Howdy, Farmhands.
This is Seadramon from Digimon, and has
nothing to do with anything else in this blogpost.
Almost one year ago, I ran a session of a ttrpg, using homebrew rules I was working on for my eternally unfinished fantasy heartbreaker. The session went SO WELL, that I almost immediately put the experience to paper in the form of a twitter thread. The story that unfolded at my table (granted it was over discord but whatever) was such a fun one, that I've decided to repost it here for better documenting.
Step 0: Setup
"Yo-Ho" is a sea-faring adventure game I ran for 3 players, an excuse to playtest my frequently renamed TTRPG which is just a Lasers & Feelings hack that got uppity. Don't worry about it.
Player A is playing their take on Haku from Spirited Away, a Dragon spirit that collects favors (and people?) instead of treasure. The Role they chose includes an inventory item called "A piece of Loot from their last haul." A decided that said loot should in fact be their ship, carved into the Visage of a dragon, and with a mind of its own. Wind Waker vibes but less chatty. The silver bangle around Haku's wrist acted as a connection point between him and their ship, also in the shape of a dragon. That's neat. I've played with and run for A before, so I know front loading cool shit is the best way to keep them engaged- they never try to abuse the extra power and this isn't a game where balance is an issue so sure, I'm down. Sentient ship and big ass dragon form, ok.
Player B brought over their self-insert OC from another project that didn't go anywhere, but converted to fit the loose setting. In this game, they're a Rubberwho, a bouncy, springy, stretchy lifeform made out of rubber. Think Pacman if he ate the Gum-Gum fruit. Astro, as B renamed them, is a shit-talking Ring fighter who has it out for "The Man." (Who the man is has been intentionally left vague by B for maximum comedic usage) and they're just here to fight authority wherever they find it. Due to availability, B didn't get to do much this session, but they've confirmed they're happy with this first adventure and will develop Astro further with future sessions so that's good.
Player C brought over their Sonic OC, Slate, an Echidna trying to find their place in the world with little to no idea of where to look for clues to their lost culture. This is where it gets interesting, because C is young and inexperienced as a ttrpg player. They're not sure what to expect and I don't yet know how to cater to their playstyle. I love new players so much.
Step 1: Get to Barracuda Rock
All 3 became crew in the backstory, allowing us to jump into the adventure proper right away. The trio were delivering construction materials at the request of the Mayor of Namov ("Name-Of") Island (because I couldn't come up with one on the fly you see), a request with few details and a lot of rush implied. Bit shifty, but Haku feels they can wheedle a stronger favor out of the Mayor if his negligence makes the trip difficult. A horde of flying fish bother Slate as he attempts to swab the poop deck, but mostly the trip is smooth sailing. At least until they reach the titular Barracuda Rock.
The name is a smidge of a misnomer, as it's technically a whole island surrounding a massive natural rock that looks vaguely like a Barracuda. Think Pride Rock but fishier. The flying fish disappear all of a sudden, which is probably fine. Nothing to see here.
(Unbeknownst to the PCs, but conveyed to the players, somethibg much larger has begun to follow the ship from under the waves. I love doing this- giving the players scenes like in a film that shares hints of where the adventure is going to go, and letting them play out being blissfully unaware until the inevitable reveal)
The island has three avenues of approach; sand bars to the south-east, rocky spikes to the north, and to the west, directly in line with the "face" of Barracuda Rock, an inlet that looks to be the safest. The crew choose the path of least resistance and sail for the inlet. Before entering the waters, Haku, a river spirit himself, attempts to communicate with the river, should it have an identity to talk to. It's only fair to greet it before sailing on in. What he gets in response is a burst of anger which is the only warning before a massive sea serpent, also with the head of a Barracuda, rises from the water and defensively roars at the crew. Boss battle music plays, and the stage is set for the crew to fight this clear threat.
Except they don't, actually, the crew says "well I guess that's his inlet, sorry sir we'll be on our way" and they keep sailing around the island looking for another landing point. Barry the Barracudra follows, threateningly, but does nothing else. Seems landing in that inlet specifically is his no-go and the crew choose to respect it. Slate blows Barry a kiss which works because dice, and the Barracudra disappears beneath the waves. For now.
Step 2: Make a Plan
What follows is about 30 minutes of the players repeating their options, asking questions, and revealing how little Gadda actually knows about sailing. Player B reveals themselves to have been a Navy Brat which means I SHOULD HAVE STUDIED MORE. Conveniently, the adventure specifically required that night to be the night of the full moon, and after a TED talk about how the Tides work, the plan was set. Once the tide was high, the ship would make a run for it over the south-east portion of the island and hopefully make it to the beach before Barry. And they just do it. I drew it out with some suspense because they didn't know where the sea serpent was but they literally just make landfall lmao. Astro gets pingponged around the ship from the impact but that's about it.
