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Chasing The Sunset & UFO

Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.

The party: Orichalcum the Construct, Stella the Halfling, Buckle the Platyperson

GM note: Before we started, I asked my players if they were OK with fighting cops in the game, since that’s very close to scary things that are happening in real life.

Buckle and Ugg are in a locker room in Cloorick’s Fight Club inside the hidden Goblin city of Swallet.  Ori comes in and Buckle in intimidated by the energy robot that’s 50% taller than him. Ori gives Buckle a very specific compliment on his fighting style and victory over Ugg. Ori, Buckle, and Stella share introductions.

GM note: The players had not met each other IRL, nor seen each other’s characters, nor encountered their cultures, so there were a lot of introductions!  Buckle and Stella’s players were impressed when I said that this was the player of the strange robot they saw fighting last session.

Ori explains that his life’s goal is to look for a master. Buckle says that sounds like slavery.

Ori: Maybe I am a slave, but I don’t like the connotation.

Buckle: Were you hatched?

Ori: No, I was built.

Buckle: That’s weird. I’m Buckle. I’m a Platyperson.  I was hatched from an egg, and I accidentally hatched a dragon too.

Stella: We have to save him a lot.

Buckle: I saved myself just now against Ugg.

Rabbish rushes in. He was replacing the front door (wrecked by Fafnir) and noticed suspicious movement out from. There could be trouble!

Cloorick's fight club & surrounding buildings: fish cannery, warehouse, black market, merch shop

Ori and Buckle take the ladder ot the roof and peer over the front edge.  There’s movmeent of people entering the warehouse to the right. People are fleeing the fish cannery on the left (which is actually a front for money laundering) Two Goblin police in Power Suits are walking down the street right in front. They are Nub-Nub and her partner, who have already crossed paths with Stella and Buckle. The second Power Suit leaps from the street to the roof of the warehouse, spotting Ori and Buckle! Buckle tries to run and the cops go loud!  Windows on the top floor of the warehouse break, and Goblins hidden inside point personal, customized ranged weapons at the Fight Club and unleash a barrage of arrows, bolts, bullets, metal rods, and other projectiles!  One projectile smashes a hole in the roof, and Buckle dives through to the relative safety of “inside.”  Nub-Nub is surprised. The posse wasn’t supposed to attack just yet, so she turns on her loudspeaker.

Nub-Nub:   Cloorick, we have evidence that you are harboring spies seeking to steal our precious Goblin secrets. Surrender them at once!

She hasn’t heard that Cloorick is dead and the Fight Club is under new management.  Ori peeks over the roof and asks for parley. Nub-Nub tells the squad of gunners to cease fire, and tells Ori to come out the front door to talk. He goes back inside and wonders who these spies are.  Stella and Buckle fear that they are wanted as spies.  The three of them walk outside, and Nub-Nub immediately shouts, “There are the spies!”  Her partner leaps down from the roof to arrest Buckle.  Buckle tries to flee, but the cop’s Power Suit fires a rocket fist to grab him and winch him back in.  Ori wants to know what will happen to Stella and Buckle.  Loss of technological secrets is one of the worst things that can happen to Goblin cities, so those who try to take their secrets can never be allowed to leave.  Stella’s companion Rose holds up a bag of unknown powder and Stella yells that it’s a toxic chemical, and if the cops try anything, she’ll release it on all of them!  The cop releases Buckle, who flees and hides in the merch shop. (Fafnir quickly became a local hero, and there’s an unauthorized merch shop next door. Buckle dives into a pile of plushies and blends in, like that scene in E.T.) The gunners back up out of toxic cloud range and open fire!  Ori grabs Stella and flies around to the back of the Fight Club. The companions run back inside the front door.

Ori admits to Stella “This is as far as I’ve planned ahead.”  The gunners are fanning out in the street in front, slowly encircling the building.  Ori & Stella aren’t sure where to go, when Ugg opens a hidden door in the back of the building.  Of course the ilegal fight club has secret getaway routes.  Buckle wants to rejoin the team, but he’s trapped across an alley watched by several police gunners.  Ugg spots him and beckons him over, but he cowers. Ori transforms into a Goblin in a Power Suit, steps into view, and says the fugitives are on the far side of the building. Nub-Nub and the gunners on that side start o move, then notice that the other Power Suit is right there. Who’s in the third suit?  The distraction is enough for Buckle to cross the alley & join the others, but Nub-Nub leaps down the alley right on top of Ori, She’s very suspicious and tries to read his badge number.  Ori grabs her and says that she’s the fake, not him!  He’s got her immobilized, and she’s blocking fire from the gunners at the far end of the alley, so everyone can get away except for him. He’s safe until he tries to disengage.  Gus (Stella’s cook) leans around the corner and starts throwing food at the gunners. Like real cops, these gunners are terrified of milkshakes, tomatoes, and water bottles, so they retreat and hunker down.  Ori throws Nub-Nub across the alley and everyone flees down the secret escape route, which is shut and invisible by the time the cops recover and turn the corner.

The crew is in The Blackest Market, a building that sells unregulated obsidian.  It’s very dark. The walls are painted black for the look.  They have some time before the police figure out where they are, but they shouldn’t dawdle. They consider the exits from Swallet.

