As he enjoys the praise, the disguise disappears, returning Ooboron to his normal appearance. He is clearly pleased, despite his reluctance to accept it. "Is this what it's going to be like? I thought class was going to be hard, but it's just as tough outside of class. Is someone testing us?"

Weaver thinks about it for a moment.  "I don't think it's Skunkbutt, he doesn't like us but I don't think he'd put himself in danger with giant well dressed frogs.  I don't think we have enough information yet, but let's see what this goop is."

Reasoning that the frogs and mimic were completely coated in the stuff, touching a small amount of it should be okay.  Weaver looks around and says "Don't hurt my wings if I go all blargh blargh chomp after touching this stuff.  Wash me off and let's hope nothing too bad happens."  Weaver takes the vial of goop she saved from earlier, and casts Identify while touching a fingertip sized dollop.

The goop tingles on her flesh, not enough to really hurt, but slightly acidic, kind of like how your mouth feels after you eat a bunch of sour candy. It does nothing obvious to her, but her identify spells reveals the origin of this goop, which is horrifying: blood magic. One of the most twisted, unnatural forms of magic known in Arcavios. Blood magic is extremely volatile and dangerous, known to warp the user and targets beyond recognition.

"Ew Ew Ew Ew!" Weaver wipes her finger off, and shuddering, relays that information to the group. "What do we do now?" 

Elsenia reacts with horror. "Blood magic?" she gasps. "That's awful! I hate to say this but with the way some of the professors have reacted...do you think some of them could be involved? Or perhaps influenced by this magic in some way?"

Ooboron has never heard of blood magic, but from the way the others are reacting, he doesn't like it. "Is blood magic something vampires use?" he asks tentatively.

Theo afraid to admit he knows nothing about magic stays silent. Magic is not the fluffy friendly stuff he thought it was. Not even lightning bolts and fireballs seem as malevolent as blood magic.

Weaver and Elsenia would know that vampires are subjected to blood magic, that is what transforms them, but they do not necessarily use it, and they are pretty sure if it was found that the vampire professor has used or is using blood magic, he would not have been hired. Blood magic is an unholy abomination, a desecration of the body, and is regarded with disdain by all respectable mages across Arcavios.

Weaver has an idea. "Y'know, because this is something really heavy duty, we could always bring it up to Professor GrumpyFangs, since he'd likely take this more seriously than anyone... OOOooorrrr...." She whispers to herself "pause for effect,"

"We could solve this ourselves! We'd be heroes and not even old Skunkbutt can talk trash at us then, huh?" 

"You know that sounds pretty dangerous..."

.

.

"Let's do it!"

Ooboron isn't sure this is the best course of action, but doesn't voice his concern. Though his eyes look worried, he forces himself to smile and give Weaver a thumbs up.

This seems like a good place to end that scene!

As the days pass by, the party alternates between taking classes, exploring campus, and plotting. Give one idea in your next post about what you think the best course of action is. Do you follow teachers? confront them? Sneak into their homes? Remember, nothing is illegal if you aren't caught. Or something like that, at least that's how Theo remembers that from his...oop, well, how about we say his previous experiences? Aurora is noticeably absent, and comes back to your dorm room late at night. But when you do see her during the day, she usually gives a small wave for the party and a small smile for Elsenia.

After a week or two, it is time for your first

Magical Physiologies Exam: Slaadi

here's how this is going to work: there are two phases you need to complete:

-The first is the studying phase: If you would like to study, describe what your character does to study for the test, and roll a relevant ability check (be creative!) the DC is 12. On a success, you gain advantage on one of your Testing phase checks (as long as you don't cheat). If you would like to study with others, you have advantage on the studying check

-The second phase is the testing one: If you would like to take the exam normally, do the following

Slaad Facts. Choosing the correct multiple choice answers to questions about red, blue, green, gray, and death slaadi requires a successful DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) check.

Defusing Slaad Confrontations. Writing short essays about commonly accepted ways to keep slaadi calm during unexpected encounters requires a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check.

