This was my very first blog post, and my entry in Erik Jensen’s Wampus Country Summer Contest. In true Wampus fashion, quench bears are obviously modeled after Smokey the Bear, but I didn’t want to make that connection explicit at the time, for reasons I cannot recall. I never did run anything quite like Wampus Country, but I can still credit it with motivating me to blog!
Recovered: Fire! Fire!
Quench bears fighting an elemental.
Lost in the woods, our heroes make camp for the night. Ms. Lulubelle lights a Fire using the matchbook earlier picked from the pockets of the Rude Gentleman. She swears the Fire speaks to her, but Mr. Rumpscullion reminds both her and the Fire that fires simply do not speak, and retires for the evening. Ms. Lulubelle wishes aloud for some company and, overhearing, the Fire offers to assist her in the matter, if only she will carry him to a nearby tree. Ms. Lulubelle obliges, but the spreading fire attracts the attention of a family of bears who knock over the tree, stomp out the fire, and abduct Ms. Lulubelle to be tried on suspicion of arson. Mr. Rumpscullion awakes in the morning and reluctantly begins to follow the bear tracks deeper into the woods.
The Rude Gentleman’s Matchbook
This matchbook has a glossy red finish with an elegant but meaningless gold symbol stamped on the front. It is found with 1d10 matches in it, each of which functions normally. However, the first time one is used to light a fire each day, it summons a weak fire elemental which is not hostile to the caster, but under no obligation to be helpful either.
Weak fire elementals have only one hit die, but the same special qualities as their stronger kin: they can only be harmed by magic or magical weapons, any victim using cold-based attacks will suffer an additional 1d8 damage from the elemental, and they are unable to cross more than 1′ of water.
A full complement of dormant elementals. Source was Wikimedia Commons, but it's not there anymore.
Quench Bears
It is commonly known that some water spirits take the form of fish. It is less known however, that rarely a fishing bear will eat one of these fish, and take on some aspect of its spirit. These “quench bears” invariably hate fires and seek to put them out immediately by whatever means available, including smothering them with their own incombustible hides.
A quench bear has statistics as a grizzly (brown) bear, but lacks the “bear hug” ability. Instead, the bear is treated as though it wears a ring of fire resistance: it is resistant to all normal fire, all other fire damage is reduced by 2 points per die, and it makes saves against fire at a +4 bonus.
Firefighters in quench-bear hides.
| Weak Fire Elemental | Quench Bear | |
|---|---|---|
| No. Enc. | 1 (1) | 1d4 (1d4) |
| Alignment | Neutral | Neutral |
| Movement | 120’ (40’) | 120’ (40’) |
| Armor Class | 6 | 6 |
| Hit Dice | 1 | 5 |
| Attacks | 1 strike | 3 (2 claws, bite) |
| Damage | 1d8 | 1d3/1d3/1d6 |
| Save | F0 | F2 |
| Morale | 10 | 8 |
| Hoard Class | Nada | VI |
| XP | 16 | 200 |
This post was first shared on July 27, 2012.