Furry Pirate Party Recap

Level 1 Adventure - ¡Bienvenidos! a Colombia

*Chapter 1 - Barrel of Monkeys
1 - Dawn broke on the El Penguino, a Dutch East India Company research Schooner under
command of Captain Dickbill Darkwing and his first mate Rick Cranberry, as it sailed off the
coast of the New World/South America only having recently passed through the Panama Canal
from the Caribbean en route to the Galapaghost Islands
2 - The night crew = Ishmael/2nd Mate - QueeQueeg/Lookout - Alkator the Virile/Deckhand -
were finishing up their shift as the rest of the boat woke to start theirs
Remainder of the crew = Dickbill Darkwing/Captain - Rick Cranberry/1st Mate - Suhn of
Abbich/Quartermaster - 3x Nameless Deckhands - Sir Chestnut/Paying Passenger -
Mariochy/Stowaway
3 - QueeQueeg called out, in his native tongue, a warning ‘Caw-ca-Caw!’ ‘Land Ho,’ he shouted!
But, there was not meant to be any land for miles and miles in those waters
4 - Most everyone rushed to the deck to catch sight of a strange island indeed. Just a lone
sandy hill, rising from the water, a single palm tree atop
5 - And then in closer inspection it seemed the palm tree’s leaves were bit blowing in the light
wind, but rather the entire thing was sorta blowing and billowing about, the sandy island and all.
Then a pair of monkey heads was spotted peaking around the corners of the, at least in
hindsight, obvious ruse of a fake island
6 -‘Caw-ca-Caw’ shouted QueeQueeg again. Signaling ‘Pirates’ this time!and, sure enough, the
clumsy attempt at an island, painted in an old sail, dropped and a pirate ship hove into view
behind it. A big and no nonsense looking ship with a teeming crew of monkeys raising sails and
working for battle and hoisting a pirate flag
7 - Rick Cranberry mustered the El Penguino’s crew into action as well. He ordered Ishamel, at
the wheel, to plow straight ahead, towards the pirate vessel, christened the ‘Barrel of Monkeys’.
He yelled for Suhn to hurry below deck and roust the remaining deckhands from their cabin.
Captain Darkwing emerged from his cabin spitting curses at pirates that dared attack a research
vessel flying the D.E.I. Company’s colors. He and Sir Chestnut bravely scrambled to the top of a
mast as, ‘Sproing!’, the pirate vessel fired a catapult at them and a monkey landed in the sails.
The pirate ship was catapulting monkeys at them!
8 - Before the monkey in the sails could light the torch he had in hand he was as cut down by
Rick and Sir Chestnut, but, ‘Sproing!’, two more monkeys landed before they could even began
to catch their breaths. And to make things worse, as the two ships closed the distance, it
became clear that the monkeys were loading an ancient and massive cannon which rhey had
moved to the foredeck
9 - ‘Boom!’ The cannon almost exploded as it coughed noxious smoke and set its poor monkey
gunners on fire. But, the cannonball fired true, and ripped into the prow of the El Penguino. Just
as Suhn went to knock on the Deckhand’s quarters the cannonball splintered the door, narrowly
missing Suhn himself, and leaving only a fiery hole where the bunk room once was, its
occupants literally blown away. The cannonball continued through the decks of the El Penguino
until it exited out the back, punching another hole through storage and narrowly missing
Maroochy, the stowaway, where she lay in a self-induced slumber
10 - Suhn immediately jumped into action, damage to his precious Penguino was as well
damage to his own person, but unfortunately, his repairs failed miserably. He tried to use some
extra sail cloth to plug the hole in the prow only to find himself and the sail sucked out into the
ocean swells. Luckily, as a Beaver-Folk, he could swim handily, though he despised salt water.
Maroochy on the other hand, was raised from her torpor by the cannonball’s explosion and the
water rushing in, and luck prevailed as the first sea-chest she paddled towards the hole sunk
like a peg made for just such a problem and turned the torrential flood into a mere trickle (DM’s
Note - obviously all of this is DND physics and ought be simply accepted for fantasy’s sake)
11 - Ever more monkeys landed in the sails and were cut down by Rick, Sir Chestnut and
QueeQueeg. Even brave Alkator tried to get into the action high in the sails. As brave as Alkator
is, he's not the brightest. He took a flying leap off the foredeck and into the sails only to find
himself 20’ from the top of the mast in a flurry of feathers. Roosters can fly, but they don’t fly
well. Luckily Sir Chestnut was able to chop a line, secure the rope, and drop a lifeline down to
Alkator where he dangerously clung. About this time Sunn had managed to swim to the side
and start clawing his way up the sides of the boat via a combo of hands and sharp buck teeth.
Maroochy cautiously began her way to the upper decks, drawn by the sounds of combat, but
uncertain who was friend and who was foe
12 - ‘Now,’ shouted Rick as the two ships
threatened to collide. ‘Aye aye Captain,’
responded Ishmael pulling as hard on the wheel
as an ancient Tortle can. The El Penguino
veered violently to the side just in time to avoid
another cannon shot from the very iffy cannon
indeed. As the Penguino rocked monkeys went
flying, every last one fell from the Schooner’s
mast and into the sea. The Penguino’s crew
barely managed to hang on themselves, but
hang on they did. Thank goodness for Sir
Chestnut’s rope as Alkator swung wildly about in
the air
13 - Despite Rick Cranberry’s bold sailing
gambit the ‘El Penguino’ was out-masted,
out-manned and quite simply out-classed in
every way by the much larger pirate ship. The
Barrel of Monkeys was soon upon them and
drawing up besides them preparing to board.
The pirate vessel teemed with activity as more
Monkeys clambered to the upper decks. Monkeys loaded themselves into the catapult and other
Monkeys cranked it back for another volley. A team of Monkeys fought to spin the massive
cannon and target the El Penguino once more. They were all led by a truly massive
Silver-Backed Ape in a Tricorn hat. ‘I, The Dread Captain Black Dreads, demand that you
surrender and I’ll spare yer lives. Well . . . Most of your lives. Some of your lives. A few
probably,’ yelled the pirate captain!
14 - Dispatching the last Monkey atop the mast First Mate Cranberry strode to the end of the
sail and unbuckling his pants, let his urine reply as it sprinkled down atop the Ape captain’s
proud hat
15 - Surprising everyone (The DM most of all!) Alkator took it upon himself to wait to be boarded
by the Monkey crew, but rather to board them. He swung back and forth, back and forth, running
across the sail, until, over The Barrel of Monkeys deck, he let go and plummeted down in a a
barely controlled crash of feathers. And though he missed his target completely he landed
successfully. Surrounded by Monkeys. On all sides. Only now contemplating the foolishness of
his actions
16 - Without wasting a moment’s thought brave little Sir Chestnut scampered to the end of the
mast and leaped into the air, unfurling the thin membrane of skin under his arms, and he glided
effortlessly down and onto the back of the great Ape. He clawed as furiously as his tiny claws
could! Next followed Rick Cranberry, who dipping a few arrows in poison which he kept for just
such occasions, grabbed with his agile feet the rope left unused by Alkator and sailed heroically
down towards the Barrel of Monkeys, firing an arrow squarely into the Ape Captain for
devastating effect (DM’s Note - like 24 Damage at 1st level!) as he swung! He landed safely as
well, ready to help Alkator who launched into a wild rage, helping himself to a Monkey’s head in
the doing!
17 - More Monkeys were catapulted, and luckily for the Penguino most ended up in the drink,
but one landed safely on the mast which was currently unprotected. At that moment Suhn pulled
himself, at last, back onto the deck from out the ocean and onto the El Penguino. He arrived just
in time to witness Maroochy, perhaps the strangest creature he has ever seen, emerge from the
lower decks. Before he could even consider what to do about such a weird sight, Maroochy
launched a weird curved club into the air, which felled the monkey on the mast with one deadly
blow, dropping it to the deck. Suhn figured the enemy of my enemy is my friend and so waddled
immediately over to help his crew-mates
18 - The Ape Captain tried desperately to
shake Sir Chestnut to no avail. He beat
his chest and bellowed in anger but the
brave little squirrel refused to be
frightened and hung on for dear life.
Monkeys stabbed at Sir Chestnut with
shanks and with daggers but he scurried
around the Ape Captain avoiding every
blow but wearing himself out something
fierce in the process. Monkeys did
manage to sink their sharp knives into the
raging Alkator but he shook off each new
cut, which cuts seemed to only make him
all the more angry! One more load of
Monkeys catapulted over only to miss the
El Penguino entirely. Every last one.
Drowning Monkeys chittered and cried on
all sides! The Monkeys managed at long
last to swing the Cannon around and lit the fuse. It exploded in a spectacular ball of smoke and
fire setting two monkeys ablaze in the process. The cannonball did find its mark however, and
splintered one of the El Penguino’s two masts into pieces, as QueeQueeg took flight from its
crow’s nest where he had perched! The El Penguino was in bad shape indeed
19 - Alkator didn’t even resemble the seasick deckhand of a day before as his veins bulged, and
his feathers ruffed about his neck, and his cockscomb turned purple with rage. He
disemboweled one Monkey. Ripped the head off a second. Held that head up to a third Monkey
and hissed menacingly, ‘Run!’ Run he did. Rick set to work amongst the Monkeys with his
scimitars, moving fast, bobbing and weaving, and leaving corpses on all sides. Sir Chestnut
unsheathed his tiny sword and drove it right into the Ape Captain’s neck doing tremendous
damage (DM’s Note - like 30 points of damage at 1st level. Lots of heroics in this fight!) Despite
his lumbering size and semi-aquatic waddle Suhn literally sprang from one deck to another,
utilizing a clever spring and crank contraption he’d
Tinkered together on the flats of his shoes. He landed with a thud, fully 250 pounds, and tossed
a rum bottle which shattered amidst the remaining Monkeys, who surrounded poor Sir Chestnut
on all sides, and a pale,
mist began to spread from the broken bottle. Within seconds most of the Monkeys collapsed on
their sides and backs, sound asleep. Snoring loudly
20 - Having prepped another cannonball and packed the cannon lit the fuse and the cannon
really exploded this time. Not just smoke and flame but an actual explosion which took out not
only the cannon and the Monkey gunners, but the entire front quarter of the Barrel of Monkeys
as well! ‘Abandon ship ye bunch of worthless Monkeys!’, shouted the Ape Captain as he himself
took a mighty leap off his own boat and onto the El Penguino where he landed with a timber
cracking boom. With little Sir Chestnut still squarely on his shoulders he made haste for the
Penguino’s lifeboats and started winching one down and into the ocean looking to escape. The
few remaining Monkeys looked about in desperation and either continued fighting without hope
or made for their own lifeboat aboard the Barrel of Monkeys. The last monkey working the
catapult loaded himself within and fired himself straight into the ocean for lack of a better plan
21 - The Ape Captain, The Dread Pirate Black Dreads, had
lost the battle but was well on his way to escape with Sir
Chestnut in tow, when Maroochy rose from behind the crates
where she had been hidden and tossed her Kylie, an
Australian war boomerang specific to her people, with every
last ounce of strength in her small frame. The Kylie hit true
and solid and knocked the Ape Captain unconscious where
he stood in the lifeboat as the ropes slipped his hand and the
boat began to crash down into the waiting ocean. (DM’s Note
- Maroochy’s player scored a Critical Hit for max damage!
More heroics) Maroochy ran to the lifeboat before it
disappeared and snatched Sir Chestnut from off the slumping
Ape’s shoulder
22 - The last Monkeys were mopped up. Suhn slapped one overboard with his wide Beaver tail.
Sir Chesnut rejoined the battle immediately dispatching one. Alkator did his part as his rage
slowly subsided. Rick Cranberry chased one last Monkey down and skewered him on a scimitar
as he orders his own crew off the rapidly sinking Barrel of Monkeys and back to the El Penguino
23 - Alkator grabbed one of the still sleeping Monkeys as a prisoner for later interrogation and
jumped across. Sir Chestnut followed. Suhn captured what most caught his eye, the abandoned
catapult, and managed to quickly rig it up and get it onboard the Penguino before the pirate ship
entirely sunk. First Mate Cranberry remained behind to steal the Barrel of Monkeys large
lifeboat, discovering, to his surprise, a treasure’s worth of fresh bananas stashed inside
24 - Gathered back on board at last, the El Penguino’s crew realized that their situation was
grim indeed. The Schooner was taking on water. One mast was lost to the ocean. Fresh water
and food and worst of all rum had washed out the hold when the cannonball struck. As Alkator
tied up their captive, who tried to stab him with a shank, earning him the nickname of
Dagger-Monkey, and as the unconscious Ape Captain could be seen drifting into the distance
aboard the aimless life boat, a decision was made to turn back and try for the nearest shore.
The new world coast of Colombia was their aim. They might well not make it, but what other
choice did they have (DM’s Notes - I gotta admit. This was all a surprise to me. As always in
DnD my best laid plans quickly went sideways. I thought I’d planned a challenging fight. The
Furry Pirate Party beat my Monkeys and almost took their ship! Regardless, it was good times!