If you would like to cheat, make two skill checks, both DC 12: deception & sleight of hand

I will give you your grades once everyone is done. (hope I explained that well. If you have questions, just ask)

Theodore thinks, Well dang it Jack, you knew this was a school with all the books and lessons and stuff. Blade drill never made his hand ache as much as taking notes with a quill. At least he's gotten better at that. Even then, all the piles of information just didn't stick. Everybody else seemed to have such an easy time remembering all the facts and tricks. *ugh*

"Best friends, lets all study together! I'll grab snacks and we'll meet back in the dorm."

Study Group!

The school stuff is just so dang hard. On the days approaching the exam, he tries to figure out ways to make the whole process easier. Slip tricks, hidden blade, lifts, four burglers...

He even tries to slip into the professor's desk during a break to copy the answer page.

While out acquiring snacks for the study group, he secures notes to his desk and the seat in front of him. Shouldn't be too hard to see those, and some notes inside his collar and sleeves. He knows that he shouldn't be looking sideways so only to front.

EXAM Day!

OOC: actual player sweat, DDB dice don't let me down!

Deception check 22

Sleight of Hand check 12

A 4 and a Nat 20 ... poop.

Ooboron gladly accepts Theo's invitation to study together. This school atmosphere is completely different than what he's used to back with the tribe, so not knowing what the test is going to be like makes him very nervous. The week leading up to the test, the others have seen less and less of the loxodon as he has been hiding away to study. He has been trying to memorize everything he thinks will be on the test and asks others to drill him on his notes to see how well he knows the information.

For studying, a straight intelligence check: 10

During the test, Ooboron gives himself a silent pep talk before each section (bardic inspiration).

Slaad facts (arcana) check: 19 + bardic inspiration: 5

Defusing slaad confrontations (insight) check: 19 + bardic inspiration: 4

The idea of cheating never even enters Ooboron's imagination.

Weaver is so excited for the study group! She gathers all of her alchemical components and brews a big batch of bubbly brew, using a mixture of herbs, teas, and powders sourced over her weeks at school. She presents tall, thin canisters to her classmates calling the concoction "Ginger Minotaur" and tells them it'll give them wings. Not actual wings like hers, but metaphorical wings to keep them alert and focused on their studies. 

Nature check to source the right ingredients for the study party: Dice rolls not yet available for this section.

For the test, Weaver wants to try Really, Really hard to do this the right way. She's here because of her mentor, and she doesn't want to let him down, so she's going to try to do this without any fairy tricks. 

Identifying froggo people should be easy, right? It's all colors (and maybe a top hat if she sees His Eminence again):

Arcana check: Dice rolls not yet available for this section.

Defusing things is a little harder, she likes creation and chaos and life and spontaneous songs, and getting a salad... Salami.... No, a slaad, to calm down is a little outside of her wheelhouse. Why would you put a wheel on a house? 

Insight check: 21

Let's try that again. 

Nature: 14

Arcana: 9

Insight: 12

Goodness, those were some interesting rolls. Let's see how Venrys does (hopefully better than the rest of you)

Venrys, still a novice to the world of magic, is hardly equipped to pull the knowledge of blood magic from his mind fully formed. Still, the idea of it intrigues him. He's curious to know more, though not eager to replicate the results. So what does a son of fortune do to find the answers? Simple. He networks. He shares cups of wine from the family vineyards. He schmoozes. And all the while he probes subtly for the answers to the mysteries of Strixhaven.

This is also how he acquires much of his knowledge. Reading is all well and good, but why read when you can have others explain the answer to you? "A study group, you say? An intriguing notion. I'd be glad to join this group!" He seeks out a few members of the class who, while not as much of a social butterfly as himself, seem to have a good grasp of the material, and during the study sessions he picks their brains and coaxes some teaching out of them in exchange for comradery.

Persuasion 15

On the day of the test, it seems his strategy pays off!

Arcana 12

Insight 18