The fellowship: Dryden of Conwall the Collector/Hunter, Averiela the Elf/Elven Elite, Edna Crusher-Harcourt the Ogre/Knight, Markus the Squire
Last time, Edna rallied the Fellowship to rush north and defend the Hidden Library. Lucia chose to stay in the Forgotten Lands and let Markus (the regent and her younger brother) go along to get a taste of adventure. Flying north on their ship, the Luna Penumbra, they encountered a huge flying turtle with a castle on its back.
The fellowship: Dryden of Conwall the Collector/Hunter, Averiela the Elf/Elven Elite, Lucia the Brave the Heir/Halfling Sheriff, Edna Crusher-Harcourt the Ogre
The fellowship: Dryden of Conwall the Collector/Hunter, Averiela the Elf/Elven Elite, Lucia the Brave the Heir/Halfling Sheriff, Edna Crusher-Harcourt the Ogre
The party: Buckle the Beast/Heart of Earth, Stella the Halfling/Hunter
Last time, the Fellowship entered Vieport without detection by disguising their dinosaur companion as a giant confection. Their catamaran was recognized by its previous owner, millionaire thrill-seeker de Rolo, who was unhappy with the bargain and demanded his vehicle returned. Continue reading “Chasing the Sunset & blockade running”
The party: Buckle the Beast/Heart of Earth, Stella the Halfling/Hunter
Yearly Check-In
I asked if my players preferred “dungeons” with dense maps that the characters were stuck in, or loose verbal descriptions. My players said some very nice things:
They’ve all worked really well because they’ve been at the level of detail that’s appropriate for the narrative.
I like the ability to create long-term companions, but also focusing on a guest character for a time. There’s enough depth that it feels like they could come along with us. It’s a loss when the NPC is removed, or it’s time for them to go. It’s that much more powerful when someone does decide to come along with us.
I appreciate the diveristy of characters, getting to know what beings exist and having the world continue to expand as we go to different parts of the maps.
Stella was Taken Out after fighting for three sessions straight. Do the players find excitement in the possibility of losing? Do they rise to a challenge, knowing that they need to leverage all their Moves effictively to avoid defeat? The players said:
I enjoy the possibility of not winning.
It’s nice to have some tough battles sometimes, but not all the time because that would be stressful.
Buckle’s player relates being a very powerful character to Doctor Who. The Doctor gets in situations that are stressful. He’s such a powerful being that success is different for him. The conflict they likes most isn’t when they’re not sure if they can overpower their opponent, but where the best outcome is a tricky narrative to wander through. We’re going to have a chat, but then Buckle decides he’s going to burn the world down. Buckle has Dragonfire which can vaporize an enemy with no roll. It’s interesting to have conflicts that need to be resolved differently than violence. When you could just burn the world down it’s much more interesting to resolve conflicts in a way that’s productive.
Finish Them with Wisdom is always a possibility. Try to lead with that. Like when Theona tried to kidnap Buckle and Stella intimidated her into joining up.
i asked about plots and quests. Did they like the plots that they found? Did they feel comfortable setting their own goals? I intentionally don’t include world-ending threats, athougt the Moon could have gone very badly. A sandbox can’t have any world-ending plots because then the players must do that, or they don’t get to play. The players said:
Buckle’s player is missing an over-arching goal. They are going where the wind takes them.
The Moon was a compelling narrative arc, but now it feels like we’re not involved anymore. We played a part, but it’s not part of our over-arching goals.
Why is Buckle doing anything instead of just going home? There’s not a specific thing we have to accomplish for the good of the world.
A long-term goal and a goal with high stakes aren’t the same. Buckle’s player likes high-stakes goals that are episodic, but the long-term arcs being personal.
Buckle might seek out more Artifacts of Power.
I want his player to feel empowered to pursue that, instead of only responding to plot hooks that I throw out. I don’t think Fellowship has a good move for figuring out mysteries. The Dwarf has a move that’s close: it allows them to understand a artifact they handle. The players rely on me to scatter enough pieces of information for them to put together into something cohesive. That’s a challenge, because mental image to verbal description to hearing and understanding to mental image is lossy at every step.
Does Stella need a goal to strive for? Her player said:
Stella’s initial goal (calling the Halfling refugees back home) is out the window because there are populations of Halflings here who are not refugees and don’t need rescuing.
Stella’s player is letting Stella stumble on a new goal based on what happens in the world. Right now Stella is making sure Buckle doesn’t die, which should be easy because Buckle is very powerful.
Buckle’s player enjoyed being part of a larger narrative, but not the main character. Another distinction, the scale of a narrative is not the same as the amount of time we spend on it in-game. The Vampire Plot against the Moon is interplanetary in scale (very large), but we only spent a few sessions on it (not that large). I’ve made a point to show the effect that other Fellowships have had on the world, but I didn’t think of showing a Fellowship what effect they have had on the world.
Mixing big world-shaking events and local squabbles is fun. Both players agree they like side-quests, like last session was just three short vignettes of the Fellowship passing through and helping out with the power of friendship.
I keep the tone pretty light, like a PG-rated family adventure movie, but have a I overlooked any phobias or triggers? Do the players have arachnophobia? No! There’s been a Giant Spider in the Fellowship this whole time. It’s fun for characters to be in trouble and worried, but players should be safe and comfortable. The players do not report any discomfort.
I’m very happy that the players have said so many nice things. It’s important that we line up our expectations so we direct our efforts to make sure everyone has a good time.
Let’s start creating fiction in a dense, linear fashion.
The party: Buckle the Beast/Heart of Earth, Stella the Halfling/Hunter
Last time, the Fellowship regrouped at Vieport’s Adventurer’s club, but had to rescue a friend from the Exterminator’s traps in the golf clubhouse across the street.
The party: Buckle the Beast/Heart of Earth, Stella the Halfling/Hunter
Last time, the Sea Viper (ruler of Vieport) assumed Stella would turn in Buckle for a bounty, but the team violently demonstrated that they value friendship over money.