The best parts of DnD are the unplanned parts. Making a story together that is stitched together
by random chance. I think everyone enjoyed themselves and the plot didn’t go too far off the
rails)

*Chapter 2 - Shipwrecked
1 - The party set about various tasks post-Monkey Pirate Battle. Alkator had tied the captive
Monkey to the broken stump of mast and attempted to interrogate him. Unfortunately the
Monkey only spoke Mono (the language of Monkey-Folk) and not even a lick of Common. (DM’s
Note - Probably a good place to try and draw a distinction here between animals and
Animal-Folk in this Homebrew Realm. Animals exist as they do in our own world and spells and
abilities and such that allow communication with critters will work accordingly. Animal-Folk,
however, speak languages specific to their races, i.e., Raccotan = Raccoon-Folk - Gallus =
Chicken-Folk - Airachee = Eagle-Folk - Sciurrius = Squirrel-Folk, etc etc etc. Many Animal-Folk
also speak ‘Common’ which language allows for commerce, and international communication,
etc. Spells such as ‘Tongues’ would allow a character to speak to any Animal-Folk race) Yet
more unfortunate was the feeble attempt by the bound Monkey to stab Alkator. Alkator knocked
the monkey unconscious again and took his knife for his own. The primitive flint shank had an
engraving that read, ‘I love to stab’. Alkator named it ‘Stab-Love’ and claimed it as his own. The
captive Monkey earned the nickname Dagger-Monkey
2 - Ishmael took the helm again while Suhn and most of the remainder of the crew went below
deck to try and manage the intake of ocean water into the El Penguino. They worked feverishly
with buckets and pots to bail the water out more quickly than it flowed in. Even tiny, brave Sir
Chestnut pitched in, bailing with a teacup, until he succumbed to the cold water and had to be
rescued by Alkator and taken above deck where Alkator proceeded to sit on the little knight and
try to warm him up as he had seen the brooding hens do in his roost back home
3 - Suhn realized the hopelessness of their fight against the relentless ocean. Every time
Ishmael made a poor choice and steered the El Penguino into a wave crossways the prow
would fill near full once again. He had the others head topside to dismantle the Barrel of
Monkey’s captured lifeboat. Suhn used the timbers and his teeth, hammer and nails, to tack an
impromptu hull back together. It wasn’t great, but it just might hold
4 - QueeQueeg shouted ‘Caw-ca-Caw’ as he sighted land from his lookout position. As they
drew near to shore the seas got tougher and rougher. First Rick and then eventually Suhn took
turns at the helm trying to safely pilot the El Penguino through the hazardous waters. They
dragged and bashed across hidden reefs. Despite the terrible shape of the ship they just
managed to make it, literally stranding the El Penguino on the beach where it listed
treacherously to its side and dumped most of its contents, including the crew, onto the sand.
(DM’s Note - They had to make 3x increasingly more difficult Water-Vehicle Checks to safely
make it to shore, and but barely they succeeded! It was only once Suhn took the helm, with the
highest Water-Vehicle ability bonus, and they used their every last Inspiration Point, that they
managed) They stood on dry land, safe at last, but the El Penguino was in very very bad shape
indeed
5 - The Furry Pirate Party set about taking inventory of their situation. It was ugly. They had lost
most of their provisions. Worst of all the rum! Suhn roughly estimated that repairs would take up
to a month, with the entire remaining crew working around the clock, but only if they had proper
materials, which they did not. He was happy, however, to see the captured catapult, which he
had lovingly named ‘Spaulding’ (DM’s Notes - A play on Cast Away’s Wilson), dumped out on
the beach but still surprisingly intact. They were only beginning to make plans for a next step
when they noticed movement in the mangrove forest ahead. The mangroves seemed to
surround a lagoon and shadowy forms could be seen skulking
about, large, luminous, unblinking eyes staring at them!
6 - Alkator bravely stepped forward to impose himself between
the myriad eyes and the remainder of the crew when, ‘Thunk!’,
a primitive spear landed 15 feet in front of him, obviously hurled
from the mangroves. Sir Chestnut drew his sword and rushed
to Alkator’s side as did Rick Cranberry, though he hung back
just a bit, Rick is brave enough, but nobody’s fool. ‘Thunk,’
another spear landed near Sir Chestnut. Suhn set about
cranking back Spaulding and loading it with the detritus of the
shipwreck and aiming it menacingly at the shadowy figures
stalking in the mangroves. At that the spears stopped for a
moment
7 - Alkator, perhaps foolishly as he’s not the brightest amongst the crew, stepped forward and
plucked the spear from the sand. ‘Thunk,’ another spear landed yet closer to him, and then
another. ‘Thunk’. Though a bit dim, it occurred even to Alkator, that these spears were not
aimed to hit nor damage him. He looked back at Rick Cranberry who shrugged in vague
agreement. Alkator held the retrieved spear aloft as if to say, ‘no harm intended.’ Immediately
following this placating gesture a single figure emerged from the mangrove forest and walked
forward to Alkator. It was green, it was sticky looking, and dressed in tattered clothing. Its skinny
legs led to a pot belly and a giant, oversized head. It had large, heavily lidded and bulbous eyes.
It was almost entirely mouth. It appeared moist and one would assume there was a smell. It was
a Frog-Folk unlike anything anyone in the crew had ever seen before
8 - The strange frog creature stepped to Alkator who handed him his spear back which he
happily took. ‘Bienvenidos a Colombia,’ it croaked. When no one in the Furry Pirate Party
replied it blinked its immense eyes in confusion. More and more of the Frog-Folk emerged from
the mangroves. Sir Chestnut approached one and offered up his open chess set in hopes of a
friendly game. The frog person ate the black queen and seemed pleased. Most of the crew
members noticed that the Frog-Folk’s clothing was a bizarre and chaotic mish mash of clothing
from all sides of the realm. Spanish garb and English garb, German and Dutch. Rick in
particular, world traveler that he is, noticed that most every nation-state was represented
amongst the ripped and tattered clothing of the frogs. Suhn dialed back the tension on his
catapult a bit
9 - As the two parties converged in a seeming truce a deep, droning croaking was heard from
within the mangrove forest, which droning and croaking was picked up on by the Frog-Folk on
the beach. As they croaked in unison they parted to make way for a retinue of frogs that
emerged carrying upon their shoulder a makeshift palanquin. Astride the palanquin was a truly
massive frog. He easily measured 6’ tall and weighed 300 pounds. He was dressed better than
the rest with a bejeweled necklace of polished shells, a headdress crafted of swamp reeds, and
bearing a scepter of jagged shells lodged in wood. To everyone’s surprise, but to Rick’s surprise
most of all, he was marched straight to Rick Cranberry, lowered down from the palanquin, and
then he himself lowered to bow before Rick. ‘Welcome Great Teacher. Gran Maestro. We poor
Bullywugs, we Zeno, honor you and your friends,’ he said in a croaking baritone and in Common
10 - The large Bullywug continued to introduce himself as
‘The Great King Splops,’ and he explained, vaguely, and in
broken Common interspersed with Spanish and Bullywug
croaks, that the Zenus, his tribe, had watched the El
Penguino arrive and crash ashore. He informed the Furry
Pirate Party that they came to greet them and had prepared
‘Best Bullywug Feast’. He seemed delighted to meet Rick in
particular, and kept calling him a Great Teacher, and was
overjoyed that Rick had arrived to replace their last great
teacher who had apparently left them. Great King Splops
received bananas from Rick and Rick received endless praise
from the King. Eventually he invited Rick to take his place
upon the Palanquin and asked the remainder of the crew to
follow him and his people to their Zenu Village to partake in
the feast. His wording was weird however, and half the party was certain that they themselves
were meant to be the main course. It didn’t help that the Bullywug’s kept saying things like, ‘You
rest first and then we get you ready to eat.’ Alarming choice of words by indeed! The other half
of the party found the Bullywugs generally trustworthy, if not a bit clueless. Rick found himself
swelling with pride at the well deserved praise and hopped on the palanquin and said, ‘Let’s
ride!’
11 - The Zenu procession wound through the mangroves and past the lagoon and into an ever
more dense and dank swamp. King Splops and his retinue led in the front bearing Rick
Cranberry high in honor aboard the palanquin. Luckily as the water began to rise, black and still,
on all sides, a rickety wooden walkway appeared. The walkway wound through the swamp in
twists and turns, just barely stable enough to support the marching Bullywugs. The swamp only
grew more dim and foreboding. Things were seen to slide into and out of the water. Moss and
slime became more abundant. Biting, buzzing insects more bothersome
12 - As they walked towards the Zenu village
Captain Darkwing made his way alongside each
member of the party to confer in private,
whispering as quietly as a squawking Penguin
can. He complimented Sir Chestnut on his
bravery and surprisingly strong sword arm and
asked if he could rely on him in the future,
despite his being a paying passenger aboard the
El Penguino. The honorable little squirrel
responded, ‘Yes of course,’ and beamed with
pride. Darkwing congratulated Alkator next and
promoted him to head deck-hand, what with all
the other deckhands now dead, and Alkator too
blushed with pride. He sidled up to Maroochy and
let her know that he recognized her, from his
travels and studies, as an Australian, and
thanked her for her help in their time of need,
and welcomed the stowaway properly aboard. He
next conferred with Rick, who though supposedly
First Mate was the ship’s real Captain, about the
feasibility of operating the El Penguino with such
a short staff. Rick confirmed that it simply cannot
be done. And last of all,Captain Darkwing, asked
Suhnnof Abbich about repairs, and Suhn let him
know that it was all worse than he’d imagined
13 - At last they arrived at the Zenu Village. They
knew they were close when their entourage began to croak and chirrup only to be answered by
many more froggy voices off in the distance. First one voice responded, then five, then ten, and
then dozens more till the entire swamp burst alive with the Bullywug song

*Chapter 3- The Zenu Feast

1 - The Zenu Bullywug Village was much as they’d imagined. Ramshackle and claptrap and in
danger of sinking into the swamp at any given moment. But, it was lit with hundreds of torches
in expectation of the coming night, and to the Furry Pirate Party it seemed almost safe and
cheerful in comparison to the rest of their day thus far. Bullywugs emerged from their hovels and
their shacks to welcome them. The Furry Pirate Party could not help but notice how strange the
mess of the village was however. It wasn’t notably strange because the detritus strewn about
the shacks and floating in the swamp between houses was familiar to them. It was almost all
stuff one would find aboard a sailing vessel. Innumerable crates and casks, empty and
ransacked. Rudders and ship’s wheels afloat in the muck. Bowsprits and figureheads. Chains
and rope and even entire mizzen masts
2 - King Splops stopped in front of a particularly large shack and motioned to it, saying, ‘You all
stay here. Rest before dinner. We make you great meal. You stay with High-Priest Spluplunk
and High-Priestess Splaggles. They best Bullywug. Have best Bullywug house.’ From the mob
of Bullywugs two emerged who were indeed dressed differently than the rest. Much like King
Splops himself they were both adorned in shiny shells and bits of jewelry. One held a staff
topped with a strange skull and the other a gourd rattle
3 - But, when Rick tried to retire from the palanquin and
join the others, King Splops threw a bit of a fit. ‘No no
no no. You stay in Great Library. You Great Teacher.
Gran Maestro. You stay where last Great Teacher
stayed and you teach King Splops.’ But then, Rick
threw a yet bigger fit. The two went back and forth with
threats and bluster and attempts to intimidate one
another, until, kind of surprisingly given the size
difference, King Splops caved in to Rick’s demands
and snarls. ‘Ok ok ok. You stay with friends here,’ said
King Splops, but then he leaned in and continued in a
much more conspiratorial tone, ‘but King Splops needs
help of Great Teacher. Bullywug life go bad since last
teacher left and Zenu’s blame Splops. Splops needs
lessons to help save Bullywug village. Splops afraid
others lose faith. Times is bad. Muy malo. Need help.
Necesita su ayuda por favor.’ And though all he wanted
to do was join his crew and clean up after a terrible day
Rick managed to comfort the King a bit saying, ‘Look
mate, I can’t like save your civilization savvy, but I’ll
teach ya some stuff and we’ll make a good show for
your people, what say ya? But first, let’s clean our
blimey hands, your village is bloody disgusting.’ King
Splops agreed and followed the Furry Pirate Party
inside
4 - Much like the Bullywug Village itself, the interior of Spluplunk and Splaggles’s house was
what the crew expected. It was disappointing. It was wet, it was slimy. There was a smell. But, it
was also oddly familiar, decorated as it was with bits and pieces of a sailing ship. A potbelly
stove from a ship’s galley burned warmly. Ships' lanterns were used as containers for eels and
minnows swimming in swamp water. Hammocks were hung on the wall repurposed as fishing
nets. An entire anchor had been retooled into a sort of dining room table. ‘Make selves at home.
Nuestra casa es su casa,’ said Splaggles. Suhn, in particular, did just that. He immediately
waddled over and found himself a cozy pile of damp moss, truly at home as he was in such a
Beaver-like home, and settled in for an hour’s nap. (DM’s Notes - All the various Homebrewed
Animal-Races have benefits and deficits. One of Suhn’s/Beaverius Erectus deficits is that he
can barely ever keep his eyes open and constantly looks for nap opportunities) Splaggles
seemed overjoyed to have someone take her up on the offer of hospitality and fluffed together a
particularly dank pile of moss to make of a pillow for Suhn. He snuggled in and was soon
snoring soundly
5 - The Furry Pirate Crew made the best of a bad situation and each member set about finding
a relatively dry spot to stash their gear and to make a bed of their own. Alkator sidled off
inconspicuous as possible, and went to wander up stairs, still suspicious of the Bullywug’s
intentions, only to spot eyes peering at them from under the staircase. Three-sets of tiny,
luminous, cold, unblinking eyes! ‘Uhm, is someone else here,’ he inquired of Splaggles?
