The Short Life of Calraith, pt 1

An Actual Play of Kal-Arath

Jan 04, 2024

I play and write about solo games. Confused? Read this
My playing and writing will always be available for free, but being a teacher isn’t the most profitable career in the US, so if you enjoy what I write and would be willing, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription (50% off right now for 12 month subscription!) which gets you off-topic posts as well as input in the games coming after SOTWWS). You can also just buy me a coffee.
If you’d like to support my newsletter in other ways, please subscribe, share and comment.
Check out the Table of Contents for previous chapters and other stuff I’ve played and written.

I’m working on the next chapter of SOTWWS but it’s going to be a long one (and possibly the final chapter of the current case), so this week and next, I’m sharing a play-through of the game, Kal-Arath that I played in Substack Notes.

Kal-Arath is a hex-crawling, OSR-inspired solo/co-op/gm game created by

Castle Grief

, here’s the intro:

What follows is the story of my first character’s life and journey of revenge. Just know the formatting is a little strange because it was one note per day of gameplay. Most things are randomly determined using d6’s.

The Story of Calraith

Character: Calraith.
Background: I’m tracking a member of the Ash Hassim rumored to be traveling through Kal Arath who killed my brother.
Stats: STR +1, TOU +1, AGI +1, INT 0, PRE +1
Fate Point: 1/session (force a reroll)
Load: 9
Equipment: 5 rations

Day 1. Spring

Weather: Partly cloudy

Lost? No

I go foraging and find plenty. +5 rations.

I come across crops growing in a valley between cliffs, not yet ripe, this early in Spring. No sign of a farmer or anyone else. I move on.

I camp for the night. -1 ration. 4 left.

I write in my journal. Found food, some crops, nobody around. Uneventful.

Day 2

Weather: Heavy Rain, -1 Getting Lost

Am I lost? No.

I come across a watering hole, no animals drinking from it in this weather.

I move on.

I find a cave to hold out in for the night. -1 ration. 3 left.

Rained all day. Found a watering hole. Another uneventful day.

Day 3

Move into new Hex, random: 6 → upper left

Weather: Light rain

Lost? No

With the rain letting up from yesterday and my dwindling supplies, I forage. +3 rations. Now I have 6.

Encounter: Disgraced warlord.

Oracle: Gleaming, opulent, crowded

I come across a man walking across the land. He wears a large cloak, many gold chains over his neck and many rings on his fingers. He’s covered in gold and jewels to a point of ridiculousness. I imagine he fled his warband with his treasures, knowing he was soon going to be overthrown and killed.

Reaction: Neutral

He glares at me suspiciously but is not hostile.

Does he know of an Ash Hassim in the area?

Oracle: Yes, but…he wants something.

Motivation: Find home

I offer my camp for the night and food.

2d6 + PRE = 6

He refuses me and continues on his way.

I let him go.

I camp for the night. -1 ration. 5 left.

Encounter: Yes → Wolves

I am awakened from my slumber by feet padding nearby, and spy two wolves watching me.

Reaction: Friendly

I toss them some food scraps.

They take them and leave.

I go back to sleep.

Came across a strange man wearing many gold items and jewels. He would not talk with me. In the night came two wolves. I was concerned but they were friendly. I tossed them scraps, they took them and left. Still no clues on the Ash Hassim who killed my brother. This is a strange place.

Day 4

Weather: Unexpected Chill, -1 Forage

Lost? Yes

I find myself lost as the temperature drops, leaving me cold.

POI: Yes

I come across an abandoned battle barge, once a great war-machine, huge and lumbering across the plains bristling with weaponry, now empty and still.

Oracle: Is there anything to scavenge? No, but…there’s a few coin. 1d6 = 5 silver.

Was this the disgraced warlords battle barge, perhaps, now abandoned? I move on and camp for the night.

-1 ration. 4 left.

Night Encounter: yes → Dark Sorcerer.

Oracle: Silent, Distant, Decaying.

