The Vault of Sarkiosh
This is the first part of my Actual Play of Boundless, about which I wrote an overview article you can read here. It will be a kind of session 0 where I create the character and set up the first actual “quest” of the game. I will, as I’m wont to do, play solo. I will be using the pre-release version of the rules, with the permission from RP @farirpgs to do this playthrough. I’ll try to get as far as I can with the book as is, but may occasionally use supplemental oracles or tools to move the story forward if needed.
Mechanics will be in code blocks, notated using the Lonelog notation, prose will be italicized, and normal text will cover out-of-character thoughts on decisions, mechanics, and oracle roll results.
With those boundaries established, let’s get going, shall we?
Starting the game
While it is kind of hinted that this game is solo friendly, I can’t help but feel it would do well to have a referee. Regardless, I’ll try my best to roll up a character with the supplied tables, then come up with some kind of story for them and dive in. I suspect they’re not long for this world, but we’ll see.
To get started, I thought about where my character is at the start of their adventure. Here’s a summary of the cities still standing:
Kelmora in the north, where the ice has kept the roots at bay, for now...
The free cities in the west: Velmore, Naranth and Elsora. Velmore is on the continent, while Naranth and Elsora are islands. Naranth is the smaller of them, and home to fishermen whose nets are coming up empty more and more often. People who can afford it flee to Elsora.
Mireroads, also on the continent, and in the very center of Lightfall. Once a bustling trade hub, now surrounded by growth on two sides. The Church is far and doesn’t hold too much presence here, and new beliefs are starting to develop in their absence.
All in all, a very bleak, hopeless view.
Immediately, the idea of Naranth spoke to me, and I figured my character would be a fisherman with a family he desperately wants to protect. It makes sense to me, then, that as the amount of catch in their nets keeps dwindling, even the fishermen’s families are starving, and so he will have to do something else to pay the exorbitant fees the smugglers take to ferry over people to the relative safety of Elsora.
What’s he going to do to afford that? I have no idea yet. Let’s get to creating our character and then maybe use Mythic to come up with something cool.
Character creation
There are a few pre-created characters you can choose from, many of which seem really interesting, especially the Gloom Warden, but to get the most out of this first attempt, I’m going to roll on every table in the character creation part of the game to figure out who I’m dealing with here. So without further ado, let me present to you, Renzo:
[PC:Renzo
| Agility: 4
| Strength: 3
| Presence: 2
| Willpower: 1
| HP: 11
| Physique: Short
| Age: Ancient
| Looks: Sharp
| Hairs: Short
| Speeches: Rough
| Virtues: Wisdom
| Flaws: Recklessness
| Drives: Freedom
| Bonds: Outsider
| Debts: Secret
| Local reputations: Disreputable
]Inventory-wise, below is how I notated what he’s carrying. This strays a tiny bit from how Lonelog suggests you notate it (Usage Dice pools should go in your PC block but that makes no sense to me). Also, notice I’ve numbered some slots, and have un-numbered slots at the bottom. This is by design—small items don’t take up inventory slots and so I figured the keepsake is one of those. Characters have a limit of 10 total slots.
[Inv:Slot 1|Longsword|1|1D+1 damage]
[Inv:Slot 2|Padded armor|1|+1 armor]
[Inv:Slot 3|Animal Trap|2]
[Inv:Slot 4|Parchment & Ink|6]
[Inv:Slot 5|Spirit Ward]
[Inv:Vial of Ash|1|keepsake]Currency is tracked separately:
[Wealth:Coins 20]Riiiiight... a fisherman with a family, as I discussed, but he’s ancient? I guess the family I referred to might be his daughter and grand-daughter, then. He has a vial of ash on a string of leather around his neck—the ashes of his wife. He’s still agile and strong, from spending a lifetime on a fishing boat, and I guess he feels trapped? He’s wise but reckless, which is an... interesting mix. I guess one could argue that he does whatever’s necessary when it comes to family, even if it puts him in danger, and that has made him a bit unpopular among the people in Naranth.
The man sat on the porch of the hut, cradling a steaming cup of black sludge in his hands. None but the most attentive would have seen the slight shivering in his parched, sun-bleached hands, but they were there and he knew it. A wind tugged at his long, grey beard—it was always windy in Naranth. The sun was yet to claw itself above the horizon line, and the only lights came from the lightbugs, performing their erratic, seemingly aimless dance in the inky darkness.
