ttrpg

Session 3: Visions in Smoke and Ash

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The adventure begins with Kahuna Akamai sharing a vision he had with Princess Anahera. The vision was of a lush new island, with limitless coconuts, obscured by smoke and ash. Akamai suggested Anahera may be destined to find this island, if she can lift the veil of smoke covering its path.

Akamai said, “I’ve had this dream many times. Each time different voyagers are converging on the island, and each time a different outcome. Sometimes the voyagers destroy each other on the journey, other times they reach the island together, and sometimes they fight once they arrive. I have no doubt we must rush to find this place; Motu Oa I will call it. I also expect the journey to be filled with great dangers.”

Akamai paused for a moment. As he continued, he said, “We’ve had visions like these before. You must travel to Ngauru and consult with the volcano god Ruamoku. He will need a sacrifice, if he accepts it he may lift the veil hiding the path to this island.”

Princess Anahera turned to the adventurers. The young Kahuna’s Abby of Tane and Jeff of Hina, the Wayfinder Connor, Jules the Shapeshifted, Anani the Ariori, and Blake, a mighty warrior. They quickly agreed to escort her to Ngauru.

Connor then steped aside to quietly ask Kahuna Akamai, if perhaps, they are required to sacrifice the Princess. Although no one else heard what was said, everyone instantly saw the color drain from the Kahuna’s face and the look of shock as he vigorously emphasized that was not the case.

The PCs debated what they might sacrifice. Not coming to a conclusion, they asked if anyone had gone on this journey before. Princess Anahera suggested they speak with a village elder, Kai-Alu.

The PCs walked across the village to Kai-Alu. An old man in 70s, a famous adventurer in his youth. He looked up as the PCs enter his hut. The PCs gave him the space and reverence a man of his mana and stature deserve. He asked, “what brings such a young spry group and the princess to my humble home.”

The PCs describe the adventure they had been tasked with. Then Kai-Alu told of his adventure. “I can still remember the putrid stink of sulfur today. The whole way up the mountain was obscured with smoke and ash. We made it to the top and sacrificed a truly beautiful feather headdress.” He pauses for a moment. “But alas, I don’t think it was enough. One voyager died on our return journey. And the chief whom we sought a blessing for had a terrible, short, and violent reign over Moanatu.”

The PCs asked why the sacrifice didn’t work. Kai-Alu responded, “I don’t think the sacrifice meant anything to the chief. Ruamoku saw through it as trivial and meaningless wealth cast into his pit. He let us leave, but I think he cursed the chief.” Kai-Alu warned of other dangers on the island. Great Pele-Hele’s (Lava Monsters), and wandering paths obscured in smoke and ash where adventurers can lose their way.

The PCs bid Kai-Alu goodbye and went to prepare to take the Princess’ new vessel to Ngauru. The mid-size outrigger canoue was recently blessed by Hina, Goddess of Fertility, Death, and the Moon. Jules, knowing  about poisons gathered some last minute herbs in case anyone was struck ill from inhaling the sulfur. The others gathered food supplies and makeshift tapa cloth face masks. Ready to move on, the group set out for Ngauru.

Connor, and his trainee Bob, were well renowned for their navigation skills. He made the journey in record time with smooth sailing the whole way. As the group beached their outrigger, they recalled the warning about the Pakangans. That Princess Anahera was probably not the only one to have received this message from the gods. The heroes then found an alcove to hide their boat in and a good vantage point to scan the sea for approaching vessels. A tiny dot appeared on the horizon.

Knowing the warmongering nature of the Pakangans, the heroes found the perfect location to set an Ambush. They set a fire to draw the other vessel in, laid a trap of sharp obsidian in front of it, and hid themselves among rocks on the coast.

The Pakangan vessel beached itself, and then its riders cautiously disembarked. As this happened, Blake stepped out behind the fire and threatened the group of Pakangans. One brave Pakangan charged forward, tripped on the trap, and impaled himself on a series of daggers. His life slowly drained down the rocky shores and into the see.

