Session 1 11/30/23 - Dino Rodeo

Session 1
 
trade has only been in the shattered rifts for a century or so.
 
We are in Mirstone, a crossroad trade city. Arid, 110 degrees (which degrees? we dont know but its too damn hot)
 
We are in a tavern, Corvid's Crest, and on the radio is the latest match of the League. A challenger to the current champion. Champ is using armored snake (does it look well cared for?)
 
The match looks rough, but we understand its a contest, not a fight to the death. As we go into the final round we notice... (perception 24) a great commotion outside. A fight? Cursing? Shouting? There is a lot of people.
 
Feknaast, a drunken tanuki in appropriate light clothing for the environment. He is enamored with the match. The challenger's last companion, a quillbear, is in fierce contest with the plate snake
 
Alaric, another tanuki in half-moon glasses, is watching along, also notices.
 
Armored lizard creatures are stampeding through town. One breaks loose from the barricade being attempted by the town and charges through the wall.
 
R1
Alaric acts first, throwing a drink at the creature to distract it!
Tippler without hesitation throws a net and restrains it! Wigglin wiggles!
Feknaast misses the end of the match as the radio shatters!
The creature cannot escape the net! It tangles itself worse and falls prone.
 
R2
Alaric goes to check on the tavern patrons who were in the area the beast burst through. A pigmy owlin has a shard of glass in his shoulder and there are others with minor injuries. (medicine 15). Alaric goes to help the owlin, removing the shard and applying booze and pressure to the wound.
Tippler tries to speak softly to the armored lizard horse to calm it down. (animal handling 10) It seems the creature is fighting less, but still trashing and not calm.
Feknaast tinkers with the broken radio parts and makes a soothing noise box to try and calm the beast. (magical tinkering) Further reduction to the creature's escape roll.
Outside we hear people running and fleeing! "run away!" and another creature comes walking through the hole in the wall, green and black, long tongue, sharp teeth, and it eyes Alaric.
It bites at on of the people nearby and he blocks with scrap wood.
The netted creature begins to settle, clearly still mad, but not fighting.
 
R3
Alaric tries to get the person away and pulls him back. Then Alaric goes to climb on the green lizard's back likes its a biting bronco. (animal handling 25) He hops on its back and grabs one of its spines, then starts horse whispering it, gently rubbing its neck. Its not happy about Alaric being there, its not freaking out, it doesn't know what to do.
Feknaast is in awe. Then scavenges useful stuff from the smashed bar. (needs to select spells) Alaric sets up a Snare trap near the green bronco.
Tippler positions themself between the two beasts and readies a shot in their sling in case the green one goes berserk (readied action) and Wigglin readies to bite as well (readied action).
Outside the chaos is settling, beasties are meandering, scared people are scattering, but the active stampede has settled.
The biting bronco tries to shake Alaric off and he manages to stay on with (athletics? 19). It huffs and growls, annoyed. It goes to wander, but the snare goes off and hangs it upside down. Alaric hops off.
 
The two Armored Dragons have been disabled. The meandering ones are being moved out of town.
 
Tippler looks or assistance from the Hunter's Guild.
 
The owlin that Alaric helped goes to help other bystanders. Thanks Alaric for the aid and asks if Alaric can help finish up the patch job. His name is Pigin. Extends an invitation to Alaric to see him at the guild hall "I think you have potential for next season." Feknaast goes back to drinking. Bathtub whiskey, on the house if he can fix the radio. Bartender is one-horned sam elliot-esqu tiefling, white stash slightly yellowed from tobacco chew.
 
Back to Tips. Going down the street i can see that the damage is pretty minimal. The first lizard probably just tripped. Some trampled fences, no major injuries, loss of life, or major structural damage. The Hunters' Guild Hall is elaborate for the town. Brick walls and trophies. Tippler goes to the front desk. Young lady in smithing leather with red hair stained by soot. I explain we need assistence with the lizards. She asks me for hunting license. I do not have one. She orb contacts a drow and requests a cleanup.
 
HG's priorities are capture, relocation and defense. Missions are vountary unless there is an emergency. I ask for pamphlets. She hands me one along with three silver plates. Just touch and it will tell me what to do to sign. Come back to get rewards for the two captures we did.
 
IN ANOTHER PLACE
A drow hangs up an orb, and turns to his partner, a salt and peppered tiefling. "we got a couple of bags. time to go"
 
AT THE CORVID'S CREST
Alaric and Feknaast are looking after the creatures (animal handling 25 & 6). Alaric is keeping things under control. Feknaast is trying to use calming herbs and accidentaly riles up one of them, but thankfully his cousin is there to recover the situation.
 
A drow and tiefling come through the front door and assess the situation. Enriqo and Ember, representatives of the guild. Ember is very chatty /s. "How did you guys do this?" Feknaast was too drunk to know outside of a snare. Enriqo turns to Alaric. A -"I rode him like he was a rodeo horse!" E -"we got outselves a dragon whisperer, isn't that something?" A -"I wouldn't put it that far. Guy's still kind of miffed with me." E -"you did well all the same"
 
Again asked for hunting licenses, they have none. Feknaast flips him off. "I was offering to pay you, but okay. Thanks for the assist." Pulls out collars with coins on them, puts them on the lizards and poke-coins them.
 
