled water at the mirage.
On the ground, Markus wriggles through the shortcut through the wall and calls out to Rowdy.
Markus: Rowdy, I’m back! We’ve got work to do. We get to get up into the domes. You take one. I’ll take one. Here’s the deal: We have to wait until we have a clear shot at the spider.
They arm the ballistas and aim at the rapidly-approaching Giant Robot Spider. The wind whispers in Markus’ ear.
Averiela: Markus, I’m aiming for the outer wall, so that I miss the people in the keep. We’re ducking down low, trying to take the spider off the ship.
Markus’ reply is limited to five words.
Markus: Rowdy. Me. Crossbows in domes.
Fortunately, the ballistas are on the inner wall and Averiela is aiming for the outer wall. Markus aims carefully and fires! His bolt goes over the ship, but Rowdy’s shot is true, damaging the Giant Robot Spider’s ice shard launcher.
The pilot realizes they were chasing an illusion and are dangerously close to smashing into a castle! The Giant Robot Spider throws its weight to make the Luna Penumbra hit the wall instead of it. Averiela fights the controls, to put the Giant Spider Robot below the Luna Penumbra. Dryden shouts orders to the crew, who run from one side to the other to shift the ship’s weight. It works! The Luna Penumbra flies parallel to the castle wall, right above ground level. The harpoon cable snaps. The Giant Robot Spider should be smashed into the ground, but a Phalanx Drone overheats its reactor to spread a forcefield big enough to protect the giant machine. It works just long enough to let the Giant Robot Spider land safely, then the Phalanx Drone explodes! The game of chicken against the castle and the ground is over, and neither team lost.
Ol’ Jardiner wonders what to do. His usual non-violent approach is not working.
Dryden: Blast it!
Ol’ Jardiner takes another swig of his elixir and runs to the gunner’s station. Markus and Rowdy are also waiting for a shot, but the outer wall blocks their view.
Dryden flies right up to the Giant Robot Spider and summons a Shadow Warrior from the Dark Side Of The Moon! His shadow rises up to attack the Giant Robot Spider. Ol’ Jardiner takes advantage and fires! The shot destroys a second leg and disables the rocket boosters.
Another Phalanx Drone is now ready, and so is the Giant Robot Spider’s secret weapon! The whole machine turns an icy blue. The surface of the Giant Robot Spider is freezing. Anything that touches it will be stuck fast.
GM note: Big tactical mistake! The Giant Robot Spider’s special attack works only at touch, it can no longer jump, and it’s fighting enemies who fly. It’s doomed. I just didn’t realize it at the time.
The Giant Robot Spider swings its head into the castle wall, and the Shadow Warrior, frozen in place on its head, is destroyed! The Giant Robot Spider pulls its head back, but a block in the wall is now frozen to its head. It struggles for a moment to pull that block out of the wall. Averiela looses an arrow from her hunter’s bow, but it’s blocked by a Phalanx Drone! The Giant Robot Spider fires back with Ensnaring Ice. Averiela laughs and dances around the ice. She kicks one burst back, just to be annoying.
Averiela: As if an Elf would be caught by this.
Ol’ Jardiner drops a rope over the side of the ship and climbs down to the ground.
Markus has been waiting for a while, but the Giant Robot Spider has not appeared over the way.
Markus: OK, Rowdy, you come over here, and I’m going to see what’s happening out there.
Rowdy takes over his ballista and Markus sneaks back through the gap in the tower.
Ol’ Jardiner uses the leylines of magic to get inside the Giant Robot Spider without touching its skin. To gain access to a sealed location, he uses his glowing seam ripper to tear a hole in space and slip through. To seal off a location, he has a matching giant glowing needle. He rips a hole into the interior of the Giant Robot Spider and starts exploring. He walks with Serenity, neither intending or causing harm.
- Ol Jardiner, he/him Halfling Harbinger
- Friendly Face You are small and easily trusted. So long as you show a friendly face, anyone not already actively hostile towards you will treat you as a friend, until proven otherwise.
- Aarlak, he/him, Vampire Wall Walker
- Wall Walker is the cute nickname given to those thugs and assassins who can walk along walls and climb across ceilings. Walkers are not to be trifled with, and will mess you up for any reason at all.
- Death From Above: Wall Walkers can climb along walls and ceilings as quickly as they can run, and as silently as a ghost. When the Wall Walker drops down on an enemy from above, they can either kidnap them or deal damage to them as a Hard Cut, their choice.
