Pink of Doom (IC)

[Pink]

Information I'd like

Use rope checks from those who helped. I'll use highest result and consider all others as aid attempts.

Also, You've knotted the rope from the mechanism, so you have 175 of rope. How much more have you added to that length?

Also, what is used to support the rope? has the dwarf just grabbed a piece of rope that is connected only to a twenty pound weight?

Also, Climb checks.

As for weight capacity of rope...Let's say 500 lbs unless someone can find me a better value elsewhere, and the weight supported by a new piece of rope tied to another piece of rope will vary on the use rope check.

[BurntOfferings]

Wellby

Various rolls:

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Use Rope (only one?): (1d20+4)[5]

EDIT: I hope Wellby didn't tie any important knots.
Taking 10 on Climb checks == a check of 15.

Climb checks: Wellby isn't going to do any accelerated climbing, and he isn't going to touch the wall (at least not intentionally). One-quarter his normal speed is 5', so he has to make a check for every 5' of movement. I'm pretty sure that it was situations like this that led to the "take 10" rule.

These rolls should get Wellby down the first 100', barring failures. He's got feather fall prepared and isn't afraid to use it, but since he can't see in the dark, that may not be much help for anyone else.

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Climb check #1: (1d20+5)[16]
Climb check #2: (1d20+5)[20]
Climb check #3: (1d20+5)[13]
Climb check #4: (1d20+5)[23]
Climb check #5: (1d20+5)[21]
Climb check #6: (1d20+5)[14]
Climb check #7: (1d20+5)[9]
Climb check #8: (1d20+5)[8]
Climb check #9: (1d20+5)[6]
Climb check #10: (1d20+5)[8]
Climb check #11: (1d20+5)[24]
Climb check #12: (1d20+5)[14]
Climb check #13: (1d20+5)[10]
Climb check #14: (1d20+5)[10]
Climb check #15: (1d20+5)[12]
Climb check #16: (1d20+5)[15]
Climb check #17: (1d20+5)[20]
Climb check #18: (1d20+5)[17]
Climb check #19: (1d20+5)[11]
Climb check #20: (1d20+5)[22]

[Pink]

>.< Sure, you can take ten on climb, is alot of climbing.

[harmonictempest]

Oloren

Before Dances begins down the rope, Oloren approaches him and asks politely "May I cast a spell to allow me to see through your eyes? It's a minor thing, but it'll give us an extra level of expertise on anything you might see." He then checks briefly to make sure the capstone will hold their weight.

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If Dances agrees, Oloren casts Chain of Eyes on him, duration 9 hours. Then he checks to see if the capstone is heavy enough to hold both of them.
Use Rope check: (1d20+3)[18]

[HellFencer]

Dances with Sand

Having already offered up his two hundred feet of rope for use, and secured it to something sturdy up top, the dwarf nodded quickly to Oloren before descending into the hole.

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Use Rope to tie knots - (1d20+3)[17]

Do you want a roll to secure it to something sturdy?

[Pink]

OOC: Remind me what sort've vision you guys have please. my mind's a little fuzzled right now with the two games at the same time and relatively same pace. :P

There is a splash from as the rope as it's tossed down the shaft, signifying that it is sufficient to reach the bottom.

Descending carefully, not daring to touch the wall, Merrik and Wellby slowly descend into the darkness of the shaft. The rope and capstone groan initially, however they seem more than sturdy enough to hold the weight. Deeper they go, and the shaft appears unchanging, only the light disappearing from above mark a change in location. As they reach the 175 foot mark, marked by the end of the original rope and the large knot connecting it to the next piece of rope, Dances with Sand is able to see below a pool of water, fifty feet below, into which the rope descends. He's also able to see a pair of double doors that at a glance seem half submerged beneath the water.

[harmonictempest]

Oloren

As the minutes pass, the elf stands still, watching through Dances' eyes with growing impatience. Chafing at the thought of just waiting, he seizes the opportunity. Having seen that thus far, no malignant magic has attempted to tear at his comrades, he steps to the edge and calls down "Hold a moment."

He glances at the sun briefly. That should suffice - the day is far enough along for these spells to last until evening camp. Then he stands for a few moments, tracing sigils in the air in front of him. With a small whoosh, they glow brightly before fading, and the palpable sense of magic in the air around him increases. The faint glow of his blue eyes has deepened, turning them purple (though it would take an observant glance to notice such a detail). Prepared with all the power his magic can bring to bear, he lifts lightly off the ground and descends into the darkness. Halting a few feet above his two comrades, he scans the tunnel as far as he can see before saying "I believe it is safe to proceed - I am prepared in the event that our knots do not hold."

