Rribak Bonerattle's page

”Shall we set off?”

"Yes, let's go. I wish to see this city!"

Nothing to add to the conversation. Rribak has a move of 30 so he can keep up with the rest of the group.

Rribak shakes his head.

"First monkey-people, now dog people. Are all you big folk based on some kind of animal?" Rribak asks.

"Uh... hello?" Rribak says, looking at his companions, and then back at the creature.

Is this just another one of the big folk? Or some kind of wolf-monster? The man seems to think he can talk to it, so I'll wait and see what happens, Rribak thinks.

Rribak hops along with the others, his google eyes looking to and from as they leave the swamp into open country.

"Not much to hide behind around here," he says. "How far is the city?"

Isn't a whippoorwill a bird?

"Do many people disappear in big city?" asks Rribak. "Maybe you have crocodiles there too? I know how to deal with crocodiles."

Rribak gets out of the boat and begins heading back towards dry land.

"It seems like everyone has a finding-people quest. All the same. Maybe destiny that we met, yes. May as well get going."

Ready to move on... don't think there's anything else we need here.

It was settled that Rribak would join the party, and the npc Grippli will take the ratfolk somewhere else to settle.

Oh, was it? I asked but I didn't see a response.

Assuming then that the party has mentioned where they were from and that they are heading back...

"You are from Pholus, yes?" Rribak asks. "Long time ago, Brbeli Hrabatu, a grippli from our tribe, went to big city. He was famous for singing. But he never came back, and no one knows what happened to him. No one wanted to go to get his bones 'cause it was so far, so he never got proper burial."

"Maybe I come with you, see if I can find him. Besides, I always want to see big city. Yes?"

GM: Do you want Rribak to join the party at this point and then the NPC grippli take the NPC ratfolk to somewhere they can settle? Or are we still escorting the Ratfolk?

Maybe your people want to reclaim land from the swamp. ...

I don't see why they would want to do that. Grippli like swamps. It's their natural habitat and they are good swimmers and can catch fish. Also, since most other races don't care for swamps, it keeps their territory relatively safe, since nobody wants to take if from them.

Since the grippli of the Hr'op Shtavor are very superstitious about their remains, some members of the clan are sent away when a grippli is believed to have died somewhere and their corpse was not recovered. So some grippli are sent to retrieve these bodies for proper burial. These retrievers typically travel alone, and if it was convenient to the adventure Rribak could be sent off as one of them.

"I s'pose I can do that," Rribak says. "Someone gonna have to keep you out o' trouble while' you're here."

"We can go that way," Rribak points to a broader stretch of water between the soggy trees. "We call it 'river' because water is deeper there and current is stronger. But it is still swamp like the rest round here. Just easier for boats."

"Lemme check wi' m' family."

Rribak goes over to the other Grippli to confer with them.

GM: seems like this would be a good spot for Rribak to part ways with the other Grippli NPCs unless you want them to come along. Or, the NPCs could do this if you want the players and ratfolk to part ways. But then Rribak would need some reason to go with the party.

A raft is really simple to build, probably DC 10, and those who have a negative INT bonus can just roll to try to Aid someone else.

Taking 20 implies trying to make the same raft 20 times over until you get it "perfect." Probably not necessary. In the same amount of time a group could try to build 20 rafts, and probably succeed at least half the time.

"If the big people do the wood cutting, and the normal-sized people like me do the tying-together of logs, this will go faster," Rribak suggests.

Rribak and some of his family join in the work.

Rribak doesn't have craft (wood) but can just make untrained checks. Taking 20 probably isn't necessary for building something as simple as a raft. Rribak can get an 11 by taking 10, and will aid another.

"This is a swamp; there is no shore. Just a few islands here and there."

"If you want to proceed, you can wade, or swim, or make rafts."

"There are many of you; if you all work at making rafts it won't take too long."

Assuming the ratfolk can be convinced to work for themselves, they can make rafts too.

I didn't realize it was that many. :)

Just an FYI guys:

Holiday Plans:

This Friday (i.e. tomorrow), Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I have Christmas events to attend (and I may be busy Tuesday too). I will be travelling for some of that period. I still expect to have internet access and I'll try to get online in that period but my posting frequency may suffer. Wednesday night I will be back home and things will return to normal for me.

"As long as you abide our laws," says the leader. "We will allow you to traverse our swamp."

