Prior to your travelling to the Maze of the Open Road, you recieve a note from Venture Captain Amara Li!
And so, you boot the trip.
Arriving presently, you observe the Maze itself, filled as it is with thick green hedges, lifelike topiary animals, standing stones, and an abundance of statuary depicting members of a great many ancestries. A few hundred feet in, the scents and sounds from the entry fade, replaced by an ever-shifting me'lange of smells from everywhere in Golarion. Dozens of turns in, the Maze's mutating nature suddenly gives way to an excited village, absolutely electrified with activity, chaos, and... ... striking the rd character to post their introductions below!
1: Face
2: Eye
3: Neck
4: Arm or hand or tentacle
5: Tummy
6: Groin
7: Leg or tail
8: Foot or fin
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“The line between life and death is paper-thin. And I’ve got needles.”
-Granny Deadybones.
***
1) What do you look like? What are you carrying prominently? Hidden?
"I’m what you might call ‘well-preserved'..."
Granny Deadybones stands hunched but proud, a venerable goblin draped in tattered silks, embroidered shawls, and layers of fabric stitched lovingly (and haphazardly) by many tiny hands. Her bony fingers are adorned with mismatched rings and bits of bright string, some sentimental, some likely cursed.
Prominently, she carries her knitting needles - curiously, some made of cold iron and some of silver. Slung across her back is a bulging rucksack stuffed with healer’s kits, herbs, bones, and other sundry adventuring gear. A dagger and a sling at her hip.
Hidden? Nothing but her true nature
2) How did you arrive to the Maze of the Open Road? Wherefrom? Describe your journey.
“I came the old way. Slowly but surely, like the inevitability of time, something I have no shortage of...”
Granny and her companion wolf, Hungry, came by foot (and paw) from the largely unknown Peoples Democratic Republic of Thistletop, a small goblin hamlet near the relatively unknown coastal town of Sandpoint on the Varisian coast. From there, it was a relatively short journey to nearby Magnimar, the City of Monuments.
3) What skills do you bring to the table to defuse a conflict? How does that show in your personality?
“You don’t survive being a goblin grandmother, and undead, without learning how to listen, lie, and lecture.”
Granny brings a combination of skills: Diplomacy, Intimidation, Medicine (stitching the living AND the dead!), and Performance. Magically, she has the ability to harm, heal, and blight.
She’s deeply nurturing, deeply unsettling at times, and speaks with the deliberate cadence of someone used to making children sit still and listen. Conflict doesn’t rattle her, only disrespectful behaviour ...but her appetite? Hungry, I'm so hungry...
4) Will this be your first encounter with Tanuki
She has previously encountered them in the Trouble in the Maze.
***
A rather emaciated and elderly goblin woman enters the Maze followed by a slightly concerning-looking wolf wearing a riding saddle and thick leather 'armour' over its vitals. "Oh the children would love this place, it's like a little festival" she remarks as the pie flies past- despite the faint raspiness like leaves blowing in the wind, she speaks with surprising gentleness and warmth, like an elderly kindergarten teacher about to read a bedtime story.
"I am Granny" she offers to no one in particular, broadly addressing the gathering "...and this is Hungry, he's a friendly dog, you can pat him, go ahead". The battle-scarred wolf looks entirely not friendly, and more inclined to rip off limbs than be petted by them.
Her eyes come to rest on the remains of the smashed pie "Ahh yes. Food. So...hungry". The wolf licks its lips, tongue lolling out expectantly.
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Cirri hustles to catch up to the rest of the team. Only to get distracted by another denizen of the Maze of the Open Road's flora and fauna.
"Yes. Right. Hi! I'm Cirri Merryweather." She folds her gray feathered wings and offers a hand to shake from beneath her blue coat. "Pleased to meet all of you. If you need a sip of water I can help." You notice the droplets of water and bubbles of trapped air swirling about her. Or you may notice her bird-like legs.
"Oh wow, a hummingbird?" Cirri crouches to take a closer look.
Cirri ducks just in time to avoid a pie to the face. She doesn't even realize something happened until she hears a squelch.
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1) What do you look like? What are you carrying prominently? Hidden?
