Boundless - Edrik 1
Of Thornmouths and the One Light.
Boundless is game that I am slowly immersing myself in. The rules, mechanics and even lore feel more like guidelines. There are clear procedures - but there is room for interpretation.
I would say there is a decidedly Soulsborne vibe to this Dark Fantasy setting - my happy place.
After reading through the deep aeon spanning lore and getting a feel for my version of this place I decided to choose a Background rather than roll up a character - The Bone Picker jumped out at me.
Here is a bit of their lore (art by Galen Pejeau - that image also aided in choosing).
You can choose 2 Abilities and roll or pick a Hook and a Tie.
Hook: The Church captured you, and you were to be burned at the stake, but the forest saved you from the flames, how?
Tie: They carry a relic you recognize from centuries past; what lie do you tell them about it?
So enriching for setting the stage to come up with an adventure. There is a map and I chose to start in the Mireroads.
I also wanted to get into combat and went with a scene idea… Edrik sees a couple of dregs (an affectation I wanted to add) from the Church of the One Light. Probably missionaries, being so far from the Grand Cathedral in Elsora.
Edrik is just days awakened from another time of rest. He thinks the rest, it couldn’t really be called sleep, among the roots of the Derweald must have lasted years - surely not decades. Waking from his internment among the roots and deep nesting fungi was a slow process.
First his awareness came, as if out of a fog - Grady always said that was his brains… what was that fancy academy word he always used? Reconstituting! That was it! Oh Grady! Centuries gone now… still one or two pleasant memories rattling around in his head amongst all the despair.
The Derweald, symptom of so many spirits seeking shelter from the Church of the One Light zealotry, may someday take over all of Lightfall. For Edrik it was both curse and sanctuary.
Edrik must have looked frightful in his rotted clothes when first emerging from his tomb of wood, roots and thorny vines. He pawed around his darkened grave and prised his Oh’amunh dagger, Fingerbone Rattle, Spirit Ward and finally the Mask of the Swallowed. A long trek out told him how long he must have been under - the Derweald had spread so far. So very far.
No matter. Skulking around Mireroads allowed him to acquire some dapper clothes, a shovel, and most importantly a lantern. As he walked among the dregs he learned not much had changed. The ever present threat of death from… everything, left all of Lightfall in stagnation. Mere survival was a grandiose achievement - each annual day of birth celebration held in muted jubilee and whispered toasts to good health.
Edrik snapped back from his reverie. Must be careful to not let his cored memories and thoughts drift too far. He was prone to standing dead still for long periods of time - it was unnerving, as Grady told him long ago saying “At least pretend to breathe lest anyone twig you for the ghoul you are!”
Edrik had been standing so still outside the Grey Fox Inn that a Pale Recluse Spider was contently building a fine webbing retreat for the day soon to come. The stillness helped when stalking though, handy for his trade.
Just prior to dusk the previous eve while walking down this filthy street, he thought he caught a glimpse of a pair of missionaries from the Church of One Light, may they all rot, step into the Inn. Edrik froze at the sight and hadn’t moved a muscle since. That was many hours ago. He waited. He wanted to be sure.
Just as the spider was tucking in for the day under the crook of his elbow and the post he stood next to, he saw them emerge from the Inn. In pressed white starched garments, not as pristine from before he left the Grand Cathedral, Edrik would wager, the Acolyte set off down the street with the bulky Fulgid Templar in tow.
Setting up a first encounter here - the Bright Templar from the bestiary is a beast indeed and I’ll have Edrik engage with something less deadly for now - should things come to deadly combat - which is what I intend.
Alright, we are about to make our first roll. The exposition was incredibly fun and set the stage in my mind for having Edrik take his first steps as a PC.
Fortune Roll (Oracle): Are the streets empty? Very Likely, 4D (All dice are d6s, Results of 5-6 are hits): 1 Hit, which means yes but there is a twist or setback. Not for long (the setback will be an Event Pool (P4) tracker to count down when other dregs begin to rise from their slumber for the drudgery of the day. Edrik is able to comfortably stalk the One Light dregs without witnesses for now.
(All images shown with permission from designer RP @farirpgs René-Pier Deshaies-Gélinas)
Edrik decides to try and get closer, Oh’amunh in one hand and the Fingerbone Rattle in the other.
