@Damien Dragonclaw

Date: Thursday, July 3rd, 2025

Location: The Forest of Dean

Reducio

Target: Fire Crab

Reducio

Howard had arrived at the location early as he was eager to get on with his very first, official contract. The doors to White & Co. Tracking Services had only been open for a few weeks and he was determined to have this first job go smoothly. One to notch up on the resume and also to prove to himself that all the hard work he had put in over the past year to earn the credentials needed was well worth the effort. Howard was physically gifted for the job given his unique set of skills. Dhampirs were natural hunters, so tracking something down with his heightened senses would be almost second nature, but now he had the mental aptitude for it as well. The young man was prepared.

The contract had arrived on his desk from an Auror by the name of Mr. Dragonclaw. Apparently the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures had requested his help dealing with a group of poachers and in the chaos something had gotten away. There had been repeated reports of a creature loose in the Forest of Dean with quite a unique description. The obliviators had dealt with the muggle sitings, but their reports beforehand had described a turtle-crab like creature covered in jewels and blasting fire out of its backend. Better know as a fire crab by the magical community and Howard had been tasked with tracking it down so that it could safely be returned to either its natural habitat or some kind of protected environment. Given the bedazzling jewels that grew from this creatures back, it came as no surprise that someone had tried to capture and move it hoping to farm the poor thing for profit. Luckily the fire crab had escaped with its life and now it was time to get it back where it belonged.

Howard was instructed to meet Mr. Dragonclaw at the last known location of the creature, which was deep within the forest. The Aurors had already dealt with the poachers, so now all they had to do was track this creature to wrap this all up. Howard looked more the part of muggle adventurer than he did a wizard, but function and protecting his sensitive skin from the sunlight was important. Now, he waited for Dragonclaw's arrival.

Outfit:

Reducio

Made by the amazing Prat Pass

@Damien Dragonclaw

Howard pulled down this face covering as people approached. It must be the aurors he was waiting on, but as he turned his brow rose in curiosity. The man approaching had a child in tow. Well, not a baby or anything, but a young lad still of schooling age. Howard looked around him and he figured it wasn't really all that dangerous out here. The report said that the poachers had already been apprehended and a fire crab could hurt you, but the chance of it being fatal near impossible. Nothing a bit of burn healing paste couldn't solve anyways.

"Hello, Mr. Dragonclaw, Damien." Howard greeted them both with a handshake. A clear give away that he was not entirely human as his flesh was stark white and his fingers ended in claws. "I don't mind him being here." He said with a shrug. Howard didn't mind showing younger people the ropes. In fact, he was quite a good teacher, but education was not his calling. The young man much preferred to be out in the field and you always learned more through real practice anyway. "Glad to have you on board, Damien. Now, since you're not allowed to use that wand of yours outside of school yet you should take this." Howard rummaged through his backpack and withdrew a classic slingshot and a pouch full of perfectly sized rocks. An odd choice considering he was armed with both talons and a wand, but one of these could saved your behind in a tight spot. "If that's alright with you, Mr. Dragonclaw?" Howard asked after the fact, but if the boy was going to be here he might as well participate.

"Now, we should get started while there is plenty of day left. Never know how long it could take. The Fire Crab was last seen in this area so it shouldn't take long to pick up its track." He provided some instructions before turning and beginning down the nearby path. "You both coming?" Howard was fine taking Damien by himself if the auror wanted stay behind. "This way." It was time to go!

As they moved further down the path, Howard would begin to slow his pacing and soon he would be crouching for a better look at the ground. "Damien, come look around here. Do you see any tracks? The creature had crab legs, so you're looking for thin lines etched into the dirt. Look carefully before moving on, you don't want to step on its tracks." Howard provided more instruction for the boy and would answer any questions he may have.

• Wisdom DC for noticing the tracks: 10
• Damien's Roll: 8 + 5 wisdom score = 13 (success)
• Howard's Roll: 2 + 1 wisdom score = 3 (fail)
• DC for Howard's keen smell ability: 10
• Howard's Roll: 17 (success)

Howard failed to notice any tracks in the dirt, but his keen sense of smell picked up on the scent of the Fire Crab. He would be able to track it by scent alone from here on out, but he waited to see if Damien could spot anything.

OOC Notes: This is what I had in mind for a moderated adventure. It uses our character's stats and abilities and a dice roll to determine success or failure. I find them to be quite fun, but if you don't enjoy it just owl me and we can plot it all out instead.