Cirri is a Strix, 24 years old. She has dark olive skin, blonde hair, gray feathery wings, and bird-like feet. Her studded leather armor is stained blue and a pouch of random tools hangs off her belt. She is also holding a staff, she says it's an Atmospheric Staff.
2) How did you arrive to the Maze of the Open Road? Wherefrom? Describe your journey.
Cirri hails from the border islands between Chileax and Andorra. Getting permission to sail between the two nations is harder than the actual sailing. Her local Pathfinder lodge sent her a summons, so she wished her parents and Uncle goodbye and headed to the nearest entrance to the Maze, within a grotto.
3) What skills do you bring to the table to defuse a conflict? How does that show in your personality?
Cirri isn't much of a speaker, but she has dabbled in staying quiet, staying agile, and disarming tricky traps. She also rambles on about different societies and anthropological trends.
4) Will this be your first encounter with Tanuki?
A Tanuki? She's never met them before. And she gets to meet them as part of a Pathfinder mission? Father was right: this is the easiest way to meet more people.
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"Mek mek mek mek mek! Greetings, Smoothscales. I am Mikmek. I met some tanuki during the Maze of the Open Road when they were playing tricks on Pathfinders. I wonder what kind of mischief they have gotten themselves into again!"
Mikmek is a lean kobold with various bladed weapons on him. He appears to be a happy-go-lucky kobold with an almost playful personality.
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A green kobold pirate arrives from the as he strides with pride evident on his face. His stance exudes confidence, perhaps even overconfidence, until... a flying pie almost hit him. Flicking his tail, he instinctively grabs his combat grapnel, ready for the incoming assault.
He turns to the one who was hit with the pie.
"Are you alright? Schek by the way." he asks. "Who could have done tha... Ah! Haha!" he stifles a laugh. It dawns on him that this might be a tanuki's welcoming prank to them. He wonders who threw it and begins looking around.
Greetings, Pathfinders, I have surveyed the Maze of the Open Road’s exit in Kodomi Village, as well as the village’s surroundings. The exit appears stable, meaning that Kodomi Village is a prime location for the Lantern Lodge and Pathfinder Society to establish a presence in southern Minkai. The Empress has already granted her approval. Unfortunately, the village is in chaos. The elders Mimiko and Kenta have lost control of their people, and a prank war is disrupting daily life. Normal activities, like formal negotiations, are impossible while the tanuki are running wild. The leaders of the prank war are named Fumika and Shuuto. While they’re not dangerous, they have excellent throwing arms, as evidenced in recent food fights. Possibly related to the pranks, the forested valley surrounding the village is unusually quiet, with markedly fewer animals than I’d expect. Your mission is to end the prank war and get the elders to agree to establishing a lodge in the village for the villagers’ protection.
Good luck and stay vigilant, Amara Li, Venture-Captain of the Lantern Lodge
⚔⚔⚔ ⚔⚔⚔ ⚔⚔⚔
Amara Li, Venture-Captain of the Lantern Lodge, takes a half-step back, allowing the pie to fly past her into the face of a Mik-Mek - she offers him a towel and a comforting smile “Good, you’re here on time. As you can see, things are a bit hectic. Welcome to Kodomi Village. The locals are in the middle of a prank war, which is exactly as disruptive as it sounds. On the plus side, it gives us the opportunity to solve a problem for the village elders, Mimiko and Kenta, which should buy the Society and Lantern Lodge enough goodwill to establish a lodge here. This is the reason we asked you all to come. I’m sure you have questions. Please ask them, as I’ll need to head out soon to deal with a situation nearly as chaotic."
“While the Pathfinder Society has taken pains to secure the Maze from threats and controls many of its exits, we don’t control them all. And since any exit in the Maze can theoretically lead to any other exit, Kodomi Village could be mere minutes from an invasion of hostile creatures. In short, the Society and the Lantern Lodge would like to keep our tanuki friends safe while ensuring we have access to the portals in Maze.”
“We’re a cooperative society of semi-independent lodges, one in Absalom and another five scattered throughout Tian Xia. We’re also a member organization of the Pathfinder Society. It’s complicated, but we’re both part of the Society and our own institution. We have our own goals, largely the preservation of historical knowledge, but we’re also committed to the Pathfinder Society’s goals. Rest assured, I’m a venture-captain with full authority.”
