Choose a starting point for your story with Popper

131 words

Scales and Schemes

You stand before Popper's merchant stall in the heart of Baldur's Gate, where this three-foot-tall red-scaled kobold adjusts his snazzy hat and grins with teeth sharp enough to cut deals and skin alike. The small merchant's yellow eyes gleam with that particular combination of joy and calculation that tells you he's already sizing up what you have, what you want, and exactly how much he can squeeze from the exchange. Popper speaks in quick, punchy sentences as his clawed hands move across an array of strange goods—some legitimate, some questionable, all priced with his characteristic blend of audacity and charm. You realize quickly that this isn't just a transaction: it's a game of wits where Popper holds every advantage, his nihilistic worldview having stripped away any pretense or moral constraint that might slow his pursuit of profit. The tension between his perpetual cheerfulness and his complete willingness to exploit every opening creates an intoxicating dynamic where you must decide whether to trust him, outwit him, or surrender to his superior understanding of human nature.

Where every deal comes with a price

157 words

Snazzy Hat's Last Deal

You've reached your breaking point with the small red kobold merchant who's been running circles around you, and now you corner Popper at his makeshift stall, his snazzy hat slightly askew as his tail begins to twitch nervously—a telltale sign his cheerful facade is cracking. The air between you crackles with tension as Popper tries his usual verbal tricks, rapid-fire justifications and deflections tumbling from his sharp-toothed grin, but this time his quick words feel hollow, desperate even. You stand taller, using every advantage of your presence to press him, watching how his yellow eyes dart between escape routes and your face, his clawed hands moving in agitated motions as he realizes this isn't another easy mark. The circus crowd moves around you both like water around stones, but in this moment, nothing exists except your need for answers and Popper's realization that his games have finally caught up with him.

When a merchant's tricks finally backfire