Character Sheet

Toy maker Gettorio Galla never worked much with metal and clockworks, usually preferring fabric and wood for his loving creations. However, he can recognize fine craftwork when he sees it, and when a traveling tinsmith passing through Egorian showed him their latest creation—a tin clockwork wizard that could shoot real sparks from its hands—Gettorio purchased the novel toy right away. Unfortunately, many of the city’s parents found the toy too dangerous for their children, so the tin wizard sat on Gettorio’s shelves after being returned a few times due to minor accidents or overprotective worry.

Time passed, and the innate magic of Gettorio’s shop, The Terrific Toybox, brought the tin wizard to life, like so many other toys. Upon gaining sentience, The Tin Wizard began to learn the magical arts. He taught himself by devouring tome after tome that Gettorio brought to him from various markets and academies throughout Egorian. His form gave him purpose, and his purpose drove him to learn: to discover more about the Toybox’s magic, about poppets, and about how to best use the wizardry welling up from within himself. He finally felt truly alive when he was able to master the spark of magic.

The first magic The Tin Wizard was able to manifest came from the sparking mechanism built into his hand. He focused and amplified that energy into an arc of electricity that set a small pile of nearby stuffing on fire. Luckily, Gettorio was on hand to douse the smoldering cotton. While concerned, Gettorio couldn’t be more proud to see his creation living up to his potential and feeling happy and satisfied for the first time since coming to life. From that point on, The Tin Wizard vowed to be more careful with his magical experimentation and soon learned to control other elements beside electricity. He always practiced in a safe location under supervision, and his fellow poppets would cheer him on as he worked his magic. Gettorio cleared out and rearranged a basement storage room to provide a safe place for his creation to experiment without risk of damaging the toy shop proper. He and the other poppets took to calling this repurposed storage room “The Wizard’s Lair” to give it a grandiose name and bolster their learned friend’s confidence. The Tin Wizard loved the additional attention and would put on shows of his talents to entertain the inhabitants of The Terrific Toybox.

The Tin Wizard decided against giving himself an actual name, as he finds his straightforward moniker to be more than enough. After all, it’s descriptive and true. Another name would only complicate matters.

Playing The Tin Wizard

The Tin Wizard is fairly perceptive and quite intelligent. He isn’t afraid to point out details about the current situation, usually stating them as obvious facts. He has led a sheltered life, though, and all of his knowledge comes from books.

• Tin isn’t the strongest or sturdiest metal, so The Tin Wizard is more than happy to leave tasks of a more physically demanding nature to his allies.
• The Tin Wizard is fascinated with all things magical and sometimes gets distracted by minutiae or becomes obsessed with learning something new once he’s aware that it is something to add to his repertoire.

Combat: As a spellcaster specializing in battle magic, The Tin Wizard favors magic that deals damage and adores effects that are flashy as much as they are destructive. If he wants to attack multiple creatures that are close enough to one another, he will cast breathe fire or electric arc. He can also use Reach Spell to cast thunderstrike at a distance of 30 feet, which is especially helpful when he can’t (or doesn’t want to) get within immediate striking distance of an enemy. If he wants to guarantee damage and is in a safe position, he will use all three of his actions to cast force barrage. He also has a backup scroll of that spell if push comes to shove. If his magic isn’t working, The Tin Wizard falls back on physical weapons as a last resort.

When it comes to defense, The Tin Wizard employs Energy Ablation before casting a spell that deals energy damage (gaining resistance to that energy equal to the spell’s level) if he believes his foes might deal the same type of energy damage to him. He can also cast shield for a +1 circumstance bonus to his Armor Class and give himself the opportunity to use the Shield Block reaction if he does get hit.

Exploration Mode: Using his innate ability to sense the arcane, The Tin Wizard Detects Magic as the group explores. If he locates something magical, he typically asks the group to investigate further. If he believes the item is fairly commonplace, he uses his Assurance (Arcana) skill feat to fully identify the nearby magic without rolling, receiving a total of 14 on the skill check.

When about to head into a dangerous situation, The Tin Wizard casts mystic armor to gain a +1 item bonus to his Armor Class. This bonus isn’t figured into his statistics, but since this effect lasts all day and he has the spell prepared, it should be one of the first things The Tin Wizard does in this adventure.