Rribak looks at the elder with surprise, then shrugs.

"Okay... probably be best if we travel together. Nobody bother you if you with us. Come," the Grippli turns and motions for them to follow. "We take you to our boat."

The grippli leads the group to a long shallow boat. There is a rounded shelter towards the rear of the boat, and a number of grippli are aboard, performing various tasks. On the front part of the boat, a grippli body is wrapped with a burial shroud and bedecked with garlands of flowers.

"Yes, whole family live on boat. Is the Rivermen way. We have to go to sacred island to bring body for burial. Please leave body alone."

"Our boat not built for big people... so you can follow in your boat. Um... you have boat? If not, maybe we build raft. We can show how."

"Then tell us of your laws so that we do not take them in vain."

Rribak looks over the group, and shrugs.

"Most laws same as anywhere. Don't hurt people. Don't steal things. Don't go into house without invitation. You know," says Rribak.

"Just one thing. When we get close to Sacred Island, you not allowed to go there. Because sacred. Only Hr'op-Shtavor guardians of dead are allowed. So you go around. Okay? Grippli get very angry if ousiders trespass there."

"Safe passage eh? And so just how much do you think is a fair trade for such?"

"I dunno... whaddya got?"

"To be fair, your group greeted us with threats of violence and feasting. I thought it only fitting to return the gesture."

"Ahh, he was just messin' with ya. It's not like we're boggards or nothin'."

"As you have given me your name, I shall return in kind: My name is Kali of house Soy, Daughter in good standing of the Horsemaster of the Dread Barbarian King."

"Hm... sounds important," Rribak says, clearly not knowing what any of those titles mean.

"We did not see your territory markers, so we assumed the territory was unclaimed. We are escorting a group of pilgrims to the lands of our friend Beads."

"What would we need markers for? Everyone hereabouts knows that this swamp is ours. And... where is this land of Beads, exactly? Not too many big folk enter this here swamp, and most of 'em what do are runnin' from somethin'. We don't get too many folks tryin' to get to somewheres."

Oops, looks like I got ninja'ed by Shellin.

Will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

"Hey! What you tryna pull?" he shouts. He waves his arms through the "box" and quickly figures out that it is not real.

"You big folk think you can push us around. But yer in our turf now, and there's a lot more than just us out here."

"And yer not likely to," the smaller grippli says.

The grippli's face and limbs are covered with bizarre tattoos that look white on his green and brown mottled skin, including an image of a skull on his face. His clothing is made of leather and hides, and is festooned with little bones tied on with thread, dangling here and there, though beneath these clothes a well-polished chain shirt is visible peeking out from underneath. He wears multiple daggers and has a small crossbow strapped to his back.

"We don't really eat people... not unless the fishing is really bad. An' it's been okay this year... so far."

"But this swamp is grippli territory. We don' bother you out on the dry land, so I don't know why you got to bother us here in the wet. You gonna trespass here you got to make it up to us."

"Actually you're lucky it was us found you. Not all the tribes is so reasonable as us. But we're the Hr'op-Shtavor... you would call it Ghost Spider Clan. We're traders, bring things to the different tribes an' such. Our boats are sacred so we can come and go as we please. If yer good to us we can give you safe passage."

"Call me Rribak. Is my name."

Am I one of these grippli?

Ribbit!

Hi guys!

I think I'm your latest victim!

Will get things sorted out.

GM: how do you want to introduce me?

Edit: GM: would you allow blunt crossbow bolts? Blunt arrows cost double the normal price of normal arrows, so I figure the same would apply for bolts.

Quote:

Does this game use deities from Golarion or does Ptolus have its own?

Ptolus has its own, but the best part of it is we can make up a deity just for you that will fit Ptolus and you.

In the previous iteration we used a deity called "The Great Mother" which was a tribal version of Pharasma. We didn't flesh it out much. But we could go with that if you like.

Peet wrote:

f you need a denizen of the swamp, I have a grippli character (Rribak Bonerattle) that might work. He was made for a campaign in a homebrew world where the Grippli were one of the main races. The GM of the game vanished, and the game died. And Rribak has enough posts that I can't change the name. :)

He is an unchained rogue with the knife master archetype. He was planned around the Pharasma Deific Obedience feat, which we had re-themed to a different deity in the homebrew world.

