Of Iron and Bone; An Araea One-shot
A mythic beast, potential for wealth and adventure, what's not to love?
What's that? High likelyhood of death? Not a problem. Anyone that ventures into the Far Deep thrives under these conditions.
Welcome to the Araea (world by Qurilion) one-shot adventure written by Stormbril! This is part of a world-exchange started in 2020 by Krostatina, where we write short stories or adventures in eachothers worlds. This is going to be a one-shot designed for 3-6 players, where they will delve deep into Araea, where a potential mythic haul of incredible bones, chitin, or other monster parts await them at the end of a perilous journey. This one-shot will be designed with teamwork in mind. Players will need to pick classes, or Kaia, to best create a party that is ready to handle the deep. It's intended to be replayable, and difficulty can be adjusted by limiting character choices to a certain few types of Kaia. A prior knowledge of Araea is recommended, but if not, there will be links to Araea articles throughout this one-shot that you may read along the way!
Story Setting
This is all they found of her... just her hand, clenched tightly around this blood soaked note. Near the hand were some bone fragments unlike any we've ever seen, and of the most incredible composition and quality. Most of it was impossible to read... but we were able to make out three words:The players are a team of Kaia -- this team works together to explore into the deep caves of Araea, slaying beasts and bringing back bounties of meat and bone. They work out of Dhanû, a great city-state within the Inner Shell. The city-state, and the party of players, have a close relationship with Izhaso, The Forge of Bones -- they are currently on the lookout for new hunts to supply their forge partners with bone, chitin, and whatever else is needed.
"...deep...
...magnificient...
...dead?..."
Current theory is there's a leviathan beast clawing its way out of the Far Deep. Kaia teams are gathering as we speak, in a rush to be the first to kill it and claim its corpse as their prize. Better hurry if you want in on the best bone haul Dhanû has seen in years.
Location Introductions
The Inner Shell
This adventure takes place in the Inner Shell of Araea, a region of caverns that are many miles deep below the surface. It is the most populated section of Araea, where the people make their homes within a labyrinthian collection of giant caves, twisting tunnels, underground oceans and rivers of lava. The tunnels increase in size and complexity as you venture downward into the Far Deep.The Far Deep
This is the end goal of the adventure, the place the party is attempting to reach to find the mythical beast that the runner brought news of. The caverns become even larger and more alien, just as the creatures down here do as well.Character Introductions
Goðachi Yosson
Goðachi is a wealthy merchant within Dhanû, with ties to many powerful people all across the city-state, including Izhaso. Should the party be willing to barter some of their future spoils with him, they might be able to gain some useful supplies to help on their journey. However, if Goðachi is pushed too far, they risk angering him and sending those potential resources to rival Kaia teams.Character Creation
What's your specialty, and how is it going to keep the rest of us alive?Character creation should be planned out ahead of time. Characters can be planned out individually, so that the resulting party of Kaias is randomized and not minmaxed (perhaps resulting in having three Kaia-Heoa and one Kaia-Tani, thus raising the difficulty), or created as a group to ensure coverage of all types of Kaia. Work together with the GM to adapt your chosen classes skills to the Kaia of your choice. Each Kaia will also have their own starting equipment.
Act 0: Getting to know the Quest and the Party
During this time, a runner emerges from one of the caverns that leads to The Far Deep. She appears breathless, and covered in blood -- not a strange occurance in Araea, but the news she brings catches the attention of all within ear-shot. She brings evidence of a possible monstrous creature often thought to be mere myth, and with this spark, a frenzy of preparation begins. Kaia from all across Dhanû begin to gather and deliberate, deciding whether or not the risk of death in The Deep outweighs the chance to slay something that most have only heard tales of. The party will need to go through three stages to complete the story. First, they must assemble their team of Kaia. This portion will include roleplaying, character interactions, introductions, persuation and planning. The party can try to win over a wealthy clan member to invest in the party with equipment and tools -- this will likely include promising some portion of the beast to them, or some very good persuation. After that, they may plan their route. There are three potential options for them to make their way into the Far Deep:
- They may take the path that the news-runner came out of. The Runner is bloodied and very hurt, but said they attempted this dangerous path to get back to Dhanû as fast as possible. Rival Kaia teams might be found on this route.
- If they manage to persuade a wealthy investor, they might discover a secondary, hidden route that not many others know of. This path might be full of mysterious beasts, and could be either faster or slower than other.
- If all else fails, they can take a boat from Lake Hoshãn, and travel down the long snaking river that leads from it to the Abyss. Water flows down-hill, and there's more than one theory that the river splits off and feeds into the Far Deep.
Kaia Choices
Kaia are the explorers of Araea. They see sights, map the depths, slay beasts and harvest materials. They are among the bravest humans Araea has to offer. This oneshot is intended to be as system agnostic as possible. As such, it is recommended that you take existing classes from your system of choice, and apply them to the different Kaia roles as you see fit.Kaia-Tene
Experts of light, and guides in the darkness. Before an expedition, they plot out what light-making or light-blocking materials they might need to bring for the journey.Kaia-Ahere
Map makers, scholars, those with a keen sense of direction. Without a Kaia-Ahere, you might find your way down into the caves, but it's unlikely you will find your way back.Kaia-Tani
Trackers and knowers of beasts; they know whether or not you should run, fight, or hide from monsters you'll find in the caves.Kaia-Heoa
Tacticians, masters of the battlefield. Skilled in battle, stealth, and camouflage. Likely works best hand in hand with a Kaia-Tani to decide whether or not to fight.Kaia-Gai
Skilled in the art of negotiation, food production foraging, and managing team inventory. Without them, it's possible you might run out of food, a death sentance in the deep.Kaia-Kaora
Often times acting as the only line between life and death for the party as a healer, but also knowlegable in what parts of monsters are useable. Works well with Kaia-Gai in dissecting critters.While all Kaia are expected to be self-sufficient enough and survive the loss of any one or two team members, successful teams can often work in complete silence and be confident in each team members ability in their role.
Freaking amazing :D I'm so thrilled and happy to see what you've done with the setting I created, and I've never wanted to play or DM in it more than right now Thank you - this is incredible :D
Creator of Araea, Megacorpolis, and many others.
I am sooooo super happy to hear that! I absolutely love Araea, and the delve so deep into it was incredibly fun. And now I really want to play in that world too :D