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

Game Master Kirsdrake

Looking at Baran and Lupi, Alua asked, "Do either of you have magic that can tell us what's behind that door?" She really didn't want to risk opening it if it wasn't their prey, but didn't want to risk not opening it if it was.

The spirits around her seemed restless, moving back and forth between the body, the door, and up into the spire. Wondering if it was their attempt to communicate something to her, she moved towards the door and concentrated. She didn't have much that could be helpful in this situation, unless there was something undead behind the door.

cast Detect Undead

Lupi is not aware of this, which is just more fun :). BTW, as Kamadan is large size, would it need to squeeze in this corridor?

Lupi is not aware of this, which is just more fun :). BTW, as Kamadan is large size, would it need to squeeze in this corridor?

Would likely be a bit of a squeeze... but who says the beast has to take the paths you two-legs are forced to rely on?

Was wondering, but the spell does penetrate wood decently well... I assume you still steer clear of the shards and thus stop short of the door?

Alua, Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

As the Oracle crept closer, followed by her omnipresent horde of spirits only she was aware of, she found that she could indeed sense a presence behind the door via her spell - an undead creature surely waited behind the threshold. And as she got closer the door, she spied a splash of reddish-brown color on one of the boards used to bar the door, as if something had been painted on the side of the board facing the door.

Yay! I was useful!

Backing away from the door, Alua said, "Actually, I think we just leave this one closed. There's something not-alive back there. And all the other doors are closed, so probably no cat in them. I think our only way forward is through the glass."

Looking at the boards, she shuddered. "Let's not disturb these boards. But your idea is great, Phin. Let's get some more busted tables and stuff from the kitchen, and make a bridge."

Need a roll for that?

Lupi said, "Currently I have Message, Detect Poison and Detect Secret Doors prepared, others are combat spells. Nothing to see to the other side of the door. Maybe these Ravers were poisoned?", Lupi casted Detect Poison.

No sign of poison... forgot to mention that the Ravers have been dead about a week - enough for them to get a bit... ripe in the hot, humid air of Fallen. And carrying tables here takes only time, no rolls. If you want to wade through the mess of glass shards, that's when some rolling is required ;^)

Also, since detection spells came up this is a good opportunity to mention I intend to take a page from Fabian's book where those are concerned. So please do not try to do the "Oh by the way, I'm going to recast the secret door detection spell every minute so you might as well reveal all those on the map from the getgo to save time." That'll just lead me to banning such spells altogether. So, again, please entertain some moderation in the use of such tools :-)

I'd be willing to get more wood to bridge it but that may waste too much time for Erix. What kind of rolls are we looking at to move across the broken glass?

Phin gave the door a wide berth, "Moving but not alive? I have no desire to tangle with an undead creature so closed that door stays. And I agree, we should remove the wood keeping it at bay."

The elf gave Erix an appraising once over, "Is your medicine going to last us hauling some wood over the glass? Maybe I should scout ahead and save us some time?"

Also, since detection spells came up this is a good opportunity to mention I intend to take a page from Fabian's book where those are concerned. So please do not try to do the "Oh by the way, I'm going to recast the secret door detection spell every minute so you might as well reveal all those on the map from the getgo to save time." That'll just lead me to banning such spells altogether. So, again, please entertain some moderation in the use of such tools :-)

Now that you mention this, please take a look at Detect Poison. Being a cantrip, Lupi can cast it as many times as she likes, so I can't understand the point of having skill DC's in the spell. It is practically "take 20 by recasting" :)... well, I am thinking maybe only single try would be still good for it.

Detect Secret Doors is different as it is a level 1 spell and there is a limited amount of level 1 spell slots.

As nobody did object, Lupi took one dose of tranquilliser and applied it to her dagger with very much shaking hands " Breathe carefully... in... and out..."

Applying poison (1-5 fails): 1d100 ⇒ 44 Success

I'd be willing to get more wood to bridge it but that may waste too much time for Erix. What kind of rolls are we looking at to move across the broken glass?

Acrobatics DC 12 to get past unharmed. Failure means you slip and either fall on the glass shards of have to step down hard to avoid falling... both options are equally painful.

At Alua's announcement, Erix looks leerily at the door. "Yeah. Good catch." he shivers slightly.

On whether to skip straight ahead.
Erix thinks "...Maybe? I'd be happy to cross now. It'd be worth it to keep the medicine running. I know I'm a lot tougher than most of you lot, though." He frowns "I guess it depends on how long we're going to take to make it safe. I mean, if we take long enough I could probably recover long enough to knock out another dose."