The man took a sip from the cup, then carefully placed it on the rickety table in front of him. He ran his fingers through his beard as his stomach grumbled in protest—the meagre breakfast was not a choice he’d made. His hands sought out the vial hanging around his neck as if of their own volition.
“It had to be done,” he whispered to the vial, then touched it lightly with his lips. “You know I had no choice, Eira.”
He felt invisible hands tightening their grip around his neck as he thought about their departure the night before. “Where’s Papaw going?” Poppy had asked, that genuine wonder only a four-year-old could muster, but there had been something else in those words. Worry? Sorrow? Renzo had smiled through his tears, trying to reassure her he would follow them, only later. But he could tell she didn’t believe him.
It was getting hard to breathe, so he pushed the thought away. It was better this way. He got up with a sigh, downed the rest of the cup in a single gulp, grabbed his things, then walked towards the docks. Even in the pitch-black night, he knew he’d make it no problem—after all, he’d walked these same streets for nigh on 60 years.
I need to come up with the contact person who’ll give Renzo his background mission that we’ll start with, so let’s roll on some tables again.
[N:Velian
| Physique: Tall
| Looks: Focused
| Speeches: Rough
]I think that’s enough to get a good idea who we’re dealing with. Maybe I’ll flesh him out more with drives and whatnot, if it turns out to matter later. I didn’t bother rolling for age—I’m just going to assume he’s middle-aged.
Well before Renzo even reached the docks, he could hear the man’s voice echo in the dark. “Not there, you fucking imbecile! Do you want us to sink the second we leave the port?!” Velian did have a way with words, Renzo thought. Did not like to beat around the bush. Ever since he’d arrived on Naranth, they’d had a wordless connection, him and Velian. They understood each other on another level.
He came up to the ship. The Obsidian Dagger was moored at the outer part of the port, and there were a handful of people preparing her for setting sail. Velian stood at the helm, shouting orders left and right. His face lit up when he saw Renzo boarding the ship.
“I thought you’d no-show, you bugger. Had me worried there for a while.” He studied Renzo’s face.
“Gave you my word, didn’t I?” Renzo answered. “Are we ready to set sail?”
The troubled look on Velian’s face didn’t vanish completely, but he made a good effort to mask it. “Yes, soon. Last preparations are still underway.”
“I’ll go get settled, then,” Renzo said, and, without waiting for an answer, headed for the crew quarters to grab a bunk for himself.
Let’s lift the veil a little bit. Where are Renzo, Velian & co headed, and why? Mulling it over, I came to the conclusion that Renzo, old as he is, was not originally from Naranth. No, he was from a place called Sarkiosh—the island straight to the west of Naranth, which is covered mostly by growth, save for a sliver on the coast.
In his desperation to pay for his family’s trip to Elsora, he told Velian that there was a vault there. And that he’d come with them as a guide to show them where it was, provided he got paid in advance, enough to purchase the trip for his family. Velian has agreed, but of course, Renzo now stands in debt, and they have not only a perilous journey across the sea ahead of them, but a dangerous delve waiting at the end of it, if they make it that far.
I’ve decided to make the journey length modest, based on the distance between the islands, which means 4 boxes to be filled. That should give plenty of room for complications, while not overly dragging out the travel scene, and there’s a good chance they’ll actually make it to Sarkiosh.
[Track:Journey to Sarkiosh 0/4]It didn’t take long before Renzo heard Velian yell the order to hoist the anchor. He crept out of the cabin onto deck in time to see the docks of Naranth, maybe for the last time. The thought of it filled him with emptiness, as if he was stepping off a cliff. In a way, he guessed he was.
Alright, time for the first mechanical roll of the game! I’m giving myself the most amount of leeway to get this off on the right foot here, but I have my reasons: they’re just leaving a port that’s familiar to Renzo, so he knows the waters. He’s an experienced fisherman, so he can read the weather. And I already established it was windy, so they have that on their side, too. Given those things, I think it’s Very Likely that they make progress towards Sarkiosh during the first Watch, and thus, I’ll be rolling 4d6.
