Heroes by testing their abilities and getting What is “The Lost them to spend Story points. Also, Make sure their Troubles are brought into play. This Unicorn of Oz?” adventure was written with Lye, Na'iya, Lulu and Naynda's shortcomings in mind. Temp Greetings, adventurers of Oz. This is the first in them with Story Points. a line of adventures for Instant Oz, designed to Cutaway scenes be played with minimum preparation and used with the premade Heroes found in the Instant In the Oz books, the action isn't always Oz rules. As an option, one of the players can centered on the main characters. In The play the Secondary character, Ceros, so a Emerald City of Oz, the story alternates filled-out Hero Record for him has been between Dorothy with her aunt and uncle and provided. the Nome King's general, Guph. While this kind of thing is good storytelling in the books, it Players: Unless you want the story contained in might be boring for the players to just listen to this document to be spoiled for you, please put the Historian go on about what's not happening this down and let the Historian use it. However, to their characters, so if you choose to use if you do catch some glimpses of the story here, cutaway scenes, give players the roles of the be a dear and pretend you didn't see it. characters playing out the scene. Remember, your Hero doesn't know this stuff, even if you do. It is possible that what the secondary characters are doing will cause problems for the Heroes Historian: Make sure you read this adventure later. Good. This kind of thing is encouraged. If from front to back. If you're looking at it on a players are tempted to try and work things out computer, feel free to print it out and have it to the advantage of the Heroes, offer some handy, if that helps. Keep in mind that it's Story Points to dissuade them and let their possible for players to go in a different directionSample Heroesfile keep them. If they do really well in the than the adventure dictates. They may draw cutaway scenes, throw in an extra SP for good different conclusions about the information measure, especially if it really causes problems given them. later. For instance, the object that the Heroes are On the other hand, if the players really want to looking for is meant to be found in the Forest of try and get an advantage for themselves, charge the Fighting Trees in the Quadling country. them Story Points, then ask them for a good However, they might decide that the trees explanation. In Ozma of Oz, Billina's player they're looking for is in a forest in the Gillikin would have paid a SP to edit the cutaway scene Country. If they come to that conclusion, so that the hen was under the Nome King's rethink what happens when they come close to throne listening in to him and his Chief Steward the goal. Maybe some of the fighting trees were talking, thereby learning about Roquat's pattern transplanted here, or there's a family of in his transformations. temperamental bears living near where the pendant fell. This could be your chance to get If a player pays a SP without a cutaway scene creative. having been played, you can take a moment to do a flashback cutaway scene, allowing another Make sure to involve the players and their opportunity for role-play and Story Points. The Story and said something off the cuff, which activated the pendant and it vanished from her hand and In The Lost Unicorn of Oz, a pair of falling stars reappeared on the branch of a fighting tree in plunges to Oz, one in the distance and one near the Quadling Country. Sensing the powerful the Heroes. The one that lands near the Heroes magic on the object, she wants it back. is a unicorn foal by the name of Ceros, who only claims that he's from a far-away place and has to get back as soon as possible and asks the When Ceros interacts with Heroes to help him. To get home, he has to find other Ozians a pendant that magically sent him to Oz. Unfortunately, Ceros is a teenager (humanly However, Mombi, the witch from The speaking), and the wonder of being in the place Marvelous Land of Oz, has been working on in time that he is tends to get the best of him. getting her magic back and restoring her former He doesn't really want to do anything silly or glory, such a glory as it was. She knows about damaging, but he's just so excited, and he's also the pendant and wants it for herself, feeling this not up on his Oz history. He does know the will be the key to her new magical prowess. Heroes, as well as Ozma and Dorothy, just not those of this time period. Finding out where the pendant is, the Heroes and Ceros set off to retrieve it, but Mombi When playing Ceros, either as a Secondary seeks to follow them, thwart their quest, and character or letting a player use him, here's take the pendant for herself. some ideas for things for him to say and do: "So, Dorothy, would you like to What the players don't know compare notes in spellcasting sometime? I'm having some trouble in Ceros is a time traveler. The home he is trying to return to is Oz 80 years hence. The pendant my lessons." he's looking for was an experiment by Glinda Calls Ozma "other mother." the Good to see if she could replicateSample the file Sometimes looks at Ozma sadly, like he effects of the Silver Shoes. The experiment was knows something. a success for the most part, only Ceros, when "Wow, Princess Ozma, you and Dorothy visiting her, played with it. He was wondering look so young!" aloud what things were like in the past, and "Betsy and Trot? Who are they?" that's when it activated, sending him into the Makes a cryptic comment about "the past. war." Ceros is also no mere unicorn. He's a shape Does any of that make sense, especially with changer, like his mother before him. His normal what we know about Oz? Of course not. It form is a pretty teenage boy with a slender should be unsettling for the players to hear, build and short, white hair. He can become the too. young unicorn, who only stands high enough to look Lye in the eyes, that the Heroes meet. The The Pendant problem he's having is that he's stuck in the unicorn form due the wild magic that sends him The pendant that Ceros takes and activates is through time. on a slim silver chain. It's in the shape of a harpy, which is what drew Ceros's attention in The pendant originally landed near the house of the first place, due to his father being "the Old Mombi, who found it. She was toying with it harpy king." The magic is activated by desiring where to go and the shaking the pendant to Starting the adventure make its wings move, but it will only teleport the user if they're wearing it, as well as anyone The Heroes are in the Gillikin Country in the else the wearer is touching. North. Princess Ozma is wishing to have a favorite soup of hers, and the proper Ceros had put it on and made the comment seasonings are only found in the Gillikin about knowing what Oz was like years ago. Country. Mombi, on the other hand, wasn't wearing it when she made the comment "It could have Read this to the players: been far away and hard to get to, rather than "It's been a long day, but it's worth it if it with me." makes Princess Ozma happy. You have found a whole patch of the herbs that go into her special soup, and you have just bagged the last Character Write-Ups of it. The sun is setting, and you're looking forward to getting back to the Emerald City. Ceros As you begin walking south, the sky lights up in Careful: Fair a bright explosion. When you look up, you see Clever: Great two fireballs falling from the sky. One of them Flashy: Good lands far towards the East, but the other Forceful: So-So crashes in the forest not too far away from Quick: Fair you. What do you do?" Sneaky: Good If any of the Heroes, at any point, want to try Gifts: Runner: Focus to Quick rolls when and track down where the farthest one went, galloping in unicorn form); Beautiful (Focus they can roll their Clever against a Great when manipulating people by flaunting his Difficulty. The closest one, on the other hand, is looks, works in either form) easy to find; a minute's walk will do it. If a Troubles: Impetuous; Being a little too friendly player really wants to roll to find it, the difficulty or affectionate Sample file is So-So. Should the roll result in a failure, well, that should be particularly interesting. Perhaps Old Mombi the forest is aflame and obscuring the landing Careful: Good site. Clever: Good Flashy: Fair Upon reaching the fireball's crash site, the Forceful: Great Heroes find that some trees have been knocked Quick: So-So down and are smoldering, and in a small crater Sneaky: Fair lay a young and unconscious unicorn.