Well... it'd take a couple tables to cover all the shards in this corridor, and fetching them from the dining hall and navigating them here would take... say 5 minutes. While just going through takes no time at all but might lead to some of you spontaneously donating some blood ;^)

Knowing from experience how helpful Erix's medicine was, Alua didn't want to waste time. So she nodded to Phin, motioning her to go ahead and see how difficult it would be. The oracle touched her on the shoulder and called the spirits to help her across. In fact, now was a good time to put the spirits to work, so she asked for their guidance on all five of them. Spamming guidance, +1 to everybody

Alua followed not too far behind, not wanting the elf to get herself into trouble. She picked her was extremely carefully through the shards of glass, hearing her mother's voice in the back of her head, Forget the spirits, girl, what you need is a broom!

acrobatics: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

Lupi waited for a while to let Alua and Phin go first and then took a deep breath and tip-toed over the glass shards.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5 Ouch! A blood donation to a good cause :).

Looking at Baran and Lupi, Alua asked, "Do either of you have magic that can tell us what's behind that door?" She really didn't want to risk opening it if it wasn't their prey, but didn't want to risk not opening it if it was.

The boy shouldered his bow, "Not really," Baran said through frowning eyebrows. As he stood there and thought, he pulled out his hulusi flute and played in a series of scales, listening very hard. Sometimes things with a magical aura gave off a resonating light, or sound, or started to vibrate slightly. If you listened hard enough you could tell what the magic was by its' resonant tone. He stopped playing but continued to listen as he unshouldered his bow again.

Lupi waited for a while to let Alua and Phin go first and then took a deep breath and tip-toed over the glass shards.

Baran stood at a safe distance and admired Alua's lightness of step and pondered dance as a course of stud', "OHLUPIWATCHOUT!"

casting detect magic - range 60', duration 2 minutes but he will have to drop it after a minute to recast Dancing Lights - he'll continue to listen until something jumps out at them. Detect magic is a concentration spell but dancing lights isn't. Does Dancing Lights cease when he casts Detect Magic?

Nope, Dancing Lights doesn't require concentration - it even specifically mentions concentration isn't even needed to move the lights around.

Infinitely recasting Detect Magic is a good example of that "don't overdo radar spells" -rule I mentioned earlier. It's OK to use those 0-level detection spells in moderation, but just in case you were intending to keep it on for the duration of your tower exploration... don't ;^)

And Lupi, point for the detect secret doors being a real proper spell you need non-renewable resources to cast.

So... I assume you will all go through the the hole in the wall into the tower? Or was it the other not-nailed-shut door in the glass zone you were aiming for? Please be specific, for some choices may have consequences ;^)

Also, I don't think I have yet to seen a marching order from you (except both Alua and Baran suggesting they aren't going in first, wherever that may be. If I don't get one from you soon, I will continue assuming the order is random each and every time it's needed.

When Lupi steps on glass, Erix swore, stowed his shield and moved forward.
acrobatics+guidance: 1d20 + 6 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 6 - 2 + 1 = 21

Many large men lumber, and Erix is a very large man. His early life was spent with easy work and easier food. It was only when he came to this city that he was led astray into the art of burglary and learned to climb, leap and roofrun. It was a set of skills that had served him well in the past - and probably the reason he had survived the war - so he simply put his feet where 'Aunty Phin' had and moved.
When he reached Lupi he grunted a warning, reached down to swig her up in a princess carry, then continued to move to their healer Alua.

I think standard order should be Phin scouting, Erix on point. In a 10ft wide corridor someone on his left. In a 15ft corridoor someone on his right.

If Lupi does not want to be carried, Erix won't push it, but who wants to walk on a foot with glass in it?

Infinitely recasting Detect Magic is a good example of that "don't overdo radar spells" -rule I mentioned earlier. It's OK to use those 0-level detection spells in moderation, but just in case you were intending to keep it on for the duration of your tower exploration... don't ;^)

Agreed, He cast it and will only listen until he has to recast Dancing Lights in nine rounds. This is on;y in response to Alua's question of detecting past these specific doors ... Also, shall we go with: Phin, Erix, Alua, Lupi, Baran - possibly switching Alua and Baran - as a standard stack?

I'm happy to have Alua anywhere. She's got some melee skills, so not far from the front, but also at the back is good to protect the weaker folks from flanking. I think generally Phin in front.

As I understand it, we're ignoring all the shut doors, and heading north on the map into the glass. If that then leads into the tower, then great. Spooky, but great.

