GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Karen Twelves, Dale Horstman, Matthew Klein
System: The Shadow of Yesterday
Naval adventures ahoy! Last session we left off with Haka making a deal with Evelina and Isabel (the first mate and quartermaster respectively) to get a ride with them to the Sea of Teeth. So I spent the next two weeks daydreaming about fun river rafting adventures pass Ammeni scouts, through rapids, over falls, and with pirates who questioned their loyalty!
Boat Rules
I talked to Sam Tillis, GM of our Masks game during a drive about boat techniques and he suggested using the Knave 2E item slots as hit points mechanic, so as the boat gets damaged, people or supplies go overboard. That felt like a good way to present the urgency while still giving the players agency over what they wanted to focus on or conserve. Here’s the map I made:
Creating this gave me more ideas, specifically creating positions for reach seat (nav, crew, helm) and then roles that can be performed based on where your seated.
- Rowing (moving the boat forward with speed or shifting direction by rowing more on one side or the other). Can only be done from the crew spots.
- Navigation (detecting threats, relaying orders to helm). Can be done best from nav, but anyone can help if they want (spotting threats ahead), though since they were setting out a night, if you don’t have Evelina’s Secret of Rat Vision, it’s harder.
- Helm (directing the boat). Can only be done from someone who can grab the rudder (not shown on the map).
- Chief. Boat repairs and bailing out water. Water can be removed from anywhere, but repairs need to be done at the location of repair.
Some rules. The boat was overloaded (heavy loot and too many people) and it was taking on water just from the river rapids themselves. If it took on 8 water or 5 locations were damaged it would sink. If a location was damaged, whoever (or whatever) was in that spot might fall out, and the locations was no longer usable. (broken oar, rudder, cracked hull, etc).
Here’s some pics I took preparing the game.
Not enough room for the players (by design), but I ruled that ratkin were small enough they could share a space without getting in the way (otherwise sharing a space meant it wasn’t usable). They had two units of supplies that included rope, food, maps, tar and pitch, tools, coffee, musical instruments. There was also the loot, a very heavy, very large stone tablet (more on that later). The loot took two spot as did Bowdyn (a very big guy).
Secrets and Keys
Normally when a character has 10 XP they can improve a pool, advance an ability from +0 to +1, gain a key, or if they have access to a trainer, gain a secret. I wanted to give them a reward for encountering secrets and keys through play so at the start of session I gave them all the following offers:
Key of the Eternal Question (Haka)
There is a reason for the illusion of Near, a purpose behind its entrapment of your character. Only when they answer this question will they be ready to be the master of all she dreams. Pick a philosophical question for your character. “What is the measure of a hero?” or “Can one know himself better through fulfilment or denial?” are good examples. Offer: 10XP -1 per past life experience. Minimum: 5 (Haka had already had two)
Secret of Fire Eating (Aonghüs)
Natural fire cannot harm you. Spend one point from your vigor pool per level of magical harm to prevent it as well. If you consume fire (or something heated in a fire) you can hold it inside you for one hour per point in your vigor pool. You can expel the fire anytime as a tool or a weapon! Offer: 10XP -1 per training session with Deslin. Minimum: 7
Secret of Knock-back (Tamarin)
Your character’s blows send people flying. Knock back a stricken character one yard per success level. This immediately ends Bringing Down the Pain if you’re involved in that, with no resolution as to intentions. Cost: 2 Vigor. Offer: 10XP -1 per fight against or alongside Bowdyn. Minimum: 7 (Tamarin had already fought with him once).
Starting Ritual
I’ve been thinking about the transition we take from hanging out to playing game and the ritual involved. Daði from Mystic Arts has a good video on this. Don’t be fooled by the image of Matt Mercer on the thumbnail, while he references Matt, this video is his thoughts on using ritual to frame the game.
I was also thinking about how Sam starts our Masks games by first asking us to recap important moments and goals from last session and then opens the game proper with ambient music and a reading of the intro session text (see the start of the Masks reports for an example).