Going up the waterfall is difficult. The caldera isn’t intended to be an exit, and climbing out is also difficult. The sewer seems like the easiest way out.  Clearly Stella and Buckle have to flee, but what about the others?  Ori was staying at the Fight Club, and it looks like there won’t be a Fight Club anymore, so he might as well go with them.  Ugg lives in Swallet, but he’s loyal to Buckle after being beaten in a duel, so he’s also coming along.  they sneak away from the police and head for the garbage processing facility.

The garbage processing facility is a big dangerous industrial building with pipes, catwalks, conveyor belts, and big containers of trash. Goblins take trash, sort it, pick out valuable items, then send it to be burned, dumped, or poured into the sewer, a big pipe that matches the one that forms the waterfall in the park across town.  As a load of trash is dumped into a fire, the fire flares but doesn’t subside, It grows, takes shape, and starts moving on its own. A Fire Elemental has appeared!  The Goblin workers flee, calling for the shift leader and the cops!  Some run to the fire extinguishers, big backpack-mounted units with nozzles that come around the side, like Ghostbuster proton packs, or the Heavy Bolter from Warhammer 40K.  There’s also a gas-replacement bomb in the middle of the facility that will remove all the oxygen in the facility in case of major, uncontained fire. Obviously this would be very unhealthy for anyone still inside the facility.

GM note: We said “Halon bomb” at the table, but actual research reveals that Halon fire suppressant causes only giddiness and is safer than carbon-dioxide.

Ori: Hello, fellow energy being. Whom do you serve?

The Fire Elemental makes an effort to shape itself into something with a face,and makes talking motions, but vomits flame all over instead.  Ori puts out his hands and makes his body long and thin behind them, like a diver trying to make as little disruption in water as possible. It works! He comes through the barrage unscathed, but more of the facility is now on fire.  Stella grabs a fire extinguisher. The Goblin workers will take all the help they can get and point her at the Fire Elemental.  Instead she clears a path through the flames to the sewer entrance. Buckle and the companions follow. Again, Ori is in trouble as the rest of the crew beckon him towards safety.  Stella suggests setting of the bomb and running for the sewers.  Goblins close in with fire extinguishers, and the Fire Elemental retreats from them, unintentionally cutting Ori off from his route to the sewer.  Ori just powers through and zips right past the Fire Elemental, braving the heat radiating from it.  he makes it, and the crew flees down the sewer, leaving the Fire Elemental and the Goblins to fight it out.

Only liquid waste is poured down the sewer, so there’s nothing to run into in the long, dark journey, but the water is pretty dirty.  Buckle electro-sense can detect living creatures, but doesn’t notice anything except rats and bugs.  After hours and hours, the crew reaches the end of the tunnel.

A map showing the scret tunnel emptying into a river. There's a mill on the river, with a path leading up a hill to Evelynn's manor, surrounded by a wall with a gate.

There’s a small platform at the end of the tunnel, about the size of a studio apartment. It’s level and high enough to stay dry. there’s a door at the far end of the platform.  The crew floats out of the mouth of the tunnel and into the river to wash in the clean water. Most of Ori’s body is energy and can’t get dirty, but he rinses off the metal armor bits.   The mouth of the tunnel and the door from the platform are both camouflaged from the outside.  It’s night now.  The moon is up, and there’s a bright light near the moon that is not a normal star.  Ori is very curious about the light, but can’t tell much about it.  It’s not moving visibly, but maybe observing it through the night will reveal very slow motion.  Back on the ground, there’s a mill a little ways downstream.  The crew goes up to investigate.  No one is working at night, and the doors are locked, which seems a bit paranoid for such a remote location. A sign on the door reads “LE GRIND KEEP OUT!” so they assume the mill is owned by someone named “le Grind”  There’s a hill behind the mill, and lights from a large estate are visible on top. They follow path up towards the estate.  The estate is surrounded by a wall, and the wall is surrounded by topiary sculptures. The sculptures represent a wide range of creatures, all predators.  They knock at the gate, hoping for hospitality.

GM note. This is Evelynn‘s estate, from the Fairmeadow Fair campaign.

After an awkward pause, a petite woman slowly walks to the gate.  She’s wearing a leather jacket and has a cap with a bill specially shaped to fit around the small vertical horns on her forehead. She regards the crew with bored eyes and asks what they want.  They ask for hospitality. She’s heard of it, but it’s more work for her, so she’s not a fan. She says she’ll check, and slowly walks towards the main building.

After a while a different person returns from the house. He’s a tall human man, probably about 50. He has neat slicked back hair, black but greying at the temples. He introduces himself as Jayce and apologizes for the delay.  of course Lady Evelynn respects the ancient rite of hospitality and will grant travelers a night’s rest and a hot meal.  He calls for Kaley, the sullen Teifling, to stable Silk, Stella’s giant spider. There are six humanoids: Ori, Stella, Buckle, Ugg, Gus, and Rose. Jayce takes them in the front door, into a spectacular foyer with big staircases leading to balconies all around. he leads them through a door into the less impressive side of the house and assigns them to three bedrooms with two beds each.  He will fetch food and bed clothes for each of them.  Jayce inquires after Ori’s needs, since he’s never seen someone like Ori before. Ori doesn’t eat or sleep.  Jayce leaves to make preparations, urging his guests to make themselves comfortable and to stay in their rooms.  Stella examines her room and finds a secret passage hidden behind a painting! Jayce returns with nightgowns and food.  For Stella, Gus, and Rose: Halfling food with meat, fruit, and veggies. The food is prepared well, but the portions are too small. Buckle gets fish. The fish is fine. Can’t complain.  Ugg usually eats subterranean food like mushrooms and bat meat, but he gets freshwater crab. It’s OK.

