Riko Martin (Matt)

"I scout 20ft behind the party..."Hides behind the nearest tree.

"They can't hit what they can't see..."

- The Majestic Faun

## Appearance

### **Start of the Campaign**

A male Satyr with tawny fur, chocolate-colored shoulder-length dreadlocks and goatee with small goat-like, pecan-colored horns. He stands 5 feet and 3 inches tall with cloven hooves and a very short and bushy tail.

He wears a black long-sleeved buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up right below his elbows. He has a thick, studded leather pauldron on his right shoulder kept in place by two leather belts. Riko does not wear pants as he thinks it restricts his movement but he does have studded leather faulds that he wears during missions for added protection. He also sports a bright, blue crystal pendant around his neck.

### **End of the Campaign**

At the end of the campaign, as Riko accumulated items through his adventures, his appearance has drastically changed. He now wears a thin, elven-made circlet that contains a singular blue crystal right on his forehead. His studded-leather garments now emit faintly green, odorless smoke that dissipates as he moves around. Almost always draped around his shoulder is Data, his dear metallic cat. Around his hooves are leather boots that seem to wrap and conform to the shape of the satyr's legs. He almost always wears his faulds now as he has learned to expect danger in every corner at different times of day. On his left ring finger is a black domed ring and a tan pouch hangs down his left flank from the belt in his faulds. Covering his backpack is a fine black cape that extends to cover his tail. It's lined with green velvet and gives the magical effect of teleporting it's wearer leaving only a puff of green smoke.

The Majestic Faun almost always wears a gnarled, moss-ridden, wooden mask with a set of grand antlers adorning the top effectively concealing his own horns. The eyes on this mask glow a bright hue of green matching the smoke from his armor and the continual flame between his horns.

## Personality

Riko is well known for his anxiety and paranoia. When his brother died a few days after reaching the New World, he developed this irrational fear where he expected the worst of every situation. This led to a difficult party dynamic when he joins adventures. Even as the leader, he would often let the others decide the flow of their journey. He would normally hang back and let the others go ahead but still keep a keen eye out for any danger. Despite this flaw, he cares deeply for his party and he will never abandon any of them whenever possible.

Anxiety aside, Riko is also known for his caring and friendly nature towards animals. It almost seems like he treats them better than other humanoids. He is famous, or rather infamous, for de-escalating scenarios that involve animals by making friends with them and talking to them using his patron's gift of beast speech. Even when faced with other humanoids and monstrosities he is not familiar with, Riko prefers diplomatic means rather than leading the situation to combat.

After getting the favor of Chroma, his patron, Riko underwent a brief change in personality. Sometimes, he acts like a programmed construct and scans his environment using his left metallic eye. This personality is very far from his usual self as this has a deeper, more confident voice and a more curious outlook towards his surroundings. This personality was fully suppressed by the Little Tree's fruit effects.

While affected by the Little Tree's strange fruit (akin to a geas spell), Riko acted a little more calm and peaceful. He was more sure with his decisions and adamant at his stance of non-aggression and peace. With his paranoia lifted, he was able to lead the Great Scouting Guild to safety and ensure their survival despite the hobgoblin attacks.

## Abilities

Colonia's Gift - Upon meeting the Oread (fey) prisoner Colonia (Hex 10,06) under her own Sand Dune, Riko offered her some of his Peace Cream and in return, she gave him a gift. Riko now bleeds alabaster white (instead of red).

### **Race: Satyr**

Like most satyrs, Riko is driven by simple desires. He is fond of befriending animals and unlike his brother, Riki, he prefers to be by himself in the deep forest. Talking to woodland creatures is his best form of therapy to get over his anxieties in life.

#### **Fey**

Riko's creature type is fey, rather than humanoid.

#### **Ram**

Riko can use his head and horns to make unarmed strikes. If he hits with them, he deals bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + Strength modifier.

#### **Magic Resistance**

Riko has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

#### **Mirthful Leaps**

Whenever Riko make a long or high jump, he can roll a d8 and add the number rolled to the number of feet he covers, even when making a standing jump. This extra distance costs movement as normal. This has helped him climb trees and traverse mountains in his many adventures in the wild.

