GM Batpony's PFS Quest: Winter Queen's Dollhouse (Inactive)

Game Master Batpony

The adventure begins in front of the dollhouse, with the PCs having already been briefed by Eando Kline. They’ve been informed that the apparent toy was given to the Pathfinder Society by Queen Anastasia of Irrisen, and that all anyone knows is that it was a relic from former Queen Elvanna, a less than scrupulous ruler. The dollhouse is magical in nature, but it is unclear what its purpose is. The PCs were also told that the dollhouse has been in the Pathfinder Society Vaults for some time, but that the Society was unable to look into it until recently due to other pressing matters.

After an incident with the night hag Aslynn, a steward noticed that the house was affected, and Eando decided it was time to investigate it. He apologized for not having any further information for them, as the PCs are the first group to look the dollhouse over properly since it was stored in the vaults.

Please begin with your character introductions!

First to inspect the Dollhouse was Aurora Golshan. With soft but agile footsteps that could only belong to an expert dancer, the human monk walked up to the dollhouse, and leant in to examine it.

Growing up in a travelling circus troupe, she rarely played with dollhouses. Such toys were too cumbersome for the nomadic life, and she instead spent her playtime enthralled in the spectacle of the circus. Playing pretend families with dollhouses would be strange to little Aurora, thinking 'but where would the trapezes hang?'

But adult Aurora's examination of the dollhouse was more considered. She examined the craftmanship of the piece, investigating the tiny details. Could it be work of a artisan who had perfected their craft? While she knew nothing of its construction, she absolutely understood the pursuit of perfection. Years of dedication and precision transformed Aurora into the 'dancer of the first light', whose effortless perfection evoked the calm stillness of early morning. Her personality radiated warmth, and her soft blushing cheeks and freckles resembled the rosy-coloured dawn.

She had no immediate insight on the piece, and gently stepped aside to allow the others a closer look. She began quietly contemplating the Dollhouse, as well as the other members in the room.

Nestor moved with considerable less grace than Aurora: as he began stepping closer to the dollhouse, the vials slung around his belt shook dangerously, almost looking like they might snap and fall to the ground at any given moment. Along with the gnome, a tiny alchemical being followed. The creature was bipedal, with two arms and hands, in the format of a bottle. Through the glass-like body it possessed, swirled an almost electrical fluid that seemed to spark with each movement.

“Come now, Zero-one; let’s see this trinket from closer," The alchemist said as he pitter-pattered even closer to the structure, giving the first inspector a thorough nod. The scent of ozone and sulphur permeated the gnome.

Standing right in front of it, the alchemist leaned closer, attentive eyes running over every detail. “Yes, yes, interesting craftsmanship. I wonder if the Society would mind if I chipped a small piece of it and tested it in some alchemical products. We can uncover a lot knowing its composition.” Mumbling, the gnome crossed his arms, giving the object an extra analytical glance at it, and, at his side, the tiny familiar mimicked its master.

Secret roll - 1d20+7 Recall Knowledge - Crafting on the dollhouse

Nari had seen doll houses like this before. Her mother had one, probably handed down from her grandmother, and now she had it, hopefully to be passed on down the generations. Plus she had heard of these before in tales from her adventuring parents and grand parents who had been Pathfinders.

Nari also seemed to move like a dancer or acrobat as she followed Aurora around the dollhouse. Nari had been asking Aurora about her time in the circus as her mother and grandmother had also worked in the circus as performing acrobats and escape artists. Nari hoped to follow in their footsteps but she was still learning the tricks.

Ragnar circled the dollhouse a few times stroking his golden beard with his thick dark fingers. A bit of a craftsman himself (as all proper Dwarves should be) he admired the skill involved in its creation. What interested him more though was the others gathered around the house.

"Oi, name's Ragnar Stonefist, field medic and master of wave and stone. Well met ta you all."

Hi. I'm Nari Frost. Daredevil acrobat and performer

We are just waiting on Drake to post his PC intro I believe. But in the meantime, I normally use google slides for maps and handouts. I would kindly ask the group to update some basic information on slide 2, like your typical exploration activities, adding your token, and marching order. Quest Slides link to update. I ran out of character limits on my header so I'll link it here and whenever we need to reference it, but it is also linked on the top of the page.

