Rift Walker Luminvale Campaign Overview & Thoughts (17-18)

I am going to recap the collection of the last 2 seals in the world of Luminvale, before we move into the next stage of the adventure.

Drag Race of the Enduring Wastes

The party travelled across the wastes, a desert of great breath and strength. They took some damage in the travels, as it was particularly dangerous. They noticed some weird moving cactuses that were revealed to be the mutants of the lands. They came across a group of trucks called the Circle of Petrol, a group of road riders lead by an over the top Orator. They were invited into a race that had great potential consequences all for the prize of the Seal of the Wastes. In this, Barnaby made friends with a rider Fiddles who wore a boar mask, who wanted to take out the favourite Scorp in order to avenge his brother. Fish made friends with Longshot, who wore a cat mask, which would turn out to be a lucky move! They were offered various rides, but went with an army truck, with a big rifle on the top. DJ, after seeing Scorp be mean to them, loosened the tires of the rider’s monster truck, which also turned out to be clutch. Once the race began, the group saw the violence of the road. DJ took the wheel, Barnaby threw items and use the gun, and Fish healed the party, while moving between vehicles. Fiddles ended up helping them in the race, as the group took out Scorp with priority, with DJ’s great manoeuvres and Barnaby’s action! Poor Fish took a big hit from the road. Longshot was super dangerous in her tank, blasting many vehicles that the party didn’t get too, and luckily fish could calm her down to avoid being blasted. Barnaby won the seal and took its power head on. They gained a new renown rack, an individual title of the Flame!

Calming the ‘Whomping Willow’

Travelling to Whimsy Woods, they came across a scene of violence as a mastic sentient tree was shown to be corrupted by the last seal’s music. Barnaby and Fish took on the evil poisoned fruits it dropped while DJ ran to calm the tree and clear out its corrupted core. DJ took the seal and calmed its melancholy music. After a brief combat, the group was address by Solandra the Owlkin, who had approached them to teach them of the seals and temples. The seals were discovered to have a way to gain a protective power in the temples. They learnt that from the Underking that they could choose the path of the Flame, and gain an attack with them, or a protective power of the the Tree with Solandra. while talking and clarifying, they say a rift open before them. Faravad, know as the last ancient Rift Walker stumbled out from Marron Town. He had a sharpened cello bow in his chest. He revealed he had been attacked by the Maestro of Dischord. His prison broke free and he came to him for revenge and information. He laid out his plans. He was seeking an army, lieutenants and the power of the rifts. He told them of all the temples in the worlds: Plant (Whimsy Wood), Stone (Iron Peaks), Fire (Ancient pastures), Wind (Sky Isles), Wyrd (Caves of Wonder) and Water (Plunder Coast). They were reminded that their choices will not only matter in how the seals are empowered, but trying to stop their plans going ahead. As Faravad died in the party’s arms, he was laid to rest by the group in a beautiful part of the forest. Emboldened in their quest, Barnaby reached out to his contacts, learning that Boris the Barbaric could not be reached.

Thoughts

Lots to think about after these sessions. First of all, I am psyched that the seals are all found now. The group has the 6 temples, and one more legend they may wish to finalise in the worlds, before a potential large fight with the Maestro. We are barrelling in to the next phase of the campaign, and likely on the down hill run. We have had fun with this campaign, but I would rather it end on a high point, in a short but sweet manner. In the sessions, I was excited to try out the race instead of fight for Complex encounter. It played like a fight in the end, with vehicles giving a bonus to Pools and a cool power. That is the best way to handle vehicle work, and while more mechanics could have been added, I find that less is more in Rift Walker and in small encounter formats. Thanks to 321 Action RPG for the art, vehicles and characters. Was great to use that content in my own way. That is one of the goals of the system after all. I was happy with the zones of use in the tree encounter, as each had a small element to interact with. In running it theatre of the mind, it is always best to act on the side of the players, so I was pretty loose with movement rules, and everyone was fine with that. Love to see players engage with what I give them. Recently we have been on a lore heavy bend. I am always reminded that I know the lore more than the players, so I am trying to reinforce it whenever I can, while giving them choice in how they progress. These are the sorts of tips I have been drafting recently in th potential Rift Master guide to my ruleset. I have been encouraged to work on them more recently, as one of my players wants to run a campaign up next after Luminvale. I am excited to be a player and see how he uses it. I am honoured to have players who want to step up, as that has been a big talking point in the wider hobby landscape recently online; the world of the “forever GM”. I have always loved being a game master, and often not as good as a player. In saying that I am excited for a break, and will get to see how the game is run by someone else’s, and how I will engage with it. We had a good emotional moment in session 18, the group was sad to see the death of Faravad. It is a double edged sword, in that I ran it off screen, so the players couldn’t stop it happening. In saying that, it was a powerful kick start and trigger for the players to hate the enemy and continue the fight. I look forward to bringing in some components of the characters and worlds they have visited so far in the last section of the campaign. Who the lieutenants might be, and will they survive til the end? Will the Maestro get an army? Will they get the power of the rifts? All super exciting legends to come.