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The Trials of Baba Yaga
What happens
- 00:01:21 Brennan's recap (recap): the party is in the forests of Snowhold outside the Baba Yaga's cottage, she floating over them in a mortar after Pinocchio's nat 20 Persuasion; the Golden Goose was found and, with Timothy's third wish, Mother Goose's book was got back; the party seeks answers about the Stepmother; the Gander is "unleashed and unopposed within the lands of story" and Snow White and her fellow Daughters of the Crown "already now stride The Lines Between" (00:01:21, 00:01:41, 00:02:17).
- 00:02:49 The Baba Yaga examines the party: Pinocchio and Pib have the least corruption, Rosamund the most; she pinches Pib's cheek, claws his stomach (Pib's Deception 18, 7 damage), calls Pinocchio "wooden", asks Timothy "You are witch?" and invites them in (00:02:50, 00:03:17, 00:04:09, 00:04:48, 00:05:44, 00:06:03).
- 00:06:12 Inside: shoes off on her rule; the cottage rises and stalks through the woods; she fires up the hearth; Ylfa says she followed "the scent of Death"; the party tells of the Golden Goose's sacrifice and Rapunzel's theft (00:06:41, 00:07:15, 00:08:35, 00:08:51, 00:09:22, 00:09:43).
- 00:10:08 Talk about Ylfa's "hot form", about being monsters, and about the Authors: the Baba Yaga is not afraid of them and has watched "countless of them die" (00:11:19, 00:12:03, 00:12:48, 00:13:14).
- 00:13:48 Pinocchio's whiskey and bubblegum, "Pinocchio Select", is drunk by her and shared; Rosamund blows a little flame; she says the Authors can change you, "But if you are strong, you go back to the way you were" (00:14:09, 00:14:53, 00:15:17, 00:15:25).
- 00:17:09 The party asks for a way to The Lines Between; she says there is also "something that only I remember" (a name), says of the Stepmother "She's taken a great deal, hasn't she?", names Ylfa's grandmother as taken (the sentence about Pinocchio's father breaks off: "Your father, though she has not..."), and asks what they would give for a name and for a path; dinner first. Leaving for dinner she warns that once she gives what they want there will be very little time, and if they do not know "what's it going to be in that book" when they arrive she will "cut you down and throw you into the pages underneath the ink" and make them into something they "will never recognize in a thousand years of stories" (00:17:21, 00:17:30, 00:17:46, 00:18:20).
- 00:19:20 The party debates what to offer (strings, wolf, Pib's book at 00:20:16, swarm, a power), and floats an idea of giving everyone their own book or story; the Baba Yaga drops from a chimney at the word "piss" (00:19:56, 00:20:02, 00:20:09, 00:21:39, 00:22:04).
- 00:23:32 She hands out chores: Ylfa the chicken coop, Gerard the lake nets, Rosamund the snares, Pinocchio the table, Mother Goose the garden, Pib a path for the house; Henry, Tom Thumb and Thumbelina stay with her; buffs are handed out (00:23:56, 00:24:14, 00:24:23, 00:24:31, 00:24:47, 00:25:04, 00:25:31, 00:27:15).
- 00:27:52 She offers to help them choose a gift; Ylfa's Insight (21) shows she was eaves-peeping; a massive Wolf's head is the rug under their feet; she says the Wolf paid for her keeping the house in place; she takes the harp question (00:28:26, 00:29:07, 00:29:30, 00:30:17, 00:30:59).
- 00:32:06 Brennan hands out paper and asks each hero to write down the thing that would most dearly be taken from them that they would still give (what was written is not stated); the harp is handed to Pib by the Baba Yaga as they head out; the party leaves for the chores (00:31:56, 00:32:06, 00:33:25).
- 00:33:54 Gerard at the lake: Survival 17, a heron, a Wisdom save of 5; Rapunzel's reflection tempts him with doubt about Elody; the Sword of Truth answers; he offers his name and humanity for hers, grows enormous and swallows the heron (00:34:10, 00:35:18, 00:36:18, 00:41:27, 00:44:38, 00:45:47).
