20 Magical Bird Species

 

"What are birds? We just don't know." - Look Around You, Season 1, Episode 2.

     Birds command perhaps the most envy of any class of animals. Who does not sometimes look out the window, and wonder how stupendous it would be to fly? As a result, they have a sort of aspirational or longing held along with them, symbols of freedom, change and often death. In a sense, they are already a little bit magic to us in a way that other animals aren't.

     In previous articles of this series we've gone over Dogs, Cats, Rodents & Fish. As before, the names for these creatures are source from my home setting Volmusia. The d20 on the side is included in case a GM wishes to provide an inventory for a avian merchant or a noble's menagerie.

d20	Name	Description
1	Yvonne's Matchmaking Magpie	The result of an Mage's attempt to meddle within the lives of her followers, Matchmaking Magpies are considered mild, if amusing pests. These small birds will steal objects that are owned by potential couples, hiding them in the other's abode.
2	Dorician Notion Buzzard	Valued by the mages and scholars of Doru alike, the notion buzzard feeds upon failed ideas or endeavors. Wane and unhealthy looking, their droppings and molted feathers can be ground into a fine powder and smoked, which purportedly provide flashes of insight or inspiration. Non-Doricians are generally unconvinced.
3	Selkirk Oracular Canary	Widely held to be touched by some deity who holds dominion over prophecy or time, these unassuming canaries have the ability to cast Locate Animal/Plants, Augury & Find Traps 3/day. Oracular Canaries are highly valued by anyone who works in a high-risk profession.
4	Kaidan Whispering Nightjar	While many of the complaints of travelers through Kaidan center on the whispering nightjars, they are seen fondly by the inhabitants. These nocturnal birds use snippets of humanoid speech or screams in their songs, mimicking words that they hear in passing and calling them out to one another.
5	Jokorian Carnivorous Tinamou	These ankle-high, flightless and dull-feathered creatures have a taste for flesh, but prefer the taste of humanoids above all others. They come in a variety of browns and greens and they travel in hunting pods numbering between 15-30 members, racing with abandon through the jungles of Jokor.
6	Saoghalian Four-footed Sparrow	Competitors to the local rodent population, these wingless four-footed sparrows are a common sight in and around the city-state of Saoghalia. Reportedly the final "gift" of an archmage to the city, these four-footed pests have an uncanny ability worm their way into nearly any vertical structure and breed in explosive numbers.
7	Auyyuahian Scintillating Hummingbird	Fully diurnal, these gorgeous birds are often glimpsed from afar, but wise travelers avert their gazes if they grow close. The silvery feathers of the birds can catch the light with enough power to blind onlookers, sometimes permanently searing their sight from them. The now-blinded fool is easy prey for the razor sharp feathers of the Hummingbird.
8	Ymirian Giant Pine Shrike	Fearful figures to the inhabitants of the far north, the giant pine shrike is large enough to carry off horses or other cattle. They then impale their hapless prey onto the points of tree branches, or any other convenient sharp outcropping large enough to support the weight.
9	Porthas' Hydra Goose	Held to be a species summoned from the lower depths, the Hydra Goose was first observed by a Conjurer during an archmage's retirement party. These geese initially appear to be normal members of their species, but upon being killed through violence, their true nature reveals itself. Each time the goose is killed, a new head bursts forth from it's neck, the creature only seeming to grow more enraged in the process. A goose can typically grows 3d4 heads in this way before finally expiring.