“The Maze of the Open Road is a centuries-old, sprawling, magical hedge maze that’s officially near the Woodsedge Lodge in Galt, but functionally located in over two dozen places scattered throughout Golarion. The Pathfinder Society has largely stabilized it, although I wouldn’t wander it aimlessly if I were you.”
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“Resolve a prank war? Ah, I see why you called a goblin… and a bunch of kobolds" Granny looks around the assembled party “That’s two peoples with reputations for rather lethal prank wars of our own. And Strix? Known for their fierce sense of community and artistic expression. Sensible, very sensible, you brought in experienced troubleshooters.”
“Now then, what do we know of these ringleaders?” she asks "and more curiously,why would a prank war quiet the valley’s wildlife? I’d have thought all the food fights and resulting waste and available food would attract the scavengers eager for an easy meal. Not fewer. Something in that doesn’t smell right…”
“Unless, of course, something else is feeding while the valley's distracted.” her eyes casually drift towards her companion wolf, Hungry, wondering if there are predators in the forest running wild.
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"These tanukis better behave themselves." Schek’s grin spreads wider, revealing a jagged assortment of teeth: some crooked, others unnaturally long and sharp, catching the light in a way that makes his amusement seem just a bit unsettling.
"So, the only real threat from this so-called war is a barrage of pies?" he continues, tilting his head with mock seriousness before letting out a low chuckle. "Aside from stepping in to stop their little feud, that sounds almost too easy." His tone carries the casual confidence of someone who believes he can handle far worse, as though the chaos ahead is already little more than an inconvenience in his mind.
“The elders will know more" Amara Li smiles to Granny, bowing a little in reverence to her age "But the basics are that two tanuki by the names of have decided to continuously one-up each other with pranks and have gotten almost the whole village involved. It’s become extremely disruptive to the village’s daily operations” she adds "As to why the wildlife is repelled by the village - rather than attracted to it - is likely a matter of further investigation. I bid you speak with the village elders" excusing herself, she takes another part of the Maze to pursue other endeavors.
Leaving the party to enter the village, and speak with Kenta and Mimiko about Fumika and Shuuto...
Two elderly tanuki approach you, ducking out of the way of dumplings thrown haphazardly across the village square. “I doubt we have to tell you what our primary troubles are right now,” one of the two sighs. “I’m Mimiko, and this is Kenta. We should be figures of authority,” her emphasis on the word ‘should’ clearly indicating otherwise at the moment, “but these youngsters are too hot-blooded and caught up in their games to pay us any heed.” Her counterpart chimes in, “When Amara Li told us what she wanted, we figured, ‘why not let youngsters deal with the youngsters?’ Seems easy enough. Any questions?
Mimiko answers, “Shuuto replaced an offering for Yaseikami with an illusory plate, nothing but leaves in reality. Offering our local kami fake food humiliated the village. So, Fumika retaliated by moving Shuuto’s house. Now, they’ve both been at it for weeks.”
Kenta sighs. “We don’t know. It seems like they’re not even trying to one up each other, just showing off how clever they are.”
Mimiko looks down. “It’s just gone too far, and it’s distracting everyone. Pranks are damaging buildings, but everyone’s too busy to repair them. Fields are going fallow because farmers are too busy to seed them. It could ruin this village, but people are too caught up to notice.”
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"The venture-captain mentioned about the wildlife being repelled to the village. Is this connected to your disruptive feud?" Schek asks the two elderly tanuki. "or any information about that?" he is rather curious, now that the matter is more than the war between Fumika and Shuuto.
"Last time I was here, you're village is very lively, in a good sense, but I wonder what happened now. And why would Shuuto do that in the first place?" he is asking too much now.
"The venture-captain mentioned about the wildlife being repelled to the village. Is this connected to your disruptive feud?" Schek asks the two elderly tanuki. "or any information about that?" he is rather curious, now that the matter is more than the war between Fumika and Shuuto.