More cautiously the rest of the crew inched forward and clustered near the boat. Abby called upon the power of Tane to lull the Pakangans to sleep with a gentle breeze carrying the soft sound of birds chirping. In moments, the Pakangan leader stood alone on the shore of Ngauru facing the brave group of Maonatan adventurers.

A brief attempt to parlay was made with the leader who resisted the song on the wind. However, this lone Pakangan moved towards his sleeping comrades clearly intent on waking them. Then all hell broke loose.

The PCs emerged and threw spears at this lone warrior. One spear pierced his skin, the other putting a small cut in his shoulder. He yanked the first spear out and threw it to the ground as if it means nothing to have been impaled. The Pakangan leader was encircled by the heroes. He deftly maneuvered through the Moanutan warriors and walked over his crew yelling at them to wake up.

The rest of the PCs charged the disoriented group of drowsy seamen. In moments, several fell dead. Heads smashed in with clubs, guts spilled across the ground. The morale breaks on the remaining Pakangans and attempted to flee. Combat stops almost as suddenly as it started. With the two survivors, the leader and Steve, fleeing to the relative safety of their vessel.

Then, the two remaining Pakangans surrendered. After tieing them up, the heroes debated what to do with their prisoners. Let them return to Pakanga, execute them, or sacrifice them to Ruamoko. Ultimately, they decided to sacrifice them. In a desperate plee to find a way out, the Pakangan leader attempted to lead the heroes astray. Lying he told them they need to sacrifice a Pele-Hele heart to Ruamoko. While not true, it would be a fine sacrifice.

The PCs then commandeered the Pakangan vessel’s tiki to Ku, god of war, and prepared to drag the prisoners to the top of the mountain. Deciding to see if they can get more information out of Steve, the group bargained with steve, for his life. Persuaded by Connor’s utterly incomprehensible confidence, coupled with a total lack of decorum, Steve and Connor bonded instantly. Steve told the group that they were the sacrifice they planned, and that they need no Lava monster heart.

The entire group, except Bob who stayed behind to watch the two vessels, headed up the Volcano. They found a clear path and eventually come to a juncture. Glancing in the smoke they saw images representative of Hina and Tane. Realizing they must choose a path, they deliberated whether they follow the albatross (Tane) or the stars (Hina).

Jules attempted to scout ahead and saw that the entire Volcano was covered in an obscuring layer of smoke. Impenetrable from above, he realized for he was lost. He landed, and used one of the pair of echoing conch shells to talk to the group, and find his way back. During this time, Anani, performed a dance for Hina and Tane each symbol lighting up in turn. Eventually, deciding Hina has blessed their journey so far, the heroes followed the stars.

At the next path the heroes faced three more choices, each a constellation. Sirius, Ekoru (a tail), and Tautoru. Unsure what these symbols were meant to convey they again deliberated on the path forward. Turning to Steve, they asked if he knew anything. Steve suggested it had something to do with the first sound (letter) of each constellation. Still uncertain, Jeff prayed to Hinna for guidance, she lit the way highlighting Tautoru. This pattern repeated, as they spelled out TOP and found their way to the volcanoes summit.

As they reached the top, they looked down into the pit of the volcano. Lava began to bubble up, and Ruamoku took form. A gigantic humanoid shape, made of pure lava slowly emerged from the pit. His form remained constant, but within lava circled continuously, quickly hardening wherever the current stoped.

The PCS offered the enemy leader to Ruamoku. Without a word he rose up to his full height of almost fifteen feet and swiped him into the pit. The leader attempted to dodge but was no match for the speed and ferocity of this god. He screamed as he fell, until moments later, his form was engulfed in lava.

With a simple wave of his massive hands, Ruamoku cleared a path for the heroes down the mountain. He spoke in a voice with the sound of thunder, “The way is clear.”

Once the heroes reach their outrigger, Princess Anahera described the new Mele Hoku to Connor. She then asked if the group would accompany her to this new land, Motu Oa. Deliberating on what to do with the extra boat and passenger they decided to take both vessels and test Bob’s abilities as a Wayfinder.

