Phoera Hunt IC

[Rudolf]

Ez turns to the group.

“A metal cage, I hope? A fire-eagle won’t be contained long by a wicker basket, at least, I don’t think so. I bet a burlap sack would be equally poor.”

[Blue Jay]

Talissa

As you all ask Talissa for clarifications and further information, all of you can recognize (without even a Sense Motive check) expressions of growing bewilderment and concern on her face.

"Um..." she manages, "I don't... I don't think I'll start fires by accident." The way she's shifting uncomfortably in her chair now clearly shows her lack of confidence that that statement. She clearly hasn't thought about that yet. "I mean... I know things on the Material Plane burn, and that's a bad thing here, but I don't know if..." She's looking down at her chair with some concern on her face. "I think it'll be fine, right? I'll just be careful not to get too hot, I guess? I think it's okay if I touch people, too. Maybe." She hesitantly reaches out towards Gothika, to touch her shoulder, but balks and decides not to tempt fate. "Maybe I won't... just to be safe."

The question about Dshalvur seems to catch her off-guard too. "Oh..." she says, "Um, I guess we'd better watch for him. I mean, I don't think he could get here, though. Ukumalei helped me go through a portal to here, and I have this bracelet that will show me the way to the other portal, but... Dshalvur doesn't have one of these. I don't think he's going to be... there." She's biting her lip now.

When the question about the cage comes up, she seems a little relieved to have something she knows the answer to. "Yes, it's a metal cage," she says, "I don't know what 'wicker' is, though. But I don't think it's that. It's definitely metal. It was made by azers: they're the best craftsmen on the Plane of Fire. I just need to know how to get the phoera into the cage."

 

[joran1313]

Gregory

[IMG2=200]https://66.media.tumblr.com/e278ca959c4cb893e543bf3be51a9660/tumblr_p8qhztLN7M1tys9fro1_1280.jpg[/IMG2]

"Dont worry about burning things or people here in the tavern ma'am. This is a mysterious and amazing place where creatures of all walks of life can come and mingle. I've seen angels and devils debating over tea and a pint. It will take literal divine intervention from multiple deities to do some damage here. I like your hairstyle by the way.

 

So, a phoera should be relatively easy to locate all things considered. I am not a druid or a hunter of sort, but a bird of fire with a heroic soul imbedded in it shouldn't be too difficult. I'm more worried about the competition. What more can you tell us of this Dshalvur? I have a feeling we'll either be running into him or some of his people.

[Rudolf]

Ez turns to the group.

“There are, well, just two methods. Either you grab the creature and toss it in the cage yourself, or you make a trap and lure it in with some bait. Or, hmm, can it talk? I guess we could ask nicely.”

[paladinred]

 

 

Ministatblock

Sheethttps://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1511981
Name: Gothika
Race: Erinyes
Classes: Erinyes 5/ Warmage 5
Ongoing Effects:

 

Gothika reached out and took the hand as it came near her (Gothika has Fire resistance 7), she held it for a moment or two then released it "see, no harm done" she says with a smile.

[Blue Jay]

Talissa

Talissa does seem a little comforted by Gothika's touch, but she still seems unsure. There's no burn from Gothika's perspective (the Tavern's magic is protecting you). She gives Gothika a weak smile. "Well, I guess I should have done some more thinking and planning about the Material Plane before I left the Fire Plane," she says sheepishly.

She shrugs at Gregory's question. "Dshalvur is the worst!" she says, "He's an efreeti. Or, he was when he was alive. Now that he's undead, he turned blue instead of red, and he's... I don't know. He can't fly anymore. But he can run a lot faster." She shrugs again. "That's all I know for sure. Oh, and he has some minions that work for him. Salamanders, mostly. And firenewts."

When Ez mentions ways to catch the phoera, she responds, "I tried to use bait. I put a dead beast in the cage, but the phoera never came to it. It flew over once, but it didn't come down to the cage. Phoeras have good eyesight, so I'm sure it saw the food. Right?"

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Blue Jay (see edit history)

[Rudolf]

Ez nods

“It’s the right idea. We just have to find out what it eats. I, for example, am a vegetarian, so a dead beast wouldn’t be interesting. A few melons, and it’s a different story. Or squash, those are really good too.”

[rogueblade0729]

Kildrak Grimbeard

"From what you're sayin', it seems we'll have to capture the beast the ol' fashioned way: bare hands and lots of swearin'! Ha!" Kildrak snorted, shaking his head slightly. He can already imagine the pain, not to mention how it's very likely to scorch his beard. "I'm none too fond of this news of minions. Do you think Dshalvur will send them our way, or come for our prey himself?"

Mechanics & OOC

Statblock

Kildrak Grimbeard
Male LN Dwarf Fighter 4 || Warblade 4, Level 4, Init 2, HP 63/63, Speed 20ft
AC 23, Touch 10, Flat-footed 23, Fort 6, Ref 5, Will 0, Base Attack Bonus +4
Masterwork Warhammer +8 (1d8+3, x3)
Throwing Axe (x2) +6 (1d6, x2)
Masterwork Half-Plate Armor, +1 Tower Shield (+8 Armor, +5 Shield)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 10
Condition None

-

 

[joran1313]

Gregory

"Hmm....Salamanders, Newts and Undead, Oh my. Good thing I am here then."

