Earthwing the owl

Start-class article · First seen: s8 · Last seen: s16
Earthwing the owl
Earthwing · Terry's owl · Terry's familiar
Portrait of Earthwing the owl.
Character
StatusUnknown
First seens8
Last seens16
FactionSevryn's recruits

Earthwing is the owl familiar of Terry, called up with Find Familiar after the succubus fight in session 8 and named for the briefly seen Earthwing the Owlin [96]. He is the party’s scout: he went ahead into the Black Vein Quarry, found a third owlbear in session 11, counted the goblins in the Candy Cottage in session 12 and searched the Eldwythe sewers in sessions 15 and 16 [60][5][71][97][11]. An unseen shooter killed him in the quarry [19], Terry brought him back in session 11 [4], and Terry’s link to him was cut in the sewers in session 16 [98]. He has not been re-summoned on screen since.

Overview

Earthwing is a small owl who rides in Terry’s shell and comes out when there is something to look at. Terry first summoned him in session 8 and has sent him ahead of the party at dungeon doors, camps and corridors ever since [15][16][17][18]. The table treats him as expendable. He has been shot out of the sky by something nobody saw [19], and the joke that “he scouts things for about 20 feet and then he gets shot by some archer” is Terry’s own [20].

Appearance and demeanour

He pops his head out of Terry’s shell when called [21][22][23]. The DM plays him as an anxious, over-willing servant who calls Terry “boss” and says “Yes, Master.” [24][25][26]. Terry found the voice “a little bit problematic” [27], Hugo said it matched Gristleback’s [28], and Vasquez heard “a very nervous wreck of a fucking owl” [29]. When he first flew off, the DM had him call down from the sky, “I am the night” [30].

Abilities as played

Terry sends him ahead and watches through his eyes. The DM moves him on the virtual tabletop at Terry’s request, since he could not click it himself [31], and he flies 60 feet a turn by Terry’s count [32]. Terry sees through his eyes with a bonus action and speaks to him telepathically, which the DM allowed during a short rest because speech is not strenuous [33][34]. His darkvision reaches 120 feet [35], and he rolls his own Stealth and Perception, a 20 on each on his best days [36][37]. He cannot attack [38], so in a fight he looks out, flies up out of reach or taunts [39][40]. If he dies, bringing him back takes the one-hour-and-ten-minute ritual, a fire and incense [41][42][43]; if he is only dismissed, Terry pops him out of his shell at once [44].

Relationships

  • Terry: his master, who sees through his eyes and speaks to him [45][34].
  • Earthwing the Owlin: the namesake. Terry said the owl “looks remarkably similar” to the Owlin who had briefly joined the party [46]; nothing in play links the two further.
  • Caelumn: borrowed him on the session 11 firewood run [47] and was the target of one of his droppings in the sewers [48].
  • Ruin: set Terry straight on his name when the DM and Terry both got it wrong [49].
  • The DM: who voices him, and who the table says hates familiars [50].

Disposition towards the party

Willing and frightened. As the DM plays him he does what Terry asks, however little he likes it (“I don’t think it’s good for me to be in here”, [51]), and Terry reminds him that being expendable is his superpower [52].

Notable quotes

“It looks remarkably similar to the Owlin that recently joined the party briefly. … I call him Earthwing.” — Terry, [53]

“It’s dead. It only has one HP.” — Terry, [54]

“If you kill my fucking owl again.” — Terry, [55]

“Earthwing tells me there’s a big boss room up ahead around the corner.” — Terry, [56]

“He scouts things for about 20 feet and then he gets shot by some archer.” — Terry, [20]

History in the campaign

Session 8: Bruise the Cellmate, the Succubus, and the Quarry Ghosts

Main article: Session 8

After the succubus fight Terry finished the Find Familiar ritual while the others made camp [57][58]. The owl came out looking like the Owlin in miniature, and Terry named him Earthwing [59]. At the Black Vein Quarry he sent him in along the cave roof with shared vision and counted six figures ahead [60][61]. As the owl turned back to report, an unseen attacker hit him for 6 piercing and 8 necrotic damage, and with one hit point he died [19]. Terry could not tell what had done it: it had struck from stealth, and its Stealth roll was a 20 [62].

