THE CRUELLEST MONTH IS UPON US! Cruel, but by no means less loved: all this fecund florabundance and accompanying cloying scent is energising, no matter T.S. Elliot has to say about it. By time of posting, we're ten sessions into our Exiles of a Thousand Islands campaign, recorded as part of the Campaign '26 Challenge, Nathan Bateman's ongoing provocation to bloggers to commit themselves to playing the game(s) we all love to write about.
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| A WAY INTO THE FOREST by Munkao, taking from ATTI #03, Upper Heleng, text by Zedeck Siew |
The Story So far:
Session #01 (landing, rhino, creepy moth man)
Session #07 (The wind worries the baboo, mudslides, Wingseed and Dangles)
Session #08 (leech fight)
Session #09:
2nd April 2026 (Thursday 26th was cancelled)
Who Played
2nd April 2026 (Thursday 26th was cancelled)
Who Played
Characters
The Cuckoo, male outcast as a youth, now blooded
Hard Boulder, female outcast as a youth, now blooded
Sweet Told No Lies, elderly male pariah
(Adult pariah White Moon and his accomplice the youth Brooding Mountain were assumed to be assisting in the background)
Day 8 of 3rd Month of Dry Season, Clear skies
Having lost elder Monsoon-Swallows-Pride following the encounter with the weird, giant leeches during the previous night, the pariahs decided to leave the gold-panning until they have better support/tools/a PLAN.
We ruled that as White Moon and Brooding Mountain (Louis' characters) had not officially gone home yet, they would be able to assist in the transportation of Monsoon-Swallows-Pride's body.
Before that occurred, we had agreed that Hard Boulder and The Cuckoo would be considered adults by the Pariah band for battling – and overcoming – the malevolent spirit-leeches. Mechanically, this involved increasing their HP, giving them a spirit die and improving heir saving throws. I quite liked the idea of them also gaining additional epithets but neither player was committed to doing this at this stage. Hard Boulder inherited her late mentor's foraging skill in addition to listening (for threats!) and leadership. She has a spirit die (hit die) of 1d4 and 4 HP. The Cuckoo is lightly heartier (6 HP, 1d6 SD) and demonstrates skill at storytelling and fishing.
Given that they had the assistance of White Moon and Brooding Mountain and the going towards the coast was on the descent, I ruled there'd be no impediment to movement and they arrived by the coast in good time. Here they elected to lash together a bier for Monsoon's body and send him out into the sea which brought him to this island initially. They held a small service before casting him off (the die of fate declaring it to be a receding high tide), with his belongings divided among the survivors. Hard Boulder praised her late mentor's patience.
I rolled a reaction for the Goddess of the Sea. She welcomed the gift of Monsoon's body, and the tide carried the bier ou into the waves, before it was subsumed by a shoal of gleaming white fish.
On their way back along the coast, they spied a pair of unusual trees: The left-hand tree is dead. The right-hand tree is in permanent flower (ZS, Upper Heleng). The tree is garlanded with cords and braid, some at great height: clearly this pair of trees is of great spiritual significance... but to whom? They pass by without interfering.
They return to base camp in the Forests of the Tortoise by nightfall, placing a small memento mori on the previously assembled ancestral shrine, beside the water pail of the deceased nameless youth.
Session #10:
9th April 2026
Who Played
9th April 2026
Who Played
Players were represented this session by Brett Slocum, Louis Jenner and Tinhead Ned.
Characters
The Cuckoo (m), Hard Boulder (f), White Moon (m) – adult pariahs
Big Tortoise (m), Brooding Mountain (m), Idle Jungle (f) – outcast youths
Day 9 of 3rd Month of Dry Season, Scorching Sun
After witnessing the death of his age-mate, Sweet-Told-No-Lies decides to retire from trips into the unknown, entrusting his charge – The Cuckoo – to continue with the gold-panning plan. In turn, The Cuckoo and Hard Boulder will take on the responsibility of mentoring youths Idle Jungle and Big Tortoise respectively.
Day 9 of 3rd Month of Dry Season, Scorching Sun
After witnessing the death of his age-mate, Sweet-Told-No-Lies decides to retire from trips into the unknown, entrusting his charge – The Cuckoo – to continue with the gold-panning plan. In turn, The Cuckoo and Hard Boulder will take on the responsibility of mentoring youths Idle Jungle and Big Tortoise respectively.