Here is a link to the original background idea for his tribe.

I think that is a good idea.

Okay.

I admit I don't know much about the Ptolus setting, but if the character is a primitive guy who is from the swamps and doesn't know much about the outside world, then I can learn about the universe in-character. I just downloaded the player's guide.

The original game Rribak was in was rolled stats so I'll have to reconfigure things.

There were a few changes we made at the time which you are welcome to Veto if you don't like them:

First, the original GM for this character allowed me to swap out some class skills to make a more "primitive" rogue. How would you feel about that? Second, since the character was a "swamp" grippli instead of a "jungle" grippli we switched the climb speed out for a swim speed. How does that sound?

Does this game use deities from Golarion or does Ptolus have its own?

If he does drop the game, I won't be surprised too much. New GM (at least on the forum), homebrew world, 3rd party.

Yeah, no response so far.

Just sent the GM a PM. We'll see.

A whole week without a post and without a notice from GM, that's definitely not a good sign for a game.

I hope that's not it.

If I had a dollar for every online pbp on this forum that I was in which died before getting rolling... well, I would have $3 so far. I'm hoping not to go to $4...

<knock.>

@ Kenneth GM:

Would it be possible for you to put the info from the original thread about the campaign world and the town onto the campaign page, maybe in spoiler tags? The thread they are in is not linked and it's a bit hard to track down.

You don't really need the list of characters there as there is a characters tab.

@ Vizper:

Overall I think Vizper might freak Rribak out.

But after recovering from his ordeal (with the help of Geoffrey), he might have approached Vizper and her teacher, hoping to use magic to find out if any of his friends survived and where they might be. The fact that you are a tiefling might have reinforced your "magical" image to him.

In the process he would have hat to explain to you or your master what happened to him before he arrived that caused him to be "stranded" in Moorside.

It's unlikely that you or your magic teacher could have helped much, but Rribak isn't that sophisticated and wouldn't have known that.

@ Lucatiel:

Yep, still drawing a blank on Rribak.

As a stranger in town it would be conceivable that your father might have asked you to keep an eye on Rribak. Possibly you felt it was your duty to find out a bit more about him and you did this by trying to befriend him. Rribak might have seen through that but would still have cooperated on the basis that he wants the people in town to know that he isn't dangerous.

Then you might have found Rribak and Kravar sparring. That might have formed an interest. Maybe Lucatiel would even want to participate.

@ Kravar:

I think it's more likely that Kravar, knowing about the grippli, but never having met any, sought out Ribrak sometime during the last three months, and bugged him with questions about grippli life.

Rribak would probably have dealt with Aven before and so wouldn't have had a problem with that.

I had worked into my character concept that the grippli do have a semi-mystical combat technique called the "Ghost Way." It mainly deals with DEX-based fighting and avoiding getting hit. At 6th level Rribak will have Crane Style.

So it is possible that after meeting Kravar, the two became sparring partners.

Without something like that it is unlikely that too many people in town would know that Rribak could fight, since he would not be the type to go around picking fights.

Rribak looks away as Lucatiel embraces her father, embarrassed to have witnessed a personal moment.

"I... I just need to attend something. I'll be back."

Rribak heads back into town, and goes down to the river to where he keeps his coracle. He pulls it up from the shore and hangs it from a tree stump. He tells one of the local fishermen that he can give it to his children if Rribak is not back in a month, and they can use it in the meantime.

Rribak returns to the hall and the group.

"So... are we leaving now?"

@ Kravar:

Grippli

In their ancient oral traditions, grippli elders sing of a time when shining humans of bronze and gold drove the grippli into the marshes that they now call home. There, the grippli encountered the aven (tengu) — and the Covenant of Mere and Mire has bound their fates together since. From atop their mountain perches, aven bring their crops to the grippli in exchange for the bountiful fish in the wetlands. When danger looms, aven and grippli defend their territory together.

Could it be possible that Rribak and Kravar met when they were young? Rribak's tribe act as traders - if the Aven trade with the Grippli then he might have had contact with the Aven before.

Geoffrey eagerly looked at others.

"When we depart?"

"I am ready now. I have little to gather up in any case."

Rribak looks out to the road leading out of town.
"I... I have never walked on a highway before. Heh heh," Rribak laughs nervously. "It will be a story to tell."

Rribak turns back to James the Reeve.