The two Tanuki look at eachother and shrug - Kenta speculates "Perhaps she has been keeping a better look from the outside while we have been doing our best to get a handle on the inside" and Mimiko adds "We would appreciate that you check into it"
"Last time I was here, you're village is very lively, in a good sense, but I wonder what happened now. And why would Shuuto do that in the first place?" he is asking too much now.
Mimiko smiles "They do not have a history of problems, those two. His behavior is quite strange indeed" and Kenta offers "I'm sure they'll relate to you younger ones better than us two old farts"
"Are they being manipulated? Seems like everyone's have a bit too much fun. My Parent always says to clean house before and after you wreck it."
Both gasp - together "I hope not!" and give eachother a grave look. Mimiko then shares her idea “Beating them at their own game might convince them to stop. Figuring out why they’re still at it might help, too.” Kenta suggests, “You could organize a contest that takes everyone’s mind off the pranks and lets them explore their competitiveness peacefully. There was a dance contest a while back; everyone enjoyed that.” she looks at Kenta, who nods in agreement.
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Gather information
“This is more reminiscent of a goblin kindergarten than a functional village" Granny objects as she finds it impossible to get much out of the locals.
“I agree, the chaos needs to be channelled before it can be controlled properly. Yes, Perhaps an event. Or a competition. Someplace to vent all this energy with rules, even a kindergarten has rules” She spits that last word like a curse and glances sideways at the kobolds to check their agreement.
“We've had quite enough of that nonsense at the Dacilane Academy, seems prank wars are a recurring syllabus problem these days. I miss the old days when it was just the treacherous Aspis Consortium trying to kill us all"
“We’re going to need a plan. And possibly a large tarp”
And so, the party starts to get to work...
To get to the heart of the problem, the party will have to be creative. Perhaps they could "Convince Fumika and Shuuto to talk", or maybe they could simply "Demand a pause in the pranking", another idea might be to "Propose a new contest" or even just "Distract the pranksters". Better yet? They could try "Beating the pranksters at pranking"!? Whatever creative method they use, they begin putting their Conflict Defusement skills together...
➤ Level: 3 (base DC 18, modified by some skills / creative posts)
➤ Complexity: 2 rounds (2 skill checks per PC)
➤ Timeframe: Anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour or more (check durations for skill feats, spells, etc)
➤ Synergies: Creative use of Skill Feats / Spells / Abilities may garner additional points
➤ List of Skills: The Quest suggests: Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Diplomacy, Intimidation, Perform, and Thievery. But this list is not exhaustive.
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"We will try our best." Schek brandishes his teeth once more with a smile.
He goes between the two warring tanuki, exhales deep and exclaims,
These pranks are causing real trouble for everyone. Stop for a while, both of you, or I’ll have to step in and show you what an actual prank looks like, and trust me, it won’t be as harmless as a bucket of water.”
Schek grabs a hanging vine, swings through the trees, flips onto a branch, jumping from it and lands with ease.
w Cat Fall
He then calls them out,“You two like competing, right? How about this: forget the pranks. Let’s see who can match me instead! Swing through the ropes, climb as high as you can, and land without falling. Whoever does it best wins. Think you can handle that?”
Interposing himself between Fumika and Shuuto, Schek Nek does his best to taunt them.
Shuuto looks at Fumika, winks at her and says ”Really tremblin’ in our buckets there, Oh! We’re so scared!” but she pays him - nor the kobold - any mind.
Until! Our pirate hero’s little branch prank has him landing perfectly from a dangerous fall! Fumika looks over at Shuuto, then goes and holds Schek Nek’s arm ”That was really impressive!” to which Shuuto appears to suddenly be overcome with… jealousy?!
"Oh this is fun!" Cirri hops to and fro amongst the 2 Tanuki to get their attention.
"That was fun! What's next? A dance contest? Wait, are you still pranking? Really?"
Mikmek begins performing acrobatic tricks to try to impress the tanuki.
Fumika casts Shuuto another look - as if to communicate that she knows that he is watching her and aware of his jealousy - and begins fawning now over Cirri and Mik-Mek "Oh, you two are SO graceful, I could just go bellyup!" and she mimics the act of swooning, falling over and letting each one in turn catch her.