Jayce bids them goodnight and reminds them to stay in their rooms.  Buckle and Stella convince themselves that the picture is part of Stella’s room, so the secret passage must also be part of the room, so it’s not technically breaking the rules to go exploring. Ori declares that a clever bit of sophistry and stays in his room, watching that mysterious light through the window. After several hours, he determines that it’s moving with the moon, which moves across the sky slightly faster than the stars. it’s a little closer to the moon than it was at the beginning of the night.

GM note: I was not prepared to explain all these celestial mechanics, even though “mysterious light near the moon” was 100% my idea. Would a waning gibbous be visible right after sunset? How much does the moon move against the background of stars?

Since Ori can’t determine what the mysterious light is from here, he decides to use his unlimited-range teleportation to TELEPORT TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.

GM note. Oh. Oh, OK. We’re doing this.  This is happening right now.  I wanted the players interested in the moon, but this is skipping quite a few steps.

Ori disappears from Evelynn’s estate and reappears on an endless field of giant hexagonal metal mirrors.  Each mirror is 100 feet across, and machinery underneath allows them to be steered somewhat. There are towers every few mirrors, and cables between the towers lead away, over the horizon.

The planet is visible below. The location that Ori just left is in shadow.  If Ori teleports back, his accuracy will be poor. He might land in the location next to the one he aims at. The mysterious light is there between the moon and the planet, still a bright featureless light, still not moving visibly.

Ori watches the mysterious light for a while and consumes some fuel.  A cable car arrives at the nearest tower and a Kobold gets out and approaches Ori. The Kobold isn’t wearing a suit or mask, so there’s air on the moon.  The Kobold is curious. How did you get here? Ori says he came from the planet to look at that light. The Kobold looks up at the light in surprise.  He didn’t notice.  It’s not on any of the sensors. The Kobold decides that Ori should come with him back to base. Wait! Show me your teeth!  Ori doesn’t have teeth, which reassures the Kobold, and they zoom away on the cable car.

GM note: Players have a tendency to run mysteries to ground as they notice them. The GM wouldn’t mention it unless it was important right?  Of course they want to see what the GM prepared. I didn’t think the players could do much about this particular mystery just yet, but I was wrong, and I am excited to see how this goes when one player jumps right into the middle.

Characters also made big strides. Ori gaines a level, and Stella and Buckle both took powerful Destiny playbooks.

 

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Chasing The Sunset & Swallet

Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.

The party: Buckle the Platyperson, Stella the Halfling

GM note: Stella was last seen in Bogden, but Buckle is in Swallet. Instead of playing out scenes of the two deciding where to meet and going there, we decided that Stella had traveled to Swallet with Buckle in the previous session. She was just in the background.

Stella and Buckle emerge from the waste disposal facility and see the city of Swallet for the first time. It’s underground. There’s a roof over the entire city. Light is provided by crystals in the ceiling that refract sunlight from the surface.  There are busy streets filled with goblins rushing around on various strange, unique vehicles. A park on the far end of the city is visible even from here. A large stone pipe emerges from the far wall near the ceiling, and a waterfall pours from the pipe into a pool below. A 20-foot tall taper candle in a nearby square acts as message board for adventurers. Stella and Buckle read notes written by other players about the city.

Buckle came to this city chasing Brainiac, but he’s never met the man. “Why are we fighting this guy?” he wonders aloud. It’s really hot in here, which is a bit worrisome since heat in a volcano has an obvious and dangerous source.  The park with the pool seems like a nice place to be, so Stella and Buckle head that way.  As they walk down a street, two figures leap over the buildings from opposite sides! Goblins in Power Suits! Goblins are about the same size as Halflings or Platypeople, but inside their robotic armor, they would tower over humans.  Nub-Nub, the leader of the pair, says, “Outsiders! Here to steal the secrets of our technology, no doubt! You must leave at once!” The party truthfully explains that they don’t know anything about secret technology, and that they are chasing an outsider who broke into Swallet for nefarious purposes. Less true is the claim that they are searching for him in the park.  The armored police leap ahead to search for the other intruder.

The park is busy, since it’s unusually hot. In additional to green space for recreation and relaxation, the park also contains large swamp coolers that pump cool air elsewhere in the city.  Stella wants to look behind the waterfall, because there’s always something cool behind a waterfall.  She does not find anything cool behind the waterfall, but while she’s looking, a chunk of stone falls from the pipe from which the waterfall emerges! She gets out of the way and sees someone climbing into that pipe. No doubt that person dislodged the stone that nearly crushed her.  Nub-Nub and her partner leap up into the pipe in pursuit.  Silk, Stella’s giant spider mount, takes her up the wall and drops her off at the mouth of the pipe. She sends Silk back to the ground to bring Buckle.  The pipe is about 5 meters across, made of old stone, and water is pouring out of the broken end constantly. She has to brace herself to walk against the current and not be swept away and over the waterfall!  Silk brings Buckle up, and Buckle swims against the current.

