Misc VII

I got the opportunity to head into the mountains over the weekend and, as always, sitting at a fire surrounded by pine trees gives me all kinds of D&D ideas.  Here are a few:

Sasquatch Rarity
The reason Sasquatch are so uncommonly seen is that they are sexually dimorphic.  The males are actually sloth-like creatures about the size of a raccoon.  Each lumbering female has a harem(?) of 3-4 males that climb tall trees around the area the female is hunting/foraging and serve as lookouts. If the males are seen they are often mistaken for raccoons or wolverines.

Old Meat Poachers
Usually moving in groups of five they call "hands" these poachers seek to satisfy the tastes of the most decadent wealthy by hunting "old" meat, that of elves and dwarves.

Old Leathers
Used by Old Meat poachers, leather armor made from the skin of elves offers bonuses versus sleep and charm.  More rarely, dwarven skins are made into leather that provide extra protection against venomous creatures.  Rarer still, sometimes the skins of a beautiful elvish couple is used to make a untanned suit of soft, white leather, worn by the leader of a "hand" and offering even greater protections, thought not lasting long.

Hearth Ringstone
A cleric, or anyone versed in the Old Ways, can take a stone weighing a half-stone or more from the night's fire.  By incorporating it into the next night's fire ring they make that fire a hearth.  Each night of doing so makes the hearth magic stronger.  Undead and shape changers can not enter the light of a true hearth.