Fluffy Duck

The Lengths One Will Go for a Friend

"Alright Erik, I got good news and....uh....news. The good news is that's definitely Olaf in there, and as far as I can tell he's the one in control. His soul seems real excited to see us again too. But this whole sentient magic item thing is tricky stuff, you see, there's like a dozen other ducks in there and I have no idea why. Did Olaf have any friends?"

— Spirit

---

On the surface, this is just a simple duck plushie. But an extremely well crafted one, to be fair. It's made to resemble a specific species of duck native to The North, which explains the extremely fluffy appearance and bright colors accenting its "feathers". One of its wings appears to be cut short. Despite its mundane nature, attuning to it reveals that the duck is, in fact, alive and well.

By all accounts it's basically a duck. It looks like one, acts like one, tries to eat and drink like one and seemingly doesn't know it itself is a plushie. Although this means you'd most likely have to clean it twice as much as you probably expected to. One could only imagine the absolutely dreadful stench that would build up after a swim at the lake. But I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle.

The magical nature doesn't end there, however. For reasons that one could only assume was a botched ritual, or perhaps numerous successful rituals, a thorough casting of Detect Spirits reveals that while only one spirit is in control the plushie is actually inhabited by dozens more. Moreover, it has the ability to summon them for short periods of time. But before you get your hopes up, it's still a duck, a duck that will only use the ability if it feels like it.

The story of this artifact begins with a friendship, one between Erik, Spirit, and Olaf. Valkyr, Knight, and Duck. Erik and Spirit had grown up together in a quaint little Valkyrian village along the Southern border of The North, just past the the gap in the mountains. The two were about as gentle a pair of souls as you could get in a place like this, but despite their happy little life in the village they found themselves longing for adventure. One that would take them beyond the mountains to see the places they've only heard stories of from passing travellers, a forest where the trees turned to stone, a grassy field stretching far beyond the horizon dotted with massive runestone conduits, ancient ruins filled with treasure, a vast mushroom grove as tall as trees and rich with magic and fae, all they needed was a final push to get them out the door.

Olaf was that push. One day, while the two were out ice fishing, they had stumbled upon a rather distressing sight. A duckling, seemingly old enough to be able to fly, was stumbling through the powdery snow and weakly quacking for a mother nowhere to be seen. By The North's standards, Winter was upon them and even the native ducks should've long since migrated to warmer weather. The pair realized that the duck was injured, a rather nasty wound and infection plagued its wing and left it completely unable to fly. If they wanted to save it, they had to bring it to a warmer climate themselves. And thus, they were finally thrusted into a life of adventure. Although the wound never did heal completely.

Years passed, Erik, Spirit, and Olaf now lived in Stonewood running an apothecary tucked away somewhere in a secluded corner of Market Town. Life was good, but the inevitable soon caught up with them. Olaf had passed on. Obviously the two were grief stricken, but stronger was the feeling of satisfaction for giving Olaf the best life they could. Spirit had crafted a stuffed animal in Olaf's likeness, a memento to remind them of the adventures that brought them here. For most, this would be where the story reaches an end, but this world we live in can be a quirky place.

It began on the first anniversary of his passing, the two had started the adorable tradition of going on a pub crawl to search for any bartenders who knew how to mix Fluffy Ducks (a rather obscure cocktail) to drink in Olaf's honor. Upon returning home, discussion of Olaf turned to the plushie, which then turned to loot, which turned to the concept of sentient magic items. Thus hatching a plan that only a pair of grief stricken adventurers absolutely positively blasted on obscure cocktails could cook up. Crafting sentient loot was possible, they knew that much, but could they bring him back?

Months of rigorous study and preparation followed. Endless research into Soul-Threading, Wizardry, the Arcane, anything even remotely related to their quest and anyone that would be willing to help. The second anniversary was soon upon them, and if his soul was to be at its most potent it would be then. The ritual lasted throughout the night, failed attempt after failed attempt after failed attempt. Until the summoning turned to pleading turned to begging turned to weeping to exhaustion, they never even remembered when they collapsed.

They were woken up by a sound they never thought they'd hear again. The softened pitter patter of fluffy webbed feet dashing across the parchment and runestone riddled floor.

Rarity

• Rare/Legendary

Type

• Sentient Magic Item, Artifact

Association

• Valkyr/Knight

Common Price

• Priceless

Additional Notes

• At first, the duck is completely unaware of the fact that it's a plushie. This is both adorable and concerning.


• It will act like a duck. It will try to eat, it will try to drink, it will try to swim, fly, and run around. It will only succeed at running around.


• The real fun begins when the duck realizes it can't be hurt in a way that matters. Then you really have your work cut out for you.


• All this being said, the duck is way more intelligent than it has any right to be. About on the same level as a crow or raven.

Mechanics

• In the context of a game, this functions as a familiar you must attune to/invest in.


• If for some godforsaken reason you want to utilize it in combat, I think having it run up aggresively to an enemy while flapping its wings in order to distract or intimidate them would make sense.


• As long as you have some form of sewing kit you can always heal it.


• But the duck is not without a signature power. Befriending it will grant you the Swarm of Spectral Feathers ability.
• Note: This is the duck's ability, it will use it whenever it feels like it. But if you two are super close it'll want to try and help out with whatever you're doing.

Swarm of Spectral Feathers

"Bathed in the light of the sky-blue arcane circle under plush, webbed feet, the Fluffy Duck calls upon a legion of spectral ducks to join your party. You, uh, you can't really command them but they
seem to like you."

• Magical Action


• Prerequisite: You're friends with the duck.


• 1d8+CHA Spectral Ducks appear within 10ft of the caster. They give off light, follow the caster's lead, and dissappear after one hit or until dispelled.

• You can't control these ducks either, but man it's a hell of a spectacle that's for sure.

Master Jontaro

Jon

       

While I would love to go on an adventure, writing them is enough for me.