It’s dark in the tunnel. The only light is from the opening at the waterfall.  Buckle’s electrical sense can easily detect the two Power Suits, since they generate a lot more electricity than most living creatures.  Stella and Buckle walk up the tunnel after them.  When the party reaches the Goblin police, they have apprehended the Brainiac!  He demands that they unhand him, lest they face the wrath of the great wizard, Allan a Zham!  Buckle pipes up, “Don’t you mean the LATE wizard?” Brainiac doesn’t get it. “A wizard is never late. Nor is he early.”  Buckle has to clarify. He means that Allan a Zham is dead.  Brainiac doesn’t know that he was sent on his mission by someone impersonating his dead master, so he’s still confused.

Stella has a plan to wreck this jerk. She shrinks to the size of an apple and has Buckle tail-swat her towards Brainiac’s chest. She was going to enlarge in mid-air to strike a powerful blow, but Nub-Nub is too quick, spinning and knocking Stella out of the air with a rocket fist! Stella is pinned to the wall by the metal fist! “You dare attack a prisoner? He is under my protection!”  Brainiac finally understands why Allan a Zham was acting so strangely at their last meeting and freaks out! He wails about his dead master and struggles against the other Power Suit restraining him.  Stella tells Nub-Nub, “I’m trying to help!” Nub-Nub doesn’t want help, and fires her other rocket fist at Stella!  Brainiac gets loose and runs further up the tunnel into darkness. the police aren’t sure whether to pursue him or arrest Stella and Buckle.  Buckle yells at them to pursue Brainiac.  Nub-Nub agrees, but says that they’d better be gone by the time she returns!

The armored police disappear up the tunnel, leaving Stella and Buckle alone.  “That was a bad plan,” says Buckle.  “They can’t all be good,” says Stella.  Buckle leans back and lets the current carry him back to the mouth of the pipe.  Silk ferries them back to the ground. It’s still very warm in Swallet, but our party is all wet, so that will keep them cool for a while.  They need more information, so they stop a friendly Goblin named Gabber and ask about some things they read on the message board.  Gabber has never heard of a troll holding a pearl.  Gabber knows where the fight club is, but he wasn’t allowed in.  He built a weird gadget that he thinks would give him an edge. He’s happy to demonstrate it, but it hasn’t been fully tested and the party convinces him not to.  They ask if there’s a source of great power in the city, something magical.  Pretty much the worst thing that could happen to Swallet is outsiders coming in to steal the secrets of their technological power, so our party just revealed themselves as an existential threat to poor Gabber. He stammers that there’s no magic here, and activates his steam-powered heelies and zooms away in a panic.

Stella and Buckle follow Gabber’s directions to Cloorick’s Fight Club.  There’s scaffolding over the entrance because the front door is being replaced.  The workers are dismissive and insulting, until Buckle asks if they have seen a baby dragon.  “You know Fafnir?!” yeah, Buckle knows Fafnir. He hatched her from an egg.  Suddenly Buckle is a celebrity. Fafnir is the leader of this Fight Club. They are replacing the door because she smashed it in.  Rabbish says, ‘One time, she punched me in the face. It was awesome!” The fighters in the club all want to be just like her, but they can’t because they don’t have wings. The party recommends that they build some wings, since they’ve already built giant arms and other technological aids. Several goblins immediately pull out sketch pads and start working.

Rabbish shows Buckle and Stella around the facility, including the arena, where they see Ori sparring with a Goblin wearing exo-sketetal robot arms.

GM note: I described Ori, who is like nothing the characters have ever seen, and the players were impressed. Then I told them that Ori was another player’s character, and they were impressed again. It’s cool to have a world changed by real people you haven’t met.

Buckle wants to spar! He’s matched against Ugg, the Goblin who just fought Ori.  Buckle prepares for battle by applying warpaint to his face and bill.  The arena has been recogfigured since Fafnir and friends fought Cloorick. There are still doors for the opposing teams on opposing sides and a raised platform in the middle, but there are also stage hazards: mechanical arms coming out of the floors and walls that will punch, grab, and throw anyone who comes near.

The fight begins, and Buckle runs up the ramp to take the high ground. Ugg is right behind him, when Buckle yells and slaps his tail on the ground in an intimidating display of force!  Ugg is terrified and can’t approach, but he won’t give up.  If he can’t walk up to Buckle and hit him, he needs to hit him from far away. A projectile! Ugg approaches a hazard and starts to rip the mechanical arm out of its fixture.  Buckle takes this opportunity to break line of sight, dropping off the far side of the platform away from Ugg.  Ugg turns to throw his makeshift weapon, but can’t see Buckle.  He warily circles the platform, seeking his opponent.  Buckle strikes from ambush, delivering an aerial spinning tail-slap right to Ugg’s unarmored face!  Lights out! Ugg is knocked unconscious. Stella cheers from the stands, and other Goblins rush in to tend to Ugg.  Ugg is not hurt, and after he wakes up, congratulates Buckle on a well-fought match.  All one needs to do to get the respect of these martial artists is to beat them up!

After all this, Stella and Buckle wonder if maybe they are looking for the magical power in the wrong volcano. There are two of them, after all.

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Chasing The Sunset & Platypalooza

Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.

Party: Fafnir the Dragon, Stella the Halfling, Buckle the Platyperson

The full moon will rise tonight, so it’s time for Platypalooza, the greatest celebration of Platyperson culture!  A party boat heading upriver spots Buckle and invites him and his companions to join.  They do, and the boat goes up the Mighty River and takes a tributary to the north to the Platyperson town of Bogden.  Paulie, the former mobster, is also on the boat, but there’s no reason to fight anymore.