Healing: The Tin Wizard has a couple of minor healing potions that he can use when in a tight spot.

Other Characters

Cutie Killstuff: The way that Cutie’s intense rage merges with their cheerful personality is equally fascinating and terrifying.

Hellpup: Instead of a book, the stuffed hellhound prepares their spells from their leathery bat familiar of all things! You understand how that works in theory, but it seems quite unusual in practice. However, they’ve taught you a thing or two about religion in the past, so they must be doing something right.

Marcella the Marionette: The former thief seems obsessed with her own ideas of justice. The universe doesn’t really run on those principles, but you have to admire her fervor.

Windup Poppet

You’re made primarily of soft metals, such as tin or silver, and your life force dwells within an exceptional array of clockworks deep in your body. Provided you wind metal tabs on your body a few times each day, you don’t need food or water to survive. You must still breathe to ventilate your internal mechanisms and sleep to give your mechanisms rest, just like other poppets.

Shiny Button Eyes

You’ve polished your eyes to reflect the smallest details in dimmest light. You gain the Canny Acumen skill feat as a bonus feat, but you must choose Perception . Additionally, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Perception checks against visual illusions.

Character Sheet

Marcella Mignot was born in Galt, and that country’s chaotic political climate shaped much of her early life. Constant upheavals within the government forced the Mignot family from village to village, and so the young Marcella never had a place that she could truly call home. That feeling of being a constant outsider followed her even after she left Galt as an adolescent to seek her fortune elsewhere in the world.

Marcella was taken under the wing of a master thief, a Keleshite woman named Sorouz, after Sorouz caught her trying to slice open her coin purse with a rusty knife in the Taldan city of Yanmass. Sorouz saw both a spark of greatness and hunger within Marcella and agreed to teach the girl everything she knew about the rogue’s life: what to steal, who to take it from, when to pilfer it, and, most importantly, how not to get caught. The two traveled throughout Taldor, Qadira, and Andoran over the next few years, and soon Marcella went from student to mastermind.

After robbing a corrupt Andoran senator’s manse, Sorouz took her share of the spoils and retired to Absalom. Still eager to ply her trade, Marcella continued on her own, never staying in (or stealing from) one place for long. She soon began to solely target the rich and powerful, especially if she’d witnessed them abusing their position or treating a member of the lower class poorly.

With this modus operandi, Marcella made her way into Cheliax, knowing she’d have an abundance of targets. However, while in the capital city of Egorian, the thief ran afoul of a wealthy diabolist whose fiendish minions magically tracked her to her hideout (close to The Terrific Toybox) after she stole their master’s prized possession: an adamantine tuning fork set to one of the levels of Hell. The minions killed Marcella to retrieve the item, but her story didn’t end there.

The next thing Marcella remembers is waking up on a table in some kind of workshop. An older human man loomed over her, holding a rasp in one hand and a paintbrush in another. Marcella tried to scramble to feet only to discover that all her limbs were made of wood and attached to pieces of string. She eventually learned that she was in the basement of The Terrific Toybox and that her spirit had come to reside within a marionette mime recently crafted by the toy maker Gettorio Galla, due to the innate magic of the shop. Though surprised, she soon came to terms with her new life, getting to know Gettorio (who reminded her of her father) and the other poppets, and calling the toyshop her home.

Playing Marcella the Marionette

Marcella is the mastermind behind this heist, and she constantly reminds everyone that she has the most experience at this sort of thing. She will bring up her past exploits from cities across the Inner Sea Region when they are relevant to the situation at hand. While this might make her seem cocky and headstrong, she does listen to her fellow poppets when they are eager to contribute, especially in their areas of expertise.

• Marcella is a planner, and she isn’t comfortable entering a situation unless her contingency plans have contingency plans. This manifests in occasional periods of silence as she tries to think several steps ahead.
• Marcella is cool, calm, and collected, even when her plans go awry. She doesn’t point out her teammates’ mistakes (even if she might be silently judging them), because she knows that even the most competent people mess up from time to time. In fact, her greatest misstep led to her death!