10	Zelazian Sandsprinter	These flightless birds are endemic to the dunes of Zelazia, and are seen as an example of ideal behavior for the nomads who hail from there. The sandsprinter can move far faster than the eyes of most humanoids, able to dodge blows or projectiles with ease. When a sandsprinter senses a pair of eyes upon it, they drop to the ground and attempt to camouflage themselves.
11	Nessah's Cloudjay	A species of birds which make their home in the firmament itself. Cloudjays come in a wide variety of whites, greys and blacks. These footless birds never land once they hatch, and they have a measure of control over the weather itself, able to cast both Fog & Gust of Wind 3/day as an 8th level caster.
12	Ceiwannian Fencing Crane	A common sight along the river and lake shores of the elven highlands, the fencing crane is given a wide berth by humanoids and animals alike. These graceful blue-feathered creatures are an inspiration to the duelists of their homelands and a source of injuries for unwary anglers. Fencing cranes can strike hard enough to pierce plate, and they can cast True Strike 3/day.
13	Dolchean Bursting Robins	Less of a pest than an existential threat, bursting robins nest in the volcanic vents on the eastern slopes of the Dolchean range. Feeding primarily on precious or ferrous metals, these small and quick birds are common sights around settlements where they often attack the well to do or those with obvious jewelry. If struck too hard or pierced, the birds pop, releasing a spatter of magma around them.
14	Cernunnokian Twisting Dodo	The screeching, yowling cry of a twisting dodo is the center of many nightmares for the dwellers of the underdark. These skinny, flightless birds have a thick, almost rubbery hide that they can use to wiggle and push their way through even the smallest openings. Operating in clutches of 5-7 individuals, these waist-high birds will lie in wait in gaps within cave walls, or near the shores of abyssal lakes.
15	Tueh's Lordly Owl	Considered to be a symbol of the Maagluurtet royal family, they lordly owl is feared by travelers of the plateau for its uncanny ability to call creatures of the wild. 3/day the lordly owl can cast Animal Summoning I. They are known to be intelligent, and can be bribed or placated.
16	Chardonian Graffiti Parrot	Looking as if they stepped out of some mad artist's dream, graffiti parrots come in a riotous range of colors. While that alone would make them worthy of their title, graffiti parrots gained their name by their ability to sink against flat surfaces, hiding themselves as two-dimensional paintings while they are at rest. Many nobles of the island pay handsomely for captured parrots to decorate their homes.
17	Volmusian Castle Starling	The fortified timber homes of these starlings are a common sight within the boreal forests of the Volmus region. Equipped with a particularly robust beak, the castle starling will tear away large sections of bark or branches, bringing the pieces back and using them to create remarkably well-constructed nests. Abandoned nests are often used by the native halflings as lean-tos or emergency shelters.
18	Sivardian Portal Pigeons	Beginning as nothing more than an elaborate entertainment for the Storm Giants which make the Plains of Sivard their homes, the portal pigeons long ago escaped the Giant's sky castle homes. Portal pigeons can collectively open up small tears in reality, allowing their flocks to slip around in strange or otherwise impossible angles.
19	Lovet's Soothing Wren	Valued for the wondrously soporific effect of their songs, these tiny brown-feathered birds are more commonly seen as the pets for the nobility than in the wild. Soothing wrens can cast Sleep 3/day as a 5th level caster.
20	Gobluggian Comet Falcon	The streaking profile of a comet falcon is often the last sight that the unwary see before meeting their end. Lurking high up in the skies of the deserts of Goblug, these falcons use their prodigious speed to simply slam into their prey hard enough to cause localized explosions. These falcons can cast Fireball 2/day as a 7th level caster.