As with Pathfinder 2nd edition, secret rolls are often made for knowledge checks. In spoilers GM's will often roll these secret checks, so if it says GM Screen, PC's don't typically click on the spoiler otherwise you ruin your own secret checks!

After learning about the mission, some of you may already have some innate knowledge about the Queens of Irrisen.

And If your name is mentioned in a spoiler tag, that information is obviously only for you.

Snapping out of deep thought, Aurora lifted her head to speak. "Apologies Ragnar, where are my manners? My name is Aurora, and it is lovely to meet you all." She brought out her hand right hand and offered a polite handshake to the dwarf.

Tilting her head sideways and leaning across, she also addressed the gnome. "I have previously spoke with Nari, but you must be Nestor I take it?" She then gestured to the companion. And you have a friend it seems?"

@Batpony - I didn't know/realise how to recall knowledge, but next time, I would format it like Nestor's character above, yes?
I wont bother this time, my crafting skill is naught and I have nothing useful here lol

Nestor’s eyebrows furrow as he keeps looking at the dollhouse. No matter how much he gazed at it, nothing seemed to rattle his memory. “What a curious piece of memorabilia.” The alchemist finally concluded, uncrossing his arms and shifting his attention to the other pathfinders.

“That would be correct: Nestor Zibbloretan, alchemist and artisan. A pleasure to meet you all.” Answering Aurora, he told the group. One of his hands motioned towards the tiny alchemical being. “And this one is Zero-one, one of my alchemical creations.”

The bottle-like creature approached Aurora, offering its hand, just as she did to Ragnar.

The door to the room opens and is being held open by a black and chrome humanoid-looking figure that about 3 feet tall (HeroForge mini of Gadget), as a female gnome (HeroForge mini of Gidget) about the same height with purple hair and purple skin, though her there is noticeable areas of her skin where the shade of purple has a whitish tinge to it. Her outfit might seem an eyesore to some and an oddity to others. Nearly everything aside her flesh and hair is red or bright yellow, with a clear motif being alternating squares of the two colours, each square contained a filled in circle of the other colour. Even the backpack strapped to her back and the whip and sheathed dagger on her hips continue the alternating red and yellow pattern.

"Thank you, Gadget. Close the door and follow me." the female tells the mechanical being.

As she approaches the others and the dollhouse she addresses them all, "I would have been here sooner but I saw the most curious thing...a rabbit with a stopwatch...I had to see if it was an illusion. But whether illusion or not, the rabbit vanished by the time I got close enough to properly investigate....which is why I am here...the dollhouse!"

After walking around, to determine what she already can deduce about the dollhouse, she casts her innate Read Aura cantrip on the dollhouse.

still editing, please give me a few minutes.

The gnome walks around the dollhouse, and as if absented-minded, introduces herself as her gaze stays focused on the oddity, "He's Gadget and I am his creator, Gidget."

@GM: As per the Oddity skill feat, certain things are automatically known to Gidget whenever one of the triggers are met.

(trigger 1) When you become aware of a magical effect or (trigger 2) see a spell being cast, you can immediately determine if it twists minds (with the mental trait), fights against fortune (with the fortune or misfortune trait), or reveals secrets (with the detection, prediction, revelation, or scrying traits). At the GM’s discretion, similar effects can also fall into these categories. When you Identify Magic or Recall Knowledge to learn more about these effects, you can always use Occultism without penalty and gain a +2 circumstance bonus.

As Gidget's Investigate check is typically using Occultism, that is the one I put in for her Exploration activity at a +9 bonus (which includes the circumstance bonus, as it tends to be easier to remember to remove a bonus that does not apply as opposed to possibility of forgetting to add a bonus that might apply). Refer to her header skills spoiler when another Recall Knowledge skill applies instead.

@newer players: The above is an example of something that could have been instead put into a spoiler titled "@GM" if I only the GM really needed to know it. I did not for a reason: So everyone in the group gets an idea of part of what Gidget brings to the group (a score that tends to be out of reach for most 1st level characters regarding occult investigation).