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He'll be looking around as he flies down the shaft - his vision includes both Arcane Sight and darkvision out to 90 feet. As an elf, he should notice if he passes any secret doors.

When he reaches them, he makes another scan as far as his vision can penetrate, but not yet passing his comrades. Ready to cast Earth Lock and close the tunnel if the rope gives way.

Current spells active:
Arcane Sight (permanent)
Anticipate Teleportation (20/24 hours remaining)
Mage Armor (14/18 hrs remaining)
Deeper Darkvision (9/9 hrs remaining)
Overland Flight (9/9 hrs remaining)
Chain of Eyes (9/9 hrs remaining; current target = Dances with Sand)

[Reptilius]

Thomas

Thomas climbs down the rope, then falls the last 20 ft., landing easily on his feet. He joins up with the scouting group.

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Took 10 on Climb.
Normal vision.

[HellFencer]

Dances with Sand

Reaching into his pack carefully, Dances with Sand removed a piece of his trail rations and dropped it into the water below. He waited a moment to see if it reacted at all before descending the rest of the way down.

He was hoping to see a dry ledge somewhere nearby to land on. In the event there would be none, he instead would look into the water to see its depth. "I hope you are right, Father," he said, looking up for a moment at Oloren. "Ready little buddy?" he asked Welby. Should it look non-threatening, Dances with Sand would drop into the water.

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Darkvision here, 60 ft.

[harmonictempest]

Oloren

As his companions neared the end of the rope, Oloren followed and called to them. "Probably best to stay clear of what's at the bottom of the tunnel until we're sure it's not trapped. See anything, Wellby?" he asked as he looked around.

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Woahhhh....I realllly think we should stay on the rope and have a look-see before hopping into the water like that, especially after such an ingenious electrical trap. If the water was electrified, I don't think dropping trail rations into the water would make it apparent.

Also...how many people do we trust to be on this rope at the same time, especially below our knot?

Sorry for the paranoia, but I really want our entire group to at least enter the dungeon before one of us bites it. :D

Oh, and Oloren is not Father anything. :P Father Tolbin is up at the top, still.

[Pink]

OOC: I will need to know if more than one person is climbing down that bottom part of the rope at a time. Also, unless there is a lightsource down there of some sort, Burnt just admitted that he couldn't exactly hold it an climb at the same time, It is pitch black down there for normal and light vision folks and you should probably be taking penalties for climbing since you can't actually see the rope in front of you. And i think the father may have left us...

As Thomas begins to climb down the rope he notices that it seems to strain even more, as he is the third person holding onto it. However it does seem to be holding for the moment if he dares...

Wellby and Dances with sand begin to notice that the rope seems to get more taut, and moves as if another person has begun to descend. The dwarf's trail ration test seems to prove that it is ordinary water, and beginning to descend the last length of rope, of which the knot seems to hold for his weight, He can guess that the water is roughly 4 feet deep, and completely covers the floor. He also finds that there is a set of two five-foot wide, ten-foot tall doors. ((Search check on doors if you wish, and I'll await confirmation on going into the water))

Oloren is able to confirm what Dances has seen with his own magically induced darkvision, and is also able to sense a low-level abjuration spell on the doors.

[HellFencer]

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Yes, I'll go ahead and drop in.

[BurntOfferings]

Wellby

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I wasn't sure how far I could descend before the light from above became too dim to work with.

Wellby climbs down until the darkness around him becomes too pressing. Nervously, he holds on tightly with one hand, with the rope wrapped around one leg and pinned between his feet, just as his first companions taught him. With his free hand, he reaches back into his magical haversack and brings forth his trusty torch. Light immediately fills the chamber, and Wellby looks down just in time to see Dances with Sand go completely under the water. "Oh no no no no that is not good, not good at all." Noticing the elf flying nearby, he says, "I believe you have the right idea, Oloren. I had hoped to save this spell in case we needed to make a hasty exit, but...." Returning the torch to his backpack (and plunging the well back into darkness), Wellby waves his free hand about in intricate gestures while muttering arcane phrases. Once finished, he let's go of the rope and retrieves his torch from his backpack. "I do home Dances can swim...."