From the river, all that’s visible is the great dam of Bogden, which creates a large, flat marsh suitable for Playtpeople living. the waterfall prevents the party boat from advancing further, so everyone has to disembark and walk up the switchbacks to the top of the dam.  Bogden is a village year-round, but Platypalooza temporarily makes it a vast city. Platypeople from all over the continent come here to celebrate, and people from other cultures also attend because it’s a great party. The permanent dwellings are off in the back. and most of the artificial marsh is a fairground, with booths, stages, games, and so on.

The leader of Bogden officially kicks off the festivities with an opening speech, but our crew realizes that he’s a tricky politician. Listening to his speech will damage their Sense, so they ignore him and explore the shops and stalls.  Fafnir loves food and Buckle points out traditional Platyperson food.  Lots of fried food. There are giant spider legs on skewers, competing hot sauce vendors shouting about the virtues of their special recipes, and so on.  One booth has a challenge: eat a spicy seed pod. Only a few seeds are needed for a whole pot of hot sauce.  Fafnir jumps at the chance, and since she’s immune to damage from fire and heat, she has no problem eating the spicy seeds!  She gladly receives the cheers of onlookers and a sampler platter from the impressed vendor.

Stella finds Clara, a fellow Halfling running a booth.  Clara sells pastries, which are a staple in Halfling culture, but an exotic treat to Platypeople.  Clara is one of many Halflings who fled the Halfling homeland during the Giant War, a war against Giants. Part of the reason that Stella explores this continent is to find scattered Halflings and tell them the good news: It’s safe to return home. The war is over! The Halflings won by surrendering! Instead of fighting the physically superior Giants, Halflings let them settle in Halfing towns, then relentlessly pranked them until the giants got so annoyed that they fled!  Clara is delighted to hear the news ,and starts a batch of celebratory peace cookies.  Stella asks if Clara knows where other Halflings are. There’s usually one in every city.  Clara mentions Sam, living in a walled city to the north. Stella and Clara say farewell with the old Halfling saying, “You always have a home.”

As the crew is moving through the crowd, looking for more fun, a large Platyperson roughly shoulders past Fafnir.  Fafnir won’t stand for such ill-treatment.  “I’m not stairs! You can’t just stomp over me!” The large Platyperson is The Champ! He says “I’m on my way to win the Fluming championship again. There’s still time for you to sign up. Meet me on the field and see how easily I can stomp over you!”  It’s on now!  Fafnir, Stella, and Buckle rush to sign up for the tournament.  Fortunately, Buckle can explain the rules of the traditional Platyperson game to the Dragon and the Halfling.  Silk, Gus, and Rose will cheer from the stands.

Each team has to take a log from the log pile, stand it upright at their base, and climb it.  One point for reaching the top. One bonus point for flipping the log during the dismount, but failing the dismount costs one point.  It’s a foul to clearly hit with another player, so don’t get caught! The field is flooded, since Platypeople are amphibious.

The first team that the crew faces in the preliminary round is three lumberjacks. The referee slaps his tail to begin the match, and everyone rushes for the log pile!  Stella keeps the lumberjacks busy while Fafnir and Buckle grab a log.  Fafnir is ready to climb the log, but Buckle can’t raise it himself. Fafnir switches with Stella so she can help raise the log. Once it’s up, Fafnir runs from the lumberjacks, spreads her wings, and flies to the top of the log! One point!  A flippy dismount for a bonus point and it’s 2-0.  Fafnir goes in to get another log, but the lumberjacks block her path out. She’s super-strong, so she picks up the log and flies over them, dropping the log to her teammates and continuing into the stands.  Stella and Buckle raise the log, and Stella flies in to land on top. Foul! It’s illegal to score from out of bounds! The crew loses a point instead of gaining it. Next, Fafnir interferes with the lumberjacks and gets caught. She has to wear a penalty vest, restricting her movement. The vest is designed for Platypeople, so it’s especially awkward on her. She’s around the same size, but has more limbs, and in different positions.  The field is reset, and when the refereee slaps his tail, Fafnir and all three lumberjacks rush for a log. Fafnir draws their attention by running in a figure-8. With all three focused on her, there’s no one left to score or prevent Stella and Buckle from scoring. Buckle is barely able to lift the log by himself, and Stella struggling upwards, barely slapping one hand on top. It counts!  The crew wins and goes to the next round of the tournament!

Now that they have the hang of this, the crew is able to beat other opponents and reach the finals, against The Champ and his dangerous team!  The match begins at sunset, and the stands are packed as most other events have wrapped up, and everyone wants to see the final showdown!  Big lenses on towers around the arena catch the last light of sunset and focus a spotlight on the referee, as he announces the two teams and hypes up the crowd.

The Champ’s team is mean and effective. In addition to the Champ, widely known as the greatest individual player the game has ever know, there’s a Brawler, tough and strong; and a Hunter, who disappears under the shallow water to reappear at an inconvenient time. The crew huddles to discuss strategy before charging into battle.