The rooftop terrace of the Sea Viper’s palace.
No enemies remain on the burning rooftop terrace. Theona is barely standing, and is no longer a Companion. Stella and Buckle have a damaged Siege Tank, but the rest of their Companions…
The Sea Viper’s Palace
…are still climbing the pillars outside the palace, trying to reach their leaders on the roof. A group of Eel Naga guards are below them, threatening them. The group of Eel Naga guards that Buckle left inside the palace are about to come out and join their comrades.
Neither Stella nor Buckle can swim. The Sea King escaped, and surely the entire city will soon be after them for attempted regicide. They need an escape route right now. Buckle considers driving the Siege Tank off the roof, but the drop will damage its only remaining stat. Stella considers getting help from the beluga whales that carry cargo at the docks, but the Siege Tank is as big as a beluga whale. Just one whale won’t be able to carry the tank.
Stella Queen of the Wild: every beast she meets is a Compantion
Stella Speak Softly “whales, carry our tank away!” 7-9
GM note: Stella doesn’t have to convince the whales to help. The roll determines how much trouble the whales have getting in position to help.
A team of Beluga whales is pulling a raft nearby, and when they hear Stella’s call, they turn towards the palace. Their Merfolk drivers try to steer them back on coruse, but the whales buck to throw them off. The raft can hold the Siege Tank, but the whales need a little time to get to the palace. On the other side of the palace, Naga Eel guards wrap themselves around the pillars and spiral upwards to attack the companions stnading on top. Buckle can’t use his Dragonfire at long range, so he takes a running leap from the roof of the palace…
Buckle Get Away 7-9 avoid harm
…and lands in the shallow water at the base of the pilars, right among the Naga Eel guards. His superheated body causes a burst of steam, which he empowered with Dragonfire..
Buckle Dragonfire: vaporize Group of Naga Eels
When a Group is destroyed, replace it with two members
…into a burning mushroom cloud! When the cloud clears, only two Naga Eels guards are left, who ignore the pillars and turn to attack Buckle. Stella watches from the roof. She can’t bring the tank to bear, but her Companions are right there.
Stella: Gus, release the garlic powder!
Gus uses Special Ingredients to create advantage against Naga Eel.
Gus retrieves a satchel of garlic powder and shakes it out over one of the Naga Eel guards. Garlic irritates snakes, so the guard starts spitting and coughing. Buckle attacks the distracted guard with his venomous spurs.
Buckle Finish Them (advantage: distraction from Gus) 10+
The guard only feels a pinprink, but that’s enough to deliver the venom, and he’s Taken Out. The other guard bites Buckle with his horrible needle-sharp teeth.
Naga Eel Needlepoint Teeth: necrotic damage to Buckle’s Courage
Buckle was feeling invincible up to now, having killed over twenty people in the last few minutes. He realizes that he can still be hurt!
On the other side fo the palace, the team of Belugas have thrown their drivers in the water and lined up so Stella can drive the tank off the edge and onto the raft. Theona sees an opportunity to escape and pushes herself towards the edge! Stella throws both throttles forward and races Theona.
Stella Get Away 6-
Don’t forget, Theona is a 16-foot-tall Ogre. As she and the tank reach the burning guardrail at the edge of the terrace, she shoves the tank asides and leaps through the flames! It looks like she’ll land on the raft with an action roll to break her fall, but instead she crumples and faceplants. The exertion and the flames were too much for her. Stella finds herself in the water in a very metallic, very heavy vehicle designed for land! She’ll soon sink! She quickly looks around the tank’s control panel and hits a tiny yellow button on the left side that she had not noticed before.
Siege Tank Secret Weapon: amphibious mode.
The bottom of the tank forms into a waterproof hull, and it’s able to slowly motor through the water. Stella is away!
Buckle panics and runs parallel to shore through shallow water, leaving a trail of steam. Stella yells for everyone to go to the Adventurers’ Club. The crowd of Companions drop down from the pillars and everyone flees towards the Adventurer’s Club, with only one Naga Eel guard trying to stop them.
GM note:Fleeing the scene with enemies nearby gave me a great excuse to start the next scene with a problem. I asked the players to pick which of their Companions were missing at the beginning of the next scene.
Stella drives the Siege Tank onto shore next to the Adventurers’ Club. Buckle is hiding under the porch, but the smoke rising from him reveals his position. A headcount of their numerous companions reveals that Hamfast is missing! Two figures appear on the roof of the buidling opposite the Adventurers’ Club. Hamfast as been captured by The Exterminator!
The Exterminator
Deadly Poison
Fumigator
Patient
The Exterminator beckons to Stella and Buckle, then drags Hamfast back out of sight. They will have to breach the building and face The Exterminator’s traps to extract their new companion.
GM note:We brainstormed what building The Exterminator used as their lair. Often adventurers gather in shady taverns, narrow alleys, or warehouses, but the Adventurers’ Club is a legitimate, reputable organization, so it’s in a nice part of town. It’s next to a the club house of a golf course. Specificity helps creativity!
Golf Clubhouse, AKA Exterminator’s deathtrap
Buckle is still in shock from the previous battle. Stella considers a multi-pronged attack agains The Exterminator, but needs to scout the area to know how to proceed. She walks around the building looking for entrances. There’s a service entrance on the side, and an employee is leaning against the wall taking a smoke break.
Caddie
Talk for Days
Loose Lips
Stella: Buckle, are you back with us? Are you ready to do something? Go in the front and see what’s there.
Buckle shuffles off and Stella approaches the Chatty Caddie. Her plan is to set a pit trap at the rear entrance to catch The Exterminator if they flee that way, but she doesn’t want actual golfers to be caught and injured. She asks the Caddie if she can slip in through the service entrance.
Stella Talk Sense (+sense) 7-9 owe a favor
Caddie: OK, but tell me a secret.
Stella: Any secret?
Caddie: A juicy secret! If you sleep with a teddy bear, I don’t care.