Session 9: The Death of Harvo

Main article: Session 9

Terry swore to find whatever had killed his familiar [63][64], and Hugo twice asked to study the ceiling for the shooter. A Perception 5 found nothing; later the DM said no roll was needed, since it was very likely the skeletons or the wight that had killed the owl [65][3]. When Harvo lectured the party on caution, Terry answered that he had tried the careful approach: “Sent the familiar in and it got killed instantly.” [66].

Session 11: Owlbears and the Soulbinder

Main article: Session 11

Terry brought Earthwing back on the morning after the long rest [4]. That night Caelumn took the owl along on a firewood run, with advantage on his Survival check, and its Perception of 15 still missed the two owlbears stalking them [47][67]. In the fight Terry sent him straight up 60 feet, and a Perception 20 found a third owlbear on the flank [5]. He then used the owl’s darkvision to look for Ruin [68] and had it fly down to taunt an owlbear, which ignored it [40][69].

Session 12: Eldwythe and the Candy Cottage

Main article: Session 12

At the Candy Cottage Terry asked to send the owl on aerial reconnaissance, having “learnt a lesson not to send it in to explore dungeons” [70]. Flying it round the outside, he saw three goblins through a window and stationed it in a bush or tree to keep watch [71][72]. After the party got in, he watched the goblins through its eyes and saw them glance at the shouting rocking horse and go back to work [73].

Session 13: Bubba Walker and the Gummy Sarcophagus

Main article: Session 13

Terry offered to send the owl onto the trap tiles of the hallway to see what happened, and the DM ruled that a familiar cannot attack and the windows were locked [74][75][76]. Once Bubba Walker had named his price in candy, the owl was sent to find the orchard and found the door into it [7]. Called down to the basement later, he was misnamed Hedwig by the DM and Nightwing by Terry before Ruin put them right: “It is Earthwing.” [77].

Session 14: The Gummy Mummy and Aurelian Eldwythe

Main article: Session 14

With the party split by the frosting imps, Terry had the DM fly the owl up the unknown stairs. It saw a toothless hag in a baking apron, Uncle Nibblecheek, among the sugar pots and a dragon the size of a large dog lying on the oven, and Terry used a bonus action to send it dashing back before it was spotted [8]. He kept it perched like a statue on a mantel, later left it in the stairwell, and relied on it to see whether the mummy got out [78][79][80]. He also asked how much gold an owl could carry [81].

Session 15: The Death of Ruin and Althea Joins

Main article: Session 15

During the short rest in the sewers Terry remembered that the owl had not died in the ambush, only gone into his shell, and brought him out to scout [82][83]. The DM asked whether he must control the owl; Terry talked to him telepathically instead, and the owl rolled a 20 on Stealth, found a grate it could not pass and “a lot of corridors” [84][85]. Later he sent the owl into a side room, looking through its eyes, and it reported crates and a room that looked like a boss room with bones on the floor [86].

Session 16: Through the Sewers, Onto the Skiff

Main article: Session 16

Earthwing had explored the sewer tunnels before the party reached them, and Terry sent him to check the far side of a door [87]. He reported a big room ahead [56], and the DM described it through him: low ceilings, wet fungal curtains, skull-sized clusters breathing out faint clouds and bodies in the water [88]. Beyond the lock puzzle Terry sent him ahead again [89]. While the party examined a wall and Terry looked through the owl’s eyes, his connection was cut. Terry asked whether he had seen the moment of death, and the DM said “Something came out of the dark.” [12].

