The Keep and the Gate
Author's note: At the last minute, I decided I wanted to change up the session by adding an introductory mini-adventure in the Ancient Ago. I saw my Moldvay Basic Set looking at me, grabbed my Beyond the Borderlands zines from Gnarled Monster, and did a quick and dirty job for the characters. Most of the players are new, so let's begin with a modern take on B2, right? Also, this is a truncated summary of the first session. Spent all day participating in a gumbo cookoff, and I am worn-out
At the Edge of the Borderlands
Strong Law Keep sits at the entrance to Wicked Palovalley, a stone fortress guarding the Western Kingdoms with the Church of the Holy Sun's blessing. Thirty-six men-at-arms keep watch.
- The Toll: Two halberdiers block the entrance. The Sergeant's nose is smashed and lumpy. Jericho manages to talk his way inside, but when Azlor tries a holy healing touch, he's turned away. It's the wrong religion.
- The Price: Entry costs two coins each. Azlor pays three, and Sergeant Horgus remembers the extra tip.
The Blue Wine Tavern
Inside, the air is thick with the smell of Wicked Draft, an ale mixed with monster venom. Today's batch uses Green Slime.
- The Barkeep: Olin, missing his left ear, serves hardtack stew and shares gossip.
- The Trick: Thilo, a wizard with greasy hair, summons twelve tiny oozes to clean glasses. Some customers pay to watch.
- The Job: A board near the Bailiff's Tower lists jobs. Elam and Mile, two dwarf brothers, want to recover a Saint's Finger, but the party isn't interested. Vex and Vayne, slim elven twins at the Pawn Shop, offer 50 silver for each live Fairy.
The Scarlet Forest
The party heads into the woods with Gray Fang and her wolf companion.
- The Blunder: Azlor tries to cast a prayer of Silence but skips the proper rituals. His hands freeze in a prayer pose, leaving him unable to hold a sword for the rest of the day.
- The Fairies: Eight biting fae attack the group. Renault, a Bard with the literal voice of a songbird, hums their sad tune. The fairies pause to parley.
- The Deception: The fairies hate the "filthy jars" and offer 200 coins to be left alone. The party takes the money, returns the empty jars to the Twins, and claims the faeries have left the forest.
The Chronal Snap
Back at the tavern, Vesper, the "Edgelord" elf, arrives with a crate of captured fairies and threatens to expose the party's lie. Wei Wuxian begins a Time Stop spell to free the faeries.
- The Abduction: A time stop occurs, but not from Wei. A crackling voice calls them "light," and the tavern vanishes.
- The T.O.W.E.R.: They appear on a brass grate surrounded by spinning glass dials. Kryus, the last Chrono Lord, moves around in a frenzy. The world has already ended because of ULTKERIX, but maybe these adventurers can fix the apocalypse.
- The Mandate: Their legendary gear still exists as traces in the future. Kryus can send them forward in time, telling them that in Ancient Ago they became Legendary Heroes, but he had to pull them earlier, before they achieved greatness.
The Afterward Age
The party steps through a door and finds themselves in a world of colorful, shifting steppes.
- The Market: They find the Rust-Runner Market, a caravan of floating metal wagons.
- The Locals: Goblins wear white suits and speak with auto-tuned voices. Some humans have mechanical limbs.
- The Economy: Their coins have become long Watts. They drink Prism Cola and watch rainbow-colored fizz float into a sky that hasn't looked normal for a thousand years.