Scrooge

Scrooge
Race	Scrooge
Affiliations	Ageless
First Appearance	Kobold Headhunters

Scrooges are long, rainbow, worm-like parasites native to Abracadab that infest the minds of common ducks and geese. The ducks they inhabit exhibit tendencies to steal, collect treasures, and form gangs. They first appeared in Kobold Headhunters.

Characteristics

The beings that Scrooges inhabit are similar to ducks in their appearance, although are much larger, being up to 4 feet tall, and tend to live near bodies of water. They are quite territorial, attacking those who come to close, and seem to have a fondness of treasure, often stealing the treasures of unwary adventurers. They dress similarly to bandits or gangsters, wearing bandanas on their heads and chains around their necks. Those who have been around Scrooges for some time may be able to understand their quacks. Although Scrooge can naturally understand the Common Tongue, they cannot speak it.

The actual Scrooge parasite itself is a long, rainbow worm, that infests the host's mind. Scrooges can only take possession of a creature with the host's consent. Ducks are the most common hosts because they always consent.

Powers & Abilities

Companion Abilities

• [{Companion / Scrooge}]
• [{Companion Passive / Blinged Out}]
• [{Companion Ability / Fowl Entourage}]
• [{Companion Ability / Ray of Frost EX}]

History

Kobold Headhunters

A flock of six Scrooges were encountered by the party in their search for the Stone Tail. Noxel rampaged through them, killing five in a matter of seconds. However, the sixth was able to steal one of his swords, as well as call for another flock of six to aid it. Despite the Scrooges' attempts to steal their treasures as well as using their Magic Breath, Noxel and Kopie Ren were able to defeat the Scrooges with little effort, but the battle did result in Noxel's Squire dying in a friendly-fire incident.

The Yes King

Upon arriving at Midaeum, Bopen's crew docked, and Tamtroll went ahead, and found a Scrooge guarding the entrance. The Scrooge tried to cast an ice spell, but Tamtroll closed its beak shut, and the Scrooge froze itself, and was thrown into the water. As they entered the castle, the crew found more Scrooges going about their business, most of them being either scared, or too weak and slow to inflict any real damage, until they entered the throne room, where they found King Midas protected by many Scrooges in hiding. Astar eventually managed to converse with one of them, who explained that they'd been hired by the Grand Paladin Order to protect the King. Bopen, upon hearing this, killed the King, revealing him to have been a Believer. Some of the Scrooge, with nothing left to do, joined Bopen's crew, where they helped in the fight against Gwyneth Sunsword when she boarded their ship. However, all but one Scrooge was killed by Tamtroll's Wormhole, but they were resurrected by Astar's Greater Lay on Hands, only to have their skulls popped by Gwyneth, as she was aware that the Scrooge had made an alliance with the Ageless. The one Scrooge that had survived the Wormhole bled out and sunk with the ship, as Bopen's crew left him to die.

Notable Examples

• A total of 12 Scrooges were fought by the group in Kobold Headhunters.
• Many Scrooges were hired by the Grand Paladin Order to protect King Midas, which were fought by Bopen's Skeleton Crew

Trivia

• Scrooges speak a different duck-like language.
• The Scrooges' Magic Breath ability was activated by a Supporter Event.
  • The spell that the Scrooges would have access to was drawn from a deck of random spells, but ended up being Ray of Frost.
    • The Scrooge companion now has their own ability Ray of Ice.
• There was another Supporter Event that would have caused all of the unconscious Scrooges to lay an egg, that would hatch into another Scrooge, as well as reviving dead Scrooges, but this was not activated.
  • Rob had the option to activate this event using the overflow money, but decided that it would be better to save it for the Supporter Events in the final fight.
• The party in Kobold Headhunters were only supposed to fight 6 Scrooges, but as Roamin's character Noxel managed to kill 5 of them in his first turn, Rob summoned an extra 6 to make the encounter longer and more difficult.
• Should the second Divine Decision in The Yes King had chosen to have the Scrooges join the living instead of the Ageless, Scrooges would have become a playable race.