Session 21: The Hand That Points North

Main article: Session 21

Setting out for the storehouse, Terry asked whether he could have re-summoned his familiar “at some point in the last however long”, since he had “just forgot he existed” [90]. The DM said he could do it on the way; Terry replied that the ritual needs a fire and an hour and ten minutes, and Caelumn predicted the owl would die in its first fight [91].

Session 23: The Changeling in Manacles

Main article: Session 23

Outside the ridge temple, with six arrivals gone in ahead of them, Terry ruled out spending an hour on his familiar. It would die the moment it went in: “Because it always dies.” [92]. Caelumn blamed the DM for hating familiars, and with no time to spare the idea was dropped [93].

Status

As of session 23. Presumed dead, or at best lost. Terry’s link to him was cut in the Eldwythe sewers in session 16 [94], and he has not been re-summoned on screen: in session 21 Terry wondered whether he already had [95], and in session 23 he judged the ritual pointless [92].

See also

References

  1. ^ Session 8, line 1544-1604: Find Familiar completes at the camp after the succubus fight; Terry names the owl Earthwing.
  2. ^ Session 8, line 1737-1798: Sent in to scout the Black Vein Quarry along the cave roof; shot dead by an unseen attacker (6 piercing, 8 necrotic) that rolled a 20 on Stealth.
  3. ^ Session 9, line 876-879: Hugo asks to check the ceiling for what killed the owl; the DM says it was very likely the skeletons or the wight.
  4. ^ Session 11, line 225-231: Terry summons Earthwing again the morning after the long rest.
  5. ^ Session 11, line 1154-1168: Flies up 60 feet during the owlbear ambush; Perception 20 spots a third owlbear.
  6. ^ Session 12, line 879-916: Scouts round the Candy Cottage and counts three goblins through a window.
  7. ^ Session 13, line 940-949: Finds the door from the Candy Cottage into the orchard.
  8. ^ Session 14, line 166-182: Flown up the unknown stairs into Uncle Nibblecheek's kitchen, then sent back.
  9. ^ Session 15, line 1369-1433: Brought out of Terry's shell during the short rest in the sewers; scouts ahead and finds a grate.
  10. ^ Session 15, line 1542-1600: Scouts the side rooms of the sewer; sees a room that looks like a boss room.
  11. ^ Session 16, line 194-219: Scouts the sewer tunnels and reports a big room ahead.
  12. ^ Session 16, line 1062-1071: Terry's link to the owl is cut: 'Something came out of the dark'.
  13. ^ Session 21, line 611-628: Terry asks whether he could have re-summoned the owl; the ritual needs a fire and an hour and ten minutes.
  14. ^ Session 23, line 282-289: Terry rules out summoning the owl before the ridge temple: it always dies.
  15. ^ Session 8, line 1737-1738: Inline citation.
  16. ^ Session 12, line 879-880: Inline citation.
  17. ^ Session 15, line 1375: Inline citation.
  18. ^ Session 16, line 194-198: Inline citation.
  19. ^ Session 8, line 1763-1767: Inline citation.
  20. ^ Session 21, line 624: Inline citation.
  21. ^ Session 8, line 1598: Inline citation.
  22. ^ Session 11, line 229: Inline citation.
  23. ^ Session 15, line 1373: Inline citation.
  24. ^ Session 15, line 1434: Inline citation.
  25. ^ Session 15, line 1569: Inline citation.
  26. ^ Session 16, line 213: Inline citation.
  27. ^ Session 15, line 1439: Inline citation.
  28. ^ Session 16, line 1008: Inline citation.
  29. ^ Session 16, line 1013: Inline citation.