#### **Reveler**

Riko has proficiency in the Performance and Persuasion skills, and he has proficiency with the **pan flute** as his musical instrument of choice.

### **Background: Outlander (Forester)**

Riko grew up in the wilds, far from civilization and the comforts of town and technology. At an early age, he took an interest with the foraging task of his mother and spent most of his time looking for herbs and other natural ingredients in the forest. Even after their parents were taken, he filled the role in their society as the forester right to the point they were driven out of the tribe. Wandering on their own, Riki led the twins to the nearest town and used his wits and persuasiveness to swindle and trick the common folk. Riko stayed in the outskirts, hunting small game and foraging only what they needed to survive.

#### **Wanderer**

Riko has an excellent memory for maps and geography, and he can always recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features around him. In addition, he can find food and fresh water for himself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth.

### **Class: Hexblade Scout**

#### **Scout Features**

**• Expertise** - Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Perception, Stealth

**• Sneak Attack -** You know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra **9d6** damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.

You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.

**• Thieves' Cant -** During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly.

In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.

**• Cunning Action -** Your quick thinking and agility allow you to move and act quickly. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

**• Skirmisher -** You are difficult to pin down during a fight. You can move up to half your speed as a reaction when an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.

**• Survivalist -** You gain proficiency in the Nature and Survival skills if you don't already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of those proficiencies.

**• Steady Aim -** As a bonus action, you give yourself advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. You can use this bonus action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is O until the end of the current turn.

**• Uncanny Dodge** - When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack's damage against you.

**• Superior Mobility -** Your walking speed increases by 10 feet. If you have a climbing or swimming speed, this increase applies to that speed as well.

**• Evasion** - You can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as an ancient red dragon’s fiery breath or an ice storm spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

**• Reliable Talent** - You have refined your chosen skills until they approach perfection. Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.

**• Ambush Master -** You have advantage on initiative rolls. In addition, the first creature you hit during the first round of a combat becomes easier for you and others to strike; attack rolls against that target have advantage until the start of your next turn.

**• Blindsense** - If you are able to hear, you are aware of the location of any hidden or invisible creature within 10 feet of you.

**• Slippery Mind** - You have acquired greater mental strength. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.

**• Sudden Strike -** You can strike with deadly speed. If you take the Attack action on your turn, you can make one additional attack as a bonus action. This attack can benefit from your Sneak Attack even if you have already used it this turn, but you can't use your Sneak Attack against the same target more than once in a turn.

#### **Hexblade Features**

**• Hexblade's Curse** - As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated. Until the curse ends, you gain the following benefits:

* You gain a bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target. The bonus equals your proficiency bonus.
* Any attack roll you make against the cursed target is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.
* If the cursed target dies, you regain hit points equal to your warlock level + Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 hit point).

You can't use this feature again until you finish a short or long rest.

**• Hex Warrior -** You acquire the training necessary to effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons.

The influence of your patron also allows you to mystically channel your will through a particular weapon. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch one weapon that you are proficient with and that lacks the two-handed property. When you attack with that weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls.

This benefit lasts until you finish a long rest. If you later gain the Pact of the Blade feature, this benefit extend to every pact weapon you conjure with that feature, no matter the weapon's type.

**• Eldritch Invocations**

* Beast Speech - You can cast ***Speak with Animals*** at will, without expending a spell slot.
* Devil's Sight - You can see normally in Darkness, both **magical and nonmagical**, to a distance of **120 feet**.
* Improved Pact Weapon - Prerequisite: Pact of the Blade feature You can use any weapon you summon with your Pact of the Blade feature as a spell casting focus for your warlock spells. In addition, the **weapon gains a +l** bonus to its attack and damage rolls, unless it is a magic weapon that already has a bonus to those rolls. Finally, the weapon you conjure can be a shortbow, longbow, light crossbow, or **heavy crossbow**.

**• Pact Boon: Pact of the Blade -** You can use your action to create a pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as magical for the Purpose of overcoming Resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die.
You can transform one Magic Weapon into your pact weapon by performing a Special ritual while you hold the weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a Short Rest. You can then dismiss the weapon, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter. You can’t affect an artifact or a sentient weapon in this way. The weapon ceases being your pact weapon if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The weapon appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.

