Scavenging the Pumpkin Field

Summary

Following the defeat of the Gordian in Session 5 of the campaign, the party attempts to salvage valuable resources from the battlefield. Safia, drawing on her background as the child of a medical examiner/coroner, attempts to collect specimens of the Gordian's goo before it burns completely. Despite her efforts, her defy danger roll fails, and the goo proves unusable—either burned by Sucks's fire or smashed into the dirt during combat. However, she discovers several handfuls of coin-sized pumpkin seeds worth approximately 200 coins scattered among the destroyed pumpkins. This discovery sparks a series of business proposals from the party about how to monetize the pumpkin field.

Details

After the Gordian falls, Safia immediately moves to collect samples before the creature's remains are destroyed. As one player describes: "She's, like, moving into. She's got, like, little containers and she's just, like, gathering stuff." Safia digs through the burning, smoldering Gordian corpse and the smashed pumpkins scattered across the battlefield.

The attempt does not go as planned. The GM narrates: "It looks like trying to get out of the ditch, but slip back in. She's still in the ditch. No, you're digging around. You're digging around in this pumpkin, this pumpkin, this Gordian, to try and get some usable goo. But it looks like everything has been. They're burned or smashed into the dirt." Safia's failed roll means the goo cannot be salvaged for study or sale.

Despite this setback, the scavenging yields unexpected profit. The GM explains: "So digging around in the pumpkin and the pumpkins that were thrown and smashed and scattered all over the place. You don't find any usable goo, but you do find like a few handfuls of coin sized pumpkin seeds that you would hazard are probably around like 200ish coins."

This discovery prompts the party to notice the many intact pumpkins remaining in the field. Cat proposes the first business plan: "All right, guys, I'm gonna propose a business to you. Scott. What if we collect these pumpkins, pull out the coins, and then sell the pumpkins to near. Near flood of smoke. Near smoke. New Smoke."

Sucks counters with an alternative: "Okay, here's another potential option. What if we collect the pumpkins, pull the seeds out of them, and then feed them to Goober and then have him make pumpkin flavored stuff that we sell when we get to new smoke."

Brad refines this proposal further by suggesting they show Goober a pie, so he would create pumpkin pies—valuable because it is not pie season. The session concludes with these plans under discussion, and Shawn thanks the players for solving his randomly-generated pumpkin puzzle.

Participants

Safia — Attempts to harvest Gordian goo specimens; discovers the pumpkin seeds worth 200 coins
Sucks — Previously burned parts of the Gordian with fire, making some goo unusable; proposes the Goober-based business plan
Cat — Proposes selling pumpkins and seeds to New Smoke
Brad — Suggests the pumpkin pie variation of the Goober plan
Goober — The party's asset, central to several proposed business ventures
Erin — Present during the planning
Abdul — Present during the planning

Consequences

Safia gains approximately 200 coins worth of pumpkin seeds from the destroyed pumpkins
The Gordian goo is lost as a potential resource—either burned or rendered unusable by being smashed into the dirt
The party identifies the pumpkin field as a potential source of profit, with multiple business models proposed
The group must choose between selling raw pumpkins and seeds to New Smoke, or using Goober to create pumpkin-flavored products
The Goober-based pumpkin pie plan is identified as potentially more profitable due to seasonal demand