Secret Occultism +7 (+9) check, if appropriate
Secret Curse Lore +7 check, if appropriate
Seccret Arcana +7 check, if appropriate
Secret Religion +1 check, if appropriate
Secret Crafting +7 check, if appropriate
Secret Society +7 check, if appropriate

After she walks around the dollhouse to determine what she already knows and can deduce about it, she pauses, "Please give me a minute so I can see what else the Wheels of Innovation can tell us about the dollhouse," she says. The circles of her padded armor attire seem to duplicate as phantasmal copies of them emerge from her clothing and swirl around her, with an audible ripping sound as if the fabric is being torn off as the illusionary circles peel off from her, then start spinning around as they change colour and shape and turn into illusions of gears that look similar to the gears that are used for the religious symbol for the Wheels of Innovation pantheon, and the smell of grease permeates the air around them.

The above is the spellcasting manifestations when she uses her innate Read Aura cantrip.

Read Aura

Identy Magic (regarding the dollhouse) with a +2 circumstance bonus for herself and others gathered as she tells them what her detection spell reveals.

After she completes her spell and discussions about the dollhouse continue, Gidget extends her right hand to the others for proper and formal introductory handshakes, including Nestor's tiny friend, Zero-one.

"Gadget, shake hands with everyone as well. Just because you were not born or hatched in the traditional sense does not mean you should be treated like furniture. Gadget, remember to look the person you are shaking hands with in the eyes."

Ragnar shakes all the hands warmly.
So has anyone learned anything from their examinations? I myself have not though that's not really my specialty."

And so we begin the adventure! With regards to secret knowledge rolls, for Pathfinder Society there are very standard set of knowledge checks presented to the GM at the start of the adventure, I went ahead and read through everyone's character sheets to see your trained skills and had already applied the secret knowledge rolls in my aforementioned post so be rest assured no one is missing out on any potential knowledge that might help in this mission.

A massive dollhouse, nearly eight feet tall, stands on top of a short but ornately carved table. The legs and base of the table have crows, dogs, cats, and other similar symbols carved into every available surface. The dollhouse itself appears to be an extravagant representation of a house in the land of endless winter. Fake snow covers its roof, and sculpted icicles hang down, glistening.

Despite its formerly rich appearance, it is clear the dollhouse has seen better days. The fake snow and ice have yellowed with age. The paint, once bright blue and white, is dull and peeling The wooden base has darkened with time, except in a few places where it has chipped and revealed fresh wood.The most obvious feature, though, is the missing wall. Typical of a dollhouse, it would allow access to the interior of the house for play or observation. While the rooms and several dolls can be seen inside, it looks hazy and somehow off, as if something is interfering with the transition from inside to out.

As Gidget examines the structure, in a blink of an eye, your surroundings feels... different. You feel perhaps a little chilly. And the room looks oddly unfamiliar. And the dollhouse you were examining... Missing?!

The new room you find yourselves in: A tumbleweed trundles along the vast hall. A second look reveals this is not a tumbleweed but an oversized dust ball. This grand foyer is not as majestic as it once was. Large flakes of bright paint peel off the walls. Dust covers wooden carvings and ornaments that are all just slightly too large for the cabinets they sit on. A dry staleness fills the air. The most notable feature is the lack of an eastern wall. Beyond it, the Pathfinder Society Vaults are visible, albeit appearing much larger than they were
a few seconds ago.

Map is updated, slide 3, we begin with a dungeon crawl? Red lines are the missing walls, and grey boxes are fog of war :) What do you do?

Before the curse takes ahold of the party and are shrunk down...

"The dollhouse is cursed and it was created during Queen Elvanna's reign, and she hand a penchant for creating unique magic that she used to suit her cruel intentions. Please give me a minute so I can see what else the Wheels of Innovation can tell us about the dollhouse." The spellcasting manifestations of her Read Aura cantrip start as described above (which is how they typical do) but then the phantasmal gears start peeling away from Gidget, towards the dollhouse, shrinking in size to become mere specks by the time they reach the dollhouse. "That's a bad..."

After the party has been magically shrunken in size and are in the dollhouse...

"...sign."

Anyone have some helium to pass around to make our voices sound like we are shrunken down? :P

Gidget makes the round of introductory handshakes and tells Gadget to do the same (though unlike Gidget, he cannot speak (...yet).

"By the gears! This situation should help us stave off the bleaching for a few years at least, Nestor."

"First thing we should do is get organized...it would not be good to split up in here...we have been shrunken down once already...should that happen again to any of us while none of the rest of us are around, they would effectively become lost to the rest of us with not knowing their fate or how to locate them."

