Stephan Hornick
Community Goblin & Master of the Archive
Platinum WoA
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
Borderland Explorer
This is the first of hopefully many adventure summaries in the world of Borderland.
A short notice on what this is in relation to the West Marches campaign:
Unrelated to @JochenL's Dungeon Fantasy (Gurps) West Marches campaign, I am running a Dungeon World adventure for two players, @JSRose and @riderv3. For this, I inventented a world consisting of the Saphire Empire, the Bitter Plains and a borderland region with a last outpost. After I saw Jochen's design for his Borderland campaign, at first I asked him if I could use the name of "Auheim" for that settlement as it stuck with me, later if I could use the actual place. On the other hand, he liked my ideas for that area and adventure and we came to agree to include this part of the world into his Borderland campaign world. So, although we use two different rule systems, it is the same setting. I gave my players the option to convert their PCs to Dungeon Fantasy (Gurps) later on, to try this system also.
For those of you, who are following Jochen's Borderland campaign (including @Rardian, @knoppi, @Morvar, and @cr90) and notice that we will adventure to Auheim also on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, this is intended to be a sneak preview, although I'm sure Jochen's adventure will be very different.
I expect the DW Auheim to be earlier in ingame time than the DF Auheim.
+++
A young bard in exile trying to accumulate "real" stories to eventually make a name for himself, Edwyn pondered long about where to go to fulfill his destiny. Eventually though, he overheard parts of a conversation at a run-down tavern at the outskirts of the peaceful Saphire Empire.
"That's bad luck, mate! If they really re-opened the cursed gold mine in Auheim, they will shore more than they expect, I tell you. My cousin heard from a guard that had been stationed at Auheim that there are unnatural tremors! I will not take any cursed gold from there, by the cold bones of my wife."
So Edwyn decided to follow his instinct and joined a travelling liquor trader named Burned Berek on his long way to Auheim, last outpost of mankind in the borderland to the West (at least from the perspective of the Saphire Empire). They journeyed past fields and forests, crossed rivers and hills and eventually came to the Bitter Plains, a sea of endless seeming grass and windy skies sparsely populated to say the least. Only the nomadic tribe of the Ankhara roam these plains, as everybody knows. Politically neutral these survivalists and enduring people only mingle seldomly with other peoples.
When the two travellers spotted preparations for a great bonfire in the distance, though, this tradition was to change for this evening. Berek managed to sell some of his liquor to the Ankhara, who were preparing for some kind of ritual as it seems. First unsure how to approach them, the two travellers soon discovered the Ankahara tribe to be a hospitable people and they were invited to join on this special occasion. One of their own was having her rite of passage this evening.
Born to the Blue Leaf Ankhara tribe of the Bitter Plains Rhea followed the tribe's tradition of a rite of passage. Usually it only meant to wait until the end of the ceremony, drink some alcohol and later fetch some feathers of a bird or find back to the tribe within 2 days as an ordeal to pass the test. Now though, she could only gasp with all the others as it turned out to be a bitter ordeal for her. The Old Hag, as everybody called the tribe's wise woman, spoke to the clouds above and read the leaves in the wind. During Rhea's rite of passage the clouds had grown dark and menacing. The rhythmic drums stopped for a moment when the dry wood in the bonfire cracked loudly like thunder. And the Old Hag trembled and spoke in her raspy voice:
"You will find your wind not with the others, young leaf. Danger is coming. To all of us. The clouds speak to me, they speak of a dark mass expanding in terror and hate. You must go, young Rhea, you must follow the East Wind and find the origin of the menace beyond the grass. This is what the clouds say and what shall be your ordeal for the rite of passage. Make us proud, young warrioress, and come back safely. Now, leave tomorrow and trust your feet on the grass and your hair in the wind that the Ankahara will be with you the whole time."
Then it became loud and festivities got bitter. Other members of the tribe tried to overrule this ordeal as it was far away and seemingly much more dangerous than their typical ordeal. The Old Hag had become too old, some said. But in the end, she was not to be overturned and insisted on her reading of the clouds. Reluctantly it was decided that at least someone should join Rhea on her quest that may actually entail going beyond the Bitter Plains. But the Ankhara were reluctant to leave the grass lands of their ancestors. Nobody volunteered.
The sky had spoken of danger far to the West, but Edwyn could only think of adventure and fate. He chimed in and after first irritation that an outsider even volunteered, he underwent the Ritual of Fate Threading with her, which included drinking a drop of the other's blood in a bowl of shared horse milk. And as the morning sun rose, the three travellers went on their way towards the Borderlands in the West. Dreading with excitement the arrival at Auheim.