The group feared the sea, with no god to guide their vessel. But, while the group ascended the mountain Bob carved a beautiful Obsidian moon to represent Hina. Finding a strange piece with two colors, he captured her ever shifting duality with almost perfect precision. However, insulted by the sacrifice of his totem and his worshippers, Ku himself took notice of the group of heroes.

They set sail, again Connor’s impeccable wayfinding skills helping them navigate the waters with ease. A few days into their Journey they saw a massive Pahu ahead. Jules changed into a massive albatross, and scouted ahead to the Pahu.

It was clear the Pahu was built for war, with symbols of Ku along its massive canoes. However, the passengers looked peaceful. It was a group of families, potentially looking for a new island. Jules also spotted two small outriggers scouting ahead and behind the massive Pahu. As the heroes deliberated what to do, one of the outrigger canoes spotted them. It then changed course to intercept the heroes between their current location and the Pahu.

Anani, examining the sales, recognized that this flotilla all flew patterns associated with the island of Tahiti. Once the vessel approached, the heroes and foreigners exchanged pleasantries. Then Anani persuades the Tahitians to grant them an audience with their leader Prince Tapiti.

Prince Tapiti and Princess Anahera exchanged pleasantries and shared that they both sought a bountiful new island. They seemed to hit it off, with Prince Tapiti perhaps a bit more enamored than Princess Anahera. Potentially because of his two recently called off engagements, which sent him sailing into the unknown to seek new lands.

Discussing that they both seek to claim the island, Princess Anahera proposed a race. They agreed to terms. A single vessel each, six occupants, and quite imbalanced prizes. Prince Tapiti wins a date, but must put the very island they sail to on the line.

Shortly thereafter the two outrigger canoes chosen for the race take off, leaving behind the rest of the flotilla. The first day of the race, the heroes pull ahead, but never made it out of sight of Tapiti’s outrigger. The next day, Tapiti (with a little assistance from Ku granting Tapiti’s crew strength for paddling), closed the gap. On the final day, the two vessels remained neck and neck until Hina blessed the heroes with a favorable gust of wind. Blowing them ahead with the island in sight.

Seeing he may lose Tapiti, launched himself from the boat and swims ahead to almost make landfall first. He emerged, soaked and exhausted, and looked to Anahera and said, “Surely that’s worth a date.”

She replied, “I believe you mean, that’s worth a date, My Queen.” After a brief pause, “Perhaps, you can earn one another time.”

The two walked off to discuss, and returned agreeing Anahera is queen, and Tapiti may rule as second in command. With both their people welcome to settle on this island. Tapiti, is clearly infatuated with Anahera, while Anahera’s intentions remain somewhat less clear.

The heroes slowly part ways. Jeff, Abby and Anani staying on the island, the others returning to Moanatu to tell Anahera’s cohort they may follow her to a new land.

Upcoming Publications!

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The post title might be a little ahead of itself. But I’ve got two adventures for the without number series ready (one for worlds, one for stars). Now, I’m looking for play testers. I want feedback from both players and GMs. I’m thinking about starting a discord server to do play testing. If you’re interested, head over to my contacts page and reach out!

Echoes of the Void

Introduction: Dr. Ohno, A famous nuero-psientologist went on a short-term research assignment and went missing. His wife Debra started investigating his disappearance, and everyone she talked to started to go missing. A week ago, she received a cryptic message and hired the PCs to follow this clue to find her husband.

Shortly after taking the assignment, Dr. Ohno realized his research was intended to create psionic super-soldiers for a biotech megacorp. This bio-tech firm discovered a lost world with strange psionic properties. Not only did this lead to breakthroughs in psionic research, but the system’s position could completely change the sector’s economy by breaking up monopolistic trade routes. Realizing what was happening, Dr. Ohno attempted to sabotage the research and managed to leak a short cry for help to his wife Debra.

