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Oh, hey, it's the Prismatic Ray Action Mini set! With Shelyn, Desna, and Sarenrae! One can have Calistria drop by for a chat if she's bored OR Have Abadar do their taxes for them OR ...take Gorum and.... MUCH MUCH Wait... there's been a change in the lineup? *hastily scrambles to come up with a new pitch*
"No-scales are WEIRD! In the Dragon Empires, up by the Forest of Spirits, they do not like you using the traditional kobold methods of communicating peace and harmony. Why, we almost got run out of town because it resembled 'miming' which is apparently a serious taboo! And then, in the Land of the Anyboldy else run into this issue?"
A brightly copper-scaled kobold backflips into the thread! "So, this sanctioning thing, is it the 'it's okay to use this material' kind or the 'you've been scheduled for extermination please line up in orderly queues for maximum annihilation efficiency' kind? Because I'm thinking my player is completely on-board for the first and very much not for the second."
The kobold was going to engage in a daring flanking manuever. Emphasis on was. Hearing the whack on Ulf from the other side of the trees, The Commedienne makes her way to get close enough to heal Ulf but not (hopefully) close enough to get whacked by the big tree.
"Let the power of laughter lift up your heart, Ulf!"
I really need to work on my material... or maybe learn the local language -- this is the second time my efforts have fallen flat though not as horribly as the miming in town... the kobold contemplates as she lets others take the lead on the negotiation. Seeing the large tree she hangs her head a bit. "Right. So at about this point is when we say... 'Exit Stage Right.'" With that and a -- was that a miming of her being yanked westwards? Is she insane using mimetic warfare like that?! she disappears into the big ol' pile of trees.
After the fight with the constructs is completed the copper kobold will stow her hand crossbow and bounce giddily at the idea of wandering out into the woods to look for some strange 'fox-person'.
"Perhaps you're going about it the wrong way? Has anyone attempted to communicate with the plants or even just watch what they are guarding? I know, I know, it sounds silly, but plants sometimes have feelings too -- sometimes they just wantcha to make like a tree and leaf." The Commedienne offers with a bit of a capering dance. "With all seriousness, though -- and that's hard for me -- it takes a lot for plants to get riled up, even in spooky haunted forests. There might just be a root cause that's growing this all out of proportion...."
"May you find humor in our path, Laughing One!" The Commedienne intones in a dramatically farcical fashion as she moves up, "Protect me from the stones of critics that have no sense of humor, Kofusachi." she further intones as she casts Sanctuary on herself, raising her free hand upwards as if beseeching the heavens or an audience...
The Commedienne twirls her Wayfinder around on a metal chain playfully, before stopping with a smirk and letting it dangle between her pointy and middle claws. "It's not like folks are going to actively claim to be Pathfinders out in the middle of nowhere, right? I mean, it's kinda far-fetched for one team to be out much less two in the same area. However... something something something... what was it... oh,right. Explode, Retreat, Consolidate -- wait, that's the Sewer Dragon code... heh heh heh. Explore, Report, Cooperate... there you have it." she offers with unbounded glee and energy. "Amara sent us, something about you taking your sweet time getting down by her. As a wanderer, I totally get it, though! No judgement!"
"Some backwater places like to get a bunch of chicken feathers and tar for the no-scales to show how much they don't like a person because the feathers go everywhere and it's not like normal majestic plumage like your own." The Commedienne quips. "So yes, something like that. And you'd be smelling like the trees all day, too."
"I'm not sure about the spirit, but at least it's not using the Dark Art of Mime, so it should be okay, I guess? I mean, that's some restraint, and they're being decent enough to give someone the option. I'd volunteer, but I'll let Dyner have dibs. Go for it. Worst case we have to gently put you to bed and hope you sleep it off!" Despite the serious words, the mirth in the kobold's voice is hard to miss.
"Y'know, Dyner, I think they were trying to tar you because you already have feathers. And Ulf,... that... hang on." The kobold moves over by Ulf. "If no one can patch you up, I'll need to give you a bit of a tickle to heal you. Laughter is part of the process, after all, and the best medicine. In the meantime, though, let's get some of that gunk off of you with the power of Divine Cleaning Magic Secrets!" Provided the Ulfen warrior has no objection, The Commedienne will Prestidigitate the gunk away before it drips away, and will also offer for anyone else. True to her word, if no one else can provide Medicine via skill, she'll provide it via Heal with the aforementioned attempt at tickling with only a slight pause... "Just making sure, you're not one of those folks who has problems with the power of positivity, right? Last group I was with I had three people who couldn't handle it..." If Ulf begs off of tickling she'll grump a little bit (though it's clear that she's only playing at being grumpy) and dumpeth a two-action Heal upon the wounded man.
If someone else does the conventional means of healing she will of course save the healing for a more important juncture. "The whole situation here in town could have gone so much worse. Remind me next time to not start off with miming." she offers with an upbeat tone and a bounce to her step.
