I am happy to report that Churtle survived her initial encounter with my party in the Lotus Dragon's guildhall. Moreover she has been put in position of chef on board the Sea Wyvern (in anticipation of becoming the Elf Cleric's cohort).
What really threw my group for a loop was when Avner claimed to see Churtle poison the cleric's food (Cleric is only surviving party member from Lotus Dragon Guildhall, thus prime target for Rowyn's disgused self attacks). Of course.... who listens to Avner, ever?
1 Didn't make the spot checks initially but we had an adorable encounter while the group did post boss clearing of the guildhall. Churtle was packing up her cookware, wearing a pot on her head no less, thus the noise gave her away. She convinced the party that all she wanted was to leave offering her gold and shells as a bribe. She was allowed to scurry away and I intend to have her on the boat simply because she needed a job... At least that's what Lavinia will think.
2 Simply killed her. They will suffer bad karma for this I promise you.
3 Haven't met her yet but there's a ranger with halflings as his favored enemy. We'll see how that might or might not carry over.
It was several months ago for us, but our group allowed Churtle to leave peacefully, on the condition she leave Sasserine and ne'er return. She was good to her word.
Just finished STAP last night, and good news—Churtle survived. Indeed, she was vital in the group's (and more importantly, her Master's) survival!
Spoilers abound for the endgame, so beware!
Spoiler:
Things were dire. The Prince of Demons had just put his hand through Master's prismatic sphere and tore Master out, quickly draining him of magical protection and life. The rest of the party was insane or gone, having mysteriously been transported away. Just as things looked dire, the missing thief/cleric finally arrived and was able to cure the priestess of Beshaba long enough for her to miracle the Master (and the others) back to full health. But it was Churtle, using the ring of wish rescued from the Master's body, that turned the tide:
"Uhm, hi. I'm Churtle. I'd like to wish for all the spells my Master had on him when we entered this fight back on him, please? And if you can do that for everyone else, that'd be great, but the Master first?"
Restored to strength and health, the Master (with some small assistance from the rest of the party) fought off the Prince of Demons, stopping the Savage Tide!
Due to some misunderstanding between the Master and the Prince of Demons after the Savage Tide was stopped, Churtle was left with no way of finding her Master. A bit sad, she consoled herself by forming the Interplanar House of Gargoyle Faced Pancakes with headquarters in Sigil. She gets visits from strangers with magical gifts (usually new pots with exotic extraplanar faces embedded with them) ever year, and every so often receives telepathic missives from the Master, but she never saw Col Tobinson again.
STAP was a blast, and I'm very please Churtle survived.
Churtle got her first night in the party's light tonight's session. She was picked up and taken along by Raina, the Exalted Swordsage|Healer (who happens to also be a Weretiger... which Churtle hasn't seen yet) much to the complaints of Mala the Whisper Gnome Lurk|Wilder in the party. After cowering and hiding for a couple of fights, Raina entrusted her and her trusty rolling pin to keeping an eye on the unconscious Kersh Reftun, who the group had tied to his own rack.
When they returned some time later, after tossing some thieves into the Crucible and accidentally letting loose the Dire Crocodile inside (they turned the wheel in the observation room, despite not knowing what it did), they found Churtle still sitting on Kersh's chest, but with several fresh bruises on the torture master's forehead.
"I like this job. I'll be bodyguard in the future."
Fiendish Dire Weasel
Orthos