This adventure is a roughly four-hour adventure for 4-6 first level characters in Stars Without Number. It’s part of a longer campaign that I have outlined but haven’t been able to run in its entirety yet. I have run this part of the adventure a few times using SWN and Fantasy Flight’s Star Wars RPG. My plan is to publish the whole campaign in parts, making each module a standalone product.

The adventure starts on the most populous planet in the sector, with a chance for the PCs to follow up on the leads that turned into literal dead-ends for Debra. Then the PCs take a shuttle to a backwater space station to follow the message from Dr. Ohno.

On the space station the PCs get to the space station they’re able to acquire a ship, but it comes with some string attached in the form of a powerful new enemy. They’ll be pursued by local authorities as they leave the backwater space station. The players then end up at an abandoned research station, where Dr. Ohno was conducting research, in a unknown system. The station itself is basically a space dungeon, inhabited by aggressive robots and a torched psychic. Here they can piece together what happened, find Dr. Ohno (in the one-shot version), and realize how big an enemy they’ve made by taking this job.

Mystery in Elanysia

Introduction: Below the Tower of Arcana in the sprawling metropolis of Elanysia sits a seemingly endless maze of passages. For centuries the doors have been sealed shut, and in that time their purpose was long forgotten. Recently, a local thieves guild has taken up residence in these catacombs and allied themselves with forces they don’t fully comprehend, threatening to bring disaster to Elanysia.

This adventure is a dungeon I’ve placed in almost every campaign I’ve run. It’s inspired by the lost woods in the original Zelda game. The module is based on a one-shot version of the dungeon I put together while quarantining with Covid (it’s been sitting half-done for a while!) The adventure has the PCs following a series of robberies, where Imps provide a distraction while something valuable is stolen. Eventually, the PCs should figure out that George, and indebted gambling addict, is at the center of all events. Following him should lead the PCs to an endless dungeon maze where a local thieves’ guild has taken residence. Then the fun begins, as the PCs learn how to navigate the maze. They must stop the thieves’ guild from allowing a demon trapped in the maze from threatening the safety of Elanysia.

Session Two: War or Peace

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After the excitement of the wedding celebration had subdued, the Chiefs Pauihito and Temaunota quickly turned to deciding what must be done about Tahitia. Pauihito urged an aggressive strike, while Temaunota pushed for a more cautious approach. Chief Temaunota was weary of going to war while Borotonga recovered from the recent plague. Ultimately, they agreed to send a scouting party to Tahitia so a more informed decision could be made.

The chiefs sought the adventurers with the greatest Mana from Morotana and Borotonga to send on the mission. They brought in the renowned navigator Wake, Root the Warrior, and the old but wise Kahuna Leilani. They shared with the adventurers the pressing need to gather information as the Chiefs debated the best course of action. Like the Chiefs, the adventurers themselves were also divided on the best course of action. They listened as the chiefs bickered back and forth, Pauhito encouraging sabotage and assassination and Tamaunota hoping to avoid a conflict.

Eventually the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Kahuna HareHare. He pulled the group outside the hut and shared with them a vision gifted to him by the gods. “I presume you all remember the story of Maui and Tuna. Tuna continually harassed Maui’s mother Hina angering Maui. Maui chased Tuna from island to island, each time Maui caught up, the slippery eel escaped. Eventually Maui cornered Tuna, and slayed him. Maui buried Tuna’s head and cast aside the body. Where the head was buried, the first coconut tree grew.” The Kahuna paused, after reminding the adventurers of the story.

“It seems as if the Gods, after all these years, are teaching my like I teach our children. The version of the story I saw was different. Maui and Tuna made peace, and Tuna became guardian of Hina’s home. Still, could you imagine a world without coconuts? While I employ you to be cautious in your approach, Parau-tia must be stopped.”

The group of adventurers then prepared to depart Morotana. Nearly ready to set sail for Tahitia, the group returned to the two chiefs before departing and asked if they had anything that belonged to Parau-tia, to enable them to call upon the power of Hina to guide them directly to the evil Kahuna. The chiefs recalled the adventurers who helped stop the plague on Borotonga and the bones of Parua-tia’s servant the brought back from the island of Moti-Poti.