At the tail slap, Stella and Fafnir rush for a log.  Champ and Brawler get in their way, and Hunter silently slips under the water, disappearing.  Stella insults Brawler’s mother as she tries to slip by, and he angrily slams her into the stack of logs. Obvious foul!  The field is reset.  At the tail slap, Champ heads right for Fafnir. Stella moves to intercept, but Champ dodges to the side and kicks her leg as he passes. Stella falls into the water and is face to face with Hunter, who strikes her again.  No call from the ref.  Meanwhile, Fafnir and Buckle try to keep Brawler away from the logs, but he wrestles one away from them.  Stella gets in Champ’s face to keep him busy, and snatches something from his pockets while he’s distracting.  It’s blackmail material on the referee! No wonder our crew aren’t getting the calls they deserve! Fafnir and Buckle steal Brawler’s log back. While the three are tussling near the stack of logs, Fafnir breathes fire, setting fire to the whole stack! Flaunting her immunity, she climbs on top of the flaming pyre and lies down.  Brawler and Buckle fall into the fire and catch a light!  Fafnir grabs Buckle and hurls him out to their goal, where the shallow water extinguishes his flames.  She follows that up by hurling a flaming caber out to Buckle.  Stella tries to set the log up for Buckle to climb, but Brawler is coming for her!

During this exciting match, the sun has set, and the full moon has risen.  The cheers from the massed spectators turn into screams! People start running, and three large figures emerge. Three werewolves: one of the left, one of the right, one near Stella’s companions! Buckle looks closely and realizes that the bite of these monsters can turn its victims into more werewolves! He yells at the crwod to run!  A werewolf slashes at Silk, knocking it out of the stands into the flooded playing field.  This clears space around the werewolf, so Fafnir seizes the opportunity, hefting a flaming log, and throws it like a mighty javelin! It strikes the  werewolf and carries it through the stands! Nothing left but a pile of flaming debris!  Buckle assists Silk, and Stella engages one of the remaining werewolves to keep it away from civilians. It still has clothes and pockets, and she swipes a slingshot.  Fafnir’s about to leap into battle, but the Champ is upon her.  He yells, “You’ve ruined the game, and you’ve stolen my spotlight!” and throws a mighty punch.  Fafnir catches the Champ’s fist in her claws and her face shines with the power of her conviction. She says, “You say you’re the hero of these people?  Prove it! Save them from these creatures!” The Champ is stirred by her impassioned speech. He agrees, but after they beat these monsters, he wants to finish the game and beat Fafnir. the Champ strides towards the werewolf by Stella. The werewolf swings down with his massive paw. The Champ dodges the paw, which crashes into the benches.  The champ steps on the paw, pinning the werewolf, and winds up a powerful blow to the jaw. These things don’t look so scary after that humiliation.  Stella finishes that werewolf with its own slingshot. As the werewolf crumples to hte ground, it transforms back into the Platyperson that it used to be.

Was that all of them?  Some people are hiding under benches. Other have fled the stadium and cowering in tents around the fairground. There’s a third werewolf that no one engaged! It left the stadium and is running for a tent full of helpless civilians!  Fafnir flings herself into the air and hastily attacks form the air! This will be an awkward landing that leaves her in a bad position in front of rampaging, but she’ll land a mighty blow first.  The blow is enough! They both crash to the ground, but only Fafnir gets back up. The werewolf also shrinks back into a human form as it dies.

All the stands and booths have hastily closed. Shopkeepers and partiers alike are fleeing the area.  The Champ wants to continue the game, but Hunter disappeared in the chaos and hasn’t re-emerged. The referee declares that hte Champ’s team can’t continue and must forfeit! The Champ is going to tell the referee something, but notices that he no longer has the blackmail material!  He’s lost the game, lost his leverage, and Fafnir outshone him in combat. His defeat is thorough!  He stomps away, but his little webbed feet make funny slapping noises.  The Mayor of Bogden hails out crew as heroes! they receive the prize money, and for saving the town, he tells them a secret:  There’s a legendary magical site under extinct volcanoes to the south.  The crew examines the blackmail material. Platypeople don’t use paper, since it would dissolve in water, so documents are written on wax tablets. These documents prove that the referee is actually a beaver with a false bill, not a Platyperson at all!

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Chasing The Sunset & depression

Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.

Party: Fafnir the Dragon, Stella the Halfling, Agnes the Harbinger, Buckle the Platyperson, and Rook the Remnant.

Fafnir spent the night sleeping under a porch after chasing a lanky black cat. The next morning, she happens upon the rest of the party as they are walking through the streets.  “Good to see you, Dad,” she says to Buckle.  She doesn’t know anything about the trouble last night, and just wants breakfast.  The black cat is walking along with them and Agnes has a vision that this cat will save the world. A magenta Pomeranian appears and chases the black cat.  As the party chases the two animals, a mobster named Billy appears to grab the Pomeranian.  That’s not OK! These are our pets now! Agnes tries to wrest the dog away from Billy and he tosses her aside.  Fafnir flies past at high speed and grabs the dog, but Billy punches her as she passes.  Billy sees that it’s five against one and flees.  Rook floats silently after him, hoping that he’ll go somewhere dark. If he does, Rook will make sure he never emerges.  Since it’s morning, even the narrow alleys aren’t dark. Billy returns to the aquarium and goes inside. It’s dark in there, but Rook can’t enter without an invitation, so they returns to the rest of the party.

The magenta Pomeranian that the mobster was after is named Wallace.  Agnes wants to know who owns this brightly colored pooch, so she holds its collar aloft.  She sees through the eyes of the owner, swimming over kelp fields towards and underwater city, holding a large bag.

GM note: We had a lengthy discussion about the definition of ownership. Is Wallace a possession of its owner? What happens if Agnes holds a mobster aloft? Do pets own their toys and collars? We decided that living creatures are not possessions, but objects given to pets belong to their owners.