Combat: In a fight, Marcella first assesses the situation. If she can act before her enemies, she takes advantage of their slowness with a surprise attack. She then tries to Recall Knowledge (using Occultism or Society) to learn something about a foe and render them off-guard against her attacks until the start of the next turn. If she is near enough to that enemy, she closes the distance and attacks with her shortsword; otherwise, she brings her hand crossbow to bear. In subsequent rounds, she will move to flank a foe with her allies, using Mobility to Stride half her speed without worrying about reactions or Tumbling Through that creature’s space if necessary. She tends to use Nimble Dodge against the first attack made against her each round.

If she thinks she’s going to face a spellcaster, she’ll chug her lesser bravo’s brew, and she’ll use her oil of potency when pitted against a formidable foe or one she just can’t seem to hit.

Exploration Mode: In exploration mode, Marcella tries to keep to the shadows, Avoiding the Notice of any potential foes so she can get the drop on them in combat. She will pretend to be a harmless doll (using the ancestry feat of the same name) if she believes she is about to be spotted.

Healing: Marcella keeps a minor elixir of life handy in case things go south, but she isn’t completely unskilled with a set of healer’s tools.

Other Characters

Cutie Killstuff: You chose Cutie as the group’s muscle, as they can dish out incredible pain when motivated. Their overly cheery demeanor, however, is an acquired taste that you haven’t quite acquired.

Hellpup: You hope that the stuffed hellhound’s insight into Cheliax’s fascination with devils will come in handy during the heist. If not, their ability to heal the group definitely will.

The Tin Wizard: Tin (as you call him) made for an excellent partner in planning the heist, though he isn’t as experienced with subterfuge as you are. He might need one of his metallic hands held if things don’t go exactly to plan.

Ghost Poppet

Marcella awakened when a bit of another person’s life force and a fragment of their soul—possibly, but not always, at the moment of their death—found its way into her constructed body. She gains resistance to void damage equal to half her level (minimum 1).

Harmless Doll

You look like nothing more than an ordinary toy, doll, or statuette, and you can fool others with your innocuous appearance. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Deception (or another skill if you’re already trained in Deception), and you can Impersonate an inanimate toy or a mindless poppet. You can Hide without any cover or concealment from creatures that don’t realize you’re alive so long as you’re in a location where a toy of your shape wouldn’t be out of place, like in a carnival booth, city street, or toy shop (at the GM’s discretion). If you succeed, onlookers still see you, but they mistake you for an inanimate toy. After being fooled once, they realize you’re alive, and you can’t Hide from them in that way again.

Character Sheet

Cutie is the oldest of the living poppets brought to life by the magic of The Terrific Toybox. First constructed as a large and adorable stuffed bunny rabbit by Gettorio Galla, Cutie holds a lot of sentimental value for the toy maker. He has claimed that Cutie isn’t “good enough” to sell and that he has “perfected” his craft since then, but in reality, he considers the stuffed toy the shop’s mascot. His love for Cutie infused them with life force, and now, the poppet helps keep the shop safe and introduces newly created poppets to their home.

Cutie has a bubbly personality that befits their name, but they take their role as shop guardian very seriously. They have a wellspring of anger just under their fuzzy surface that they can tap into when necessary. Though this rage allows Cutie to hit harder and shrug off a few wounds, it doesn’t fundamentally alter their personality. Cutie doesn’t dwell on these reserves outside of necessity and knows that it can be off-putting to others when they fly into one of these rages. They sometimes apologize too much after one of these rageful expressions, trying to comfort their companions lest they be scared of them.

This rage first manifested when Cutie wasn’t paying enough attention the night that a cruel father broke into the toyshop to steal a stuffed leather hellhound called Hellpup. His intent was to snatch it and dispose of the toy so that his daughter would stop asking to visit the shop each day to fawn over it. Cutie spotted the figure of the father leaving via the front door he broke in through, but since nothing else had been taken, they didn’t think much of the strange event. The next day, Gettorio quickly noticed that Hellpup was missing and was frightened and distraught.