Ready to set sale, the group set sail for Borotonga. On the last day of the journey, Wake saw a wicked storm approaching. Seeing no other option than to leverage the winds of the storm and race to the island, that’s exactly what they did. Masterfully tacking into the wind, the group managed to reach the island just as the storm intensified.

Once on the island the group sought out the Princess’ Manao and Tepiti shared the mission they were on and inquired about the bones. The princesses sent for an old Kahuna, and they found the bones were securely wrapped away at the islands main alter. Throwing the old man on his back, Root carried him to the alter and retrieved the bones.

Before departing, Princess Manao paused the adventurers and told them she thought Prince Tiape was a good man. They inquired if he was rather eel-like, and although a euphemistic miss-understanding occurred, she mentioned he kept his head shaved. Leilani then asked the princess if she perhaps still had anything that once belonged to Prince Tiape, and she provided them with a massive snail shell he had gifted to her. Princess Tepiti scowled at Manao upon finding out she held on to this gift, although it was clear there was no real ill-will between them.

The trip to Tahiti passed by quickly and uneventfully. Upon arrival they were hailed by a pair of warriors on a small patrol canoe. The group convinced the warriors they were traders blown off course by the whims Tahwhiri in the recent storm, unsure of where they were and looking to trade for supplies. Wake pulled of the rouse masterfully, and quickly befriended the pair of warriors.

Guiding the PCs through the reef, the warriors seemed overly concerned with ensuring the adventurers avoided the south side of the isle. Following the warriors’ lead, the party came ashore and began negotiations.

The island seemed abuzz with activity. The sound of stone axes echoed across the island, celebrations with Kava were everywhere, and disagreement on the course of action taken by Chief Aturu (and whether he was even in charge) seemed to permeate every conversation. While Wake negotiated to get as many supplies for his rare feathers as possible, Leilani and Root began to meander south to look for a quiet place to conduct their ritual.

Reaching the edge of the forest near the cove on the south side of Tahitia, Leilani and Root saw two massive Pahus under construction. While not necessarily instruments of war, these boats could carry hundreds of warriors the short distance to Morotana and Borotanga. To avoid suspicion Leilani pulled a full-on Grama Taly act. Acting a bit eccentric in song and dance, she eventually shifted into the actual ritual of finding as the sun set. Once complete, Leilani looked at the stars and realized Prince Tiape was not on the island.

Realizing something was amiss in Tahiti and trusting the advice of Princess Manao, the group immediately set sail and followed the stars. However, it seems the gods were not in favor of this course of action, and the group was blown off course and into the tentacles of a Kraken looking for a meal.

A brief and violent battle ensued, but the adventurers fought heroically. Leilani was grappled by an arm, and pulled back by Root. Then Root expertly deflected the attacks of the kraken, pushing Wake out of the way to be grabbed himself, then cutting his own way out of the Kraken’s grasp. Leilani converted Hina’s healing energy into a dark necrotic force to help subdue the beast, and Wake swung his leiomano at the beast. Eventually, the Kraken decided this meal was not worth the effort.

The adventurers continued to sail north, trying to adjust their path and follow the stars shining in the sky, when a massive burst of light occurred not too far off their current course. Setting sail in that direction, the group found Prince Tiape later that evening.

They found out that Prince Tiape, dis-illusioned with his father’s leadership, was seeking out a new island and planned to steal one of the three war Pahu’s under construction and take with him those who shared his viewpoint and wished to avoid war. A short negotiation took place between the prince and the adventurers. The adventurers agreed to help the Prince in exchange for a Mele Hoku to a magical island where the Prince found the oversized snail shell he gifted to Princess Manao.