#### **Spells**

**• Cantrips** - Prestidigitation, Mage Hand

**• First level** - Shield, Hex

**• Second level** - Misty Step, Darkness

#### **Feats**

**• Eldritch Adept** - Studying occult lore, you have unlocked eldritch power within yourself: you learn one Eldritch Invocation option of your choice from the warlock class. If the invocation has a prerequisite, you can choose that invocation only if you’re a warlock and only if you meet the prerequisite.

Whenever you gain a level, you can replace the invocation with another one from the warlock class.

\*Opting to get the **Improved Pact Weapon Invocation**

**• Crossbow Expert** - Thanks to extensive practice with the crossbow, you gain the following benefits:

* You ignore the loading quality of crossbows with which you are proficient.
* Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.
* When you use the Attack action and attack with a one handed weapon, you can use a bonus action to attack with a hand crossbow you are holding.

**• Sharpshooter** - You have mastered ranged weapons and can make shots that others find impossible. You gain the following benefits:

* Attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls.
* Your ranged weapons ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
* Before you make a ranged attack with a ranged weapon with which you are proficient, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If you do so and the attack hits, it deals +10 damage.

## Belongings

### **Trinkets**

A small, weightless sliver of cyan stone that Riko wears around his neck. They found this stone in the forest when they were young only to discover that it cracked into two when they got home. Riki, the craftier of the two, turned them into pendants. The twins swore to always wear it to remember the other when they are away during adventures.

### **Mundane**

**• Burglar's Pack -** Includes a backpack, a bag of 1,000 ball bearings, 10 feet of string, a bell , 5 candles, a crowbar, a hammer, 10 pitons, a hooded lantern, 2 flasks of oil, 5 days rations, a tinderbox, and a waterskin. The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.

**• Outlander Items -** A staff, a hunting trap, an owlbear claw, a set of traveler's clothes

**• Others** - Rapier, dagger, pan flute, thieves' tools a pouch full of diced meat as treats for Riko's animal friends.

### **Magical**

**• Data the Transforming Cat *(Hexblade Weapon)*** - a metallic (chrome-colored) cat that Riko and Diandra met during their warlock tutelage under Fara on top of the floating body of a giant turtle. Data is a servant of Chroma and is tasked to assist Riko in the Material Plane.

**• Smokey Armor *(Smoldering Studded Leather Armor)*** - a common magic item that emits a harmless, odorless faint green colored smoke that fades as the wearer moves away. This armor was what Riki wanted to have back when they were in the Old World. Riko wears this in memory of his brother.

• **Magic Pole** ***(Pole of Collapsing)*** - a pole that extends up to 10ft when fully expanded and with the use of a command word, collapses to a 1-foot-long rod for ease of storage. Often an overlooked item, Riko uses this in camp for various tasks, to assist him in mounting Pinch and sometimes during adventures to check for traps.

**• Ring of Melinoe *(Ring of Protection)*** - a Black ring with a navy blue round gem, looking like the Psylektis dome. This ring, offers additional protection to its wearer. Riko does not wear rings in general but he made an exception to this as it has helped him in tight spots by boosting his dodging speed.

**• Circlet of Knowledge *(Headband of Intellect)*** - one of the first few items that Riko found in his adventures, this headband increases the wearer's Intelligence. The faun has found it useful when checking for traps. It, however, increased Riko's paranoia as he now knows more ways for him to get hurt.

**• Boots of Hiding *(Boots of Elvenkind)*** - a finely crafted set of boots that renders the wearer's footsteps to not make any sound. Initially, Riko was skeptical as it looked like a standard set of boots for human feet but the first time he wore it, the boots molded and changed it's form to match his hooves.

**• Cape of Yeeting *(Cape of Mountebank)*** - an item that the faun found in later part of the campaign, this cape offered its wearer a once per day chance to teleport up to 500ft away. Riko has been using this to get to safety and to keep his camp sites hidden as he joins Edenian quests.

**• Chilled Container of PeaceCream *(Chest of Preserving)*** - a small chest that will prevent any food or other perishable items from decaying while inside. When Riko's party earned this, it was full of PeaceCream. A frozen delight with various fruity flavors (Riko got blueberry). It was a gift from the leaders of Bright Mountain.