So I started by asking folks what they remembered from last session, and then asked “Are you ready to enter The Shadow of Yesterday?”….
The question wasn’t answered and the players talked more about the previous session and ideas for this session, so I waited a bit and then asked it again. I get the feeling that this is a muscle I’ll have to build, as well as an expectation to set over time. It was a bit awkward but it worked.
I didn’t pre-write an intro because I though it would have sounded stifling, but I did daydream about the game for a couple of hours before and tried to capture the eddies that rippled along the riverside, the large pebbles that made up the beach, the shape of Khale-made crescent bay, and Haka’s memories of a past life before the bay was constructed and before the river raged. It was okay.
Characters
- Tamarin, the ratkin (Wolfkin?) warrior along for the adventure and the fame that came with it. Key of Renown and Bloodlust. Played by Karen.
- Aonghüs, the human masquerading as a pirate till just now. Key of the Lost Tribe. Played by Matthew.
- Haka, the elf leader of this mission, intent on ending the illusion of reality. Key of the Mission. Played by Dale.
The crew of the Doomed Bloodbark (that they had met):
- Evelina, ratkin first mate (cocky, proud, loves Bowdyn)
- Ysabel, elf quartermaster (calculating, curious)
- Deslin, elf crew (skinny, fire-eater)
- Merna, goblin crew (superstitious, sniffs the air)
- Pwyll, human crew (paranoid, doubting)
- Bowdyn, human crew (giant, undefeated, sick)
The Play is the Thing
Around the campfire Aonghüs had just if the pirates knew his father Eoghann, the fabled first mate of the Doomed Bloodbark.
Deslin and Merna both turned to each other with knowing looks of surprise and amazement. Merna, the goblin, asked Aonghüs how long he had been on land as it though it was some kind of test.
“Uhhh… six months, I guess?” Aonghüs didn’t know if that was the right thing to say or not.
Deslin’s apprehension faded a bit, and he said “Our ship wasn’t always called the Doomed Bloodbark. It was just the Bloodbark before you farther joined the crew, or that’s what I heard. The stories are that he has a curse and anytime he touched land trouble followed. He was devious and capable pirate but brought too much trouble with him and Captain Blackmane finally had to do away with him.”
Aonghüs was delighted to find someone, anyone that knew is father. While Deslin never served beside him, Merna had, and she answered the questions she could. Was he tall? All humans are tall to her. Did he have a good singing voice? He never sung with the crew. Was handsome? She didn’t have an answer for that, but the word of his father’s curse has put the camp in a dour mood.
So Aonghüs decided to improve the mood with a song, which turned into many songs, and dances around the campfire. Even Pwyll, who was determined to stay alert and not give into levity was eventually cajoled by his fellow crew to join in the singing and joy commensed.
Recovery scenes
During the festivities, Tamrin danced with Aonghüs and he leaned in “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you lied to. It’s not even that you lied about who are, but you lied about what you can do.”
Aonghüs, initially jovial tried to pass of the lie as just a role he was trying on, but was eventually pushed into a corner when Tamrin challenged his value to the group, and got serious. “Hey, who helped us diffuse what could have been a fight with the Khale in the forest? Who made friends with these pirates? Who helped you up the tree when the Moon Jaguar attacked us at night?” Did he make things right? Not yet, but they the center would hold for now.
Haka meanwhile sidled up to Isabel who was leaning against the boat and offered her a sunberry that would give a little kick. She gave it a sniff and then dropped into her drink. Haka asked if she has memories of this place from before (meaning a past life) and she confessed that wasn’t a secret she knew and was curious to hear the stories Haka remembered from before the Crescent Bay was made. She confessed that it wasn’t very elf-lift, but that she wanted to hold onto this life as long as she could. There were things she treasured. She passed Haka her drink and as Haka took a deep swig, they realized that Isabel hadn’t drunk from it since she dropped the sunberry in. She knew Haka was an Ammeni…and all Ammeni are proficient poisoners!
[Everyone refreshed their Instinct pools for having social connections, if tense ones]
Heading out
As the sun was setting, Isabel got everyone’s attention. “Okay, we’re heading out soon. Everyone pack up. Also….” She turned to Evelina to drop the big news.
