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.
This time, the Fellowship reports on their journey to VolWolkenStadt and prepares to leave the Forgotten Lands.
Pontia leads the Fellowship to the Bastion Of Memory so they can give a report to Queen Lucia.
Pierre: What exactly did we do, and what are we going to tell the Queen?
Boris: That we opened the possibility for them to re-connect with their cultural roots.
Yonne: Their ancient lands.
Boris: It is a limited offer. Unless they are able to harness this energy, there’s only enough for one trip there and back.
Boris holds out the two glass bottles containing the dark magic they collected from the underground facility.
Yonne: Say it like this. We’ve started them out with two doses.
Boris: Enough to get there and back with more energy to continue, if they wish to. I and my people have taken it away from you, so I return what I have taken.
Pierre: Yeah, that’s good. Do you want to give the whole speech?
Boris: It depends on the vibe. If they are still very scared of me, maybe I’ll say important bits like that that are heartfelt.
Pierre: I do have a friendly face, so they might react better to me.
When the Fellowship arrives at the Bastion of Memory, a messenger alerts the Queen. The Fellowship must wait in the courtyard until the Queen appears at the balcony. Pierre reminds every messenger and every guard that Boris still bears the mark of his magical promise and is not able to harm anyone. Boris and Pierre hold up their hands to show the magical mark.
Boris: It’s there to keep my hands away from any villainous thing you think I might do.
Yonne doesn’t like how Boris is treated.
Boris: I want to make them feel comfortable.
Finally, Queen Lucia appears at the balcony.
Yonne: Tell them about the people.
Boris: Yeah, we gotta warn them about the people.
Pierre: Your Majesty, we have safely returned from VolWolkenStadt, your anscentral home, and–
Queen Lucia raises a hand to stop Pierre.
Queen Lucia: We have heard that you returned in the Unicorns’ sacred woods.
Yonne: We rescued a Unicorn and brought it home, so–
Pierre: Yes! We found a Unicorn stranded in VolWolkenStadt and returned it to its people.
He whispers to Yonne.
Pierre: That’s a good catch. Makes it sound like it was on purpose.
He addresses the Queen once more.
Pierre: The land flourishes again. The curse is no longer upon it. In fact, new people have moved in and made it their own. They are a hardy and intense people, because it’s an intense land over there. These bottles that Boris is holding. We have created a gate between your land and that land, but it requires power. This is enough for one journey there and one journey back. Say the line!
Boris kneels and presents the bottles of dark magical energy.
Boris: My people have taken something from your people and I wish to offer the opportunity to reclaim it to your people and right the wrongs that we have done.
Queen Lucia gives a signal and two guards approach and take the bottles from Boris.
Boris: The magic is quite difficult to harness.
Yonne: Be very careful. Bring water.
Boris: Study the material of the case, and bring a stopwatch.
Yonne: It’s going to be hot. The point is: lots of power, and he’s sorry also.
Queen Lucia: What manner of people now inhabit our anscentral home?
Yonne: They are people who all have a thing that they are really good at. They think that you’re really good, if you’re really really good at something. Each village is different, so some village. Some villages only have Orcs and they’re good at being strong, and if you’re really really strong, they’ll be like, “Wow!” And then someone we met was really impressed that we befriended a Unicorn. The Unicorn we brought home, in fact. What they revere most of all is your ability to survive in a difficult envirnoment through your own ingenuity and skill. So you should show ingenuity and skill when you go over there.
Boris: Bring your most powerful and most well-established artisans.
Pierre: Yes, I have some other–
Pierre looks through his bag for the crop samples he collected, but instead he finds the glass jar containing nanites.
Pierre: An example of the dangers of this new old land. Here’s something that was infecting a wound of one of the new inhabitants. It’s made of tiny machines from your old technology. You gotta be really careful with these, but maybe if you study it, you could figure out a way to cure this nanite plague. That would really endear you to the inhabiants.
Boris: The best way to study something dangerous that is contained, is to look at the container and replicate that environment to study it. The best way to for this plague to not get loose in our world, is to make a bottle of sorts. A space that is only accessible by one way in that is easily closed from the outside, so if a breach and contamination happens, it is only within this larger bottle. I do not want to bring another possible calamity to you.
Pierre Talk Sense (+sense, detail a plan, +hope, Boris’ help) 10+
Queen Lucia has her magicians take the nanites for study.
Queen Lucia: Thank you for undertaking this dangerous journey so that the people of the Forgotten Lands no longer have to be afraid of the boars like Boris, or of VolWolkenStadt.
With a formal and friendly farewell, Queen Lucia ends the audience.
Pierre: Are we done here? Do we sail back to the mainland?
Boris: I think I should not linger. I believe it would be beneficial for iether of you to see and take in a new and different culture. See if you can buy a dagger, or see if that have knowledge of any of your kin.
Yonne: You want us to go shopping? That’s good because I get to look at people.
Pierre: That’s what we tried last night and it caused a fire.
Boris: Maybe we should leave before we cause an explosion. Was there something we said we’d bring back to the Sapphire Islands? I promised Gleador that I’d be on the lookout for the Stinking Mire.
GM note: We looked back at what we did in 2025 and realized that we promised Edna to arrange a trade deal between Port Fennrick and Forgotten Lands.
GM note: We switched from what the characters wanted to do next to what the players wanted to do in 2026. I said the “expansion pack” for 2026 was the the Empire to the west of the established map. The Academy that Pierre attended could also be fun to explore. Its buildings are distributed across the world, linked by portals. There’s sure to be at least one Academy building in the Empire. The players look forward to more social meneuvering for their characters. Stories that link with the other player characters are fun.
Boris wants to learn about the Empire’s culture and help them if possible.
Pierre to become his own person, since he doesn’t work for the Crusher-Harcourts anymore. He doesn’t need to take orders anymore. Maybe Pierre needs to be re-certified as a wizard.
Yonne is reaching her “teenage” phase and dealing with new emotions. Her goal: fully blend in, so people can’t immediately tell she doesn’t belong. She thinks Pierre is cool, so she might want to become a wizard like him.