Reaction: 9 → Friendly

Before I sleep, a figure in deep, dark hooded robes comes up to my fire. He sits but does not speak. He stares in the fire. I see his hands briefly, his skin appears flaky and rough.

In the morning, he is gone.

Day 5

Weather: Unexpected Chill, -1 Forage

Lost? Disadvantage = Yes.

Since I’m lost and won’t make progress any way, I decide to Forage but find little. 0 Rations.

POI: No

Encounter: Yes → Hunting party of d6(2) nomads

Reaction: 13 → Actively Helpful

I come across two nomads, or, should I say, they come across me, as I wander, lost. They approach, a man and woman, waving their hands and beckoning me over. They ask if I’d seen any wildlife and I told them the tale of the two wolves in the night. They find my story fascinating. I let them know I am lost and they agree to help me find my way. We camp together for the night and they share their food with me, some kind of grilled rodent on a stick. It’s delicious.

Camp. I don’t subtract a ration. I’m no longer lost.

Encounter: Yes → d6(6) wolves

I wake in the night and notice the hunters are awake as well but lying as still as statues, eyes wide. In the darkness, I count 6 pairs of yellow eyes, more wolves, 6 of them, come to our campfire. For some reason, I can tell that two of them were the ones who visited me before. I carefully pull out some dried meat from my pack and toss pieces out beyond the fire light.

-1 ration. 3 left

Oracle: Do they take it and leave? 4 → Yes

They take the offered food and leave. In the morning, the hunters and I take our leave of each other. They share their names, Dema and Soma. They call me ‘Wolf-friend’. We embrace and they leave. I hope to see them again some time.

Day 6

New hex. North.

Weather: Partly cloudy

Lost? No

Forage: Scrounged some root vegetables. +1 ration

POI: Yes → Massive stone Demon Head with inscriptions.

I come across a huge stone head coming out of the ground, scrawled with inscriptions across it. I try to decipher them.

2d6 + INT = 6

They are gibberish to me.

Encounter: No

I camp for the night. -1 ration. 2 left.

Encounter: Yes → Giant

Reaction: 13 → Actively Helpful

Oracle: forbidden, foreboding, dark

I wake to loud, ground-shaking thumps. I spring up, brandishing my weapons, expecting a fight.

The giant raises his hands, showing no aggression. “I do not wish you harm. I am forbidden from violence. I only wish to share your fire and hear your tales. “ I accept and we swap tales. He says he knows of an Ash Hassim. “If you seek him out, be wary, it may not end well for you. He is to the North.” I thank him. In the morning, he moves on. He does not share his name and so I call him The Peaceful Giant.

Day 7, Same Hex

Weather: Unexpected Chill, -1 Forage

Lost? No

POI: Yes → Lone yurt, ceiling open to sky, filled with skeletons

Oracle: majestic, menacing, crowded

I come across a yurt with no roof. Entering, it is littered with skeletons and bones of the dead. Some suicidal pact or dark ritual? A strange ancient burial rite?

I move on and camp for the night. -1 ration. 1 left.

Day 8, New Hex, North

Weather: Still chilly, -1 Forage

Lost? No

Forage? No

Knowing my quarry lies to the North, I try to move quickly across the plain, not wasting time foraging, despite my low supplies.

POI: No

Encounter: Yes → d6(2) Grave Robbers

Reaction: Angered, Hostile

I come upon a pair of grave robbers digging a hole, shovels and all. They see me and brandish their weapons, one has a dagger and the other an axe. I wield my spear and hatchet.

A fight cannot be avoided.

GR1(3hp), GR2(5hp)

AGI: 9, I go first

I throw my hatchet at one, clocking him in the skull and dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

3 dmg, GR1 → dead

The other rushes and attacks, cutting me across my back as I try to dodge.

5 dmg. I have 2 hp left.

I thrust my spear, catching him across the rib cage.

2 dmg, he has 2 hp left.

He comes back, chopping into my side.

