Ep. 3 - Search for the Isle of Black Palms: Kal-Arath Solo Actual Play
The third episode of the actual play write-up of my game set in an upcoming Arabian-nights themed setting book called Al-Rathak: Tales of the Crescent Kingdoms
The Kal-Arath system by Castle Grief can be found here.
You can find Al-Rathak in both Print and PDF here.
Format Notes:
The fiction of the adventure will be written in regular text, but any game mechanics will be in grey code blocks or italicized. O> Refers to the game oracle being used.
Kal-Arath uses a 2d6+Attribute vs 8+ resolution system.
Example: 2d6 + 2 Agility = (7+2) = 9, Success!
"I am Khalid Al-Fayez, a proud sailor of Al-Rathak! My humble yet reliable ship, The Grey Starling, and its loyal crew have sailed the coasts near Anipsed for years. But now, we yearn for adventure—to seek out distant shores, unearth lost treasures, and claim eternal glory as explorers. Rumors whisper of a lost island hidden in the Sea of Whispering Winds, a place where a great treasure lies beneath the canopy of black-leafed palm trees."
Daily Procedure:
1.EXPLORATION
2.WEATHER
3.GETTING LOST (1-2 on d6 = lost)
4.FORAGE (Forest or River +1)
5.ROLL FOR POINT OF INTEREST (POI)
6.ROLL FOR ENCOUNTER
7.CAMP, SPEND RESOURCES, RECOVER
8.END OF DA
In his last adventure, Khalid discovered a few new islands, the mystical Sea of Djinn, and finally fought their way through a storm to the island fortress of the Sea King…
Day 22: Partly Cloudy
As the storm breaks to dawn, Khalid steps out onto the docks of the Fortress.
Anyone here? >Yes, Neutral
There are a few other ships at the docks, but no one pays them any heed. The Fortress is said to be a common waypoint for myriad wanderers in the Sea of Whispering Winds.
He seeks an audience with the Sea King. (I used Al-Rathak’s “Meet with the Sultan” mechanic for this initially, but we have since added new rules for meeting the Sea King specifically)
(Khalid offers the Amulet of Clean Waters as a gift to the King)
The Sea-King is a towering figure with pale blue, fish-scaled skin. He wields a massive coral-encrusted Trident. He greets Khalid with a booming laugh, thanking him for the gift. The King demands Khalid regale him with his adventures thus far…
Conversation Topic: Pirates
“Pirates! Blasted pirates are growing bolder by the day. A constant thorn in my side!” The Sea King groans.
Khalid asks the Sea King if he knows where the Isle of Black Palms is hidden (no, but), he says he doesn’t know where it is but he’s very interested in finding out (possible reward for its discovery?)
Khalid is handed a small health potion as a parting gift. He returns to the docks to buy supplies for the journey ahead (+9 Rations, -18 silver).
Rations: 8 Left
Day 23: Partly Sunny
Encounter > Raft with 4 survivors > Neutral
Khalid spots some floating debris on the waves, with 4 people clinging to it. Their ship must have been destroyed by the recent storm.
Will Khalid help them? Cruel Vs Empathy 7, 12> Empathy.
He has the crew pull in closer and rescue them. They thank us profusely.
Khalid asks who they are (yes, but). They hesitantly admit they are pirates, but swear they pose no danger.
As a former pirate himself, Khalid takes pity on them and wonders if they’d be willing to join his crew…(Paranoid vs Rational) 10, 7 > Paranoid)
No, he doesn’t know these people yet. Khalid asks that they hand over any weapons and agree to stay in the cabin. Reaction> Friendly
They agree and hand over their daggers and scimitars
Do they want to be dropped off at the nearest settlement? >Yes
Khalid swings The Grey Starling around, and they sail back to the Fortress of the Sea King.
Rations: 7 Left
Day 24: Scorching Sun
They make almost no progress in the blazing heat
Cruel Vs Empathetic 7, 13 Empathetic
-6 rations from feeding the shipwreck survivors
Rations: 1 Left
Day 25: Cloudy
They return to the fortress docks. The survivors warmly thank them -
Reward? Yes. They hand Khalid two vials of haste potions (Used Visions of KA potion generation tables)
Khalid warns them to get on a ship and leave as soon as they can, the Sea King was on the hunt for pirates.