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Casting fly (which also confers damage reduction, but I doubt that will come up). Duration is 9 minutes. Unless Dances is clearly in distress, Wellby will start searching for traps on the doors. I don't know how tall Dances is; if he's well above average height for a dwarf, he might be able to keep his nose above the water.

Search: (1d20+18)[35] (37 if Oloren has trapfinding, thanks to his Aid Another action below)

[HellFencer]

Dances with Sand

The desert dwarf let go of the rope gently, thinking he'd plunge into the shallows. Instead, as he let go, he floated just as gently as he'd let go. In the time it took to get slightly annoyed at his forgetfulness, Dances with Sand remembered he had recently purchased a ring of feather fall. With a sigh, and hearing Welby's comment, the dwarf responded, "A little, but I think I can manage, thank you."

There was but a small splash.

*splash*

Wonderful. I hate being submerged.

[harmonictempest]

Oloren

The elf smiles at the halfling's nervousness. "Not to fear, Wellby; with the right words, moving people around is no more difficult than moving pieces on a chessboard, though far more interesting. I doubt getting *out* of here will be a significant problem compared to what we currently attempt." If Dances is untouched, he floats lower with Wellby, pointing out any parts of the doors, water or floor below that may look suspicious. He contemplates the many ideas of dealing with the doors that float through his mind, and waits to see if his friends' more mundane efforts show any promise before unleashing his arcane might on the doors.

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Aid Another on Wellby's Search check: (1d20+8)[15]

[Pink]

Dances with Sand is now dancing with the water as it covers all but the top inch of his head. However, nothing horrible seems to happen to him, the water does not spring to life as a sleeping water elemental, not does he begin to light up like a creature struck by a lightning bolt. At least, not yet...

The search of the door by the two flying arcanists reveals, to Wellby's trap sensitive mind at least, that it is airtight and built in a rather strange way. There is no lock or handles on the stone doors, the arcane lock seeming to be the thing that's keeping it together. However, the doors also seem to be built a very strange way, the hinges attached wrong, so that actually opening the door would require quite a bit of strength. Overall, it seems that the doors are not built to be opened.

[BurntOfferings]

Wellby

Wellby examines the doors carefully, flying around to get a better look at interesting features, even holding his breath and sticking his head underwater to get a good look at the submerged sections of the doors.

"These doors are passing strange. If they're really doors, and it's at all possible to open them, it's going to take several of us working together to budge them. But I have a niggling suspicion that there's another way.

"Oloren, would you consent to assist me in searching for a hidden entrance? Dances with Sand, since you're already in the water anyway, what can you tell me about the floor of this shaft?"

The halfling then starts floating slowly along the curved wall of the shaft, searching for cracks or unexpected air flows.

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Okay, so I think these doors are a pair of big red herrings. Wellby has some ranks in Knowledge (architecture and engineering); would that shed any more light on the doors' unusual construction?

Dances won't be able to find any complicated traps (even if they're built in the stone, since desert dwarves don't have stonecunning), so Wellby will probably need to do some diving if he doesn't find anything above the water.

I'm assuming that the bottom of the shaft is still circular, with a 10' diameter, so let me know if that's not the case.

One Search check covers a 10'x10' section, and the room is just over 31' around, so four search checks will cover one sweep without leaving any gaps. Wellby will search twice at each section, first for traps, then for secret doors or compartments. He'll start at the doors and move clockwise. Once he's completed a sweep, he'll fly up 10' and do it again. He'll spend up to four minutes searching, which will cover everything from the surface of the water to 50' above. He'll stop sooner if he finds anything.

First sweep (water level to 10' above):

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Search for traps: (1d20+18)[36], (1d20+18)[38], (1d20+18)[33], (1d20+18)[36]
Search for secret doors: (1d20+20)[32], (1d20+20)[23], (1d20+20)[26], (1d20+20)[26] (+2 if Oloren assists)

Second sweep (10' to 20'):

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Search for traps: (1d20+18)[23], (1d20+18)[25], (1d20+18)[34], (1d20+18)[33]
Search for secret doors: (1d20+20)[28], (1d20+20)[27], (1d20+20)[39], (1d20+20)[30] (+2 if Oloren assists)

Third sweep (20' to 30'):