‘Children! Come out. Quit hiding. We have guests. Son huéspedes. Muy amables,’ she
responded. And at that, three tiny Bullywugs - one red - one green - one yellow, covered in mud
from playing outside, and covered in childlike attempts at fierce war paint, and bearing adorable
toy weapons, appeared. They introduced themselves as Blim, Blop, and Blat, the Bullywug Kids.
They were cute despite their amphibian nature. They were naively charming as children are. Sir
Chesnut was immediately relieved to have at least a few folk his own size nearby and set about
trying to teach the Bullywug Kids how to play chess with his set. They set up in a warm spot and
had a wonderful time. (DM’s Notes - one of Sir Chestnut’s racial deficits is that he gets cold
easily and wants to hibernate when chilled. Also it’s worth noting here that despite his best
intentions to become a great Knight his inner nature is itself childlike and naive) Alkator
continued upstairs comforted to find naught but Spluplunk and Splaggle’s own bedroom. He was
surprised, however, to find not three, but rather four children’s beds, on one which lay a toy
wooden axe

6 - Rick Cranberry was unhappy. Unhappy with the moist. Unhappy with the mud. (DM’s Notes
- one of Rick’s racial deficits is that he’s real real real into hygiene. Like raccoons he is driven to
wash his food and his hands constantly. Worth mentioning here how happy I am with the players
engaging with their Homebrews and really playing up the abilities and deficits of them!) But,
most of all, Rick was unhappy with the lack of clean water to wash his hands with! Rick asked
Splaggles and Spluplunk for any clean water, and at King Splop’s bidding they produced a
single jug of water adequately filtered. At the same time King Splops quietly spoke to Rick and
impressed upon him again the need for some new knowledge. The King seemed genuinely
afraid that without such knowledge he might lose control of his people and lose his authority. He
confided in Rick that times had been bad in the Zenu Village for a while, and that things had
gone especially sour since the last Great Teacher left. He beseeched Rick for help. Rick sighed
and said, ‘Ok then mate, I’ll teach you lot a lesson you sorely need instruction in. I’m gonna
teach you all about bloody cleanliness.’ Rick proceeded to use the entire jug of clean water to
bathe his paws in a ten minute ablution of extreme detail. While washing, and while producing at
least five different bars of soap and various ointments and disinfectants from his pack, Rick went
into a full dissertation on the benefits of proper hygiene. King Splops watched in rapt attention.
His bulbous eyes bulged liquid and bright in excitement. At the end of Rick’s demonstration King
Splop’s croaked out excitedly, ‘Yes! Yes! Cleanliness! Yes! We will use magic of Cleanliness to
fix problem. Cleanliness will save Zenus! Cleanliness is best big magic. Make everything good
for King Splops!’ And then, he gave Rick a sloppy wet hug which immediately ruined the careful
washings of only a moment before. King Splops ordered Spluplunk and Splaggles to begin
boiling and skimming and purifying giant pots of water, on Rick’s instruction. They were
confused, as it seemed only to remove all the good, yummy bits from the water, but they did as
told, and a giant steaming pot was produced and placed on the shack’s floor. The last thing King
Splops said before leaving was, ‘Best Bullywug Feast! We eat! We fight! We drink! We make
love! Gran fiesta!’
7 - Everyone in the crew came over for a wash right until Maroochy jumped bodily into the pot.
(DM’s Notes - Maroochy has a racial deficit that requires her to submerge herself in water at
least once a day as a semi-aquatic creature) She swam happily around as everyone else asked
for another pot of clean water, until ‘Splash! Splash! Splash!’ three more small bodies joined her.
The Bullywug Kids splashed and played with Maroochy while everyone watched. Watching them
play, Alkator asked innocently of Splaggles, ‘Where’s your fourth child,’ while gesturing to the
abandoned bed upstairs? ‘What fourth child,’’ Responded Splaggles, ‘there have only ever been
the three.’ ‘But the bed upstairs,’ continued Alkator. ‘There are only the three. Blim-Blop-Blat,’
responded Splaggles once again, cutting Alkator off tersely mid sentence. ‘But . . . ‘ began
Alkator, and but before he could finish his sentence, Splaggles shouted angrily, her eyes
bulging, ‘Three. Only three. Shut up already. Callate la boca!’ And she held her hands to her
head as if in pain and walked quickly away to busy herself with another pot of clean water. ‘Ok
then,’ said Alkator meekly, much abashed, as he looked around in alarm at the other crew
members
8 - King Splops took his leave, armed with the knowledge of ‘cleanliness’, and he retired to
make ready for the Bullywug Feast. The Furry Pirate Party rested up and healed until time for
the feast themselves. Those that were amenable to the idea let Splaggles oil them up with a
horrid black fungus paste that restored them entirely. While applying the paste to Suhn,
Splaggles commented upon how nice he smelled, before he drifted back to snoring under her
ministrations (DM’s Note - another of Suhn’s deficits is that he stinks. Like a wet Beaver. Like
real real bad) In conversation with Spluplunk and Splaggles they learned the following things:
● The ship’s parts and belongings are considered by the Bullywugs as ‘Gifts from the g*ds’
● The last Great Teacher crashed ashore as did they some time ago
● That the last Great Teacher was a Rakin (Raccoon-Folk) like Rick Cranberry
● That the last Great Teacher came and situated himself in the Great Library in the Zenu
Village and made use of the books inside. He taught rhe Zenu’s many things until one
day he up and left taking his crew and most of the library with him
● That the last Great Teacher was named GrowlGrr Mendel
● Suhn - half-asleep - vaguely recognized the name and told everyone that GrowlGrr was
famous throughout the Realm as a botanist who specializes in cross-breeding plants
● That the skull on Spluplunk’s staff, which none of them recognized (DM’s Note - a human
skull) was found in the Bullywug’s Great Library amongst many others when they first
discovered it

9 - ‘Croak - Chirp - Croak - Chirp - Croak - Chirp.’ The froggy voices of the Bullywugs rung out
on all sides announcing the feast. ‘Time to feast!’ Croaked Spluplunk happily and he gestured
for the Furry Pirate Party to follow him and Splaggles out the door. As they walked on the
ramshackle wooden walkways towards the Feast-Hall they were joined on all sides by streams
of Bullywugs heading the same way. Despite the general grubbiness of the Bullywug Village a
festive atmosphere hung in the air. It was noticed by some members of the crew as they wound
through the village that many of the thatched homes and hovels were empty. All of them were
poorly constructed and jury-rigged, but some of them were literally falling down due to neglect.
As if they had been abandoned for a long time. Some crew members even notice that the empty
shacks all appeared to have been forcefully entered. Windows showed signs of being smashed
open, doorways knocked in, even entire walls somehow punched through. It was apparent that
bad things had occurred, and it was made all the more curious because none of the Bullywugs
seemed eager to discuss it, or even recognize it honestly. When Maroochy had the temerity to
inquire of Splaggles about the oddly evacuated shacks, she responded tersely for Maroochy to
hush up and listen to the singing of the frogs, las ranas. Maroochy did exactly that. (DM’s Note -
Maroochy as a Nature Cleric can commune in a very basic way with common animals.
This is flavored as an effect of her connection to The Dreamtime and the weave that binds all
life together) But, what Maroochy heard upon listening intently, was just a constant chorus of
swamp frogs greeting one another = ‘Hey Joan’ - ‘Hey Bob’ - ‘Hey Harry’ - ‘Hi Maud’ etc etc etc,
and the severity of Splaggles’s response seemed to preclude inquiring more
10 - The Great Feast Hall loomed up ahead and it was large
indeed, though a mess much like everything else in the
village. Bullywugs were pouring into it from all sides dressed
in their best, which was honestly pretty shabby. It was as
once again noted by the Furry Pirate Party that the Zenu’s
were outfitted in the vestments of every country imaginable.
There were Elizabethan dresses and Spanish matador outfits,
English tricorn hats and Dutch clogs. It was amusing how
many of the garments were miss-worn, i.e., underwear as
hats and helmets as codpieces. Inside the hall well over a
hundred Bullywugs stood at attention, croaking and chirping
to the backbeat of giant skin drums played with mighty
mallets. As the crew entered one vaguely familiar Bullywug
approached Alkator in particular bearing a gift of three
handmade javelins. Alkator recognized him as the Bullywug
from the beach to whom he’d returned a spear. The javelins
were primitive but lovingly decorated with shells and feathers
and Alkator gladly revived them. Stab-Love would only go so far in a fight. King Splops was
seated on a throne of surprisingly beautiful polished seashells. He held his scepter in his hands.
With a single motion of a fat, raised hand, Splops brought the room to silence. ‘Croak! Welcome
Great Teacher,’ he said. ‘Welcome his allies. We poor Zenu welcome you all. Tonight we eat!
We fight! We drink! We make love! Vamanos! Tonight we feast!’
11 - Huge clay vessels were dragged into the Feast Hall. The first stopped in front of King
Splops himself and he removed the heavy lid revealing steaming water inside. ‘But first,’ he
declared loudly to the room, ‘we make cleanliness as Great Teacher Rick Cranberry has taught
me, and now I teach to you!’ At that King Splops buried his arms elbow deep in the steaming
water and washed and rinsed and washed and rinsed to the amazement and delight of all
Zenu’s watching. He was joined by Splaggles and Spluplunk and the other priests and
priestesses. He was joined by what one assumes were other Bullywug dignitaries and officers
and whatnot. Then the entire room joined in, bathing and splashing and generally having a great
time in group-pots of their own. Then the Furry Pirate Party joined in figuring why not, when in
Rome. Rick in particular beamed with pride and grinned at his work, he’d brought hygiene to the
heathens
12 - After group ablutions were finished, more clay pots were dragged in. Wooden gourds were
passed around to serve as bowls and servers labeled out the first course of the feast. ‘Yum!
Giant Sautéed Horn Snails,’ said Splaggles. And though everyone tried to dig in, trying not to
offend their hosts, Maroochy was made immediately ill and Rick Cranberry, despite his best
efforts, simply could not. He rushed to a pot of hot water and set about washing his snails
thoroughly clean. The courses continued and only became weirder and less appetizing. Fresh
Mayfly soup was served. Giant Mosquito Blood Pudding was dished out. And though they tried
valiantly, not a single crew member made it all the way to desert, which is a as Sugared Live
Maggots. Alkator almost persevered, generally a fan of insects and such, but sugared maggots
were too much for even his iron stomach. Everyone was relieved when King Splops belched,
and stood and bellowed, ‘And now we fight!’
13 - A space was cleared amongst the mob of Bullywugs, and a ring was drawn out of some
sort of glowing lichen. A giant sea chest was dragged into the center of the ring, and opened,
and its contents were dumped out. Its contents ended up a squirming pile of multihued lizards.
‘Little Dragons,’ said King Splops smiling broadly. ‘Pick your fighter,’ he continued! Long wobbly
spears of sorts were passed out as well and it was made clear to the crew that they were meant
to like their lizards and thus try and prod them into combat. Maroochy wanted nothing to do with
such violence against animals, and refused a spear, retiring to a far corner. The rest partook,
though unsure as to what exactly they were partaking in
14 - Rick took the first poke and his lizard
rocketed across the ring on its hind legs, its arms
waggling wildly and its crest raised. It stopped in
front of another pair of lizards and fell to all fours
and breathed a gout of fire almost incinerating the
other two in an instance. Rick smiled a toothy grin.
One of the burnt lizards was Sir Chesnut’s fighter
and so he poked back. Much to his surprise,
however, his lizard stood up and ran right past the
offending lizard, and breathed fire directly on Rick
Cranberry, and then promptly fell over dead,
wounded by the poke itself. Rick’s smile turned to
‘Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh sorry Rick,’ chittered Sir
Chestnut who ran to hide behind Maroochy. Rick
rolled around to extinguish himself. Lizards were
poked and lizards fought. The Bullywugs seemed
to be having a great time though King Splops
couldn’t manage to move his lizard at all. The
Furry Pirate Party seemed to just be confused as
to why they were tormenting lizards. Eventually,
however, Maroochy had had enough out of
empathy for the poor lizards, and Suhn had had
enough out of boredom
15 - Maroochy started to move towards the ring intent on saving a lizard life or two when Suhn
decided to speed things up by tossing one of his Homemade Sleep-Bombs into the mix. (DM’s
Note - totally in character for Maroochy as she is a Nature Cleric and so super-empathetic with
critters of all kinds, this is flavored as her having a connection to the Dreamtime that ties all life
together) Suhn’s rum bottle shattered in the center, spreading a thick smoke about, and knocked
out cold most of the little lizard combatants. Only Suhn and Alkator’s lizards remained. Alkator
tried and failed to goad his lizard into an attack. Suhn took one look at his lizard, with which he’d
had zero success, and triggered his Spring-Heels, launching himself ten feet into the air and
spot onto Alkator’s lizard. There was a sound. And it was over. Or at least everyone thought it
was over. Maroochy used the opportunity to dash inside the ring amidst the chaos and scoop up
two sleeping lizards and head for the door and the safety of the swamp outside. Suhn looked
about, pretty d*mned pleased with himself, when his own alarmed lizard, the last remaining
combatant, spit a torrent of fire straight his way, singeing his pelt and burning his eyebrows and
knocking him unconscious with the flame and the fury. As Suhn lay there gently smoking his
lizard ran for the open door as Maroochy exited with her refugees in hand
16 - Once out into the night Maroochy went to release first one lizard into the murky swamp and
then the next, but as the first swam thankfully away, the second found a comfy spot in the back
of her tunic and burrowed in. Maroochy being Maroochy she didn’t have the heart to disturb the
little guy after such a traumatic night. Plus, she fancied the idea of a friend, so she let him settle
in for a nap and re entered the Feast Hall. (DM’s Note - Maroochy gained an ally. Interesting to
note that I’d planned on the winner of the battle earning a Dragon-Lizard pet, but Maroochy
seemed more deserving in play and altogether a better fit) Sir Chestnut dashed on all fours, fast
as only a squirrel can, to a smoldering Suhn’s side and started slapping his big cheeks with his
tiny hands. ‘Help! Help!’, he squeaked, ‘I think he’s dead!’ Spluplunk and Splaggles ran to
Chestnut’s side. King Splops on the other hand waddled over to Alkator’s side to commiserate
on a bad beat at Suhn’s hands. ‘Never seen a winner made a loser by his own lizard. Bien raro.