When the locals start reaching for weapons The Commedienne slowly, ever so slowly works her routine to a stop. No sudden moves to start an incident. "See what I mean? Miming is a dark art, and even witches get more of a pass than mimes." she offers with a rueful smile as she minimizes her motions and attempts to comply with any local authorities that insist she disarm by pulling out and dropping her quarterstaff.
Always beware the dark arts of pantomime! the kobold recalls from her time on the road with Guy. Body language is not consistent among different types of people, and you giving me a toothy grin looks terrifying when a human does it it's normal. So too flexing or any other indications of communication -- your audience will see your tics and your reactions and try to suss out your punchline before you deliver it. Pantomime is the Dark Art, because it becomes ALL about the body language and the chance for something to fail critically increases if folks don't understand the context. With that sobering recollection in mind, The Commedienne looks for a nice barrel or crate to stand on so the crowd can better see her and begins a series of motions to sort of indicate what the party is doing here without frightening the new-found audience. 'Strongly suggest folks look at better options, too, just in case. Miming carries a death sentence in Galt, Cheliax and several other former Taldan countries..." she offers with a bit of a closed-mouth stage mumble.
A response to Dyner:
"Plays, comedy sketches, stand-up routines, slapstick humor, situational silliness, you name it. And that sounds like a very sheltered background so I'll try not to let you down." The kobold pauses for a moment, then laughs and shakes her head. "No, our Chieftain was a self-entitled know-it-all who thought he was better leader because he knew 'dragon magic'. I saw through it, and 'arranged' for a certain pipe to let go when said Chieftain was walking right under it with his fancy outfit. He deserved far worse, instead, I got exiled." During the trip, The Commedienne will also combine foods in ways that are nearly gut-wrenching to try out different combinations, and seems to be keeping a log of them no matter how obscure or strange they might be. The kobold will provide more jokes for Dyner because that's how one builds a good set and a better audience. As the weather started getting colder she definitely pulled out some cold weather gear and dons it. No sense getting sick trying to show how 'superior' kobolds are, after all. "Ooh... I could show you all the kobold cuisine!" The Commedienne offers to Lynn briefly before considering with a mirthful tone. "On second thought... let's NOT do that. Noscales have silly ideas that don't mesh well with kobold foods -- like burning perfectly good raw meat."
"Even if the caravan was just a little bit delayed, I think we would have run into it by now. Hopefully they didn't decide to set up a small village and shrine somewhere with all their things they had with them instead of, y'know, bringing them to Amara." The Commedienne will hold out her mug after shaking some cinnamon and pepper into it. "Alas, I only know Taldane and the True Tongue of Dragons right now. I'm hoping someday to read whatever that language is there and the language of Ulf's people. It looks kind of like a noscale flinging a rock at someone's house, though?"
The Commedienne pointy-fingers at Dyner with both pointy fingers. "Who said anything about culture? I know about performances but admittedly my lack of knowing how people work together is part of the reason I'm with the Society. Something something sewage something Chieftain much tragedy for Chieftain's fine clothing...." is then offered with a thin smirk as Dyner sees the possibilities of special ricecakes and dealing with spirits. Then she glances over to Ulf. "You might not want the part of the donkey-fool... they get eaten by the dragon in their slumber? At least, that's the kobold version. No-scale version might be different we should talk about roles on the trip." she offers with a winning yet toothy smile.
No matter the weather, the circumstances, or the mood of the party The Commedienne is always ready with either a joke, a laugh, or something else upbeat. The fact that the party may entering peril is NOT lost on her, but rather the idea that if folks dwell entirely on the negative, they don't see the positive and optimistic sides of things. She does, however, resist the urge to prank team members *unless* someone starts it first, then she devotes an uncanny amount of attention to the effort as if she's found a potential equal or rival to play against. Of import is that her pranks do not impair the party's effectiveness or cohesion, and when she pulls one she'll own it and accept all the fallout of said prank.
The kobold hops onto a chair so she can better talk to the tall part of the team with a gleam in her eyes. "Oooh, we could re-enact An Incident at Sewer Junction Nineteen or A Midwinter Dragon's Dream..." she offers helpfully then looks to the rest of the team as she breaks off the ramble. "Or we could do a recipe swap, some of you sound like you cook a lot and that could be very helpful! Just imagine! Spirit! Fused! Ricecakes!" With a sanguine smirk The Commedienne looks to the team and the Venture Captain, still trying to gauge the reactions of the no-scales.
All good. It just felt really weird to go back to try to respond to other people's posts and it felt like there was zero acknowledgement of the character save for your brief comment of greeting new arrivals. Not making a fuss about it, just wanted to make sure it was a roleplay issue instead of a technical one. Roleplay could have many IC reasons. Technical issues are different.