Made by the amazing Prat Pass

@Damien Dragonclaw

As introduction were made, Howard noticed a bit of a chill coming from the senior of the Dragonclaw's. There was no hiding the fact that he was a Dhampir. While some people Damien's age might not be able to pick up on it right away, any trained auror would mark Howard for what he was by sight alone. The young man had grown used to the loud, if not small percentage of witches and wizards that were intolerant of his kind and other half-breeds, but sometimes you still needed talent to get the job done. Regardless of race or creed. Howard had not hidden his Dhampirism in his file. Mr. Dragonclaw knew full well who he was hiring, but that was the underlying super power of the half-breeds. Argue their purity all you'd like. Those special talents put them in a class of their own.

Howard wouldn't wast anymore time with Mr. Dragonclaw as he gave his blessing for Damien to tag along and to use Howard's slingshot. Once the boring rules were out of the way it was time for the boy to learn how to use the weapon. "Alright, Damien. If you want to use that thing, let's practice a couple shots before we get started. Here, take a rock and place it in the pouch. See if you can hit the notch on that tree over there. Just pull back, steady your aim and the release." Howard mimicked the action so that the boy could get the gist of it. "If you miss, just try again till you get the hang of it."

• Accuracy DC for hitting the tree knot: 15
• Damien's Roll: 2 + 10 accuracy score = 12 (fail)
• Damien's Second Roll: 6 = 10 accuracy score = 16 (success)

"There ya go kid!" Howard offered encouragement as Damien hit the knot on only the second try. "You're a natural. You hold onto that slingshot, might come in handy." They would begin on the path and soon enough they would come across the tracks belonging to the Fire Crab. "You got a career in tracking ahead of you if you wanted." Howard was genuinely impressed that the kid could spot them so well. "Good job, now the hard part is keeping up with them. Let's take it slow and keep your eyes peeled." The pair of them would move deeper into the woods as Howard followed the scent and Damien the tracks in the dirt. Soon enough the path would begin to widen as a clearing was ahead. The came the sound. A whoosh that was clearly a gust of flames.

"Crouch low!" Howard whispered and motioned for the boy to get down. "Crawl up with me and let's get eyes on this thing." If Damien followed his instruction the pair would begin to crawl on their bellies just to where the treelike ended. There in the center of the clearing was a truly magnificent creature. The legs of a crab, the body and head of a turtle, but the true wonder was the ruby red crystals that grew straight out if it's shell! "Isn't that incredible?" Howard whispered to Damien. As pretty as it may be, this creature could not be left alone in these woods. It was out of its habitat and needed to be relocated. "Alright, kid. Decision time. I can distract it while you try to aim for the back of its head with the slingshot. A couple well placed shots should render it unconscious and then we can bag it for transport. Or you can play bait while I try to subdue it. What should we do?"

Choose your own adventure! Damien can enter the clearing and distract the crab with some lesser damage shots while Howard tries to sneak around. Or Howard can distract while Damien sneaks around to take a high damage shot from behind. Just RP whichever you would prefer and I will roll for success in my next post. Owl me if you have any questions.

Made by the amazing Prat Pass

@Damien Dragonclaw

"Perfect, I'll do my best to draw the crab's attention and when I give the signal, aim for the back of its head with the slingshot." It was one of the few weak spots the animal had and considering Damien's natural skill with the sling they just might pull this off. "Ok, go now as quiet as you can."

• Wisdom DC for fire crab noticing Damien: 15
• Crab's Roll: 10 (fail)

The fire crab would remain unaware of Damien's movement, allowing the boy to successfully sneak behind it for a good vantage point. Howard could barely contain the smile on his face as he watched. While this was a lower threat target it was still nice to have the company. Throughout many of his years at Hogwarts he had served as quidditch captain for team Hufflepuff and he took great pride in being their leader. It felt good to take up that role again, even if it was to just track and capture a crab.

Now it was Howard's turn to jump into action. With Damien set up for the shot he would stand up and rush out into the clearing. "Hey!" Howard shouted out as he prepared for a fight. The fire crab spun on the spot, its eyes narrowing as it locked onto the intruder. Mundane as they might be, that would not stop the animal from protecting itself. Before it could spin around to shoot its flames, Howard would lunge and attack.