I think maybe you should have won. Life no fair sometimes,’ he said. After a brief examination
Spluplunk assured Sir Chestnut that his friend, Suhn, would be ok, sooner rather than later, if
he fed him some of these. Then Splaggles gave to Chestnut a bag full of bright green leaves.
‘Have him chew them slowly and maybe don’t give him too many too often. They are powerful.
Poderosas,’ she advised. Sir Chestnut did as he was told, stuffing Suhn’s cheeks full of leaves,
and manipulating his mouth to facilitate mastication and then, ‘Boing!’, Suhn’s eyes sprang wide
open. All the better in an instant! (DM’s Note - Sir Chestnut received a bag of cocoa leaves! A
minor consumable item that imbues Temporary Hit Points. It is Colombia after all) Spluplunk
raised the arm of a newly revived Suhn and announced him the winner to the applause of the
Zenu crowd
17 - ‘And now we drink!’ Croaked King
Splops to the crowd, including a recently
wired and suspiciously invigorated Suhn.
As Sir Chestnut and Maroochy tried to
bother over Suhn’s poor scorched hide and
2nd degree burns, he slapped away their
concerned hands saying, ‘Give us some of
that drink already. I’m antsy as all get out,’
which was unusual for a Beaver who
napped more often than not. The ring as
emptied of dead lizards, and crisped
lizards and sleeping lizards, and they were
replaced with yet another giant sea chest
dragged in from outside. The chest was
opened to reveal an assortment of glittering bottles filled with liquids of various colors and hues.
‘Pick your poison. Bébelo!’, ordered Splops
18 - And drink they did! Everyone participated, even those who had never touched a drop of
liquor in their life, like Sir Chestnut and Alkator, who were raised pretty puritan, though for
entirely different reasons. It was a drinking game and the winner was the last man standing,
quite literally. One could keel over or simply tap out. Vomiting also excluded a player. The
liquors had evocative names such as, ‘Dragon’s Tail’ - ‘Dragon’s Breath’ - ‘Dragon’s Belly’ - and
some were as weak as cordials and others as powerful as medicinal alcohol. They went around
the circle and each picked their poison in turn, and toasted the remainder, and tossed back their
tipple.
19 - The first person down was Maroochy who was a light weight in every possible sense. As
she lay happily half-conscious her new lizard friend emerged and passed the time nibbling her
spew and licking her face. The next man down was Alkator who went straight from standing to
flat on his face, his last words, ‘I feel great! This alcohol thing is magic! Why did no one tell me?’
Alkator was followed by Suhn who said something about, ‘It's the beavers who go swimming
with little hairy women. Hahaha.’, before he slumped no over, once again snoring, in a ball on
the floor. Rick Cranberry bowed out next, but it’s notable that Rick’s crash was entirely of his
own doing. He obviously needed a drink something fierce, because, despite the eyeball popping
power of the ‘Dragon’s Belly’, Rick asked King Splops for something with more kick. Splops
produced a hip flask of a brew called ‘Dragon’s Dick’ which live up to its name and knocked Rick
out after two long swigs. But, then he rose from the floor, chugged once more, and then his furry
head fully bounced off the floor
20 - This left, remarkably really, if one considers it, only
tiny Sir Chestnut weaving on his little hind legs. Barely
able to stand, but standing all the same. King Splops
laughed a deep belly laugh and congratulated Chestnut
on his win. He said, ‘Small but mighty! Pequeño
Caballero! Sir Chestnut drinks like mighty Bullywug!’, and
he reached down low to raise Sir Chestnut’s wee, shaky
arms high in victory. Sir Chestnut then went around and
fed each member of the Furry Pirate Party a mouthful of
cocoa leaves so that the drinking could last a little longer.
Chestnut had discovered a favorite new thing. He was a
natural!
21 - Eventually King Splops put down his own bottle and announced, ‘Now, we make love.’ At
that his face screwed up in a grimace as he stared directly at the Furry Pirate Party in a pretty
disturbing manner. He grunted. He groaned. He sounds unwell. All around him Bullywugs made
the same alarming faces and the same alarming noises. The crew pulled on their bottles
uncomfortably, trying to look anywhere but, staring awkwardly off into the distance. ‘Splop!
Splop! Plop! Plop!’ ‘Ahhhhhhhhhh,’ croaked King Splops in relief as he now sat contentedly, high
atop a pile of weird, gelatinous eggs in which could be seen gently swimming, massive
tadpoles. Everywhere around them were Bullywugs resting atop more eggs. Eggs - eggs and
more eggs. ‘I see the resemblance. Te Pareces,’ said King Splops to the crew while cracking an
enormous smile. ‘You go back to Spluplunk and Splaggles now. Party over. We rest. You rest.
Descanseles. I come and take you to Great Library early tomorrow.’ And at that his huge,
heavily lidded eyes shut, as did the eyes of the other Bullywugs around him, and the crew gladly
took their cue to leave (DM’s Note - I think I forgot to mention this as play wound up, and I’m
going to try and remember to inject into roleplay first thing next session, but just in case, it’s
worth mentioning that the Furry Pirate Party would notice that the numbers simply don’t add up.
With a birth rate like this the Zenu Bullywug population ought be many factors greater than what
it is)

*Chapter 4 - The Great Library

1 - The Furry Pirate Party exited the Feast Hall and set out to get some much deserved, if not
uncomfortably wet, sleep at Spluplunk and Splaggles, when it occurred to some of the crew
members that they ought take this opportunity to explore a little and try and figure out a few of
the mysteries presented by the strange Bullywug Village. And so they set off in search of the
Great Library
2 - The Bullywug Village was almost completely silent at this late hour. Even the actual frogs
hidden in the dark, fetid swamp had given up on their endless froggy chorus. The only two
figures visible was a pair of elderly Zenus slowly plodding along the Village’s labyrinthe wooden
walkways and extinguishing the hundreds of torches with long candle-snuffers. It appeared they
had managed to snuff about half the torches that burned earlier in the evening and that it might
well take them till dawn to extinguish the rest. Sir Chestnut, his confidence bolstered by booze
and cocaine, approached the pair and asked for directions to the Great Library. ‘No hablamos
Common’, they responded. But then, with the tenacity of the well inebriated, Sir Chestnut made
himself understood via a series of pantomimes and burps
3 - The crew made its way at last to The Great Library
which was anything but. It was strange. It was unique
amongst the wooden claptrap architecture of the
Bullywug Village but it was far from great or grand. It
honestly but barely remained at all. It was a large
building built of stone that sat half-submerged in the
swamp. Its roof had caved in almost completely. Vines
and moss and invasive plants had had their way with
it. Suhn stopped cold in his drunken tracks and
gasped. The normally taciturn Beaver sobered up
right quick, taken back as he was by the sight before
him. He waddled quickly to the door and ran his
hands across the mason work. He turned to the rest
and said in an uncharacteristically excited tone, ‘It's
the work of the Ancient Builder Race I told you lot
about.’ He continued, ‘This here building isn’t a
hundred years old, or even two-hundred years old. It’s
at least a thousand-years old if it’s a days old at all!’
And then, after further inspection, Suhn elaborated,
‘This here foundation wasn’t set in a swamp. No way.
This building pre-dates this swamp by many a
century.’ Suhn looked at the rest of the crew with wide excited eyes and finished with, ‘I done
told you all that this here realm was built first by them what don’t walk amongst no more. This
library is proof I’m not stark raving mad. I knew I was right!’ And at that, Suhn made straight for
the front door eager to see what further revelations lay within
4 - DM’s Note - The new session began with a quick Recap and then the Furry Pirate Party
began to explore the Great Library of the Zenu Bullywug Tribe
5 - First in was brave Sir Chestnut. Though other party
members had their own reasons to explore the library - Suhn
of Abbich wanted to discover more about the ‘Ancient Builder
Race’ who he believed built the library - Alkator was itching for
another fight and another chance to prove his worth and his
Rooster Machismo - Captain Darkwing was always interested
in books and ancient books in particular - Maroochy could
sense the Dreamtime was sick in this location and wondered
why and worried - Rick Cranberry was already imagining the
loot that lay inside - but Sir Chestnut alone was certain that
inside the library must lie some clue to the location of ‘The
One True and Magnificent Acorn’! Sir Chestnut was admirably
naïve and optimistic. He approached the door on all fours,
which door barely clung to the hinges at this point, and
scrambled up to poke his head inside through a gaping hole. It
was dim inside as only the flickering illumination of the torches
outside ventured in, but Chestnut could just make out a chest under a makeshift bed, on the far
side of the room. ‘Or maybe the Magnificent Acorn is actually here and inside that chest!’
Thought Chestnut and he rushed in regardless of potential danger and the dark. As mentioned,
he is an endearingly, if not dangerously naïve and excitable little guy! Always hopeful
6 - Sir Chestnut scampered along the edge of the library sticking to the high and dry corners
and avoiding the pool of stagnant swamp water that dominated the middle of the room. As he
approached the chest there was a scent. And not just dank swamp scent. An entirely different
level of dankness, this smell. But brave Sir Chestnut paid it no mind and used his every last
ounce of strength to stand on his tiny tiptoes and pop the lid of the chest open. He was
disappointed. Very disappointed. What lay within was less of a Magnificent Acorn and more of a
rich fungus compost
7 - Alkator kicked the door in after the little Squirrel disappeared within. As the light streamed in
from the torches outside they could discern the scene within. It was indeed a library. Or at least
it had been. What remained was in terrible disrepair. The swamp had thoroughly invaded and
wrecked the windows and the walls, the shelves, the library ladders, the desks and the chairs.
Very few books in fact remained and those that did appeared rotten to the point that they’d
crumble if touched. Upon closer inspection it was clear that someone had already raided the
shelves for anything worth taking. ‘What ya found there lil’ fella?’ Rick asked approaching the
chest. ‘Soup I guess,’ sighed Sir Chestnut. ‘Just really nasty soup it seems.’ ‘Well now, don’t ye
be all frowns wee mate,’ replied Rick. ‘You’d be surprised what a resourceful Rakin like myself
can make of another man’s trash.’ And at that Rick Cranberry rolled up his sleeves and dove
into the goop elbow deep. His eyes squinted in concentration as he fished around until his right
hand produced a single black mushroom of phenomenal size from the mess. A particularly
mean and nonsense looking mushroom at that. ‘See what we found here,’ smiled Rick looking
up at it. ‘What is it?’ Sir Chestnut asked, his curiosity peaked once more, his hands reaching for
it. ‘Poison I think,’ replied Rick scratching his chin. DM’s Note - Rick received the components to
make a new Poison as per his Poisoner’s Kit Chestnut’s hands immediately dropped back by
his side. ‘Oh . . . And this here book,’ continued Rick Cranberry holding up a grisly wet book that
he’d dug out of the muck with his left hand. Tossing it to Suhn he said, ‘Oy Beaver, make some
sense of that would ya.’ Rick himself seemed more captivated by his mushroom find than a
mere sodden book DM’s Note - I was torn at first because Rick’s Rakin (Racoon Folk) Race was
Homebrewed so that he needs to keep things neurotically clean, so I couldn’t imagine him going
elbow deep in the fungus muck, but Rick’s player countered that his race also dictated that he is
a ‘Trash Panda’ and so inclined to make lemonade out of lemons when it comes to teach . . .
Made sense to me
8 - Suhn liked books well enough. He wasn’t too
excited by a book that smelled measures worse than
himself however! Holding the book at arms length he
brushed off what yuck that he could and read out loud
to the room, ‘GrowlGrrr Mendel’s Scientific Journal: on
the Reliable Reproduction of Certain Plant Hybrids’.
‘That’s unexciting even by my standard,’ he continued.
‘Hold on now Suhn,’ interjected Captain Darkwing. ‘Did
you just say GrowlGrrr Mendel? As in THE GrowlGrrr
Mendel. Brawk! I thought I heard you mention that
name earlier while I was half-dozing at Spluplunk and
Splaggle’s shack, but I brushed it off as impossible.