"Gadget, stay within 15 feet of me until I tell you otherwise."

A look of excitement, and not fear, appears on Gidget's face. "Is everyone ready to 'Explore, Report and Cooperate'?" she asks, using an Ustalavic Varisian (Transylvanian) accent when saying the Pathfinder Society's main credo.

Shaking hands back, Nestor’s gaze would become more curious as the gnome shook Gadget’s hand. “Interesting, not alchemical. Doesn’t seem so. Perhaps mechanical? Possibly. Maybe," he murmured. Yet, soon enough he would find himself directly in much different scenery.

Gazing at the new surroundings, the time-eroded foyer, he had to remove his spectacles for a moment. Wiping them off on his coat, he put them on once more. “I see, either the dollhouse held potent magic or we are under a powerful hallucinogen. The former seems more likely, yes, yes, interesting.” While speaking, the alchemist stomped the floor a few times to check its hardness.

He would walk north slightly, just to where the wall was missing, briefly scouting both west and east of his position, before entering the foyer once more. “A few years indeed! Can’t say I’ve ever been dragged into a miniature house before.” Agreeing with Gidget, Nestor chuckled.

“Zero-one, stay behind me.” Shifting through his bottles, the gnome drew a Bottled Lightning (Lesser), keeping the vial in his right hand. “Let’s begin the exploration! Should we start through the west wing?” Nestor offered with a grin, going down the stairs and moving to the center of the room.

Ragnar looks around, slightly wild-eyed, as he realizes what has happened, but Gidet's recitation of the Society's motto seems to calm him a bit.

"Aye, explore, report, and cooperate. 'Tis the best wey ta get us oot o' this mess." Ragnar's dwarven accent is coming through strongly due to the shock.

"Best ta be prepared for anything at this point."

Ragnar opens his kinetic gate and his aura snaps into existence. Tiny lines of sand shift and dance across the floor, forming patterns that collapse and reform. Snowflakes and tiny water drops swirl above him in patterns that mirror those of the sand.

Suddenly, the sand begins to stream up Ragnar's legs, forming shapes like armor only, where metal would be smooth, each piece is craggy like the side of a cliff. When he is covered, the sand hardens until it is solid as rock, leaving only the thin streams of sand making patterns on the floor.

"That's better, let's go then.

Ragnar straps on his shield and follows Nestor.

Halflings are friendly, welcoming folk and Nari is no exception as she shakes everyone's hands, including Gadget and Zero-One. She seems rather intrigued with both creations.

Now, inside the dollhouse, she goes to examine the missing eastern wall to see what would happen if she tried to exit.

@GM: Before we got shrunk down and ported into the dollhouse, did we see how many floors the nearly 8 foot tall dollhouse has? If not, how tall were most of the floors of the dollhouse? 6 inches? 12 inches? 18 inches, etc.

Gidget took a full walk around the table before she started to cast her Read Aura spell, so she should have easily saw how many floors the dollhouse has (via the lack of the back wall of the dollhouse).

Nari's attempt at going through the eastern wall seems somewhat futile, as if an invisible wall existed. Any sounds it would is also trapped inside the dollhouse, so one outside could hear you if you scream.

Through the lack of the back wall, it would be very obvious that there are two floors, and an unusually tall roof structure.

As the Pathfinder agents discuss their next steps, a stuffed sloth holding a broom smiles warmly as she approaches. “Hello, visitors. Guests. Friends. It’s been so long since we’ve seen anyone else. My fellow workers have become hopeless over our lack of purpose, but not me. I knew someone would come eventually. You can help renew our reasons for being here.”

A frown flashes across her face for the briefest second before she softens, her voice bubbling with enthusiasm. “Or maybe you could even help us finally leave this place! The Warden wouldn’t listen to me, but maybe she’ll listen to you. Or better yet, you can help gather everyone, and show them there’s a world outside. We’ll need to enlist as many as possible to our cause to even have a chance of gaining an audience with The Warden, but I think it might work. That is, if you’re willing to help.” Her button eyes stare longingly at the open wall. “Forgive me. I am Sweeper, a janitor of sorts around here, not of much importance,
but I know everyone and everything. Pleased to meet you.”

Map is updated with token of sweeper, and slides include a picture as reference.