With White Moon and Brooding Mountain on hand to assist with any threats, the pariahs feel better prepared to face down any further threats to their mission. However, further preparation would certainly help. Hard Boulder has already crafted a pronged staff from her late mentor's possessions (the better to pin a leech to the ground before chopping it), while the possibility of applying salt to the leeches also encourages further innovation, as the party use their dugouts to evaporate a few handfuls of pure sea salt. They plan to take 3 days worth of rations (a day there, a day panning for gold, a day back).
Additionally, White Moon has crafted a set of pan pipes from the single stem of windworn bamboo previously snatched from the clump harassed by the wind-spirit.
They leave the following morning. Passing through the lands of the tortoise they witness nothing but a flash of orange in the trees (possibly an orangutan) and then an improvement in the weather, as thin wisps of cloud obscure the worst of the sun's glare as they head towards midday.
After breaking for lunch they enter less familiar territory – less familiar in that they have not learned of the nature of its spirit, and have cleaved close to the coast on all the excursions. They trudge past the tall, garlanded trees yet again. White Moon pays them a little closer attention, curious as to the species: he gleams little beyond the supernatural nature of the right-hand tree's florabundance.
Passing the tree the wisps of cloud thicken into a brooding sky, and a wind kicks up off the sea. This is read as an ill omen, but the party elect to press on. They head up the slopes of the mountain, passing the stand of Windworn bamboo. The party realise they are being watched: traipsing up a cleft in the mountainside (probably a dry stream), gigantic sloths peer at them from either side. The cuckoo stops to make eye contact: a sloth meets his gaze, before darting up the tree at supernatural speed.
Evidently, not ordinary sloths...
Nonetheless, they press on, arriving at White Moon's "claim" (the area he and Brooding Mountain camped at while the rest of the party battled giant, killer leeches) and setting a watch. a giant tuatara (6' long) is spotted at the edge of the fire's glow and it only departs after the party make themselves big and intimidate it.
Later, during White Moon's watch, a Sun Bear shows up. White Moon plays it a melody on his newly crafted pipes: not only does the tune seem to please the bear, but the cloudy sky clears granting a glimpse of a brilliant sky. The rest of the pariahs – already roused to the potential threat – enjoy the spectacle in spite of their broken sleep.
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| A |
Day 10 of 3rd Month of Dry Season, Scorching Sun
The party wake to find the bear still with them, and it follows them to their gold-panning site further downstream. Hard Boulder and White Moon share their rations with the animal, it stays with them. They use various methods to try and separate gold flakes from silt (including sacks, wooden plates, banana leaves) all with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, they return to their camp with more than a third of an ounce of gold, and they discuss what can be done with it.
While preparing camp for the evening, White Moon smokes som esorerers sage to see if it can bring him closer to his animal companion. Again, the substance only makes him feel sick. We close the session with the pariahs hitting the hay, 24 miles from base camp.
Reflections
I didn't load the map this session, which made overland travel feel a bit weird (for me, at least). I'd quite luck to do a one-mile hex version of the rutes the pariahs have already used.
The night-time encounter procedure irks me at two points. One, it's too frequent (I need to work out how many rolls to make) and two, it nearly always brings a threat. Something to think about or next time.
Again I forgot (in the second of the two sessions) to talk about experience and "Xs", so had to do it post session. Not necessarily bad but I think it would be better in session.
Munkao, Illustrator and RPG Creator:
https://www.instagram.com/munkao/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/munkao/?hl=en
Zedeck Siew's Writing Hours
https://slowlorispress.com/
https://slowlorispress.com/
Session #01 (landing, rhino, creepy moth man)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/01/exiles-of-thousand-islands-session.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/01/exiles-of-thousand-islands-session.html
Session #02 (surviving in the wilderness)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/01/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands_26.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/01/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands_26.html
Session #03-06 (exploring the west, giant cockroaches, myths and legends)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/03/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands.htm
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/03/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands.htm
Session #07 (The wind worries the baboo, mudslides, Wingseed and Dangles)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/03/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands_11.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/03/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands_11.html
Session #08 (leech fight)
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/03/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands_26.html
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2026/03/campaign-26-exiles-of-thousand-islands_26.html
The Petal Hack, 2nd Edition by Brett Slocum
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/351835/the-petal-hack-2nd-ed?affiliate_id=767873
Altar of the Ancestral Sprits
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2020/11/altar-of-ancestral-spirits.html
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