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 defeated Petra’s Giant Robot Spider, although Petra and her gang escaped. This time, they recover at Von Till’s castle, under new management and renamed “Rowdy’s Ramparts”.
The Fellowship repairs the Luna Penumbra and recovers at Rowdy’s Ramparts.
Response Level 5
- Famine. When the Fellowship fills their belly, someone must Pay A Price. Rowdy doesn’t give anything for free
- Guardian. Sinter guards the treasury.
- Sinter she/her Spider Disgraced Student: A vicious martial artist who was banished from their dojo for their cruel nature. Their power is unmatched, but they never did quite finish their training.
- Brutality: The student’s attacks are Piercing and Giant.
- Cruel Heart: The student is strong, but their cruelty limits them. They are easily taunted and enraged, and will focus their attacks entirely on one person at a time. Attempts to Keep Them Busy are made with Hope.
- Unmatched: The student is incomparable. They are faster than you, stronger than you, and more cruel than you. You cannot beat them in direct combat unless you know supreme martial arts techniques.
- Sinter she/her Spider Disgraced Student: A vicious martial artist who was banished from their dojo for their cruel nature. Their power is unmatched, but they never did quite finish their training.
- Stalker: Someone follows the Fellowship and reports their every move to Rowdy.
- Show of Force: Rowdy has a free Hard Cut
- Bustling: People are everywhere. You can’t “Avoid Notice” when Getting Away, and it’s hard to have a conversation without being overheard
Pierre has lost two knives and goes to the castle’s armory to get a new one.
Rowdy: What are you doing? You think you can just take stuff?
Pierre: Yeah, this is our castle.
Rowdy: No it’s not! This is my castle!
Pierre: But we hired you to repair it. You got new moons off for my holiday.
Rowdy: You were trying to pay us with our own money. We’ve got access to the treasury now. We don’t need you.
Pierre splutters and backs off. Dryden and Averiela are offended.
Averiela: Should we send you the bill. then?
Rowdy: We’re rich, so, fine. The bill for what? The laborers? My people?
Averiela is about to lose it. She walks away, sit down and meditates for about 45 seconds.
Pierre: See? The breathing exercises!
Averiela returns.
Averiela: In addition to all that, we have a very high price for saving people’s lives. Elves in particular are very expensive for higher.
She draws up an itemized bill for defeating Von Till and fighting Petra, down to the penny. She’s being persnickety.
Markus: I dont understand why you don’t let us take a few things. We’re going to leave again and you’ll be in charge. Just like I did in my kingdom. This isn’t hard.
Averiela finally finishes writing up the bill and presents it to Rowdy.
Rowdy: You’re not the only one who can do bureaucracy. I’ll give this to the treasurer.
Rowdy wastes time with red tape to avoid resolving the situation. Pierre gives up on the knife.
Dryden looks at the parts of the Giant Robot Spider and imagines how to use them on the Luna Penumbra. Markus wonders about using the Giant Robot Spider’s armor to add another layer of armor over Underfoot’s shell. Vlad, a blacksmith from Rowdy’s Ramparts is also eyeing the remains. Vald spent most of his life under Von Till’s evil rule. He always thought of how he could use whatever Von Till made him build to help his people, instead of hurting people. Now that Von Till is gone, Vlad has a chance to turn evil things to good ends.
- Vlad he/him Human Blacksmith: Strong in arm and strong in trade, this trained professional will keep your weaponry in fine condition.
- Spare Weapons: A blacksmith will trade Precious things for weapons.
- Strong Arm: A blacksmith hits like a truck. When they damage you, you are also knocked down and stunned for a moment.
Dryden meets Vlad in the Power Core.
Dryden: I’m trying to keep dangerous things away from those who would abuse them. This is a very dangerous thing.
Vlad: Yes, I agree. I was looking for a way to overload the Power Core, but it’s really big. This is too close to the castle. If we set it off here, it would destroy at least this wall, which we just put up. Could your ship drag this thing into the ice forest, so we can blow it up over there?
Dryden: Instead of blowing it up, could we parse it into smaller pieces to use it to make the world better? This is a big power source. Do you have projects at the castle that will make your lives better?
Vlad: Make our lives better through evil? That sounds like pragmatism. I’m trying to be an idealist, now that I have some freedom. I don’t want to compromise because it’s powerful and useful.
Dryden: Could you help us take the Power Core and put it onto our ship for afterburners?
Vlad: You want to take the power of the evil spider onto your ship?
Dryden: We want to take parts of it. If you just blow it up you’ll destroy this new forest.
Vlad: I’m not a fan of what the spider did to the Smouldering–Hey, you’re that guy! I don’t trust you with power. Look what you did last time.
Dryden: Yeah, that was problematic, but I’m the guy who got rid of Baron Von Till. And we just saved your entire castle from a giant evil spider.
Vlad: Clearly you’ve learned and grown as a person. I’ll help you put the Power Core on your ship.
Dryden: If there’s anything else we can do for you. Do you need a well?
