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 lured Cirrus away from her loyalty to the Empire by rescuing her brother Morgan from an Imperial labor camp. This time, they try to prevent Morgan and Cirrus from hearing about the latest crisis gripping the Empire.
The Luna Penumbra is still at the Hidden Library. Dryden opens Infinite WIndows and Pierre steps through. He makes sure that Cirrus and Morgan aren’t there.
Pierre: OK, we should show them cool things on the rest of the continent so they don’t think about what’s happening in the Empire.
Dryden: What’s happening in the Empire?
Pierre: Well, all the railroads stopped working. It seems all the magic has disappeared from the land. There was an attack on some important facility in the Empire. The name didn’t mean anything to me, but the Imperial citizens were impressed.
Averiela: We did know that the magic wasn’t as strong as it should be.
Dryden: Here’s hoping Morgan wasn’t the source of it all.
GM note: special mechanic for this episode. Start a clock each time we enter a new location. If we stay too long, a rumor about the Empire reaches us.
Markus: Have we shown them the library yet?
Dryden: I can’t show them.
Dryden’s library card was revoked long ago. The Fellowship goes to Morgan and Cirrus.
Markus: Would you like to see the library, full of all the knowledge of this world?
Morgan likes to try things.
Morgan: Let’s go see other ways people live out here.
The Fellowship walks down the spiral staircases into the volcano’s caldera. At the bottom is the ceramic shell that protected the Hidden Library from attack many years ago. There’s a large hole cut through to allow visitors to enter. It’s larger now that Dryden cut off another piece for Averiela to use in the creation of a magical trap. There’s a display commemorating the heroes who protected the library long ago: Gwideon Greenhanded the Harbinger, and Snort Goldfarb the Goblin. The Imperial citizens have never seen Power Armor before. The Ghost Librarian explains how Snort sat in the hollow chest, and the Power Armor’s large limbs magnified the Goblin’s motions. Morgan is more interested in Gwideon Greenhanded’s magic sword, and the horseshoes from his Unicorn steed. He puts his hands on the glass and leans in. The Ghost Librarian protests that she has to clean the glass.
There are different sources of magic. The Elves feel the magic in nature and since they are part of nature, they have magic innately. Pierre learned his magic from books, theories, and axioms. Pierre also has a big of extra-dimensional magic from the Strange Entity he killed. He’s not sure how that works. Dryden’s magic is in items. He doesn’t have any magic of his own. Morgan believes that magic is external, and must be drawn and channeled from sources. That’s understandable since he grew up in a land that was literally full of magic. There’s also bloodline magic, which Cirrus inherited from their parents, but Morgan didn’t. That’s why Cirrus can fly. His family inclination for magic makes him better at channeling magic.
Cirrus isn’t interested in sitting inside and reading, but she’s happy to spend time with Morgan and will do whatever he likes. Morgan wants to know about magic, and asks the Ghost Librarian to find books for him.
GM note: Morgan and Cirrus are going to make a bunch of moves, but they don’t have stats for them. The players controlling them just used the stats of their main characters.
Morgan Speak Softly 7-9 ask 3 questions, 1 unhelpful answer
- What can you tell me about magical items?
- Your companions are good examples of the differences. Some items have magic put in them during their construction. Anyone who knows how to operate the device can use the device, even if they are not magicians themselves. Dryden has many of these devices. Mr. Jardiner has wizardly baubles that focus, direct, or enhance magic. In a non-magician’s hand, they are useless. Very rarely, magical items are alive and have their own personalities.
- Pierre remembers that he got cursed by taking a book of curses with a wizard’s soul trapped inside.
- What should I be wary of when dealing with magical items?
- The most dangerous are living items, which sometimes whisper to their users and make them do things they otherwise would not. Next are the items with magic in them. If you don’t know how to use them, they can go off in surprising ways. Focuses are completely safe to handle.
- Morgan has heard stories and seen physical evidence that mis-use of the land’s magic makes the user (and possible everyone nearby) die horribly. How can you access magic without consequences? I tried to take the smallest amount, so the land wouldn’t notice.
- Magic is power and power can always be dangerous. There are tales of channelers burning out when they channel power and don’t know how to control it. It’s much more likely for people to attempt to channel and find they are bad at it. Scholarly magic has procedures to prevent magical accidents. You can’t tell that an item is magic jsut by looking at it, and if you can’t, you may not know what it does or how to operate it. This actuarial table shows the leading cause of injury is mis-use of magical items.
- What is the Ghost Librarian doing and what will she do next?
- I’m uncomfortable answering personal questions.
The Ghost Librarian wants to make an exhibit to commemorate the second defense of the library. She wants each person who was present to donate an item to put on display. Averiela offers an elf-stone brooch connected to her homeland, but reserves the right to reclaim it at any time.
