Aw, that's too bad. I understand though. It's easy to over-commit to pbp and rpgs in general. Thanks for running the game GM. I agree Vak. This was a weird scenario that'd I like to try again.
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Sparky yells in pain when he is bit by the attic whisperer. "Oh no, Vak!" He raises his religious symbol towards the undead creature and calls for a dazzling flash. He moves away from it, trying to get away from Vak too if he needs call forth the fire within.
"You don't sound sorry at all!" Sparky yells and chants words burning with positive energy. A lance of light blasts towards the skeleton.
"Oh I don't want to touch this..." Sparky says as he presses against areas on the door jamb, testing where to push with force. He selects a spot and pushes, grunting, "Just need a little leverage." Finally he takes his club and puts the handle under the door. Grabbing the head, the poppet uses the weapon to put greater force on the door and then kicks the door's corner, hoping the combined power will open the door.
"Vak!" Sparky says after the incision vanishes.
"Oh thank you, Vak," Sparky says. "My healing was paltry. I guess venom can poison my cotton fluff insides just like muscle and blood. Check Zano, if you have anything to nullify wasp stings that'd be great. He got stung many times."
Sparky cries out "Ohhh!" when the wasps sting him.
"I don't feel so well."
Sparky begins casting a spell on himself.
"Zano let me help you." Sparky casts a healing spell on Zano.
Seeing that his fire was effective against the swarm of insects he launches another small ball of fire at it. He takes another step back towards the door. "Zano be careful!"
"Fire it is!" Sparky cries out. The poppet gestures and chants, producing a small ball of fire that he throws at the thousands of insects. He slips around Zano to be next to the empty hearth.
Sparky says with a trembling voice, "I can unleash some flames if we get desperate." He steps closer to the insects and swings his club twice into the group trying to smash them.
Sparky spins around when he becomes aware of the buzzing insects. He stoops slightly to move under the table. He knows many insects from his time on the farm so he thinks for a moment if he recognizes this variety. "Careful Zano!" the poppet calls and draws his club.
Sparky sees Vak casting a spell and then inspect the fireplace. "That's smart thinking," the poppet says. "What's outside the window," he asks as as he peers out one of the windows looking east.
Sparky walks down the corridor and turns to the left, at the door he pauses to look outside the window wondering if he can see what Vak saw.
Sparky examines the walls looking for a secret door while Vak is looking out the windows. "You look a little unsettled," the poppet says. "We should investigate it later. Once the rain stops." He moves to the next door and listens.
"Where's the rest of the body?" Sparky says stepping closer to the hand. The poppet casts a cantrip to detect magic in the room. After that he examines the ring. "Why would someone try to burn a hand?"
I don't mind the GM rolling perception when we search a room, or really any time a Perception check is required. Either way it's a random number. Another option is for us to roll Perception in a batch and just eliminate each result as we search. The bookkeeping for this in a pbp might be more trouble than it's worth.
Sparky follows half a step behind Vak. He remains quiet, listening for steps behind them or sounds from the walls.
Since Sparky is shorter than the others, he spends most of his time searching under furniture and along the room's baseboard.
Lost in thought, Sparky stands quietly looking at the door leading to the haunt's chamber. "It may be easier to take care of it now...if we must go back." The poppet turns to look at Sylas. "Your youth? How odd. I was bombarded by thoughts of undead and clerics fighting them. And an eternal green flame at a necromancer's grave. But I don't know if that was in the past."
"Ohhh, thank you Zano for forcing those spirits away," Sparky says in a trembling voice. "That was terrible...terrible! I feel like my stuffing was nearly...forced out of me." The poppet examines his stitching. "Yes, Vak, let's go elsewhere. Thank you for healing us."
Unless the door is locked, Sparky turns the door's knob and opens it.
"Sylas, oh dear! Are you okay?" Sparky asks. The poppet steps closer to ensure he doesn't see any wounds.
"I wonder what could be in the box," Sparky says. He shakes it and listens. After a moment, the poppet motions with his arms and enunciates a few divinely inspired words.
"Hmmm, Sylas do you want to try to unlock it like you normally do?"
Sparky is curious about the necessities of living beings. As a poppet he doesn't need to eat or relieve him, so he pays too much attention to those details sometimes. Stepping over the curtain Sylas pulled to the floor, he approaches the toilet and peers down. "Okay, that answers that," Sparky says to nobody in particular. He searches the shelves or cupboards. "There may be perfume here. That can be very valuable." If nothing of interest is found, he goes out the room and turns left. He opens the door at the end of the hallway.