What in all the realms would GrowlGrrr be doing here?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ responded Suhn, ‘but this here log might
tell us exactly that.’ And so Suhn set about digging
through his Very Big Bag Indeed to try to tinker
together some way to clean the book, not only to make
it slightly less loathsome to hold, but to try and salvage
it from the compost in which it was stored. While Suhn
was futzing about Captain Darkwing elaborated on his
knowledge of Professor Mendel. ‘A veritable Titan in
his field. Brawk! GrowlGrrr sailed under the patronage
of the Feline Princes of Ethspaña and Madrid. Why he
single handedly - Brawk - pioneered the working
theories of Genetic Traits and Hybridization. A brilliant
mind. A good bean. He was a Rakin (Racoon-Folk) just
like you Rick, but driven more by intellectual curiosity
than thirst for adventure.’
9 - During Darkwing’s monologue Suhn contrived a chemical whisk to clean and hopefully
preserve Mendel’s Journal. He flipped ahead and then farther ahead. His eyes got wider and
wider. ‘Uhm . . . Scientific Journal might be a stretch here,’ said Suhn, and then he began to
share with the others what he’d discovered in the log:
● It began straightforward enough - all exacting notes and scientific diagrams and formulas
regarding the crossbreeding of pea plants
● Then it got more interesting - GrowlGrrr revealed that he’d become aware of even more
advanced experiments than his own, by Ancient Masters before him, and he intended to
travel and set sail to seek them out at any cost
● Then it got weird - Upon arriving here in Colombia, perhaps shipwrecked himself,
GrowlGrrr’s writing became more manic. He seemed certain that he’d found hints in the
Zenu’s Great Library of what he was looking for. There were barely decipherable
descriptions of experiments involving the crossbreeding of plants and animals that
seemed unwholesome at best
● Then it became just plain alarming - The writing became completely indecipherable. It
either devolved into nonsense or evolves into a cipher. Regardless it was nonsensical.
The drawing and diagrams were still legible however, and they did not look good. Not
good at all. Drawing of unholy marriages of plants and animals, wicked symbols and the
stuff of nightmares

10 - ‘Well that just doesn’t resemble mainstream botany at all. Brawk! Doesn’t resemble any of
GrowlGrrr Mendel’s work I’ve ever seen either,’ added Captain Darkwing over Suhn’s shoulder.
Sir Chestnut, stretched up on his hind legs just to catch a glimpse of the log, backed away in
shock, his hair stood on end, and said in a quiet voice, ‘In my training under the Order of the
Acorn we were introduced to the works of the enemy as well as our heroes. And that, that,’ he
continued, his tiny whiskers trembling, ‘is the enemy’s work if ever I’ve seen it!’ ‘Terrible stuff
indeed.’ Said Captain Darkwing. ‘I might be able to break that cipher, if indeed it is a cipher and
not just mad ranting, if given a chance,’ he added. ‘Might I peruse Mendel’s Log this evening -
Brawk - in hopes of finding some clue that might help us, or help poor professor Mendel, or
both?’ He sounded very concerned. Then Captain Darkwing looked up and paused, only to
notice everyone staring at him in surprise. ‘I mean . . . I mean . . . not that I’m overly concerned
for the good professor. Brawk! It’s not like all of us learned Sea Captains are some part of a
mysterious cabal, or a sinister conspiracy, or - Brawk - anything like that.’ And everyone paying
the slightest attention caught sight of Captain Darkwing’s unsubtle wink toward First Mate Rick
Cranberry as he stumbled through that strange, and unnecessary explanation
11 - ‘Ok - Ok - Ok then . . . Time to go!’ Shouted Rick
Cranberry suddenly and he began to herd everyone
towards the door. ‘What did the Captain just say?’
Asked a genuinely confused Alkator. ‘That was weird.
Was that weird? That seemed weird.’ He continued as
Rick tried futilely to shove him out the door as the
Rooster was much stronger than his size might
suggest. Then, in his laughably apparent attempt to
change the subject, Rick shoved Suhn, who went
surprisingly *ss over teakettle, and into the deep
swampy water in the middle of the room. Normally
water is no concern for Suhn, not even swamp water
which he is entirely at home in, being a Beaver and
whatnot, but as he unexpectedly fell he swore that he
saw something slide from underneath his feet and into
the dark water. And not so much a ‘something’ as the
tell tell trail and ripple of where a something ought be.
Then once underwater, and preparing to swim to the
surface, he saw something that almost made his heart
stop. Suhn saw a face deep beneath the surface. Staring back at him. A pale ghastly face made
of thin grey skin pulled taut across naught but bones and teeth. Bloody teeth at that. And the
face grinned wickedly up at him. And though an expert swimmer Suhn found himself flailing
about wildly, his tail slapping the surface in warning. Maroochy immediately jumped into action
and tired her d*mndest to haul the panicking Suhn back on to dry land. Unfortunately Maroochy
weighs 90 pounds wet and Suhn well over 400. Rather than pull Suhn to safety, Maroochy
herself was pulled into the water, where she too was confronted by the leering, otherworldly, and
frankly evil face. Maroochy also, understandably, freaked the f*ck out!
12 - Alkator reached in and lifted Maroochy easily out of the water where she dangled kicking
and screaming, ‘They’re going to kill us all!’ ‘Who?’ Alkator asked, looking every which way in
alarm ‘I say. I say. Who’s going to kill us all pretty lil’ lady?’ DM’s Note - Alkator’s player decided
this session that he speaks like Foghorn Leghorn, and that his Gallus Maximus (Rooster Folk)
racial trait ‘Femme Fatale’ meant that he had an awkward crush on Maroochy. Though he did
not understand her (like literally couldn’t make head nor tails of such a strange creature) he
knew she was a lady and he likes to impress the ladies ‘I . . . I don’t know,’ responded
Maroochy, calming down almost immediately, as the memory of the incident slipped quickly
away. ‘I don’t know what I’m even going on about honestly,’ she continued. Alkator shrugged
sympathetically, and set the little Platypus down gently, and then pulled Suhn out with only a bit
more effort. Alkator was phenomenally strong in a manner that belied his size. Suhn looked wild
eyed at first, but then much like Maroochy he quickly settled down, as if the horrors below the
water never happened at all. ‘Hands off!’ Snapped the irritable Beaver, his tail still slapping
madly, though he had no clue as to why. ‘I don’t like it here. Let’s go already,’ muttered
Maroochy. ‘Yeah, it stinks!’ Suhn added and waddled out, which was ironic, as he himself
exuded quite a smell DM’s Note - One of Suhn’s Beaverius Erectus’ (Beaver Folk) racial traits is
‘Wet Beaver’ and it is a constant joke amongst the party
13 - Upon exiting the Zenu’s Great Library, literally shoved out the door by Rick Cranberry, Suhn
and Maroochy stood trying to catch their breath, still visibly shaken. ‘Rick, can I have a drink of
your fresh water,’ asked Maroochy. ‘Sure, sure love.’ Rick replied, as he emptied out almost the
entire bottle while washing his own hands spotlessly clean of the mushroom muck, and passed
her the last gulp remaining. ‘Thanks, I guess,’ muttered Maroochy. ‘Think nothing of it, love,’
replied Rick. ‘Come on then. Let’s get to bed already and sleep off these bloody hangovers!’
And so the Furry Pirate Party wound there way back along the ramshackle raised walkways
through the swamp and through the Zenu village. It was notable that though well past midnight
the majority of the torches were still lit and still illuminated their path. This odd fact became all
the more evident as they passed by the spot where they’d encountered, almost an hour earlier,
the pair of elderly Bullywug Lamplighters tamping out the torches with their long candle snuffers.
The Bullywugs were nowhere to be seen and stranger yet they’d apparently only put out a
handful of torches since last seen. It didn’t make much sense. Most of the crew was too tired at
this point to pay it much mind, but Alkator, a hardy sort, maintained the presence of mind to take
note. ‘I say. I say. I say, First Mate Rick, did you notice this here green slime on the walkway
when we done passed this way before?’ And indeed Alkator was toying with a noxious green
goo that coated the wooden walkway. ‘It’s a swamp. Swamp stuff happens. What do you expect.
Let’s go to bed for f*ck’s sake.’ Rick replied. Alkator bent low and brought up a handful of the
stuff and gave it a taste and as one might expect it tasted even worse than it looked. In bending
down however, Alkator noticed something yet more worrisome than the sickly green slime. Out
in the swamp floated, half-submerged, the elderly Bullywug’s candle snuffer. Abandoned.
‘Uhmmm Rick, I’m pretty positive this hadn’t happened,’ pointed out Alkator while pulling the
candle snuffer from out the swamp. ‘I’ve a very bad feeling about all of this,’ said a still trembling
Maroochy, ‘Let’s go back already. I need a warm bath’ DM’s Note - one of Maroochy’s Platypi
(Platypus Folk) racial traits is ‘Dry Skin’ which requires her to frequently immerse herself in
water. Her player does a great job roleplaying this need
14 - All was quiet at Spluplunk and Splaggle’s sprawling shack upon their arrival. They
suspected that the Bullywug Priest and Priestess remained snoring with the rest of the Zenu
tribe upon piles of eggs after their ‘Lovemaking Ritual’ in the Bullywug Feast Hall. But, within
minutes they had the strongest sense of being watched. Not alone. Rick Cranberry and fierce
little Sir Chestnut drew their blades! ‘Come out already.’ Maroochy said in her most reassuring
voice. Tiny, bulbous wet eyes blinked and peered from behind the dining room table, which table
was a salvaged ship’s anchor by the way. ‘What’s wrong? You know us,’ she continued. And
with her encouragement bit by bit the three Bullywug Kids came creeping out of hiding. ‘We was
sacred. Teniamos Miedo,’ quietly replied the smallest of the three Bullywug children, Blop. She
was the kinda cute green one with the tiny toy bow and arrow. Her brothers, Blim and Blat,
yellow and red respectively, followed her sheepishly out. ‘We gets frightened sometimes at
night. No sabemos porque. We don’t know why.’
15 - Most everyone began to crawl into their best attempts at beds in the damp, mossy home.
Suhn was snoring immediately though his tail still twitched in a restless, unusual and irritable
manner. Alkator stumbled upstairs and collapsed in the mysterious unused child’s bed. He
curled up uncomfortably but fell asleep immediately as the coca leaves had long since wore off.
Captain Darkwing lit a candle, and opened the log, and read in earnest in the dim light hoping to
learn something about the whereabouts and the wellbeing of Professor GrowlGrrr Mendel. Rick,
nocturnal by nature, excused himself despite his own exhaustion, and headed back out into the
night for a little Raccoon Reconnaissance. Sir Chestnut, seeing Rick go, posted up at the front
door with his tiny blade, and did his best to stay awake and alert to protect the others. His eyes
immediately sagged closed and he too was soon quietly snoring. Maroochy alone tried to calm
the children. She added a little hot water to her large pot-tub from earlier and invited them in for
a swim. They splashed about a bit, and tensions were rapidly unwound, and soon enough they
were all quietly laughing, but it worried Maroochy to no end to hear from the Bullywug kids about
‘Bleek’. They claimed to sometimes think about Bleek, whom they missed terribly, though they
had no idea who Bleek even was. This was unsettling to say the least and after their short bath
Maroochy went uneasily to bed and suffered nightmares of the worst kind. Her Dreamtime
connection was deeply disturbed!
16 - Rick ventured back out into the dark.
His responsibilities and the unfortunate
diurnal rhythm of the rest of the realm
required that Rick remain awake during
the day despite the fact that he despised
it. DM’s Note - one of Rick Cranberry’s
Rakin racial traits is ‘Nocturnal’ which
makes him both grumpy and less efficient
during the day. Rick’s player likes to roam
at night and make up for it with catnaps
during the day. Understandably so He
snuck around unseen, it was actually
pretty easy as almost the entire Bullywug
population seemed passed out in the
Feast Hall, and explored a bit on his own.
What he discovered only reinforced the
crew’s observations and suspicions from
early that evening. DM’s Note - Rick is
actually, kinda surprisingly really, the only party member with Darkvision (though some of the
others have the ability to see underwater). I only realize this now in retrospect having created all
the Homebrew races. It doesn’t really make sense as most animals can see well enough at
night, but most likely reflects my own dislike of how 5e ruined the mystery of nighttime and
dungeons. 5e gave out Darkvision so liberally that not having it is the exception rather than the
rule of thumb. I must have unconsciously fought against this trend. I have no regrets Rick’s
investigation concluded that:
● The Bullywug village is a bizarre mix of lived-in and abandoned homes. None of them
are nice per se, but some are lived in and cared for, while others are wholly neglected.
Some appear to have been abandoned a week ago and others years ago
● The abandoned homes oftentimes exist right next to the lived-in ones. The lived in
homes just seems to ignore the abandoned homes around them
 ● Almost all of the abandoned homes show signs of forced entry. Violent entry. Whether it
be broken windows, battered down doors, or even entire walls knocked down
● The Zenu Village at full capacity could house 2-300 Bullywugs but only about 100 have
been observed
● If the ‘Lovemaking’ at the end of the Bullywug Feast was any indication the Zenu’s
reproduce at a rapid rate indeed and so there ought be many many more villagers than
there are
17 - Rick returned to Spluplunk and
Splaggle’s shack entirely exhausted
and deeply concerned about their
Furry Party Pirate’s situation. The El
Penguino was in need of massive
repairs that would either require a
long time or a large labor force. The
Bullywugs seemed friendly enough,
but something was amiss in the
village. Things were just not right and
Rick knew they were not safe there.