Right, thank ye. I'll move things along come morning, and will roll for Phin's acrobatics if she doesn't post before then.

I love how everyone's posts just assume Phin makes her roll :) And I'm good with the marching order - provided they give her a bit of a lead so that she can move quietly without a bunch of noise directly behind her :)

acrobatics&guidance,DC12: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 1 = 17

Phin began moving through the glass shards after Alua touched her shoulder. A couple times she thought she had misstepped and it felt like some invisible force pushed her leg to keep her from harm.

While waiting for the others to follow, she moved a short distance ahead searching for any sign of the kamadan.

stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Oh, you get past the obstacle even if you fail the roll - it's just more painful, as Lupi is about to discover ;^)

Baran, acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 1 = 24 Easy
Lupi, slipping on the glass shards, damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3

You waded over and through the glass shards, taking care where to place your steps, and at first, everything seemed to go well. Phin moved easily over the obstacle, slipping through the hole in the glass wall into the spire, but when Lupi decided to follow the muttering behind the barred door rose into crescendo – perhaps the entity within had realized you were going to pass their room instead of seeking entry. A sudden screech startled the self-styled goblin just as she was passing the door, causing her to stumble.

Horrified of the prospect of falling head-first into the field of glass shards she tried desperately to regain her balance, and succeeded, after a fashion. The hasty step she had to take dove several upright shards deep through the sole of her boot into her flesh.

Before she had a chance to repeat her stumble Erix came to the rescue, picked up the willowy elf and carried her the last remaining steps into the tower. The rest of the crossing proved uneventful, as Erix’s heavier footsteps had helped dig in furrows in the shards for the others to follow and the now-continuous shrieks from of the presumed undead monster came as no surprise. Fitting through the opening came as bit of a challenge for the sturdy brawler, but with some wriggling and a few muttered curses even he managed to force himself into the spire.

Inside, the room itself seemed to glow as Baran’s magical light reflected endlessly from the shining glass walls, floor and ceiling. The first thing Phin had noticed upon entry was that the spire had landed on its tip – what had once been the spire’s ceiling had become its new floor, and every piece of furniture and stored item had been tossed around in a most violent fashion in the crash. It was astonishing the tower had even survived the impact; fractures run along the inner surfaces, but overall, the thick alchemically-reinforced glass walls still seem solid and safe. Your eyes are drawn to one particular fissure on the north-eastern wall that seems to widen as it rises up, past the level you enter the tower from, although the damage seems to be limited to the outer layers of the tower and doesn't penetrate all the way to the inside. The tower is also leaning somewhat to the west, but you soon determine that since it has remained stable for all these years, it is unlikely to suddenly tip over with just your weight added to the equation.

The walls of the chamber are lined with cages, with metal bars and locks, and runes carved into the metal glimmer in Baran’s light. The doors themselves obviously didn’t survive the landing, as every one of them has been torn from its hinges or twisted into ruin.

Lupi climbed down from Erix's arms and said a quiet: "Thanks". Ignoring the pain in her feet she looked around the area hoping her darkvision would help to reveal something useful. She thought: "Damn, I seem to be more of a hindrance than help to these guys..." Aid another to Phin's perception

OOHHH....now I understand what's happening with that map.

Seeing Lupi hobble a bit, Alua rushed to her side. "Wait a moment, sit down. We must get this glass out of your foot or it could get infected." She helped to elf down, then carefully removed her boot. "Yes, see here, we must get this out." Turning to Erix, she said, "See if you can find any tracks while I tend to this."

Pulling out her kit, she found a pair of tweezers and carefully removed the sliver of glass. Alua considered calling on the spirits to heal in injury, but was aware that there might be bigger injuries to come. Fighting the instict, Alua then wrapped the foot carefully and helped Lupi put the boot back on. "That should help." Won't actually return hit points, but it is in character for her.

That done, Alua said, "Find anything?" Surely if an animal went through the glass to get here, it would leave blood. Unless it was clever enough to leap the glass field.

Surely if an animal went through the glass to get here, it would leave blood. Unless it was clever enough to leap the glass field.

Without a doubt, but you fail to find any tracks whatsoever on the thick dust on the floor/ceiling - if anything has passed this way, it hasn't done so in the last couple of months.

Lupi kindly accepted Alua's help "She seems very nice although she called me an elf, I don't understand. When I was with goblins in Darguun, calling somebody an elf was a grave insult. She seems to be thinking it is not an insult, so I guess, I will just try to find some tracks..."

