Kal-Arath Actual Play Part 1

Over the past year I have been getting into the world of Solo RPGs, finding out what works for me and what doesn’t. Some of my favorites have been Death in Space, Cy_Borg, The One Ring, and Ironsworn. After reading Robin Plays Kal-Arath Review I decided it was time to jump into the world of Kal-Arath by Castle Grief.

Wow! I have had a blast so far. So much so, that I decided this was the RPG to get me to post my own actual plays. I sometime like to model new PCs after other characters to get things started. For this session I went with Kharn the Betrayer and stole a line from The Gunslinger to set the scene.

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The high priest fled across the great steppe, and Kharn followed.

Kharn wiped sweat from his brow thinking back to the events of the prior week.

Heavy incense mixed with mind numbing smoke of the Heda leaves filled the main chamber of the small temple. Kharn helped hold down the old man by grasping one arm and shoulder, keeping the one to be sacrificed in place for the high priest. It all felt wrong. The high priest, blood painted on his face, head bowed under the enormous feathered crown, took Gorechild down from the hooks above the bloody altar. Kharn could feel the presence of the Greataxe, it seemed to take up more space than any man. The priest struggled to raise Gorechild above his head and shouted “In Malakai’s name we spill the vessel’s blood.” The priest brought the axe down on a bad angle, managing to mangle the old man’s neck. Parishioners gasped. The old man started to choke and cough out wet cries of pain as the priest struggled to heft Gorechild once more.

It was then that Gorechild seemed to call to Kharn. A rage took him over as he tore the Greataxe from the priest and severed the head of the sacrificial man. No more meek sacrifices for the almighty Malakai. Tribute must be made through battle. Kharn looked back to see that the priest had fled. Kharn watched some of the cult members flee in panic while others cried out and prostrated themselves before him.

Kharn set out to find the priest and somewhere in the darkness Malakai stirred.

Coming back to the present, Kharn set out east. He learned from a nearby village that the high priest may be holed up in an old haunted burial cairn to the east.

Days Travel to Cairn Timer (5) [countdown each successful day of travel] 

Day 1

Kharn now finds himself in a thunderstorm as he makes his way east. He is not lost. The trek leads Kharn to a small clearing in the tall grass. It has a stone altar in the middle and it seems abandoned. The rains are not enough to fully wash away the old blood. Kharn stops here and sits using the altar to block most of the rain while he eats before setting camp as the rains die down. The night is uneventful and Kharn sleeps well under the bloody altar.

Day 2

Kharn sets out under clear skies through the grasses, insects buzzing. He does not get lost but does decide to forage (minus a half day on the counter). He finds a rare bounty, gaining 5 rations by killing a steppe deer and 2 doses of Zhar’um.

No POI. Kharn encounters a hostile cursed traveler. 5 HP, Dagger d6D, no morale (curse). 

A man in roughspun tunic and breeches, seems to materialize out of the grasses to Kharn’s left. The man’s sunburnt face contorts in rage as he raises a dagger, thrusting it at Kharn. Kharn twists out of the way while swinging Gorechild in a horizontal arc, beheading the traveler. Kharn can sense the high priest at work here. The man looks to have been traveling for days without rest or food. Kharn believes the priest cursed this man to seek out and kill Kharn, forgoing all else until he succeeded or died trying. Gorechild seems to sigh as the blood drips from its blade. Kharn lets the axe relish in the blood for a moment before wiping it on the dead man’s clothing. The corpse has nothing of interest and Kharn moves on before camping for the night. The night passes uneventfully.

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Notes:

Character creation was very easy and fun. Kharn came to life quickly and the the background scene set the stage nicely for me.

I was not using a hex map for the travel and decided to go with a travel timer. I originally had 10 days of travel set but quickly saw that this journey would be much longer than I wanted. 5 days was more in line for the time I wanted to spend.

The travel mechanics for Kal-Arath are fantastic! Simple enough to keep play moving yet robust enough for story development - for those times when I pause and flesh it out.

I plan to have the next post in a few days and keep posting at least twice per week.

Thank you to Robin Plays for the inspiration and Castle Grief for the stellar RPG!