Khalid buys more rations for the journey (+5 rations).
Day 26: Heavy Rain
They sail out into the rain
Rations: 5
Day 27: Clear Weather
They decide to try their luck fishing for the day
+5 Rations found
9 Rations left
Day 28: Windstorm
They hunker down and weather the storm
Night Encounter > Efreet’s Emissary > Neutral > Indifferent
The floating form of an Efreet’s emissary appears out of the darkness of the storm. It speaks in a monotonous tone, saying it bears a message from it’s master.
Oracle> Riddle, Chase, Cursed
The emissary tells them with a disinterested yawn that unless they answer his riddle correctly, his Master will unleash a terrible curse on them. The cruel devil lays out a thesis of horrible curses that his Master would unleash if they refused to play along!
I looked a riddle online for this: “Three lives have I, gentle enough to soothe skin, light enough to caress the sky, hard enough crack rocks”
Water? I roll an INT check to see if Khalid gets it > Success!
The emissary flashes a wolfish smile and claps in delight, then disappears in a splash of water! The storm around them seems to die out in mere moments…
They sail silently into the night, terrified of the efreet’s return.
Rations: 8 Left
Day 29: Clear Weather
They sail through empty seas…
Night Encounter > (2) Pirates on a Dhow > Hostile
Despite the fact that they only have two crew, the pirates seem hostile and start aggressively coming towards the Grey Starling
Will Khalid flee or fight? Reckless vs Cautious 12, 5 > Reckless!
Khalid yells at his crew to get ready for a fight.
Ship Combat:
Initial Distance (2d6): 7
Khalid takes the wheel and turns them directly towards the enemy, who do the same.
Sailing checks: 4 + 5 towards each other, distance reduced to 0!
The ships pull aside each other, and (Initiative > Khalid) he and Samir jump across to attack the pirates as Rafi takes the helm!
Regular Combat:
Pirates: HP (1d6): 1, Idmg Scimitar, Morale 9
R1 - Khalid closes the distance fast and stabs at the pirate but gets only air. Samir tries to kill the other one but the villain dodges out of the way as well.
One pirate slashes Samir with his scimitar (2dmg), and another manages to stab Khalid (5dmg)
R2 - The pirate attacks again, missing him by inches. Khalid stabs the attacker with his spear for (2dmg), killing him instantly. Morale Check > Success. The remaining pirate refuses to surrender. Samir tries to finish him with his sword but trips over a sodden rope, dropping his scimitar (crit fail)
The last pirate stabs Samir for (2dmg).
Khalid ducks under the mast and comes to his aid, hacking the last pirate with his spear for (3 dmg) and killing him.
(Any Loot?> No, and) Neither of the pirates seemed to be carrying anything of value, and their dingy ship is badly in need of repair. They abandon it and sail off
Rations: 7 left
Day 30: Clear
They sail south through misty seas
Night Encounter > Flying Horse > Neutral
They spot a winged black stallion flying across the sky! It doesn’t appear to have a rider, and ignores the sailors on their little boat so far below…
Rations: 6 Left
Day 31: Hot Weather
POI Encountered > Crystal Clear Waters
As they drift across warm and windless seas, they come across a strange area where the water seems unusually clear. They can see right down to the ocean floor as if the seas were made of the purest glass, spying on the thousands of kinds of colorful marine life occupying these clear waters.
Rations: 5 Left
Day 32: Heavy Rain
They navigate through the rains, headed south. They find nothing on interest
Night Encounter> (d6) 4 pirates on a dhow > Hostile
More enemies spotted on the horizon! Khalid spots a ballista mounted on the enemy ship, this could get ugly!
Ship Combat: Initial Distance (2d6) > 11
Sailing check: Khalid 5 vs Enemy 2, distance increased to 14 (12+)
They escape into the night, leaving the pirates in their wake
Rations: 4 left
Day 33: Heavy Rain
They sail through the heavy warm summer rains, Khalid’s sailing skill keeps them from getting lost. They turn southwest and continue into the deeps.