Stella: I can’t swim!
Caddie stifles a laugh as he lets her in the service entrance. He’s totally going to leak that secret.
Buckle walks in the front door and enters a nice lounge with high ceilings, big windows, and tables and chairs spread around. In the corner, there’s a woman in chrome armor with long, curly, bubblegum pink hair. She’s deep into her third bottle, and slowly turns to look at Buckle with a look of exhaustion and despair.
Lady Elizabeth Eleanor Eadwynn: I can’t deal with this right now.
She turns away and leans her head on her hand, blocking Buckle from her view. Buckle ignores her and walks up to the counter, which is staffed by a bored-looking teenage girl who clearly thinks that golf and people who like golf are exceedingly boring and uncool.
Surly Worker
Biting Sarcasm
Conveniently Off-Duty
Buckle asks if she’s seen The Exterminator today. She can’t be bothered to remember the losers who come in here, so she pushes the sign-in book across the counter to him. He picks it up and it bursts into flames! Before the pages blacken compeltely he does see “The Exterminator” but the other columns, no doubt filled with useful information, are illegible. He drops the book and stomps on it to put out the flames, but his super-heated feet only burn the book faster! Surly Worker’s eyes, emphasized by enthusiasticly but unexpertedly applied eyeliner, go wide. She reaches over the counter and dumps her drink on the remains of the book. She goes into the back room to get another book.
Unsupervised, Buckle slips past the counter and explores the back of the clubhouse. There are locker rooms, showers, and a sauna. He surprises a few golfers. Stella is also inside the building. She finds an “out of order” sign and posts it on the back door, then places a pit trap outside of it.
They’re explored the ground storey, so they move on to the upper storey. Buckle brings Ugg (a Goblin with robotic arms) to the elevator. It’s a fully enclosed box, and just has a lever to select ground storey or upper storey. Buckle flips the lever up, and poison gas floods the elevator! The Exterminator anticipated this move and set a trap! Buckle pulls the lever back down, but the gas doesn’t stop. They need to get out of the elevator.
Buckle Get Away 10+ avoid harm, bring Ugg along
Ugg boosts Buckle up and Buckle opens the service hatch that’s in the roof of all elevator cars. He climbs on top of the elevator, then reaches down to pull Ugg up after him. At the top of the shaft, the doors to the upper storey are slightly open and The Exterminator is looking down. They grunt and pulls back, closing the doors. Impressed but not surprised.
Meanwhile, Stella has ridden Silk (her Riding Spider) up to the roof. There are three skylights, one open. She opens the other two (to maximize the dispersion of any poison gas that may be released soon) and quietly drops down into the storage room.
Stella Get Away 10+ avoid notice, avoid harm
The Exterminator is on one end of the room, looking at the elevator doors. On the other side of the room, sitting on a big bin of galf balls, Hamfast is concentrating on a strange device that he’s holding in both hands. Buckle and Ugg climb the emergency ladder inside the elevator shaft, and Buckle starts heating the elevator door to break through. Exterminator prepares their poison gas dispenser. Big tanks of poison gas on their back are connected through a hose to nozzle shaped like old-timey bug spray dispensers: a cone-tipped cylinder with a short cylinder mounted perpendicular under the main cylinder. They will ambush Buckle as soon as he emerges.
Stella Queen of the Wild: Command Lore about the wild beast in a location
The storage room is an attic, so there are bats nesting in the rafters. Buckle tells Ugg to go back down the ladder, then he bursts through the elevator door
Stella Queen of the Wild: all Beast are her companions
Bats harry and distract The Exterminator
Stella sends her bat minions to swarm The Exterminator, preventing them from executing their ambush. Stella and Buckle rush at The Exterminator from both sides!
Buckle Finish Them (+sense, knock out) advantage: bat distraction (+hope, assistance from Stella) 10+
Buckle jumps up on The Exterminator and jams his flippers into the gap between their helmet and armor. He levers the helmet off, revealing The Exterminator’s face! Stella disconnects the hose from the back of the nozzle and jams the loose end, which is spewing poison gas, into The Exterminator’s face. They quickly succumb to the noxious gases and collapse. Buckle reaches out to the end of the hose and ignites the gas as it sprays out. The gas burns as soon as it exits the hose, so the room isn’t filled with poison gas. Disposing of the gas this way is safer than igniting backpacks full of pressurized gas, which would probably blow up the whole room.
Hamfast: Help! It’s going to go off! I can’t keep holding it!
They rush to their captured friend. The device he is holding is actually two pieces that must be held in precise alignment, or it will go off, flooding the room with poison gas. (The Exterminator has a THEME, and they stick to it.) They consider throwing it out of the open skylights, but throwing will set it off. They decide to use the elevator shaft. Buckle does remember to bring Ugg out first. He carries the device to the hole in the door, drops it in, then Stella and Buckle shove a golf cart to block the hole and keep the gas out fo the room.
Buckle Overcome (+hope assistance from Stella)10+
It works! They shove the golf cart forward, then sink to the floor in relief. Tiny harmless wisps of gas leak through gaps around the golf cart. Buckle looks over and sees The Exterminator’s gas-proof helmet lying on the floor and realizes he could have stuck the device under that. It would have been a lot simpler.
GM note:We wrapped up the session here and the players asked if they could just say that they left the city after this. I denied their request. They almost killed the king, and all the exits from the city are dangerous. Water on one side, electric barriers and angry ghosts on the other. Getting out will be an adventure!
GM note:The party went to the Adventurer’s Club to be safe because they are members & can get food and shelter here. But the Adventurers’ Club is full of powerful mercenaries doing whatever jobs are posted. Of course there’s a bounty out on them now that they attacked the Sea Viper and burned his palace! They were already attacked by an Adventurer on their first visit. Yet they didn’t expect The Exterminator (the other Adventurer in town) to attack them this time.