**• Pouch of Furry Friends *(Tan Bag of Tricks)*** - a late acquisition, this normal looking bag made of tan cloth appears empty but reaching inside reveals three small, fuzzy objects. When pulled out and thrown to the ground, the object transforms into a random beast that the owner can command. Riko has made friends with all the animals in his pouch and they are the following:

* **Jack** (Jackal) - a mysterious loner who prefers to do tasks by himself but performs better when there are friends supporting him.
* **Abraham** (Ape) - the crazy, overly-sexual ape who would hump anything if he felt like it. Riko keeps him at bay by promising to find a suitable mate soon.
* **Barbara** (Baboon) - the sassy and witty lady of the group who prefers to not be summoned but would perform the task when asked nicely.
* **Axel** (Axe Beak) - the bird brain of the bunch. This axe beak needs constant guidance and understanding as he is often just spacing out when in an adventure.
* **Barry** (Black Bear) - the glutton of the group that often loiters around looking for a snack. Riko refills his bag of treats whenever Barry is around.
* **Wesley** (Giant Weasel) - the smart, know-it-all, big-brain decisions of the group who keeps Riko's plans in check and provides alternatives for efficiency.
* **Hyacinth** (Giant Hyena) - the prankster who does not laugh. Despite being a hyena, you would not hear her crack up no matter how laughable the situation is.
* **Tyga** (Tiger) - the brave, self-proclaimed leader of the group but is actually the clumsiest one. Riko often asks Fang or Storm to assist Tyga in his tasks.

**• Scrolls** - Scroll of Water Breathing (1), Spell Scroll of Shield (1)

**• Potions** - Potion of Water Breathing (1), Potion of Healing (1), Potion of Aqueous Form (2)

## Relationships

#### **Humanoid Relationships**

• **Koko Martin (father)** - Koko is a wandering bard adventurer who joined a traveling performer group. He was often away from his family doing shows in a far distant town or kingdom. He does make it a point to return every so often but he missed a lot of milestones in the twin's growth. When the twins were just teenagers, Koko and Pamela were taken by a mysterious group of men and were never to be seen again.

• **Pamela Sue Martin (mother)** - Pamela is a loving mother and a faithful wife. Despite Koko's absence, she was able to raise the twins on her own teaching them what she knew. She sparked Riki's interest in crafting little baubles and jewelry while it was the kindness towards nature for Riko. She acted as the clan's herbalist as she was exceptionally good in finding the correct herbal cure for any disease. She passed this knowledge down to Riko as well as her love for woodland creatures.

• **Riki "Maru" Martin (brother)** - Riki was the sociable, brave and cunning brother of Riko. Growing up, he was the one protecting Riko despite being the younger of the two (by 12mins). He learned hunter tasks and the basics of fighting early on from various teacher within their clan. When their parents were taken away, he attempted multiple times to rescue them alone and, with his interest in trinkets and jewelry, it led him to the path of crime and theft. When they were driven out of their clan, Riki led the twins to various towns can cities to survive on their own.

While Riko took to woods on the edges of town, Riki took to the streets and learned to pickpocket and swindle. Taking the moniker of "Maru" which meant cunning, Riki trained and performed jobs with various shady people and thieves guilds. His swaying loyalty was the reason why many of his previous employers sent people after him. To escape, he signed Riko and himself on the Elencian expedition to explore the New World.

Unfortunately, during the first mission, a well-placed and stealthy hit knocked him out and a few other members. Those who were still standing after the ambush, ran for their lives leaving Riki and the rest for dead. Riki's death was confirmed when Eden arranged an assault to take out Cireza, the Spider Queen, where he was reanimated as a Drider.

• **Kiera Stromm** - the scoutmaster of Eden. Riko liked how the scoutmaster was concerned of everyone when doing their missions. He can also see that she cares for the environment and the animals being a ranger. The faun would have wanted to be friends with Kiera but she was always busy with the mission reports.

