[[quoteright:271:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kaspall-pg209-panel1_4897.png]]
[[caption-width-right:271:The Captain (center) and Lieutenant de Montfort (left) question a witness.]]
''Kaspall'' is a {{fantasy}} [[MysteryFiction murder mystery]] {{webcomic}} written and drawn by Lucy Lyall that started in 2005 and finished in 2015.

Within this comic, Kaspall is the name of the unusual city in which the story takes place. This city is remarkable for two things:

* First, the [[CoolGate network of gates]] leading into and out of [[RecursiveReality a world formed entirely of places thought about and imagined by the people of this world]], called the Skein.
* Second, the many individuals from other worlds who have accidentally found themselves in Kaspall by mistakenly wandering through a gate of this kind in their own world.

Around the time this story begins, [[TwoLinesNoWaiting several events are occurring in tandem]]: a new off-worlder by the name of Alex Gray is being processed by the O.W.R. ("Off-Worlder Registration"); a student psychomantic (mind-mage) named Caroline is doing a field project at the Skein Institute for Professor Jaiva; the Captain and Lieutenant de Montfort ("Call me Harry. ''Please''.") are investigating a curious series of murders; and, in Hazel Karswell's small Greenacre Street apartment building, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Sam Goldbourne has fallen behind on paying his rent]]. Oh, and [[ThirdLineSomeWaiting something odd is happening at a certain mysterious estate]].

These facts are, of course, connected.

We recommend [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2004/08/05.html starting at the beginning.]]

The artist has a second webcomic titled ''Webcomic/SpareKeysForStrangeDoors''.

!!Contains examples of:

