Asari crouched in a dark corridor, his glowing amber eyes watching a party of Delvers loot a treasure room. The was the first room of its kind that he’d come across, and he watched curiously as the group opened one chest after another, loading gems and weapons and gold into their inventories. The bodies – and pieces of bodies – of several monsters lay scattered across the floor, which was why Asari had chosen to stay hidden.

“Not that one,” said a slender figure wrapped head to toe in black silk garb, probably a Thief, as one of their compatriots stepped toward the last chest. The Thief lay a gloved hand lightly on the lid, then jerked back. “Trapped.”

“Leave it, we’ve got enough,” said a burly knight, his shiny armor splattered with green ichor. Laughing and congratulating each other, they activated their escape charms and vanished, leaving only a faint echo behind.

“Brutes,” Asari growled, scuttling into the room. He counted two goblins, a gnoll, and a whole pile of spiderlings—arachnids the size of a house cat. They weren’t related to his current host, but all the broken legs littering the floor still left him feeling uneasy.

Curious, he approached the closed chest. What was in it, and why had the Delvers left it behind? The Thief had called it ‘trapped’ and Asari felt like he ought to know what that meant, but it escaped him. Of course, there was an easy way to find out.

Using his strong front legs, Asari lifted the lid of the chest. Light flashed and something hissed. Blinded, Asari jerked back with a yelp, but he wasn’t fast enough. Something dug into his shoulder, a sharp, burning pain. Snarling, he shook his shaggy body and felt the thing detach.

Damage: 2 HP
Status: Poison
HP Remaining: 40/45

Shit! How did he get poisoned? Asari backed up, rubbing his furred legs over his eyes to try and clear the blindness, but it didn’t help. Slowly, his vision returned, and he found himself staring at an angry male Nagara, the monster’s hood spread and his fangs bared.

Poison Damage: 1 HP
HP Remaining: 39/45

Human-ish from the waist up, he was a handsome creature, with dark eyes and soft black curls framing his face, his torso lean and well-muscled, under a skin of red, black, and gold scales. From the waist down, he was a …