The prince and the adventurers set course back to Tahiti, and used the time on the journey back to make a plan on how to deal with the dangerous Kahuna Parau-tia. Root shared a magical potion he had been given allowing him to take the form of someone else for a brief time. Practicing how to impersonate the Prince’s Kahuna Kalahari, the group decided they would have Prince Tiape surrender to be brought to Parau-tia once on the island.

Upon reaching Tahitia, the plan worked as expected. During the Prince’s absence Kahuna Parau-tia ended the rouse of Chief Aturu having any authority, completely seizing control of the island. The group was escorted directly to the evil Kahuna. Parua-tia, not seeing through the enchantment worn by Wake, asked who he thought was Kahlahari, of his loyalty.

Wake bluffed excellently, making up a story of remaining loyal and brining the prince back to him. Wake slowly approached the Kahuna, and waited for the perfect moment to break his disguise. The moment came. The Kahuna dropped his guard for a brief second, and Wake swung his leiomano at the Kahuna’s throat. The shark’s teeth found their mark, and the Parau-tia instantly collapsed.

Afterwards, the group found Queen Maroa prisoner in the Kahuna’s hut and saw the compulsion enchantments fade from Chief Aturu. Prince Tiape set off the next day with hundreds from the island and headed north to follow a Mele Hoku to an unknown future with two of the great Pahu’s that had originally been made to prepare for war.

Inspired Monsters Part 1

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This post is part of a multi-part series on my approach to monster design. I wanted to start with some memories, and in the next iteration I’ll discuss my approach to finding inspiration and ideas. In all my years of DMing two battles stand out as more memorable than all the rest. It’s not because they represented reaching the apex of a storyline, but because the battles themselves provided interesting player choices which generated tension.

As I discuss my design philosophy I will stress player agency through meaningful choice. If in combat, you always have a single best action to take, it can feel like you’re simply rolling dice. Now, that can be plenty of fun just join a craps table at a casino! But players want to feel like their choices influence whether or not their characters succeed. By creating situations where the player has to figure something out and can make designs which influence the outcome. you tend to generate more engaging play.

The first fight I’ll discuss was a boss fight at the top of a wizard’s tower which focused elemental energies. The environment was inspired by the location and an extension of the story, but it also created benefits and drawbacks for the PCs and their enemies. The room was a circle separated into quadrants filled with different elemental energies. In each quadrant there was a golem of that element. Those golems could enter the neighboring quadrants, but not the quadrant opposite its own element. When the elements in a quadrant were active (there was a switch in each section of the room), the golems would gain benefits. But only if in their own quadrant.

This created a series of interesting interactions. Each room section created an advantage or disadvantage for being within it, the golems had to decide whether to stay in their quadrant or help their neighbors.

The environment created interesting, impactful, choices for the players and the golems. Not only did where each character stand matter, the players also had to choose which golems to focus on and figure out how and if to shut off the elemental energies. If a disabled golem remained in its own quadrant, it would begin to heal if the element was active.

The battle ended with about half the party down while fighting in total darkness. Once they figured out what turning off the switches did, they focused on shutting down the golems one by one. It was a tense battle where every player had impactful options.

I won’t go into as much detail on the other battle. It took advantage of the physical game board. My daughter made a Christmas tree out of a paper plate that we used as a slime demon. It had tentacles and eyeballs on everywhere. I used those characteristics to give it some related attributes like grab attacks and immunity to flanking. What made the battle particularly memorable was using the pipe cleaner tentacles to create reach. It made for a really memorable fight as the game board became even more interactive than it usually was.

In both cases, the terrain added an extra dimension to character choice, leading to fun interesting battles. I’ll have more posts on monster design and in the next post I’ll discuss inspiration more. In the meantime, I leave you with a simple advice and a recommendation. Try to add one dynamic element to your monster or the battlefield which gives the players a meaningful choice. It could be as simple as giving the players a tough path to advantageous terrain. Or leverage a mechanic like the one I used for the golems, where the players have to learn it along the way.

For the recommendation, watch this Matt Colville video on action-oriented monsters. You’ll find me recommend many of his videos throughout the blog, as I think Matt makes many aspects of game design quite approachable.