* AlternateUniverse: Kaspall is filled with people from alternate universes, a lot of humans for some reason, though the only one who might be from Earth is Alex.
* AltText: Starting in Scene 20, [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2009/05/24 pg. 228.]]
* AmbiguousGender: The Captain is an androgynous [[RatMen bipedal rat]], and has never found it necessary to specify plumbing or pronouns on-screen. ([[http://kaspall.com/comic/2014/07/20#IDComment856386970 As the author put it in the comments:]] "[[ShrugOfGod Feel free to assign [the Captain's gender/sex] as you like, as it has no bearing on this story whatsoever.]]")
* AntiMagic: And being in a no magic zone makes people ill or at the very least, queasy.
* ArtEvolution: Less so than in many webcomics, but quite visible between, say, [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2004/10/12.html Scene 1]] and [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/10/30.html Scene 28]]. (Note: Latter page is essentially non-spoilery but embedded in a sea of major spoilers.)
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler:Katherine Ulfor]], who feels no compunctions about committing murder, kidnapping, or assault on the slightest (or even ''no'') provocation.
* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: Caroline can't bring herself to finish off [[spoiler:Katherine]], even after what the latter did to Caroline's [[spoiler:parents]]. Once Caroline decides to spare her enemy's life, along comes [[spoiler:the Veritarc]], who has its own beef with [[spoiler:Katherine]], to do the job instead.
* BadLiar: [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2006/12/05.html Professor Jaiva is merely]] [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2006/12/12.html bad at lying]] -- [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/01/16.html Avril is full-out]] [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/01/23.html this trope.]]
-->'''Captain:''' ''[writing on a notepad]'' Could you tell me your name, please?\\
'''Avril:''' Ahhh ... ummm ... [=mmMary?=]\\
'''Captain:''' ''[skeptically]'' Mary.\\
'''Avril:''' Yes.\\
'''Captain:''' Mary what?\\
'''Avril:''' Mary ... Watts...?\\
'''Captain:''' ''[incredulously]'' What?\\
'''Avril:''' ''Mary Watts!'' My name is Mary Watts. Yes.\\
''[[[BeatPanel The Captain looks at Avril, who is grinning nervously.]]]''
* BeastMan: A major fraction of the Kaspall population, including most of the main characters.
* DeadpanSnarker:
** Hazel, the landlady. For example, when she arrives home to meet [[spoiler:Jaiva]], [[http://www.kaspall.com/comic/2008/04/12 whom she'd asked to come visit:]]
-->'''[[spoiler:Jaiva]]''' [''to Hazel, just coming in'']: Don't you ever lock your door?\\
'''Hazel:''' Every day.\\
'''[[spoiler:Jaiva]]:''' It wasn't locked just now.\\
'''Hazel:''' ''Really?'' I must be an idiot then.
** Sam Goldborne, Hazel's least favorite tenant. For example, when [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/05/08 he wakes up with Alex locked in a room by]] [[spoiler:the Ulfor]]:
-->'''Sam:''' Huh. Well, would you look at this. Horribly uncomfortable 'bed' ... bare floorboards ... no curtains ... don't know about you, but I feel at home already.
** Also, Captain Jenner, [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2012/08/26 as demonstrated when]] [[spoiler:the initial assault on the Ulfor residence has failed]].
* DoomedMoralVictor: [[spoiler:[[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/06/12.html Beatrice Ulfor]]]] sees herself as one.
* ElectronicEyes: One of Sam's eyes is a removable prosthetic, that occasionally bugs him about renewing his subscription. [[http://www.kaspall.com/comic/2010/06/27 Useful for peering around corners though]].
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Captain. The only thing that hints at as much as ''gender'' is half a [[MagicMirror not-telephone]] conversation between [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2005/05/12.html Hazel and Avril]] -- and even that got the ShrugOfGod before the end of the comic:
-->'''[[http://kaspall.com/comic/2014/07/20#IDComment856386970 4LS:]]''' The fact that the Captain's gender / sex was undefined kind of became a character point in my head. Which is not to say that Captain doesn't HAVE one. Just that I hadn't been given that information - much like I don't know what Claudia's Mum's name is, or exactly which part of the UK Alex is actually from.
* FantasticRacism: Apparently many worlds had this problem, judging by [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2010/04/25.html Sam's reaction to the idea of a human-only one.]]
-->'''Sam''': I can just imagine. Everyone equal. No-one looking ''down'' on you all the time. You could just be satisfied, you know? [[EntertaininglyWrong It must have been amazing.]]\\
'''Alex''': Oh. Um. ...yes.\\
'''AltText''': [[AskAStupidQuestion Yes. It's just like that. Also, sometimes it rains free money and kittens - though it's best to stay indoors when that happens.]]
* FourthWallMailSlot: [[http://kaspall.com/miscbox/qs.html Character Q&A.]]
* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
** ''[[http://kaspall.com/comic/2009/12/14.html All]]'' kinds of licenses.
** [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2010/08/15.html The signage at the hospital.]]
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: Not gods, but stories -- in the Skein, those tales which are widely remembered and retold exist strongly, and those which are less recalled more weakly.
* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Unusually, the one person they told was [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2010/12/05.html the entirely trustworthy police lieutenant.]] Who thinks they're all idiots for ''not'' telling anyone.
* IHateYouVampireDad: [[spoiler:Caroline]] hates [[spoiler:Katherine Ulfor]], who turned her parents into [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]] who went crazy from it and infected her in turn.
-->'''[[spoiler:Caroline]]:''' How about it, ''Grandma?'' I think you owe me some blood.
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: After [[http://www.kaspall.com/comic/2009/11/08 Caroline and Claudia tell their story]] of [[spoiler:visiting the study site]]:
-->'''Jaiva:''' What's ''wrong?'' You're untrained and you've got no talent! You're a bloody ''civilian!''\\
'''Claudia:''' ... I'm not ''civil.''