The party: Buckle the Beast/Heart of Earth, Stella the Halfling/Pack Leader
Last time, Stella and Buckle found the owners of the mine from which Buckle got his special powers. Those powers almost got him kidnapped, but instead Stella impressed the giant kidnapper into joining the team. Theona is an Ogre, the same type of giant that Stella’s people fought (and surrendered to/defeated) in The Giant War back in her homeland. That gave Stella some confidence when facing Theona, since she had defeated Ogres before.
Stella has a to-do list: find the Halfling that lives in Vieport and tell them they can go home, then find Opal Oolite and tell her she can go home, then find out about this Dragon that supposedly lives up north. There aren’t many Halflings in Vieport.
Stella Address Book: find a friend in any town
Her address book indicates that a Halfling lives by the docks. Vieport is an amphibious city, so the shores and the docks are actually in the center of town. There are normal-looking docks for surface-dwellers and their boats, as well as underwater facilities for Merfolk.
Stella Queen Of The Wild: Command Lore about local wildlife
Merfolk use beluga whales to haul cargo. Sometimes bigger whales stop hear, and the shallow bay has canals carved into the sea floor to allow those large whales room to swim. Thesurface docks block the light from the whale facilities, so the whales use echolocation to navigate. Other interesting wildlife near the docks: sea turtles and eels. The eels move in dense schools, head-down to eat small creatures from the sea bed, so they look like mobile clumps of seaweed. The sea turtles are migratory, and when they lay eggs, one egg in every clutch is blue and Precious.
Vieport’s docks
As soon as the group approaches the docks, Buckle dives into the water to catch and eat an eel. The water explodes into steam as soon as his superheated body touches it! He can’t swim because his webbed hands evaporate the water instead of pushing against it. Stella appraises the situation. An Elven ship is moored nearby. The Elves walk back and forth on the surface of the water, unloading packages. At hte bottom of the bay, Merfolk swarm around several Beluga whales. Stella has a plan. If all three Beluga whales swim underneath Buckle and blow from their blowholes, the air pressure will push him back to the surface. But how can show communicate to the Merfolk far below? She asks the Elves how they co-ordinate with their underwater counterparts. The Elves sing beuatiful songs which carry through the water, and agree to relay Stella’s message
Stella Talk Sense (please blow Buckle back to the surface) 6-
The constant steam explosion is so loud underwater that the Merfolk cannot hear the Elven song! Buckle lashes out with his flat tail, paddling faster than the water can evaporate.
Buckle Animal Traits: damage tail to gain Hope
Buckle Overcome (+hope) 10+
Buckle rockets to the surface and collapses on the wooden dock, which starts sizzling. It’s treated wood, and it’s wet, so it won’t burst into flame immediately. The Elves are glad to see that he’s safe, but urge him to get off the dock. Buckle is stunned by his experience.
Only now can Stella start looking for the Halfling, named Hamfast. Hamfast is a Halfling term for vegetarian, since the Halfling fasts from ham. Outsiders often confuse it with Hamfest, a celebration when Halflings eat a lot of ham. A small Halfling face pops up from the water. Hamfast has arrived to see about the commotion.
Stella: Hamfast? What are you doing under the water?
Hamfast (a refugee from the Giant War) sees an Ogre standing right behind his fellow Halfling, yelps in fear, and dives under the water.
Stella: Theona, you need to leave. Don’t go far, just don’t be here.
Stella tells Hamfast that the Ogre is gone and it’s safe, but he’s still hesitant. He invites Stella to his underwater home (the air pocket in the map above) Stella confesses that she never learned to swim.
GM note:We’re in a city that’s half underwater and neither of the characters can go in the water? Incredible! Hilarious!
Hamfast talks her through it and encourages her. She only has to hold her breath a short time. Once inside Hamfast’s home, she doesn’t need to swim anymore.
Hamfast Natural Charm (advantage: talk Stella through swimming)
Stella Get Away (+hope) 6-
Stella is mustering her courage, and has waded in up to her knees, when an Eel Merfolk wearing the uniform of the Sea Viper’s soldiers swims up. He reads from a clay tablet in a loud, formal voice. It’s a summons from the Sea Viper, ruler of this city! Stella and her companion are to go immediately to the palace. Stella has a lot of friends and wonders which ones the Sea Viper wishes to meet. The Herald isn’t sure about the rest, but Buckle definitely. Buckle’s not paying attention. He’s slumped on the floor, heartbroken because he can’t go in the water.
Stella: Did you see the commotion? My friend can’t go underwater, so we can’t meet the Sea Viper in his palace.
Stella Talk Sense (+sense) above-water audience? 7-9
Herald: OK, come with me to the palace entrance and I’ll ask about making accommodations.
Buckle is in a stupor of despair, and doesn’t move. Stella puts on leather gloves and drags Buckle after her by the scruff of his neck. The rest of the party (Theona the Ogre, Ugg the Goblin, Rose & Gus the Halflings, Silk The Riding Spider, and the Siege Tank) follow at a distance.
The Sea Viper’s Palace
The rows of columns that lead to the entrance of the Sea Viper’s palace are made of several different materials, made at different times. An old palace stood on land, and the oldest columns on land led towards it. The Sea Viper destroyed the old palace, put his new palace in the water, and reversed the direction of the entryway. The Herald goes inside to make arrangements, leaving Stella and Buckle at the shore.
Stella: Buckle, snap out of it. I need your help.
Buckle: I can’t … I’ll never fish again.
Stella: That’s a lack of creativity. You could get a metal fishing pole.
Buckle: I can never go in water.
Stella: But there’s so much you can do now. Look to the future! You can control fire!
Buckle: Seems more a curse than a blessing.
GM note:The Sea Viper wants to harness Buckle’s Heart Of Earth for his own purposes. Will Buckle just give it to him?
Stella: I promise it will get better with practice.
Buckle. I just wanted to eat. How will I eat?
Stella drags Buckle to the edge of the water.
Stella: Buckle, I need you to trust me. Put your hand in the water when I say.
Buckle: It’ll bubble up again.
Stella: Now!