Rations: 3 left
Day 34: Heatwave
The rains give way to a scorching heatwave. Khalid keeps them on the right path continuing west
Rations: 2 left
Day 35: Warm
They sail through misty seas, finding nothing…
Rations: 1 left
Day 36: Heavy Rain
Lost! Despite his experience, the rains throw The Grey Starling off course and they find themselves lost.
Encounter> Roc > Actively Helpful
They spot a massive Roc flying through the skies above, it’s wide wings casting a shadow over the ship. It seems to be headed north…
Will Khalid follow? Curiosity vs Indiference (13), Rolled a 20!, that permanently increases his Curiosity number to 14.
Khalid cant help but be curious about the Roc, so he decides to follow it north
Oracle> Conflict, Kingdom
They spot a distant battle between two warships. One of them flies the Blue Crescent flag of the Sultan of Anipsed. The other seems to be a ship from some foreign kingdom, its strange design is unknown to him.
Khalid is wise enough not to get involved, at least they’re not lost anymore from following the Roc.
Night Encounter> Sea Serpent> Friendly
Rafi yells a warning from the port bow just as the massive form of a sea serpent passes their boat. They get pushed aside from its wake as it speeds past them, heading in the direction they came from. Khalid pulls the Grey Starling back on course, thinking about all the inevitable bleeding corpses in the waters from the battle they had witnessed earlier…
Rations: 0 Left…
Day 37: Warm Weather
They decide to try fishing, and catch (+2 Rations) worth of food
Rations: 1 Left
Day 38: Cloudy
Forage again, finding (+5 Rations)
Rations: 4 left
Day 39: Cloudy
More empty seas…(whole lot of nothing out here)
Rations: 3 left
Day 40: Warm Weather
Khalid decides to turn west
POI Discovered - Large Island > 5 Hexes
I roll to check if this is the Isles of Black Palms, (2d6 + 3(from finding islands)) vs 11 > Result: Success!
Khalid can hardly believe his eyes. The black mountainous jungle that stretched out over the isle was a sight to behold. The fronds shifting in the wind looked like the thousands of flashing dark iron blades of an army marching up the slopes.
He has found the Isle of Black Palms!
Taking stock of my adventure thus far:
- Finding Amulet of Clean Waters +1 XP
- Rescuing shipwreck survivors & fighting pirates +1 XP
- Riddle of the Efreet’s Emissary +1XP
- Discovering the Isle of Black Palms +2XP
Khalid has earned enough XP to level up to lv 3! New Skill: StealthI’ll post more of these as Khalid explores and (playtests) the Al-Rathak setting book created by Charles F Bryant, II & me, SilverNightingale! You can find Al-Rathak in both Print and PDF here.
You can find more of my work here: https://silvernightingale.itch.io/
Character Sheet LV 3
Name: Khalid Al-Fayez
XP: 1/4
Stats-----
STR(ength) +1
AGI(lity) +1
TOU(ghness) +0
INT(elligence +1
PRE(scence) +1
HP: (10/10)
Skills:
Sailor - Advantage to "Lost" rolls when at Sea
Stealth - Adv to stealh checks
Weapons: Spear (d6)
Equipment:
Torch
Waterskin
Flint&Steel
Hammer and Stakes
Smoke Bomb
Silver: 2
Notes:
Has a small dhow ship called the Grey Starling, crewed by two hired crew (Samir & Rafi)
Personality Matrix*
Reckless/Cautious 12
Cruel/Empathetic 7
Paranoid/Rational 10
Deceptice/Honest 8
Indulgent/Frugal 9
Curious/Indifferent 14
Greedy/Generous 14
*The personality matrix works by rolling a d20 vs the personality score to see how this character will react to different situations. From Just One Torch solo toolkit.
Highly enjoyable read. The encounters and riddle were exciting. A lovely setting sailing on the sea.
Fantastic, in every sense! I love the POIs and encounters - the crystal clear waters and a flying horse were super atmospheric, and romantic!