A short notice on what this is in relation to the West Marches campaign:
Unrelated to @JochenL's Dungeon Fantasy (Gurps) West Marches campaign, I am running a Dungeon World adventure for two players, @JSRose and @riderv3. For this, I inventented a world consisting of the Saphire Empire, the Bitter Plains and a borderland region with a last outpost. After I saw Jochen's design for his Borderland campaign, at first I asked him if I could use the name of "Auheim" for that settlement as it stuck with me, later if I could use the actual place. On the other hand, he liked my ideas for that area and adventure and we came to agree to include this part of the world into his Borderland campaign world. So, although we use two different rule systems, it is the same setting. I gave my players the option to convert their PCs to Dungeon Fantasy (Gurps) later on, to try this system also.
For those of you, who are following Jochen's Borderland campaign (including @Rardian, @knoppi, @Morvar, and @cr90) and notice that we will adventure to Auheim also on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, this is intended to be a sneak preview, although I'm sure Jochen's adventure will be very different.
I expect the DW Auheim to be earlier in ingame time than the DF Auheim.
+++
A young bard in exile trying to accumulate "real" stories to eventually make a name for himself, Edwyn pondered long about where to go to fulfill his destiny. Eventually though, he overheard parts of a conversation at a run-down tavern at the outskirts of the peaceful Saphire Empire.
"That's bad luck, mate! If they really re-opened the cursed gold mine in Auheim, they will shore more than they expect, I tell you. My cousin heard from a guard that had been stationed at Auheim that there are unnatural tremors! I will not take any cursed gold from there, by the cold bones of my wife."
So Edwyn decided to follow his instinct and joined a travelling liquor trader named Burned Berek on his long way to Auheim, last outpost of mankind in the borderland to the West (at least from the perspective of the Saphire Empire). They journeyed past fields and forests, crossed rivers and hills and eventually came to the Bitter Plains, a sea of endless seeming grass and windy skies sparsely populated to say the least. Only the nomadic tribe of the Ankhara roam these plains, as everybody knows. Politically neutral these survivalists and enduring people only mingle seldomly with other peoples.
When the two travellers spotted preparations for a great bonfire in the distance, though, this tradition was to change for this evening. Berek managed to sell some of his liquor to the Ankhara, who were preparing for some kind of ritual as it seems. First unsure how to approach them, the two travellers soon discovered the Ankahara tribe to be a hospitable people and they were invited to join on this special occasion. One of their own was having her rite of passage this evening.
Born to the Blue Leaf Ankhara tribe of the Bitter Plains Rhea followed the tribe's tradition of a rite of passage. Usually it only meant to wait until the end of the ceremony, drink some alcohol and later fetch some feathers of a bird or find back to the tribe within 2 days as an ordeal to pass the test. Now though, she could only gasp with all the others as it turned out to be a bitter ordeal for her. The Old Hag, as everybody called the tribe's wise woman, spoke to the clouds above and read the leaves in the wind. During Rhea's rite of passage the clouds had grown dark and menacing. The rhythmic drums stopped for a moment when the dry wood in the bonfire cracked loudly like thunder. And the Old Hag trembled and spoke in her raspy voice:
"You will find your wind not with the others, young leaf. Danger is coming. To all of us. The clouds speak to me, they speak of a dark mass expanding in terror and hate. You must go, young Rhea, you must follow the East Wind and find the origin of the menace beyond the grass. This is what the clouds say and what shall be your ordeal for the rite of passage. Make us proud, young warrioress, and come back safely. Now, leave tomorrow and trust your feet on the grass and your hair in the wind that the Ankahara will be with you the whole time."
Then it became loud and festivities got bitter. Other members of the tribe tried to overrule this ordeal as it was far away and seemingly much more dangerous than their typical ordeal. The Old Hag had become too old, some said. But in the end, she was not to be overturned and insisted on her reading of the clouds. Reluctantly it was decided that at least someone should join Rhea on her quest that may actually entail going beyond the Bitter Plains. But the Ankhara were reluctant to leave the grass lands of their ancestors. Nobody volunteered.
The sky had spoken of danger far to the West, but Edwyn could only think of adventure and fate. He chimed in and after first irritation that an outsider even volunteered, he underwent the Ritual of Fate Threading with her, which included drinking a drop of the other's blood in a bowl of shared horse milk. And as the morning sun rose, the three travellers went on their way towards the Borderlands in the West. Dreading with excitement the arrival at Auheim.
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