• **Sahadin -** the captain of the Dutchmann, now called Davy Jones. He was one of the few people Riko went on a quest with at the beginning of his career. It is the quest where they found crab eggs that Riko raised to become Pinch. The faun always envied the man's confidence and leadership skills. That envy, however, turned to fear when they found a chest of cursed gold coins which party decided to hide from the rest of Eden. Slowly, the members of that party died mysterious deaths and Riko has secretly suspected Sahadin's involvement.

• **Jillian** - the Grand Druid of the Great Scouting Guild. Riko has immense respect and awe towards the druid's capabilities. On their first mission in the desert, Jillian was the only one in the party who could speak a certain druidic language which they needed to converse with the Earth Genasi tribe that they found. In a much later quest, Jillian showcased a spell where she could divine the layout of the land as well as the type of creature that inhabit it. The halfling's affinity and mastery of nature magic made Riko realize that Jillian would make an invaluable member of the Guild.

• **Eranthis** - the chef and tailor of Eden. Riko liked the aura of kindness that Eranthis shows everyone. Although they did not interact much, he always enjoyed getting his meal from them and got used to his mornings with the cleric cooking something delicious. When he moved away because of Captain Fanton's ban on pets, Riko supplied Eden with fresh fish that he delivers to Eranthis. When Riko needed a way to distinguish his animal friends from wild ones, Eranthis offered their services to make leather collars. During Eden's paranoia over spies, their witch hunt revealed to everyone Eranthis' true changeling form but it did not matter to Riko. Upon hearing their demise in the hands of a hobgoblin battlegroup, it spurred the faun to act and avenge someone he always regarded as Eden's pillar of kindness.

• **Abraxas**

• **Kha'el**

• **The Great Scouting Guild**

#### **Animal Relationships**

**• Cat - Data the Transforming Cat** - After making a Pact with Chroma, a forgotten mechanical god, Riko gained a new cat companion. Data is able to transform into any weapon Riko wishes (as an action) but prefers to have the cat take the form of a huge and heavy crossbow. In the crossbow configuration, Data's hind legs form the handle and the stock while it's front legs form the prod or limb. It's tail turns into the sight scope aligned to it's head, with it's mouth open, forming the stirrup where the bolt shoots from.

**• Hulking Crab - Pinch (♂)** - On his first mission, Riko and his party encountered Giant Crabs in the nearby beach. One of them was full of crab eggs so the party took some while leaving the rest at sea. After spending time taking care of the egg, it hatched and grew to a regular-sized crab. Riko named him Pinch as he had the habit of grabbing fleshy parts with his pincers. As the faun spends more time training and feeding Pinch, the crab grew to massive proportions. Pinch grew so big, Riko asks him to be his mount when exploring water areas. Pinch has also proven himself useful by defeating Chuuls in one quest.

**• Velociraptor - Veridian (♀)**

**• Velociraptor - Cerulean (♂)**

**• Wolf - Storm (♂)**

**• Guard Drake - Drakko (♂) [EXPIRED]**

**• Sabre-toothed Tiger - Fang (♂)**

**• Falcon - Swift (♀)**

**• Eggs** - Riko still has a **Hulking Crab egg (♀)** and a **Snake egg (♀)** in his possession.

## Significant Events

#### **The New World**

Upon reaching the New World, Riko opted to stay and help around the settlement instead of going out on exploratory missions. He tried his best to be a wallflower that goes unnoticed as he much prefers to be by himself. He was still reeling from the shock that Riki signed them up for this expedition. Riki promised him that this New World would be an opportunity for them to grow rich or to have their own piece of land to cultivate.

#### **Death of Riki**

On the very first exploratory mission, Riki eagerly joined to prove to his twin brother that they were meant to take this New World for themselves. Unfortunately, Riki was one of the three adventurers that did not return from the mission. The survivors recounted how large spiders attacked them which evoked an intense fear on Riko along with paranoia and depression. This lasted for a few weeks.

The faun barely had any support system left except for the other nameless scouts and wallflower workers that he bonded with. They kept on checking up on him, bringing food and other trinkets that the adventurers took for granted. When a mission was posted to explore the area to the east of the settlement (04,03), a scout friend by the name of Rossun Ga'vego convinced him to join and be one of the brave adventurers like his brother. The scout assured him that the area looked safe to him and that spiders would be the least of his worries. This encouragement persuaded the young satyr as he joined his first quest. In their party was Eos, the elven Wizard; Vos the dwarven Cleric; Klaus, the Firbolg Bard and Orphelin, the human Fighter to which Riko was able to absent-mindedly pickpocket 1gp from.