Stella Queen Of The Wild. All beasts (including Eels) are her companions & follow her orders
Buckle sticks his hand in the water and it closes around an Eel! The Eel is instantly cooked in his super-heated grasp. Buckle stares, then scarfs it down.
Buckle forges a bond with Stella
A strange person pops his head above the water. He’s Human, lanky, and bald. He’s wearing a wetsuit made of shiny scales, so it shimmers and flashes like a fish as he moves. He’s got a clear full-face mask that lets him breathe underwater, and propellers mounted on his shoulders for speed. He’s fascinated by what he just witnessed. Before they can interact much, the Herald emerges from the palace. The Sea Viper, in his great wisdom benevolence, will allow Stella to meet him on the rooftop terrace. A woman appears on the edge of the roof, a glowing light hovering over her shoulder. She disappears and the glowing light stretches into a bridge from the roof to the ground which Stella, Buckle, the Herald, and the strange bald fellow can walk on.
The rooftop terrace of the Sea Viper’s palace.
Sea Viper, boss of Vieport:
Threat To The World
Hardened Scales
Iron Grip
Robin, Lantern, Lead Engineer
Building Bridges
Reveal The Way
Emmett, Ghost Expert
Master Plan
Backup Plan
Herald
Zealous Fanaticism
Reinforcements
Blind Faith
Naga Guards x12
Group
Needlepoint Teeth
Slippery
The Sea Viper sits on a throne, flanked by advisors. He is an especially large Naga. He keeps growing and nothing has managed to kill him yet, so he’s huge. Two of his advisors are Robin, the Lantern who created the light bridge, and Emmett, the strange man in the wetsuit. He pulled up his flippers and clipped them to his knees so he can walk on land. About a dozen guards line the perimeter.
Stella can change size, up to the size of a good chair, and the Sea Viper’s throne is much bigger than that. Buckle walks around, admiring the plants, tapestries, and woven carpets, careful not to actually touch any of the flammable objects on the terrace. Buckle asks for the bald man’s name.
Emmett: I am Emmett, and I am the Sea Viper’s advisor in matters metaphysical and ectoplasmic.
Sea Viper: Adventurer Stella Muddyfoot, I welcome you to my city of Vieport, and thank you for the service you have rendered to my people. However, I am disappointed that you tarry in turning in the bounty.
Robin: It has so much power! Truly, a boon to the city!
Buckle asks Stella what they are talking about. Stella sees where this is going and needs a moment to think.
Stella Talk Nonsense (lie with a straight face) 10+
Stella: I recognize the power my friend has, but he fused with it because it’s saving his live. We can’t remove it without killing him. I can’t part with him.
Buckle’s eyes get big as he figures out that the Sea Viper expects Stella to claim the bounty on him! He is the Source Of Power that the Sea Viper Wants!
Stella: If I continue adventuring with Buckle, imagine the other Sources Of Power that we could acquire for the Sea Viper!
Stella Talk Nonsense on a 10+, Sting Like A Bee: Steal Useful item
Robin Reveal The Way: when someone Talks Sense, give advice
Robin: Of course we don’t want to harm him. He should stay here and become the heart of a new powerplant. With the extra power, we could push back the Deathlands and double the size of the city!
Buckle: What’s a powerplant?
Robin starts explains how water is heated to create steam, which turns turbines, but Buckle isn’t listening.
Buckle: Is it heavy?
Robin: Oh, no, you don’t carry it. We’ll build a new building and put you inside it.
Buckle: How long will that take?
Robin: We’ll not to turn the powerplant off! This is a permanent position.
Buckle: You’re putting me in prison?!
Stella’s getting angry. Her Hunter Destiny has made her body a bit more bestial, so her ears flatten a little to show her displeasure.
Emmett: This creature’s power is not only heat, but life! I’m sure I could conduct a ritual to cancel the Deathlands’ curse.
Buckle: Banishing death sounds good.
Stella: I’m not convinced that ghosts aren’t people. Maybe they experience life in a bizarre way I don’t understand.
Robin: But that ritual would surely kill him!
Buckle: Can I bring people back to life?
Emmett: I predict that your Life Energy will balance the Death Energy of the Deathlands, returning it a normal state. Undeath to Death.
Buckle: So the ghosts will die?
Emmett: They’re already dead.
Sea Viper: I will consider the options presented in this council and make a decree later. Herald, the bounty!
The Sea Viper is ending the meeting. He expects Stella to leave, and Buckle to stay. Stella has murder in her eyes. Buckle is so important to her, and these people don’t understand, even though she tried to explain. She remains clam on the outside. Herald approaches Stella with a small pirate chest full of gold. Buckle looks at Stella with big sad eyes.
Stella: I won’t let them take you.
Buckle: Want me to set the roof on fire?
Stella is furious that they don’t respect a living being, She feels cold now.
Stella: Burn it to the ground.
Buckle Firestarter: Anything that you had a chance to plant fuel on bursts into flame
Buckle’s glowing eyes stare into the distance. His body glows brighter, white hot. He raises his arms, and every flammable thing on the terrace roof: tapestries, plants, rugs, explodes in flame! (The whole time he was examining the roof earlier, he was secreting flammable venom from his venomous spurs)
Location Response Level increases (insult someone in charge): Vieport gains Show Of Force move
Buckle Finish Them (+Blood) vs. Naga guards. advantage: fire everywhere! 7-9
Group of Naga Guards disbanded, replaced with 2 Naga Guards
Emmett quickly hits a series of angular poses, and a blue sphere of energy surrounds him.
Emmett Backup Plan: Magical Barrier against heat & flame
Outside the palace, Theona sees the smoke rising from the palace and urges the companions to come and help.
Most of the guards are consumed in the explosion or flee. One Naga Guard and Herald rush Buckle. Herald throws the chest of gold at him. The other Naga Guard moves to attack Stella.
Buckle Overcome 6-
Buckle catches the chest, but it’s really heavy. he’s knocked to the ground and pinned. A foolish attempt!