  30. ^ Session 8, line 1600-1603: Inline citation.
  31. ^ Session 14, line 168-170: Inline citation.
  32. ^ Session 14, line 172-177: Inline citation.
  33. ^ Session 15, line 1404-1419: Inline citation.
  34. ^ Session 15, line 1553: Inline citation.
  35. ^ Session 11, line 1215-1217: Inline citation.
  36. ^ Session 15, line 1430: Inline citation.
  37. ^ Session 11, line 1161-1166: Inline citation.
  38. ^ Session 13, line 864: Inline citation.
  39. ^ Session 11, line 1154-1158: Inline citation.
  40. ^ Session 11, line 1418-1426: Inline citation.
  41. ^ Session 8, line 494-506: Inline citation.
  42. ^ Session 8, line 1837-1840: Inline citation.
  43. ^ Session 21, line 615-618: Inline citation.
  44. ^ Session 15, line 1369-1373: Inline citation.
  45. ^ Session 15, line 1405: Inline citation.
  46. ^ Session 8, line 1590-1594: Inline citation.
  47. ^ Session 11, line 1047-1050: Inline citation.
  48. ^ Session 15, line 1566-1567: Inline citation.
  49. ^ Session 13, line 1952-1957: Inline citation.
  50. ^ Session 23, line 286: Inline citation.
  51. ^ Session 15, line 1585: Inline citation.
  52. ^ Session 15, line 1574-1580: Inline citation.
  53. ^ Session 8, line 1590-1592: Inline citation.
  54. ^ Session 8, line 1767: Inline citation.
  55. ^ Session 11, line 1052: Inline citation.
  56. ^ Session 16, line 219: Inline citation.
  57. ^ Session 8, line 494-496: Inline citation.
  58. ^ Session 8, line 1544-1547: Inline citation.
  59. ^ Session 8, line 1589-1598: Inline citation.
  60. ^ Session 8, line 1737-1747: Inline citation.
  61. ^ Session 8, line 1779: Inline citation.
  62. ^ Session 8, line 1789-1798: Inline citation.
  63. ^ Session 9, line 274-278: Inline citation.
  64. ^ Session 9, line 294: Inline citation.
  65. ^ Session 9, line 184-186: Inline citation.
  66. ^ Session 9, line 936-939: Inline citation.
  67. ^ Session 11, line 1062-1064: Inline citation.
  68. ^ Session 11, line 1214-1217: Inline citation.
  69. ^ Session 11, line 1517: Inline citation.
  70. ^ Session 12, line 879-881: Inline citation.
  71. ^ Session 12, line 890-894: Inline citation.
  72. ^ Session 12, line 910-916: Inline citation.
  73. ^ Session 12, line 1142-1143: Inline citation.
  74. ^ Session 13, line 67: Inline citation.
  75. ^ Session 13, line 278: Inline citation.
  76. ^ Session 13, line 857-866: Inline citation.
  77. ^ Session 13, line 1946-1957: Inline citation.
  78. ^ Session 14, line 309: Inline citation.
  79. ^ Session 14, line 665-671: Inline citation.
  80. ^ Session 14, line 1060-1067: Inline citation.
  81. ^ Session 14, line 1304-1306: Inline citation.
  82. ^ Session 15, line 1288: Inline citation.
  83. ^ Session 15, line 1369-1375: Inline citation.
  84. ^ Session 15, line 1382-1390: Inline citation.
  85. ^ Session 15, line 1404-1433: Inline citation.
  86. ^ Session 15, line 1542-1589: Inline citation.
  87. ^ Session 16, line 194-204: Inline citation.
  88. ^ Session 16, line 286: Inline citation.
  89. ^ Session 16, line 1005-1013: Inline citation.
  90. ^ Session 21, line 611: Inline citation.
  91. ^ Session 21, line 612-619: Inline citation.
  92. ^ Session 23, line 282-284: Inline citation.
  93. ^ Session 23, line 286-289: Inline citation.
  94. ^ Session 16, line 1068-1071: Inline citation.
  95. ^ Session 21, line 611-612: Inline citation.
  96. ^ Session 8, line 1589-1594: Inline citation.
  97. ^ Session 15, line 1423-1433: Inline citation.
  98. ^ Session 16, line 1068-1070: Inline citation.