* KnightInSourArmor: Sam Gouldborne, [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2012/02/12.html to the astonishment of people who know of him as "the jerk who never pays his rent"]] -- although as a [[NonActionGuy Non-Action]] [[BurgerFool Cafe Pot-wash]] he can't actually accomplish much more than getting himself beat up.
* LionsAndTigersAndHumansOhMy: Kaspall takes place in a world that's mostly populated by anthropomorphic characters, but humans (and other species) frequently get transported there by accident and have to try to integrate into its society.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2012/03/11 To be precise,]] [[spoiler:the death of her husband]] drove [[spoiler:Katherine Ulfor]] over the edge into the aforementioned AxCrazy territory.
%% Not sure the above is the ''perfect'' trope -- @/RobinZimm %%
* {{Magitek}}:
** Mirrors are used like phones, with [[http://www.kaspall.com/comic/2006/08/05 operators]].
** Sam's GlassEye [[http://www.kaspall.com/comic/2008/06/05 has a night-vision mode and a subscription service to unlock additional features.]]
* MediumAwareness: [[spoiler:[[http://kaspall.com/comic/2008/09/12.html Sir Haydon realizes he's fictional.]]]]
* NonverbalMiscommunication: Discussed [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2009/09/27.html on page 238]], with some AltText lampshading.
* NotSoStoic: The Captain is pretty much unfazed by everything that occurs -- right up to [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/08/14.html the point in Scene 26]] where [[spoiler:the police discover that the Ulfor have started kidnapping people by the dozen right off the streets]].
* OhCrap: [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2012/04/15 On this page,]] quite a few of the [[spoiler:Ulfor]] have this reaction to the appearance of [[spoiler:Caroline and Claudia]].
* OhMyGods: "Circle!" and "God's shape!", [[http://kaspall.com/miscbox/qs.html#circle as explained here.]]
* OminousWalk: the [[HumanoidAbomination Veritarc]] follows its victims at a slow, relentless stroll, accompanied by the ''tap! tap! tap!'' of its gnarled walking stick.
* PlayingPossum: [[spoiler:The Captain]] [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/04/03.html resorts to this]] to see how [[spoiler:Avril]] reacts.
* PortalCrossroadWorld: The city of Kaspall, unfortunately the portals that lead to other worlds are too unstable for the Off-Worlders to find a way home. There is however a PortalNetwork through the Skein that goes within the city.
* PunchClockVillain: Excepting [[spoiler:Katherine]], [[spoiler:Beatrice]], and [[spoiler:Beron]], [[spoiler:the Ulfor]] are basically just following orders. Eventually [[spoiler:Beatrice]] convinces them to surrender to the police.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler: Beatrice delivers one to [[http://www.kaspall.com/comic/2012/03/11 her insane sister]], to distract her long enough for Sam to free Hazel and allow their escape.]]
* RecursiveReality: The Skein.
* ReplacementGoldfish: The original [[spoiler:Joseph Haydon]] was [[spoiler:Katherine Ulfor's husband]].
* ScareEmStraight: The purpose of [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2009/01/04.html the story of the Veritarc.]]
* ShoutOut: A couple in the alt text:
** On [[http://www.kaspall.com/comic/2010/02/14 this page]], when Claudia says "Go on" while badgering Caroline into bringing her along into the Skein, the alt-text mentions [[Series/FatherTed Mrs. Doyle]].
** On [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/06/19 this page]], in which Sam is yelling a lot: "[[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus MY HEAD HURTS!]]"[[note]]...in allusion to the NoIndoorVoice Gumby who says "MY BRAIN HURTS!"[[/note]]
** On [[http://www.kaspall.com/comic/2012/09/10 this page]], in which [[spoiler:Katherine Ulfor]] is convinced that everyone is conspiring against her together: "[[Film/CarryOn Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!]]"[[note]]Specifically, this is a quote from ''Film/CarryOnCleo''.[[/note]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: More than one:
** Sam, doing his job as Alex's guide -- [[spoiler:when Hazel only forged his signature on the paperwork [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2010/01/31.html because she didn't want a stranger hanging around the house]].]]
** The OWR, which [[spoiler:[[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/05/29.html handed a dangerous artifact back to Alex]] rather than [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/06/03.html put it in their safe]]]] because they had no clue about it.
--->'''[[spoiler:Beatrice]]:''' But now I find the place is run by ''imbeciles.''\\
'''Sam:''' Well, ''yeah.''
* SplashPanel: [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2012/06/17.html Page 353]].
-->'''AltText''': Wait, what's this? A big confusing fight page?! That can only mean one thing ... yes, at last, I am a Proper Comics Artist!
* {{Story Within A Story}}: The Skein is composed of the stories thought about by the inhabitants of Kaspall. [[spoiler:[[http://kaspall.com/comic/2010/01/10.html Jaiva suggests that stories within the Skein might reach a point where they could dream stories themselves.]]]]
* TemptingFate: [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2009/08/09.html Sam, reassuring Alex]], as noted by the AltText.
* TrappedInAnotherWorld: Many, many characters -- the OWR is specifically tasked to help these people deal with being displaced to the city Kaspall.
* WebcomicTime: Noted in the AltText of [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2010/05/30.html this page.]]
* WhamEpisode:
** [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/01/09 Scene 24: A Housecall]], three times over:
*** [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/03/13 First,]] the explanation of ''[[{{Blackmail}} just how]]'' [[spoiler:Hazel Karswell]] is connected to [[spoiler:the Ulfor]].
*** [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/03/28 Second,]] and a WhamLine: "You know, if you ''do'' want some help, I'd be happy to give it."
*** [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/04/17 Third,]] adding to the first, [[spoiler:that Hazel never went to the police at all]].
** [[http://kaspall.com/comic/2011/05/29 Scene 25: Detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure]] -- where we discover [[spoiler:Lady Beatrice is working against Lady Ulfor]].