When Riko returned safely, Rossun and the other scouts and workers sat around as the faun recounted his adventure. This inspired the faun to go on more adventures so he could share stories to his friends and pull his own weight in the camp.

#### **Finding a Patron**

Under the tutelage of Fara Jinky, Riko and Diandra signed up to learn the ways of the warlock. Their first quest was to find a patron that may lend their powers to them. During this quest, they went to the floating corpse of a gigantic sea turtle. Fara whipped up some eldritch magic and asked the two neophytes to reach into the void. When it was Riko's turn, he saw a glimpse of a mass of metal suspended in the air by chains. It did not speak to him but it did send it's thoughts and as Riko's mind was overwhelmed with the synapses, his vision on his left eye started to flicker. He then realized that he could see things better with his left eye even in darkness. A metallic cat also materialized in front of him and proceeded to climb up the faun's shoulders. Riko called this cat Data as it was speaking to him not in any conventional language but like transmitted data straight to his brain.

As the new warlocks gained the powers of their patrons, they soon realize that it's almost dark and they had to return to camp. Upon doing so, they were assaulted by sharks. This is where Riko got his fear of sharks. He already encountered a few of them in his previous adventuring but this time, he almost lost his leg. Luckily, Fara and Diandra were quick enough to save him and his leg.

#### **Vanquishing Cireza, the Spider Queen**

Riko was not around when Eden vanquished the Spider Queen. He was away in the town of Blovaria attempting to sharpen his roguish skills as well as working as a scout for a few days.

#### **Meeting the Little Tree**

Riko signed up for a quest to explore 07,04. The area had a tall mountain and as they checked it out, they found stairs leading to a cavern deeper within. It was there that they met the masked tabaxis and hobgoblins that worship the goddesses Lliira and Eldath. Upon taking a request from this group in the mountains, they explored a nearby structure that once was a monastery.

In there they found another faction of the two goddesses' worshipers called the Unity Clan. The Unity Clan had a strange magical tree that can communicate telepathically and only flowers or grows taller after many years. It identified itself as similar to the Great Tree but younger. It started to talk about peace and unity which was quite odd considering the war that's brewing between the hobgoblins and Eden. After fulfilling the requests asked from them the Little Tree bore fruits which surprised even the Unity Clan. The Little Tree bestowed these fruits to the adventurers and as they were heading home, Riko challenged Abraxas to take the fruit with him. He sensed the lurking darkness in the heart of his friend so he wanted to direct him to the path of good and peace. In doing so, however, both adventurers were affected by a magical effect that prevented them from doing anything bad like hurting others. This proved to be a difficult path during their subsequent adventures.

#### **Forming the Great Scouting Guild**

After joining many exploration missions, Riko realized that selling his services as a scout is a lucrative business. He thought he could sell his services to Eden or to any other town or kingdom to gain more gold and a bigger share of the treasure found. He thought doing this would help him advance further and faster than the rest of the adventurers as training and self-mentoring was quite expensive. All this changed when he was placed under the effect of the Little Tree's fruit.

Under the fruit's effects, Riko could not conceive self-enriching thoughts and could only think of things that could promote peace and unity. With this paradigm shift, his idea of the Great Scouting Guild changed into an avenue to promote his love for nature and a peaceful way to protect the forests of the New World.

#### **Epilogue for Riko the Majestic Faun**

Since the fall of Eden, the majestic faun called Riko led the Great Scouting Guild to safety. He fetched the remaining Edenian survivors and asked them to join him as scouts. As soon as they agreed, the faun educated them of their one rule: To protect nature. At last, once the little tree’s geas was lifted, Riko decided to deal with the mysterious entity. He wanted to find out if the creatures of Bright Mountain were compelled the same way and if they were, he would try to free them. Later on, it was discovered that the tree rarely uses geas, that it was also aware of the war between Eden and the hobs. The Little Tree also grew a few inches and produced colorful flowers since Riko's last visit. The clan leaders (Couatl, Unicorns, Spirits etc) meditated there on a thin bed of petals. The tree thanked Riko for spreading peace and offering sanctuary to those who seek it. As thanks, the tree granted the GSG their own mask: a blend between the Blue Demon Mask and the Mellow Cat Mask. Riko would later on name this as the Sentinel Mask. This new mask smells of spearmint.