Buckle’s Wisdom is damaged
Stella draw her halfing sword for the first time. She’s not sure if she should fight the Naga Guard, or help Buckle. She worried for him and doesn’t know his power. She decides to rush to his side.
Stella Get Away 6-
The Naga Guard darts out with its strange Eel-like body and clamps its jaws onto Stella, stopping her in place.
Stella’s Wisdom is damaged (necrotic)
Buckle grabs the chest of gold and it catches fire. The gold inside starts to melt. Buckle stands up and projects a blast of intense fire from his chest, blasting molten gold at the Herald like a claymore mine. The Herald is just gone!
Buckle Dragonfire: vaporize anyone or anything except a Threat To The World
The Sea Viper rises up from his throne. He can’t believe the disrespect these adventurers are showing. How dare they behave this way, when he invited them to his home, gave them special accommodations? They could have been heroes of the city, but they betrayed his trust!
Sea Viper Separation: one member of the Fellowship is separated from the others
He pulls a lever hidden in the arm of his throne and a trapdoor opens under Buckle, dropping him into the water-filled chamber below! Another Group of Naga Guards awaits. But he’s still super-heated, so the water explodes into steam and the Naga Guards can’t approach him. He sinks to the bottom and starts walking towards the big doors at the front of the palace.
Outside the palace, the companions have arrived!
Theona Tossed Aside: throw something.
Theona grabs the Siege Tank and throws it up to the roof!
Stella Get Away 10+ avoid harm, avoid notice
Stella uses the confusion to escape the Naga Guard and get inside the Siege Tank. She starts the engine and drives full speed at the Sea Viper!
Sea Viper Show Of Force: damage Siege Tank’s Heavily Armored
Stella Pack Leader: allies’ actions give Hope to Finish Them
Stella Finish Them (+Blood) +Hope, advantage: Siege Tank Spikes and Steel 6-
The Sea Viper bravely faces the onrushing Seige Tank, then slithers aside at the last moent, slashing the treads as he passes. The Siege Tank grinds to a halt, barely holding together. The Sea Viper starts beating on its armored shell, prying plates off to get at Stella!
Down below, Buckle reaches the door and heats it until he can bend a corner and slip through.
Buckle Overcome 7-9
Stella is depsarately looking through her gear as the Sea Viper tears through the wall of the Siege Tank.
Stella useful item: Lantern
When the Sea Viper comes in, she dazzles him by igniting a bright lantern that she stole from Robin earlier. She decides to fight, not flee, and attacks with her sword.
Stella Finish Them (+Courage) advantage: dazzled 7-9
Sea Viper’s Hardened Scales are damaged
She slashes across his chest, breaking through a layer of scales, but his flesh is untouched! He reaches out a powerful hand. Stella tries to duck under it and exit the Siege Tank.
Stella Get Away: 6-
No good! She’s grabbed.
Down on the surface, Buckle meets the companions.
Buckle: Did Stella make it? We have to go get her!
Buckle Overcome 10+
He climbs the columns and leaps from column to column to reach the roof. Theona is big enough to follow easily, but the Goblin and Halfings will need more time.
Back on the roof, the Sea Viper drags Stella out of the tank. The two remaining Naga Guards approach.
Sea Viper: How dare you attack me in my own home. Look at the damage you’ve caused! You are not the first to attack me. All of them failed, just as you have!
He throws her to the ground between the Naga Guards. Meanwhile, Buckle applies War Paint and orders Theona into the fray.
Buckle War Paint Rampage: toss aside enemies within reach
Theona Stronger Than Is Reasonable: pin Sea Viper
Theona pays a price to act against Threat To The World: damage Larger Than Life
Theona Bonds That Break Us: erase a bond with Buckle, since she took damage from his order
Buckle rushes in and tosses the Naga Guards away from Stella. Theona grabs the Sea Viper’s shoulder and tail and spreads her arms wide, stretching the Sea Viper out in a vulnerable and uncomfortable manner!
Buckle Pay A Price to act against Threat To The World: damage Venomous Spurs
Buckle secretes flammable venom on his hands and strikes the Sea Viper. A moment after the impact, the Buckle’s hands explode in flame!
Buckle Finish Them +Blood (advantage: pinned by Theona) 7-9
Sea Viper’s Iron Grip is damaged
GM note: I had to read the rules very carefully, because the Sea Viper, Siege Tank, and Theona all had all stats damaged. Were they Taken Out, or barely standing? Taken Out triggers when all stats are damaged and the character takes damage again, so I ruled that they are barely standing.
GM note: The Taken Out move only applies to player characters. The section on “Threatening the Fellowship” says “An enemy that has had all its stats damaged is destroyed” Oops!
Stella was flat on her back, and heard Buckle rampage past her. She rises and grips her sword.
Buckle: I’ll grab. You stab!
The little Platyperson grapples the much larger but injured Sea Viper. The Sea Viper feels the heat from Buckle’s grip and tries to get away.
Buckle Pay A Price to act against a Threat To The World: damage Webbed Hands
Buckle Keep Them Busy: 10+
Stella: This ends now!
Stella Finish Them (+Blood) 6-
As Stella charges, the Sea Viper slaps her sword aside with the tip of his tail. He wrenches free from Buckle’s grip and dives from the roof to the water below. At some point in the battle, Robin formed a bridge to retreat from the roof. Emmett is still maintaining his Magic Barrier.
Emmett: You can’t hurt me, you monster!
Buckle: You work for that thing, and you call me a monster?
Emmett reconsiders the situation, drops his Magic Barrier, turns on the fans at his shoulders and hips, and dives backwards off the roof into the water below.
The battle is over! Stella and Buckle stand on the burning roof of the palace, in the center of Vieport. The Siege Tank is barely in one piece, and Theona’s badly hurt and has lost faith in their mission. She won’t take orders from them anymore. Fleeing the city seems prudent, but on one side is the ocean, and on the other, electrical fences and beyond that, hordes of ravenous ghosts. How are they going to get out of this one?