Journey to Hawaiki’s Pantheon

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I look forward to sharing resources I’ve used for game design in future posts. Some of my favorites are Matt Colville’s YouTube series and On-Writing by Stephen King. This first post is about designing my Polynesian inspired game-setting. My worlds always focus on a theme. In this world, I wanted to capture the feel of a mythological story. So, I centered world development on the Pantheon.

While many mythological Pantheons could be used directly in TTRPGs, the vast array of gods within and across Polynesia made this challenging. I struggled to find a starting point, so went back to the drawing board to consider what I’d do if no Pantheon existed. If I were designing a Pantheon from scratch, I’d start with key domains the gods needed to support, create those, and add details as needed.

I used a variation of that approach here. I started with the gods in the Maori creation story. Then, where I found gaps, I looked for other Polynesian gods to fill the gap. Overall, my goal was to design a Pantheon that captured Polynesian mythology and worked well for game design.

So, let me quickly summarize the creation story I used and the gods in it.

In the beginning, Papa (mother earth) and Rangi (father sky) were locked in an eternal embrace, with the world between them stuck in darkness. Their children grew tired of the darkness and lack of space and discussed what should be done. First a suggestion to slay their parents was raised, but in the end the siblings, all but Tawhiri, agreed to rend them apart. One by one their children tried, and failed, until Tane with the strength of his forests reaching into the sky broke his parents’ eternal embrace. The gods listed below form the major gods of this Pantheon.

Tane. Tane is associated with forests and birds.

Rongo. Rongo is associated with cultivated food.

Haumia. The father of uncultivated food.

Tangaroa. Fish and reptiles.

Tawhiri. The father of winds and storms.

I realized I needed gods associated with healing, war, and death. So, I looked around Polynesian stories for gods to cover these domains. I choose two more from Maori mythology, and one from Hawaii:

Ku. Ku is the god of war in Hawaiian mythology.

Hina. Goddess of the Moon, associated with fertility, and mother of Maui.

Hine-Nui-Te-Po. The mother of death. There is a great story about Maui trying to make humans immortal and failing related to Maui and Hine.

One thing we’ll cover in a later post is the godly influence mechanic I’m working on building. This required lesser gods that have some association with the major gods. This part took more research. Stories from Polynesian mythology are filled with hundreds of minor gods, and I imagine thousands more have been lost to time. I could have just started picking and choosing which ones to use, but I wanted to first understand the hierarchy of Polynesian gods. Usually, these minor gods represented a narrow natural phenomenon. Two broad patterns emerge.

The first pattern is the progeny of the major gods covered narrow aspects of their broad domain. Given the emphasis on genealogy in Polynesian mythology this was unsurprising. The Maori creation myth provides one example of how these gods relate to the major gods. Tawhiri wanted to exact vengeance on his siblings. To do this he created a host of minor gods associated with the winds. These included gods for the four directions of the winds, squalls, and fierce storms. Then he sent these gods to battle against his siblings. The story goes on to describe his siblings doing the same.

The second pattern is slightly harder to disambiguate. Many of the gods themselves have multiple aspects, and compound names to represent them. One particularly profound example from Hawaiian mythology is Hina. Hina of Hawaii has dozens of names each an aspect of who she is. Some examples for Hina are Hina-puku-iʻa (Hina-gathering-seafood) the goddess of fishermen, and Hina-ʻopu-hala-koʻa who gave birth to all reef life.

While I haven’t fully selected the minor gods I’m using, I decided to borrow inspiration from both approaches. The minor gods will encompass narrow aspects of the major gods’ domains, even when they are not distinctly separate in the stories.

The adventure begins: Secret Love

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Note: The links highlighted throughout the text are to a WIP campaign wiki on Scabard, a wonderful DM tool I would highly recommend.

Chief Pauihito called the adventurers into his hut, an honor reserved only for those of great Mana. He sat sullenly on his throne holding a large, shattered conch shell. As the adventurers entered, he thanked the adventurers for coming so quickly.