"If I might ask something... I have been waiting for some of my people to stop by here. It is strange that none have come by in the last three months. But if they come while I am away could you please tell them where I have gone, and that I mean to be back soon?"

@Rribak: .... the answer to switching Knowledge (dungeoneering) for (religion) will be no.

If having Knowledge (religion) as a class skill is as important as armor expert, you should change your trait. There's no reason a character without the former can't be religious either.

As I have already said, it's not a big deal to me if the answer is no.

I have to put points into Knowledge (Religion) to qualify for my third level feat, so I thought I would see if I could get a bit of oomph there. But overall it doesn't matter a whole lot.

Knowledge (nature) and Knowledge (religion) are two of the more important or 'big' Knowledge skills,

In my mind Knowledge (nature) is the big one, and you already gave me that, so overall I'm happy. Religion only gives information about one creature type, and Kravar seems to have it in class, so it's not a big priority. The Hr'op-Shtavor may hate undead, but perhaps they don't encounter them enough to know a lot about them.

... without some additional commitment on your part.

What does that mean? Is there something else you want me to do?

Geoffrey's family may have treated Rribak's injuries. Geoffrey himself might have talk to him about his settlement. There aren't many outsiders in the Moorside, so everything is interesting to Geoffrey.

That works for me.

In his mind this would place Rribak in your debt. Rribak is very conscious of the concept of debt and would want to repay any help given.

Honestly it seems like there is a conflict of interest here. You want to play a knife master rogue but the backstory you came up with doesn't suggest rogue.

I think rogue is a pretty good fit, personally. Not everything needs to be reflected by class, not every priest is a cleric, etc. etc.

Yeah, I have to agree with Burnscar here. Class does not indicate background. Each class can come from just about any background. There are even urban barbarians.

Part of the concept is being adapted from a rogue I played in a previous campaign, though he was not a grippli. The religious concept is based on Pharasma, and her sacred weapon is the dagger. There is no reason a non-divine caster cannot be religious. I like the idea of playing a character who is devout but not a divine caster.

The grippli as described are described in this game as tribal. So if I want to play a grippli I kind of have to go with that.

Extra Traits is a feat which might make sense, for the extra class skills.

Yeah... can't afford it though. Until we get to "Epic" levels you only get 3 feats. I need all of them to get to be where I want at level 6.

TWF would have to wait for level 2, with the Combat Trick talent, but it only gives +2 to hit honestly, so since you'll pretty much only TWF when flanking, it just means that your sneak attacks happen at +3/+3 instead of +5/+5.

Actually it would be +3/-3. The off-hand attack is made at -8 when you don't have TWF.

The slayer is a cool class overall, but it doesn't get access to ninja tricks which are a part of how the character will develop starting at level 4. Slayer would give me a second iterative attack at level 6, which might make up for the drop in damage, but as it stands changing this character to a slayer would mean nearly zero damage in combat until level 3, and then I would still be way behind the curve.

I figure a small nimble race like the grippli would teach themselves how to fight in a way that doesn't depend on strength. So Rogue is a good fit for melee grippli.

Rribak blinks several times blankly.

So I'm not in trouble? They actually want me to do something for them?

He looks around at the big people assembled around him. He barely tops the knees of some of them.

"Yes, I'll help," Rribak croaks.

"I don't know about killing bandits," he continues, "my knives are a little small to do much, unless my enemy is not watching out for me. But when you are small like me it is easy to move without being seen. If you want I could scout their camp for you."

"But... I do not know the way. I know the wetlands, but not the dry parts. Do you have a map to where we are going?"

@ Everyone:

How does Rribak know you?

Rribak showed up in town about 3 months ago, using a small log as a raft, paddling with his feet down the river.

Clearly he was grieving and something bad had happened to him, though whether Rribak gave you the details would depend on how close you got to him. The town itself is relatively welcoming of grippli so they are not racist towards Rribak, but Rribak is relatively antisocial so he hasn't made many friends in town.

Rribak hates the idea of owing someone favors and as a result doesn't like to take charity. Despite his obviously bedraggled state he insists on paying his own way, even though he has little to offer. So he makes his way by fishing and gathering food in the wild and trading it for what he needs.

He is an outstanding swimmer and anyone who needed something done involving the river would be well advised to seek his help. He knows the swamps pretty well and might be seen as a potential guide. He also is very handy with daggers though I don't imagine there would be too much cause to use them in town.

