GM Kirsdrake's Eberron Case Files (closed recruitment) (Inactive)

Game Master Kirsdrake

Erix lurked in the shadows as Lupi was freed. He was a professional lurker, paid to lurk. Currently, dripping with his own dried blood, eyes expanded to full black sclera, and muscles swollen with his 'medicine', Erix lurked to avoid attracting the attention of Lupi.

Still impatience warred with caution. "Chat later. We need to move. Soon my medicine'll wear off, and we don't have time to brew more."

"I can throw a dagger, but I am not expert on it."

Baran sheathed his rapier and unshouldered his bow. He stacked up behind Erix with a little grin stretched across his lips, "You're not alone. I did see Alua make a nice little shot with her crossbow earlier. I feel like the plan is for us to take shots from many sides ... with this contact poison I think all we need to do is penetrate the hide."

"The celestial bodies danced, pleased by the sights of this strange evening. They were quiet, as if holding their breath, and waited for more." The image of sun moon and stars moved to a height and followed the group.
Recasting Dancing Lights - and setting a bit of a president that whenever Baran has a swift action, and hasn't in a while, he is re-upping the spell - the sun will hover over Alua as far as dim light will stretch or the ceiling will rein in. The other bodies will rotate around the sun slowly at different rates

Lupi also goes to the library room and takes a quick look at the papers, hoping to find a scroll or two.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Saying to Erix, "Yes sir, but just a moment..."

Lupi also goes to the library room and takes a quick look at the papers, hoping to find a scroll or two.

Just so that you know... any meaningful search of the piles and piles of rotting paper for goodies will take at least 10-15 minutes, and I believe Erix's mutagen (of which he was worrying a moment ago) only lasts for 20 mins. Of which I'd say 5 have passed by now. If you want a prayer of getting anything useful by just pulling out a couple random handfuls from the piles, I need to see Perception DCs well past 30.

So. Will you take the time it takes?

@kirsdrake, OK, no then

Lupi reconsiders, "Oh, we are in that much hurry. Then let's try another door. Humans and elves don't have darkvision, right. I can see in darkness, as I am a goblin. If somebody opens a door, I can look inside and tell you quietly what I see with a Message spell. Would that be OK?" Lupi starts casting Message enthusiastically...

"I'm with Erix. Kamadan first, exploration after. We're definitely on a clock...with Erix's medicine and the tranquilizer and for when our patron requires the kamadan."

Phin looked around the room to see if she could spot any signs of the kamadan or anywhere it may like to hide.

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Is the library #7 on the map?

Can anyone use survival to look for tracks or does it have to be trained?

"Oh, we are in that much hurry. Then let's try another door. Humans and elves don't have darkvision, right. I can see in darkness, as I am a goblin. If somebody opens a door, I can look inside and tell you quietly what I see with a Message spell. Would that be OK?"

Phin raised an eyebrow wondering to herself if Lupi could actually see in the dark or just thought she could, "If you can see in the dark then that would be helpful. However, you may want to keep in mind that the one who looks into the room first is often the one whose head gets hit first should something be lurking."

@Erix: BTW, I meant to say, love the line about being a professional lurker! I want that in Erix's tagline :)

Lupi responds to Phin, "True, I need to be coming after someone more suited to melee, like you.", Lupi gives Phin a very tentative smile, still not sure if she can trust an elf.

Good point, survival can be done untrained, below is Lupi's try

Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 It appears Lupi has difficulty of finding her own tracks :)

Is the library #7 on the map?

Can anyone use survival to look for tracks or does it have to be trained?

Yup, Alua wanted to open the north-most door, and of the two available, that qualified ;^)

Survival is needed to track properly, but you can just use Perception to find tracks. And in theory to follow them. But you'd need to do an new Perception roll every few feet, as opposed to Survival needing a new check once every mile traveled, or when the conditions change the DC (basically you'd be constantly trying to find the tracks as opposed to following a trail you can see).

Also, if you do want to use the poison please specify who does that and to what item. We did agree the poison would last for an hour or so, but the next time you hit someone with the poisoned weapon, it is consumed. And there's a 5% chance of nicking yourself when applying it, so please give me some rolls.