@ Travel
d: 4d6>4: [5*, 5*, 4, 1] = 2 → Mark progress for each hit (hits are denoted by stars)
=> [Track:Journey to Sarkiosh 2/4]With favorable winds in their sails, they made good progress. The sun rose, albeit to a cloudy sky, but every once in a while a ray or two made it to the surface, scattering small, glinting jewels across the water. Renzo mostly stayed below deck to himself. He wasn’t too popular among Naranthians, and he had no intention of changing that.
The day had turned to afternoon when Velian sought him out. “What can we expect from here on?” he asked. “I’ve never sailed further west than this.”
Renzo fidgeted with the vial hanging on the leather cord around his neck, weighing his words carefully. “You mean out here, or where we’re going?”
“Well, both, I guess.” Velian scratched the stubble on his chin. “But let’s worry about the now first, then about what’s to come when we get there, eh?”
“Right y’are,” Renzo said. “Not much different from what I remember, but it doesn’t hurt to keep your eyes open. You don’t want to get stranded out here. The chances of another boat venturing this far out...”
“So, in regards to that vault you told me about...”
Renzo felt irritation bubbling underneath the calm surface and blood heating his cheeks, and he wondered if Velian could spot the difference. He hoped not. “What about it?”
“Like, where exactly is it? Do we have to walk inland after making it or is it near the coastline?”
“Listen, I told you I’ll show you when we get there, alright?”
Velian exhaled noisily through his nose, exasperated. “All right, then. Keep your secrets.” He walked to the cabin door and stepped out, then turned around. “But you better keep your word on that, too, old man. I’m watching you.”
Here, I figured, since Naranth is starving, they probably didn’t have much in the way of food rations to take with them, so they slow down to try to fill their bellies with whatever the sea is willing to give them, if anything.
After a while, Renzo followed Velian up on deck. His belly was rumbling again—they had not had anything to eat so far, and he could see in the eyes of his emaciated crew mates that he was not alone in his suffering.
“Velian, a word, if you will?” he said.
Velian, still seething from their earlier exchange, shot him a glance but didn’t say anything.
“We need to eat something. The crew is starving. And to be frank, so am I.”
“We haven’t got anything to spare. We need to save it for when we get to the vault.”
“I’ve got some nets with me. Let’s stop and rig them.”
“For what? The whole reason you’re here is because your life as a fisherman is coming to an end.”
“Just let me do my thing. Might be different around here, you said yourself, we don’t come this far west these days. Maybe it’s local.” Renzo softened his voice. “Besides, it’s getting darker soon. We have plenty of time tomorrow to make the rest of the way there.”
“Alright, alright. Do what you need to do.”
I’m going to rule it thusly: Renzo is an experienced fisherman, so his position is Good (+4 hits). He has animal traps (which, for a fisherman, would be nets, right?) so he has the gear to do some fishing, which gives +1D. But, as we established, the nets have come up empty more and more often, and while I do not know what the situation is closer to the areas that are infested, I doubt they’re any better than near Naranth, so I’ll subtract 1D from it. Given a baseline, I think the odds of them getting anything is Even (2d6) and hits on 4+.
@ Scout & Supply
d: 2d6>5: [5*, 6*] = 2 → Chose a Boon for every hit
=> +1D to next Travel move
=> +1D to next Make Camp move
d: Animal trap 2d6>4f<5: [2_, 1_] = 0 → Diminish Usage Pool of item with -1 for every miss (max -2) (every miss is denoted by _ )
=> [#Inv:Animal Trap|P2→P0]It turned out the fear of not catching anything with his nets was greatly exaggerated, for the sea poured upon them a haul so bountiful as to feed the crew for that day and the next. For the first time since setting foot on the Obsidian Dagger, Renzo could hear a relaxed murmuring among the crew instead of the clipped, angrily snapped rebuttals.
“At least you didn’t lie about knowing your way around your trade,” Velian said, smiling for once.
“I’d be a pretty bad fisherman if I didn’t. Shall we drop anchor here and continue towards Sarkiosh come morn?”
“Sounds like a good plan. The crew is content for now, and will want to rest now that their bellies are full.” He watched the setting sun. “You’re not half bad, Renzo. Sorry about the nets.”