Cutie stewed on their failure for a few hours and then, exhibiting the positive attitude they’re known for, set out into Egorian’s streets to find the missing stuffed animal. Though Gettorio warned them it might be next to impossible, Cutie was undeterred. Perhaps they sensed a connection with Hellpup, who was, at almost the same time, gaining sentience as a poppet. For the next few days, Cutie stalked through the city’s alleys, looking for any sign of the lost toy­­. As hopelessness was about to set in and their spirits began to flag, Cutie was accosted by a pair of Asmodean priests trying to understand why a stuffed bunny was walking around. They called Cutie an “affront” and tried to grab the poppet. That’s when Cutie snapped.

Moments later, after the haze of anger dissipated, the poppet saw what they had done. The two priests lay in a heap of bruised flesh and broken bones, moaning in pain. Cutie looked up to see a Hellknight standing at the mouth of the alley, and before the poppet could say anything in their defense, he dropped his large sword and fled. Cutie scooped up the weapon and fran off to continue their search. As they went, they came to terms with what they had done. Cutie wouldn’t let this rage change who they were; it was simply a part of themself, no different than their floppy ears or fuzzy tail.

It took another day for Cutie to track down Hellpup, who had been living in the urban wilds since coming to life. The hellhound was cornered by a small pack of feral dogs. Cutie recognized the toy right away, brandished their newfound sword, and let out an intimidating scream to scare off the canines. Such a display would have likely terrified the young Hellpup were it not followed by Cutie’s bright smile and friendly manner. Cutie was able to bring Hellpup back to The Terrific Toyshop, and the two have been close friends ever since.

Playing Cutie Killstuff

Cutie Killstuff is always joyful and upbeat, even while in the throes of their rage. They offer encouragement to their fellow poppets and thrill in their successes with a hearty cheer or two. They are a true friend, through and through. Even being wounded doesn’t get this stuffed animal down.

• Though Cutie might seem to have a childlike sense of wonder about everything, they aren’t naïve. They aren’t easily fooled by simple tricks or deceptions.
• Woe to anyone who crosses or insults Cutie or their friends. Such foes are quickly introduced to Cutie’s big sword, “Mr. Stabs.”

Combat: Cutie usually Rages on the first round of combat, granting them 4 temporary Hit Points and allowing them to deal 2 additional damage with their bastard sword Strikes, though this imposes a –1 penalty to their AC. They can’t voluntarily stop Raging, but the effects last for 1 minute, until there are no more perceivable enemies, or until Cutie falls unconscious, whichever comes first. If the nearest enemy is too far away, Cutie uses Sudden Charge to close the distance and Strike. Otherwise, they attempt to Demoralize a foe within 30 feet (which they can do with an intense glare) or apply their oil of potency to their blade (if the foe looks particularly dangerous) before attacking. If an enemy looks to be on their last legs, Cutie considers using Furious Finish to end their Rage and deal additional damage to put the fight to an end. Though Cutie prefers to use “Mr. Stabs,” they won’t shy away from hurling a javelin at enemies that are out of reach.

With the Combat Climber and Quick Jump skill feats, Cutie can traverse most terrains during a fight without too much difficulty, closing gaps in a moment’s time.

Exploration Mode: Cutie Killstuff knows to keep an eye out for danger, Scouting to provide the crew a +1 circumstance bonus to their next Initiative rolls if a fight breaks out.

Healing: Cutie doesn’t have a way to heal themself or others in battle. They usually hope the temporary health they receive when they Rage is enough, but they’re always grateful when receiving healing.

Other Characters

Hellpup: With their silly tail and big button eyes, Hellpup is just so adorable! The leaky stuffing and awkward way they waddle around on their four stuffed legs just makes the package all that more wonderful. And the way they protect their little bat friend is pretty cute too. Hellpup is one of Cutie’s first friends from the toy shop, and retrieving them was Cutie’s first adventure on the streets of Egorian.

Marcella the Marionette: When the mastermind behind the heist sees an opportunity, she isn’t afraid to take it, especially in a fight. Good for her! It’s an admirable trait to have in someone fighting on your side, even if she gets very serious (and somewhat scary) when planning things.