@ Vizper:

I am evil, but that doesn't mean I go off and do as I please, once again, don't take any talk about killing seriously, Vizper is just as likely to jump off a building as she is to do that!

You have already said that you know the difference between evil and stupid, and that you are not stupid. But maybe it would make things easier if you expressed what her alignment means to Vizper. What are her values?

Is she "possessed?" If so, how does the internal struggle manifest?

@Rribak: Lucatiel makes a great point. If something you want can be expressed in terms of Paizo content, I'd like you to consider that first.

I hear you, and I have no problem if the answer is no.

Normally you would do what I am suggesting with traits, but we only get one trait for this game.

Instead of homebrewing the class to that extent, why not play a Slayer. Its the ranger/rogue hybrid which is what you seem to be building. Then take either Devotee of the Green or Know the Land for Knowledge (Nature) and Spirit Guide for Knowledge (Religion).

A slayer is really not what I am looking for. There are a few reasons:

1. I already play a slayer in another game. He's great but is totally different than what I envision here.

2. Slayer does not have the DEX-based advantages that the Unchained Rogue does. Playing a DEX melee slayer means you have to burn your first feat on Weapon Finesse and you will never get DEX-to-damage. So a slayer with a STR of 8 doesn't work that well. You also don't get TWF this way until 2nd level.

3. Really all I am doing is trying to make my starting skills fit my background. A few "woodsy" skills does not a Ranger make. And Slayer only has one of the skills (Survival) in class; it does not have Knowledge (Nature) or Knowledge (Religion).

4. Slayers are primarily about Bonus Combat Feats. My experience with playing a TWF slayer is that you don't use studied target that much because it reduces your attacks to a standard action that round, and sneak attack is nice but not key. None of the Ranger Combat styles really work for what I am doing; Rribak will gradually develop a more Zen kind of thing (what the Grippli of the H'rop-Shtavor call the "Ghost Way") and will get a bit Monk-ish later on.

@ GM:

OK, I have implemented the Grippli changes, but there's one more I'd like you to consider:

(Quote From http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2tu5p&page=3?Interest-for-a-homebrew-Pathfi nder-game#115)

As for the grippli ideas:

...

(3) For the sake of keeping the number of class skills changed equal, I think that it'd be better if you replaced Appraise and Linguistics with Knowledge (nature) and Survival.

I don't think it makes sense for a grippli rogue to have Knowledge (Dungeoneering). They don't explore dungeons, sewers, or caves. An urban grippli might but one that grows up in the wild probably wouldn't.

How do you feel about removing Knowledge (Dungeoneering) from class and exchanging it with Knowledge (Religion) on account of the religious and anti-undead focus that Rribak's tribe has?

I haven't really figured out a way to tie myself to any of the other players yet. I was going to work in something with Kvoak, but he has dropped out. So this is what I have so far.

I sent Kenneth a message explaining the situation. I will not be joining this campaign.

That's too bad. He was going to play the druid, right?

Do we want to try to recruit one more player for a divine caster? Or leave things as is?

Hey, guys.

FYI I am heading out of town in a few hours and won't be back until Monday night. I doubt there is internet access where I am going, so I probably won't be able to post for the next few days.

Peet (Rribak).

although the only thing from it he really uses is weapon finesse. And that only gives +1 relative to hit, so I might still go dodge if they aren't in place.

Tough call, but here's a question: can you wear more armor? Or do you have some kind of monk restriction against it? If you can, I might be inclined to use that for AC and get Weapon Finesse for now. Not sure how much cash you have but you might be able to pick up something soon if you can't afford it now. Light armor is cheap.

At level 4 I'm guessing your DEX goes to 18 and then maybe to 20 at level 6 (from automatic bonus progression). So you probably want Weapon Finesse sooner or later.

As long as she's in that stance it's a light weapon and thus finesse-able.

Ah, I see! I figured it might be a class ability. Can you use this stance while mounted or only on foot? The bonus die of damage from the stance makes me think that TWF and Improved Shield Bash might be good for you this way.

It does seem strange that we have no STR-based characters in the party though.

Oh, well thanks i didn't notice my lack of skill ranks... so busy lately i haven't been able to get things done!

No worries.

i think I'll quickly change my eldritch blast weapon focus into point blank shot.