Agnes holds Wallace up to Buckle, who can speak to any beast and asks questions through her interpreter.  Wallace lives in a house with other animals. He can’t read and is colorblind, so he can’t give an address or describe the place satisfactorily. Agnes asks if she is his favorite, and Wallace heartily agrees, licking her hands for emphasis.  Agnes tries to overcome her grim demeanor and smile, but it’s hard. Wallace does remember the way home, so he leads the group there: an aquarium

Agnes uses sight beyond sight to look through the wall of the building and sees two figures: a human and a Platyperson. The team prepares to breach the building. Fafnir and Stella are on the roof, reaching it through flight and wall-crawling spider mount, respectively.  Agnes, Buckle, and Wallace the magenta Pomeranian form up at the back door.  Stella’s companions, Gus and Rose, cover the front door. Rook is ready to float to whichever area needs help.

Paulie, the Platyperson, bursts out of the back door.  Fafnir leaps from the roof, grabs Paulie’s head on the way down, and smashes it into the boardwalk with all her weight behind it. Paulie’s still conscious. She gathers herself and lifts her head despite Fafnir’s efforts to keep her down. Paulie draws a nasty weapon, the limb bone of some large creature, with one end snapped off into splinters. She flails about, endangering everyone nearby. Rook approaches and uses his hypnotic voice to calm her so Buckle and Fafnir can get clear. Stella puts a pit trap in the boardwalk between Paulie and her friends.

Billy, the human mobster that fought the crew earlier today, makes a break for the front door. Gus and Rose try to hold him back. Gus is a cook, and forcibly Cinnamon Challenges Billy. While Billy is busy sputtering and coughing, Stella runs over to talk him down. Billy went after Wallace so aggressively because his whole life had been disrupted when the mob was betrayed by one of their own, their leader exiled, and their prized animals scattered. Billy was trying to reclaim the animals (like Wallace) to reclaim a semblance of the order his life used to have. Stella is sympathetic, but says that holding onto the past doesn’t work, and that Billy needs to act on what’s happening now, not what he wishes was still happening. Billy is really encouraged by these wise words.

Paulie is still mad and goes after Buckle, but falls into the pit trap, which drops her into the river. This just lets her escape, since Platypeople are excellent swimmers. Buckle dives in to pursue her, and has a heart to heart talk with her.  She and Billy were trying to hold on to the mobster way of life after their headquarters was smashed up and their people scattered. Paulie (mechanically a “Beast Loner”) realizes that she doesn’t need to cling to this structure that doesn’t even exist anymore. She’s capable on her own. She swims off to make her own way in the world.

Things seem handled here in Port Fennrick, so the crew decides to head up the Mighty River. As they walk upriver, they meet a boat coming down river. It was attacked and is on river. Buckle uses Tail Slap to splash water over the burning boat and put it out.  They ask how the boat caught fire, and the captain says that it certainly wasn’t a fire-breathing lizard. Those have been extinct for a hundred years!  Fafnir fumes, literally.  Agnes tells her to behave, or she’ll withhold Fafnir’s snacks. Fafnir’s Kobold companion Coco will feed Fafnir, so Agnes’ threat is blunted.

Further upriver, Stella’s riding spider (named Silk) bolts off the path after a bird. It’s the chrome songbird that Ori and Melvin released a while back. The chrome bird, (a Crow-m, perhaps?) sings a piercing note that resonates at the frequency of reality itself, and manifests a coiled spring underneath Silk, sending Silk flying into the air. Silk and Stella decide not to mess with this bird and return to the path. Rook is happy, because Songbirds were considered extinct. Nice to know a few are still around.

Further upriver, mysterious music floats through the air. “Do you hear that?” Agnes retorts, “I’m blind, not deaf!”  Fafnir flies ahead to investigate and finds Slick (ex-pirate) playing a harmonica next to a campfire, with a traveller’s bindle nearby.  This is what people do when they are sad and they have nowhere to go, right?  Fafnir likes his music and asks to hear more. Slick is pleased and plays very fast.  Fafnir is impressed. People would like to hear this music. You could be in show business.  Slick is encouraged to hear this. He’s got a goal to aim for now.  He thanks Fafnir and runs towards Port Fennrick at incredible speed to start a new life as an entertainer!

Further upriver, Agnes notices something sparkling on the riverbed. Fafnir hates water and won’t investigate. Agnes sends Wallace, but Wallace is unable to dislodge it from the riverbed. Agnes cuddles him and tells him he’s a good boy and tried his best.  Agnes sends Snek down to investigate and discovers that it’s a hatch, mostly buried under mud. Snek has no hands and can’t open it.  Agnes tells Buckle to go open it, but he puts his foot down and demands that he use his proper name. In the last day she’s called him “Beagle”, “Bickley”, and “Buckley”. His name is Buckle!  With that settled, Buckle swims down to grab the valve. With remote assistance from Agnes, he pulls the valve open, revealing a tunnel beneath the river! Rook floats down into it and finds a hidden tunnel network. There’s a station nearby with a stairway concealed by a false rock. Fafnir pushes the rock aside from the top, and the crew heads down into the mysterious depths.

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Chasing The Sunset & mobsters

Chasing the Sunset is a West Marches-style exploration game using Fellowship 2nd Edition‘s Horizon rules.

The party: Buckle the Platyperson, Agnes Nutter the Harbinger, Stella the Halfling, Rook the Remnant.

Looking west at Port Fennrick on the delta of the Mighty River.

