The Large Dumbo

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

The tiefling paused in thought for a moment. If Kendra could communicate with these things through magic, that was at least one better way of communication than what he could currently perform. He could only go so far with gestures, grunts, and facial expressions just to communicate a simple idea; he imagined he would have even less luck with more complex ideas such as theft and protection. With a shrug, he nodded towards the path he had seen the chwingas take. "Yeah, if you've got magic that can talk to these things, I bet that's going to make this whole ordeal much simpler for all parties involved," he said, turning back to watch the trail. "If we're gonna deliver that one to Dannika, I'd like for us to at least make sure his friends know where he's off to. Maybe even see if we can talk them into keeping an eye on him for us, yeah?"

With that, the tiefling poked his head out from behind the thicket. The chwingas had crept into the woods, a symbol of the natural world in its most bountiful, and a bastion for the wildlife to take solace. "Theodorick, Jitter," Kythor said, turning his head in their direction. "You two are staying here to keep our new friend company? In that case, keep your ears open. Don't figure we'll run into trouble from here to there, but it's always better to be safe than sorry." Unless there was anything else that needed to be discussed, the tiefling would once again begin to follow the trail the chwingas left, waving for Kendra to follow.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

For this roll the extra two won't matter. You can see that they are heading into the woods. After a few minutes they disappear into a nearby rock.

In regards to an urban ranger, I think it could be plausible with the urchin background which allows them to more quickly move through the city. Also depending on the setting in sure a DM would allow it.

@Lurking Krog

Yeah, I feel like asking to make a ranger whose favored 'terrain' is the city isn't too big of an ask from most DMs, but really at the end of the day it's a case-by-case basis I guess. It seems like that kind of stuff's sort of out of the 'scope' of what the image of a ranger might be to some people, which is totally fair. I'm probably just the weird one - I do kind of like to stretch the flavor of a class outside of its normal sort of 'archetype' sometimes, for a lack of a better word. For example, one character I kicked around in theorycrafting was a Way of the Astral Self Monk who instead of creating astral limbs had his body undergo controlled metamorphosis that granted him the same benefits. Is he still really a monk of the Way of the Astral Self at that point? Probably not in terms of flavor, but mechanically he still follows all of the rules of the subclass.

Of course, that doesn't mean that he's necessarily appropriate for just any old campaign, just like how not every DM might want to allow players to make an urban-style ranger. That's why I personally always think it's important to ask permission from the DM before doing anything that steps out of RAW or trying out something unusual, like a ranger who prefers the dark alleys of the city to the green canopies and untamed wilderness of the forest. Just because I might be okay with somebody joining a group I was DMing with an urban ranger doesn't immediately mean that everyone else is going to be, you know?

Anyways, late night stream of consciousness rambling aside, I figured I'd go ahead and mention before I hop off tonight that I probably won't be active much tomorrow, or if I am it'll be much later in the day.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

The tiefling watched as the two chwingas left, leaving their third behind. Strangely, he felt a knot form in his stomach. These creatures were fools to leave their friend to the mercy of four much larger creatures, especially when they had just met them. The naive had no place in the natural world. Sure, they had no plans to harm the chwinga, but they probably didn't know that. Quietly, he hoped that the other chwingas made it home okay, and that Dannika had no intentions to abuse the creature. Speaking of Dannika, he looked over at the chwinga that was sitting on Jitter's shoulder. The fact that this one seemed to like them enough to follow them definitely made their job a lot easier. Now, all they had to do was go to Good Mead, hand it over to Dannika, and from there that would be that. At least, that's how it should be.

Before they left, Kythor wanted to know some things. He still had very little understanding of how chwingas communicated between themselves - for this he cursed himself for not having the knowledge of the tribe to consult - so he wasn't sure if the chwingas would be aware of the arrangement their third friend might be getting into. For that matter, he wasn't sure if the chwingas would respond well to their friend abruptly disappearing after last being seen with a ragtag group of travelers. Besides that, there was still the matter of figuring out how to help the woman who'd asked for their help earlier be rid of her chwinga tormenters. Admittedly, that last part might be easily accomplished through discussion on how to negotiate peace between both parties.