Raising the shell gently, as if he could somehow will its pieces back together, he began. “This shell arrived this morning via bird, it was obviously sent as a message to end the engagement of my son Price Pauifeia and Princess Manao of Borotonga. Setting aside the great dishonor this places on our family, I am looking to avoid a war against the combined might of Tahitia and Borotonga. Alone, we are the strongest, but I fear the consequences of facing their combined might. Could you help me find out why they called off the engagement?” The wedding date was fast approaching, set initially to occur after the next full moon.

The PCs (player characters) proceeded to probe the chief for additional information. They asked about the recent visit from the Borotongan emissary, how the royal family reacted to the news, and if anything seemed amiss in the interactions between the two tribes. The chief shared that his daughter, Princess Tepiti seemed the most disappointed and mentioned some fisherman had said they saw the moon missing a few nights ago.

The PCs started out chasing down the few leads they had, beggining by talking with the Chief’s Kahuna HareHare. The kahuna shared a vision he had of the story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai. Though, the version of the dream portrayed a dark tale. Instead of reaching the other shore and finding her true love, she drowned halfway across the lake. HareHare suggested this may be a signal of Hinemoa’s disapproval and suggested a great sacrifice may be needed to obtain a clearer message.

Exploring the rest of the island, the PCs pieced together clear evidence the two princesses were in love and pulled a confession and a gift intended for Princess Manoa from Princess Tepiti. They also heard rumors of a ghost ship passing by the night after the moon was mysteriously absent.

HareHare worked with Su (the pc Kahuna) to conduct the ritual, using Tepiti’s gift to Manoa, and received the same vision. But this time, he received a Mele Hoku (star chant), as she swam towards the sound of the flute across the water and began to drown, a clear vision of the night sky was shown in the vision.

The next morning the PCs set out under the roof of voyaging on this unknown path through the skies. On the second day of their journey, the PCs crossed the path of the ghost ship. Though it was not a ghost ship, it was just a poor fishermen succumb to a mysterious, potentially magical, disease. They pushed the fishermen’s vessel away, lit it aflame to stop the disease from spreading, and continued on their way.

The remainder of the journey was uneventful and on the seventh night they reached the isle of MotiPoti. As they approached, they heard a whistling that sounded like the flute in the vision. They threw anchor for the night and waited until the morning.

As the sun rose, they found the whistling was simply wind howling through a cave entrance. The parties shapeshifter changed into a great frigatebird and scouted the island. In the cave they found a massive crab, known to be a favorite of the god Kiwa, along with a fresh body and footprints that likely belonged to the crabs last big meal.

The group first gathered supplies on the island for the journey back, and then ventured into the cave. A short battle ensued, and just as the crab was about to die Su put it to sleep. Little did the group realize, sparing this crab saved them from the full wrath of Kiwa later. They searched the cave, found a tattooed arm of a Tahitian, and mushrooms often used in some dark rituals.

The group quickly fled the island, fearing any other dangers that may lurk here, and set sail to Borotonga. With evidence from the island, they were convinced the Tahitian kahuna must have done something to poison the union between the Borotonga and Morotana.

After arriving in Borotonga, the group was escorted to Chief Temaunota. They presented the arm, the mushrooms, and their story. After a brief exchange with the chief and his kahuna they managed to convince him of their tale. Working with the islands kahuna and using the mushrooms originally put to a nefarious purpose, they set out to conduct a long and complicated ritual to reverse the plague.

After successfully appealing to the gods for help through the ritual, the PCs had won over the trust of the Borotongans. They then set out to chat with Princess Manoa. Although Princess Tepiti’s original gift was sacrificed to have the gods show them a path forward, during the journey the PCs competed to make the best replica of the original tiki. After a heart to heart with Princess Manoa, they approached the chief with a proposal for a new union between the islands.

With relatively little resistance, the chief vowed to renew the marriage between the islands, but this time proposed a marriage among the princesses.