Tippler comes back with applications. Enriqo keeps the coins, flips off Feknaast. Fek throws his whiskey glass at the drow. (improvised weapon attack, 17 to hit) He uses Sheild to stop the glass. He leaves.
 
Tippler gives the other's hunting licenses. If we want compensation then we need paperwork in order. This one is a loss.
 
Alaric mentions being invited for the next season of the League. Tippler does not know about the League, but Feknaast does.
 
The League is a cross country event, with different divisions. Teams and Solo division participants go to different masters across the country to collect their tokens. Get six and you are in the league. Bring your own companions or they can help assign you one. Used to be a blood sport but has since been reigned back using sanctioned arenas that rely on the coin-collars. Creatures too hurt are removed from the combat automatically to protect them. Injuries are transferred from direct blows into energy drains until they pass out from exhaustion to prevent actual injuries.
 
Sounds like Pigin was proposing sponsoring Alaric.
 
HGs Pamphlet - Emblem is a bristle backed bear hunched menacingly over a banner. Hunters help maintain balance in the ecosystems. gives a breif history, used to be sport hunting but now are focused on capture and relocation. Still has sport hunting at its core, but with a conservation twist. They are a little extortionary in that the charge high fees for the aid they provide, like American ambulances. There is a rank system to gain access to more dangerous quests/game. You can report any CAPTURE that was done in self defense or the defense of another, so long as you are not in the creature's territory. Creatures are either relocated if alive, or broken down and made use of if dead. No waste.
 
I ask the application card and a bristle-back bear morphs out of the card, then morphs into a bear-person. Its name is Bristles, the mascot of the Hunter's Guild. We will be under surveillance in case we are involved with illegal activity, specifically related to poaching, animal smuggling, and other animal specific crimes. Tippler signs up, is now Rank 1. Lists name, species, class, rank, and reputation. Tippler started with a 5 reputation and notably is the third mycelian to join.
 
Feknaast decides to sign up and already has a -5 reputation. Alaric signs up and has a 10 reputation.
 
Tippler recovers net at some point.
 
As we are talking the tavern puts itself back together, give or take a wall, and people are settling back into drinking.
 
We go to follow up with Pigin. The League building is modest, short and wide and made of wood. It has magic crystal lamps. The front entrance is bustling with trainers. Inside is a large library full of all kinda of research on creatures and ecology and habitats. Pigin is there, behind a desk. He is rubbing his temple. Alaric says hi. Pigin welcomes him and reiterates his gratitude. He has been sharing the rodeo story too. It was impressive! Dr. Brown was able to finish up treating Pigin. A bizzare man, mayhaps we'll encounter that one?
 
Pigin has a critter, a stallion whose tamer passed away. Its a pony with big aspirations. Can Alaric help the pony out?
 
Pigin introduces himself to Tippler and Feknaast in turn. Compliments Tippler's netting and states plainly that Feknaast will likely be ignored. Compliments Feknaast's trap construction and placement.
 
Goes back to Alaric and his animal handling prowess. He thinks that Alaric is the right fit the help this ambitious pony win the League.
 
The league is where tamers, or researchers, compete. There is the combat completions, as well as derby races and other competitions and divisions. The league works closely with the Hunter's Guild. Tamers report back on the habits and behaviors of their creature companions to aid in the pursuit of ecological and zoological research. There are as many dedicated scholars and scientists as there are competitive tamers.
 
Why is Alaric a good fit? He took a scared, hungry, predatory creature and calm it, connect with it. That's not something just anyone can do. That's something only he can do. And it takes a skill like that for this pony. Weaver?
 
The league can teach us Speak with Animals. (fuck yeas please I beg of thee)
 
Pigin has potential companions for each of us. We just need to provide hunter's licenses. He inscribes the back, registering us with the league. This will track our badges.
 
We can also use poke-coins with the emblem to track data on the creatures we capture.
 
He then gives Alaric a case with a black poke-coin in it that shows the image of an unhinged bucking horse. That is Weaver, an obsidian stallion. An elemental rock-horse. Weaver is in a field out back. Obsidian Stallions form a bond that lets them grow with the tamer. Only a few creatures can.
 
Feknaast and Tippler get blank medallions for whatever creatures we choose. There is a moon-singer who has lost its family. There is Druk, a cute electric lizard.
 
We go out back where we can see trainers working with the rescue companions.
 
There is an Axolotl, a Chamrosh (a colorful celestial winged dog), a Druk (a tiny electric dragon/lizard), A river ribbon (a long slender water dragon), a moon singer (a small pink fey), and a bloom crawler (bulbasaur).
 
Standing off on its own is Weaver.
 
END OF SESSION
 
Personal notes - None of the companions here immediately speak to me. I'm curious what their personal stories are and if I might connect with one that way. Next session I would like to speak with the Hunter's guild about trying to track down any info on a pest smuggling ring.