Evelina was standing on the prow of their boat to have height over everyone as she announced “This lot (referring to the heroes) are coming with us.” She tried to say it casually so there wouldn’t be a lot of discussion, but this was news to everyone (except her, Isabel, and Haka).
Pwyll immediately protested “We’re not all going to fit!”
Bowdyn slapped his belly “The real problem is too much weight.” He nodded his head towards the boat and the big object covered by a tarp in it.
As the crew argued amongst themselves, Aonghüs went around to the other side of the boat to take a look at it’s capacity and saw the large tarped object…he also saw that as the sun was setting behind him his long shadow was growing even longer! He reached out towards the tarp and sure enough his shadow extended toward it. For a moment he though he had gained magical shadow powers but when he grabbed his hand into a fist, instead of his shadow matching him, it delved down inside the boat, under the tarp, to the hidden object below.
Now very disconcerted Aonghüs made a birdcall to alert Tamrin, who joined him. Thankfully the crew was bickering enough that none of them noticed. When Tamrin saw Aonghüs’ shadow move of it’s own volition she pulled at his arm “we’ve got to get on the other side of the fire, away from this boat.” Aonghüs tried to to pull away but he felt resistance, and had to use all his strength to pull away from the boat, falling on the pebbled beach as he broke the shadows grip. The moved back to the group, where Haka as trying to keeping things calm.
“For all we know they could still be Ammeni spies trying to find the location of the Doomed Bloodbark.” Pwyll voiced what Isabel had already intimated in their private conversation. “And even if they aren’t spies, with that extra weight, we might not even make it back.”
Haka assured them that they would help crew the boat, that they could be discreet, and that if the pirates were really worried that they were spies, they should keep them close so they couldn’t report back. This was just convincing enough but at least a few of the pirates looked at their blades and though there were other ways to keep the silent.
Tamrin and Aonghüs came up behind Haka and Tamrin (realizing that whether they wanted to be or not, they were Ammeni spies!) told them privately “We can’t go on that boat. We’ll put them all in danger, and if they find out, they’ll kill us.”
Haka protested “Going any other way will add months to our journey, and there are Ammeni that are already close to the Sky Fire, we can’t lose time.”
Aonghüs, who was still rattled by his animated shadow, but was even more consumed with finding his father said “That boat is leading to the Doomed Bloodbark, where my father served. That’s where I’m going!”
[I interrupted the discussion to ask Aonghüs the question I meant to ask last session “You know the legends that touching the sky fire will erase the memories of your childhood. Are there nightmares that you want to forget, or treasured memories you are loathe to lose?” And of course the answer was both. His childhood was rough, but he still clung to it to give him a place in Near.]
And so it was that Haka and Aonghüs took crew positions the boat. There wasn’t room for Tamrin to take a seat but that was just as well, she was too small to oar anyway. She’d sit with her new friend Bowdyn.
The crew (mostly Bowdyn) gave the boat a few shoves before it would move, but on the third heave it lurched across the pebbled beach and back into the water, cutting quietly through the placid bay.
Lagoon of Lances
Once on the river proper, the heroes realized why the were rowing at night. The entire west bank of the River of Tears was lined with campfires of the Ammeni warbands…and their scouts. The crew faced several challenges:
- Avoiding the “lances”. Masts of old ships that sunk in the lagoon after a great battle, which now threatened to rupture the hull of of ships not wise enough to avoid them.
- Keeping quiet so as not to alert the Ammeni scouts.
- Rowing hard an fast to push away from the eddies that pulled them towards the east bank and get past the warbands. Though the river generally moved fast, where the lagoon opened it was sluggish, so they’d need their oars.
- Keeping water out of the boat. Before they set out Merna shoved a bucket in Haka’s arms and told the elf that it was going to be the difference between all of them making into to the Bloodbark and drowning in the River of Tears. The saw why as water immediately started lapping up over the sides of the boat, weighing it down even more.
