Solo 'Through Sunken Lands' RPG, Part 1, setting the adventure up.

Outlining the game setup, characters and other useful info.

 I am going to run a solo adventure using Flatland Games Through Sunken Lands RPG.  Its much the same as Beyond the Wall just more Fritz Leiber or Michael Moorcock than Ursula le Guin.

The main aim of this post is to set the scene, flesh out PC's and any important NPC's and give myself some idea of the aim of the game as far as my PC's are concerned, I want the characters to have a clear reason for setting out on this adventure and not just be passengers in a game with no direction, I want the oracle to create plenty of twists and turns along the way but there should be a clear goal for the PC's to aim for right from the outset.

I will be using Zathrum 2.2/MUNE modified gm emulator this time as well as dipping into Zathrum 2.2, UNE will be useful for quick NPC's, online random word generator for hints and some of my own rules as well.

There are 4 player characters,

Sana, a Level 2 Barbarian,
Base Attack Bonus 2, Initiative 4
Strength 13, Dexterity 13, Constitution 15, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 9, Charisma 12.
Armour Class 11, Hit Points 19, Fortune Points 3
Skills - Stealth, Intimidation
Trait - Panthers Grace
Knack - Resilience
Weapons - Spear, dagger.

Sana was captured by Pirate Slavers and sold to a wealthy merchant.  8 lunar months ago, she escaped captivity and took with her some fine silks stolen from the merchant.   She hopes to never meat the merchant again but if she ever comes across the Pirates Slavers she has pledged to kill them all.
Sana found employment onboard the ship the Jade Dragon, things had seemed to be going well.

Doranus Zall, a level 2 mage, ex temple keeper.
Base Attack Bonus 1, Initiative 2
Strength 9, Dexterity 10, Constitution 11, Intelligence 18, Wisdom 13, Charisma 11.
Armour Class 10, Hit Points 11, Fortune Points 3
Skills - Athletics, Religious Law
Class Attributes, Sense Magic, spellcasting
Cantrips - Second Sight, Blessing
Spells - Command Elements (water)
Rituals - Endure the Elements, Aura of Power, Witch's Watchman
Trait - Child of the sea
Weapons - Dagger, Short sword.

Doranus was doing well as a priest at a temple devoted to the elemental ruler of water until his assistant priest accused him of stealing from the temple, Doranus pleaded his innocence but was not believed and thrown out of his temple and his home.  That was 7 lunar months ago, since then he has been working on the ship the jade dragon, he thought things seemed to be going well.

Marianne, a level 2 bard (rouge).
Base Attack Bonus 1, Initiative 5
Strength 12, Dexterity 14, Constitution 10, Intelligence 11, Wisdom 10, Charisma 15.
Armour Class 11, Hit Points 16, Fortune Points 5
Skills - Athletics, Playing the Lute, Pickpocket, Intimidation, Stealth
Class Attributes, Fortune Favour, Highly Skilled
Trait - Friendly Face
Weapons, light crossbow, dagger
She has an wonderous lute of strange origin.

Marianne was a pupil to one of the greatest bards in the land, until he was found murdered and Marianne was found guilty of the foul deed.  Somehow she managed to escape just before being put to death herself, escaping with her prized lute and a few odds and ends.  That was 6 lunar months ago, she found herself in the service of the captain of the jade dragon galley, things had seemed to be going well.

Alrak, a level 2 Eldritch Warrior-Mage
Base Attack Bonus 2, Initiative 3
Strength 9, Dexterity 12, Constitution 13, Intelligence 15,Wisdom 11, Charisma 13.
Armour Class 16, Hit Points 13, Fortune Points 3
Skills - Command, Investigation
Class Attributes, Sense Magic, spellcasting, weapon specialization
Cantrips - Magic Light
Spells - Healing Touch
Rituals - Bind Familia, Arcane Experiments, Waves Friends
Trait - Fighting Finesse
Weapons - Longbow, Eldritch Blade

Alrak is the descendant of a claimant to the old imperial throne, living a good life in a wealthy privileged home, until his cousin, Jarkloom, accused him of breaking up his marriage, he protested his innocence but he was forced to leave in disgrace.
With nowhere else to go he joined the galley ship the Jade Dragon, that was 5 lunar months ago and things have not been going well, they got a whole lot worse when he tried to punish the captain for not making offerings to the sea gods.