Kobold eyes appraise the party as the team gets distracted by the discussion about food, then the mission briefing. Tough crowd. Tougher than Nidal, even. she muses as she attempts to make heads or tails out of the party dynamic and recall any information about the area in question. Of course, her absolute lack of knowledge about the area doesn't help.
"What are common ways to entertain the kami along the path? Do they prefer humor, tragedies, long boring recitals of epic tales of old? Since we seem to have a lot of culinary experts do kami have any particular food types they like to eat? I mean, we could make up kami care baskets to leave as offerings? Maybe even with the sake or the tea?" the kobold inquires as her expression of mirth does not fade.
It showed up for me, we were just six posts past it when I got around to posting again, and I generally stick to responding to just the last one or two posts to keep with the current narrative flow. I did have a question about your joke, though: were you intending to imply that she is a Linnorm Queen because she killed a linnorm, or because she is one? She was trying to make a joke about the fact that she led a wyrm to a village to negotiate, because she didn't understand the social context (being pants at Society). So misunderstanding plus trying to be silly and potentially faily miserably. Thanks for the response from both GM and Ulf, the site has been acting very *peculiar* of late and wanted to make sure it wasn't ignoring or deleting my posts.
A brightly copper-scaled kobold clad in a bizarrre mix of jester's motley and belly dancer garb practically bounds in, radiating excitement, glee, and mirth as she enters with a bit of a flourish, bowing to all present with a toothy grin over a quarterstaff held parallel to the floor. "Something profound!" she offers with a robust near-bark. "This way you can always say when you met The Commediene the first thing she said was... something profound!" "You need not fear, no-scales! The Commediene is here!" she offers with almost a chuckle in her voice. "Favored servant of The Laughing God, commedienne extraordinare and... sometime general pain in the tail! This team ALREADY seems a lot livelier than my last adventuring team -- we had two living-impaired folks and a person from Rahadoum who wasn't keen on the healing power of mirth! Why, it was almost BORING not having to bring people back to health!" There's a brief pause, as she sweeps back up, causing the necklace around her neck with seven coins to jangle a bit. "I've found the blessing of laughter to be a game changer in battles, and the ability to have a sense of humor about things a life-saver." She gives the halfings a conspiratorial grin. "Never forget! Short people rule the world, scales or not!" With a bit of a whirl she spins upon the Ulfen man, teeth gleaming. "And you're blessed to have an actual Linnorm Queen in your presence, who like the White Astrid brought a drake to a town and made it offer terms, sir!" Despite the serious words, her tone is completely playful and it may very well be the sort of embellishment that Ulf may partake of in his travels. "Hmmm. Let's see... I'm no stranger to the wilds, I know a bit about comparative religion -- just ask me sometime about the great theosophical discussion I had with a Kuthite that got them to turn from wanting to murder someone or at the very least torture them to wanting to torture their boss instead..." the kobold pauses, almost as if lost in thought. She then tries to do a backflip, lands flat on her tail which elicits a bit of a yelp before she springs back up to her feet. "Sorry, I'm normally much better at that! Oh, and I'm not horrible at social interactions. Just remember, any time we fail at something, it's a chance for a funny story or a good joke in the future!" she finally offers as she watches the room, trying to gauge her audience.
Player Name: Wei Ji The Learner
Anecdotal backstory: "Growing up in a kobold snarl is hard enough when you've got metallic scales and everyone else has boring ol' matte scales. It gets even more challenging when you get these urges to commit acts of mass humor and mayhem. After the 'accidental' dousing of the Chieftain with sewer water -- they deserved it, and worse, trust me -- they determined that I should be exiled."
"It's really, really hard to travel around alone as a trueblood. Everyone wants to take advantage of you and assumes you'll just fall all over to kiss their butts. WELL! I wasn't gonna take any of that, and when I was on the road I encountered a happy fat no-scale who was more than willing to share a meal, and their camp -- and then I found out that they were better at jokes and pranks than I was when I woke up in the morning." "It became a game between the two of us, pranking, telling jokes, travelling. Wasn't for a month or two that the no-scale opened up, mentioned that he was a follower of The Laughing God, and I'd done more to make him laugh in that time than he'd laughed in months prior." "Of course, I called him on it. Guy -- yeah, that was his name -- was too happy to be that angry or sad for that long. He showed me how to do sketches, jokes, timing, all that stuff -- and be darned if he didn't sneak in religious lessons in there too as he was doing it." "Then we got jumped by the wargs. They were going to eat us for sure, but they'd been following us and told us that they wouldn't eat us if we made them laugh. Folks who don't follow the Laughing God would've probably cried a bit inside. Me an' Guy, we put on the performance of our lives, talking at great length about how wonderful it'd be to be eaten by apex predators and what it'd feel like and we definitely didn't spare any details as we kept going darker and deeper --- I think we scared the wargs, who lost their appetite and ran for the hills. We could even hear them puking as they were running... at least, that's our best guess. I mean, it's not like they asked US about the meat we kept near our camp for predators to nom on or anything, right?" |