- Patience: The Wall Walker is Secret until they make a Cut. When they escape or hide, they become Secret again until they make a Cut.
- Wall Walker is the cute nickname given to those thugs and assassins who can walk along walls and climb across ceilings. Walkers are not to be trifled with, and will mess you up for any reason at all.
GM note: Does Ol’ Jardiner’s Friendly Face work on Aarlack? The table ruled that if Aarlack had not seen Ol’ Jardiner on the Luna Penumbra fighting the Giant Robot Spider, he’d treat him as a friend. The windows are in the cockpit and Aarlack isn’t, so a fortune roll determined that he didn’t see Ol’ Jardiner as an enemy.
Aarlack: We’ve been getting a lot of recruits recently.
The Giant Robot Spider runs to get behind the Luna Penumbra. Dryden throws a vial of magical water at the Giant Robot Spider’s windows.
Dryden: Sheet!
The water forms into a sheet of ice over the windows, but Petra is the master of ice, so his effort to blind the crew is effortlessly dispelled.
Just then, Markus pops out from the castle and looses an arrow at the back of the Giant Robot Spider. The arrow only alerts it to her presence. He thinks that drawing the machine’s attention is just as good as hitting it. The Giant Robot Spider spins around (right underneath the Luna Penumbra) and spits super-cooled water at Markus. He runs directly at the Giant Robot Spider and under its legs. It loses track of him for a moment, and he climbs up Ol’ Jardiner’s rope onto the ship. By the time it turns around, Markus is on board and pulling the rope up.
Back inside, Ol’ Jardiner fast-talks the Vampire who appeared next to him.
Ol’ Jardiner: Quick! We’ve lost several servos. I need to make sure that the phase transducers are not overloaded. If we reverse the polarity on the lithium crystals–The power core! We need to sustain this battle and take out that awful ship.
Aarlack: OK, sounds like need another pair of hands.
They go to the Power Core. The heat is unbearable! Ol’ Jardiner is suffering.
Petra is realizing how bad her situation is. She doesn’t have anything that does damage at range, and no way to bring the ship down to her. She orders the Giant Robot Spider to flee south at full speed. It charges into the Frosty Forest, smashing through the trees Petra froze only a few minutes ago. Averiela jumps off the ship and leaps from branch to branch to follow it. Markus takes over as pilot and the Luna Penumbra follows. Dryden wants to keep this thing busy. He flies ahead, and angles himself to cast a large shadow on ground. His Shadow Warrior rises from the ground and attacks. That trick doesn’t work twice. Using the position of the sun, the Giant Robot Spider finds Dryden and blasts Ensnaring Ice. He jumps off his Flying Device and free-runs through the trees. The tips of the trees bend under his weight and spring back, pushing him further. The Ensnaring Ice explodes in snowflake shapes behind him. He grabs his Flying Device and returns to the Luna Penumbra.
Inside the Giant Spider Robot’s Power Core, Ol’ Jardiner applies a technical solution to shut it down. He has to drag himself thorugh the heat to each control, but Aarlack zips around following his instructions with quick precision. The solution almost works, but the circuit breakers still need a little encouragement. Ol’ Jardiner jams his dagger into the circuit breakers, twists the pommel to activate the heat blade, and the circuits pop! The Giant Robot Spider is shutting down! Ol’ Jardiner staggers out of the super-heated room.
The Giant Robot Spider comes to a halt near the edge of the Bile Pit and jams its Drill Face into the ground. The head is underground and the cephalothorax rests on the ground with its six remaining legs sticking up.
Aarlack: Quick, we must evacuate!
Ol ‘Jardiner: I’ll be right behind you.
Ol’ Jardiner does not follow Aarlack. He slips out the hatch and leans on the nearest leg to cool down. The surface of the Giant Robot Spider is still cold, but no longer a weapon. Averiela looses an arrow as she catches up. The deactivated machine offers no resistance. The leg that Ol’ Jardiner was leaning against falls over, revealing Averiela in the trees above.
Ol ‘Jardiner: Cease fire! Cease fire!
The Fellowship gathers around their fallen foe. They wonder if it can be turned on again.
Dryden: Where are the people?
Ol’ Jardiner: Aarlack was going somewhere. There’s the hatch.
Markus: Since they haven’t come out where we can see them, they’re coming out into the ground.
Dryden: If they’re going straight, they’re going straight into a Bile Pit, which I think is fitting.
Markus: I still feel we need to fully destroy this thing.
They’ll decide what to do with the broken machine next time.