Shuuto's anxious feelings escalate, and he looks to be on the verge of tears...
Granny begins gently herding the crowd into place, guiding them to watch rather than join the chaos. ”Let’s observe, not escalate” she smiles grimly ”Now, who’s ready for a little story? One about the goblin who pulled one prank too many…and what the owlbear did to him”
Half of the camp sits down to listen to Granny Deadbones story about the owlbear "What's that!?" one says "We don't talk about owlbears now" says another "It's exactly as it sounds" a third "What - like an owl and a bear had a baby?" a fourth "Obviously" chimes in a fifth.
Fumika stops "swooning" and sits right next to Shuuto - he goes as stiff as a rock!
He then sneaks up behind Mimiko and gives her horns or makes faces behind her before she notices...
Shuuto tries to warn Fumika, but arrives too late, and he turns red as an apple!
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"Oh, right! Owlbear!" Cirri flips through one of her notebooks to present a drawing of one she saw at the museum in Absalom.
"So they used to be a lot more prevalent. Dad says they were around during the first edition of the Pathfinder Society. But then some wizards came from the coast and wiped them out, right before the Pathfinder Society worked on their second remaster of the charter."
"But that's okay, I like Falcoursines more."
"But that's okay, I like Falcoursines more."
Shuuto's confidence returns to him - he speaks to Fumika "I know all about Falcoursines" to which she narrows her eyes, suspiciously "Oh do you now? You know so many things!" to which he replies somewhat projectively "Are you jealous of the things I know?" she retorts "Nope it doesn't bother me at all" and folds her arms and he says "Fine" and she says "Fine"
Neither of them look particularly happy. But there is... something... between them... they both look upset that the conversation ended the way it did, even though neither one scooted away from the other while sitting in Granny Deadbones' kindergarten circle...
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Performance
With the crowd formed, Granny begins her cautionary tale about the overly tricksy goblin who pulled one prank too many, and what the beary-owl did to him. Her voice is lighter than usual, as if called back to how you may have pictured her in another life, surrounded by adoring goblings and deeply happy and content. It is a tale that turns dark with the telling of one final prank that woke something ancient and feathered in the woods. She ends with a dry chuckle and a bony shrug “…so remember, dear listeners, prank all you like, but never prank something with claws, wings, and a grudge”
Granny notes the intersting dynamic between the two, but says nothing - for now.
Recess is over.
Circled around Granny Deadbones, her Tanuki class comes to ease, and the Prank War effectively stops. Instead, after dispersing, the endeavor to recreate "bear-owls" with twigs, mud, and little rocks, and it becomes "Who can make the Coolest one" instead of "Who can Prank Who the Hardest" - the entire energy of the village transmuted.
Someone says "We should have a Bear-Owl Party" another chimes in "Yeah yeah a Bear-Owl Party!" and a third wonders "What's a Bear-Owl Party?" a fourth explains "Dummy it's a Party about a Bear-Owl" and for some reasons this ends debate definitively - except for a fifth who wonders "Um, we might want to get a lawyer" but nobody listens to him.
And the Pathfinders, it turns out, will be the Guests of Honor! Shuuto gives you all a bracelet (which Fumika eyes as he does) and Fumika gives you all a necklace (which Shuuto eyes as she does) presenting them to Cirri and Schek Nek respec(spec)tively!
And now - everyone scrambles to prepare for the Party!
The villagers get busy preparing for the party and have little patience for busybodies asking questions, so the two tanuki elders suggest that the PCs ingratiate themselves to the villagers and save their questions for the party. Mimiko suggests helping clean the village while Kenta suggests helping with party preparations. Either way, the Wake of a Prank War is Messy and Dangerous! Perhaps one could help by "find and removing illusory food" or "repair damaged items" or "disarming traps" or simply "moving furniture". Whatever the method, it'll take a lot of hard work!
➤ Level: 3 (base DC 18, modified by some skills / creative posts)
➤ Complexity: 2 rounds (2 skill checks per PC)
➤ Timeframe: Anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour or more (check durations for skill feats, spells, etc)
➤ Synergies: Creative use of Skill Feats / Spells / Abilities may garner additional points
➤ List of Skills: The Quest suggests: Athletics, Arcana, Crafting, Nature, Occultism, Religion, or Thievery. But this list is not exhaustive.