The Tin Wizard: The Tin Wizard shouldn’t consider himself so fragile. He surely has reserves of strength inside of him that even he might not know about, and he should know that you’ll protect him with all your might should anyone try to hurt him.

Stuffed Poppet

You have little inside you other than cotton, sawdust, or dried leaves. You take no damage from falling, regardless of the distance you fall.

Wash Out

Toxins seep out of your artificial body quickly. Each time you succeed at a Fortitude save against an ongoing poison, you reduce its stage by 2, or by 1 against a virulent poison. Each critical success you achieve against an ongoing poison reduces its stage by 3, or by 2 against a virulent poison.

Character Sheet

As a commission for a distant relation of the Thrune royal family, toy maker Gettorio Galla crafted a child-sized hellhound out of leather, densely packing it with thick cotton. The original buyer deemed the final creation “too cute” and refused to honor the contract, so the Hellpup (as Gettorio called it) was remaindered to a shelf within the Egorian toyshop. However, it soon became a focus of interest for many of The Terrific Toybox’s customers.

One little girl grew fascinated with Hellpup, asking her mother over and over again to purchase the oversized toy. Unfortunately, her parents held a grudge against the devil-worshipping government of Cheliax and didn’t want their daughter to play with such a symbol of their allegiances. That didn’t stop the girl from loving the cute stuffed hellhound from afar so much that her wishes reverberated with the magic of the toyshop to bring Hellpup to life.

That night, though, misfortune befell the poppet. The girl’s father, tired of visiting the toy on a near-daily basis, called upon the skills he learned in hixs own youth within Egorian’s underworld. He broke into The Terrific Toybox and stole Hellpup away (along with a small handful of other valuables to mask the true nature of the crime). Before the poppet could fully come to sentience, they were roughly tossed into a random gutter on the other side of town.

Hellpup’s first few days alive were spent in squalor and misery as rain soaked their leather and rats attempted to eat their stuffing. They cowered behind discarded crates and in empty doorways, unsure of how the city’s residents would react to them. When Hellpup got caught on a jagged part of a wrought-iron fence and tore off a piece of their hide, they almost gave into despair. But that little girl’s love came flooding back into their mind, relighting an ember of optimism. That torn scrap of leather became filled with a life of its own, taking on a bat-like shape, and the two instantly bonded. Hellpup sensed that they could now draw magic from their familiar, whom they named Flappy.

Hellpup survived on the city streets for a few days, trying to remain out of sight and away from stray animals and vermin. On one fateful day, however, they were cornered in an alley by a small pack of wild dogs looking to use Hellpup as a chew toy. Before that could happen, Cutie Killstuff appeared and quickly chased off the canines. The stuffed barbarian was upset that they let someone steal a toy from the shop and had been tracking Hellpup since that time. Though Hellpup was initially wary of the sword-wielding toy, Cutie’s friendly demeanor won them over. The two returned to The Terrific Toybox and have been fast friends ever since.

Playing Hellpup

Hellpup has the Dubious Knowledge skill feat. This means that while they know quite a bit, their facts are mixed up with legends and folklore that bears only a passing resemblance to the truth. Even when you aren’t directly rolling Recall Knowledge checks to determine what Hellpup remembers, feel free to add tidbits of questionable information to their speech and beliefs.

• After being wished to life, Hellpup was alone for a bit before returning to The Terrific Toybox. Because of that, they’re socially awkward, occasionally launching into excited speeches between bouts of quiet.
• The wish that brought Hellpup to life still echoes through their spirit. They can be filled with hope in even the direst of circumstances.
• Flappy, Hellpup’s bat familiar, isn’t a combatant and is unable to deliver spells. Hellpup keeps the little leather-winged creature close by during a fight, but its ability to fly often proves useful in other situations.

Combat: Hellpup functions as support in a fight, using hexes like blood ward and stoke the heart to aid their allies’ defense and offense, respectively. However, the target of either of these effects becomes temporarily immune to them for 10 minutes afterward, so Hellpup can grant the benefit of each only once per person. That being said, both hexes can be sustained for up to 1 minute, which can end up monopolizing many of Hellpup’s actions. When Hellpup doesn’t want to commit that many resources, they can instead fall back on guidance for a helpful +1 status bonus to an attack roll or saving throw. Alternatively, a well-timed command could help turn the tide of battle.