Phin looked around the room to see if she could spot any signs of the kamadan or anywhere it may like to hide.

It quickly became obvious there were no tracks a large feline would have made in the clutter - not that the closed doors in general were easy for cat's paws to manage. You did see some signs that perhaps the Ravers had possibly been using this room as a hunting ground, adding to their food reserves by catching rats when larger prey had been hard to find.

Baran moved to the side of the next door, pressing himelf against the wall, noting which side it opens to so that he could best see. He awaited for either Erix or Phin to test the handle. His bow was out and on it rested an unannointed arrow.
sense motive/orate on Lupi: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
'Lupi seems nervous. Is it Phin making her so? Probably nothing. Phin could make a chez lounge unnerved i think.'
Have we shared the sedative out or do out best attackers have the vials? If Baran has some, he will wait a little longer before applying it.

@Phin: Thank you :)
"Boss - we're taking this... uh goblin with us? Is it fighting with us?" 'Are we going to trust it in our back lines?' he wondered, finding himself disliking Lupi after her statement that humans couldn't see in the dark. 'I am human.'
"Plan is I'm going to be too busy playing mouse to do any sedating, right?" Erix's grin stretched a little too wide to be genuine. He'd seen enough battles not to take anything lightly and led enough soldiers to know to make light of the risk. "Guess the rest of you get to play around with poisons this time."
"Phin, do you want some, or do you plan to just lecture it to sleep?" he grinned. Phin's "lectures" were usually anything but boring, and he'd managed to convince no small number of compatriots, when he was small, to volunteer for her 'abseiling safety precautions lecture' with very false expectations. Toothless Tommy had actually wet himself even before the rope snapped taut. 'Hmmm. Reckon I could get one of these guys to volunteer for some additional training? Maybe... maybe Baran?'
"Incidentally. All of you know how to abseil, right?"

True, I need to be coming after someone more suited to melee, like you."

The elf chuckled, "I'm not much of a shield or suited for one on one melee. I'm more of the 'hit them as many times as you can before they notice' kind of fighter followed by running away as soon as you can. But it's nice to know I made a good first impression."

Can I ask a few questions about the tranquilizer? What form is it in? Liquid, paste, other? And how about the number of doses? And would it be 1 dose per arrow or can you get multiple arrows per dose? And how long does it take to apply it to ammunition?

"Phin, do you want some, or do you plan to just lecture it to sleep?"

Phin playfully cuffed Erix on the back of his neck but there was an intentional sting to it. "I'll give you a good and proper lecture if you don't start respecting your elders, Cub."

Alua glanced absently at the green skinned elf, then at Erix. Cocking her head, she said, "She's an elf, Erix. And she'd best come with us, especially if she has magic that can help." Any enemy of the Ravers was surely a friend, after all.

Alua took a moment to apply some of the tranquilizer to one of her bolts, then loaded it carefully. "I'll take one shot, as it's not my best weapon."

5%?: 1d100 ⇒ 94 Phew!

The oracle seemed to get the dangerous stuff smeared onto the bolt with no problem, and she was careful to hold the crossbow away from herself and the others.

When they were all ready, she said, "Okay, next door." She led them over, then listened carefully at the closed door.

perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

"ELF! Why does everybody think I am an elf." , Lupi was about to say something, but then just shook her head and followed Alua's lead trying to listen behind the closed door.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

"Alua seems to be the boss here, so better not to argue." she thought.

Can I ask a few questions about the tranquilizer? What form is it in? Liquid, paste, other? And how about the number of doses? And would it be 1 dose per arrow or can you get multiple arrows per dose? And how long does it take to apply it to ammunition?

You have 5 doses - its non-trivial to manufacture, what the original transport team Lupi was part of had were lost in the ambush, and your employer still needs some for later. One dose is for one weapon, and good for one attack. And since it was the type that had to be applied to a weapon, it'd be closer to a paste than a liquid. Applying won't take too long, but since you have to be careful... let's say a couple rounds per item.

Hmm... this is a good opportunity to talk about one personal irritant of mine - everyone and their pet cat trying their hand at a particular skill check until someone comes up with a good result. Granted, there's nothing preventing you all from trying to listen on the door before you open it, but I think it just feels weird when one of you does it, shakes his or her head and the next person in line thinks 'Well I can do a better job and so I shall!'. It just rubs me the wrong way. If nothing else, it sorta suggests that people don't trust in their friends when they suggest they heard nothing.

