Stoneburner RPG was developed by René-Pier Deshaies-Gélinas and Galen Pejeau. Crowd-funding on Kickstarter has about 20 days left! I'd like to thank RP and Galen for the opportunity to get a playable copy of the game early. Stoneburner has rocketed to the top echelons of my favorite TTRPGs list in my short time with it.
Stoneburner is a solo-friendly TTRPG of demon hunting and community building in a dwarven asteroid mine. Become a space Dwarf and fight demons for the glory of House Grandrock!
Valnor stretched his aching muscles, then moved to restrain the still unconscious Tidebone captain. The old Spellwinder didn’t hold out much hope that the pirate would talk even if he were awake, so he set about rummaging through the other dwarf’s pockets and satchel for whatever information he could find.
Within the breast-pocket of the captain’s leather flight jacket, Valnor discovered a small datachip. He picked up the pirate’s slugthrower and attached it to the magnetic holster on his thigh before turning his attention to the chip. It was a nondescript black and gray datachip, the same kind that was commonly used throughout the galaxy for recording and transmitting information and images.
Valnor pressed a small button on his gauntlet and slid the small chip into a narrow opening. The chip clicked and a whir of the gauntlet’s small but powerful computer echoed softly in the crater. A moment later, a flashing red indicator displayed on the gauntlet’s screen. The chip was encrypted, but Valnor was an experienced operative and had upgraded his gauntlet processor many cycles ago. He clicked another button and the device began to whir faster, the sound now a whine just on the edge of hearing as the gauntlet decoded the information.
“Interesting,” the old dwarf murmured aloud when the readout displayed the contents of the chip. “Looks like Keenfields hired these louts. Dwarves edging in on Human scientific endeavors? The fools. Should have stuck with their explosives development.”
The Spellwinder ejected the datachip and stored it in a safe compartment within his own delving suit and, feeling confident the Sunburst scientists would have an unhindered trek to his ship, departed along another tunnel.
Oracles
Loot
The tunnel leading back inside the asteroid was quiet and unremarkable, stone upon stone upon stone. Valnor strode down the corridor confidently, certain that the demon he defeated was either dead, or mewling in whatever hellscape the fiends called home. There was nothing, he was convinced, more terrible than a demon to be found in the tunnels and shafts of Kazam Baram.
The shaft opened up into a dark chamber, thirty feet high and twice as wide. The stone here was covered in a filmy luminescence that cast a vibrant green light upon the floor and the dozens of head-sized lumps seemingly growing out of the stone itself. The light of the bioluminescent filaments did not reach the top of the chamber, where only inky black darkness prevailed. Even when Valnor raised his spotlight to the ceiling, the darkness was not dispelled, though it did waver and ripple as though something was alive.
Valnor stopped short, and crouched behind a boulder just outside the entrance to the chamber. He was almost certain the area was being used as a nest for some kind of creature that had moved into the asteroid once the dwarves of House Grandrock had abandoned it, but what kind of creature he couldn’t be sure.
Oracles
Discover a new Zone
Valnor walked carefully, attempting to maneuver through the nest without making noise or disturbing the myriad piles of eggs. Only a dozen feet into the nest, however, his illness flared, causing him to stumble and collapse to the cave floor. The sound of his delving gear banging on the web-covered stone reverberated through the cavern. A high-pitched shriek echoed back, originating from the darkness high above the writhing dwarf. Aware of his peril, despite the pain, Valnor managed to retrieve another injector of his medication from his pack and injected the healing liquid into his body through a special valve in his suit. Moments later, his strength returned and he was able to rise to his feet.
Challenge
Knowing that whatever creature called this nest their own was now well aware of his presence, Valnor gave up trying to sneak through the nest and instead moved at normal speed through the piles of lump-shaped eggs. The Spellwinder had survived many dangerous places using his keen vision, and, he steeled himself, this would be no different. By the time he reached the middle of the nest chamber, his confidence had returned.
Challenge
Valnor paused, and listened carefully, standing in the midst of the nest. He could hear a faint skittering sound from somewhere high above. Whatever had laid these eggs, was not only aware of him, but active in the darkness. He felt a sudden surge of fear at the unknown entity, and began to move once again, picking his way through the egg-littered nest.
The shaft leading out of the nest was within sight, but seeing the opening distracted the old dwarf for a moment, and his heavy boot scuffed against a slightly elongated egg. The iridescent shell splintered, then cracked audibly. A high shriek resounded from the darkness above and the sound of skittering echoed loudly through the cavern.
Challenge
Valnor set off at a run, pushing his aging, aching legs to their limit. The sound of the shrieking rose in volume and frequency, and he could tell that the creature was coming after him now. He did not stop at the tunnel mouth, and instead ran hard until his legs gave way beneath him and he toppled to the stony ground, heaving.