"Hi, Sweeper. I am Gidget. This is Gadget."

After the others have introduced themselves to Sweeper, "How long have you been here for, Sweeper?"

After the others ask some questions and Sweeper answers them...

"How many others are here besides you and the warden, Sweeper?"

Nestor walked closer to the stuffed sloth, Zero-one following right behind him. “Warden? Hierarchical position. Keeping creatures in here against their will. A tyrant? Possibly, yes, yes. More data will be necessary.” One of the gnome’s fingers tapped slightly against the held bottle, letting out a rhythmic clinking against the glass.

“Nestor Zibbloretan, alchemist. The one behind me is Zero-one.” The alchemist gestured briefly to the familiar behind him. “What is the Warden, Sweeper?”

Prior to being shrunken down - as an answer to Ragnar's question

Aurora turns to the group, and shares what little she could discern from the dollhouse. "Unfortunately, I don't know much about crafting or dollhouses, but this object is from the Queen of Irrisen correct? If I remember correctly, the magic of Irrisen deals only with winter, without ice it cannot function."

After being shrunken down

Aurora clasped her staff with both hands in order to regain her balance. Straightening herself up, she walked over to the stuffed sloth.

"Hello Sweeper, my name is Aurora. It is lovely to meet you." She smiled sweetly.

Aurora could sense the hint of hopelessness in Sweeper's voice, however she was concerned about confronting this "Warden" without further information. "I am so sorry that you have been alone for for such a long time. My friends and I can see what we can do to help. But first, I have to apologise," she raises a hand to cover a small chuckle, "we appear to have gotten ourselves a little lost! Can you tell me more about this place Sweeper?"

Aurora listens to Sweeper's answer, and asks another.

"It looks like you have been very diligent Sweeper, this place looks well kept. You said that there had been no visitors for a while, who was it that used to visit?

Aurora listens carefully to Sweeper's answer, nodding along to show polite interest.

Ragnar says nothing but listens and watches Sweeper carefully

Sense motive check +5

While the introductions and Q & A discussion is going on, Gidget walks along the walls of the room, looking for anything that seems unusual in/on the (dressers? cabinents? cubpoards? book shelves?) along either side of the room they are in.

"Gadget, this is a good opportunity to test your hands some more. Follow me and open and close everything that you can reach (drawers if dressers, doors if cabinents/cupboards) and clap your hands if you find something you want me to take a look at."

They start at the top right of the room, checking along that wall, then head to top left of room to check along that wall, then the left 'island' and right 'island'.

"Hi, Sweeper. I am Gidget. This is Gadget."

After the others have introduced themselves to Sweeper, "How long have you been here for, Sweeper?"

After the others ask some questions and Sweeper answers them...

"How many others are here besides you and the warden, Sweeper?"

“It’s hard for me to answer that question. One on hand, I am quite sure we have all been here for more weeks than there are bristles on my broom. I would guess a hundred years, give or take. On the other hand, things were much more routine for a long time, and I barely remember that period. Something changed maybe a year ago. I feel more—er—free, I guess. I mean, I’m still trapped in a prison meant for someone else, but I feel freer. More alive, I guess.”

"There's about a dozen of us poppets. We were create to take care of the prisoners but they are all gone now."

“Nestor Zibbloretan, alchemist. The one behind me is Zero-one.” The alchemist gestured briefly to the familiar behind him. “What is the Warden, Sweeper?”

“This house used to be a prison. The prisoners all disappeared one day, but The Warden has stayed in charge ever since. She’s not the nicest person, but I think she’s just sad because she has no purpose anymore. She makes sure we keep working, but she mostly stays locked away in her office. She controls all the magic in here. If anyone could open the wall, that’s who it would be, but it would be pretty hard to convince her to do it. As long as we are all doing our jobs, it gives her some reason for maintaining her control of the prison.”

"Hello Sweeper, my name is Aurora. It is lovely to meet you." She smiled sweetly.

Aurora could sense the hint of hopelessness in Sweeper's voice, however she was concerned about confronting this "Warden" without further information. "I am so sorry that you have been alone for for such a long time. My friends and I can see what we can do to help. But first, I have to apologise," she raises a hand to cover a small chuckle, "we appear to have gotten ourselves a little lost! Can you tell me more about this place Sweeper?"