So I won't try to ban it, because that, too, would be strange, but please keep it in moderation ;^)

Hearing nothing threatening, Alua peeked through the door into what appeared to once have been a well-equipped kitchen. Now, rats and other small vermin are the only creatures that seem to make use of the room, as the Ravers had established their own larder and butchery area in the dining hall. Rusty cauldrons and broken crockery are scattered across the floor, what remains of the cabinets are gutted, rotting ruins and everything is liberally covered in dust, mold and cobwebs.

Evidence in the form of rodent skeletons suggest that this room, too, had been used as a hunting ground for small tidbits of meat. Although there seemed to be something subtly wrong about some of those remains...

Knowledge Nature rolls can reveal some information if you are interested.

A couple rounds per item sounds like something to do before the battle. Lupi can throw her dagger decently well, but a ranged attack is still just one try. In melee one gets more tries after a miss, but a hit on a Raver is just one dose lost. I guess the plan would depend on how many spare weapons the PC's in melee have.

@Kirsdrake, What are the house rules on killing NPCs and monsters? Are they dead at 0 hit points or -10 hp? I am worrying about the possibility of killing the Kamadan on damage before drugging it as I guess it gets a save against the drug too.

Dead at 0HP, unless someone takes the trouble of dealing nonlethal damage. Plot-vital NPCs may have Plot Armor, just that you know ;^)

Also, about PC damage and death, while we are at it. Lupi knows my preferences already, since we have been playing around physical and virtual tabletop for years and years, but in my games, it take a bit of something extra to actually kill a player character. I like to include bits and pieces of people's backgrounds into the campaign, and it might take a while for the game to get to that point. So PCs dying too early equals to wasted effort, and I dislike that.

So what I do is, PCs go down at 0HP as usual. If you go to negative past your character's CON score, you don't die, but you are at death's door. Meaning no matter how many CLWs you get, you just won't be up to normal operating standards until you have enjoyed a full night's sleep. Basically, a Staggered condition that can only be removed by proper rest or some heavy-duty healing spells.

A PC only truly dies in a few situations, for example:

A) The PCs lose a battle, and the bodies of the fallen are unrecoverable
B) Some truly massive damage, like falling off a tower in Sharn and hitting the ground a mile below
C) When a player gets terminally bored of his or her character and wants a do-over. This always pisses me off, but forcing someone to play a character they end up not enjoying is even worse. Although some people do like to change their characters more often than socks...

@Kirsdrake 1) thanks for the note on perception checks. I've always found this difficult terrain to DM. 2) Plot Armor - never heard that before. Nice. 3) I like Baran (though I'm still trying to find his 'voice') but, plot not withstanding, I cherish the regret I have for lost characters - I'm confident you won't be too protective.
knowledge nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Baran couldn't put his finger on it. Something was off about this new scavenging ground. He leant in for a better look.

I first ran into plot armor as a term in literature, I think... some integral character to the story in a book just keep on surviving against the odds time after time after time, no matter what the fates throw at them.

Baran couldn't put his finger on it. Something was off about this new scavenging ground. He leant in for a better look.

As you studied the larger remains you noted that some of the rodent bones had clear bone spurs growing from them, almost like vicious hooked spikes, and amidst the patches of skin and fur you saw what looked like chitinous body plates, as if a rat's body had not only sprouted bony spikes but had also grown natural armor on itself. Clearly, these had not been your average household vermin...

And as the roll that that good, you can recall some stray mentions about Horrid animals (a rather nasty template that can be added on Dire animals, as pure OOC knowledge) from some zoology lecture in the university. It's not a natural mutation, but you can't quite recall where such a thing might have originated from.

Phin joined Alua in applying a dose of the tranquilizer to one of her arrows. Her nose wrinkled at the consistency of the paste so she put on her gloves she used while burglarizing and set about putting it on an arrowhead.

5%: 1d100 ⇒ 60
Assuming that's ok

As she carefully applied the paste she wondered if she should dose another arrow just in case the first one missed but seeing Alua only do one, she followed suit. Besides, if they didn't find it within an hour then it would have been wasted.

