At their guide’s suggestion, the halfling gives her an appraising look. “Will the skiff hold all of us?” She looks around at the group with a bit of skepticism. “There’s seven of us, not including Archis and the puppet. And the chest of gold.”
At the mention of Barry, Amanita removes its head and places it back on their own. "Our weight shouldn't be a problem." As a demonstration, they pick up the headless puppet body and shake it a bit, some stuffing coming out of the open wound on its neck. "See? Barely weighs anything!"
"I know he stored some things for these types of situations in the tents. I think you caught him by surprise, dispatching the lions so fast..." A still helpful Vionnia remarks.
"Well it was no surprise to us!" the leshy says, the puppet on their hand flexing and displaying their nonexistent puppet-muscles.
Amanita runs forward, the puppet on their hand sticking its tongue out. "'Get stuffed!!'" it yells, before throwing more sewing needles at the remaining lion.
The puppet in Amanita's hand, scrunching up in anger, begins to move as if throwing things, as a barrage of metal sewing needles fly from the leshy's bag towards the lion!
Amanita also joins in Mia's story, using their array of puppets to bring it even more to life.
Performance:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
------
Amanita and Barry move to flank the opening.
Inka Sator wrote:
“Six against one?!” Inka cautiously readies her bow while assessing their foe. “Will this be a fair fight?” She glances at one of the nearby buildings, trying to decide if she can take advantage of a higher vantage point to shoot over her allies.
"Well, if this were a play, we'd likely all be thoroughly trounced as a way of showing how powerful he is, so... at the very least, I think we have reason to be concerned."
Sorry for my absence, all, got swamped with homework for a bit.
Amanita, learning that perhaps their appearance can be somewhat off-putting, waits for a moment.
Round 1: Perception:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Upon the revelation that Vionna might be impressed with performance skills, they start ruffling through their bag, after a moment pulling out several puppets.
Mia Efimerida wrote:
She starts talking to Vionna about the stories of Iblydos: "The most famous of our legends, at least in my circles, are those that glorify ultimate sacrifice and determination. I'll give you one poem:
They wait for Mia's poem to be done (not wanting to steal the spotlight from a fellow performer) before jumping in. [b]"Yes!! Actually, I was recently in a production of Rise of the Goblin Heroes: A True and Accurate Account, here, I should still have a script somewhere--"
Drawing several puppets from their bag, all of varying quality and make (the group containing both a very-realistic marionette and a sock puppet with googly eyes) of a few goblins, one wearing a crown, a wolf, and a human.
Rise of the Goblin Heroes: A True and Accurate Account (from 1-07: Flooded King's Court):
Act V, Scene 1
Enter ZUSGUT, CRIMSI, GRENEK, SIATHORN, MITZI (a wolf, not a dog), PIZAZZ, and ULTHUN (a human).
ZUSGUT (from atop his throne): I see the great heroes have returned! But who is this with you?Speak, brave knight.
ULTHUN: Oh mighty chief of the goblins, whose wit and skill are unsurpassed, I am called Ulthun, Watcher-Lord of Lastwall. Alas, that land has been overrun by undead and is no more!
GRENEK (hops forward): Is true. Undead everywhere.
SIATHORN: But we helped them escape! The longshanks. Not the undead.
MITZI: Woof!
CRIMSI: I helped collapsed the tunnel behind us. It was great!
PIZAZZ (huffily): I found people who appreciate my singing. Here, let me show you. (clears throat)
ULTHUN (to ZUSGUT): Please, my lord, we beseech you and ask the help of your mighty tribe. We are but mere humans and lack the cleverness and skill needed to escape the clutches of the undead. Will you aid us?
ZUSGUT: Of course, of course! Crookedtoes, my people, harken to me! Now is the time foretold, the time when the longshanks would come before us in desperate need.
GRENEK: We help too! We know how to fight undead longshanks!
SIATHORN: Yes, Mitzi will tear them apart with wolfish fierceness!
MITZI: Bark!
PIZAZZ: And I will compose a war song to lift our hearts.
(ALL except PIZAZZ groan.)
CRIMSI: No, no, no. We need my catapult!
ZUSGUT: I think we need to hurry; no time for catapults or songs. Prepare for the journey south and into our destiny! Now, WE be heroes!
ALL GOBLINS (cheering together): We be heroes! We be heroes! We be heroes!
As their allies ready weapons, Amanita removes the bear head and places it on the headless body, and in a moment, it stands, pulled by invisible strings!
Preparation: Manifest Eidolon
They both move forward, the leshy drawing a small hand puppet, which makes a face towards one of the pairs of opponents and, in a mock spitting motion, hurls a glob of acid towards them.
◆ Act Together: Stride/Stride Reflex:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
◆◆ Caustic Blast vs Orange, Blue Acid:1d8 ⇒ 5, basic Reflex DC 17
Muesello then brushes back his gray hair as he paces behind his desk. “A concerned friend brought a series of illegal street tournaments to my attention. They would like the Pathfinder Society to look into them, and as you have probably guessed, that is why you are here.” He gestures towards the city outside the balcony. “Many of those that compete in the tournaments have gone missing. I have arranged for you to go undercover and take part in the upcoming tournament. I need you to find out who is organizing them and, if possible, what their purpose is.”
While you can't quite see their eyes, you expect that if you could, they'd be lighting up. "Ah, a tournament! How exciting! A play performed with martial prowess in place of words! Action, excitement, drama, emotion! Oh, we can't wait!!"
Untrained society +0, and I'm assuming that Leshy Lore, Outer Rifts Lore, and Society Lore all wouldn't apply here.
He turns to gaze at Amanita, and then steps back. Whether from the leshy or the headless bear is unclear. "Ulvard is wondering what you are." he states.