Since PBS can give you +1 to hit *and* damage, it could potentially be as good or better. Depends how often you are within 30 feet of your target. But Precise Shot is a definite must.

But it's worth pointing out that if you are maneuvering to get a clear line of fire (to avoid that -4 penalty for cover) it is easier to do this if you are closer to the target. The cover rules are a pain in the butt. If your teammates are coordinating with you to leave lines of fire open it can work much better.

Obviously as a character that depends on flanking, I am interested to know who my flanking buddies will be. :)

But here's what I am getting so far (correct me if I don't understand):

Geoffrey:
In Combat: Probably uses his breath weapon whenever possible, and has a crossbow when enemies are out of range. With two breath shapes he can probably get into position most of the time if he is smart. He will have to be fairly close to the action though, and probably wants other characters to screen him. His HP are good, but his AC is not that great, nor are his melee attacks.
Out of Combat: Not much... has a few half-decent social skills, but his skills are hampered by the fact that this is a CON-based class. Can heal everyone once per day though, which is very good since I don't see any clerics here.
Build Comments: I might give him a longspear, so he could use reach to keep enemies from closing to within 5'.

Vizper:
In Combat: I'm guessing she intends to use Eldritch Blast as much as possible, and she has a very long range with it. She will probably hang back most of the time. However, she doesn't have Precise Shot, so I envision some difficulty once the party gets in melee.
Out of Combat: Vizper has only assigned 1 skill rank so far, so I'm not sure, unless she only gets the one rank (which I doubt). If she puts a rank into Bluff or intimidate it will probably be the best in the party.
Build Comments: I'm surprised she didn't go for Div-Spawn instead of Demon Spawn, since Div-Spawn get a DEX bonus instead of STR (STR doesn't seem that important to Vizper). If Eldritch blast is going to be her main thing, she will need the Precise Shot feat sooner or later; hopefully GM will be lenient about feat taxes. I also have to wonder how Warlock compares to Kineticist, since they seem to have a similar schtick.

Lucatiel:
In Combat: I'm guessing Lucatiel will be on horseback as much as possible. She has Ride-by-Attack, and some maneuvers that help with charge attacks. I don't see any ranged weapons on her sheet. Her AC is quite good and HP are decent.
Out of Combat: She has decent Diplomacy and Handle Animal. When she gets her background skills I'm betting she will take Knowledge: Nobility.
Build Comments: I'm surprised she went for a DEX build instead of STR. DEX gives her a bonus to ride skill and AC but forces her to waste a feat on Weapon Finesse, which could have gone to Power Attack. Also surprised she doesn't use a lance, which inherently does double damage on a mounted charge. She has a shortsword, which uses weapon finesse. She also has a shortspear, which doesn't (since it is not a light weapon) unless there is some class feature or GM boon involved. So I'm not sure how she gets +5 to hit with it.

Kravar:
In Combat: Kravar looks like a melee fighter, and though I don't know what his maneuvers do, I suspect he will have kind of a monk-ish feel. Main weapon is probably hook spear, which has reach. I am guessing Kravar will be my main flanking buddy most of the time. His AC and HP are decent. His chance to hit is not great but I'm guessing the maneuvers will help there.
Out of Combat: Kravar has a lot of the "sneaky" skills that I also have like stealth, perception, acrobatics, etc. If stealthy scouting is required, we can probably work together. Also has Heal and Kn: religion.
Build Comments: I'm not sure I know enough about the class to comment. He went with rolled stats, and his distribution is good, but if he had gone point buy he could have dumped a score, and wouldn't have "wasted" all those points on odd numbers.

That reminds me, are we doing background skills? I think they were also discussed but not sure. DM, can you post the complete build rules in the Campaign Info tab?

Yeah, I had noticed you guys didn't seem to have used them.

Background Skills are from Pathfinder Unchained. They are online on the PRD, here:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/unchained/skillsAndOptions/backgroundSki lls.html

Considering that we're supposed to be ordinary villagers this will allow you to put points in craft or profession skills of your choice. There are others too. Lucatiel: you will probably be happy to note that Handle Animal is a background skill.

It looks like each plot twist card has a name, four brief story ideas, and one alternate mechanical effect.

I'll go along with it if we are using them, but I'd rather not. It seems a little gimmicky to me.