Phin glanced around the room for signs of recent hunting of vermin. If she had been a drugged kamadan and woke up disoriented after a long voyage, she knew she'd be hungry.

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Seeing Baran standing almost trance-like staring at the rodent skeletons she asked, "Problem? Or do you see something that can help us find the kamadan?"

Phin glanced around the room for signs of recent hunting of vermin. If she had been a drugged kamadan and woke up disoriented after a long voyage, she knew she'd be hungry.

The room's copious layers of dust and cobwebs did show signs of recent passage, but once again, the closed doors made it unlikely an unintelligent feline had been the one passing through - much more likely the Ravers were the cause of the tracks. Interestingly, no recent tracks seem to go near the door to the west.

In addition to the tracks, Phin's careful examination turned up a darkwood box with an intricately decorated silver lock from the remains of a cabinet that had survived the trying conditions surprisingly well.

Locked, and extremely well at that. DC 30 to open the box without resorting to brute force.

Might have not been too clear there... it's the box that's in surprisingly good condition - the cabinet you found it in is in ruins. The darkwood box is about large enough to hold a single shoe... not that you expect is to contain clothes, considering it was the kitchen you found it in ;^)

Alua glanced around the room, not that interested in the dead rats. "No way that big cat came through here. We'll leave that other door for now. We might need to see if we can bypass the glass through there, but for now, let's stick to places the cat could have gone."

Is there anywhere else to go, other than through the glass?

Either the door, or the hole in the wall Phin saw while scouting. Mind you, you can questimate the hole should lead to pretty close to whatever is behind the door anyway.

Phin the Raccoon wrote:

Phin glanced around the room for signs of recent hunting of vermin. If she had been a drugged kamadan and woke up disoriented after a long voyage, she knew she'd be hungry.

The room's copious layers of dust and cobwebs did show signs of recent passage, but once again, the closed doors made it unlikely an unintelligent feline had been the one passing through - much more likely the Ravers were the cause of the tracks. Interestingly, no recent tracks seem to go near the door to the west.

In addition to the tracks, Phin's careful examination turned up a darkwood box with an intricately decorated silver lock from the remains of a cabinet that had survived the trying conditions surprisingly well.

Locked, and extremely well at that. DC 30 to open the box without resorting to brute force.

I'm assuming that based on it's size that Phin can pick up the darkwood box

Phin's eyes lit up as she spotted the darkwood box. "Why, hello there. Aren't you a pretty thing." The rogue picked up the box and looked it over. "I wonder what secrets you hold. Hopefully something more than spices." Upon appraisal of the lock, she was uncertain as to whether she'd be able to tease it open while under a time crunch. But curiosity got the best of her. It couldn't hurt to give it a try. She checked the lock for any traps before using her tools on the lock. She thought she had it at one point but the tumblers proved too intricate for her while rushed. Rather than trying again, she stowed it in her pack to try again later.

perception for traps: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
disable device: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

"No way that big cat came through here. We'll leave that other door for now. We might need to see if we can bypass the glass through there, but for now, let's stick to places the cat could have gone."

Phin took a moment to orient herself based on what she had seen while scouting outside. "The cat obviously couldn't go through that door but I saw a hole in the wall while sneaking about and I think it would meet up with the area behind that door. I think it's our best bet rather than backtracking."

@Kirsdrake 1) thanks for the note on perception checks. I've always found this difficult terrain to DM. 2) Plot Armor - never heard that before. Nice.

One thing I forgot - instead of everyone in the party trying to solo a roll like searching the room (which annoys me), Aid Another is a perfectly acceptable way of doing things as a group. One main roll, and the others provide bonuses. Mind you, Aid Another doesn't work for every eventuality (listening at a door... how would another's ears help yours?), and in some cases only a limited number of buddies can contribute (picking a lock... I could see one backseat driver helping from over one's shoulder but too many cooks would just hinder, not help), and in some cases, like searching the remains of the library, doing things as a team would also save time.

3) I like Baran (though I'm still trying to find his 'voice') but, plot not withstanding, I cherish the regret I have for lost characters - I'm confident you won't be too protective.