     As always, thanks for reading! If you're feeling up for it, I'd love a follow, and I've also set up a patreon for anyone who is kindly enough to help me eat.

Shanghai Shadowrun Part II - Thank you Jumbo Jackpots!

 

     

     Howdy there folks! Thanks for tuning into for another installment of my Shadowrun 4e campaign overview. This is the skeleton for the second chapter of my game set in Shanghai and focusing on the Four Coins of Luck. While the Coins haven’t been introduced to my players yet, they will be alluded to over the course of the next couple of sessions, and then introduced into the narrative during the next arc.

Hunt down the surviving members of the Glowing Eyes Circle and either drive them out of Shanghai or into the ground. No need to be quiet for this; in fact you probably shouldn’t be.

     The murder of Sagacious Cho at the behest of the Red Dragon Association Red Pole called Silvereyes by the PCs has left a power vacuum that the White Paper Fan known as Lao Long cannot abide. After a short meeting, the gang leader gives them a simple deal, with a simply pay-off: Cho’s old crew has to go, and in return, they get the Jumbo Jackpots. Being a primarily Matrix-based gang, the GEC is distributed throughout the Pudong district in the few safe houses that they still have managed to keep secret from the onslaught of the newly arrived techno-nomad tribe called Godzilla’s Breath. The safe-houses of note are:

• The Black Silicon Tortoise – A Matrix Hotspot and retro VR-game and BTL arcade, this dingy shop is located a few blocks west of the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, and is a common hang-out for bored college students and white collar workers blowing off steam after their shift. There’s no seedy backroom, or anything untoward going on here beyond money laundering; the huge number of digital transfers makes hiding illegal ones within the stream child’s play. The defenses of the shop are minimal, the only guns on the premises are whatever weapons the gang members have on them, and there’s a pair of security cameras-- one at the outside entrance, the other inside and pointed down at the counter and till. There’s usually three or four GEC members around at any given time.

• Pudong Municipal Power Monitoring Substation #122 – Located adjacent to one of the major matrix nodes in the Southeast Pudong district, Monitoring Substation #122 was quietly suborned by a small group of GEC Deckers around two years ago. Breaking into the small building and moving in over the course of several weeks, the Deckers set up a back-channel into not only the power system of the district, but the nearby matrix node as well. With their hooks firmly dug into the local systems, the GEC here are able to act as digital headquarters for the gang as a whole. The building has a razor wire fence, a camera on each corner of the building, and a small automated turret mounted on the roof, close to the front door. The substation is staffed by a crew of three Deckers, with some muscle to back them up in the form of four moderately chromed out toughs. The GEC who work out of here are exceptionally paranoid

• Cheerful Apple Beauty Salon – A busy and well-maintained shop in the middle-class Jianping Red Flower Market, this unassuming front acts as the main repository for the GEC’s hard copies of valuable or sensitive data that the gang has stolen over the years. Though the gang does not expect violence in such a public location, the five Street Samurai and Decker assigned to watch over the trio of backrooms that contain the gang’s holdings are all armed, and supported by a small militarized drone. The employees of the beauty salon are well aware of who they are truly working for, and will not give up information easily. Conversely, they also won’t fight on the GEC’s behalf.

     For their parts, both the GBs and Red Dragon want to see the GEC gone, but they will give anything more than token support without exacting a public cost from the Party. The Godzillas are looking to take over the remainder of the GEC’s matrix holdings, and could care less about any storefronts or other existent locations. The Red Dragon as a whole could care less, but Lao’s Crew sees the gang’s removal as an opportunity to expand their street presence, as well as to eliminate a pesky black mark on their otherwise “sterling” legal reputation. Unwilling to potentially exacerbate a potentially district-wide gang war, Wuxing Security has taken a hands-off approach to the ongoing conflict between the Otaku and GEC—a policy which would not change should the PCs become obviously involved as well. Short of the use of explosives or obvious daytime murders, Wuxing Security will not involve themselves.

Aftermath from the Disney Job

     Aside from the cleanup they need to do for Lao Long, the Players were largely successful in their endeavor; the animatronics were undamaged (if bloody) and no one connected to the job was killed besides Cho, but Cheung Wingji is fine with him being dead. It saves her the trouble. She also pays them to the tune of ¥80,000!

     Unfortunately for Mr. Magoo, Disney Security has caught wind of him through the residual traces of magic from his illusory terrain trick. While his particular signature has not been identified, some the happiest corporate security mages on earth are hard at work trying to run down the culprits, led by Karine Delafonse. An intelligent magus under the tutelage of Sky Father, Karine hopes to impress her superiors by bringing the case in as quickly as possible. She and her squad are reviewing security footage and questioning any and all techs involved in the shipping and repair process of those particular animatronics.

     Impressed with their brutal murder of Cho, Silvereyes offers the players another target: a reticent pimp named Quan Honghua who nominally works under the employ of the Electric Devil Brotherhood. Honghua has decided to stop paying up to his superiors, and the EDB asked Silvereyes to do the job. Mr. Quan is decently chromed out, possessing Wired Reflexes I, Cybereyes, and a Forearm Gun.