- Addressing the grumbling concerns of Pwyll and the other pirates that this was a doomed endeavor.
They only had so many hands.
- Tamrin, able to move freely through the boat due to her size, was on bucket duty, hauling out water as fast as she could.
- Haka and Aonghüs heaved at the oars, moving with speed and precision.
Evelina navigated them around the greatest dangers, but more water poured in (faster than Tamrin could haul it out) and the mood grew even more dour. Aonghüs kept insisting that if he was a spy, wouldn’t this be the best opportunity to turn them in, but since he was shouting, the question of whether he was trying to alert the Ammeni was still in doubt.
Khale’s Jawbone
Past the lagoon, the waters started moving faster as the river narrowed and flowed into the jagged rocks called Khale’s Jawbone.
- Tamrin kept hauling water (it was still coming in fast). Haka and Pwyll joined her efforts.
- Aonghüs started up a sea shanty about how glorious and miserable a pirates life was. All the bad food and cold winds and bloody work they had to do. The cadence was set to keep the crew coordinated, but the words were meant to get everyone in a better mood about the trials they faced.
The crew made many sharp turns, cutting across the river, dodging most of the rocks, but not all. The ship crashed into one, cracking the hull, letting in more water still, and sending the supplies over the edge. Tamrin leapt after them and got ahold of the cargo netting the current was too strong. She’d have to let of of the supplies or the boat…she chose the supplies. There went the rope, rations, flint and steel, and the fiddle!
As they were getting to the “teeth” Evelina called out for someone to help her watch out for all the rocks ahead. Tamrin, who was skilled as sensing danger, listened for the sounds of the water splashing off the rocks (as she couldn’t see in the dark) and helped Evelina avoid the worst of it. The boat only took minor damage. Deslin’s oar was shattered and the hull once again cracked and strained against the rocks. He nearly fell out but Haka grabbed ahold of him before he went over! Haka saved a crew member and earned them a greater measure of trust.
Teardrop falls
Past the rocks the water calmed for a moment, but only enough time to brace for the falls ahead where the River of Tears merged with Belhor River, called the Poison River ever since the Ammei conquered the Zaru and built encampments all long the river.
The boat was getting more top heavy the closer they got to the falls and everyone was concerned that it would simply topple over and capsize once they got to the falls. The heavy stone tablet under the tarp was already sliding forward, pressing Tamrin and Evelina to the edge of the prow.
While removing some water and trying to shift things in the boat would have helped, none of that could happen fast enough, so Haka made a decision for the group. They grabbed hold of the stone tablet and pushed themselves to use the Secret of Fading the Illusion to dim the illusion of reality for both themself and the heavy stone tablet, the prized loot! Thankfully they weren’t pulled into the ghostly world!
In the physical realm two things happened immediately. The boat got a lot less top heavy and EVEYRONE started shouting in confusion. “What just happened?”
Tamrin explained that this was just a thing Haka does and that they weren’t stealing the treasure, even though it really looked like they were doing just that. Aonghüs realized he couldn’t win hearts and minds, in this moment he just needed hands and boots! He told everyone that they didn’t have time to bicker about what happened, they needed to prepare for the falls ahead…and it worked!
Everyone got back to their paces…Deslin even took Haka’s spot, and the prepared for the drop, their knees under pinched under their benches to hold on!
Meanwhile in the ghost field (heheheheh) Haka heard the whispers of past lives and saw the stone tablet’s true form. It depicted a map of the norther countries and had several stone pieces that moved around the board on their own accord…showing the locations of the Ammeni troops. This was going to be a great tool for the pirates to avoid the Ammeni warbands…but it would turn the entire tide of war if it was given the Khale…
As they went crashing down the falls water poured into the boat (Tamrin, still shoveling it out), Haka rematerialized in the back, crushing one of the benches, but avoiding slipping away from the boat entirely and putting weight where it was useful.
Merna got jerked too hard and went flying overboard. Aonghüs yelled to Bowdyn to hold his leg and dove after her. It was long moment of straining and pulling at the bottom of the falls till Bowdyn, Haka, and Pwell pulled Aonghüs back into the boat and with him Merna!