He didn’t know exactly why but he
felt it in his Rakin soul and he trusted
his wily Rakin instincts. They had
kept him alive thus far and Rick
enjoyed being alive and intended to
stay that way. He found brave little
Sir Chestnut slumped in the doorway
in an endearing attempt to wait up for
him. He was careful enough to step
over Sir Chestnut so as not to wake
him, but not concerned enough to
tuck him in. Inside the entire crew lay
asleep. QueeQueeg up high in the
rafters, his head tucked under a
wing. Alkator upstairs with the
Bullywug kids, only his proud cockscomb visible, backlit by a window and the moon overhead.
Suhn happy enough in a wet pile of moss his beaver tail finally silent and resting easy.
Maroochy kicked at the air in the midst of a nightmare. Ishmael had retreated fully into his shell
where his snores echoed loudly. Captain Darkwing was stretched out on his back, GrowlGrrr
Mendel’s log open flat on his face. Rick at last, and after a very long day indeed, wandered to a
dry patch of his own. He wrapped his long bushy tail about himself and was asleep in an instant.
A well deserved and much needed rest

*Chapter 5 - Good Morning

1 - Morning came early. Dawn was announced by a single chirp followed by a bellowing croak.
More croaks and chirps joined in as the Zenu Village woke. Soon the noise crescendoed to a
symphony of Bullywug voices that rang out from all sides and filled the swamp as first light
banished the darkness back from whence it came. It was almost cheerful despite the
desperation of the crew’s situation and all the weirdness of last night. Splaggle was already
busy over the stove purifying a large pot of water just as Rick had taught her. It seemed the
magic of ‘Cleanliness’ had been well received amongst the Zenu and was here to stay.
Breakfast seemed in the works as well and it smelled simply awful. Splaggle was helped by Blim
and Blat who fed mangrove wood into the stove. Spluplunk could be heard rummaging around
upstairs and cursing to himself, ‘P*nche window! D*mn ventana! Is always breaking. Muy viejo.
Old window. Strong winds.’ Alkator awoke to Spluplunk straddling his head and working with
little success on a broken window. He yawned, and stretched his feathers, and then let out an
absolutely ripping crow. Alkator was a simple man of simple pleasures.

DM’s Note - one of Alkator’s Gallus Maximus (Rooster Folk) racial traits is ‘Cock’s Crow’ which
requires that he proudly trumpet his existence every morning - after every win - after every
success) After Spluplunk recovered from the shock of the crow, Alkator watched the frog-priest
struggle for a bit, and then said, ‘You know. You know. You know, my mate Suhn might be able
to help you with that. He’s a bit of a handyman he is. Suhn! Get up here!’ DM’s Note - Alkator’s
player rolled like a 3 on his Investigation Check and so was oblivious to the fact that he’d
awoken inside a crime scene. Alkator’s player does a great job of playing Alkator as pretty d*mn
clueless as brains are not his strength. A bit of a country bumpkin which works with his
background which has him growing up basically Amish
2 - Suhn of Abbich begrudgingly woke upon Alkator’s trumpeting crow, as did everyone else,
except Rick Cranberry, who refused to budge and just rolled to his side and hid yet farther under
his tail. Suhn stomped upstairs, unhappy as only a Beaver woke pre-dawn can be, and he
immediately said, ‘What the f*ck happened!’
● It was apparent to him at a glance that the window hadn’t been blown open by the wind.
● The window had in fact been very obviously forced open and barely still hung by a single
hinge.
● More so the window had been forced from the outside. There were claw marks all about
the windowsill and the claw marks continued across one of the children’s beds and down
the staircase towards where Suhn and the others had slept!
 ● Upon closer inspection the claw marks themselves revealed bits of paper wedged deep
within! And not just any bits of paper, but pieces and tatters of illuminated paper, the sort
of paper one might find in a book from the Zenu’s Great Library!
● Suhn looked up and noticed as well that now two of the Bullywug Kid’s beds had
abandoned toys in them. One a small wooden axe and the other a small wooden bow
He’d only seen Blim and Blat downstairs and he quickly put two and two together. ‘We’re
missing another Bullywug Kid’ Suhn yelled downstairs! But, no sooner had he yelled it than he
smelled the coffee boiling and a bad attempt at breakfast, and he thought to himself, ‘boy am I
hungry,’ and headed back downstairs himself, oblivious to the damage and horror he had only
just witnessed
3 - ‘One. Two. Blim. Blat,’ counted Maroochy. ‘Suhn, what did you just say about the Bullywug
Kids. Where’s Blop.’ She asked? ‘We seem to be missing . . . missing . . . Oh! Is that coffee I
smell?’ And then Maroochy, who had the strongest connection to the Bullywug children, and
was most certainly fond of them, forgot all about their plight as well. It’s as if it went in one ear
and out the other. Watching all of his friends and crew mates forget themselves mid-sentence
Sir Chestnut ran to Alkator as he descended the staircase and grabbed a handful of feathers
from off the large birds body. And but the rough outer plumage either but rather the soft downy
stuff underneath. He promptly stuffed his little ears full. It seemed to Sir Chestnut that everyone
was literally losing their minds and so he figured they might be losing it out straight the holes in
their heads. DM’s Note - And though the reasoning was wrong, the answer was pretty spot on.
The forgetfulness did indeed have something to do with one’s hearing. I had not, as a DM,
planned for this occasion (a player stumbling upon earplugs so soon), but, improvisation is half
the game, and so I ran with it and tried to make it work He motioned for Alkator to do the same.
And he did. Alkator stuffed wads of his own feathers deep in his own ears. Then Sir Chestnut
pointed in alarm at something he’d discovered, while Suhn and Alkator were occupied upstairs.
in the crew’s sleeping area below. Two unclaimed bags. Chestnut had counted twice and then
counted again. But, no matter how many times he recounted there were eight of them and ten
bags. Ten makeshift moss beds. Ten bedrolls. And the extra bags most certainly resembled their
own. Standard issue Sailors’ Shore Leave backpacks made of salt soiled canvas. One was
large. Meant for a five or even six foot humanoid. The other small. Meant for someone no larger
than little Chestnut himself. He motioned for Alkator to go and investigate the big bag why he
himself explored the small one. Sir Chestnut was almost certain he’d be less than thrilled by
whatever lay inside
4 - The bag that Alkator began to examine was noteworthy
not only because of its size, far too large for any of the
current crew members as the tallest were but four feet tall,
but because leaned against it was an enormous maul. A
hammer almost six feet tall. A hammer meant for smashing
things. A hammer made of wood but topped by the single
largest crab claw that Alkator had ever seen. It was amazing!
It was meant for Alkator! He dearly wanted to smash things
with it as soon as possible. Inside the bag were the sort of
things one might expect from a sailor. A male sailor at that. A
male sailor who appeared to work as a deckhand. And,
strangest of all, a male deckhand who seemed a bit simple as they had a collection of children’s
toys - carved wooden soldiers and dolls and puzzles and such - the sorta thing that Alkator
might honestly enjoy. ‘Was this in fact his bag and he’d just somehow forgotten?’ Alkator
wondered as he turned the clever wooden figurines over in his hands. But, then he
remembered, vividly and all of a sudden, as if out of the blue, Suhn carving those same toys
with his own sharp buck teeth for a good fella named ‘Tuga’. The same Tuga who oftentimes
swabbed the El Penguino’s deck beside Alkator himself. Tuga the Tortle (Turtle-Folk) who was
stout and strong and towered easily two feet over Alkator. The same Tuga who didn’t often say
much but made Alkator laugh when he did. The same Tuga who the rest of the crew considered
slow but whom Alkator rather enjoyed the company of. His good friend Tuga. And then, just as
suddenly, and despite Chestnut’s clever impromptu earplugs, all memory of Tuga seemed to
whistle right out of his head. Alkator was left pondering a mystery bag belonging to a mystery
sailor and testing the heft of his new Crab Claw Hammer DM’s Note - The mechanics for
remembering/forgetting were set up as a series of progressively harder Willpower/Charisma
Checks. I ruled that Chestnut’s earplugs would allow for Advantage. Alkator succeeded all the
way up to 20 and then failed and so lost his memory completely. My hope was that this
remembering and then forgetting cycle would help build up the creepy tension occurring in the
Bullywug Village
5 - The bag that Sir Chestnut began to examine was remarkable in that it was fit for a humanoid
even smaller than himself, which such humanoids are pretty rare. Rooting through it Chestnut
found the sort of equipment one might expect a sailor to pack. An officer of some sort at that.
And a pirate as well. Honorable Sir Chestnut was personally offended by the lockpicks, and
forgery tools, and such. Even as he wondered what sort of cad would deign to use such
dishonorable and sneaky things he remembered. He remembered ‘Seepikeek’. Tiny Seepikeek
who was always up for a good game of chest. Seepikeek who served as Rick Cranberry’s Best
Boy aboard the El Penguino and whose orders were not to be denied despite his small size. Out
the very bottom of the bag he dug up a scroll rolled up in twine. Unfurling the scroll revealed an
endearing and well executed chalk drawing of Seepikeek, a Laicost (Mouse Folk), and Rick
Cranberry poised in camaraderie with the hand written note, ‘Best Maties . . . X - Seepikeek’.
 Looking at the drawing reminded Sir Chestnut that he rather admired little Seepikeek for his
fierce and unflinching nature. Or at least he did, until the memory began to slip away. He
slapped his hands over his ears. ‘No! No! No!’ Chestnut pleaded. He grimaced and furrowed his
brow and fought with every fiber of his tiny being to hold on to the memory of Seepikeek and the
memory of Blop. But, it was all slipping away, bit by bit, moment by moment, memory by
memory. ‘Grrrrrrrrrr!’ Chestnut bared his teeth in determination and simply refused to let go. And
he didn’t quite, let go entirely, he managed to hold on to the last tattered edges of Seepikeek’s
memory and of Blop’s. Not much mind you, but enough to know that they were friends and
Allie’s and that they needed saving DM’s Note - He did it! Sir Chestnut managed to roll his
saves all the way to DC20! And so, the plot had to roll with the punches and so now at least one
party member ‘remembers’. That same party member knows it has something to do with
hearing. And that same party member is gonna try and convince everyone else of the urgency
and the danger!
6 - Sir Chestnut ran over to Rick and ran up his side and jumped
on his chest till he finally woke. ‘Rick! Rick! Rick, your friend is
missing and most likely in danger!’ Chestnut cried. ‘Never seen
‘em,’ groaned Rick, rubbing sleep and a hangover out of his
eyes. ‘Alkator! Alkator! Alkator, don’t you remember Best Boy
Seepikeek? He yelled at you constantly. You drive him crazy!’
But, Alkator just shook his head in denial and happily swung
about his new Great Maul. ‘Maroochy! Maroochy! Maroochy,
what about Blop? She was your favorite!’ But, Maroochy just
sipped her oddly green coffee and looked confused. ‘Blim, Blat,
what about your sister?’ Sir Chestnut asked the remaining Bullywug Kids. ‘What sister,’ asked
Blim, ‘there has only ever been Blat and Blim. The Bullywug Boys. The most ferocious brothers
in all Zenu tribe.’ In frustration Sir Chestnut climbed straight up Suhn of Abbich’s chest, and
looked him dead in the eyes, and grabbed him by his chest hairs and said, as serious as
anyone had ever seen him, ‘They. Are. In. Our. Heads. By. Way. Of. Our. Ear-holes. Help me
plug our ear-holes!’
7 - Though mystified by Sir Chestnut’s demands, Suhn was convinced by his earnestness, and
he set about manufacturing earplugs. He sized up everyone’s ear-holes with his finger, and then
whittled down some wooden object or another found within the hut, with naught but his own
strong teeth, to ear canal size, and then stuffed them right on in. Immediately everyone
experienced some degree of relief! As if something annoying, buzzing in their ears, that they’d
somehow remained heretofore unaware of, was suddenly silenced. They could think clearly
once more. For the first time, honestly, since entering the Bullywug Village. And though their
memories were not restored, poor Chestnut remained the only one who even dimly
remembered Seepikeek and Blop, they could at least consider the possibility that they had
somehow been made to forget their friends, their loved ones and crew mates. It was a hard
concept to wrap one’s head around. That someone you’d sailed with, that someone you’d dined
and drank with even as late as last night, was gone, and all you had as proof was an
abandoned shore leave bag and a chalk drawing. An unclaimed Crab Claw-Maul and some
wooden toys were all that’s left. It was spooky to say the least
8 - After everyone had been outfitted with Suhn’s handmade wooden ear plugs Captain
Darkwing interjected, ‘Not to pile on, and add bad news on bad news and confusion upon
confusion, but I did manage to decode some of Professor Mendel’s Journal last night. Not a full
cryptographic key mind you - Brawk! - but enough so that I think I know where he is. That’s the
good news.’ He paused thoughtfully, and then said gravely, ‘the bad news is that he’s likely
flipped his bloody lid. I’m frankly worried about him - Brawk! - a brilliant mind in danger indeed.’
He motioned at the book and continued, ‘There are true horrors in these pages - Brawk! -
Abominations. If this is even science then it is the sort of science better left unlearned. Just
because we can do a thing doesn’t necessarily mean we ought to. Brawk!’ He sighed and
passed the book on to Rick Cranberry and continued, ‘It appears that Mendel discovered here,
in the Bullywug Library, the secrets of hybridizing plants and animals. Some sort of - Brawk! -
unholy union.’ He sat heavily on his bedside and added, ‘he also seems to have come across
hints of yet greater, and perhaps more dangerous, knowledge, that would allow him to mingle
not only animal and plant, but even life and death. Brawk! Dark stuff indeed.’ Captain Darkwing
then asked Rick to open Mendel’s Journal to the page that he’d marked, ‘you’ll see there what I
believe to be a map which leads to that same terrible knowledge. My guess is that Professor
Mendel has gone there himself. It describes an ancient tower long lost out in the swamp.