@kirsdrake: No tracks, OK

When Alua was ready, Lupi said "Thanks, but I can't see any tracks here. It is thick dust in here, likely nobody has come here for a while. Could the Kamadan be behind the two doors we just passed?"

"Me either. Maybe it got in from the big crack, up there? Nothing here though." Erix sighed, and gestured at the ground "Don't think anyone could avoid leaving tracks in here."
Can I check OOC, options for where it might be are...
(A) not in here at all
(B) in one of the doors (without undead) off the corridor we just came through. Very unlikely it entered through the door though.
(C) in the door with the undead
(D) further up this tower
(E) further down this tower.
A is unlikely because we have been told it is in here.
C is unlikely unless the undead killed it.
E is unlikely, as this is the "bottom level" of where the tower connected. If it is further down it would need to have come through where we are.
therefore it is likely to be further up (having entered through the crack) or back in one of the rooms we just passed, having entered through a hole in a wall or something.
Have I got this right?

Might as well confirm this: the Kamadan IS here, but as I suggested, it is able to take paths not available to you (as it is a large feline who's specifically at home in rocky terrain as you learned). So far the only map zone you have yet to enter that the Kamadan actually passed through was the courtyard outside ;^)

Oh, about that big crack on the NE wall? It's not all the way through, so you can't enter the tower that way (unless it gets much deeper as it goes up - the ceiling/floor above you blocks your vision) but it certainly creates some handholds on the otherwise glass-smooth outer surface of the tower, particularly since the tower is leaning away from that direction.

Baran had been trying to focus since they arrived at this fallen fragment Skyway but the lull got the better of him. As the group looked for tracks and discussed the possibilities he knelt in the doorway and looked at the glass strewn hall. He took out his healer's kit and removed some gauze. He searched for a few good sized glass fragments, wrapped them and placed them in his kit. "Up? Cats are climbers. Could it have scaled the outside of the building? Either we go back to the courtyard or we search for stairs and home it found a way in."

Phin found it somewhat disconcerting to be walking on the ceiling as she looked around. The rogue was a little surprised to see what looked like cells. Who or what would they have wanted to lock up and why would they have needed runes? She pointed at the runes and addressed her question to the two who looked to have spent more time reading than outside interacting with the real world, "Do either of you know what those are for?"

"Up? Cats are climbers. Could it have scaled the outside of the building? Either we go back to the courtyard or we search for stairs and home it found a way in."

Phin could see at the edge of the light that the room continued to the right but she couldn't see around the corner. "I say we finish exploring this room and see if there's another way out of here rather than going back the way we came. We know where the kamadan isn't so backtracking doesn't make sense to me. I'll go ahead and that way Lupi can rest her foot."

stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

She'll move through the remaining part of the room. I assume that it's just a hallway of some sort that ends with the door?

She pointed at the runes and addressed her question to the two who looked to have spent more time reading than outside interacting with the real world, "Do either of you know what those are for?"

Knowledge, Arcana, Baran: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Lupi can deternime the runes are meant to prevent extra-planar effects from crossing the boundary marked with them, and in addition to the bars, you find more corresponding runes carved into the walls, floor and ceiling of the cages.

She'll move through the remaining part of the room. I assume that it's just a hallway of some sort that ends with the door?

Yup, the curved hallway has nothing particularly interesting in it, except the door at the end. This one actually has a lock in it, unlike the inner doors of the Hall, but the dor is merely closed, not locked.

Lupi can deternime the runes are meant to prevent extra-planar effects from crossing the boundary marked with them, and in addition to the bars, you find more corresponding runes carved into the walls, floor and ceiling of the cages.

Lupi went a bit closer to the runes to see them clearly. "They are some sort magical trapping system, it seems this is a sort of high-level prison. What was this place anyway?", Lupi continued more silently trying to remember something useful.

Knowledge(history): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18 Trying to find out something about the history of this place that could explain the cages

Baran spent some real time trying to figure out what the runes meant before he realized they were upside-down. He took another look as he listened to Lupi's explanation, 'Nope, still nothing.' He nodded along with what the elfin goblin was saying as he tried to learn from this wondrous fallen tower ... and his new companion.

[dice=Knowledge(history)]1d20 + 9 Trying to find out something about the history of this place that could explain the cages

For a History roll, you need something to begin with... what you have here is room full of cages. Hard to find any historical relevance from just that.

Phin was expecting the door to be locked and was surprised when she found this was not the case. She listened intently at the door before returning to the others.

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

Not being impulsive enough to open the door without the others, she moved lightly over the floor and down the hallway towards the others. "There's a door around the curve. I say we try that way."