END OF SESSION MOVE:
Did we explore a new location: YES, Vieport
Did we learn about the world & its people: YES, Adventurer Club, ghost curse, generators
Did anyone reach their goal: YES Stella is bringing the Oolites home like she wants to bring halfing refugees home.
The party: Buckle the Beast/Heart of Earth, Stella the Halfling/Pack Leader
Last time, Buckle & Stella flew into Vieport on the back of a giant turtle. A whole city to explore! The river meets the ocean in the center of the city, which extends past the shore onto the seafloor. The land portion of the city is surrounded by tall towers with lightning flashing between them. The underwater portion of the city is mostly populated by Mer-Folk, and the dry portions have a mix of terrestrial species. The palace of the Sea Viper, ruler of the city, starts on an island in the middle of the city and extends down into the water.
A map of Vieport, showing the lightning barrier, palace, Adventurer’s Club, and Bertha.
Buckle isn’t sure about Mer-Folk. He remembers being hunted by one in another city. Stella is curious about the lightning barriers.
Stella Look Closely 6-
The towers are an effective barrier around the city. Anything trying to cross the lightning barrier would be electrocuted. The towers are 40 feet tall, higher than the buildings, which are mostly 3 storeys tall. Cables from the top of each tower go over the buildings toward some central point, probably a power plant. Stella notices that a brick chimney on a nearby building is leaning on a power cable, straining it. A broken cable would open a gap in the barrier around the city and threaten everything near the live end of the broken cable! Stella wants Buckle to fix the wire, but the upper storeys of the building are wood, so Buckle would set the building on fire if he climbed to the roof.
Stella knocks on the door of the building. An Elf opens the door and is amazed by Buckle, who glows. Buckle shrugs. They warn him that his chimney is threatening a power cable. He’s worried that he’s be an appetizer for ghosts, and runs to get help, following the cable deeper into the city. Neighbors hear the commotion and start looking out of windows to see what’s going on. Buckle examines the building to see what their options are.
Buckle Look Closely 10+
It’s a three-storey building. The ground storey is made of stone, but the upper storeys are wooden. The top storey has double doors and a stout post with a pulley. If they had rope, they could access the third storey directly from the street. The chimney is crumbling from disrepair. Trying to push it away from the cable or prop it up might make it collapse entirely. Getting close to the power cable risks electrocution.
Stella: So what am I supposed to do? I’m not electricity-proof.
They consider waiting for the Elf to come back with help. This is a major infrastructure project. Surely the city has engineers that are trained to make repairs. On the other hand, their brand new Siege Tank has many experimental one-time-use weapons, and one is a big grappling hook that could pull the chimney down from the relative safety of the street. Stella takes the controls!
Stella Overcome 7-9 (pay a price for 10+)
The Siege Tank’s grappling hook hits the chimney and retracts, pulling the chimney down away from the cable. Bricks fall from the roof into the street, causing some collateral damage, but the power cable is intact!
Stella: Buckle, did you see that! Did you see that?
Buckle: Well done. That was a little scary.
Three Engineers arrive from the direction that the Elf homeowner fled in. One is a Lantern, an inter-dimensional creature that projects a humanoid hologram to interact with the material world. Her name is Lucy, and she transforms into a rainbow bridge from the street to the roof for her two colleagues to access the roof. They see that the threat has been dealt with, and Lucy bridges down to talk to Buckle and Stella. She thanks them for protecting the city, and says there is an Adventurers’ Club that welcomes reckless but mostly effective do-gooders like themselves. They ask if she has done any adventuring herself, but Lucy says that keeping the Ghostlands out is more important than fist-fighting a dragon or whatever. Buckle suspects that this creature of light with an artificial body is somehow involved with all the robots and giant mirrors they have encountered recently. Stella is split between finding the Dwarves who used to own the mine they just saved, and investigating the Adventurers’ Club. She asks Lucy some more questions.
Stella Speak Softly 7-9
Lucy doesn’t know about metal dwarves, but a giant mirror did just arrive in town, floating down the river from Sugar’s Crossing. After Lucy wraps up safety checks her, she’s going to get down before sunset to avoid the werewolves.
Buckle: More werewolves?
Lucy: More?
Buckle: We had to throw a log through one at Platypalooza. It was on fire.
Stella and Buckle take their leave. Stella wants to find the Oolite Dwarves, but Buckle convinces her to go to the Adventurers’ Club for food and a place to stay. The Adventurers’ Club is on the west side of the river. They cross a bridge and are sassed by a Naga guard. The guards in Sugar’s Crossing on the night of the jailbreak were guards from Vieport, so Stella and Buckle know what to expect.
The Adventurers’ Club is a large stone building with a grand entrance. Inside, there are canals running alongside the hallways, because this is an amphibian building for both terrestrial and aquatic creatures. The person who greets them when the enter is a Mer-Folk names Fred. His fish half is like a Betta fish, so his scales shift from deep red to purple, and he has long showy fins and hair. He asks if Stella has captured Buckle. He’s embarrassed to learn of his error, that Buckle is a fellow adventurer. He impresses on them the elite status of the adventurers, and says they must complete a great and difficult quest to join.
Buckle: We’ve released the prisoners of a Sorceress, captured a changeling who was ruling a town in disguise, killed a Kraken, deactivated an army of metal dwarves, and just destroyed a superlaser.
Fred is very impressed, but he needs proof of their accomplishment. Buckle offers the Kraken beak that he collected as a trophy of the battle.
GM note:that’s from the very first session. He’s been carrying that the entire time!
Fred adds the Kraken beak to the wall of trophies and welcomes Stella and Buckle to the Adventurers’ Club. There’s a new member’s handbook, supper is being served in the cafeteria, and they can claim a room to stay overnight. There’s even valet parking for the Siege Tank.
Prominently displayed in the middle of the Adventurers’ Club is the Bounty Board, which lists difficult tasks worthy of mighty adventurers.
A Dragon to the north is challenging all comers to single combat.