Oh, you'll go down if you bite more than you can chew, but as long as those still standing and running away can drag your body with them, you get to live. Anyway, I believe combat encounters should be a mix between different levels of fights. First, you need the occasional easy fight, where the PCs can feel strong, and try out stuff and tactics without great risk of injury. Second, you need "medium" battles that you can still win easily enough, but that force you to use up some of your resources (like HP and spells), and thus make future battles of that level more difficult. And, third, you need the occasional "boss" battle that you just can't win by just brute-forcing but that are doable if you consider tactics, use all your abilities and perhaps take advantage of the terrain.

And fourth... I do very occasionally like to drop an absolutely unsurvivable encounter on my players, something where the only real win condition is running away with your lives. Of course, it can be difficult at times to tell number three from number four, until you have got some nasty scars at least ;^) I don't expect my players to actually beat every single challenge - like a certain Mythbuster so aptly said, failure is indeed an option.

I'm assuming that based on it's size that Phin can pick up the darkwood box

Sure. The whole thing weights 5-6lbs, and you can feel something shifting inside when you tilt it this way and that in your hands.

Alua glanced around the room, not that interested in the dead rats. "No way that big cat came through here. We'll leave that other door for now. We might need to see if we can bypass the glass through there, but for now, let's stick to places the cat could have gone."

"Ummm, sorry... Could it be possible that the beast is behind a closed door? I mean it is an intimidating beast. If I would see it wander to a room, I would certainly feel much safer to close the door behind it." Lupi reasoned carefully.

"And if you need more weapons for the tranquilliser, you can borrow my dagger.... I mean... I have always a spell to cast anyway." Lupi offered her dagger to others.

@kirsdrake: Hmmm... aid another rule, sure let's try that, but how? Say for example Lupi wants to help Phin on her next perception, with +6 bonus against DC 10 she has a reasonably good chance to give Phin +2 bonus for her next check. It is just a bit hard for me to write down, what Lupi will do, as I don't yet know, what Phin will do. Maybe just say Lupi tags along with Phin and tries to help her? ...and let Phin do descriptions and dice rolling.

Well, unless you arrange things beforehand I will rule that the first fellow making a roll is the one making the actual attempt (regardless who has the highest base chance - it's not like you can exchange notes and figure out in-character which if you have a Perception bonus of +5 and such) and if someone wants to aid another after that, they are free to do so. Assuming the action in question and the situation in question allows one or even multiple people to help, that is.

And if you aren't talking about aiding another and making it seem you are trying to solo the skill check one after another that's what's going to happen (since it's unlikely I can prevent you from doing that without forbidding it as the GM)... and little by little my irritation will rise, and once it reaches a certain point I will pay you back in some fashion in game to teach you not to try it again in a hurry ;^)

Alua Riversong wrote:

Alua glanced around the room, not that interested in the dead rats. "No way that big cat came through here. We'll leave that other door for now. We might need to see if we can bypass the glass through there, but for now, let's stick to places the cat could have gone."

"Ummm, sorry... Could it be possible that the beast is behind a closed door? I mean it is an intimidating beast. If I would see it wander to a room, I would certainly feel much safer to close the door behind it." Lupi reasoned carefully.

"That's not a bad point. Plus, there could be other ways in... like that hole?" Erix sighed "I've only got a few minutes left before I crash. How about I take a look?"

lacking a veto from Alua, Erix will go take a look.

Not 100% how you intended to take the look, but since I know there's nothing immediately hostile behind the door (which is indeed place Phin's hole-in-the-wall leads) I might as well assume Erix opens the door to give you time to RP this while my night-time approaches ;^)

Erix opened the door carefully and peeked through. Behind was an empty hallway with three other doors and, a few paces to the south, what had to be the break in the wall Phin had spotted while scouting outside. The floor of the northern end of the hallway was strewn with more of the sharp green glass shards and indeed, looking to the north you could see a piece of the spire's green wall. Yet this time the wall was not unmarked - a jagged fissure opened into a room that appears to be part of the fallen tower itself.

You do note two surprising things - the door across the hall closest to the spire wall appears to have been barricaded, with boards nailed across it, and on the hallway floor lie the bodies of three Ravers.

