Necroes

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

Obligatory math because nerd:

Assuming each ration contains roughly

4* oz

*4 oz. of jerky translates to roughly 113 grams. At roughly 40% protein by volume, that would be 45 grams of protein. The average adult male human needs 56 grams of protein per day, while the average adult woman needs 46 grams. The dried fruit and hard tack would all have small amounts of protein, while the nuts would have a considerable amount of protein. Likely more than enough to account for the daily needs of an adult human. Assuming bug bears would favor rations that lean more heavily on the meat, 4 oz. of jerky (which would be 1/8th the total weight of the 2 lb. ration) seems appropriate.

of jerky, all 8 rations would collective contain 2 lbs. of jerky.

Owl bears weigh between 1300 to 1500 lbs, canonically, putting them on par with polar bears in terms of weight. On average, polar bears need to consume more than 4 lbs of fat to meet their 12,000 calorie daily intake requirements. However, being large carnivores, they're capable of eating well over 20,000 calories in a day when food is abundant which would be closer to 7 lbs.

Jerky has roughly 80 calories per ounce, so 4 oz from one ration would be 320 calories and all 8 rations would put it at 2,560. A bit more than 1/10th the daily caloric intake of a predator the size of an owl bear, and dramatically less calories than would be available in an equal serving of fat (which has well over double the calories per ounce as jerky.)
All of which is assuming Brutrumukk's rations are what's leftover from his time as a bug bear.

The metaphor here would be something like offering a hungry, adult man a child's portion of Chinese food and asking if he's still hungry.

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

On an entirety unrelated note, I'm actually pretty glad the big monster for this adventure isn't the Bandersnatch.

Pathfinder 1e statted that thing out, and one variant of it was a CR 19 melee beast that projected a 10-foot antimagic field at all times.

Absolutely diabolical creature to throw at a party.

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

Well, at least Voth isn't the only person who thinks trying to make friends with the giant carnivore isn't the best idea.

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

@Dark Cloud Has been a while. Good time to come back, looks like.

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

Voth: "This is creature has likely not eaten in some time. It will be dangerous."

Brutrumukk:

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

Voth

More than happy to be left alone once more when the group began speaking to each other, Voth did what he always did when traveling with others. He opened his senses, and took in the world around them. Bits of information would trickle in as he did. Taking in names of people and names from the discussion and even forming thoughts about the nature of the group's purpose. Mention of the poster brought to mind the Hourglass Coven, the hags who currently ruled this area of the Fey Wilds, as the ones likely to have posted such a bounty. At the time, he didn't think it worth mentioning.

When they did start traveling, Voth did his best to keep his eyes and ears open. Being a scout for his own people, the effort came naturally to him. Given he was the tallest in the group, even from the back it wasn't hard to keep a look out ahead of them. What tipped him off as they came upon the owlbear was the smell more than anything. Predators had a distinct scent. One he had long known to keep his nose open for.

"Ever vigilant Grankhul, for your guidance I offer sight." He would speak his prayer once more as they approached, in his native tongue and as quietly as he was able. Brushing his thumb across his eyes, he would let Grankhul's guidance choose where his sight fell on the path ahead.

OOC

28 on the survival check with guidance.

When the chariot and owlbear came into view, Voth quickly took stock of the situation. The only tracks that could be seen were those of the creature and the vehicle. No signs of anyone nearby, and no signs of whoever the owner might be. To his sight, a particular piece of splintered wood seemed to stick out in more vivid colors. Heeding the guidance of his god, Voth would crane his neck up, looking into the chariot without approaching closer. Sure enough, the claw marks inside suggested whatever driver had been inside had been attacked. With no evidence of anyone fleeing the area, there was only one conclusion that could be drawn.

"Be aware. Whoever the driver was, they were carried away by a winged creature. Doubtful we will see either. Without its master, the beast is unlike to be calm. More like to be underfed and in want of a meal. If we intend to plunder the cart it would be best to slaughter the creature quickly. Spook it overmuch and it may flee, and any plunder with it."

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

It is hard to tell due to the nature of the Feywild.
(The Module does not give a clear answer to this. ^^")

@Guardian Angel Haruki

Fair enough. Mostly I was curious if there's reason to believe whatever massive flying creature that could have hauled off potentially two separate medium sized creatures was still in the area. Given the book's lack of clarity, I'm going to assume there's a low chance of that being the case.

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

@Guardian Angel Haruki Given the roll, does Voth also get a feel for the age of these events? Are the owlbear's own tracks young or old, and are the claw marks fresh?

Basically, does it look like this attack happened recently, or did this happen some time ago and the owlbear has just been stuck to the chariot sense?

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

@Guardian Angel Haruki I went ahead and added guidance, as I intended to cast it for an active search.

That said, natural 20, for a total of 28.

The Wild Beyond Witchlight

I'm afraid the internet has ruined me. I see fantasy art, and my first thought is almost immediately "That looks like it was done by AI." Which is completely ridiculous.
WotC didn't start using AI programs for their artwork until "Glory of Giants", released in 2023. "The Wild Beyond the Witchlight" was published in 2021.

That aside, @Guardian Angel Haruki what would I need to roll to check for signs of "people" nearby? Footprints, broken branches, fallen leaves, etc. Would it be perception for looking at a glance, or survival?