Dryden offers a bandit’s sword.
Ghost Librarian: You’re giving me an artifact from one of the attackers?
Dryden: That I won from the attackers and used in defeating them.
Ghost Librarian: It’s good to have an interesting story to go with an artifact.
Pierre wonders if he is included. At the time he was working for Edna.
Ghost Librarian: You were an important participant. If you could talk to Edna and get to donate something, that would be great. I’ll also take an artifact from you.
GM note: Pierre was a companion at the time and was simulated with less detail, so Pierre’s player had to make something up.
Pierre offers a wand that burned out during the attack.
Averiela: I never thought Pierre was the sentimental type.
Morgan: Let’s go find some magic!
CIrrus had not considered that she could learn other types of magic. She inherited her magic, and the Geologists are a special group that she’s not part of. These other types of magic that aren’t natural magic seem safer. She remembers The Twisted Monolith, where someone tried to steal the land’s power long ago. The whole area is a wasteland now. Averiela wonders if that’s why she didn’t feel much magic in the Empire. Pierre really doesn’t want to talk about the Empire right now.
Pierre: You’ve spent your whole life in the Empire. You should see new things. Isn’t that right, Dryden? Tell them what they can see out here.
Pierre Butterfly Effect: give ally hope on next roll
Dryden pulls out items from behind his cloak and explains each one of them.
Dryden Keep Them Busy 7-9 get their attention for a moment
Pierre: We should leave the past in the past and concentrate on new possibilities. Morgan, you didn’t inherit your family’s magic, but magic can be learned by anyone with enough study and cleverness. I could teach you.
Pierre Talk Sense (+Sense,explain plan) 10+ success
Morgan: Yeah! I can learn to make things grow and help the land and not get put in jail and–
Pierre: Hold on. We’re going to try moving things from one side of the table to the other.
Morgan: Yeah, but then I’ll move all the seeds into the ground at once, and move all the water to where it needs to be and–I’ll move everything.
Pierre: Moving is good thing to do. The Librarian wants peace and quiet, so we should take the Luna Penumbra somewhere else to practice magic.
The Fellowship thinks of where to go to practice magic without disturbing anyone. Averiela suggests the Ice Fields (now the Razor Fields after Sunpeak’s collapse) and where the Fairy Forest was. Both uninhabited, but also horrible. They decide to fly to the top of the Treacherous Mountains.
Markus Engines Primed 10+
Markus nimbly maneuvers the Luna Penumbra through the high winds around the mountain peaks and lands. The snow is so deep that the hull touches the snow before the legs find solid ground.
Pierre Wizardry: push pull or touch anywhere you can see.
Pierre pushes snow away from the gangplank so that the Fellowship can descend to the ground. Once outside, he explains the minimum axioms from which he can derive the behavior of magic. It’s dry and boring. After a while, he explains a spell to move a small object.
Pierre Technical Plan 10+ it works
Pierre sets a glass prism on the ground and after a few tries Morgan is able to move it back and forth.
Pierre: This is an amplifier. We use it for beginners because it responds more to magic that, say, that rock.
Morgan doesn’t try to move the rock. Instead he moves a pile of snow on a branch above Pierre.
Pierre Overcome 6-
Pierre is covered in snow and embarrassed. Averiela laughs in enjoyment. Morgan moves other objects. All the commotion attracts attention.
Treacherous Mountains The Creatures Above: a Group or Gang of Beasts appear, hungry and violent.
- Gang of 50 Wolves: Wolves are too wild for humans to handle, but they make fine pets for elves and orcs alike. Wild wolves are almost always encountered in a Group, but the largest packs may be a Gang.
- Pack Hunter: A wolf never fights alone if they can help it, and they gang up on their prey one at a time. When someone fights the wolves alone, they are always put on the spot. If this wolf isn’t part of a Group or Gang, damage this stat.
- Loyal: Wolves stick together and look out for each other. When this stat is damaged, they will co-ordinate to let their wounded flee safely before backing off.
- Gang: This enemy can act against everyone at once. When this enemy is destroyed, this stat is damaged, or this is their only stat left, replace the Gang with two Groups of this enemy. This stat can only be damaged by Dangerous or Area attacks.
How can that many wolves find enough food to survive? By eating every single traveller that comes through! Morgan and Pierre find themselves surrounded!
Morgan: Cirrus, fly!
Cirrus: I’m coming, brother!
Cirrus’ magic can make Morgan fly, but not Pierre! He grabs Morgan’s feet. Cirrus rises above the snow, then Morgan, then Pierre. A wolf jumps up and grabs Pierre and pulls him down to the ground. The wind is knocked out of him as he’s thrown to the ground. Averiela jumps down from the ship, dancing on the snowflakes, and swinging her beautiful swords to scatter the wolves.