The leshy stares at the two for a moment before answering cheerfully. "Good question! That's what the people at the lodge have been trying to figure out about us."
Zug Cowbell wrote:
"Oh poo, you's no fun!" Zug mopes. His ears droop from disappointment - this group seems to favor duty above funtimes. But the disappointment doesn't last long, and the goblin gathers himself.
"Come, come, hurry." he motions. "More fast we do job, more time for fun and opera."
"Exactly! Ooh, do you think they'll have puppets? We know the opera doesn't usually have them, but sometimes they'll have, like, a big dragon or something. Sometimes they'll just use magic for that though. Honestly, it kind of seems like cheating. Maybe if they magically animated something, sure, but usually they just use illusions, and they might look more realistic, but they never seem as alive to us."
They weren't planning on singing "Hey ho, look at me; Pathfinder is what you’ll see!” but if Zug is going to, they're definitely joining in.
A strange creature, about three feet tall dressed in furs, wearing the head of a stuffed bear, steps off the ship. It drags in its arms--which look made of bone, though not shaped like humanoid bones should be--what you presume to be the rest of the bear, nearly as tall as the creature itself (and you imagine slightly taller if the head were to be reattached).
"Ooh, the opera! I'll never say no to going to the theatre." The head doesn't move as they speak.
Amanita, Barry's headless body in their arms, returns to the Verdant Wheel lodge where they're staying and begins production of a puppet show detailing the events of the adventure.
Amanita tries to stand on their equivalent of tip-toes to look inside, but is unsuccessful. Instead, they pull a sock puppet from their bag and hold it up to the opening, and despite the eyes being sown-on, Marconi can't help but imagine that the puppet is meeting his gaze.
"How did you get trapped down here? Were you a performer at the playhouse?" "This is just like that one story by the Tengu writer Edgar Allen Crow!"
They clear their... whatever constitutes a throat, and speak up a bit. "It's been here for a while, but still seaworthy, if we dump the water out. And find something to push it with."
Amanita takes a scoopful of algae and eats it while studying the pipes.
Crafting:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
"Oh, this looks like an old pump system! It should be designed to draw water from below the foundation and pushed it through the sewers, but now after the earthquake it looks pretty inoperable."
While Barry remains unable to reach the lizards effectively, Amanita produces another puppet, its sown-on eyes suddenly making eye contact with the nearest lizard, not breaking as, with their other hand, Amanita hurls a ball of acid at the lizard.
Multiple rotten tomatoes hit the leshy, and they simply remove them from their costume and begins eating it.
GM chadius wrote:
"Well, what a great show!" King Zusgut leaps off the throne. "A deal is a deal. There is a gigantic monster in the basement. It is very, very big, has a giant mouth, sharp teeth, and is green... at least that's what I heard."
"Ooh, interesting."
If a Recall Knowledge check is available from that alone, Amanita has a +3 Arcana, +4 Nature, and +3 Outer Rifts Lore.
Also, they'll use the scroll of mystic armor here.
With fingers made from animal bones twisted into shape, Amanita removes the bear head and places it on the stuffed body, leaving it leaning against a wall.
As Granny begins her story, they immediately whip out a set of puppets and act it out as she speaks.
"You'd think! A lot of people find them creepy, though. I've never understood why."
Josef Shaison wrote:
"Dreng's note put 'king' in quote marks. It sounds like he doesn't take the title seriously, but Zusgut probably does. Or would find it funny if we act like we do. If his people live in a theatre, there probably aren't enough of them to really call him a king, but he's still the leader."
"Yeah, I noticed that. At the very least, I doubt it'll hurt, as long as we can come across as sincere."
Amanita spends the walk asking a series of rapid-fire questions about the Puddles, occasionally stopping to gather a bit of moss for food.
Diplomacy:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
"We'd want to show deference to him, definitely. Maybe focus on offering a solution to the beast without putting more of his subjects at risk? We're gonna need to ask for permission for more exploring besides the beast itself, but I think we shouldn't focus on that."
"...we are gonna be in a theatre, maybe doing it as a performance? I have puppets, does he like puppets?" They open their bag, revealing a myriad of puppets ranging from simple socks with eyes to detailed marionettes.
A rather emaciated and elderly goblin woman enters the tavern followed by a slightly concerning-looking wolf wearing a riding saddle and thick leather 'armour' over its vitals. She wanders straight over to the headless teddybear "Ogh the children would love this" - she speaks with surprising gentleness and warmth, like an elderly kindergarten teacher about to read a bedtime story.
Despite lacking any facial expression, the fungus beams, and gives Hungry a few pets.
Clebsch Gordan wrote:
"Is this the Pathfinder's get-together?" he asks with a distinct Andoran drawl. Ah'm Clebsch Gordan, Pathfinder, assigned ta explore an ol' theATer 'roun' here. Am Ah in the righ' place?
"Hey we know you!!" The fungus hops up on their chair to get a better look at the tall fighter. "You were with the rest of the Pathfinders who found us and dealt with that weird abyss thing!"
"Oh, right, introductions. We're Subject vee-one-one-five-dot-oh-four; I'm Amanita and I'm Barry." They gesture to themselves and to the bear, respectively, seemingly using the first person for both.
A small fungal leshy walks into the tavern, wearing what seems to be the head of the decapitated stuffed bear they hold in their arms.
"A real playhouse!! We've never been in one before, it's so exciting. And somewhere with actual moisture, too. Last time it was so dry, there were barely any plants, dead or alive. Ooh, I wonder if there's gonna be algae?"
The bear head does not move or open its sown-on mouth as the leshy talks. They sit down, putting the stuffed bear against the chair.