"Thanks Sylas," Sparky says, still looking around the room. "I certainly don't feel like a quick-thinker. Right Vak, to the task! There might be a servant's staircase behind any door." The poppet attempts to open the door on the eastern side of the room, next to the rug.
Sparky turns left and right, unsure if the entity truly disappeared. After Vak breaks the silence, the poppet answers, "I hope that wasn't a bad idea. Yes, let's find the stairs." He takes a quick glance around the room. "But if it could have been in any room, why here? Is this space special?"
"Well you might not be the only master," Sparky says. He pauses, looking at the others for a moment. He takes a step closer to the bed. "One of us here has a legal claim to the house and grounds...the estate I believe it is called."
"I am Sparky, though I have used other names. Who might you be?" Sparky asks. He lifts his hand to the light coming from the semi-gelatinous heap. "Leave!? Sparky says. "What if we have something important to tell you? Something that will make you reconsider this entire situation..."
"Everyone ready?" Sparky asks with a quick glance to see if their weapons are ready. "Three...two...one," the poppet says and opens the southern door. Anyone following will feel a slight warmth from the floor where he stood.
Sparky walks twenty feet down the corridor then stops. He looks back and forth between the door to the north and the slightly recessed door to the south. He puts his head to the northern door, listens, and touches the handle.
"Well let's look in this room," Sparky suggests. "If this building has servant stairs, those might be our best way to get to the highest points of the house." He listens at the door then attempts to open it.
"I wouldn't want to tinker with it unless I was desperate," Sparky says stepping away from the clock. "Right you are Vak! Let's continue to explore and find a way up the stairs."
"I haven't seen anything so disturbing in quite a while," Sparky says. "A good number of years." The air around him shimmers, like the horizon on a hot day, while he thinks of what he knows of about necromancy and the undead. "I wonder if we should remove it."
"There's a necromantic aura coming from the clock," Sparky says. "With a blend of abjuration maybe. Preservation. I don't think I've seen anything like this before." He steps closer to the clock and begins to search it for a key to wind the clock or for secret panels. "If I can find the key, I'll wind the clock."
Seeing Vak casting magic, Sparky says, "That's a good idea." The poppet spends a minute chanting while his hands contort and dance. Focused on the clock, he opens his perception to any magical auras emanating from it. The smell of burning wood drifts from him.
"Or there may be some hidden stairs, the kind used by servants," Sparky says. "But your reasoning makes sense." Sparky continues to explore this area expecting an attack.
"Oh, that's a good idea!" Sparky says. "I wish I had paper. I try not to carry easily flammable items." For a moment anyone standing next to him feels like they're standing next to an oven with an open door.
"Oh dear," Sparky says. "I don't know what language they are speaking." The poppet gives a bow to the apparent leader. Keeping his hands up, he takes a few steps along the eastern wall so that the others can file into the room.
"You will be most welcome here then," the poppet says. "...And your Lady will thank you for your actions. As Sylas said, we've fought some undead. I'm sure there are more. I'm Sparky, formerly Scraps. The owner of the house is Rola," he points to the human female with them. He then indicates the dwarf. "And that's Zano." He motions for the man to join them upstairs. "We explored half of the ground floor. Now we're going upstairs."
Sparky turns his head and freezes. "Did you hear that?" he asks his companions. "Would an undead try to trick us?" He jumps down each step, easier than walking due to his size. When he can see the front hall he stops and watches the newcomer momentarily. "Hello?! Are you seeking shelter?" a high-pitched voice calls. In the cold phosphorescence illuminating the hall, the stranger sees a poppet with shiny button eyes and plumes of smoke like incense rising from his body.
Ed, welcome back. :-)
Sparky watches the area for further surprises while Zano attempts to unlock the door. Small wisps of smoke rise from his body for a few seconds. He raises his hands, ready to start casting a spell if they are attacked.
Sparky looks at the double doors and pushes open the door on the right side, just enough to stick his head through the gap.
Take care Rola! Thank you for playing.
"Maybe their names are engraved on the frame or on the back," Sparky says. He pauses his climb, looking up the stairs. "Should we start with the left or the right door?" he asks, beginning to climb the stairs again.
"They really surprised me," Sparky says, holding up a bone fragment. I was stunned and shocked for a few moments. Seeing these in person compared to illustrations...well if I had breath it would have been taken away." He looks up at the antlers, wondering if they will assemble into some monstrosity. "Once Sylas gets bandaged, should we go upstairs?"
Again, a beam of energy lances from Sparky's hands to hit the undead construct.
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