Averiela Overcome 10+ success
Averiela throws Pierre up in the air and dances up on snowflakes to catch him.
Averiela Overcome 10+ avoid harm, avoid notice, bring Pierre along
They disappear into the swirling snow! Everyone lands on the deck of the ship. Dryden emerges from below deck and jumps overboard. A few minutes later he returns.
Dryden: There are some really confused wolves down there.
The wolves saw where Dryden went, so they run up the ramp.
Dryden: This is not the ramp you’re looking for.
Dryden: Queen of the Wild You are the leader of all beasts, and they cannot help but serve you. Every beast you meet is a Companion to you until you leave their territory, even if you hold no Bonds with them.
The wolves stop. Dryden asks to speak to the leader. A mated pair of wolves approach. Dryden follows wolf etiquette.
Dryden: What news of the Treacherous Mountains?
Wolf: The Dwarves stay under the mountain, but their arrival has stirred up the mountain. Some prey runs here, and we hunt it, but are not sure this food source will last. We have survived in the snow for many years. We will handle this too.
Dryden: May the Moon shine brightly, and the hunt go swiftly.
Wolf: May you always hear your pack’s howl.
The Wolves leave.
Cirrus: There’s people living underground?
Dryden: There used to be a fire monster living underground and I opened up a river on top of him. So the fire monster was quenched and the Dwarves have retaken their old habitation.
Cirrus: This outside world is so strange. You say the Dwarves are thriving now that the mountain is dead? That seems backwards.
Dryden: It wasn’t the mountain. An enemy entity had overtaken the mountain. The mountain responds well to loving care. Think of the Dwarves as helping the mountain thrive.
Cirrus: I hadn’t thought of helping the land thrive. The land is itself. It’s doing fine. We’re the ones who need its help.
Averiela: You have much to learn, young one.
Cirrus wants to visit the underground city.
Averiela: I thought we left on bad terms with the Dwarves.
Dryden: Are these the same Dwarves that we unleashed–
Pierre: No, that was New Clay Fortress. That’s where they had to run to. They were claiming new places and found those cavern dwellers.
The City Of Clay is open for business. There’s a place to park the Luna Penumbra and a big entrance for the Fellowship to walk through. The city is bigger than it was the last time the Fellowship was here. Many of the people the Fellowship met last time have been promoted or re-assigned. Iton is the new commander of the guards at the entrance,
Iton: Welcome to our city. It’s you! The liberators of our city!
Dryden: Have you ever made a Phoenix cradle?
Iton: I spend most of my time with the war hammer, not the blacksmith’s hammer, but we have a huge market with many artisans and skilled craftsdwarves. Pheonix cradle. What material would that be?
Dryden: It would have to be strong and hot.
Iton directs the Fellowship to an animal trainer. They walk through the huge entrance hall with polished pillars, statues, and display cases full of gems and crafts of all kinds. This is unimaginable to Morgan and Cirrus. The Dwarves have dug through a city’s worth of stone and turned that stone into all kinds of items. They’ve never seen a polished stone before.
Morgan: How are these pillars so smooth?
Cirrus: The land really provides for them!
Cirrus Look Closely 7-9 ask 3 questions, find 1 answer the hard way
- Tell me about the craftsdwarves. What are they doing? What will they do next?
- They extol their virtues of their wares and their skills. Some carve a statues as lasting monuments to great people or great deeds. Other make furniture. Very heavy furniture. Others, like Neb the craftsdwarf, make jewelry and intricate carvings.
GM note: The answer to this question escalated and we never answered the other two.
Dryden: If you want to commemorate the liberating moment of this city. This silhouette with a river.
Dryden poses. Cirrus picks up and examines a puzzlebox. She doesn’t know it’s a puzzlebox, so when a part unexpectedly moves, she drops it and it breaks. She’s horrified that she destroyed a stone and doesn’t pay attention to Neb yelling at her. Neb demands payment. Pierre isn’t good with money. He used to carry Edna’s jewelry box, from which he could pull unlimited wealth. He never learned to balance a budget.
Dryden: Let’s make a trade. I have rocks from the moon
Averiela: Wait a minute. It’s just a puzzle box.
Dryden: What are you going to give me for them?
Neb: The broken puzzlebox. You’re in debt to me!
Dryden: Not for moon rocks, I’m not.
Neb: That can be a separate transaction, which I’m very interested in.
Averiela: This is barely worth anything. It’s a trinket you use to fool tourists.
Averiela Talk Sense (+Sense, explain plan) 6-
Neb: How dare you? I’m insulted!
Gaurds notice the commotion and approach.