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Search for traps: (1d20+18)[31], (1d20+18)[20], (1d20+18)[20], (1d20+18)[25]
Search for secret doors: (1d20+20)[31], (1d20+20)[34], (1d20+20)[25], (1d20+20)[21] (+2 if Oloren assists)

Fourth sweep (30' to 40'):

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Search for traps: (1d20+18)[37], (1d20+18)[22], (1d20+18)[27], (1d20+18)[24]
Search for secret doors: (1d20+20)[21], (1d20+20)[37], (1d20+20)[23], (1d20+20)[39] (+2 if Oloren assists)

Fifth sweep (40' to 50'):

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Search for traps: (1d20+18)[34], (1d20+18)[36], (1d20+18)[34], (1d20+18)[25]
Search for secret doors: (1d20+20)[40], (1d20+20)[21], (1d20+20)[33], (1d20+20)[25] (+2 if Oloren assists)

This will take four minutes, so Wellby will have a bit less that five minutes of flight left.

[Pink]

Wellby's search of the door seems to further confirm that it was not made to be opened, or at least not opened easily, however it does seem possible that they could be opened if that spell wasn't holding it closed, provided enough strength was there.

His search of the tomb's entrance shaft however is unsuccessful for any hidden doors, small cracks, shifts in air currents, or anything particularly out of the ordinary.

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Not actually saying if the doors are fake or not, but this is exactly the kind of thinking I want here. Your search checks will reveal clues and I'm hoping you're able to draw conclusions from them. Good job and all that praise.

[HellFencer]

Dances with Sand

Seeing two of his companions float near him, and watching Welby examine the doors, Dances with Sand swims just enough to let his ears out of the water. Hearing Welby's instruction, the dwarf sinks to the bottom again, and begins to search the pair of doors for anything suspicious, without touching them. After the doors, he comes back up for air, and begins to search the floor.

[harmonictempest]

Oloren

He lowers himself slowly until he feet trail bare inches above the harmless water, then makes a few slow and thorough circuits of the walls as he follows Wellby, eying them carefully for any cracks or suspiciously even lines or deformities in the rock. He then makes a second circuit, looking at the walls below the water this time for the same irregularities. Aside from his natural aptitude at noticing hidden doors, he hopes any there might be below the water will be less than airtight, and give themselves away by a slow sucking of water, or minuscule rivulets of escaping air.

As he searches, his brain keeps catching on the strange construction of the doors. "Passing strange indeed, Wellby. It's not in character for Evinrood to simply try to block our path, especially with an easy retreat this near behind us. The doors could simply be made sturdy, not to be opened again, since a tomb is not designed for travelers, but that is also unlike Evinrood, who knew seekers would come, and, in arrogance, would want his brilliance more apparent than in a simple blockade." He glares at the doors once more, then concludes "It's too simple. I do not believe our way lies through those doors, or if it does, there are much more complex protections on them than merely being hard to open and sealed with a spell little better than a cantrip."

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Not sure how many Search checks that makes, but with a +10 Search modifier, Oloren auto-succeeds on Aid Another checks, as well as automatically knowing if he passes within 5 feet of any secret doors.

[BurntOfferings]

Wellby

Mindful of the limited duration of his spell, Wellby gives up his search of the walls (at least for now). "Oloren, could I impose on you once again? I'll need to search the floor, and I'd rather not fill by haversack with water. Would you hold it for me?" That taken care of, he floats gently down to the water. Once again taking the rope in his free hand (the everburning torch still in his other), he takes several deep breaths.

I'll probably be attacked by an invisible crocodile.

Readying himself, he dives under the water and begins searching the floor, first for traps, then for secret entrances.

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I don't know if he'll need to make a Swim check or not; I had thought he'd just shuffle along the bottom, and use the rope to pull himself out of the water once he was done. I'll make one anyway, though, just in case.

Swim check (just in case): (1d20-1)[2]
Search check (traps): (1d20+18)[21]
Search check (secret doors): (1d20+20)[22]
Climb check to get back out of the water: (1d20+5)[10]
EDIT: Gah! Worst rolls ever!

[Pink]

OOC: *DM snicker*

Rope in hand, torch in the other, wellby plunges into the oversized puddle. However, it seems that swimming with both hand's occupied, is a bit tricky for the halfling and he ends up smacking his head against the stone wall of the shaft.
Nonlethal damage - (1d6)[6]
After a wince at the pain, Wellby is able to get a hold of himself and searches under the water. However he is unable to find any sign of a trap or a secret door.

