The description of the town and culture of Far-Go in the adventure Famine in Far-Go was true 10... maybe 20 years ago. With the increasing number and variety of mutations showing up on their doorstep, the citizens of Far-Go were forced to change their attitude... and perspective. The catalyst for that may have been Bandito... a mutated butterscotch tabby cat wearing boots and a hat and wielding a sword. And he talked.

At first, he was just an amusement. Then he became entertainment. And then when he single-handedly killed the dozen rampaging badders that attacked the town... well, now he was valuable, forcing the citizens to acknowledge that there were mutated animals out in the world that were intelligent and... people.

And then there were those Big Cat Eyes—and they weren’t even a mutation!

So, Mutated Animals were admitted into the population. And Mutated SENTIENT Plants weren’t far behind. There weren’t many of either, but they were recognized as sentient beings... as people. There was a side benefit, too—these weren’t creatures that could mate with the Pure Strain Humans and so the ‘purity’ could be maintained.

Along the way, it became apparent (albeit reluctantly) that the reason for birth-order prefixes to names was no longer valid (structure, discipline, control, etc.). The children certainly didn’t pay any intention to them. And the adults soon followed suit, especially since there was no inheritance for anyone.

And then disaster struck!

Just over six weeks ago the residents of Far-Go witnessed a spectacular heavenly display. Thousands of stars literally "rained" down upon the earth from the night time sky. The high priest, Arx Skystone, awakened from his sleep, and rushed out into the night to observe the cosmic fireworks. This omen frightened him and the next morning the priest announced to all of Far-Go that a great ill would befall the community. Within a month's time of his pronouncement, the crops began withering in the fields, most farm animals had either died or run away, game had become scarce and some inhabitants showed signs of a strange sickness.

Now, all of the summer's crops lie dead and rotting, not a single animal can be found alive in the area, and 3 people have died from this devastating and mysterious plague. Arx Skystone is worried because soon there will be no more food surplus to feed his people. He must find a solution soon, or the entire population of Far-Go will have to abandon their homes and seek out a new place to live. This is a terrifying alternative because without food reserves, a mass migration of the village would be extremely dangerous. Small search parties had been sent out to hunt for food and to try to discover the source of the plague. Each party has returned nearly empty-handed with only a little fresh meat and small amounts of wild fruits and vegetables. Whether they traveled north, south, east, or west, all the parties' tales were alike. Everywhere packs of humanoids to the foulest type of creatures imaginable roam the countryside in search of food. A type of madness seems to have taken over many of the creatures encountered by the search parties. Even a few of those who went out in search of food have returned to Far-Go crazed.

The Priests and Elders got together to try and find a solution. It quickly became clear that not only did no one know what was happening or why, they also didn’t know how to stop it. Since all the adults in the town had eaten the berries from the One Tree in the Forest of Knowledge when they completed their Rite of Adulthood and still didn’t know, it was suggested that only someone who hadn’t yet eaten the berries might have a chance to learn the cause and solution of the disaster.

That meant the young children—the pre-adults whose time for the Rite of Adulthood was soon approaching anyway. And while they were inexperienced, that just might be the edge to keep them alive long enough for them to be successful since they would be wary of everything.

Thus, the brightest and bravest of those ready for the Rite were assembled and given the task of journeying to the One Tree and completely the Rite of Adulthood in order to save the town.

Oddly, this didn’t include the Mutated Animals or the Sentient Plants, but some of them would go because it was “from each according to his ability” and they had the ability, even if no one knew what would happen if they ate the berries.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:22, Sat 08 Oct 2022.