This is part 2 of the MoonBridge Raid trilogy. Available from LightRaider Academy
Theme: Hope
Type: Sandbox hexmap
Time for us to complete: 5 game sessions.
Player Characters:
Philip the Raid Leader: 5th mission, 2nd mission as Raid Leader.
Starflower the Lion Warrior (with Regulus the Lion): 5th mission, 2nd mission as a Lion Warrior.
William the Bear Knight (with Bill the Bear): 5th mission, 2nd mission as a Bear Knight
Edward the Light Raider: 5th mission.
Definition of a "Mission"
So, is this still their 4th mission, or is it now their 5th mission?
Story-wise, they are still on the same mission that they started in MoonBridge Raid Part 1. But for the purposes of things like rules where you can only read so many WordRunes out loud without having them memorized, or if your character has a special role, they need to hold that position for a minimum of 3 missions, this was considered a "new mission," thereby resetting such counts.
So what counts as a mission when it comes to these rules? I figure it then becomes about length. The MoonBridge Raid is one raid, but each part of the trilogy was similar in scope to the Rescue of the Sacred Scrolls. What if it is smaller? We counted the Lightraider Test as a mission, and it was a single session. It's a vague boundary, but seems like you don't want it to be too long for the purposes of the rules mentioned above. A fuzzy upper limit.
This will eventually make it hard to count missions, since I started building major campaigns. Do I publish them as separate "parts," or just keep it all together and say it counts as "x number of missions" when done? Hmm... I'll have to ponder that.
No where on the character sheet do you record "Mission credits". In the Lightraider Handbook, there is a single page (p130) that calls itself a "Character Journal" There is a heading called "Quests Completed", and they give you six blanks you can fill in. This is, of course, inadequate for our purposes. We're going to blast right past that. Right now I'm recording mission credits in my Adventure Master Logbook (which is just a document on my computer that I type notes into). It's not the best system. Perhaps I'll have to ponder that and experiment a bit.
It's going to be really hard to say much about this mission without giving away spoilers. But here's the stats with a few comments.
Session #1
Date in Real Life: Saturday 10 Jul 2021
In Game Day: Day 6
(First part of Skeleton Island)
Session #2
Date in Real Life: Sunday 11 Jul 2021
In Game Day: Day 6
(First part of Skeleton Island)
Session #3
Date in Real Life: Sunday 18 Jul 2021
In Game Day: Day 7
(Skeleton Island)
I started doing some creative writing after this game session.
William creaked his eyes open. Where was he? Oh, yeah. Maylan’s house. It was nice to get a good night’s sleep in a bed, instead of out on the trail, somewhere.
He sat up slowly, glancing around. It was still dark, but he felt rested. He could hear the soft breathing of Edward on his right. Still asleep. Where was Philip? William felt beside him and noticed Philip’s bed was empty. The Raid Leader was probably off somewhere praying for guidance before the day’s adventures. It was a comforting thought.
Master, you’re awake! William jumped at the voice in his head. It was his bear, Bill, speaking telepathically.
Yes, I’m awake. Good morning, Bill. How are you feeling? William thought as he rose from his bed.
Still a little sick. William frowned. Bill had fallen into a pool of rancid swamp water the day before, and had been complaining of feeling ill ever since. William was hoping a good night’s sleep would make it go away. In fact, William’s stomach was cramping a little bit, too. Maybe Regulus was right, and it was contagious. Starflower’s lion had started complaining of stomach cramps last night before they went to bed, and he hadn’t even fallen in. How was Starflower? William crept out of the room, scooping up his ornate staff off the floor. The gift from the Overlord had helped steady him at the pool, so he hadn’t fallen in. Overlord, protect us.
Do you mind if I forage for food? Bill asked. I can probably catch some fish or crabs on the beach.
Go ahead. We’ll be awhile, yet. William thought back.
William crept into the corridor of the cave dwelling. There was another room across the hall where Starflower was supposed to be. She was still asleep. William crouched by her side. Still breathing. She survived the night. Praise be to the OverLord. Heal her from this swamp disease.
William felt that he should head to the kitchen. Was it the OverLord’s guidance? He left Starflower’s side and went back to the corridor. He felt his way along the dark passage until he arrived at the kitchen, which was lit with an oil lamp hanging from the ceiling. Was someone already up? He took advantage of the light to check the bruising on his arm from yesterday's battle with the skeletons. He seemed to be recovering normally. William sat at the table. The newspaper was still there. William scanned the headlines, while praying for the OverLord to reveal His will to Philip.
“Good morning, sleep well?” a voice from his right came. William glanced over to see Maylan’s father coming into the room.
“Yes, thank-you,” William returned.
“Ah, I see you’re reading the newspaper. I especially liked that article about having faith in faith. I mean, all we have is ourselves, right?”
“Is that really how it works?” William asked.
“What do you mean?”
William took a deep breath. “That isn’t how it works.”
***
Notes from the Adventure Master: What happened next, is that for the first time in his life, my quiet third born son stumbled through explaining the gospel to someone. It wasn’t perfect or polished, but it was complete. The verses were recited accurately. The explanations came out, even if he had his lightraider handbook open in front of him. Afterwards, he realized his Boots of the Gospel of Peace rating had gone up. “Yep,” I said, “So your character gained experience sharing the gospel, and is more willing to do it next time. Just like real life. The more you do it, the easier it’ll get.”
Session #4
Date in Real Life: Sunday 25 Jul 2021
In Game Day: Day 8
(Skeleton Island)
Session #5
Date in Real Life: Sunday 1 Aug 2021
In Game Day: Day 9
(Skeleton Island)
Memorable moment: As the night wore on, the Raid Team was awakened by five skeletons and a muk.
As the skeletons advanced on the party, the muk hung back, lamenting being dragged into battle, worried it wouldn't go well for him. At one point, a skeleton sneered "Stop sniveling and fight, you Muk!" For some reason, the players really liked that line, and quoted it often for weeks.
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