Still, Kythor was invested in studying the chwingas further for his own interest. If he could track the chwingas, maybe he could find out where they lived, and how they lived. If they needed to consult the chwingas or contact them again, they'd be able to easily find them again. Standing up, Kythor brushed the snow off of his person and scooped up his lantern. "Got an inkling we might not wanna let our other two 'friends' disappear into the night just yet," he said in a low voice. "I'm going to see if I can't find where they're holed up at, just in case our business with them's not done yet. Since it seems to've taken a liking to you, Jitter, maybe you could keep your little stowaway busy or ask if he'd like to help our employer? I'd rather he not get the wrong idea from me 'making sure' his friends get home safe."

With that, he leant to the side from the thicket they'd been lured into. From there, he could see that the chwingas had gone deeper into the woods. Admittedly, Kythor wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of heading into the woods, especially with their friendly chwinga in tow. Yet, that wouldn't deter him from briefly following them alone. After a delay, Kythor crept from the thicket to follow the path of the chwingas, towards the rock they had disappeared behind.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

@Lurking Krog

Kythor's a bit interested in finding out where these chwingas are headed, and he's not too sure of how to ask the chwinga given how difficult communication has been so far. If he's able to, he wants to start trying to track them to find out where they're headed.

Wisdom(Survival) Check = 1d20+6=18

I made this as a Survival check since I thought that was the appropriate type of check to make, but let me know if it isn't. Also, I'm pretty sure my Natural Explorer ability applies to this check (double proficiency bonus when making a Wisdom or Intelligence check that I have proficiency in while in favored terrain), but I wasn't too sure. I didn't know if we were maybe too close to town for it to be really considered within my character's favored terrain? If it does apply, that should bump up the roll to a 20 due to receiving a +2 bonus.

On a side note, it really bugs me that rangers don't have the option to pick any kind of urban setting as their favored terrain. I've had a few ideas for characters that would make for neat city-dwelling bounty hunter rangers who use their abilities to track down their targets, but RAW it doesn't really seem like that's a workable option for a ranger. I guess you could just go ahead and homebrew in a city environment, but it still really annoys me that it's not part of the base ranger's options.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

The tiefling watched as the chwingas played and interacted with the party. He'd never gotten the chance to see a chwinga up close like this, and imagined that such would not be a readily available commodity. In his mind, he was wondering how they would be able to accomplish their goals - the goal of delivering a chwinga to Dannika, as well as figuring out how to get these chwingas to stop bothering this woman in Easthaven. Kendra was sure that there was no easy way to communicate with them through a common tongue, and Kythor himself couldn't get a solid read on their means of communication between one another.

"Most certainly, this is a daunting task," he sighed beneath his breath, looking to the others. It was then that a curious idea crossed his mind. The tiefling had lit the lantern Dannika had given them to figure out if any chwingas were in the nearby area. Perhaps they may be able to awe the little creatures with this strange device? Gripping the handle in one hand and the bottom with his other, Kythor cautiously brought the device forward, taking care to not set it down. He wanted to use this to captivate their attention. He had absolutely no intention of handing the device away, at not until they finished delivering a chwinga. "Look," Kythor said, "Magical light!" Waving the lantern around, but making sure to keep it just out of their reach, Kythor watched to see if the little creatures reacted to the unusually-colored glow of the flame.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Well a nature, arcana, or history check may determine that.

@Lurking Krog

Aww, int-based skill checks. Kythor's no good at them. In any case, Kythor wants to try one to figure out if they have a language that they might be able to use to help explain the more "complex" concepts that may come up during their conversation - specifically things such as stealing and suggesting that they should ask permission before taking others' things.

Intelligence(Nature) Check:1d20+2=8

(and of course by the time I finally am able to get this post up, somebody's already rolled higher than me - unless otherwise stated, I'll just assume that Kythor's results are the same as Jitter's and Kendra's results)

As for whether or not we should grab one of the chwingas, Kythor himself is pretty against the idea of attacking these creatures at this point, especially given how we've sat down and effectively made peace with them for the time being. The way he sees it, diplomacy is the path of least resistance at the moment, so in his mind it might be best to try and figure out a way to persuade the chwingas into coming with them to Good Mead. Maybe we could offer them more baubles to play around with or something? Kythor could try offering them a Goodberry, maybe... Actually, now that I think about it, Dannika probably has a lot of strange and unusual baubles and trinkets the chwingas might be interested in playing with, since she's a researcher and all. That might be a good point to try to sell.