[BurntOfferings]

Wellby

Sputtering and rubbing his head, the halfling says, "I found nothing, but I was a bit... distracted. I will search one more time, just to be safe." He goes back under, attempting to be a bit more careful this time.

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Swim check (just in case): (1d20-1)[19]
Search check (traps): (1d20+18)[30]
Search check (secret doors): (1d20+20)[29]
Climb check to get back out of the water: (1d20+5)[11]
EDIT: Now that's more like it.

[Pink]

OOC: Aww, you guys are too careful, let me set off some traps :P

Wellby's second dive and search is able to show him that the entire floor is actually a carefully designed trapdoor that is nearly airtight, except for those bubbles that gave it away.

[harmonictempest]

Oloren

((Assuming Wellby shares his hard-won info))

Absently handing back the halfling's pack, the elf's eyes narrow in frustration. "There's no trigger mechanism to open it. Unless...ah, Evinrood, you are fiendish indeed!" He floats over to the left-hand door. "If these doors were not made to be opened, and there is a trapdoor beneath us, and we have found NOTHING else in this tunnel, then there are only a limited number of options to explore, the first and crudest of which would be to break the trap door. However...perhaps the doors serve another purpose entirely. You might wish to climb clear of the floor in case this works, Dances." He stares fixedly at the door for a moment, reviewing his stored magic. Wheels within wheels...what if the trap door is a dummy, and these doors hide death to the unwary. No, paranoia can be healthy, but must not become paralyzing. "I think the mechanism to open that door may be behind one of these doors, which have unfortunately been strengthened by arcane locks. However..."

Checking to see that both his friends have cleared the water, he casts his spells. "A minor spell to counter a minor spell, Evinrood." Despising dispelling or unlocking magics in the fear that they may be too expected, he casts a simpler spell. His hand immediately begins trailing mist, a moment before he plunges it into the door, hoping to open a small hole to see what compartment or switch may lay behind it.

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Casting Corrosive Grasp (Extended), which allows Oloren to make touch attacks that deal 1d8 acid damage for the next 18 rounds. He's putting his hand on the door, which should be an auto-hit, and sizzling his way through, ready to jerk away at the faintest "give" that may signal having broken through. He's keeping his body off to the side, and placing his hand on the exact middle of the door, as close as he can gauge.

He'll break off if anyone speaks to stop him, especially if they do before he casts the spell.

Damage:

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(18d8)[8][3][1][5][1][7][3][2][2][7][6][8][7][7][3][3][3][4](80)

I think that should show individual rolls - he's only making as many as it takes to get through the door for now. If the rolls don't display individually, I'll reroll in the OOC thread.

[BurntOfferings]

Wellby

Seeing what Oloren has in mind, Wellby decides it might be a good time to update the others on their progress. It has been several minutes, after all, and they were probably getting worried.

(OOC: Thomas is down here, too. Don't forget about him! )

[Pink]

OOC: I await to know if all of them try to climb up that rope at the same time...

[HellFencer]

Dances with Sand

The dwarf, having absolutely no luck in finding anything, decides to swim to the edge, and climb back out. (Assuming there is no way to climb out, he will merely swim the edge, grab his crowbar, and try to wedge it in something to have a grip.)

"I'm ready when you are," he said to Oloren. To welby he turned, and asked, "So, there's something on the floor, and I was standing on it the whole time? I don't think I'm going to like this place very much." The dwarf sighed.

[Reptilius]

Thomas

"Well, I can barely swim, especially with my armor. Perhaps I should get to higher ground before we all drown." Thomas wades over to the rope, and grabs hold of it.

((OOC: Anyone is free to make an interjection.))

[Pink]

OOC: Okay, just since this is one of those things that's hard to regulate pbp without taking days, I'm going to assume you climbed up the rope one at a time. Might as well also tell you that, if more than one person is on the bottom part of the rope at a time, the knot will not be able to hold their weight unless it's two very light people.

With the others safely away, and now all by himself in the tomb of a master magician and trapsmith, Oloren begins his method of finding a way in. Hand channeling arcane acidic energies, he begins to melt through the stone. After a half a minute, he finishes breaking through, his success only met by a clicking sound, followed by the trap door giving way as gallons of water fall downwards., After the water clears, Oloren can see that the shaft extends a further 75 feet or so before the water rests once again at the bottom.