Beast Feast

Doug Dougle is a round bellied halfling, chestnut hair combed and shaped like a pompadour with way too much pomade and oil. His cheeks are always rosy, and his bright blue eyes are slightly too wide, like a man who is constantly surprised by the consequences of his own decisions. He wears overly ornate festival robes, a large mayoral sash that hangs down to his ankles embroidered with stew pots, ladles, or the Elmore crest. His pockets are stuffed with papers and he carries a scroll case with all his speeches, and there are many. Doug was born into the sprawling, slightly chaotic, Dougle clan. A family known for loud opinions, louder festivals, and the family business. Surrounded by cousins, stew pots, and constant noise, Doug found a passion in the Stewpot Festivals. He volunteered and worked his way up to the entertainment director where he also found another passion in public speaking. He ran for Mayor on a Festival platform, bigger stew pots, larger celebrations, and a goat parade. The town thought it was hilarious, but no one ran against him, so he won.

Closely related, much to her chagrin, to Mayor Doug Dougle, Lidda was born and raised in Elmore. Though Lidda and the Elmore Town Council have been running Elmore for years, she was never interested in the public facing position of Mayor as she also runs The Screaming Goat, the local tavern and inn. She is a halfling with bright eyes, flour dusted auburn curls tied back with a stew patterned scarf, and a genuine smile that feels like you've come home. Her apron is always covered in flour and spices, her sleeves rolled up, she's always moving with brisk efficiency, has at least three lists, two backup plans, and zero patience for her cousin's nonsense. She loves him, but also sighs every time he opens his mouth.

Rowan Hearthwell is a broad shouldered, barrel chested, gentle giant of a human. Raised in Elmore, but as a young lad took a cooking job inside the Plover Caves at a Berry's restaurant, and when Rowan retired he opened The Dough Below bakery back in his home town. Despite his large stature he's the kind of person who hands you a pastry before you realized you needed one. Rowan is the calm center of Elmore. Steady, quietly wise, and beloved by everyone, always expect a wide toothy smile in greeting.

Elira, a Loreborne Elf researcher, she came to the Plover Caves to study the unique mineral magic ecosystem. Her long elf ears are adorned with crystal charms, her pale hair braided, large brown eyes, and a calming, observant elegance. She went in expecting to catalog fungi and crystal growth patterns, and instead found a gentle human baker who could explain cave strata better than half her colleagues who were three times his age.

Raised around the various humanoids of Elmore, Beren is the kind of goblin to pick up their manners, but not long enough to lose his goblin edge. He's clever, organized, and has a knack for acquiring things people didn't realize they needed. Beren is a wiry goblin with leaf green skin, amber eyes, and long expressive ears with a mismatched trio of tiny brass rings. He keeps his black hair short and tied back, and dresses in layered shopkeepers leathers, patched and smeared in ink, with a deep blue apron covered in pockets, each stuffed with tools, receipts, and other mysterious trinkets.

Clink stands just over six feet tall, built of dark iron plates with some copper filigree detailing. His chest cavity glows with a steady ember light, pulsing brighter whenever he works the forge. His face is a smooth metal mask with two warm, orange eyes that brighten when he's pleased, and large, but precise hand and finger joints clink softly when he moves. He wears a blacksmithing leather apron, not because he needs it but because Lidda insists it makes Clink look "professional". Though Clink doesn't know his creator, he does feel his internal core syncs with the forge itself.

When harvesting ingredients, roll d20 on each relevant table and use the combination to inspire what they gather. If one of the options doesn't fit the scenario, choose another that does. Beasts: 1. Feet 2. Powder 3. Limb 4. Belly 5. Fat 6. Eggs 7. Marrow 8. Tongue 9. Brain 10. Ribs 11. Organ 12. Flesh 13. Stones 14. Eyes 15. Jelly 16. Horn 17. Meat 18. Scales 19. Wings 20. Secretion Blooms: 1. Flower 2. Roots 3. Stems 4. Leaves 5. Bulbs 6. Nuts 7. Seeds 8. Bark 9. Berries 10. Fruit 11. Sap 12. Pollen 13. Fungi 14. Nectar 15. Pods 16. Herbs 17. Algae 18. Moss 19. Grain 20. Rind Any Ingredient: 1. It's particularly tender. 2. It's still wriggling. 3. It looks like something it isn't. 4. It has a pungent smell. 5. It's brightly colored. 6. It's completely translucent. 7. It's an odd size or shape. 8. It has unique markings. 9. It recoils from the light. 10. It withers in the dark. 11. It smells unbelievably good. 12. It has an unexpected texture. 13. It's encased in something. 14. It's filled with something. 15. It's emitting a colorful gas. 16. It comes apart in layers. 17. It must be prepared in a strange way. 18. It's leathery or cartilaginous. 19. It's brittle. 20. It's deadly when consumed raw.