Right... the hole in the outer wall is marked with the arrow. The floor past the halfway point to the north is full of sharp, hard glass shards, and movement through that can be hazardous in a variety of ways (depending on how exactly you intend to tackle it). Thanks to your Darkvision you can see something past the fractured spire wall into that room beyond, but I leave it off the map at this point - chopping the map into layers is enough work as it is ;^) You do see a decently sized room, with plenty of stuff lying rather haphazardly on the floor. But we can get back to that once you get closer. The door marked red on the map is the one that had boards nailed across it. The three Ravers haven't been stripped of their gear (nor obviously butchered for their meat), and you can see no obvious wounds from a distance, but one of them lies face up so you can satisfy yourself that he's not breathing.

Uh yeah, open the door, sorry
Erix froze for a half minute, then pulled his head back and turned to Alua. Softly he spoke "Uh, I think I found something boss. You should take a look at this."

when someone does
"These don't seem like guys who just leave loot lying around. I think something else broke in here - either the cat or another team. Can you see what killed them?"

Erix starts down the corridor, intending to hold it while the others advance

layers in maps are AWFUL! You have my condolences

"I've only got a few minutes left before I crash. How about I take a look?"

About this... let's call it 10 minutes left - a bit of room searching, lock picking and chatting since last update.

layers in maps are AWFUL! You have my condolences

Aye... if you know of an easier way to chop up one of them adventure maps into room-sized pieces so when the party progresses I can push a button to make a new room/layer visible, do let me know. Layered map is easy to use once done, but takes ages to set up T_T

That's why I use the map tool on the roll20 site. It has a tool called "fog of war", which covers the whole map in black, then you can easily un-black the bits that the party can see. It's very easy to use, and hard to go back to using anything else.

Also, since Phin missed her roll by so little, can I retroactively aid another?

Alua watched Phin struggle with the lock on the little box, and noticed that the elf was holding one of her tools a bit crooked. Putting her hand on Phin's shoulder, she called upon the spirits for guidance, then said, "I think you have this one a little crooked. Maybe if you twist your wrist just a smidge....". Guidance plus aid another should be good for a +3

Erix froze for a half minute, then pulled his head back and turned to Alua. Softly he spoke "Uh, I think I found something boss. You should take a look at this."

Alua hurried across the room, then looked down the hall. "Strange. Do you think the big cat's bad breath could have done that?" If it could take out three Ravers without a scratch, that was ominous indeed. "I also don't like the look of that boarded up room. If we're lucky, it's fresh and they locked kitty up behind it. If not, then there's something unrelated and nasty."

Moving carefully down the hall, the oracle took a look at the boarded up door, to see if it looked freshly done.

perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Also, since Phin missed her roll by so little, can I retroactively aid another?

You mean the lockpicking roll? Disable Device is trained-only skill... and you, my Lady, aren't trained and thus not qualified to assist ;^)

Bah, technicalities!

Moving carefully down the hall, the oracle took a look at the boarded up door, to see if it looked freshly done.

It was difficult to tell, considering the boards used to bar the door were themselves reclaimed pieces apparently from broken-up tables, but Alua could at least determine they had been placed in recent times, but whether hours past or weeks...

To get close to the door you need to wade through the broken glass. Do you keep your distance or will you waltz to the door? If the latter, any particular precautions you want to take to avoid your feet being lacerated?

Hmmm....forgot about the glass. She'll stay at the edge of the glass for now.

Lupi moved to the hallway behind Alua and looked at the dead Ravers. "You guys did not kill these Ravers, right? Could it have been the Kamadan?", Lupi whispered to Alua.

Lupi took a quick look to determine, how the ravers were killed.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18 This might be a Heal check also, I guess, then Lupi has only +1

Holy Moly! Twenty-two posts since my last one yesterday. I have some catching up to do...

Seeing Baran standing almost trance-like staring at the rodent skeletons she asked, "Problem? Or do you see something that can help us find the kamadan?"

Baran took the arrow he had been resting on his short bow and prodded one of the carcasses."See, bone spurs protruding from the epicondyles of the rat's ulna, ooooo, and patella ... and this plating. This is mutation most unnatural. This came up in lectures but damned if I can remember the source! We can expect a heartier sort of vermin I'm sure."