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"Oh! Um... thank you!" Cirri accepts the necklace. She scratches the ground a bit as the tanuki interact. "Um... maybe you should make necklaces for each other?" but it's too late, the party has begun.
Well, the preparation has begun.
"Hmm, well, Parent's advice on Tanuki parties... uh... they told me a story about how to properly dress a stage for Tanuki dancers and performers. Lots of wood, small objects Tanuki can use as inspiration, and the perfect chair for belly rubs?" Cirri flips through her notes.
"Oh! Um... thank you!" Cirri accepts the necklace. She scratches the ground a bit as the tanuki interact. "Um... maybe you should make necklaces for each other?" but it's too late, the party has begun.
Sometimes, a good idea becomes "real" just by being said aloud.
Shuuto blushes at Cirri's comment (And: Apparently it isn't too late). And Fumika somehow emboldens at the casual suggestion - asks Shuuto (somewhat guardedly) "Well if you made a necklace for me, I uh, I wouldn't throw it away. At least not immediately..."
This only makes Shuuto blush even redder!
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Religion
Granny threads another bone onto twine “Shelyn’s got her art, sure, but goblins… well, we express ourselves with our own creativity - not quite what she’d hang in a gallery”
Her gaze drifts to two Tanuki and their clear issue, "I think I see the problem here" - and that almost warms her cold, dead, heart.
Watching from afar, Shuto collects a few bones himself, and with great concentration, imitates Granny Deadbones' technique...
...but ultimately, becomes frustrated, and throws the entire art project onto the ground - it explodes into pieces and scatters!
Off in the distance, Fumika has been watching him...
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And the Pathfinders, it turns out, will be the Guests of Honor! Shuuto gives you all a bracelet (which Fumika eyes as he does) and Fumika gives you all a necklace (which Shuuto eyes as she does) presenting them to 2d4 Cirri and Schek Nek respec(spec)tively!
Schek stares at Fumika, unsure whether to accept it without inciting another prank war. Looking back and forth between the two of them, it seems they have set aside their differences, maybe for now. He will know later. He wears the necklaces after thanking them and joins the others set up the party by helping the community fix what needs fixing.
To do his part, Schek begins moving away unnecessary objects and clearing the area of debris and whatnot.
Hero Point!
He keeps doing so, placing things into the right places, misplaced furniture, boulders blocking the way, among others.
It seems there are too many things to move here and there!
Schek stares at Fumika, unsure whether to accept it without inciting another prank war. Looking back and forth between the two of them, it seems they have set aside their differences, maybe for now. He will know later. He wears the necklaces after thanking them and joins the others set up the party by helping the community fix what needs fixing.
To do his part, Schek begins moving away unnecessary objects and clearing the area of debris and whatnot.
He keeps doing so, placing things into the right places, misplaced furniture, boulders blocking the way, among others.
It seems there are too many things to move here and there!
"No no NO" Fumika comes over and castigates Schek Nek "That doesn't go there. And this goes here, actaully" she hovers over him the rest of the preparations party period, focused on making sure he doesn't do any more mistakes.
Mik-Mek realize that there is a danger of folks blundering into traps laid during the prank war and goes looking for them.
Unfortunately, he almost steps into a deadfall trap that would have left him stuck in a mud pit.
Disgruntled, he heads back to help move furniture around instead.
Though a kobold, Tanuki traps seem to continuously confound our hero!
And their furniture too!
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Granny sets about organising a work-party to set up for the party, but takes the time to talk through some fun and entertaining commentary and discussion about the natural world in which they live - passing on some of her understanding of the medicinal uses of herbs, as well as how they can be used to heal basic maladies.
Nature
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"Right. Well, traps." Cirri looks as Mik-mek disables them with a direct approach.
She opts for scratching it in just the right way, carefully using her talons to snag and break a tripwire. The pie goes flying, of course, but nowhere close to her face. One of the few times she's thankful for having Parent's feet and not Dad's.
"Right. Well, traps." Cirri looks as Mik-mek disables them with a direct approach.