Buckle, Agnes, and Rook have just limped into Port Fennrick on a damaged fairy-ferry that was attacked by a Kraken.  Fafnir the Dragon was also onboard, but is nowhere to be found now.

GM Note: Fafnir’s player wasn’t here for this session. One of the concepts for West Marches is being able to mix and match characters into different groups, so I didn’t want to make a big deal of a character’s absence, but that’s what the players wanted to role-play, so we did it.

Rook is especially worried by Fafnir’s absence, since they was dedicated to caring for dragons in their former life.  Agnes magically senses that Fafnir is fine, and says not to worry.  Rook isn’t happy about this and drags their feet as they floats down the road after her. The party doesn’t know what’s going on in town and looks around for excitement. There’s a commotion at the back of town, where the Mighty River enters. They get closer and see a Giant yelling about pirates upriver.  As people listen to the Giant’s story, a damaged longboat arrives with its own story about a battle with pirates.  People waiting at the checkpoint to go upriver start complaining to the inspectors.  “You say these inspections and regulations are for our safety, but you can’t keep us safe from these pirates! Why are you even here? Get out of our way!” The party decides not to get involved.

It’s evening, so they go to a tavern for food and a room for the night.  Stella, the newest player character, has some space at her table in an otherwise crowded tavern and invites the party over.  Rook sort of floating through a chair, but can’t really sit in it.  Introductions all around. Stella is a halfling. She’s traveling with two friends and a giant riding spider which is out back in the stables.  At another table, Sebastina (navigator of an ill-fated charter boat) tells of her brush with the Kraken.  She never saw the beast, but our party knows exactly what she’s talking about, because they fought and killed it. Buckle interrupts to tell his story, but he’s not good at public speaking, and the crowd shouts him down.  He buys a round of milk, which also does not endear him to the hard-drinking crowd.  He does get a big reaction when he says he was traveling with a dragon, since dragons have been extinct for about 100 years.  The rest of the party decides that Buckle shouldn’t talk anymore and drags him away.  They pile into Stella’s crowded room upstairs for the night.

In the middle of the night, two figures slide open the window and creep into the room where everyone is sleeping. Rook isn’t sleeping, because Rook doesn’t sleep. They screams, waking everyone up.  Stella is near the window and grabs one of the figures clambering through. She pulls him into the room, but he rolls with the movement and throws her to the ground.  Agnes shoves the second figure out of the window. He stumbles off the roof of the porch and falls to the street below.  The one still in the room grabs Stella, but Buckle makes him drop her with a tail-swipe.  The invader turns his attention to Buckle and jams a canvas sack over his head.  The invader is human-sized, and Platypeople are only four feet tall, so the invader has a big weight advantage. As he struggles to fit Buckle completely in the bag, Rook floats through the window after the second figure. Rook is alone in the dark with an enemy, and, using their terrifying ghostly powers, silently rips the life out the would-be kidnapper. Back in the room, the kidnapper has Buckle in the bag and tries to toss the bag out the open window. Agnes steps in a blasts the kidnapper’s leg, wrenching it into a very unnatural position. Snek (Agnes’ pet flying snake) enlarges and coils around the disabled kidnapper, flicking its tongue in his ear.  The kidnapper is unmasked and must explain himself.  Outside, Rook casts Speak With Dead on the other kidnapper ot gather mostly the same information.

the kidnappers were sent to grab Buckle and bring him to the boss, because Buckle knew about a dragon, a rare and valuable prize. The boss is Louie, and he runs the underworld here in Fennrick. Anything that’s not above-board belongs to Louie. The live kidnapper that’s being constricted by Snek is Johnny. The other one that fell out fo the window is Jimmy. Agnes takes Johnny’s ring that marks him as a member of Louie’s gang.  She says that if Johnny crosses them again, she’ll find him, and she won’t be so kind.  She heals his leg. The ruined flesh grows back brand new, pale as a Seattlite, soft as a baby, and hairless.  Snek releases him and they send him out the window. Rook returns at the same time and passes through Johnny, an unpleasant cold sensation.  Johnny finds Jimmy’s dead body, and, keeping to secret gang traditions, disposes of the body. Only Johnny and Rook know that Rook killed Jimmy. No one else saw anything.  Stella’s friends keep watch for the rest of the night, but there are no further disturbances.

In the morning, Stella shares her Halfling food with her new friends. Buckle wants fresh game, so he swims under the city to catch some fish. Port Fennrick is built on a river delta, so most buildings are built on stilts over water.  As he pursues fish, he realizes he is being pursued by a Mermaid with a trident and net. A mermaid mermydon. A mermaidon! he outswims the Mermaid and reaches land, where the mermaid can’t follow. He rejoins the party without fish.  Agnes holds Johnny’s ring aloft to see through is eyes. He’s on a road, holding a bag. He looks over his shoulder, and Port Fennrick is receding in the distance. Johnny skipped town.  Agnes wants a possession from every party member so she can see through their eyes. Buckle doesn’t have many possessions. He won’t give up his hat, and doens’t like the idea of cutting off a lock of fur. He offers a treasure that he took from the Kraken, but Agnes just whips out her runeblade and takes a tuft of fur. Stella refuses to give her a possession.  (These new friends of hers are a lot!)  They linger and ponder their next step until the innkeeper knocks on the door. The inn is busy and need to either pay for another night or make way, because other people want the room.  They leave, and decide to track down the mob boss that keeps sending goon after them.