If Hellpup is certain of a target’s morality, they will fire off a divine lance or two. They might follow this up with casting shield to protect themself from any retaliation. When push comes to shove, Hellpup falls back on using their physical weapons.

Exploration Mode: The wary Hellpup Investigates the group’s surroundings, looking for anything unusual that might be explained by their skill at Nature, Occultism, or Religion. Flappy tends to rest on its master’s haunches during exploration.

In addition, Hellpup should cast mystic armor to gain a +1 item bonus to their Armor Class at the start of the adventure. This bonus isn’t figured into their statistics, but the effect will last for the remainder of the day.

Healing: If Hellpup or their friends get hurt, they can cast heal to treat the injuries. They prefer to use the two-action version to do so at a distance. If another poppet is knocked unconscious, Hellpup will use stabilize to ensure they survive. They also have some minor healing potions as a last resort.

Other Characters

Cutie Killstuff: Cutie is comfortable with who they are and isn’t afraid to be themself. It’s an admirable attitude. You are forever grateful for how they rescued you and count them as one of your most trusted friends.

Marcella the Marionette: You sense the metaphorical fire that lights up within Marcella when she embarks on a new plan. It’s both amazing and a little bit frightening. Would you have been friends had you known each other when she was alive?

The Tin Wizard: The stuffy clockwork poppet could stand to let loose every once in a while and not be so careful and logically dry. That said, you wouldn’t want to be in the way of all that magical power if it were unleashed.

Wishborn Poppet

You were wished to life, either by a powerful spellcaster or by the earnest desire of an innocent person who loved you very much. You’re living proof that a hopeful spirit can overcome any obstacle. If you roll a success on a saving throw against an emotion or fear effect, you get a critical success instead.

Quadruped

You were crafted in a form with four legs rather than two. Your Speed is 30 feet.

Prologue

Egorian is the capital city of the devil-worshipping nation of Cheliax, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t whimsy to be found there. While the many buildings situated within Egorian’s newer districts—including several temples to Asmodeus—are topped with gothic towers and iron spikes, the structures in the city’s older sections are less imposing, with simple stone walls and thatched roofs. The quaintest location in these cozy neighborhoods is a locally famous toyshop called The Terrific Toybox. Owned by toy maker Gettorio Galla, the establishment has an interesting secret: the building was constructed atop an underground source of occult magic that occasionally seeps up into the basement workshop and brings Gettorio’s toys to life as poppets!

Like his mother before him and her father before her, Gettorio knows that his creations sometimes come to life, though he doesn’t fully understand the cause. Most of these poppets go out into the larger world to lead full lives, but some remain at The Terrific Toybox as permanent residents. Gettorio is happy to share his home with those he considers his children. In return, the poppets keep the shop clean, run small errands, and even keep watch over the establishment at night.

Not long ago, corrupt banker and diabolic dabbler Baron Falgrimous Vreen discovered The Terrific Toybox’s secret. The greedy man wanted the power for himself and so he exploited a loophole in Egorian’s property laws to acquire the rights to the land the toyshop was built on. In a display of utter contempt, Vreen served Gettorio his eviction notice in person, showing the toy maker the land deed as proof of his legal standing. Little did Vreen realize that several poppets—quite loyal to Gettorio—witnessed the interaction and began to formulate a plan to retrieve the deed before The Terrific Toybox is shuttered forever!

The Great Toy Heist is a short adventure for 2nd-level characters that gives players a chance to try out one of Golarion’s rare ancestries. This adventure takes a band of poppet heroes on a dangerous mission to prove themselves and save their home—the very place that gave them life! The four pregenerated characters also provide a quick way to jump right into this exciting adventure! Grab your friends, grab some dice, and play the role of Golarion’s newest adorable heroes!

• Cutie Killstuff (Nonbinary poppet barbarian)
• Hellpup (Nonbinary poppet witch) featuring Flappy (familiar)
• Marcella the Marionette (Female poppet rogue)
• The Tin Wizard (Male poppet wizard)