Riko then invited the inhabitants of Bright Mountain to join his guild. He advocated the GSG’s more direct approach in protecting nature and ensuring peace. Unfortunately, the majority of them declined, except for some: Pawpaw Zimba the little unicorn, Milk the white pigeon, and Phillip the Singing Water Spirit. Despite their new friends, the majestic fawn knew the danger looming over the GSG. Soon enough, Riko will have to deal with Deniase. Together with his animal companions, they started setting up traps in the vicinity of the guild. When the threat of Deniase is over, he'll get back to the Guild as their leader and explore as much of the New World as he can. Under his leadership, he hopes to turn the GSG into a sizable force of scouts who can hold their own if provoked. They will live on, helping those who wish to explore the land but condemning those who seek to destroy nature.

## Backstory

Riko was born under a full moon in a humble, rustic home in The Everglades Forest to Koko and Pamela Sue. Both new parents were excited for this auspicious event. It excited them even more that 12 minutes after their first baby boy, another one followed. They named the twins, Riko and Riki.

The twins grew up in the forest within their clan's domain. The satyrs of the Everglades are known to be fun-loving yet dangerous folks. They enjoy the company of others in certain events but are territorial during regular days that did not call for revelry. Living in the forest, the clan tasks often involved hunting, gathering, foraging and crafting. Whatever they killed, found or crafted, they share as a community. Anything extra, they sell to the nearest town.

Riko grew up with a strange quirk. He had the knack of pocketing items without even realizing it. He has, in multiple occasions, pilfered various items unknowingly from his clan members. It has gotten him and his parents in trouble. So much so that his brother, Riki trained himself to be sneaky enough to return items his brother stole. Riki also trained his fighting skills to protect Riko from mean children (and sometimes men) who would often beat him up for stealing from them.

This problem got extremely out of hand when Koko brought the teenage twins to the nearest town to buy them treats. On the way to the shop, a few of his father's adventuring associates met them and his father was given an important item to deliver. When it came time for his father to deliver the said item, it went missing. Strange men started to visit their home asking about the lost item. The visits became more frequent and are often punctuated with their father sporting a new bruise. They asked the twins multiple times, especially Riko, if they saw the item and the boys shook their heads. Wrestling with the harassment that's happening and feeling like their parents are blaming them, the twins would often leave and find refuge in a small tree house they built when they were younger. It was there that Riki found the missing item. Without blaming his brother, he rushed home only to find their parents gone. The elders of their clan informed them that they were taken for questioning but they never saw them again.

The twins endured on without their parents. Riki tried multiple times to rescue them but he did not know where they were being kept. They also did not know the group that was responsible for taking their parents. Riko tried to fill the gap his mother left while Riki joined the hunters. This went on for many moons but without their parents to defend them, Riko was blamed yet again for most of the clan's missing items. Some of the accusations were true and the elders had to expel the twins out of the clan's domain.

Without feeling any remorse and taking as few items as possible, Riki dragged his brother to the nearest town where they begged for scraps and slept in the streets. Riko eventually opted for the shaded forest in the outskirts of town while Riki stayed in alleyways and abandoned buildings. The twins stayed in touch as they would alternately visit each other to their preferred modes of shelter. With Riki's lead, they transferred to many towns and cities. Riko would still camp outside of wherever town or city Riki fancied.

After a few seasons in one of Riki's visits to Riko's camp, the more eloquent of twin started to pitch the idea of moving to a new continent. He painted it like a dream where they can own the land they wanted and could mine it for it's valuable minerals or raise as many animals Riko wants. He ended his pitch with a ticket to the Elencian ship that would eventually take them to this new continent. Riko was confused but did not protest as he was content with their setup. Sure enough, they both packed their bags and looked forward to the adventures both of them will be having in the New World.