At this point I am going to roll up one very important NPC, Tilly, a rogue from Jundarr and member of the Thieves Guild.

Tilly, a level 3 Rogue.
Base Attack Bonus 1,  Initiative 6
Strength 11, Dexterity 14, Constitution 9 Intelligence 13, Wisdom 12, Charisma 13.
Armour Class 12, Hit Points 18, Fortune Points 5
Skills - Trapping, Deceit, Alertness, Gossip, Stealth
Class Attributes, Fortune Favour, Highly Skilled
Trait - Gifted Climber
Weapons, 2 hand crossbow, dagger
A local Aristocrat owes Tilly a big favour.

Tilly has come into possession of a document which details the location of an ancient treasure hoard, she thinks she has worked out its exact location, she will need the PCs help to get it. What, at first, the PC's won't be aware of (but Tilly will), is that the wealthy merchant Tilly stole the document from wants it back and will send agents out to reclaim the stolen property by whatever means.  The further away from Jundarr Tilly is the harder it will be for the agents to find her.

At the start of each day I will ask the oracle if there is an attempt by one of the merchants agents on the party, each days travel away from Jundarr will result in a -2 to the die roll, so after 5 days travel there will be only a slim chance of an agent appearing (this must be travel away from Jundarr, if the party stop at the first location for 5 days they will still only be 1 days travel away from Jundarr so only a -2 to the oracle roll).  If an agent attacks I will roll one up using UNE.

Distance, Time and Weather.

I want to keep track of time and also how far the group need to travel each day in order to reach their destination.  It will take the group at best 5 days to get to where Tilly thinks the treasure should be, each day has an end point, someplace where the group can stay and rest, that could be a village, a wayside inn, an old ruin, Tilly will have mapped it out, anything that slows them down will produce a further issue for them, and it may well be they need to rest overnight in the wilderness, something they may not be equipped for.

In addition, each point at which they rest in the evening may well throw up a further mini adventure for the party, this could slow them down by days and that could result in the merchant's agents finding them.  

Beyond the Wall Further Afield has a lunar calendar included, and to keep it simple, each day will be split into 24 hours.  I want to see what the weather does, its not pleasant out in the open in the pouring rain, your chainmail may get rusty to say the least so a simple way of deciding the weather needs to be found.

Daily Movement Rates.

The rules in Beyond the Wall state that characters may walk 20 miles a day on good terrain, this is the same distance as given in the old 'Stormbringer' RPG, so I have basically ripped the daily movement rates from there.

WALKING - 20 old miles per day assuming an average of 10 hours of walking.
MARCHING - 40 old miles assuming Forced Marching for 10 hours a day (you will need to be fit to do that).
RIDING HORSEBACK - 60 old miles assuming a walk-trot-walk for 10 to 12 hours per day unhindered by men on foot or slow moving carts/wagons

TRAVEL BY SHIP - 100 to 200 old miles per day assuming a fair wind and a competent captain.

Terrain Effects

MAJOR RIVERS - take one full day to cross unless a bridge, ford or ferry is available

FORESTS - reduce movement by 1/3
ROLLING HILLS - reduce movement by 1/3
MOUNTAINS - reduce movement by 2/3
MARSHES & SWAMPS - reduce movement by 3/4 unless using a boat on waterways
DESERT - reduce movement by 1/2
ICE OR SNOW reduce movement by 3/4

the above conditions are cumulative (walking for 10 hours in snowy mountains would reduce movement from 20 old miles by 3/4 for snow so 5 old miles then a further 2/3 for mountains so just 1⅔ old miles per day.

 

A quick round up.

We now have our four characters, I know they have become friends aboard the Jade Dragon ship and something is going to happen to them so they find themselves stuck in Jundarr where they will meet Tilly whom they will end up on an adventure to find a lost treasure hoard which Tilly thinks she knows the location of.  A wealthy merchant is determined to stop Tilly and will send out agents to do so.  There may be opportunities for some mini adventure along the way.

Part 2, we get things going.