Aurora listens to Sweeper's answer, and asks another.

"It looks like you have been very diligent Sweeper, this place looks well kept. You said that there had been no visitors for a while, who was it that used to visit?

Aurora listens carefully to Sweeper's answer, nodding along to show polite interest.

"Well, it was a prison, and we don't know how it was created, maybe the Warden would but she keeps to herself."

"Well.. umm.. prisoners I guess? Are you all new prisoners?"

Ragnar doesn't believe the poppet is hiding anything.

Gidget and Gadget would find that the room is mostly decorative, like most miniature toys, drawers don't open.

"WiIl you come with us and introduce us to the other poppets, Sweeper?"

Nari has learnt that it is best to stay quiet and listen, at least during the initial conversations in order to learn as much as possible.

A year ago ... what could that have been?

Queen Elvanna. How many queens ago was that? At least two. And each Queen gets replaced every hundred years or so.

I guess this poppet and the others are the staff and the Warden is in charge. I guess she's trying to maintain this as normality. Maybe she's afraid of the Outside. She said all the prisoners were gone. Released during a Queen transition?

Lack of Purpose. Sounds like a deep melancholy to me. Maybe the Warden needs a friend

When she gets a chance, she shares those thoughts with the others. She also tells Sweeper where the Dollhouse now is, and how it got there.

“A magical prison as a dollhouse? Interesting. Maybe Queen Elvanna kept ‘problematic’ prisoners in here. Those who couldn’t be terminated without repercussions. Yes, yes. Only assumptions for now, but uses for such a device are limited.” Nestor murmured, the clinking of his finger against the bottle becoming more erratic.

“If the Warden controls this space freely, she would be considerably more dangerous than first assessed. Storming, or attempting to do so, into her office is ill-advised at this stage. Disrupting the routine or enlisting the poppets seems to yield greater chances of success.” The alchemist concluded his views.

As Nari shared her own ideas about how long those stuffed creatures were likely kept within the arcanic prison, he brought his free hand to his mustache, thoughtfully smoothing the bristles between his thumb and forefinger. “It is a long time to be kept here. Too long to keep doing the same thing. That is very dangerous to gnomes. Maybe it is dangerous to poppets as well?” Nestor nodded to himself. Zero-one mimicked its master, as if understanding perfectly the alchemist’s ramblings.

I've heard about this Bleaching yeah. Does it really happen when a gnome gets bored? I think with us halfling we sort of sink into a state of ennui or something. Mom insists on being challenged at least once a week just to keep her skills up. She's still an active Pathfinder as well.

But no, I agree. We're gonna need diplomacy to solve this one. Not really my forte though.

Aurora Golshan wrote:

"Hello Sweeper, my name is Aurora. It is lovely to meet you." She smiled sweetly.

Aurora could sense the hint of hopelessness in Sweeper's voice, however she was concerned about confronting this "Warden" without further information. "I am so sorry that you have been alone for for such a long time. My friends and I can see what we can do to help. But first, I have to apologise," she raises a hand to cover a small chuckle, "we appear to have gotten ourselves a little lost! Can you tell me more about this place Sweeper?"

Aurora listens to Sweeper's answer, and asks another.

"It looks like you have been very diligent Sweeper, this place looks well kept. You said that there had been no visitors for a while, who was it that used to visit?

Aurora listens carefully to Sweeper's answer, nodding along to show polite interest.

"Well, it was a prison, and we don't know how it was created, maybe the Warden would but she keeps to herself."

"Well.. umm.. prisoners I guess? Are you all new prisoners?"

Aurora let out a cute chuckle "No Sweeper, we are not prisoners! We don't know how we got here really. We were looking at a Dollhouse, then, Woosh, we are here!"

Aurora then thanked the poppet for his answers, and turned to listen to the findings of the group. She nodded in agreement, but one thing stood out to her. "It is interesting however, that the prisoners were all released approximately a year ago. If Queen Elvanna is several queens ago, then why were they only released a year ago? who or what released them"

Turning back to Sweeper, she shrewdly began hatching a plan. Putting on a very animated, charming face, she said, "Well, since we are also looking for a way back, maybe we can help you with convincing the others and the Warden. But," Aurora softened her voice "Are you able to keep this between us?