“Whatever. I’m glad they came to some use, even though that thing tore both of them and escaped before we could get it up on deck.”
For the next Make Camp roll here, I opted for a baseline of 3D — Likely. But given the bonus from the Scout & Supply move, it goes up to 4D. I don’t foresee any bigger threats but of course, there’s always the fear of the weather turning. They’ll probably have someone awake guarding as their a crew of some unspecified amount of people, too so they won’t be caught unaware, even if someone would approach.
@ Make Camp
d: 4d6>5: [1, 1, 2, 6*] = 1 → Choose 1 Boon but face a Setback
=> Gain a better Position on the next check
@ Setback
d: d6=6 -> Flight: Break camp immediatelyThe crew had been soundly asleep for an hour, when the scout came running to the cabins, rousing everyone, panic in his voice. Renzo forced his leaden eyelids open against his will. “What’s going on?”
“I—” the man gulped, then tried again. “I saw... something.”
“Figured as much, dimwit.” Renzo rubbed his eyes and yawned. “WHAT did you see?”
“I... don’t know. It went by so fast I couldn’t get a good look. You need to come out, see for yourself.”
Grumbling, Renzo got up and clambered up on deck, looking over the railing. “I don’t see anything,” he said.
“Not in the water. It was there.” The man pointed towards the low-hanging, partly cloud-obscured moon.
“You woke me up for a fucking bird?” Renzo asked, voice rising, but just as he did, he saw something fly past the moon, obscuring most of it with its large wings.
“See?!” the scout said, and pointed again. “There it was again!”
“Douse all the lanterns! Now! And wake up the rest of the crew. We need to get out of here, now!”
“What is it?” the scout asked.
“I have no fucking clue, and I won’t be sitting here, waiting to find out. Now get moving!”
? Did the flying creature spot them? (Unlikely)
d: d6>4=6 → YesWell, shit. Here I was, preparing to do another Travel roll with hefty penalties to the odds because of the flying creature, but figured it was so far away it wouldn’t have spotted the ship yet. But the oracle had other plans, because of course it did. It do be like that sometimes.
Now, if we consider 2D being the baseline of 50/50 odds, I think it’s fair to say they have really nothing good going for them—a tired crew that barely got rest, and a flying something or other chasing them. At night, with only the moonlight to guide them, since they had to douse the lanterns to improve their chances of not getting wrecked by the thing. In unfamiliar waters.
I don’t want to make progress impossible, so I’ll still roll 1D on this, counting the dousing of the lanterns as a net even, since having them on would help navigation, but dousing them helps keep them at least somewhat concealed. The other things obviously reduce the chances so it’s unlikely they make much progress, at least towards their goal, even if they move somewhere.
@ Travel
d: d6: 5* = 1 → Mark 1 progress but face a Setback
=> [Track:Journey to Sarkiosh 3/4]
@ Setback
Start Event Pool: creature encounter
[Timer:Creature encounter 4]Here, instead of rolling on the Setbacks, I deliberately chose an option from the table because it fit the narrative so well there was no point in rolling. A P4 pool that ticks down until Renzo has to deal with whatever let them go... for now.
As quietly and as quickly as the moonlight allowed them, they prepared the ship and sailed away from whatever the flying thing had been. Renzo hoped that it didn’t see well in the dark, and that the clouds would obscure the moon and hide their departure. They didn’t see it again, but the whole crew held their breath for what seemed like hours, until the first rays of the morning sun broke across the horizon.
“Land in sight!” the man in the crow’s nest yelled and pointed.
Renzo looked in the direction the man was pointing, and indeed, there it was. Sarkiosh. “I’m almost back home, Eira,” he murmured, caressing the vial. “Did you ever think I’d return?”
”Who are you talking to?” Velian, who’d snuck up on Renzo like a ghost, asked, startling him.
“Have a bad habit of talking to myself. Helps when you’re not the most popular prick in the crowd.” He nodded towards the landmass ahead of them. “Nearly there, now. Shall we make a push for it?”
“You ready to tell me what awaits when I set my foot ashore?”
“Look, I haven’t returned since I left. That was a lifetime ago in our day and age. No telling what the place is like now.”
“Still dodgy as ever, I see. Well, let’s not waste daylight and winds.”