If we can't talk the chwingas into coming with, then he'll be more than ready to try and scoop one up, but for the time being he feels like if they can avoid engaging in direct conflict with the chwingas, they should.

EDIT: Also, no IC post from me tonight probably. Sorry. Kythor's just gonna keep observing the chwingas for now, sort of fascinated at being able to see one up close.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

So this was what a chwinga actually looked like. He had to admit, watching a trio of them pretend to eat clashed somewhat with the image he'd formed in his head. He'd imagined some sort of trickster-like, whimsical spirit, not this. The tiefling stepped aside to allow the halfling to act - as he said, he wasn't unwilling to try to negotiate with the chwinga before they resorted to more... brutish methods. Especially these ones. Something about them seemed very childlike, Kythor mused to himself as he watched them play-eat. Once they'd talked one of them into helping Dannika with her research, he'd have to figure out some way to make sure that she wasn't abusing the poor things. He might not have sympathy for the denizens of the natural world, but even he saw handing over a defenseless child as an irredeemable sin.

Still, Kythor was cautious. Ideally, they would be able to converse with the chwinga after luring it over. From there, they could sort this mess out between them and the woman whose house they had been rummaging through, and once they take care of that they may be able to convince one of them into coming with them to Good Mead. First, however, they needed to persuade the creature to come closer and listen to what they had to say. The tiefling crouched down beside the halfling, where he slowly held out his hand as a gesture of peace. "Come, little one," Kythor said, hoping to soothe the small sprite. "We mean you no harm." Although he wasn't sure if these creatures were capable of speech or understanding the Common tongue, he was sure that speaking in a soft, low tone of voice would suggest to the creature that they had no hostile intent.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

@Lurking Krog

Wisdom(Survival) Check: 1d20+6=20

Got a 20! Good thing, too - this kind of stuff's right up Kythor's alley.

(now watch as I proceed to roll a nat 1 on my next ability check I have proficiency in)

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kythor

"The window facing out of town, hmm?" Interesting. Perhaps they were about to uncover themselves a mischevious little chwinga. It'd certainly save them a lot of time to be able to catch one here and now, and, assuming that there was only one that was harassing this woman, they'd be able to get a bonus in the form of some payment. Granted, Kythor was a bit skeptical of the idea that they would receive a rather large bounty for dealing with this creature, as they hadn't discussed the terms of their agreement first, but they could always talk about it after the fact. For now, Kythor needed information. Wandering towards the window, Kythor quietly crouched down by the windowsill and began to search for tracks of any sort. He also thought about perhaps trying the window itself to make sure they weren't dealing with somebody whose senses had long-since departed them, and that these 'spirits' weren't simply a product of her imagination, but then he spotted something curious.

It was a set of small tracks, leading from the window to a nearby thicket. Looks like their hunt had begun.

"Hey, over here," Kythor called out to the party as he waved them over. "Looks like these spirits haven't been gone for too long. See those tracks?" He pointed to the tracks as they began on the windowsill, then traced the path they took into the thicket. "Tracks lead into the thicket." The tiefling slung his backpack off gently, cradling it in his arm as he pulled out the lantern they'd been given by Dannika. After closing and replacing his backpack, the tiefling fiddled with the lantern for a brief moment to light it. Once lit, Kythor watched it closely to see if it reacted as he held it out towards the thicket.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

@Lurking Krog

Kythor's going to head over to the window that was mentioned, the one that these spirits seem to prefer, and he's going to try to examine it to the best of his ability. He'd like to check for tracks, but he'd also like to make sure there's nothing unusual with the window itself, like a loose hinge or some other design flaw that would cause it to open abruptly for seemingly no reason.

Wisdom(Perception) Check: 1d20+6=17