2 dmg, I have 0 hp left.

Shattered: Core (-1 TOU, 4 days to heal past ½ hp)

I collapse to the ground, clutching my wound. I barely maintain consciousness as the grave robber takes my spear, my silver, my rations, and leaves me for dead.

I come in and out of consciousness, ripping my clothes into makeshift bandages and wrapping them around me as best I can.

I regain 1 hp. Night comes. I have nothing to eat, so I cannot heal.

Encounter: No.

I sleep. I sleep and I dream of wolves.

(As I’ve now seen my first combat and lived, albeit barely, I’d say I gain 1xp and lvl up. Finally, lvl 1! I go for HP since I need it desperately and gain +3. I’m going to take a Warrior skill but I’m going to take some creative liberties with it, based on what’s happened so far and because I love werewolves.)

In my dream, I run and hunt with wolves, first as a human, then as a fellow wolf and finally, as something in between man and wolf, a hybrid. I take down a deer and rip it to peices, feasting on it’s flesh.

(Skill: Add d6 rage/bloodlust until rage ends in d6 rounds. After rage ends, make d6 roll. If 1-3, make all rolls at disadvantage until Long Rest. After long rest, you may rage again.)

When I wake, there is a pack of wolves around me. My wounds have begun healing. When they see me wake, they leave, as if they were protecting me in the night.

I feel…different. A change. There is something I can do now, that I couldn’t before. I know I can become like the creature in my dream, should I wish to.

I remember what the two nomad scouts named me.

Wolf-Friend.

Day 9

Weather: The sun comes up quickly, warming the day, baking the air, becoming a heatwave.

I try to find the trail of the grave robber.

2d6 + INT = 11 → I succeed, finding boot prints in some soft soil

Lost: No, following a trail.

I need food.

Forage: Rare bounty. I come across a dead carcass of a deer, freshly killed, looks to be from wolves. Left for me, I wonder. I make a fire and cook as much as I can. +6 rations. I also find some herbs growing nearby (+5 Mor Blossoms, +2 INT checks for 1 hour, (50s)).

POI: No

Encounter: No

Night comes. I eat and sleep. -1 ration. 5 left. Encounter: Yes → d6(2) wolves

In the night, I hear and feel a pair of wolves approach and lie close. I can tell these are the same two who first found me in the night.

Current HP: 4/11. 3 more days until I can heal past half HP.

Day 10

New Hex: d6(6) → Upper left

Weather: Heavy Rain, -2 Forage, -1 getting lost

I follow the trail into the desert as a spring storm comes suddenly, dark clouds racing across the sky, torrents of rain pouring down.

Lost? Despite following a trail, with the rain, I decide to still make a roll. d6=1 → Lost

POI: Yes → Sunken Cistern

I come across a large sunken tank holding water, now overflowing. I struggle to find any kind of shelter.

Encounter: No

I find a rocky outcropping that barely keeps me dry. I camp for the night as best I can.

Camp. -1 Ration. 4 left.

Encounter: No.

Heal d6+TOU (5), but I can only heal up to half for 2 more days. Current hp: 5/11

Day 11, Same Hex

Weather: Clear Skies, +1 Forage, +1 Getting Lost

The rains let up as I emerge and begin trekking across the featureless plain. I’ve lost the trail of the grave robber.

Lost (disadvantage, +1): No

I manage to find my way and decide to continue moving north, leaving the trail of the grave robber behind, heading in the direction of my target, the Ash Hassim.

Using the good weather to my advantage, I look for food.

Forage +1: 6 → Rare Bounty

+5 rations and +5 Tarnak Berries(consume instead of rations(5s).

I find some disturbed dirt and digging it up, I find someone’s hidden pack of dried food and a bundle of berries. It’s a good haul and for the first time since my battle, I feel…in control.