Aurora then tugged on her ear while mouthing to the poppet, 'can she hear us?'
I feel like I might need either a deception, or performance check here? @GM let me know.

Sweeper thinks really hard and somehow creates a narrative in her mind, “You’re asking all the difficult questions today, no The Warden cannot hear us. But..I think I would like to leave and I can help you. Cleaning up in here has gotten boring, and I can see there is a world on the other side of these walls. There must be things to do out there, but this house is the only place I’ve ever known.

No, I’m sure I want to leave. The others, well, it’s not so straightforward. I can tell you that none of them are happy here. Most of them liked their old jobs, but with no prisoners to take care of, we’ve all become a bit lost; forlorn, even. Still, everyone is afraid of The Warden. They keep pretending to do their work, just to keep her from lashing out at us. I will join you!"

“If we convinced everyone that we were all going to stand up to her together, they might listen. The strength of the whole team standing together could be just the push they all need, and it might even be enough to get her to listen. Ya know what? I think this will work. Now all we have to do is convince everyone to join us.”

Sweepers eyes somehow glimmer, almost looking teary eyed as she speaks to you. She does not know why the prisoners were released, but will be happy to follow the group to introduce you to the rest of the poppets. She briefly describes the lay of the land.

Now your mission should be come somewhat clear. Save the poppets, save yourselves! Now which way do we go? There's too many rooms for me to explain on the map, but what I can do probably is open the map and give brief descriptions starting with the ground floor.

Edit: I've opened the map and put short descriptions, if you know where the party would like to move to we can explore that room.
Maps link for ease

"Who should we talk to first of your friends, Sweeper?

After Sweeper answers, "Please lead the way, Sweeper."

Ragnar moves down to the center of the room to join the conversation.

"If you kept prisoners here for years you must have fed them right? How about we start with the chef? All this shrinking has made me a bit hungry"

If Sweeper or anyone else feels that somewhere else is a better place to start Ragnar will happily go along

Nestor nods to Nari. “Exactly. Boredom or stagnation is deadly to gnomes. That is why I joined the society: lobbing bombs will rarely leave someone bored. Exploring helps too. Didn’t know halflings could fall to a similar malady; interesting! Your mother sounds like a wise one, yes, yes.”

“Oh, the kitchen? It seems like a good place to start our recruitment.”

As Nestor tells a bit of the Bleaching, Gidget's partially-blanched left hand touches her partially-blanched face, "It is not a pleasant way to die."

At the mention of topic of food, Gidget moves her hand away from her face, "I have played tea time with some of the young humans back home, but that was simply make-believe. To think we might drink actual tea while having tea time in an actual dollhouse. That is a story the little ones will enjoy hearing. We first need to sort our situation and free ourself of this place."

Sweeper seems pretty impartial, and treats all her poppet friends equally. The kitchen seems to be a good idea as any.

A5: Kitchen

The clatter of pots and pans echoes around the room as the bustle of a one-person kitchen rings out. The sting of fresh onions assaults the nose. A wooden toy poppet in a white chef’s hat and apron busies herself with preparing a large meal. The refuse bin in the corner overflows with the remains of past meals that were never served.

Sweeper whispers to the group, "That's chef Basil! She's nice, but a little curt.", She turns to the poppet, "Hi chef! I want to introduce you to the new prisoners!"

The wooden poppet turns her head, " Well Hello, would you like some food?" and continues with her meal preperation.

Once you are ready after some light interaction, each PC can make one skill check to convince the chef to join your crusade. The most common skill checks that can be used is: Cooking Lore, Crafting, Society, Nature, Deception. Of course, you should appropriately RP how that skill would convince her to leave this dollhouse :)

Gidget smiles at Basil, "Nice to meet you Basil. Is there any tea available?"

After Basil replies, "I like to add different spices in my tea from different regions of Golarion. Quantium Quince, Linnorm Leaf, Shenmen Spice to name a few. Do you have any of those? I also like to dip cookies and other pastries from different cultures in my tea as well. Do you know how to make Iblydosian fig squares?"

After Basil replies, "Imagine how many new things you could bake with all the different ingredients available to you from around the world. The Grand Bazaar is a wondrous place. You would not even need to leave the city to bake with ingredients from far-off lands. Is visiting the Grand Bazaar something that interests you?"

[secret] Society +7 check

These are not secret checks, so you can roll your own checks.

