Let’s Play The Outcast! Part 5: Finale
After winning the favor of some clan elders in secret, Savoro and the resistance are ready for a final showdown against the Abyss Watchers. They will use the stolen logs and records to form a plan.
Let’s see how things go.
Final Scene
The rebellion grew in size and power.
Katrin developed her new engine in mass, as well as weapons, like harpoons, automatic bows, and even bombs.
How’s her health?
D6: 5, she’s great!
The work has invigorated Katrin. Her hope for change and belief in the resistance breathed new life in her.
How’s Orin been doing?
Inertia, Fire
The efforts of the resistance proved too much for Orin. The blind elder lost his energy for it, retreating into himself. His fire for war faded, and he passed away.
Some of his followers disbanded, but most remained with Savoro and the others.
After a lot of preparation, it’s time to set the final plan in motion.
The first part consists of luring sky-beasts to the capital, turning Savoro’s Snag (Increased Beasts Activity) to our favor.
Roll: Light 1, Dark 3
It doesn’t go too well. Sky-beasts are unpredictable, and in the process of luring them toward the capital, the resistance loses several ships and members.
Leviathans rise from the black clouds circling the islands. They are everywhere.
The next part is attacking the capital from different points. They’re all separated by groups with instructions that only each group knows.
Without even the resistance itself knowing where and how each group will attack, Savoro hoped that the Abyss Watchers would not be able to predict it.
Roll: Light 6, Dark 2
We lost many during the beast luring, but it worked in the end. The chaos in the capital dispersed the Watchers, and the attack made them scramble.
Savoro’s plan went like he expected. The groups with unknown orders made the attack hard to predict, and the defenders provided little opposition.
The resistance destroyed, killed, and bombed the Watchers. Black smoke billowed up into the sky at the capital.
Now, Savoro and his group will storm the palace to capture the elders for judgment, destroy the inner sanctum where the sacrifices are made, burn the archives, and finish the Abyss Watchers clan.
The ancient gods will starve and their covenant will be dissolved forever.
This is the very last roll of the game, the Mission Conclusion!
I’ll write out the scene then reveal the result at the end.
Black smoke billowed across the capital as the resistance fleet rained hellfire from above. Swarms of sky-beasts tore through the Watchers’ guard towers. The elders’ defenses crumpled under the assault. They had not prepared for total war.
Savoro pushed through the burning gates of the inner sanctum. Katrin and her strike team moved behind him, ready to smash the blood altar, burn the dark archives, and liberate the sky islands forever.
At the center of the obsidian temple stood the High Elders, trembling beside the sinister obelisk that marked their covenant.
"Savoro!" Katrin yelled, clutching a heavy steam-bomb. "Now! Destroy the obelisk. End their pact!"
Savoro raised his greatbow. He drew the string back, aligning the arrowhead with the obelisk. But as he looked into the flickering shadows, the eye of the ancient god flared violently in his mind.
In that frozen second, the vision that sent him on his quest returned in crisp clarity.
The moment when he had been chosen for greatness.
The ancient god beneath the bottomless ocean had never truly offered a pact to the old elders. Those frail, foolish old people were mere placeholders until the true vessel arrived.
Savoro’s entire journey of exile, rebellion, and bloodshed led to this apex.
He swung his bow and shot an arrow at the High Elder’s throat.
The sanctum fell silent.
Katrin froze, her eyes widening. "What... what are you doing?"
Savoro stepped onto the altar, stepping over the elder’s body. He laid a palm against the pulsating surface of the obelisk. Black, viscous energy surged up his arm, wrapping around his throat and settling on his head like a crown of thorns. Down in the bottomless dark, the giant tentacled entity opened its other colossal eye.
Savoro smiled, then turned to the rebels.
"Thank you, Katrin, for your support," he said with a voice echoing a thousand oceanic frequencies. "Your loyalty will be rewarded."
The black clouds rising from the abyss responded to his command, swirling around the spire.
Tentacles surged from the void faster than the eye could follow, tearing through walls and buildings to reach the sanctum.
In a terrifying heartbeat, they dragged the rebels off their feet and yanked them toward the infinite darkness below the islands.
Katrin’s disbelieving gaze never left his face as she was claimed as the final sacrifice.
Savoro looked at his own hand, pulsating with the tar-like aura. He walked to the edge of the overlook, taking in the burning capital and the fractured islands beyond.
He was no longer an exile begging for redemption. When he glimpsed beyond the veil, he realized what the future held for him if he dared accept.
Savoro rose as the supreme vessel, the sovereign voice of the deep, and the sky itself would now bow to his unblinking reign.
Mission Conclusion (Light + 4 vs Dark + 1): Light 6 (2), Dark 7 (6) = Mission Failed
Notes
DAMN, this was fun to write.
At the very start of the game, I had the idea of making Savoro an unreliable narrator. What if, as a twist, he was actually manipulating everyone for his benefit?
I decided to only go through with it if I failed the Mission Conclusion roll. That seemed very unlikely as I played, but here we are.
I could also have gone with random oracle words to decide on how to end it. That’s always an option.
On one hand, it’s kinda weird that we can’t use any Edge or reroll for this final roll.
On the other, it makes perfect sense because it’s the culmination of the story and our choices and rolls so far.
I also love how it forces us to deal with it and think of a satisfying way to end the story.
I absolutely loved my time with The Outcast. It’s a fantastic narrative game that provides a lot of inspiration to create a tale of redemption (or lack thereof).
Savoro’s story was randomly created from the very beginning. Most of the development was also random, except for a few points where I had an idea and went with it. The spark tables in this book are incredible for storytelling.
The game doesn't have to end or be a one-shot, by the way. Cezar suggests how to continue playing after the final mission.
I hoped you enjoyed the playthrough, and it made you interested in trying out the game.
Until next time!
The Outcast: A Game of Reputation and Redemption is available on Itch.