They had done it. They made it through the dangerous River of Tears and into the Sea of Teeth. As the sun began to rise the saw a galleon in the distance…the Dommed Bloodbark!
This boat got messed up… but it carried everyone home in the end!
Repairs
While the thought of rowing to the ship immediately was tempting, the boat had pretty severe damage and the Sea of Teeth is know for it’s evil spirts, giant beasts, and whirlpools. They decided to take some time and patch up the boat. Aonghüs recalled his actual experience working on boats (taking Fine Crafts at +1) and started working on the boat…with Pwyll’s help even!
The Doomed Bloodbark
With the sun rising behind them, the battered (2 harm for everyone) crew rowed their way to the Bloodbark.
The made it to the ship (not boat) and started hauling the crew and loot (mostly the loot!) off the boat and into the ship. In the middle of unloading two things happened
- Tamrin noticed that Bowdyn wasn’t making any effort to get the ship. He was going to stay on the boat, and wasn’t going to say why.
- Captain Blackmane, tricorn hat, buckles and all, leveled a crossbow over the side of the Bloodbark and pointed it right at Aonghüs “Your the spitting image of your father Eoghann. You’re not bringing that curse on my ship!”
Tensions were high, but all the work Aonghüs did to ingratiate himself pay off. Merna, who had gotten on deck said “Cap’n, he’s been on land for six months and the curse hasn’t followed him. I think he’s okay.” Blackmane wasn’t convinced, but Bowdyn stepped up as well “I’ll stay on the boat with him. We don’t have to come of the ship. That seemed to do the trick. The crossbow was lowered and Aonghüs and Bowdyn were suspended in the air and the boat was hauled up by the crew.
On Board
Tamrin told Bowdyn she’d get his jug of grog for him. She tried again to find out why he wasn’t getting on the ship, and besides knowing looks at his arm, he didn’t say anything (there were always others around). While below deck she used “I’m doing this for Bowdyn” to get past most of the crew. She also learned that there were plenty of threats the pirates were wary of in general, but tonight, tonight they were going to party in celebration of a successful mission! Deslin, Merna, Pwyll, Bowdyn, Isabel, and Evelina were all going to be showered with praise and gold… except Isabel and Evelina weren’t around.
Which is why Haka went looking for them, and found them in the captains quarters (which were bigger but no less slovenly than her crews). Haka convinced Evelina (any by extension the captain) to give them an audience as they said they knew the way of magical things (total bullshit but everyone had seen Haka turn ghostly so it worked). They touched the board, cast the stones, closed their eyes, and murmured nonsense words. For a moment nothing happened but then they heard the click of stone as one of the pieces righted itself, and then another, and then another. The pieces then slid into place, showing the locations of all the Ammeni warbands…including one in Qek approaching what Haka knew was the last ember of Sky Fire!
Impressed by Haka’s “magic”, the Captain asked where the Sky Fire was on the map, but Haka noticed that their shadows were starting moving over their own accord and so they stepped back and put their hands behind their back! “I’ll tell you when we get to Qek” They weren’t born yesterday (but they had been reborn many times!).
Passing the Spliff
Aonghüs rolled a joint and passed it to Bowdyn “here, finish this”, but then took it back often before Bowdyn had even taken a hit. Aonghüs talked about his dad, how much he wanted to get on his dad’s boat, and find out more about him. He talked about when he was young and he killed a bird, it was the first thing he ever killed and he was so sad about it he kept it under his bed for a week until his mom found it from the smell and beat the hell out of him.
Bowdyn asked what made him more sad, the memory of his mother’s wrath or the absence of his father. Bowdyn was about to open up about his own fears of hurting his own friends, but Aonghüs was talking more about himself. “Yeah, the shadows that haunt us, the scare me too” Bowdyn didn’t really understand, but he did realize the were both afraid of hurting the ones they loved.
The passed the night drinking and smoking. Bowdyn mostly drinking, Aonghüs mostly smoking. Both of them unsure of the other.