Beast maximum HP determines how many ingredients they produce. 4 or lower: 1 ingredient 5-6: 2 ingredients 7-9: 3 ingredients 10 or higher: 4 ingredients PCs can also obtain ingredients from their environment (Blooms), and once per rest, each PC can spend a hope to gather blooms from their surroundings. Use the Blooms table, then player roll their Hope Die and gain one bloom with a flavor profile based on the following table: 1-2: Sweet 3-4: Salty 5-6: Bitter 7-8: Sour 9-10: Savory 11-12: Weird Every harvested ingredient gathered has a flavor profile, each flavor has a die size associated with it: Sweet (d4) Salty (d6) Bitter (d8) Sour (d10) Savory (d12) Weird (d20) A flavor's strength is a value between 1 and 3, which is the number of the flavor's associated dice the players roll when cooking with the ingredient. Example; Mushroom Caps: Bitter(1), Savory(2) or Rileroot: Bitter(1), or Direbear meat: Savory(3). Mushroom Caps: 2d12+1d8 or Rileroot: 1d8, Direbear meat: 3d12. This gives the party 5d12s, and 2d8s as the meals flavor dice to start. Gather all the ingredients flavor dice and roll them, looking for any matching values. If there are no matching values, discard a single die and roll again to continue cooking. Collect matching values off to the side and continue rolling. When only 1 die is left then the meal is done! Next take each set of matched dice (can consist of two or more dice per set) and find their values (a set of 3s is 3, a set of 4s is 4) then add their values for a Meal Rating. All PCs who eat the meal can individually use the value of the Meal Rating to clear Hit Points, clear Stress, and gain Hope, dividing this value however they'd like. *Anytime a party makes a dish with the same flavor profile as another recipe they've previously recorded in their cookbook, they should add a number of tokens equal to the party's current tier to their pool of flavor dice. When they must discard a die, they can instead discard one of these tokens.

A large, warm, bustling tavern facing south towards the town square, slightly overshadowing the bakery and general store on either side with exterior porches for the rental rooms above. This four story stone and wood building is rustic with mismatching lanterns, stew and baked bread scented air, and a giant wooden carving depicting a goat mid scream, mouth open, eyes wild, and tongue out. Inside the walls are covered in festival banners, flowers and tablecloths in the bright festival colors, goat themed decorations, and above the public hearth a framed portrait of a goat wearing a tiny mayoral sash. Above the kitchen entrance sits a ceremonial ladle on a plaque etched with all the years the tavern's recipes won at the festival. Here there is the sounds of clinking mugs, laughter, and a random goat bleat, though no one knows why. Goat Scream Stew; spicy, hearty, and beloved. Clears 1 Stress, or creates a buffer for 1 Stress if eaten before a fight. Festival Frybread; sweet, warm, and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. The Ladle Breaker Platter; a massive sampler plate meant for groups. Screaming Cider; a fizzy drink that makes you involuntarily "baaaah" on the first sip.

A warm, fragrant, rustic bakery built partially into the shallow stone rise beside The Screaming Goat, with a gabled roof and a thick stone smokestack. It's sign is a carved loaf of bread with stylized looking cave runes etched into the crust that reads "Baked with the blessing of the caves." Inside the air is thick with cinnamon, rising dough, and comforting crackle of a stone oven. The walls are decorated with cave motifs of spirals, little carved plover birds, and painted handprints by the town children. Cave Crust Loaf; dense, hearty, with a cracked top. Festival Twists; braided bread with sweet glaze in festival colors, a festival staple. Plover Wing Pastries; light, flakey, and shaped like stylized plover birds. Travelers Rations; high quality, long lasting, perfect for adventurers. (Out of stock) Below Rise Rolls; cinnamon rolls that "rise from below" (Rowan's signature)

A sturdy wooden building with a deep green awning and a hand painted sign showing a satchel overflowing with goods. The windows are cluttered with lanterns, rop coils, jars of preserves, and a few other oddities. Inside has a surprisingly pleasant cedar, leather, dried herbs, and faint goblin cologne smell. Haphazard shelves and barrels showcase more supplies and a shelf of more oddities with a sign in big letters "DO NOT TOUCH". Behind the front counter or rummaging through the shop would be the owner, Beren Torsten. Basic Adventuring Gear; rope, lanterns, rations, waterskins, bedrolls. Festival Supplies; decorative ribbons, stew ladles, spice packets, lantern oil. Cave Curiosity Shelf; odd stones, glowing moss jars, and "definitely not cursed" trinkets. Health Kit; bandages, salves, herbal poultices. Local Goods; Rowan's travel rations, Elira's cave ink journals, and goat themed souvenirs. Bargain Barrel; discounted oddities, PCs roll loot options

On the south side of the square, facing the bakery is a squat, open, stone building with a soot black chimney and a sign depicting a hammer striking a glowing ember. The ember is made of real metal and enchanted to faintly hum when the forge is active. Years ago the town used to call this the Emberforge, a commissioned creation by the Hylaeus the Forest Mage to help the town defend themselves from monsters. When the forge was completed a clank body by an unknown artisan was left behind, and when Hylaeus placed the Lure inside the caves, the forge soon closed. Then, one day the Clank simply woke up, lit the coals, and began working on a new town bell and new farming tools. The town of Elmore decided to call him Clink and renamed the Forge. The forge provides everyday tools, precision metalwork, basic weapons, custom orders, and repairs.