Lupi moved to the hallway behind Alua and looked at the dead Ravers. "You guys did not kill these Ravers, right? Could it have been the Kamadan?", Lupi whispered to Alua.

Lupi took a quick look to determine, how the ravers were killed.

Baran re-notched his arrow and got as close to the bodies as the broken glass would allow. He peered over Lupi's shoulder to give a second opinion of the manner of death.

Phin thought the bodies curious in that they had just been left in tact and unsoiled. From what she'd seen the Ravers would eat anyone, even their own. While the others looked over the bodies she contemplated the barred door. "It's very possible that the kamadan is behind the barred door. The Ravers encountered a hunter more advanced than themselves and decided they'd kill it by starving it behind the barred door."

Which way does the door open? I'm assuming outwards into the hallway if the wood was nailed across it?

The rogue tilted her head as she thought out loud, "But then again, animals can't open doors so why bar the door if the kamadan is inside? I guess those mutated vermin could also be inside but in either case it would only make sense if they were keeping other Ravers from accidentally wandering in, not keeping the animals from coming out."

The elf wandered as far as she could before encountering the glass-strewn floor. "Or maybe the kamadan made it through the broken glass into that room beyond. We should be able to use the wood they used to bar the door to make a walkway over the broken glass. That way we can get through without hurting ourselves. If we don't want to unbar the door then there should be other wood around we could use."

Phin felt odd being armed with a shortbow rather than her blades. The sooner they found the snake-cat with the foul cloud breath, the sooner she could go back to what was familiar. But right now she wasn't taking any chances and kept an arrow nocked in her bow.

[dice=Perception]1d20 + 6 This might be a Heal check also, I guess, then Lupi has only +1

Yes, Heal is The Skill to inspect bodies and try to determine the cause of death. Perception will do to locate wounds and such, but won't help figuring out which was the lethal blow or if some injury was received postmortem and such.

Which way does the door open? I'm assuming outwards into the hallway if the wood was nailed across it?

It opens into the hallway, yes. Not that someone wanting to ensure it keeps closed had much in the way of choice, considering these doors you have run across haven't had locks (if the manor's front door is guarded, what need to lock up the kitchen or the dining hall?). Some of the nails are driven through the boards into the door as well, not just into the frames.

Alua, Heal to inspect bodies: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 5 + 2 = 19

As Alua, Baran and Lupi all crowded around one of the bodies conveniently clear of the glass shards, one thing quickly became clear - you could find no major wounds on the body at all. Lacerations on the feet to suggest she had been walking through the glass shards (here in this hall or somewhere else) not too long before her death. Plenty of old, mostly healed signs of the rough life of a hunter-gatherer in the City's violent underbelly, yes, but anything even nearly mortal? Certainly this woman hadn't been mauled to death by a large, angry feline.

You did note the expression on her face, though in these circumstances it was hard to know if much should be read into it. Her face was frozen into a death-mask that screamed of terror, but by your recent experience, it might not be so very unusual state of affairs for these more-than-half-crazed lunatics.

As you spent time in the corridor, you slowly became aware of another thing, however. Someone or something was making noise behind the barricaded door. They hadn't a few minutes ago, but perhaps whoever was inside had become aware of you as you as you had been talking to each other in the vicinity.

As you spent time in the corridor, you slowly became aware of another thing, however. Someone or something was making noise behind the barricaded door. They hadn't a few minutes ago, but perhaps whoever was inside had become aware of you as you as you had been talking to each other in the vicinity.

Lupi heard the noises behind the door and whispered to Alua: "Now would likely be the time to apply the tranquilliser to my dagger, could I have a dose?

"Well, I was hoping to get new experiences by starting to adventure. First I ended up as a dinner, so I guess poisoning myself accidentally would be next.", Lupi thought.

I don't think anyone told Lupi yet, but the tranquilizer was specifically made for a Kamadan (or any large feline, really), so its effects on anything else may... vary. Its not magical, so nothing too spectacular, but it might not work at all on something, or it may be lethal on something else. No way for you to know or find out, except through empirical testing, and you lack the doses for that ;^)