Divination
That night, in Bowdyn’s hammock, under the lantern light, Tamrin saw her shadow distending again, and this time she had a chance use Divination again to learns it’s nature, and this time she succeed. The gloom of the shadow split as if cast through a prism into three shades and Tamrin saw it potential to see, to move, and to grasp! THE WERE SPIES AFTER ALL!
Welcome Aboard
In the morning the captain returned to the boat. She was either impressed or disappointed that Aonghüs hadn’t snuck on deck over night. His father would have. “I can’t set sail with you hanging over the edge, so I’ve got to choices. Tell Bowdyn to throw you overboard or let you on my ship.”
Aonghüs made his plea, he wanted to undo his fathers curse. Something he said struck a chord and the captain walked away saying “Get that boat on deck, and prepare the rigging, we set sail for Qek!”
When Aonghüs’ feet touched the deck, it was as if he had been born there. This place felt like home. The music swelled in his heart as he grabbed hold of the rigging and started hauling. Imagining that some day, by finding the sky flame he might break his father’s curse and be united with him…and then Tarmin ruined the moment but laying out the problems they faced “We’re being tracked by a spell. We should spend the trip in a hold in the dark. And nowhere near the captain’s quarters!”
“Wait, where are the captain’s quarters?”
What Rocked
Dale should really put a point in the bullshitting ability, because the number of times he’s convinced people to go along with Haka’s ideas because of “magic” (insert jazz hands here) is incredible. I loved that he closed his eyes and touched the stone tablet and invoked the magic…which we all knew did nothing at all, but the captain and the first mate and the quartermaster sure didn’t know that! So good.
Also, Aonghüs getting stoned and telling Bowdyn about the shadows was awesome. Now they both know secrets the other would be very scared to let out! The shrieks and groans at the table as he said it were incredible. “Noooooo!” but also laughter and delight. So good.
I was concerned about the boat trip feeling too linear without enough meaningful choices along the way, but I think everyone at the table had a good time. I never really left up the tension between the dangerous locations so by the time they got through it, I felt like we all made it through a harrowing experience!
I’m delighted that the character motivations have grown beyond my initial “You’ve set out to seek the last ember of Sky Fire” and now we’ve seen Haka trying desperately to reunite with their beloved, Aonghüs wanting to find his father, and perhaps find his tribe in the process, and Tamrin who is going to be a big damn hero by the end of this story…if she lives to tell the tale!
What could have improved
I think I should have told the the players that if 8 water or 5 damage was present he boat would sink so they’d have a way to gauge the threat. I’m afraid it might have felt like smoke and mirrors with me pouring water (and damage) on the boat. I was keeping track of the difficulty (typically +2) which meant if they got a +2 or higher no negative effects happened, a +1 result meant 1 damage or complication and a +0 meant 2 (or more). Also, ignoring a problem meant it just happened, like the crew grumbling turning into hostility. But a lot of these mechanics were bespoke rules that I’ll never use again, so I wasn’t sure if it was worth spelling it all out.
At one point Matthew said “Are you done listing all the problems?” and I thought, yeah, that was a lot of threats do drop all at once. I think I should have created index cards each with a threat listed (crew morale, detection by the Ammeni, avoiding hazards, taking on water, etc) and put them on the table besides the boat. That would have give the players and easier way to track the appropriate actions to take. I was trying to balance the difference between real threats (we’ve been spotted, mutiny, boat sinks, someone goes overboard) with numbers (1 damage, 2 water tokens, etc). It worked, as there were several precarious moments of tension, but as long as I created the map and tokens, I might as well have gone all in and shown the threats visually as well.
I was disappointed that none of the discounted keys or secrets were appealing to the players, not because I want their characters to advance in any particular direction but because I hoped I got a sense of what they saw in the world and were interested in. As that idea was a flop, I’ll probably stop doing it unless I see one of the characters making moves in the direction of a particular secret or key, even then, I’ll probably just discount it based on the interactions they’ve had (like giving Aonghus a discount on taking the Fine Crafts ability after doing the boat repairs).