She opts for scratching it in just the right way, carefully using her talons to snag and break a tripwire. The pie goes flying, of course, but nowhere close to her face. One of the few times she's thankful for having Parent's feet and not Dad's.
Not that different. Cirri helps Mik-mek to understand. Together, they disable a problem area, and the tanuki are impressed.
Granny sets about organising a work-party to set up for the party, but takes the time to talk through some fun and entertaining commentary and discussion about the natural world in which they live - passing on some of her understanding of the medicinal uses of herbs, as well as how they can be used to heal basic maladies.
Some of the tanuki set aside their playfulness a moment to concentrate fully on Granny's words. After all, teachers know everything about everything - especially old ones!
They decide to incorporate some of her medicinal teachings into a couple of party snacks, and give her the first bite "Did it heal you?"
After testing his weed cupcake on her, Shuuto conjures the courage to gift it to Fumika, who smiles, swallows it in one gulp, and overcome with shyness, runs into the woods, leaving him scratching his head with a perplexed expression on his face...
The sunset bathes the village in a reddish glow. Tables are set with food—real food, not illusions—and the electric feeling that something is about to happen sets in. The ground rumbles in pulsing waves, as if the village were inside an enormous drum. Kenta bursts from his house, his hands drumming on his belly. “Let’s party!” he shouts.
The prank war is truly at an end.
Fumika and Shuuto are smitten with each other.
Shuuto heard something big come through the Maze earlier this week, but he didn’t see anything.
Yuuya thinks the music is so loud that the whole valley can hear it.
The woods have been oddly quiet lately.
Although most of the party probably stays behind at the party they helped prepare and that is being thrown in their honor, it's not unheard of nor unexpected that one or two might slip off instead...
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to Gather Information (Fail)
Once the party started, Schek remember something.
"Our venture-captain mentioned about your village repelling the wildlife. Maybe because you party too much." he approaches the elder and shouts his concern so his voice won't be drowned.
The prank war may truly be at an end, but it was loud, obnoxiously so. But no matter, for no sooner does the party schmooze for these rumors, the party reaches new heights in volume, whereby out of nowhere a flock of blue flames soars over the top of the stage, inflicting fiery trails along its beams. Air audibly rushes into them, and they start to inflate, seemingly preparing to unleash fiery attacks. As the stage begins to burn, the music abruptly stops and tanuki shout words of protest and mockery, either bravely overlooking the deadly threat or, more likely, ignorant of the danger they face!
♪♪♪♪♪♪ ♪♪♪♪♪♪ ♪♪♪♪♪♪
PARTY CRASHERS
Reactions?: Unready
Weapons?: You are at a Party
Burning Building: If you begin your turn inside the building, roll a DC 18 Basic Reflex vs 1d6 fire damage (please roll for yourself)
Put Out the Fire (from Inside): If you are in the building, you may Disable (◆◆) the fire with an Acrobatics or Survival check
Put Out the Fire (from Outside): If you have a ranged Cold damage effect, you may try that from a safer range.
Monster ID: Nature or Plane of Fire Lore (secret check - please spoiler your own roll)
Granny (27)
Mik-Mek (24)
Crimson Fire (21)
Red Fire (21)
Cirri (13)
Schek Nek (11)
Pink Fire (3)
Structure Fire (0)
♪♪♪♪♪♪ ♪♪♪♪♪♪ ♪♪♪♪♪♪
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Granny pauses for a moment, the goblin in her admiring all the pretty flames - but then she remembers who she is, and with a flick of her wrist a number of sharp shards of her knitting needles spray forth at one of the living flames.
Needledarts
Attack
Damage
◆◆ Cast - Needledarts
◆ Command animal
Hungry launches across the battlefield - also getting after the same target of Granny's ire as the party music cuts short in the background.
Bite
Attack
Damage
◆ Stride
◆ Strike
Mik-mek bravely engages Pink Flame with flair and panache.
Granny and her Dog savagely snuff the out of the Red Flame.
Crimson Fire avenges it's fallen friend - engaging the hound!
Crimson
◆) Fly
◆◆) Strike x2
Cirri puts the entire fire out!