The Haunting of Brute Squad (Inactive)

Game Master ThorGN

1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Arkwright emits a pessimistic sigh as yet another wave of cold washes over him. "Remind me to pack warm clothes for my next haunted house exploration..."

House Map

"Let's just pack this stuff up and keep moving." Ashur will follow Erin and Ark into the next room.

Reflex save 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Yandu looks suprised as the cold engulfed him - he stares ahead - like paralysed.

"I'm not liking this at all."

HP up to date again - good I healed up.

Thanks for the map Brute. Erin will be waiting for everyone to heal up, then check the north-most corridor through the privy area.

I'm going to assume that Ashur uses Tanrov's wand to heal him.

1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Yea, if anyone needs Ashur to use their wand, go ahead and roll it.

The room on the other side of the privy contains two empty bathtubs and a rotting bench. Paintings of cherry blossoms decorate the walls. The door to the other privy also open into this room, and there is a door to the rest of the house on the west wall.

Detect Magic
Spellcraft:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20

Nothing in the chest is Magical.

What chest?

Sorry, what were you Detecting on?

The 'room on the other side of the privy'. And the door to the rest of the house.

Erin pokes through the room with the cherry blossom paintings, then checks the door to the room to the west.
Perception 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23 +2 Traps

"This place must have been beautiful in the past. Now it is just a shadow of what it was."

The room beyond contains two long, low dining tables run parallel in the center of the room, surrounded by the tattered remains of seating mats. Iron lanterns hang from the ceiling but are dark now. The stench of death is particularly cloying in this room.

The corpse of a man hangs suspended from a lantern.

"Love the way they redecorated the place."
Erin says sarcastically as she pulls the front of her robe over her nose and keeps an eye out for any more ghosts/traps.

Ashur follows Erin when she enters the room. He will carefully inch closer to the corpse and examine it.

Perception

1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

Charlotte looks around and sees everyone healing themselves. Well at least they are self-sufficient. Most groups I work with usually expect me to do all the work. But I better do a little more so they don't hate me as much.

She trailing behind as always, ends up eventually right behind Erin. She looks up at the poor dead body. Well, I guess someone decided this house wasn't for them. She says as she covers her nose from the rising stench.

Heal Check to determine body's decomposition time and possible cause of death: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

Yandu stays outside the doorway - just peeking in from cover.

"You are brave - but don't you think the dead body will be haunted or cursed. So far it seems less obvious places have been haunted."

As you walk into the room you hear a soft *crunch*crunch* under your boots. There are flies littering the floor near the corpse, as if the entire swarm that had been attracted by the body just dropped dead.

The body is not ancient, someone has killed here not too long ago. The skin on the body is sunken in a most unnatural way, almost like a mummy’s skin. The poor man is wearing clothing that would identify him as a local merchant, or perhaps a traveler.

Tanrov is spooked by the sight of the body. He'd seen the dead in dozens of forms but for some reason everything in this place seemed worse.

He waits anxiously at the entrance to the room.

This room has for door besides the one you entered by, one on each wall. The one on the West wall leads back to the garden, the one on the South wall leads to the room you entered first. The North and West doors are unexplored.

Erin checks the north door for any dangers while the rest of the group is examining the body.
Perception 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15 +2 Traps

No traps.

Erin turns back to the group from the door.
"All is clear over here, you guys figure out anything about the body?"

It looks like it has been here for a while. Charlotte says looking at great detail at the body.

Furthermore friends, I think we have some form of bloodsucker on our hands. Our poor friend here had all the blood drained out from him. She points to the spots where she see teeth marks.

See here guys, these our bite marks. What kind I can't tell, but someone was hungry and bit him up a few good times. And since there is no blood on the floor, they made sure not to loose a drop of blood either. But what is weird is all these flies here on the ground. Gross.

"Bite marks and blood drained... have I ever told you fellows that mosquitoes are my foremost archenemy?" mutters Arkwright as he studies the body carefully. "Let's move on before we encounter whatever it is that sucks blood AND can knock a whole swarm of flies out of the air instantaneously..."

"A giant bat maybe?" Ashur says as he is given the CSI report. "Mine happens to be casters."

"We are a loathsome bunch" states Arkwright seriously.

"Yea you are."

"At least it is not another ghost. Whatever it is, let us hope it is not worse than what we have seen already."
Erin states quietly.
She then proceeds to open and check the room to the north.

The eastern portion of this L-shaped room has a raised floor where a finely crafted wooden chair—almost a throne—sits. A half-dozen faded woven mats litter the floor. A small low table—another fine piece of furniture—rests tipped on its side. Scattered on the floor are the broken remains of a porcelain tea set. On the walls hang empty racks where commemorative weapons used to hang in places of honor. Also on the western wall a Tian word is scratched into the woodwork.

Map

"Hmm..." Arkwright reaches into his backpack and pulls out a piece of parchment, and scrawls a copy of the Tien word onto the paper before replacing it and the inkpen. "Could be useful later..."

Finished, he waves his hand and scans the room for magical auras.

Detect magic

"Looks like someone fancied themselves as royalty."
Erin states as she examines the throne.
Perception 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23 +2 Traps

No traps, no magic.

I cannot see maps while I am at work anymore. If there are any new doors I check them. If not I proceed back to the previous room and check the west door.

You have explored all rooms surrounding this one already. The west door is not trapped.

So it looks like there's one last room we haven't explored. Do we want to explore it?

Erin opens the door to the west room.

Oh, there’s more than that. There’s another unopened door in the front room, and the entire upstairs…

Two stoves sit in the southwestern corner of this large kitchen area. Multiple worktables and butcher’s blocks occupy the center, while the other walls are covered with cabinets and other storage areas. A large wooden barrel sits, almost out of place, to the west. The scent of death that is so prevalent elsewhere is weaker here, replaced instead by the smell of overripe fruit. There is a door on the south wall leading outside, and a door on the east wall.

The large barrel is filled with a dark liquid, smelling like vinegar. A couple of worktable are covered in earthenware jars filled with what smells like alcohol. It seems this room has been in use relatively recently, compared to some parts of the house.

Oh right. I only saw the big open space on the map.

Ashur walks over to examine the jars.

Yandu looks interested at the chair and seems at a loss when he rummages in his backpack and seems to miss something.

Just dotting that I'm around. Just back from a quick travel to Germany to pick up kids again. Was following - apart of all the posts today where I seemed out of sync.

Erin searches the room for anything dangerous or relevant to the mission.
Perception 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22 +2 Traps
If she finds nothing of interest in this room, she proceeds to the door on the east wall, checks it, then opens it.

Beyond the door to the east... Several barrels, storage bins, and stacks of very dry firewood line the walls of the room. Wall racks hold a number of earthen jars with lids. A single window is set in the east wall.

Charlotte looks around, getting lost in the Tian works of the previous room as everyone moves along. She sees a word etched on the wall, and has no idea what it is.

Linguistics Check to decipher word=1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Ashur picks up one of the earthen jars on a wall rack and opens it.

"Looks like there is a basement in this place too."

Erin states, while gesturing to a trap door in the floor.

Ashur puts down the earthen jar and moves to the trap door. "Whenever you're ready."

Yandu moves closer.

"Why do I have a bad feeling with every room here ?