I’m again starting with a baseline of 2D for even odds of making progress. I figure Renzo knows the land he’s about to set foot on, and as they traveled through the night, it’s now daylight and they can travel more easily. The drawback is the crew is most likely exhausted, so I’m thinking 3D is right for this one. It’s likely they’ll make it even with half the crew resting.
@ Travel
d: 3d6>4: [1, 6*, 4] = 1 → Mark progress, but face a Setback
=> [Track:Journey to Sarkiosh 4/4]
@ Setback
Straight roll on Event Pool for encounter rather than rolling on the Setback table
d: 4d6>4f<5: [3_, 6*, 4_, 5*] → 2
=> [Timer:Creature encounter 4→2]The rest of the journey went by uneventfully, and they didn’t see the flying creature again. For all they knew, the thing hunted at night. But they had made it to the shore now, albeit tired and shaken from the night before.
“Let’s try to find a suitable place to camp for the night, and proceed to the vault tomorrow,” Velian said, and no-one disagreed.
? Are there any signs of life? (Even)
d: 2d6>4: [2, 5*] = 1 → Yes, but...
=> There are worn paths in the woods, but they can't see or hear anyoneAs they trekked further inland, the forest that had been visible from the coast started morphing into something darker, more sinister. Roots covering each other in tangled messes, covered in thorns. And among them, worn paths used bysomething that none of them could fathom.
“Surely there can’t be anything living here?” Velian uttered in a voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid to disturb the uneasy quietness of the forest they’d entered.
“There used to,” Renzo said between clenched teeth. It hurt him to see his homeland ravaged by the relentless mutation of the forest. “But I doubt anything... humane would have stayed behind. Or if they did, they’ve lost what humanity they had a long, long time ago.” He took shallow breaths, as if the air itself were poisonous. “Let’s go back and look for shelter closer to the ship.”
As they backtracked, they also gathered fallen branches for a fire, and Renzo spotted some sturdier logs that could be used for building a makeshift shelter.
? Are there any other materials around they could use for shelter? (Very likely)
d: 4d6>4: [6*, 6*, 2, 4] = 2 → Yes
=> There are trees with huge leaves on the shoreSome trees near the shore had big leaves that could be used as a roof, and after pondering over it, Renzo decided to risk climbing one of them to cut a few down.
@ Climb trees on shore to cut down leaves for shelter
d: Agility 4d6=>5: [3, 6*, 3, 6*] = 2 → S
=> Renzo succeeds in getting enough roofing material for their shelterAn hour later, the crew of the Obsidian Dagger had a shelter and a largeish fire going on. They agreed that one member of the crew should be on watch at all times, on rotating shifts, as they were in unfamiliar territory. They still had fish from the day before to prepare over the open fire.
For the next move, I’m considering the shelter they’ve built, and them having a watch, adding up to 4D, but the lingering threat of the nearby forest deducting 1D.
@ Make camp
d: 3d6>4: [5*, 3, 4] = 1 → Success, but with a setbackDuring the night, a steady drizzle started, and with it, strong gusts of wind threatened to blow their makeshift shelter apart.
@ Setback
Exposure: Succeed at Strength check or gain "Chilled" Condition
d: Strength 3d6>4: [5*, 4, 4] = 1 → Success, but at a cost
=> [#Inv:Parchment & Ink|6→4]While Renzo scrambled to tighten the ropes that kept their shelter intact, he accidentally kicked his satchel partly outside, exposing the top sheets of parchment to the elements. In the morning, he discovered, to his dismay, that the two topmost parchments were beyond saving.
“Now, where is that vault of yours?” Velian asked behind him.
That, dear readers, shall be enough for the first session. I know it’s been a long one. In retrospect, I should probably have created a seafaring Procedure with better matching Setbacks and Actions, but the point was to make it to Sarkiosh and to delve, so I didn’t want to emphasize the journey there too much. And don’t you worry, I haven’t forgotten about the winged horror that terrorized them at sea—the pool will be rolled at the start of the next session.
Until next time!
A great start! Having an old character is a nice change of pace from the typical “coming of age” stories you get in most fantasy (including mine).
Great story so far! I like the use of "ancient" quality for your PC at the start.
Setback after setback - makes creating a sheltered camp all the more special - even with rain and winds.