Umbral Trail - May Update

Flux & Nexus

— 4 min read
Umbral Trail - May Update

Let's see. Where to begin? You probably know already that you've been somehow transported to the Umbral Lands. We're Nexus and Flux, custodians of Last Hope. This place was built long ago by a group we call The Old Ones, who like you found themselves having to survive here. They left us behind to help guide any groups that similarly found themselves here. Make yourselves at home! This can be your base of operations while you explore and try to find a way to return back to your previous lives. The one piece of advice the Old Ones left is this: "Find the Aethershards" - something you collectively have already made some progress on!

Ding!

Shout out to Quartermaster and Jennalyn for reaching level 3! Also to Shish, and Stitcher who are now at level 2. Want to level up your characters? Feel free to look for a group to explore more of the area, or pursue one of the ongoing arcs - or join one of the groups already forming!

Session Recaps

There's been a lot of activity already as you try to establish yourselves in this strange place, here's a rundown of what's been happening:

  • Someone noticed a shipwreck as you had approached land. A group decided to investigate further. After an encounter with snakes (and Stitcher using her Ranger abilities to determine where their nest might be - see below) and crocodiles the party found a lot of supplies amongst the broken up ship, as well as some unexplained oddities about the wreck itself. Across the water, lights danced strangely along the shoreline.
  • East of Last Hope there is some corrupted vegetation that seems concerning. The first group to try to explore here were beaten back by some kind of sentient mushroom. A follow-up excursion is needed.
  • Deciding to follow up on the mysterious lights that had been seen from the shipwreck, a group set off West of Last Hope. Undead who may have once been sailors shamble to the West, and after a heated battle, the group retreated back to Last Hope. The second expedition faired arguably better, recovering some additional items, but Will-o'-Wisps ambushed the group and Pippin didn't make it. There's a memorial thread where all fallen characters will be remembered.
Mysterious lights dance among the swamps of hex (2,3)
  • A road runs to the Southwest of Last Hope. It reaches a deep chasm and seems to end. A group tripped what seems like an Old Ones defense system, but were able to shut it down amid a pitched battle with some sort of constructs. This revealed a map. A second expedition followed up on the map and found a cave containing a cache of Old Ones equipment that provided Harvesting Supplies and the group's first Aethershard. This group also found some notes that seemed to be from the Old Ones: A letter from Liandra and Purcella's Monster Codex
  • Investigating the snake nest identified during the shipwreck expedition, a group set off to find the nest and clear it out. The nest was set up in what seemed to be some sort of Old Ones ritual site. Emerging victorious from battle with a large mass of snakes, the players were able to activate elements of the ritual and recover a second Aethershard.

Upcoming Sessions

  • Quartermaster is suggesting an exploration of the territory at hex coordinates (3,4). You don't know what's there, but the rowboat that you used to come ashore should be able to get you there. If that's compelling, jump into the thread and let's try to get a session scheduled!
  • Equally, exploring to the Northeast at (4,2) might also be smart to ensure you have an understanding of the territory around Last Hope. Quartermaster has a thread up for that too!

Above the Table

  • Choices! This kind of game relies on the entire community making certain decisions that will fundamentally shape your experience of the Umbral Lands. When we encounter these, they'll be put to a vote on Discord to ensure that as many players as possible get to have a discussion and a voice as the adventure continues - not just the people who were present at that time. There's one happening RIGHT NOW, so even if you haven't made it to a session yet get involved and cast your vote!
  • We've introduced mechanics around harvesting material components from monsters you defeat. This is the start of a crafting system we're going to be bringing in to the game so that you can make powerful gear for yourselves and each other.
  • We'll be using this bulletin to keep you up to date. We recognize some folks are less Discord-centric than others and people parse information in different ways, so we're going to be making every effort to meet you where you're at and get in your inbox, browser, RSS feed or whatever it takes 😛 (and we'll try to make them less dense in future - there's a lot to recap in this first one!)
  • Coming Soon! We're planning some "downtime mechanics" for more participation and engagement through Discord. The point of this game is to allow life to happen, so this is a way for players to stay engaged with the world even when they don't have a spare time to join a session. Expect to be able to take actions that will benefit the community in various ways.