As the full moon on the sky travels closer and closer to its highest point, the crew follow a glimmer of light in the forest to search for the inhabitants they're meant to deliver to. This is where some player side issues came in, as players were pulled away, I had to give my wife a kiss, you know how it is, but haltingly, the crew find a clearing with the cinders of a bonfire in the center. Slate uses his fire powers (he has those I forgot to mention) to try and coax it back to life, just because it's helpful and he can. (Feeling the urge to help others for no immediate gain will be a recurring trend for this character apparently. We'll come back to that.)
The additional light allows Captain Haku to notice glimmers of reflected light along the branches of the trees surrounding the clearing, guiding his attention up to the tree houses above, covered in reflective material with windows barred. And the full moon reaching its highest. Luckily he calls Slate back outside the clearing, just in time for the light of the Moon to be reflected by these thousands of carefully angled shards, which combine the moonlight into a fucking laser that rips through the clearing, reigniting the communal bonfire in a massive burst of flame. The crew, eyebrows narrowly avoiding being singed, watch as the moon moves on, ending the light show and leaving a healthy bonfire in its wake. The doors of the tree houses fling open with cheers as the villagers scream "HAPPY FULL MOON!" They've arrived in time for a festival!
Step 3: Meet the Locals
With other people to talk to, the crew spend some time on diplomacy and information gathering, learning everything I set out for them to learn in pretty much one go lmao. The Elder tells the story. Barry the Barracudra is normally a docile creature, acting as a protector of the Island and it's inhabitants. However, having fallen in love with the titular Barracuda Rock, he becomes increasingly defensive leading up to the Full Moon. The villagers Harvest and trade the crystalline material that naturally forms within the Rock for supplies they can't create themselves, and shipments are MEANT to be made when Barry is calm. The Mayor threw our crew under the bus to meet an agreed deadline.
Haku will remember this.
The festivities aren't done yet, as the villagers invite the crew to come watch the grand finale they call "The Lighting of The Fish." The villagers lead to the crew to a large viewing platform in a tree to the southwest, giving them a full view of the entire Barracuda Rock in its entirety, but also letting them see Barry periscopin out of that inlet he get upset about earlier, facing the rock.
(We named her Roxanne, btw.)
As the full moon moved into another specific angle, it's light shone down into the mouth of Roxanne, reflecting off the countless crystal growths inside and creating something magical. The rippling light pouring out of this massive structure created an optical illusion, bringing the static rock to a semblance of life. Roxanne's light made her appear to swim in place, and both the villagers and Barry cheered to see her again. Slate tried asking questions about how it worked, to which the Elder replied with the thesis of the adventure;
"This world is filled with wonders that defy explanation. Sometimes, you simply have to let the magic take you where it will."
Player C digested this, then asked, "Hey DM, can I... try something?"
Step 4: Try Something
I was called away temporarily (wife smooches) during which time the players capital C Conspired. Player C wanted Slate to get down to the base of Roxanne, which Player B had Astro help by distracting the Elder and other villagers. Once there, he said a few kind words to Roxanne, before letting the emotions of the star crossed lovers carry him into song.
At which point Player C PULLED OUT A UKELELE AND AD-LIBBED A LOVE BALLAD ABOUT BARRY AND ROXANNE. IM STILL STUNNED. Slate, ever the romantic, could not do Nothing when faced with this scenario, and poured his heart into helping however he could. Player A, and thus, Haku, could not let this be the end. Despite this being session 1, and having accomplished none of the cool ideas floated with the concept, Player A willingly suggested sacrificing the bangle that gave their ship sentience, to allow Roxanne to come to life. And that's what they did.
Haku raised his wrist and set the bangle free, the silver dragon flying through the air to latch onto Barry's tail. With a surge of magic, Roxanne's illusory form of light leapt off the rock and dove into the sea, and the pair swam away together.
Just. Wow.
The session concluded with basic wrap-up, the next morning. Their delivery unloaded and their ship just a smidge less magical, the crew retook their places as they sailed back for Namov Island to chew out the Mayor. Back to scrubbing the deck, Slate was once again bullied by a flying fish. The swarm once again followed their ship as it sailed away, joined this time by the joyous pair of Barry and Roxanne, who leaped over the ship in a majestic arc as a thank you and goodbye.
Final Step: Wrap-up
The intention with the adventure as I set it up was to establish some core concepts about the setting and tone of the game.
- There's danger in the water (Barry)
- Authority isn't to be trusted (The Mayor)
- The islands are filled with wonder and magic (Roxanne)
But somehow, the players took my introductory adventure to a completely new level, finding meaning in it on their own and following the strands that intrigued them in a way I didn't expect for a first session, and especially not from a brand new ttrpg player.
And that's the Ballad of Barracuda Rock.
Until next time,
Farmer Gadda
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