Next to the Clinker Forge was once the Captain's home from back when Elmore paid for a small militia to keep them safe, now sits a quant, cottage style remodeled mayoral Residence. Cheerful with bright shutters, overflowing flower boxes, and a tiny fenced garden with a bench Doug uses to practice his speeches. Atop the gabled roof spins a weather vane shaped like a stew pot. It's welcoming, cozy and always smells like a savory stew is bubbling. Inside the main floor consists only of a meeting room overflowing with scrolls, half written speeches, and discarded drafts, and past the stairs to the bedroom is the kitchen. Thanks to Lidda the shelves are always stocked with festival spices amongst the clutter. Hidden behind Doug's trophy shelf under the ascending stairs is the entrance to the cellar below. A reinforced root cellar used as shelter during town emergencies. Doug doesn't know this, Lidda has convinced him it's for "important mayoral archives".

Built at the same time and next to the mayoral house stands the remains of the old barracks and bell tower, sitting at the conjunction of roads that lead over a bridge and into the Plover Forest. The barracks have been repurposed into a town hall for the Council, Coop, and Mayor to convene for government duties, town meetings, and such. Though the bell was initially dismantled after the Lure was placed in the Plover Caves and the threats vanished, Clink, ever the artisan, restored the bell and reinforced the frame, a beautifully forged bronze iron hybrid that rings across the valley warning neighboring villages and hamlets as well. Elmore still doesn't have a militia to speak of, so the townsfolk have created a rotation amongst themselves with strict instructions. If something moves in the trees, ring the bell and run! Inside the Town Hall is open, with tables and chairs set against walls until needed, lanterns strung from the low ceiling, and the Councils desks at the back, piled with paperwork and logbooks with terrible handwriting. At the back wall is the old warped, patched, still functional barracks door leading into the bell tower. On the other side is the old watch room at the base of the spiral stairs leading up the tower. Here there is a small stove with a worn kettle for those on rotation, and an old armory nook that now holds cleaning supplies and crates of festival decorations.

Elmore sits proudly atop a broad, rounded hill, it's rooftops rising like warm lanterns above the surrounding valley. The town is shaped by three forces: the river that curves around it, the forest that it watches, and the people who build their lives between the two. A U shaped river wraps around the eastern and northern sides of the hill, separating Elmore from the edge of the Plover Forest. The only crossing is a sturdy stone and timber bridge that leads directly into the Town Square. What was once the area used for soldiers and hired swords to protect the town, is now a vibrant, bustling main market, festival grounds, and the social center of Elmore. In the Elmore Town Square you'll find The Screaming Goat Tavern, market stalls of produce, meats, and crafts. The Clinker's Forge, shrines and small temples, street performers, hunters and traders both from far and Underborne from the Plover Caves. Elmore is a place of markets and music, terraced farms, faerie orchards, and diverse trade. Terraced Farms: The slopes of Elmore's hill are carved into broad terraces, each one a patchwork of crops, fences, and footpaths. From a distance, the farms look like green steps climbing up toward the town homes. Crops include root vegetables, grains, hardy greens, and rice in the patty farms. Jiraiya Farms: On the southwest slope, right against the river bend, lies Jiraiya Farms, run my a local Ribbit family. They specialize in water based crops, using clever irrigation channels and river fed pools or "pattys". Petaline Grove: Follow the cobbled paths north past the riverbank, and there is the Petaline Grove. A massive faerie run orchard known for glowing blossoms, singing bees, faeries who treat trees like kin, and the juiciest fruit around. The Hilltop Windmill: Perched near the top of the hill, just north of the Town Square, stands Elmore's iconic windmill. A pale stone base and broad wooden sails catch the valley winds with ease, turning steadily day and night. The Hilltop Windmill is more than a tool, it's a symbol of home, a constant reminder that the town endures through every season. It's one of the first structures to catch the morning sun and one of the last to fade at dusk. Elmore Tower: The northwest crest of the hill stands a castle style tone tower, older than the town itself. No one agrees who built it, but it did briefly host Hylaeus the Forest Mage when he was commissioned to build the Emberforge.