Society: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

As Nestor walked into the kitchen, there was an immediate scrunching of his nose when the sting of the onion hit him. Absently minded, his thumb ran over his nostrils, and his eyes blinked in rapid succession. ”A pleasure, Basil. Anything with sugar? Anything with lots of sugar? That would be good.”

”Staying here, you are missing out on all the cooking implements available to chefs. Not good, no. Terrible. Far from ideal.” With his free hand, he raised a single finger and started to pace around the kitchen. The tiny construct mimicked its creator, pitter-pattering behind him. ”Alchemical pressure cookers that tenderize hydra steaks in minutes. Precision Phlogiston Burners that can be adjusted to exact degrees. Vacuum Retorts to distil herbs without using heat. Your skills can all be potentialized by those, yes, yes. Variety not only of ingredients, but methods!"

Crafting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

From what I understood from what Sweeper said, I don't think she meant the prisoners were released a year or so ago. I'm fairly sure that was much earlier. It ... was more that spark of self awareness in these poppets - that was a year or so ago.

In the kitchen, Nari examines the pantry. Hmmmm ... oh .. and yes please on the food. While you're doing that .. would you mind if I brew a cuppa to go with it?

crafting: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

DC 11 (used 11 for 50% base chance) Int check to determine if Gidget has same pondering as I, the player, have: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Gidget thanks Basil for the tea. As she is feigning sipping it, she looks at Nari, then turns and asks Sweeper, "Sweeper. How long ago did the prisoners leave and do you remember seeing them leave?"

She continues to feign sipping tea from the cup as she listens to Sweeper's answer.

Hesitant to try using her detection magic on any of the poppets, since she suspects the last time she was casting it might have been what triggered her and her fellow pathfinders getting trapped in the dollhouse, she tries a different route of investigation.

"Sweeper, can you remember what one of the prisoners looked like more easily than what the other prisoners looked like?"

After Sweeper answers, Gidget asks the other poppet, "Basil, can you remember what one of the prisoners looked like more easily than what the other prisoners looked like?"

"Ach, Sweeper, we're not prisoners, remember? Thank you, Basil some food would be great."

Ragnar accepts whatever Basil prepares and, provided it looks reasonable, eats it heartily. While he eats, he chats with the Basil.

"Sweeper tells us you've been here a hundred years at least. That's a long time ta be in such a small house; there is a whole world out there. Places ta see, ingredients for cooking, spices, herbs. Why, just the other day I was in the woods and I came across this fallen log. I sat down for a quick rest, and what do I find but the most exquisite mushrooms? Ya can't get mushrooms like that in here, and that's a fact."

Nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Chef Basil's toy eyes glean, "Is most curious, yes, ingredients from the outside..hmm."

Critical Success for Gidget.

"Contraptions unheard of?! Vat sorcery is this?!" At the same time, the wooden poppet starts to bring out her tea set since the mention of tea has happened more than once.

Critical success for Nestor, Fail for Nari.

"Mushrooms! Spices! Vhere has zat been all my life!" The creature clearly is comtemplating her situation here.

Success for Ragnar!

Chef Basil: 5 Cooperation points. Aurora can still make a check.

The group feels fairly good about Chef Basils intent to leave.

~~~

Sweeper responds, "Oh yes, of course you're not prisoners. Oopsies. It's been so long you know." The poppets do not have a sense of the true time, but would tell you that they have not seen a single soul in maybe, 10, 50, 100 years?!

I have no skills for this other than deception, but I'm not really lying to her... lets see how this goes!

Aurora gracefully accepts the tea given to her by the poppet, and bows her head in thanks. She politely feigns sipping the tea, then places the cup and saucer aside. She smiles, ready to seal the deal. "Well then Basil, my friends and I are from the outside world. I would love to bring you all these amazing things. But..."

Tilting her head downwards, she continues. "But we have gotten ourselves trapped here, and miss our home.

We think we've worked out a way home, but we really need your help! And perhaps if we are able to leave, we could bring you all these things, or maybe you and Sweeper could come visit us! Wouldnt you love to see whats outside?"

deception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Once everyone is done with questions and convincing

"Well Basil it's been nice to sit a spell and chat, I hope ya choose to come with us"

"Sweeper, where to next? Anyone to meet in the Sitting Room?