Looks over at Kildrak. "Kildrak I believe. Expect the minions to be after it and us from the moment we start. I am in hopes you are good with things that are generally on fire?"

Looking back over the rest of the table, he flips some errant hair back into place on his head. "I'm not as well versed as some of my contemporaries here in the tavern, but I do believe live bait should be a better lure than dead bait. It should be possible to ask around here in the tavern before we set out what would be a good lure for a Phoera. There are plenty of veterans here that might be willing to help for a pint or two."

 

[rogueblade0729]

Kildrak Grimbeard

Kildrak grimaced as Gregory offered his explanation. "We might want to stock up on potions before we leave, then. If I'm to grapple with fire, may I not be scorched by it!"

Mechanics & OOC

Statblock

Kildrak Grimbeard
Male LN Dwarf Fighter 4 || Warblade 4, Level 4, Init 2, HP 63/63, Speed 20ft
AC 23, Touch 10, Flat-footed 23, Fort 6, Ref 5, Will 0, Base Attack Bonus +4
Masterwork Warhammer +8 (1d8+3, x3)
Throwing Axe (x2) +6 (1d6, x2)
Masterwork Half-Plate Armor, +1 Tower Shield (+8 Armor, +5 Shield)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 10
Condition None

-

[paladinred]

 

 

Ministatblock

Sheethttps://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1511981
Name: Gothika
Race: Erinyes
Classes: Erinyes 5/ Warmage 5
Ongoing Effects:

 

Gothika thought about what they might be up against, efreeti undead as well as salamander and fire newts

 

Knowledge Religion and Planes.

Edited August 20, 2023 by paladinred (see edit history)

[Blue Jay]

Talissa

"Well, phoeras usually eat small beasts," Talissa says, "I'm pretty sure I've seen it catch an ash rat. So, I put a dead ash rat in the cage. But, it barely even looked at it, and just flew away. Maybe if we can catch a living ash rat, that will work better. Do you have ash rats on the Material Plane? What do you have here that's a small beast?"

 

[joran1313]

 

Gregory

"I might be able to conjure something up, but I will fess up that my summoning ability is rather limited and not very useful as one would hope it would be. Let me think on it a moment."

 

[Inash]

'[IMG]http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a629/garath2002/owl_girl_face_zps8elbexoz.jpg[/IMG]'

HooGrawr nods along, taking in the conversation but remaining quiet. She does finally add "I can do some nature based spells to improve our ability to handle flame and heat. I guess I could summon an animal... but that would just be cruel to the poor summoned creature."

Actions/Rolls

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Statblock

HooGrawr
F CN/CG Just ... don't ask Owlbear | Nymph, Level 3, Init 1, HP 36/36, DR 1/cold iron, Speed 30 (swim 20)
AC 15, Touch 12, Flat-footed 14, Fort 5, Ref 4, Will 3, Base Attack Bonus 3
x2 Claw 7 (1d4+4, )
Peck 5 (1d8+2, )
(+1 Dex, +1 Size, +3 Natural)
Abilities Str 17, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 18
Condition As Shown: Deceptively innocent form
Natural form: Large size, no armor and -2 to AC and attack (from size change)

[Blue Jay]

Talissa

Talissa listens to the party, clearly feeling quite out of her league in this conversation. "Okay, so you think we should find some live bait and lure it into the cage that way?" she asks, "It sounds like we're ready, then. Shall we head out to the forest and try to find the phoera?"

((Feel free to log any last-minute purchases now.))

She produces her original advertisement and speaks the command words. The magical runes on the paper light up like fires, and a round portal opens in the middle of the Tavern. "Let's go!" she says, stepping through the portal and beckoning you all to follow.

Forest

As you step through the portal, you find yourselves in a small forest clearing. Nearby, there's a wagon that's mostly filled with a sturdy-looking iron cage that seems large enough to allow a humanoid occupant to spread out a little. Grazing on some grass near the wagon is a red horse with a mane of flames. Talissa approaches the horse and pats it lovingly on the head while speaking to it in Ignan.

After a moment, she turns back to the party. "Well," she says, "The phoera is somewhere in this forest. I spotted it right here in this meadow yesterday, and it flew off that way---" She points east "---But I don't know where it's nesting or anything. So, what's our plan? Do we need to go catch an animal to use as bait? Or, should be try to track the phoera's movements? How do you track a beast that flies?"

OOC: Hunting

Alright, feel free to continue roleplaying as you see fit, but I'll introduce the first phase of the adventure here. Talissa is clearly no tracker or wilderness expert, so she won't be able to offer much information about the area, the habits of the phoera, or anything like that. Feel free to roll Knowledge (geography)**Officially the first time I've ever asked for a Knowledge (geography) check, I think. to see if you know anything about the area. If you're not trained (who's ever trained in Knowledge (geography)?), you can just get some basic assessments of the habitat.

If you want to locate the phoera, Talissa can't do much to direct your search except point in the direction she last saw it flying. You may just have to start wandering around and hoping to find some clues. Otherwise, you can go directly into hunting or trapping for a bait animal.

Either way, finding the phoera seems like a task that will take at least a couple of days to complete. When you've decided how you want to proceed, anyone who's trained in Survival can roll a Survival check to represent a day's work.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Blue Jay (see edit history)