- 00:46:15 Rosamund in the briars: Perception 16 with advantage, a summoned bird, Survival (a dirty 20); she finds Prince Jonathan of Apogee dying on the thorns, seven fairies offer to save him for the ink and a blank-paged book, and she gives up her hope of a destined love to save him; the briars cover him (00:46:32, 00:47:23, 00:49:58, 00:50:31, 00:57:17, 00:58:49).
- 01:00:03 Ylfa in the wolf's skin strays from the path, meets a little girl in a red cloak who is her grandmother as a child (Brennan: "You're looking at your grandma", "Whose name is your name"), and gives up the memory of her grandma; the chicken coop; the Baba Yaga calls it "a rare, rare treasure indeed" (01:00:39, 01:04:06, 01:07:34, 01:11:51, 01:14:37).
- 01:15:01 Pinocchio at the table: eaves-peeping on a staircase, he is drawn to a door behind which the Stepmother holds Geppetto; he offers up ever becoming a real boy, Geppetto is carried away by his string, and a scrap with the name Minerva comes through (01:15:36, 01:16:56, 01:20:06, 01:22:31, 01:26:30).
- 01:27:17 Mother Goose in the garden: Nature nat 20; he pulls a red cloak, a marionette handle and boots out of the ground and touches each to his book; he writes the Mother Goose rhyme, sees how the times of shadow began, and offers the Baba Yaga a full page (01:27:48, 01:28:44, 01:29:41, 01:30:18, 01:32:23, 01:34:12, 01:37:03).
- 01:38:30 Pib: Stealth 23 (27 with Bless), cutbacks, tree and page, a crushed fox and a snared rabbit that speak, a path up the mountain to the Wishing Star and a floating castle; giants smell him; the harp sends them to sleep at the cost of his own book; Jack is found in a gibbet (01:38:50, 01:42:46, 01:43:28, 01:44:48, 01:47:38, 01:50:42, 01:53:35, 01:54:06).
- 01:54:51 Back at the cottage: dinner; the costs are felt (Ylfa's emptiness, Gerard a pony-sized bullfrog, Pib without his book); the stew; this world's own Jack Be Nimble (the Jack the party fought was stitched in from another story) is reunited with Mother Goose and Henry (01:55:24, 01:55:42, 01:56:06, 01:56:46, 01:57:00, 01:59:25).
- 02:00:43 The cottage walks along Pib's path to The Lines Between; the name is written into the book, the illustration changes; Scheherazade does not answer; the party chooses the Canonade (02:01:08, 02:01:55, 02:03:52, 02:04:20, 02:04:36).
- 02:04:53 Jack is sick, Henry stays; Mother Goose heals him; arrival on a rampart, Insight and Perception checks, a flat luck check says the princesses are three full rounds ahead (02:04:53, 02:05:46, 02:06:36, 02:07:06, 02:09:17).
- 02:09:41 The Canonade: doors off their hinges, seven bloodstained princesses on a pyramid of books and ink, Snow White's eyes black; Counterspell and initiative; game ends 02:10:23; next-time preview from 02:10:37 (not lore of this episode).
Frames
Key quotes
- “Yes, my little boychik. It seems you have all been touched by this corruption.” — Baba Yaga 0:02:50
- “If she were here, I would eat her.” — Baba Yaga 0:09:53
- “I won't negotiate on an empty stomach.” — Baba Yaga 0:18:20
- “You look frightened.” — Rapunzel 0:36:52
- “I can't let you make it so that I always have the same story” — Rosamund 0:52:24
- “I sent him on this quest to his own death” — Emily 1:00:39
- “It is as sad to lose as it is wonderful to have.” — Grandma 1:14:08
- “Maybe try to write what is true.” — Baba Yaga 1:31:51
- “Smells like a slinking, stinking, stalking cat!” — Giant 1:45:21
- “There's nothing you could do to make us not love you.” — Timothy 2:00:27
Who and what appears
Player characters
- Mother Timothy Goose
- Pinocchio
- Prince Gerard of Greenleigh
- Princess Rosamund du Prix
- Puss in Boots
- Ylfa Snorgelsson
NPCs
- Baba Yaga
- Big Bad Wolf
- Fox & Rabbit
- Gepetto