Pierre: Wait, I have a plan that will appeal to everyone. Morgan here is very eager to work with stone. What if we do a work trade? He will assist you in your shop for some time and that will pay off the puzzle box.
Morgan: It’s a magic puzzle box, right? I want to learn magic.
Pierre Talk Sense (+Sense, explain plan) 6-
Neb: If he thinks this is magic, he knows nothing about rocks. He can’t help me.
Iton: What’s this commotion?
Neb: This lady smashed my puzzle box. They’re trying to avoid payment, telling me it’s worth nothing.
Iton: That’s no good. Trade is very important to this city. I don’t think this is worth time in the pen, since you are all moving through. I hate to do this to heroes of the city, but I gotta slug one of you. We gotta set an example so people know this is unacceptable.
Cirrus: It’s my fault. You shouldn’t punish anyone else.
Iton takes the Fellowship to the Captain of the Guard’s office. That’s Sarvesh’s new job. Iton explains the crime and that Cirrus has accepted the punishment.
Sarvesh: I respect you for bravely taking the punishment. That’s solid honesty that we would expect from a Dwarf.
Sarvesh punches Cirrus and knocks her out instantly.
Cirrus damages Flying Command
The Fellowship is loaned a wheelbarrow to take Cirrus away. Pierre takes out a hankerchief and unfolds it and keeps unfolding it. It’s much larger than it should be. He throws it over the wheelbarrow to conceal Cirrus from shame as they exit through the main hall.
Pierre wizardly baubles are Useful
Pierre: Discretion is something you learn, working for nobility. I have done this to many people who insulted Edna at official functions.
Back on the Luna Penumbra, Dryden feeds Cirrus so she recovers her strength.
Cirrus heals Flying Command
Morgan has a bad impression of the Dwarves.
Morgan: If they do that just for breaking something, they must have malice from destroying the rocks.
Dyrden: How far are we from the Singing Hills? Rocks that sing would be nice.
The Singing Hills are not far, so the Luna Penumbra flies there and lands next to a standing stone on top of a hill.
Pierre: Look, this is a good example. These are mostly natural stones, but they’ve been carved to make this beautiful music. Intelligent intervention makes this a much nicer place to be. Aku is blind, and these musical notes help him navigate. This is a beautiful example of people and the land co-operating.
Morgan: OK, what magic powers these? Mechanical wind magic?
Averiela rolls her eyes.
Averiela: There’s magic in everything. If you listen closely, you can always hear it in the wind.
Cirrus: Oh no, I thought my magic was my one. Am I taking the sky’s magic to fly? I don’t want to waste it or be ungrateful!
She usually floats a few inches above the ground, but now she puts her feet on the ground.
Pierre: There many different sorts of magic. I could run some tests and see what magic I detect in you and what the source is.
Cirrus agrees because she’s worried there’s something wrong with her. Morgan agrees because he’s excited to find magic within himself.
Pierre Look Closely 6- ask 1 question, find out the hard way
- Tell me about the magic in Cirrus? How could it hurt or help me?
Pierre brings out magical tools and sensors and probes Cirrus’ flight magic. Suddenly he’s slammed flat on the ground by 10 times normal gravity!
Pierre damages Doom
Dryden: This isn’t a magic item. This is beyond my magical abilities!
Averiela recognizes that the magic is coming from Cirrus, just magnified by Pierre’s tool. She blows a handful of powder in Cirrus’ face.
Averiela Stardust: you put someone to sleep
Averiela Overcome 10+
Cirrus slumps over the table as Pierre grabs the corner to pull himself up.
PIerre: That was her magic. She has innate magic. Morgan, does this run in your family?
Morgan: Usually, the first-born gets to fly. Sometimes all the children get to fly. I was second-born, and I did not get to fly. I did not get the magic.
Pierre: It seems that Cirrus’ magic has more uses than she knows.
Morgan: She would only do what she was told in the Empire.
Averiela was letting Pierre do his thing because she wasn’t interested, but now she wants to sense Cirrus’ magic for herself.
Averiela Sense Magic: Immediately know what here is magical and where it is.
There’s the background hum of the magic in all life. Dryden is always pulling out a new magical item, but Averiela only detects magic on his cloak. It’s a portal to his storeroom back home, where he keeps most of his magical items. They aren’t with him until he pulls them out. Pierre is magical, as is his spellbook and a few trinkets. Cirrus has innate magic. Morgan does not have innate magic. There’s another magical presence that comes down the hall into the cabin. Averiela doesn’t see anything in the hall. Pierre is breathing hard, trying to catch his breath. Averiela sees the invisible magic presence go into Pierre mouth, and he stops breathing!
NO END-OF-SESSION MOVE