Journey to Hawaiki

This is an episodic campaign following groups of adventurers from several islands in the Ancient Pacific, each the chosen favorite of a different Polynesian God. For some reason, unbeknownst to the islanders, the gods have recently shown greater interest in their daily lives. However, it’s because the gods are vying against one another to find the best earthly champions to send on a dangerous journey back to Hawaiki.

The sessions focus on a challenge for an islander group blessed by one of the major Polynesian gods. While each is an independent (played as a one-shot at a con or a local monthly RPG night), the actions of the players shape the world for the next set of adventurers. Each session moves closer to the gods choosing their champions for the dangerous journey to Hawaiki.

Want to play?

Once a month I run an open session at Pomona Cider (in Milwaukee WI) through Awkward Nerd Events. I also run events at a small variety of cons and will link the available schedule here.

I bring a selection of pre-made characters covering key adventuring tropes adapted to this Ancient Polynesian setting and ask the players to vote on which god’s chosen adventuring group they’ll play for. The pre-gens include Warriors, Ariori (like a bard), Kahunas (priests), and more. The base rules are for Worlds Without Number, but I’ve introduced modified rules for Wayfinding, Divine Intervention, and a few new Foci (similar to feats) to match the feel of the campaign.

This Campaign wiki tracks the progress of the adventurers on their journey, shares details on the PCs and NPCs discovered along the way, and my progress on rule adaptations to stylistically capture Ancient Polynesia.