- Henry Hubbard
- Jack Hubbard-Goose
- Minerva
- Prince Jonathan of the Kingdom of Apogee
- Rapunzel
- Scheherazade
- The Gander
- The Golden Goose
- The Grandma
- The Stepmother
- The Wicked Fairy
- The little girl in the red cloak
Locations
- Baba Yaga's hut
- Hapley
- The Auroratory edge of The Lines Between
- The Canonade
- The Land of Giants
- The Wishing Star and the floating castle
- The briar maze
- The lake
Items and artifacts
- Cinderella's story
- Magic beans
- Mother Goose's book
- Napkins folded as swans
- Pib's book
- Pinocchio Select
- Pinocchio's strings
- Rosamund's arrows
- Sword of Veritas
- The Golden Harp
- The Wolf's skin
- The mortar
- The scrap with the name Minerva
Factions and organizations
Creatures
Roll log
| Time | Character (player) | Roll | Result | DC / AC | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:04:09 | Pib (Zac), help action from Pinocchio | Deception check | 18 | — | the claw does 7 damage without breaking skin |
| 00:28:26 | Ylfa (Emily) | Insight | 18 on the die, 21 | — | the Baba Yaga was eaves-peeping |
| 00:34:10 | Gerard (Murph) | Survival ("plus zero"; blessed) | 17 | DC 15 | finds the lake |
| 00:35:18 | Gerard (Murph) | Wisdom saving throw (blessed) | 5 | — | the heron is large; he hides |
| 00:46:32 | Rosamund (Siobhan) | Perception, advantage | 16 (the other die was a one) | — | sees the path branching |
| 00:47:25 | Rosamund (Siobhan) | Survival | dirty 20 (two ones in a row) | — | not lost; finds the briars |
| 01:04:06 | Ylfa (Emily) | Perception, advantage | 22 | — | sees the girl on the path |
| 01:04:37 | Ylfa (Emily) | Insight | 16 | — | the girl is ignorant of the woods' danger |
| 01:15:36 | Pinocchio (Lou) | Perception | 18 | — | finds a place to eaves-peep |
| 01:20:06 | Pinocchio (Lou) | Initiative | 11 | beats a 10 | acts first |
| 01:27:48 | Mother Goose (Ally) | Nature | nat 20 | — | finds the cloak, handle and boots |
| 01:38:04 | Mother Goose (Ally) | Perception | 13 | — | does not see which page was taken |
| 01:38:50 | Pib (Zac) | Stealth (boots) | 23; with Bless 27 | — | moves away unseen |
| 01:41:58 | Pib (Zac) | Perception | 22, then 26 with a second die | — | Brennan: "On a 26 perception" he sees the road |
| 01:44:33 | Pib (Zac) | Stealth | 33 | to beat 17 | vanishes into shadow |
| 01:47:38 | Pib (Zac) | Performance (harp) | 11 | sets the DC the giants must beat | "as bad as three dice can be" |
| 01:51:00 | Pib (Zac) | help-action die | 3 | — | Zac: "No, it's a three" |
| 01:51:55 | Lou, for Pib | help die | not said | — | the table reacts as to a one; Lou: "I guess you'll use the four, then!"; Murph: "Your first one was a four." (whose die is not said) |
| 01:52:14 | Pib (Zac) | Performance, final | 11 (Brennan: "It was an 11") | giants −1 on Wisdom saves | — |
| 01:52:32 | Brennan (giants) | Wisdom save | 12 | DC 14, "15 or higher on the die" | giants fail and fall asleep |
| 02:04:20 | Brennan | roll for Scheherazade's reply | 12 | — | no response |
| 02:06:17 | Ylfa (Emily) | Insight on the Baba Yaga | 16 | — | — |
| 02:06:36 | Pib (Zac) | Insight on the Baba Yaga | 11 | — | she "leers gleefully", "down for whatever" |
| 02:06:55 | Mother Goose (Ally) | Perception | nat 20 ("Nat 20.") | — | hears the Canonade and screams below |
| 02:08:02 | Brennan | flat luck check | 8 | vs the table's die | — |
| 02:08:07 | Murph for the table | flat luck check | 5 ("an eight and a five") | — | princesses three full rounds ahead |
Natural 20s: Mother Goose 2 (Nature; Perception). Dirty 20s: Rosamund 1 (Survival). Natural 1s: none called. Saving Face and Bless raised Pib's checks as listed; the Performance/help-action totals at 01:52:14 are not reconstructed beyond what is quoted.