NPCs

GEC Decker

B	A	R	S	C	I	L	W	ESS	Init	IP	CM
2	3	2	3	2	4	4	3	5.4	8	1	10

Skills: Pistols 1, Data Search 2, Electronics Group 4.

Cyberware: Cybereyes, Datajack.

Gear: Armor Vest, Streetline Special

GEC “Street Samurai”

B	A	R	S	C	I	L	W	ESS	Init	IP	CM
3	3	4	3	3	3	2	3	3.2	9	1	10

Skills: Dodge 2, Perception 2, Pistols 2, Unarmed Combat 3

Cyberware: Cybereyes, Retractable Spur, Smartlink

Gear: Armor Jacket, Colt American L36

Disney Security Investigator – Karine Delafonse

B	A	R	S	C	I	L	W	ESS	M	Init	IP	CM
3	3	4	3	3	5	4	4	6	5	7	1	10

Skills: Assensing 3, Astral Combat 3, Pistols 3, Conjuring 3, Banishing 3, Sorcery Group 3.

Gear: Armor Vest, Beretta Model 101T

Spells: Detect Life, Light, Physical Barrier, Powerbolt, Silence, Stunball

Idiot Pimp Burned by their Own Gang – Quan Honghua

B	A	R	S	C	I	L	W	ESS	Init	IP	CM
4	4	4	3	3	3	2	3	2.3	12	2	11

Skills: Dodge 3, Perception 3, Pistols 3, Long Arms 2, Unarmed Combat 3

Cyberware: Cybereyes, Retractable Spur, Smartlink, Wired Reflexes I, Wrist-mounted Smartgun

Gear: Armor Jacket, Stun Baton

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Dragon Seeking Dungeon - a Courting and Marriage generator

Source is Fredrik K. T. Andersson

     Hey folks. It's yet another entry in my demographic generator series! Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so we're going to go over Love and Marriage

     Ah, love. Everyone wants it, everyone needs it. The way that we structure relationships seems familiar, natural even. But a married couple isn't even the only conception of love and commitment that shows up in our world. While polyamory has recently made a return in the West, polygyny is common in many parts of the world and has been for centuries. While arguably colonialism and industrialization destroyed or curtailed many of these ways of life, they are still completely valid and successful ways to raise a family or love your partner(s). Fantasy settings would be no different, arguably offering an even wider array of possible arrangements.

     To use this generator, simply roll 4d8 and consult the relevant results below. This is obviously a fraught topic, so I've tried to make most of the results as generic as possible.

d8	How does courting work?
1-3	Person meets Person, sparks fly and knots get tied.
4	It is generally arranged by the families of the betrothed, sometimes years in advance.
5	Arranged through benign community rituals—dances, mixers, games and festivals.
6	Outsiders are preferred, sometimes not necessarily willingly.
7	Courtship happens in secret, and the new lovers are simply announced once the marriage is.
8	Marriages here are only allowed if those entering it are of the same social class/caste.

d8	How are relationships structured?
1-3	Monogamy, two partners of usually equal standing.
4	Serial Monogamy, much like the above, but separations are not recognized.
5	Polyandry, feminine individuals may have multiple partners.
6	Polygyny, masculine individuals may have multiple partners.
7-8	Plural Marriage, multiple partners of any gender, generally attached to another equally.

d8	How are children reared?
1-3	The parents raise children between them, in a distinct and separate household.
4-5	Children are raised communally by their extended family.
6-7	The community as a whole raises children. They kids may not even know their parents.
8	Children are sent away to another location, perhaps another community, to be raised in a particular fashion.

d8	Who is property passed on to?
1	Oldest son.
2	The oldest daughter.
3	All brothers equally.
4	All sisters equally.
5	All children equally.
6	The family as a whole.
7	The community as a whole.
8	No one—goods are buried with the deceased.

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