Unknown to the Bullywugs. A tower most likely built by Suhn’s mysterious ancient architects.
We might find Mendel there and pull him back from the brink of this insanity.’ He motioned at the
two empty beds and the abandoned packs and said, ‘maybe answers lie in that tower as well to
the whereabouts of our missing crew mates, our missing memories - Brawk! - and what ails this
sorry Zenu Village.’ Captain Darkwing walked over to Suhn, and hand on his shoulder, added,
‘and though I’ve not mentioned it before - Brawk! - we’ve got a limited window to sail to the
Galapaghost Islands. Time is of the essence. Brawk! Trust me that not merely my academic
research hangs in the balance. I can’t elaborate, but the El Penguino needs to resume sail soon
or disappearing crew might be the least of our worries.’
9 - No one knew what the h*ll was going on, but it was clear that things were not well in the
Zenu Village, not well by a long shot. They needed to get out of Colombia post-haste and away
from whatever madness infected the Bullywugs. But, they might be missing crew members.
They might be missing friends and mates. They were certainly missing a couple of Bullywug
Kids - mere children - who at least some of the crew was fond of. All evidence pointed as well to
a large chunk of the Bullywug population gone missing. And there were ominous signs of entire
crews also gone missing before themselves. To make matters worse, without the help of the
Zenus, who might well not be trustworthy, they weren’t going anywhere fast, as the El Penguino
was shipwrecked and in complete disrepair. The Furry Party Pirate was feeling well f*cked, and
more than a little ridiculous, what with plugs in their ears while swinging Crab-Hammers, when
King Splops and his retinue arrived
10 - King Splops entered in good humor bellowing cheerfully, ‘Great Teacher - Gran Maestro -
good morning! Good morning! Teach us new knowledge to help Zenu Village. Enseñame. More
great magic like Cleanliness! We make bad times good with your help. Ayuadame. Ayudanos
por favor! Help us Great Teacher!’ And he smiled so broadly that his smile took up most of the
room. Rick finally stood up off of his makeshift moss bed. and walked slowly and casually, but
directly over, to the enormous bulk of King Splops and then, in a flash, ran up his chest on all
fours. Rick clung to Splops’s royal seashell necklace, and growled and showed his teeth, and
said in his most irritable and fierce tone. ‘Look you fat f*ck, I’m done with whatever bloody game
we are playing at here! Savvy? My crew and I ain’t having it anymore! Come clean and tell me
what in all the h*lls is happening here? What is happening to your village? What happened to
my bloody missing crew mates? What happened to the bloody wee Bullywug Kids? Fess up you
worthless gobsh*te!’ And Rick rattled King Splops’s head back and forth relentlessly. DM’s Note
- One of Rick Cranberry’s Rakin racial traits is ‘Fierce Stare’ which allows him, once per Long
Rest, to stare a motherf*cker down and Intimidate them. It’s interesting to note that this was
designed by myself and Rick’s player as a combat option, but so far he has used it twice in
roleplaying Much to everyone’s surprise a huge liquid tear began to form in the corner of King
Splops’s massive bulbous eyes. His rubbery and wide toad lips trembled pitifully. His whole
gelatinous bulk shook as he began to sob uncontrollably
11 - Rick Cranberry took pity on the wretched Bullywug King and climbed down off him, and
even slapped his big bulbous knee comfortingly, and said, ‘C’mon now mate, no need for the
waterworks. Buck up already. Tell us what’s the trouble then and maybe we lot can help you get
ship shape again.’ King Splops responded by saying:
● He didn’t know in fact what was ailing the Zenu Tribe, but he had no doubt that
something was deeply wrong
● Everything had gone really South soon after Great Teacher Mendel’s departure from the
Bullywug Village a year ago now
● He was afraid for his people, but most afraid for his win authority as the Zenus began to
blame him for their unhappiness and discontent
● He would do anything to fix the situation, but how do you fix something when you don’t
even know what is wrong to begin with
And though not the answer that anyone had been hoping for, this did give Rick an idea. What if,
he suggested, the Furry Pirate Party were to go and find, and perhaps even rescue, the original
Great Teacher, Professor Growl Grrr Mendel, from the lost tower where Captain Darkwing
believes him to be holed up? What if they brought him back, willingly or unwillingly, to the Zenu
Village to set things right? Would the Zenus get started, toot sweet like, to repair the El
Penguino and get her set to sail again? Could they work together to fix whatever ailed the Zenu
Village, and worried King Splops, but also get the crew the h*lls out of here soon as possible?
12 - King Splops not only agreed, but
he was delighted to agree. He even
offered up his ‘elite’ Bullywug guard,
‘Frog Team Six’, as guides and allies
for the expedition. It was decided to
leave that same day then. Suhn drew
up repair plans for the El Penguino in
his absence. No way was Suhn going
to miss out on an exploration of
buildings made by his ‘Ancient Builder
Race’. Captain Darkwing offered to
stay behind, and no one argued, as he
was considered universally useless.
QueeQueeg and Ishmael would stay
behind with their Captain and the ship as well. The party made ready in haste. They packed
their bags and grabbed their weapons and alongside Frog Team Six they set off for the rumored
lost tower and whatever weirdness lay ahead
13 - DM’s Note: Man! Writing a fictionalized recounting of this part of the adventure made me
realize that I might have overreached a bit. Definitely the most complicated idea that I’ve ever
attempted to DM. It wasn’t entirely my own BtW, but rather the main monster is a cool
Homebrew that is being circulated about. I hope, despite the difficulty, that the players enjoyed
the intrigue and horror I was trying to build around the disappearances and loss of memory.
There was definitely a moment there, when it finally dawned on the players that the missing
sailors has been with them the entire adventure, and but that they had only forgotten about
them last night, that was pretty impactful. Pretty fun! In retrospect though, I don’t think I’d run
this scenario again (not that it’s over yet mind ya), because it required me to take a little too
much choice away from the players, and the saves to remember and then forget eventually for
tedious after the novelty wore off. Live and learn. I do think the players have enjoyed it so far
regardless. Definitely a unique game!
*Chapter 6 - The Lost Tower
1 - The trek to the Lost Tower was a slog indeed. The swamp was unpleasant enough when in
the Bullywug Village and traveling on raised walkways, but, once off the walkways the tribe
nature of the terrain became apparent. The Bullywug guides did as best they could, but they
didn’t suffer at the swamp’s hands the same way as most of the crew, outside of Suhn of Abbich
of course, who felt right at home swimming around in the muck. The remainder of the Furry
Pirate Party did their best to stay high and dry, but sometimes passage demanded they wade
knew and even chest high. Suhn and Alkator were kind enough to offer Sir Chestnut their
shoulders in such situations and Rick Cranberry managed to stay in the trees and vines for the
most part. Maroochy was semi-aquatic herself but found the whole experience deeply
unpleasant. Despite the unpleasantness however, they managed to wind their way through the
seemingly endless swamp until, at long last, one of the Bullywug guides informed them that the
supposed location of the Lost Tower mentioned in Professor Mendel’s Log ought lie right up
ahead. ‘Well then, let’s go get that b*stard professor of yours already, and get the h*lls out of
here.’ Rick Cranberry replied
2 - Frog Team Six cleared away the last
remaining vegetation with their crude
machetes and javelins revealing the
Lost Tower at last. Even as the sun was
fading and darkness settled on the
swamp, the tower remained an
impressive sight, out here alone in the
middle of nowhere. The tower stood
some hundred feet distant, across a
large section of open swamp spanned
by a wooden walkway in complete
disrepair. The tower itself was
three-stories tall and rested upon a solid
rock outcropping. An island in the mud
and the slime. And though the tower was crumbling, both it and the wooden walkway, showed
evidence of an architectural skill far surpassing anything the Bullywugs were capable of. Suhn
confirmed that it was, like the Zenu’s Grand Library, evidence of the Builder Race that he
himself had long sought after. Even from this distance one could see how seamlessly the white
stones of the tower were worked together to make a surface that appeared almost a solid ivory
structure. Or at least it would have appeared seamless were it not for the vines and lichen and
moss that crawled across its every inch, invading even the upper floors. It was beautiful in a
very very eerie way indeed
3 - As the first members of the Furry Pirate Party
began to step onto the wooden walkway Rick
Cranberry and Maroochy became aware of eyes
upon them. They were not alone out here in the
dank dark swamp. And not just one set of eyes
either, but rather many many many eyes were
fixed there way. Rick’s keen hearing had picked
up the rustling of feathers high overhead and so
he unslung his bow and nocked an arrow and
aimed it high in a threatening manner.
‘Caw-Ca-Caw-Ca-Caw,’ answered back an angry
murder of crows nested in the surrounding trees.
There were dozens of them. Their dark feathers
blended into the shadows of the trees in the
canopy. Maybe even dozens of dozens. Maroochy
whispered, ‘I could feel their presence the minute
we set foot here. It’s not natural Rick. All they are
saying, over and over, is death - disease - rot -
death - disease - rot.’ Rick looked skeptically at
Maroochy, one eyebrow cocked, and replied, ‘they’re birds love. Give us a break.’ DM’s Note:
The setting for the Furry Pirate Party adventure is a low-magic, (relatively) high tech world,
meant to mirror in many ways our own ‘Age of Sail’. Despite it being populated solely by
anthropomorphic animals, magic is exceedingly rare. Magic is the stuff of myth and legend and
sailor’s gossip. Each member of the party has had their own experience, however, of strange
things going bump in the night, etc. Maroochy is a Nature Cleric and so the party’s only ‘magic
user’. In her own backstory this ‘magic’ is described as a particularly strong connection to the
Australian Outback’s Dreamtime’. At this point, the rest of the party considers Maroochy’s claims
to be able to ‘talk to animals’ and such, as pure fancy on her part. They think she’s a bit barmy
honestly And at that Rick released his arrow which caused a great stir in the branches as the
crows took flight. They screamed their anger as they went in a way that didn’t honestly feel the
least bit natural. ‘See, just birds, ya barmy lass.’ Rick said, sounding himself uncertain at best
4 - Before any more thought could be given to the strange congregation of crows an even more
unexpected sight appeared. A solitary figure came bounding at full speed out the base of the
tower. It was running, as if for its life, onto the wooden walkway across the swamp and towards
them. It was humanoid and tall and round and oddly familiar. It was in fact a he, and he was a
Tortle (Turtle-Folk), and his eyes were wide in fear and in panic as if chased by the devils
 themselves! ‘It’s Tuga,’ shouted Sir Chestnut!
Chestnut had managed, more than any of the
others, to hold onto his memories, though
they threatened to leak out his own ears at
any moment. The remainder of the crew
looked back at him in confusion. ‘Tuga. The
deckhand. Our crew mate. Our friend,’ he
explained, ‘Oh, never mind, just help him!’
But, before Chestnut had even dropped to all
fours, in order to scurry his way, Tuga
disappeared from sight. He’d only taken a few
desperate steps onto the walkway when an
enormous form emerged from the swamp next
to him. A Toad of unbelievable size. The Giant
Toad jumped out of the water, and intersected
Tuga’s line of retreat, and swallowed him
whole, despite his size, landing clear on the
other side of the walkway with Tuga trapped
inside him. ‘I’m coming!’ Sir Chestnut cried.
Two more Giant Toads appeared in the murky
swamp nearer the crew, and stood beside
them were two more strange, bipedal, smaller
Frog-like Monsters. The smaller
Frog-Aberrations both opened their heavy
lidded eyes and beams of light danced and
played across the water, searching for the
remainder of the crew! They croaked
ominously. Searching. They were warped
creatures, covered in mushrooms and black
lichen, they appeared anything but friendly
5 - Sir Chestnut wasted not a second and sprang directly into action. ‘I’m coming Tuga,’ he
chirped in his tiny voice, and sprinted down the walkway, a flash of fur and a clatter of acorn
armor. Maroochy and Suhn of Abbich waddled towards the water figuring that if they had to fight
they’d prefer to do so submerged rather than on dry land. Along the way Suhn tossed one of his
Rum Bottles of Sleep Gas and managed to set one of the Giant Toads to snoring right there in
the swamp where it sat DM’s Note: One never knows how a battle is going to go, but I was
delighted to see the Furry Pirate Party immediately divide itself into naval and land forces. Not
every battle will happen in or around water, and so it was cool to see those characters who have
swim speeds use them to their advantage! As all the anthropomorphic animal races are my own
Homebrews and so it was fun to see my designs in action Alkator rushed the walkway tossing
one of his newly gifted javelins directly into the water along the way DM’s Note: Practice makes
perfect He barely managed to duck and roll as one of the Giant Toads flew overhead attempting
to swallow him whole same as Tuga. Rick Cranberry raced forward, only to suddenly veer left
and jump off the walkway, flipping onto a giant lily pad, while shooting an arrow point blank into
a Toads face on his way down DM’s Note: One of Rick Cranberry’s Rakin racial traits is ‘Cirque
du Sail’ which gives him a bevy of Movement related abilities that allow him to fight and act like
the Raccoon he is. I’ve been thrilled to watch his player use them regularly and really breathe
life into the character! Parkor! ! Parkor! ! !