Challenge
The exhausted dwarf lay on the ground, unmoving except for the heavy rise and fall of his breathing. The skittering steps of the creature grew closer, and with effort Valnor rolled onto his back and propped himself up on his arm. A massive arachnid was suspended between the high ceiling of the shaft and the ground on a glowing thread only a dozen feet away from him. Its mandibles snapped the air in front of long, fang-like teeth in a gaping red maw. Its myriad eyes, black as space, locked onto him immediately. Valnor did not move again, and made an effort to control his rapid heartbeat and heavy breathing.
The creature dropped to the ground, its spiked, spindly legs cracking the stone on impact. The front two of its six legs snapped together in his direction, and the creature clacked its mandibles loudly. Suddenly, and much to the old dwarf’s relief, the creature began to move away, back toward the nest. Its sharp appendages flicked sparks from the ground as it backpedaled away, eyes never leaving the dwarf. Valnor did not move until the creature had vanished back in the nesting cave.
Mechanics Explanation
Catch Your Breath
Oracles
After taking another few moments to catch his breath, and shrugging off the fright of the creature, Valnor pressed forward toward lights that he now saw flickering in the distance. When he reached the next chamber, he foundit alive with activity. Mining mechanicals of several varieties trundled back and forth along the flat ground. One of the four-legged transport mechanicals jerked erratically before stopping completely and turning its baleful green photoreceptors in Valnor’s direction.
Valnor drew his pick-staff and shook it out to full-length. Holding the pick out in the direction of the mechanical, he mumbled a word of power. The pick sizzled with power, and a blast of runic energy streaked toward the malfunctioning bot.
Oracles
Discover a new Zone
The rune spell slammed into the bot, sending shimmering white light skittering across the rusted metal of its frame. The mechanical jerked twice, then crumpled to its opposable knees and fell forward onto its square head. The green light of its eyes flashed erratically then died completely.
Certain there were no more foes about, Valnor explored the small mining facility and found a rail line leading down a steep shaft deeper into the asteroid. He made a mark on his gauntlet’s holo-map to return to the rail cart at another time to investigate deeper inside Kazam Baram.
On the single mining building in the cavern, Valnor found the sigil of the Tidebone Pirates etched into its metal siding. Several dark marks outlined the shape of a dwarf-figure on the siding as well. The metal had clearly been scorched, and Valnor recognized the patterns immediately.
He quickly put together a theory of what happened, and recorded it on his gauntlet, speaking in a hoarse whisper. “Tidebone Pirates downed a human science vessel on the asteroid. It appears that at least one pirate made their way to a rail junction and reactivated the power to the facility. The sudden brightness seems to have drawn the attention of a demon that was dwelling in the vicinity as there are clear score marks on the siding of the power-station. As there are no corpses, I suspect the demon chased the pirate back to their encampment. I engaged the demon and dispelled it. I cannot say that the fiend is dead, but has been sorely wounded and should not be a problem for some time. I will deactivate the facility and call a close of this expedition.”
Mechanics Explanation
Sometimes you will have to make a skill check to overcome an obstacle. In this case, it was as a result of a Risk Oracle that resulted in a "risky check" (a roll of a 3 or 4). A roll of 5+ on a Risk Oracle results in the need for a "perilous check" which comes with some serious consequences for failure.
Check (Risky)
Inside the power-station, Valnor also discovered a small, dust-covered bottle of old Grandrock Fire Liquid—a type of alcoholic drink that was popular among Grandrock miners a century ago—and a pouch of adryon ore. The adryon, Valnor knew, was quite valuable and would go a long way toward restoring Grandrock Station to its former glory. He slipped both of these items into his satchel before powering down the facilities and heading out of the junction cavern.
Loot
Valnor moved on, and arrived in a large cavern with majestic, glowing waterfalls cascading from massive rifts within the asteroid’s stone. The falls emptied into a great pool that nearly filled the whole of the chamber. Rocks, many covered in bioluminescent moss, dotted the pool and its shores. The Spellwinder sat on a rock, and spent a few minutes admiring the scene before setting off to the south and the drop ship.
Oracles
Discover a new Zone
The plumes of the single Grandrock Station shuttle were still visible when Valnor returned to the crater. He was glad to know that the humans had made it off the asteroid after all. The area was filled with deactivated mining mechanicals and darkened spot lamps, an ominous scene considering the bright liveliness of the crater when he arrived. Satisfied that he had accomplished much in this expedition, the aging Spellwinder stumped up the loading ramp of the drop ship and entered the commands to launch.
Oracles
Thank you for your support during my Actual Play of RP and Galen's Stoneburner. If you've enjoyed my AP and want to play Stoneburner yourself the Kickstarter has a little over 20 days remaining. If you want more Stoneburner, be sure to let me know either via e-mail, comments, or on Twitter.
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