Far to the Northeast, a dinosaur is troubling a town.
Scout the Dead Forest, from which none have returned
Uncover the mystery of the lights by the moon
Standing reward for any source of power
Stella starts to comment on the Source Of Power job, but Buckle shushes her.
They go to the cafeteria to eat and to meet the other Adventurers. Only two are at the Club tonight. Most are out doing great deeds for glory. The Exterminator is human-sized, but completely covered in armor made from the exo-skeletons of large insects. They wears a gas mask and helmet, and are drinking a smoothie through a port in the mask. The other adventurer is Theona the Giant, standing outside the second-storey window and reaching inside through a large open window to the table on which her large platters of food rest.
Buckle: Should we call you Termie or Nater?
Buckle Speak Softly 6-
The Exterminator is not amused, but Theona has some information for Buckle. Tonight Theona and The Exterminator will go out at night to hunt the werewolves that plague the town. As far as they know, there are about four werewolves, although that can change, since lycanthropy is contagious. Theona recommends that Stella and Buckle come out and fight with her tonight. No need to worry, the Adventurers’ Code forbids acting against other members of the Club. Buckle checks the Handbook, and sees rules against poaches quests, and other rules to keep Adventurers from clashing. Dinner is over and the sun is setting.
Buckle: Should we hole up or go wreak havoc?
Stella: The werewolves at Platypalooza were an unpleasant encounter. How bad is the werewolf situation in Vieport?
Theona: There are only a handful of the creatures. More glory for us if you don’t fight. Sleep wlth with your night light.
She points to Buckle, who constantly glows with volcanic heat. Theona and The Exterminator gear up for battle and head out to patrol the streets, while Buckle and Stella retire to a room. The divide the night into five watches: Buckle, Stella, Gus, Rose, and Ugg. Near dawn, during Ugg’s watch, Theona’s giant hand crashes through the window! Ugg leaps into action!
Ugg’s Bigger ‘n’ You pins Theona’s arm for a moment
This gives the rest of the team time to wake up and react.
Buckle Get Away 7-9 (avoid harm)
Buckle flees out the door and hides in the corridor, but he glows, so his position is obvious. Stella wishes she had more time to pick a tactic, but she has to act now before Theona gets free. She jumps on Silk’s back…
Silk Wall Crawler
…and crawls up the arm that Ugg has pinned to get in Theona’s face.
Stella’s Pack Leader: hope to Finish Them when advantage comes from allies
Stella Finish Them (Wisdom, show error of their ways) Advantage: Theona can’t get away and must listen. 10+
Stella: Stop! We’ve already saved you and the city from ghosts. We let you have the glory from hunting werewolves. We don’t want to use more force.
Theona has a very hierarchical worldview based on power. The strong overpower the weak, like she thought she was doing to these tiny newcomers. Restraint is almost alien to her. If Ugg (a goblin who comes up to Theona’s knees) is able to pin her arm, and the Stella thinks she doesn’t need to prove her superiority with violence, these people must be unthinkably powerful! Theona is glad she wasn’t immediately killed.
Stella forms a bond with Theona. Theona becomes Stella’s companion
GM note: Oh wow, Finish Them with Wisdom is very powerful. Stella earned it, though!
Stella: Why did you attack us?
Theona: The Sea Viper offers a bounty for any Source of Power, and Buckle is clearly a Source of Power.
Buckle slinks back into the room, still glowing, not subtle. Theona apologizes profusely.
Buckle: You’re not the first. you won’t be the last. At least you didn’t put me in a bag.
Theona replaces the window she smashes with a section of fence. The groundskeeper is not going to be happy about this. Ugg’s watch was the last watch before dawn, so everyone just stays awake until dawn. Now they can work on their reason for coming to this town: finding the Oolite Dwarves.
Stella: Point me to some dwarves!
Theona: Do you want me to bring you some dwarves?
Stella: No! No kidnapping! Just tell me where they hang out in this city.
Vieport is cosmopolitan so there are communities of most of the species in the city, but there’s now Dwarf ghetto where all the Dwarves live together. However, there is a Dwarf Cultural Center, which is a good place to start. Theona leads the team to a field cows and sheep grazing on it. The Dwarf Cultural Center is underground, of course. Once inside they meet Klaus, an old Dwarf with a long white beard. He tells them about the history of Dwarves in Vieport and how they dug the foundations of the lightning towers that surround the city. The Lightning Barrier is necessary to keep out the Deadlands. Anything that dies out there turns into a ghost that attacks the living. it’s a problem that exacerbates itself, and there’s not much left alive in the Ghostlands now. Ghosts can’t pass through the Lightning Barrier, and they can’t swim, so the river is safe for traffic.
Stella: Is everyone from around here?
Klaus: I don’t know what you mean.
Stella: We’re looking for a family of Dwarves called Oolite.
Klaus: I can’t just give out addresses to strangers, but I can pass a message along.
Stella: Tell them, “We stumbled across your mine. Metal Dwarves had become aggressive and taken over. That situation has been remedied.” They can find us by looking for Theona. Also, do you know that Halfing that lives in Vieport?
Klaus does not know a Halfling, and does not understand the message, but will relay it.
Stella’s foreign coins (Precious)
Buckle buys a Dwarven Dictionary with Stella’s money and they leave the Dwarven Cultural Center. They see the sights for a while, then another Dwarf rushes up to Theona. It’s Flint Oolite!
Flint: Is it true? Is the mine safe?
Buckle: It’s true, and my glowing eyes are the proof!
Flint: If only Opal were here. This was her dream.
Flint explains that Opal was ambitious and made it her life’s mission to restore the clan’s former glory, when the rest of the Oolites were resigned to living in obscurity. The last Flint knew, Opal was in Fairmeadow, north of here and east of Sugar’s Crossing. Stella, a completionist, doens’t know which quest to pursue. Her mission is to find all the Halflings, but she also wants to find Opal. Opal needs to know she can go home, just like the Halflings need to know they can return home.