Alua followed Phin and stared at the upside down door. "I guess we go through," she agreed.

Do the doors go all the way to the ceiling here, or do we have to step over a lip to go through it?

Do the doors go all the way to the ceiling here, or do we have to step over a lip to go through it?

You are right on the money there - the door frames don't quite lead all the way to the ceiling. The ceiling on this floor isn't very high, so you have an obstacle of less than 2' to climb over to get through a door. It may make picking a lock a lot harder if you run into a locked one, as the lock might be too high from the floor/ceiling to access comfortably.

Having heard nothing alarming through the door Phin carefully pushed it open, and immediately winced at the screech the door’s hinges made. Apparently, the door hadn’t been used in quite some while, and rust had had time to set in properly. Unfortunately there was little to be done for that, since the hinges were on the wrong side of the door so you had to grit your teeth and force the door open to be able to pass.

The room behind the troublesome door had been once a bedchamber. The luxurious poster bed and desk have smashed into pieces against the tower’s new floor, but one noteworthy item seems to have survived intact – a chest of blackened steel, marked with the symbol of House Vadalis, known throughout the lands as the House of Handling, for their mastery of breeding and controlling beasts of all kinds.

Erix barged in, heading towards a door "I'm all for looting, but I can feel myself coming down. Let's see if we can find anything now and we can come back and look around later."
Planning: 2 doors, right? Unless someone stops him, Erix will head to the door to the east.

... one noteworthy item seems to have survived intact – a chest of blackened steel, marked with the symbol of House Vadalis, known throughout the lands as the House of Handling, for their mastery of breeding and controlling beasts of all kinds.

Baran spoke in whispers, half narrating to an invisible audience. He slowly looked around in every direction as if to find them, "This inquisitive agency, each member a warrior for the working day, have stumbled upon the menagery of the House of Vadalis. The masters have not been awoken that the zoo's magic lock is broken and there is no little sign or token of all the inmates gone amiss.Yes, I agree. Let's keep moving."

As Erix seemed to be in a hurry Lupi followed him.

"Phin, do you hear anything at the door? Guys, quiet!" she said. [ooc]Does that count as aid another? :) [/b]

Phin made a mental note to come back for the chest. At this point anything would be helpful in paying the Agency's bills. There always seemed to be some sort of payment looming. And fancy chests that survived a catastrophic fall had a good chance of having something valuable inside.

Phin moved towards the closest door, "Fine, Cub. We keep going but we need to come back after. If there is something valuable in that chest then it can go towards bills or Sebastian's defence."

I think that's the east door that Erix mentioned

The rogue checked the door for a lock. The orientation of the fallen tower would make lockpicking more difficult but she was pretty sure if she sat on Erix's shoulders that she'd be able to manage fairly easily. She then held up her hand for quiet just as Alua shushed them all and she listened with her acute hearing.

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

""Bills... Sebastian... defense...", Lupi thought, "Maybe I should give some charity to these guys later on, sounds like this Sebastian is in trouble." Not wanting to say anything Lupi just tried to listen hard, if there is something on the other side of the door.

Aid another, please

I don't believe you can aid another on a listening-based Perception check - the best you could do is was Alua did, and try not to make it harder, but that's not really the same ;^) Luckily, in this case, it won't really matter, because...

Phin was only about to approach the door Erix had selected before you could all hear it – excited barking from behind the door, apparently triggered more by your voices than the screech of door’s expired hinges.

I don't believe you can aid another on a listening-based Perception check - the best you could do is was Alua did, and try not to make it harder, but that's not really the same ;^) Luckily, in this case, it won't really matter, because...

Phin was only about to approach the door Erix had selected before you could all hear it – excited barking from behind the door, apparently triggered more by your voices than the screech of door’s expired hinges.

Excited like I've been trapped in here forever and I can't believe there's people and I want to play? Or excited like there are intruders and I will bite their faces off?

There was a time Erix had loved dogs. That time was before he became a burglar. The barking of dogs had become a sign everything had gone very, very bad.

Excited like I've been trapped in here forever and I can't believe there's people and I want to play? Or excited like there are intruders and I will bite their faces off?

;^) More former than the latter, but there is something... off... about the sound. Hard to tell past the door, though.

Alua cocked her head with a strange expression on her face. "Is that...a dog? Surely, Kamadan don't bark?" She looked to Lupi for confirmation.

"Let's....leave the door for now. It's probably a closet or something. I don't know if I want to find what's been in here all this time. If we don't find stairs through the other door, we can come back to this one."

Alua seems to be of the run now, ask questions later mindset.