Robber Squirrels
Once the shipment arrives at the kingdom it seems that all the boxes are empty and for some reason most of the coins were replaced with small rocks and acorns.
Though native to the Bone Forest, they have been seen all over as they follow those with riches and good food. The thing that makes these squirrels so interesting is their seemingly extra-dexterous hands that can both pick locks and unfasten clasps alike with great ease. Though most of the time the squirrels take only a little to avoid being noticed, a much larger pack was reported to have taken everything off of a 7 cart caravan that was transfering a large shipment of both assorted foods and fine jewelery. Though they have no use seemingly for the jewelry other than lining their nests, they take it none the less out of habit of the master that trained them. Originally just black squirrels, Billy Trull found, trained, and bred the most inteligent and dexterous ones and he came with what would eventually be called 'the robber squirrels'. Though they have gone by other names and their deeds are often mistaken as omens of either haunting or angry forest spirits, they have no knowledge or care of things destroying the forest as they can survive fine in the city just as well as they do in the forest.
History
Billy Trull, a rogue of great note, was born in the City of Two Halves to a poor prostitute and a thankless john. Having been born into the slums of the city he had grown up wishing for better. As he grew older he found he had a knack for training animals and stealing things, and when he decided to strike it out he achieved a great many things, one of his lesser known achievements was one of the most annoying breeds of squirrels known to man.
Encountering the Beast
When the PCs first encounter the squirrels they will notice, if they do well enough, that all the squirrels in this area are black and have little white crests on their chests, and while they look to be the size of ordinary squirrels they travel in small packs of 5 to 7. Whether these are being controlled by a greater force, such as a small band of bandits, or working for the purpose Billy created them for, to provide for the needy.
Sorry this is a bit short :/ still I look forward to your comments and criticism
A couple squirrels have escaped their keeper and met some other feral squirrels in the nearby woods. Over time, the feral squirrels adapted their ways to the trained ones and now they rob haphazardly throughout the woods. From pick pocketing sleeping travelers to taking stuff off of resting carriages, nobody is safe.
Because they have no master to take it to, and after they kept the soft things for their lair, the rest is strewn randomly throughout the forest, dropped whenever they get tired of carrying it or when it falls out of their mouth/paws.
Many children (and even more adults) have gotten very lucky finding jewelry walking through the woods so it has become a popular past-time of the locals. Whenever they hear of a new robbery, most of the locals sneak out into the woods to do a walking search. Few, if any, would ever tell those that were robbed about the situation.
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? Responses (8)
This is a great idea!
I love it just as it is as I can steal the main thought and run with it!
I actually really like these cheeky vermin! Nice work, Jojo - a simple idea with plenty of uses! I can see the folk of the area going on great treasure hunts to find the bests of these squirrels! Pcs can hunt for the nest as a lighthearted adventure, or perhaps a macguffin was stolen from them while they slept and they must seek it out in the forest!
sometimes it is the simplest of ideas that are the most useful.
one tiny gripe i have is that you seem to be misspelling 'rogue'; not a major concern through :)
good work! Keep em coming!
Quite cool.
For constructive criticism, I would suggest reading your text out loud to yourself. There are some odd sentences that should stand out when read aloud.
I echo Strolen, the idea of thieving squirrels trained to snatch stuff is a great one that I can run with. I'd probably push them towards a darker vibe somehow as well. Perhaps there are (silly or not) legends of a fantastic treasure hoard somewhere in the forest, belonging to the black squirrels. Things stolen and piled up after many many years of thievery. Finding it is nigh impossible. And though the hoard is huge, it has only things a squirrel can carry. A mountain of trinkets!!
I also get a vision of an 'annual' unfortunate event in some town on the forest's bawn. Once a year a swarm of hundreds (thousands!?) of squirrel thieves descend on the town like locusts and steal anything they can carry.
I don't want to steal your idea, but I love it so much I really wish you would add it to the additional ideas section; with a massive attack of robber squirrels every few years it could be much more profitable to go into the woods and seek out the treasure horde of these beasts and maybe you even find an ancient squirrel that is behind the attacks
A nice idea, could have been a bit more elaborate though.
I could realy use this, especialy if they leave it somewhere close.
This is a neat creature concept! I like the fact that you left enough mystery around the squirrels themselves to leave missing items to interpretation. I also like that the Squirrels are not natural thief's and are bread as such rather than just a natural pest other than being Squirrels. Very good lore, very concise, very well worded, and an over all neat concept. Keep up the good work!