• Crab's HP: 800 - 306 = 494 health remaining
• Crab's Accuracy and Evasion: 10 each
• Howard's attack accuracy (punch): 10 + 21 accuracy = 31 (success)
• Crab's Evasion: 7 + 10 evasion = 17 (fail)
• Howard's Damage: [100 x 21 str x 0.9]/5 = 306
• Howard's HP: 1700
• Crab attack (pincers): 11 + 10 accuracy = 21 (fail)
• Howard's evasion: 2 + 21 evasion = 23 (success)

Howard's strike would connect with the crab's turtle-like head with enough force to daze it slightly, but not to render it unconscious. Just as fast as Howard had attacked, the crab would retaliate and it was just by a hair that he would be able to avoid its sharpened pincers. "Now, Damien!" The tracker called out to his young companion.

• Crab's HP: 494 - 125 = 369 health remaining
• Damien's attack accuracy: 9 + 10 accuracy = 19
• Crab's evasion: 9 + 10 evasion = 19 (tied rolls = half damage)
• Damien's attack damage: Sling shot hits for 150 damage. Half damage due to tied roll = 75 + 50 (crab's weak spot) = 125 damage.
• Damien's HP: 500 - 100 = 400 health remaining
• Crab's attack (fire): 12 + 10 accuracy = 22 (success)
• Damien's evasion: 5 + 5 evasion = 10 (fail)
• Crab's damage: 100

Damien would draw back his slingshot and with a deft hand the boy would send a rock flying towards the crab with excellent accuracy. However, the animal was quicker than it looked. It almost nearly evaded the attack, but the rock hit the back of its head with a grazing blow. Just enough to further daze the creature, but still it would fight back. With another whoosh, flames would erupt from its backend as it instinctively defended itself. Damien would dodge and roll, but the flames would hit him. It was not enough to set him ablaze, just enough to cause a painful singe. "Careful! It knows you're there!" Howard shouted his warning to the boy, but it would be up to him on what to do next as the crab turned to face its new enemy.

Available actions: Damien can either run or stand his ground and attack. Choice is yours!

@Damien Dragonclaw

"Damien!" Howard called out as the burst of flames hit the young boy. He knew the attacks from this animal would not be lethal, but it was still enough to worry him as those burns could be serious. "Get out of there!" The boy should run now that the crab had caught sight of him, however he mustered his courage and stood his ground. Even though Howard was worried he had to admit that he felt proud of Damien in the moment. Most boys his age wouldn't have had the maturity to stay calm under the circumstance, but it would appear this young Ravenclaw had quite the mettle. Even thought the crab rushed him, Damien took aim and let another rock fly!

• Crab HP: 369 - 150 = 219 health remaining
• Damien's attack accuracy: 15 + 10 accuracy = 25 (success)
• Crab evasion: 12 + 10 evasion = 22 (fail)
• Damien's attack damage: Sling shot hits for 150 damage!
• Damien's HP: 400 - 75 = 325 health remaining
• Crab's attack (pincers): 11 + 10 accuracy = 21 (success)
• Damien's evasion: 6 + 5 evasion = 11 (fail)
• Crab's damage: 75

Damien's aim remained true even in the face of danger! With a steady hand he would draw the sling and hit the crab dead one for another devastating blow. The crab would shake its head and take a few wobbly steps as it was near defeat, but just a moment later it regained its footing and lashed out at young Damien! Howard lunged forward into action, however he was not quick enough and the crab's pincers would clamp down hard on the boy's leg. This was almost getting out of hand and needed to end now. Howard would draw his fist back for another blow just as the crab launched another burst of flames in his direction!

• Crab's HP: 219
• Howard's attack accuracy (punch): 1 + 21 accuracy = critical failure for rolling a 1
• Crab's evasion: N/A
• Howard's damage: slips and falls due to critical failure = -100 HP
• Howard's HP: 1700 - 100 - 100 = 1500 health remaining
• Crab's attack (flames): 18 + 10 accuracy = 28 (success)
• Howard's evasion: 3 + 21 evasion = 24 (fail)
• Crab's damage: 100

In Howard's rush to try and help Damien he lost his footing and fell hard onto the ground! The blow would leave a nasty bruise on his elbow, but there was no time to think about that. The crab unleashed another blast of fire and try as he might, Howard would not be able to roll away in time. He cried out in pain as the flames rolled over his shoulder, leaving the fabric of his shirt smoldering! Their target was so close to being subdued, but Howard could not land the finishing blow. It very well might be up to Damien to finish this fight!

Available actions: Damien can try to pry the claw off of his leg and run. This will require a strength check to pass. Damien can forgo this action and attack! However, with the claw pinched to his leg he will suffer a disadvantage (two rolls made and the lowest score is used) in his next attack. The choice is yours!

Made by the awesome Prat Pass