POI: Yes → Settlement

Type: Tribal Compound

Leader: Warlord

Notable NPCs:

-Pit Fighter → Goal: Find Truth, Trait: Cold

-Innkeeper → Goal: Establish Legacy, Trait: Stern

Resources and Trade: Textiles and Clothing

Rumors/Opportunities: Wandering warrior

Potential Conflict: External Threat

Special Event: Market Day/Trade Fair

Reaction: 10 → Friendly

I see a village in the distance, teepee’s and tents for a few dozen people, smoke rising from cookfires.

There are rugs rolled on in the dirt with trinkets, fabric and clothes for sale, some kind of market day.

I’m invited to look and trade. As I speak with people, I learn the village’s name is Esa, ruled by Taron, the warlord. I ask about the Ash Hassim.

d6 = No but

I come to speak to a lodge-master, Hura, in front of a large tent with many bedrolls inside for visitors to sleep. “I learn much from those who stay here, but I have not heard of this Ash Hassim. But, there is a newcomer here, who has traveled far and wide, a pit fighter who wanders the plains. She may know more.”

I go to speak with this pit fighter, who was practicing moves with dual blades at the edge of the village.

She is tall and muscular, wearing loose, dirty clothes and moved with strength and grace.

Reaction: Angered/Hostile

“You! Do you challenge me to battle?” She calls out, pointing a blade at me.

I raise my hands, showing no aggression. “I do not. I merely wish to speak with you. Hura directed me here.”

2d6 + PRE = 10 → Success

She lowers her blade, glaring. “Very well. What is it? I am training.”

“You are exceptionally skilled,” I say. “I only wish to know, in your many travels, have you come across an Ash Hassim in this area or to the North?”

She looks curious. “Ash Hassim are rare.”

“Indeed.”

(I figure it’s likely she has information, so I’ll roll d6 yes/no with advantage.

d6 oracle = Yes but

How far and in what direction? 3 hexes, to the North-West

“I have come across this Ash Hassim, but if you wish to know where, you must test your strength against mine.” She drops her blades and faces me.

It appears I have no choice.

We grapple, hands clasping, each trying to throw the other into the dirt, scrambling, grabbing, clenching and grunting.

STR: (vs 10 instead of 8, due to her experience) 5 → Failure

Expectedly, she twists her body and throws me over her leg, putting me in the ground with a thud. -1 hp. 4 left.

We both gasp for breath.

She offers her hand to help me up. “I am Gira. The Ash Hassim was in a settlement like this one, to the north west, 3 or 4 days of travel by foot, if you make good speed.” She helps me up and brushes dirt off my shoulders. “Why do you want to know?”

“He killed my brother,” I say.

“I see. Good luck in your vengeance.”

“And you, what is it you search for in your travels?”

She looks into my eyes. “Truth,” she says and walks away.

I go back to the market place. It would be good to find a horse in order to move more quickly. I find a man willing to sell 1 or 2 for a good price for 1(d6×100)= 100. I attempt to haggle with the man, showing him my Mor Berries(50s per piece).

2d6 + PRE = 11 → Success.

The man accepts the trade, 2 bundles of berries for the horse. Despite the good price for the horse, other things, such as weapons, healing herbs and a tent seem pricey. I trade another bundle of Mor Berries and two bundles of Tarnak Berries with a woman in exchange for a tent. At least I’ll have shelter no matter the terrain.

I brush and speak to my horse, his name is Anor, and I camp for the night. -1 ration. 8 left.

Tomorrow, I hunt the Ash Hassim.

green grass covered mountain near body of water during daytime — Photo by Joshua Alan Davis on Unsplash

Tune in next time to find out what happens to Calraith! I really like Kal Arath, it’s simple, minimalist and open-ended. It has a setting but a vague one, in a good way. The table results offer up lore without forcing it on you and allowing you to make it your own as well. It’s also easy, I don’t need to figure out a bunch of stuff to play, I can just roll and go with it, without thinking too hard about it. I recommend checking it out. I realize this is very different from my usual stuff so far, so drop a comment letting me know what you think.

Playing With Myself

Discussion about this post