6 - Tuga wasn’t the type to just leisurely lay
back and get eaten. Nope, he was
determined to see just exactly who was eating
who. Though unarmed Tuga was far from
defenseless. He snapped out with his
powerful jaws and tore into the Giant Toad’s
guts doing a massive amount of internal
damage. DM’s Note: One of Tuga’s Tortle
racial traits is ‘Snapping Turtle’ which allows
him, twice per long rest, to extend his jaws
out call handling never won before I love you I
appreciate you trying to have a good time and
find a way for to be like I just want you to
really be able to relax and hang out you know
like my goal for this was just to get you out
door the house the outside will be nice to 10’
and pull an opponent towards him while damaging it. I thought it appropriate to allow him
automatic Critical Damage on a hit despite Disadvantage on the To Hit roll due to the cramped
quarters. Unfortunately he himself was being digested all the while and received a
commensurate amount of damage. Luckily little Sir Chestnut was en route. One of the twisted
Frog-Aberrations moved his way and tried to pin down Chestnut beneath its eye’s searchlights,
but the little Squirrel Paladin was too nimble and spry, bobbing and weaving as he ran. Then
Rick Cranberry, perhaps inspired by his recent success, attempted an ambitious move of his
own. He stashed his bow, switching it out for the pouch of Poison Mushroom he’d gathered the
day before, and vaulted up off of the lily pad, grabbing ahold of the walkaway’s guardrail along
the way. He used the bannister as a sort of high bar, in order to cartwheel in the air above the
two Giant Toads. While midair Rick sprinkled the Poison Mushroom over the Toads who writhed
in pain. Their flesh smoked and burned (unfortunately the sleeping frog woke in a panic). Rick
smiled, proud of his work, as he descended for an elegant ten-point landing atop a different
giant lily pad, which pad immediately sank upon impact, dumping him directly into the swamp
water. DM’s Note: When Rick’s player proposed this audacious stunt I responded with a series
of three rolls and three different DC Checks he would have to make. I’m always game for a fun
and innovative attack. He was game as well, and he performed great for the first two rolls and
then scored a Critical Failure on the third. Thus the drowning And though Rick isn’t afraid of
water per se, he’s no fan of filth, and the swamp water was filthy indeed, so he too began to
panic. In his panic he managed to get himself wrapped up in the giant lily pads roots and was
firmly trapped under water. Blehlp bleeh,’ he screamed, but only bubbles rose to the surface!
7 - Both Maroochy and Suhn dove directly into the water and went deep to try and rescue Rick
Cranberry. They both tried their d*mndest but to no avail. Maroochy’s duck bill was beyond
useless and not even Suhn’s sharp Beaver incisors did the trick. Rick looked at them both in
alarm and anger and said, ‘Bligh Blelhp Blooh Blooh Bloohdy Blahr!’ As Maroochy surfaced one
of the Giant Toads snapped out at her, and would have swallowed her whole, had not one of the
members of Frog Team Six jumped into the gap, and been swallowed immediately and entirely
in her stead. DM’s Note: I’m not a fan, as a player, of NPCs participating in battle. It ends up
being the DM rolling against himself for long gaps of time that’s better spent on the actual
players. It ends up being the DM playing against himself which is boring and frustrating for
everyone involved. And so I design my NPCs so that players can use them during battles to
their advantage if they so choose. In the example of ‘Frog Team Six’ they could attack with them
as a Bonus Action or sacrifice them to stop damage as a Reaction. The negative was that every
time they did this there was as a chance the Bullywug’s morale would break and they would
flee. This chance increased every time a Bullywug died Maroochy’s pugnacious new lizard
friend, ‘Dragon-Bait’, snapped back at the Giant Toad bloodying its nose. Much more effective,
however, was Alkator, who abandoned the javelins and hefted aloft the new found
Crab-Hammer. He drove the hammer down hard onto the Giant Toad’s skull and its eyes
exploded out either side as it slumped, dead, back down into the swamp. Alkator crowed loudly
and raised the crab-hammer triumphantly over his head. It was his new favorite thing!
8 - At last Sir Chestnut was in position to assist the poor swallowed Tuga. Good timing, as Tuga
was not doing well inside the Giant Toad’s stomach. Not well at all. Chestnut, unlike say,
Maroochy and Suhn, was no fan of water. Least of all the cold murky waters of the Bullywug
swamp DM’s Note: One of Sir Chestnut’s Sciurrius racial traits is ‘Fair Weather Friend’ which
dictates that he goes into a torpor/hibernation when overly cold And so it was particularly brave
of him to jump his full distance - twenty feet - from the wooden walkway and onto the Giant
Toad’s back DM’s Note: Sir Chestnut’s Sciurrius racial build puts his normal Movement Rate at
20’, as he is a Tiny creature, but, when running all fours he moves a lightning fast 40’ and can
use his Dexterity Score (as opposed to Strength) to determine his Jump (20’ Running Jump!)
Immediately upon landing he unsheathed his tiny sword and plunged it in deep and rode it down
the Toad’s back, splitting it from forehead to feet! DM’s Note: One of Sir Chestnut’s Sciurrius
racial traits is ‘Squirrely’ which allows him a bevy of movement and attack actions befitting a
Squirrel. One of the Actions is ‘Giant Killer’ which gives him a +10 to damage when he is
sharing the space/on top of an enemy. He ended up doing a terrific amount of damage to the
Giant Toad. Slaying it and then some! The Toad’s flesh
sloughed off to either side revealing a very wounded Tuga
inside. Tuga managed to grab ahold of Sir Chestnut an instant
before he slid off the Giant Toad’s tail end and into the slimy
water. The thankful Tortle placed the thankful Sciurrius (Squirrel
Folk) high and dry, between his shoulders, and atop his mighty
barnacle-encrusted shell. A friendship was fast born between
the two, though Tuga recalled nothing of Sir Chestnut, and
Chestnut’s own memory of the Tortle was faint at best
9 - Tuga only had a second to surmise the scene, one of
vaguely familiar, irritatingly familiar, but unknown allies, fighting
the Frog-Things that had attacked him as he tried to flee the
tower, before he was blinded. The Frog-Aberration that had
been pursuing Chestnut swung its eye beams towards Tuga
and all he saw was stars! DM’s Note: the smaller Frog-Aberrations were Blindheims. One of
their abilities is to blind with eye-beams that they produce. The idea is that they are creations
made by Mendel’s mad experiments ‘I’m blind!’ Tuga said in surprise. ‘I’ve got you,’ replied Sir
Chestnut who pulled on Tuga’s left ear, ‘this way!’ While the tiny Paladin steered the Tortle
directly towards the Frog-Aberration that had blinded him, the remaining aberration climbed onto
the walkway and made the grave mistake of poking Alkator with a spear. Don’t poke Alkator with
a spear unless you want to see Alkator angry. You don’t want to see Alkator angry! DM’s Note:
Alkator is a Barbarian and so RAGES most battles, which rage gives him a number of abilities,
the most powerful of which is to shrug off (halve) damage from most non magical physical
attacks. If you’re going to attack Alkator you better finish the job!

10 - Rick Cranberry finally managed to free himself from the giant lily pad roots entwined about
him, long after everyone else’s attempts failed, and exploded to the surface gasping for air.
‘Thanks for the help you buncha bogsh*tes you,’ he growled at the crew, eyeing the remaining
members of Frog Team Six in particular, as he climbed back up onto the walkway, attempting
fruitlessly to shake the water off his thick fur. When ‘Boom!’ the wood in front of Rick’s kneeling
face exploded! He had barely managed, instinctively honestly, to side step Alkator’s maul as it
smashed down an inch from his head, having just missed the Frog-Aberration he was aiming
for. Looking up, Rick saw Alkator wild-eyed, feathers ruffled in every random direction, chest
puffed and heaving, his cockscomb stood straight up in anger. ‘Ok then mate, I can see as you
have this well handled.’ Rick said, and he saluted Alkator, and beat feet the other direction
towards the tower quick as could be. He looked over his shoulder as he ran, and shouted back
at the cowering Bullywug Guard King Splops had lent them, ‘Do something already you useless
toe rags!’ And do something they did indeed. The lot of them rushed into the water and stabbed
wildly at the remaining Giant-Toad until it gave up the ghost. One Bullywug in particular stood in
triumph, high atop the expired Toad, and raised his bloodied spear and shouted, ‘Frog Team
Six! Equipo Rana Seis! Frog Team Six!’ The rest joined in, chanting and croaking along, ‘Frog
Team Six! Frog Team Six!’ Until a deeper and much louder froggy croak boomed out from the
ominous Lost Tower. ‘Croak!’ It sounded as if it emanated from beneath the tower itself. ‘Croak!’
It sounded, so baritone and fierce as to shake the ground and cause the swamp water to ripple
outwards from the tower’s base. At that the Bullywugs dropped their spears and dove into the
swamp water and disappeared in the blink of an eye. ‘*ssholes!’ Yelled Rick after them and then
they were just gone DM’s Note: In all honesty both the players and myself had pretty much
forgotten about ‘Frog Team Six’ for the first couple of rounds of combat. But, by the third round
players were using them to take blows (a la Maroochy) and land blows. They (kinda heroically if
you think about it) managed to finish off one of the Giant Toads before their morale broke and
they retreated. Bad news for the Furry Pirate Party = no more cannon fodder
11 - Sir Chestnut had to admit that, despite the monsters and the forgetting of
memories and the disappearing children and the apparent loss of crew
members, this all felt pretty good actually. Honestly. For the first time in his
short life he was fulfilling his potential. He was doing the knightly things for
which he had trained for so many years. He was riding high, seated atop a
massive, relatively-island-sized, turtle ally’s shell, and steering it towards one
of the last remaining Frog-Monstrosities, to slay it in single combat. This was
as it should be. Despite himself, and his naturally timid Sciurrius (Squirrel Folk)
nature, he was having the time of his life! ‘Tallyho!’ Sir Chestnut cried out!
‘What’s that,’ the blind but obediently swimming Tortle asked? ‘Oh, nothing,’
replied Chestnut sheepishly, ‘just continue on forward. Almost there. Good
work buddy.’ As soon as they were close enough an energized Sir Chesnut
jumped off and ran on all fours for the Frog-Monster and attacked feet first in a
flurry of tiny claws. Chestnut was really feeling himself! DM’s Note: It has been
fun to watch Sir Chestnut's player, who has only ever played a Cleric before,
and is a non-confrontational person in real life, play a melee combatant
Paladin. She has been loving the charge into battle and doing things that a
Knight would do that she herself would never ever do. We’ve all been
surprised how powerful the little Dexterity Build fighter is at 1st level using only
his tiny claws and a shortsword
12 - Alkator smiled, and swung the giant Crab-Hammer with every ounce of
strength he had left. It landed square in the Frog-Monster’s chest and the
terrible amalgam of amphibian and mushroom and lights just sorta exploded
right there on the walkway. It showered down upon Alkator, and as it rained,
he only smiled more broadly. He wiped his cockscomb clean, and shouldered
the hammer once again, and blithely hopped across the hole he’d made
earlier, and sauntered towards his crew mates while whistling a jaunty tune. Much more relaxed
now. Man, but he really loved this new hammer, he did!
13 - At the same moment, and on the other
side of the wooden walkway closest the Lost
Tower, the other members of the Furry Pirate
Party worked to finish off the last remaining
Frog-Aberration. Maroochy swam up to their
new Tortle ally’s side and unleashed a
boomerang, which whirled around the
monster’s head, distracting it. She then
placed a kind webbed hand on Tuga’s side.
At the touch Tuga felt a wellspring of energy
flow through him and felt revitalized almost
completely. It was unlike anything he’d
experienced before. It was good. It was
excellent. It felt like sunlight and a cool
breeze, but imagine all of those on his
insides instead, somehow. He looked down to thank whomever had helped him but found
himself at a loss for words upon the sight of the strange creature. But then, realizing he could
see, that he could see at all, he ignored the little thing’s weird appearance - all duck and weasel
and beaver - and just gave it a giant one-armed hug. Tuga’s sight returned just as the
Frog-Monster clawed back at Sir Chestnut, but, with a clenched jaw and a wave of his hand,
Tuga seemed to send the blow sideways and caused it to miss entirely. DM’s Note: Lots of
character’s class specific powers being used and demonstrated here. As this is a low-magic
setting I’m trying to describe them as something other than, ‘so and so cast a spell,’ as no one
in the party would see it that way. All of the players started with only the most vague
understanding of what the other characters were all about and so bit by bit powers and abilities
and whatnot will be revealed in play. Sir Chestnut was surprised by the inexplicable miss which
he had been bracing for and he looked back at the Tortle for explanation. Tuga looked back at
him equally surprised. They smiled at one another in quickly forged camaraderie. And then Tuga
did something even more surprising and launched into the air in a way no four-hundred pound
turtle ought to. He flew out of the water, almost 10’ high, and threatened to come down straight
on the head of the Frog-Abomination which only rolled out of the way at the last moment. This
meant that Tuga, instead of squashing the monster, crashed right through the walkway with his
tremendous bulk. DM’s Note: I designed a lot of the Homebrew races and Homebrew classes
with cool movement features because I’m a big fan of a highly mobile game. Much to my
surprise everyone keeps wanting to jump on everything! I’ve now had to Homebrew rules for
‘Jumping on One’s Opponents’ Unfortunately for it, however, the Frog-Aberration rolled directly
into Chestnut’s waiting sword and it’s own demise