Vlad: We have a well. Gotta have a well in a castle. It’s a lot cleaner now that it’s not in a swamp. Don’t worry about it. I’m convinced of your altruism, so I’ll be altruistic too.
Averiela goes out to the oak tree she planted and sings to it to help it grow. She takes the times to craft a glorious magical item.
She finds the remnants of a bird’s egg and weaves it in with some new flowers. She adds this to the bracelet of the fallen Elven scout.
- Averiela Hand of Silver: craft a glorious magical item. Pay two costs.
- It can never be used by mortal hands, lest great tragedy occur
- It will be the pinnacle for your craft, and you will never again have the heart to craft anything like it
Averiela creates Healing Bracelet (1 use) Touch someone with the hand wearing the bracelet to heal them to full. If a mortal uses it, someone nearby dies. Elves know how to draw a small amount of lifeforce from everything around them to give to the target, but if a mortal without that knowledge uses it, all the lifeforce is drawn from a single source.
GM note: We decided that Elves aren’t mortal because they don’t die of old age, but they aren’t immortal because they can be killed. So Averiela can use the bracelet, but someone from another race can’t.
Sally and Billy, children from from the castle, come through the forest, gathering berries and hunting squirrels. They make a racket and disturb Averiela while she’s crafting her glorious magical item. Averiela is so annoyed that she conceals herself to avoid them.
Averiela Elder Arts Camoflage: Become undetectable until you reveal yourself
Markus looks around and explores the castle, impressed by all the repairs the residents have done. When he approaches Von Till’s chambers, Sinter stops him.
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- Sinter she/her Spider Disgraced Student: A vicious martial artist who was banished from their dojo for their cruel nature. Their power is unmatched, but they never did quite finish their training.
- Brutality: The student’s attacks are Piercing and Giant.
- Cruel Heart: The student is strong, but their cruelty limits them. They are easily taunted and enraged, and will focus their attacks entirely on one person at a time. Attempts to Keep Them Busy are made with Hope.
- Unmatched: The student is incomparable. They are faster than you, stronger than you, and more cruel than you. You cannot beat them in direct combat unless you know supreme martial arts techniques.
- Sinter she/her Spider Disgraced Student: A vicious martial artist who was banished from their dojo for their cruel nature. Their power is unmatched, but they never did quite finish their training.
Sinter: Halt! I defend these chambers against intruders and I don’t know you. Don’t cross this line.
Sinter indicates a webline across the hall.
Markus: I’m just exploring, seeing how much this castle has changed since the last time we were here. You’re definitely a change, but I don’t feel a need to fight past you.
Sinter: Too bad. It would have been fun. For me.
Markus, like Pierre and Averiela, leaves this troublesome person alone.
Vlad helps Dryden install the Power Core on the Luna Penumbra, but he plans to blow it up when they leave. He doesn’t trust pragmatists who use evil things just because they are useful. Dryden asks questions about what Vlad is doing. Vlad assumes that Dryden doesn’t know what he’s talking about, so he just uses a lot of jargon, but Dryden has experience with gizmos and gadgets, so he knows Vlad’s answers don’t add up. He goes to check with Pierre. Vlad co-ordinated with Sinter and took a long piece of almost-invisible webbing. While Dryden is gone, he connects the line to the trigger, When the Luna Penumbra sails far away, the line will snap and the Power Core will explode.
Dryden talks to Pierre, but speaks indirectly because there are people everywhere who could overhear.
Dryden: Remember that one thing you can consult htat has knowledege? We might want to check our most recent spoils of victory and how it’s being utilized in the future.
Pierre: Endless Scroll has all strings of characters. There is a chapter that explains what happens to us next, but picking which one is actually true is the hard part. That’s the hard part of Divination. It’s easy to predict the future. It’s hard to be correct.
Dryden: Does it show how Power Cores can be hooked up? Because I’m concerned.
Pierre: You’re speaking obliquely. Maybe we should go to the Smuggling Compartments. You’ll have to show me where they are.
Dryden and Pierre slip into a Smuggling Compartment. No one else is there, so they can speak freely without being overheard.
Dryden: Hey, I thought Vlad would help us install the Power Core. I was talking to him, eager to learn a whole lot of cool stuff. He kept saying a whole bunch of words that didn’t mean much. I think there might be something suspicious.
Pierre goes to investigate.
Pierre Look Closely 10+ ask 3 questions
- Is anything hidden or out of place?
- Doodle is two-dimensional, so its able to spot the very thin webline. It origamis itself into an arrow to point it out to Pierre. The webline goes through a very fine hole drilled through the ship’s hull and connects to the wall of the castle.
- There’s a Changeling spy on board, reporting to Rowdy. Pierre notices when the spy squeezes between two people and really squeezes. He’s seen Yonne imitate solid folk before and knows some of the tells.
- Nameless: They have cut out their own identity and destroyed it. What is left behind is a shell that cannot be named or identified.
- Faceless: They look like whatever they want, and they sound like whoever they like. The nameless can perfectly disguise as anyone, anywhere.
