Pegport: The Prize Pie Caper

Session Narrative

Pegport during the Pirate Festival is a wall of noise, colour, and strategic elbow deployment. Ships crowd the harbour displaying competition flags, street performers compete for attention on every corner, and the smell of cooking fills the entire waterfront quarter. The party has barely landed before the Lost Boys find them — a group of eight children ranging from about eight to fourteen, self-sufficient and very pleased to have new arrivals to inform.

The news: the Prize Pie has been stolen. The Prize Pie is Ma Gristle’s legendary meat pie, submitted annually to the festival’s baking competition, and it has never lost. It has also never, until today, gone missing. Ma Gristle herself is behind her counter in a state of contained fury that is doing structural damage to the building.

Investigation leads to the new baker in town: Ambrosius Peppercorn, young, ambitious, and possessed of the particular tunnel vision of someone who wants very badly to win something. He stole the pie. He intended to reverse-engineer the recipe. He was not expecting the Cherry Pie Golem.

The Golem — a misguided attempt by Ambrosius to create a recipe-copying construct from animated pastry — had taken the pie for its own purposes and installed itself in the back of the bakery. The party destroys it, recovers the pie (somewhat dented), and returns it to Ma Gristle.

The resolution rewards creativity: the party talks Ma into taking Ambrosius on as an apprentice, arguing that his ambition is an asset if properly directed. Ma grudgingly agrees. Ambrosius weeps with relief. The festival’s baking competition proceeds. Ma wins.

Mayor Black Bart Roberts — a man of impressive beard and practical authority — presents the party with the Seal of Pegport, a bronze disc inscribed with the town’s crest, as thanks for their services.

Key NPCs

• Ma Gristle  —  Baker of legendary standing. Approximately 70, five feet tall, terrifying. Her pies are objectively transcendent. She does not soften, but she respects competence.
• Ambrosius Peppercorn  —  Young human baker. Desperately ambitious, ethically flexible, genuinely talented. Under Ma’s instruction, will become genuinely excellent.
• Mayor Black Bart Roberts  —  Former pirate captain, current mayor. The transition was smoother than expected. Pragmatic, fond of the city, reliable ally.
• The Lost Boys  —  Eight children. Ages 8-14. Self-appointed guides and information network. Unafraid of anything. Collectively know everything that happens in Pegport within 20 minutes of it happening.

Encounters & Mechanics

Cherry Pie Golem

Use Flesh Golem stats, reskinned as animate pastry. Vulnerability: fire. On hit, releases a burst of hot jam — DC 12 Dex save or Restrained for 1 round. CR 5.

Loot & Rewards

DM Notes

This session establishes Pegport as a home base. The Lost Boys are a recurring information network. Ma Gristle and Ambrosius both reappear (Ambrosius notably in Session 20). The festival atmosphere should be vivid — Neverland is a place of adventure layered over fairy tale layered over childhood fantasy.