Oh’amunh (1D-1 Damage): A bluesteeled blade etched with obsidian filigree. Use to steal 10 years from someone’s life (P2 Uses, recharges when it kills).
Fingerbone Rattle (P2 Uses): A charm made with dusty old bones. Use to draw vermin in overwhelming swarms.
Above are two of the items the Bone Picker comes with. The last is the Mask of the Swallowed (P4 Uses): A gift from the roots. Commands a pallid to do your bidding for 1 hour.
Stealth check: Roll Agility 4D: 2 successes. Edrik easily stays hidden as he follows.
Does he hear anything worthwhile? Fortune roll: Likely 3D: No hits. Set back: Roll on the P4 crowd event pool tracker: Down to P2.
Edrik skulks along, listening to the sanctimonious drawl of the Acolyte. They turn a corner towards a more central district of the Mireroads and Edrik decides to act now to limit the possibility of witnesses.
He grips the Fingerbone Rattle tightly, feeling the presence of vermin. Always plenty of rats in any city worth its salt - he pulls on them, forming a swarm. Very quickly, an insurmountable amount of rats converge in the surrounding alleys and long shadows before dawn. Edrik begins to lope silently towards the pair and holds out the Fingerbone Rattle, shaking it furiously. The Fulgid Templar turns at the whispering rattle sound, eyes widening at the sight Edrik bearing down. The Templar starts to call out a warning as hundreds of rats burst from the nearby alleys and crevasses, scratching and skittering around the pair and upon their legs.
Stats I created for these two:
Acolyt 3 HP, Armour 0, Small Mace d4-1 Damage.
Fulgid Templar 5 HP, Armour 1, Sword d6 damage.
The distraction is perfect - Edrik closes with the Templar first —
Much like Cairn, all attacks hit. Roll damage reduced by armour and subtract from HP. Attacking from Good Position is always 1d+3. I roll a 6+3 = 9. Damn! (huge damage - against this target at least. A high roll here - but the set up to hit from surprise was needed to gain an advantage. I feel like I’m understanding deadly combat of games like this a bit more.
— and sticks Oh’amunh up under the Templar’s helmet, for a quick death. Edrik feels the pull of Oh’amunh, it wants to sup on the life draining from the Templar - but it is a meagre repast.
Morale check for the Acolyte: Looks like most enemies in the bestiary do not have a morale pool (they all like fighting to the death!). I think an Acolyte, relying on the Templar will have a low morale pool: 2d. 1 Success. They fight on - but will not attack in the first round due to surprise.
Rnd 2. Init: each will roll 1D and highest will go first: E. Now, a standard position (regular damage - although bad position damage is always 1D-1 anyhow). 1d-1 = 4 damage to the Acolyte, killing them.
The rats have already begun to dissipate, confused and wild in their chittering, as Edrik wastes not a moment before plunging the bluesteeled blade into the heart of the Acolyte’s chest. Edrik admires the blood tracing the daggers etched obsidian filigree and shakes off the dull pull of another reverie.
Fingerbone Rattle P2: 2 hits. Stays fully charged.
Crowd tracker P2: 1 hit. Down to 1D, means no one has observed the scuffle.
He looks about, a few rats scamper around corners and not a dreg in sight. Edrik’s satisfaction is short lived, his hatred ever consuming, like the fires he was almost burned in so very long ago.
Fortune roll: Do they have items of interest? Very Likely 4D: Zero hits = twist or setback. This delayed his escape, roll on the Crowd Event Pool: No hit. Someone rounds a corner up ahead.
Agility test to escape notice 4D: 3 hits.
Edrik dashes away before the approaching dreg notices and hears the cry of alarm when he is already three streets away.
Session end.
This was really fun to play out! Next, I might have Edrik investigate the presence of the Church of the One Light or set up a tracked goal.
I’ll introduce regular creatures from bestiary soon and explore more of the mechanics such as journeying and delving.
I really like Edrik and am looking forward to posting more of his exploits.
Boundless is approaching a full release soon. In the meantime check out the Boundless 2 page rules on itch!
For this and other Actual Plays check out my Table of Contents Page.
I also make games! Check out my Itch.io page: Kerova Archive. I am also on DriveThruRPG and RPGTrader.
Usually Ghouls are enemy, not the heroes.
This was super cool, I really like the mechanics so far! Thanks for sharing, excited to follow along.