- Nameless: Having no name cuts them off from the weave of magic. The Nameless cannot be damaged or affected by anything magical in the slightest.
- Aimless: Losing your identity also means losing your purpose. The nameless has trouble making decisions for themselves, and relies on the guidance of a commander or friend to keep them on task. Without guidance, they are likely to do nothing at all.
- Tell me about the Power Core. How could it hurt or help me?
- Two metal bits have been forced apart by a bit of insulating material. One end of the webline connects to that insulating material, so when the ship leaves the castle, the webline will pull that material out, letting the two metal components complete a circuit, which will overload the Power Core (already prone to overheating) and destroy it.
- What is Vlad doing? What will he do next?
- Vlad is finishing up. He’s running tests to make sure the power reaches all the ship’s systems. He’s also distracting the crew, hoping they won’t notice his sabotage.
Pierre motions for Dryden to take him back to the Smuggling Compartment.
Pierre: One of the people, it doesn’t matter which one, is a Changeling. That one has probably been following us the whole time, switching faces so we don’t notice. We’re being spied on. Any move we make against Vlad, they’re going to know. They’re all trying to kill us. Everyone!
Dryden: At least we know Vlad is, because of the bomb in the Power Core.
Pierre: We can’t even throw it overboard. It’s hooked into everything.
Pierre tries to calm down with breathing exercises.
Dryden: Can we re-configure it? How long will it take? If the whole trap is “pull out the spider web” can we put something else there?
Pierre: What if we pretended to explode? Then they wouldn’t suspect. The best way to not have people chase you is to make them think they can’t chase you. If we fly off somewhere and I use my great and terrible power to cause a huge explosion, they’ll think we’re dead.
Pierre alerts Markus and Averiela via thought bubbles.
Pierre: Averiela, I’ve discovered a conspiracy among Rowdy’s Ramparts to kill us and we found their trap and we’re going to pretend to spring it. When we fly away, we’re going to pretend to blow up the ship, so they won’t be after us anymore.
Averiela had just cooled down, and now she’s annoyed again. She wishes the forest well and returns to the Luna Penumbra.
Pierre: Markus, there’s a plan to blow up the ship, but don’t worry, we have a plan to stop it. When we fly away, we’re going to pretend to explode, so the conspiracy won’t try to chase us. Also, everyone here is trying to kill us.
Markus: Bye Rowdy. It was great fighting with you. Glad we saved your castle.
Rowdy: Yeah, MY castle.
The Luna Penumbra is ready to leave. The Fellowship considers where to go next. Trajan taunted Pierre recently. The Phoenixes are out-growing the stove they are stored in. Petra is still on the loose. Pierre explains the portal between VolWokenStadt and the Forgotten Lands.
Markus: Queen Lucia is there. I’m having far too much fun adventuring to go back, and I’ve mostly forgotten about that girl I love.
Markus: Which if these locations would be best to crash in?
Pierre: The Simple Savannah.
The Luna Penumbra flies west towards the Simple Savannah. Pierre goes into the engine room to disarm the trap. He uses a stick of the same material (wax-impregnated wood) and pushes the block of insulating material out from between the metal components. The stick slips out, letting the metal components snap together. BOOM!
Pierre Foresight Right Time: You take action with perfect timing, giving you a 10+ result on your next roll.
Pierre: OK, not like that.
Pierre changes his approach based on his vision of the future. He slides the stick in and replaces the block, so the metal components are held apart by something that won’t be yanked away by the webline.
Pierre Technical Solution 10+ it works
GM note: I didn’t mean to make a situation that I could solve perfectly. That’s just how events transpired.
The Luna Penumbra flies off until Rowdy’s Ramparts are out of sight. Pierre looks over the railing of the ship to the ground below. Using Wizardy, he pulls the top layer of soil into the air, then sends a little bolt of magic which explodes on contact with the ground. The resulting cloud of dust and smoke is huge, surely visible from Rowdy’s Ramparts.
Pierre Great And Terrible: Pay a Price, take 1 damage, deal 1 damage to a target
Pierre damages Courage
Pierre Pays a Price: take a handicap to make things harder: The repair to the Power Core is fragile. The trap might still go off.
Pierre eats a snack and thinks about recent events. He destroyed the Fire Locusts on the Sapphire Islands by hurting himself with a spell. He got hurt going into the Power Core to shut down the Giant Robot Spider. He faked his own death but still got hurt. Seems like the only way to get out of trouble is pain for him, specifically.
Pierre Fill Your Belly heal Courage
GM note: Actually, deciding what to do is better done at the beginning of the session, not the end, so we ended here.
END-OF-SESSION MOVE
- Did we thoroughly explore a new location? NO
- Did anyone find what they were seeking? YES, Dryden kept dangerous things from those who would abuse them
- Did we learn something new about the world and it’s peoples? NO
1 boon
Level up Markus and Luna Penumbra
Luna Penumbra gains Multipurpose, choose one more move from “What Is The Ship?” Crawler. You ship moves across any terrain and gains +1 Hull. The Luna Penumbra has spider legs now!