*cough* Hal is a talented lifelong criminal, so with a bit of prep He could probably outdo 1 rank.
Question for Brookside GM though: what style of chimneys were in use? Big old school ones, or more secure, thinner ones?
Unless the answer to that comes back without some sort of Santa/Poppins reference I'm all good with Melia's plan
The chimneys look pretty large. But you might wonder who teleport traps a residence then leaves a large brick chute that goes straight in? Feel free to explore. :)
Lets not get held up in analysis paralysis...if we are playing an incomplete information game, any move we make will be as good as the next. And if we intend to turn it into a complete information one, our overall situation may worsen. So lets go for the windows, maybe near some shrubbery or a corner - I assume theres no first-floor balconies? :)
Go in from there, see what we manage.
Be advised I am traveling Dec 20 to 30.
As for our next course of action, I move we wait for night, zap past the gate guards with D-Door, then enter by a window, as proposed.
Agreed on not indulging in analysis paralysis.
Do I have a second yes vote on a course of action?
Given the day I am really fighting the urge to push for the chimney... ;P
Merry Christmas to all!
Merry Christmas!
given Turion did the teleport earlier, I am happy for Hal to do it. He can do CL 10 no problem, which should do Hal + 3 medium creatures.
There was time for Hal to memorise Keyhole before we go in, I think, so long as he thinks it will work on a window.
Is that okay? I'll write up an action if so.
Yes to all of that.
I am back.
Got Corona pre-christmas and was in isolation in our bedroom. So unfortunately no festive reason like visiting family for my absence.
Still not feeling all well, but close enough to say I'll catch up to my games over the next 2 or so days and try to get in posts where my input is required.
You're thinking of the push button type lock? Invented in 1926 by Walter Schlage. It's not even a century old quite yet.
Not necessarily push button but the kind that automatically unlocks when the inside handle is turned. Probably similarly anachronistic, if I had to guess.
Yeah, those are the same thing, essentially.
Cool. But yes, that's the situation here. I guess it would have been more historically accurate to have a room key on the nightstand.
Happy new year everyone!
Not sure whether it is anachronistic. The issue was the clockwork involved I think
1. Normally clockwork in fantasy worlds is more advanced, primarily in the area of making complicated locks with smaller keys, and traps.
2. magic can often fill in for tricky bits - whether as an active spell or in creating the item.
That said, I think you could certainly make a room that can be opened from one side with a key and from one side without a key fairly easily if you wanted to.
Just have a handle on one side that opens an internal drop bar, and on the other side instead of a handle you have a column with a 'key' shaped like the hex bolt spanner thing they give you with Ikea furniture. Each door has a different shaped 'hex', and there is a round hole to poke the key through so you can't see exactly what the hex looks like. Surround the column with a free turning handle. Make sure the 'key' to the room has sufficient leverage that it can turn the column and thereby turn the handle and lift the drop bar.
It isn't as elegant, I grant you, but I would expect it to have the same effect, which from my experience is being able to accidentally lock yourself out of a room!
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But better than accidentally locking yourself in the room!
I believe there's quite a few versions of "locked from one side/easy to open from the other" in history, the novel concept was to have it in one combined locking element.
So I suppose as anachronistic as you want it to be.
More important right now, in my opinion, is if it can be "locked" into a open state, that is, the bolt 'jammed' into the open position, without clear signs of sabotage.
I wasn't quite sure what dispel magic would do to a magical trap until I found this odd feat.
It might be a good idea for Hal to disable it permanently before we enter. There's no chance of setting it off while it's suppressed, of course.
I imagine Hal can probably get it on another try -- he rolled a six on that first attempt, and that was evidently pretty close. He's got pretty good odds of rolling better than a six on another go.
Aye, there's also this about traps:
Magic traps are further divided into spell traps and magic device traps. Magic device traps initiate spell effects when activated, just as wands, rods, rings, and other magic items do. Creating a magic device trap requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat.
So some are just singular spells that would be dispelled completely, but often it will be via a "magic device", effectively a spell trigger thing.
Also, Spell traps would never reset, the others could - but of course, a fast-reset magic trap would require some serious coin and expectation of assailants stubborn enough to keep banging their head against it - if there's expensive components I'd assume this option to be almost null.
Either way, basically traps are just magic items and so can be suppressed, shortly, one of the few really "useful" means of using that part of dispel magic.
But since the time is rather short, it is useful to learn what one can before doing it - what kind of spell? Where does it originate from? etc...
So, Cust got paid in artwork for weapons to arm the Lakefire Rebellion, eh? I like it. Very flavorful. I bet GM has been waiting for that reveal for a while.
Yeah it's been a while... I was inspired by reading the Personal Librarian which mentioned that Rockefeller kept up to 80% of the family's wealth in art at any given time!
Turion, take a hero point for piecing together the info I gave you and adding in a little extra flavor of your own!
Thanks a lot, GM.
That said: My most recent(and likely final) little one arrived a few days ago - been spending most of the last few days either in the hospital or taking care of the other young-ones.
Everybody is healthy and well, and today brought him home from the hospital. There's a few more errands to run with bureaucracy(registration of birth, naming, etc) and with work (for time off etc), but overall, I should be able to return to normal posting soon. I'll try and get caught up asap and get a post up where I'm up.
I did announce that ahead of time but didn't get around to post again right when it happened. I was too busy collapsing from exhaustion pretty much every evening. But as said, should be back to normal pretty soon.
No worries, Turion! Multiple kids is a crazy situation for exhaustion and having no time. Come back when you can but don't stress about it.
Congratulations!
I am trying to think of something cleever, but just want to check first, (A) if we all make it over the fence 20ft away in one round will we be out of sight and (B) how high is said fence?
That would be good to know. It'd also be nice to know if there is any other cover in the area. Bushes, trees, walking around the corner of the building at the opposite end.
I thought about dusting Kazador's boots with Silence Dust before we exited, but didn't follow up on it. Ah well. Hindsight. And the +5 bonus, while nice, still probably wouldn't have saved us from low rolls.
Thanks, again. I should be able to return to SOME regularity. (not promising I'll be able to check in daily right now, but I'll try and be here multiple times per week)
Regarding the situation at hand - how would the teleport-trap interact with extradimensional spaces?
Specifically, I was considering casting spiked pit beneath all of us, then follow up with Feather Fall. We'd go down 50 feet and take 2d6 damage from the spikes. But at that point, we could be outside the effective range from the teleport trap and leave?
(That, and a guard arriving would only see a huge hole in the ground, with a dangerous incline - which may buy us enough time to teleport next round before the guards become troublesome.)
Otherwise, if the wall is not too high, I do have Haste ready, too, which should allow us to make the 20 feet easily - unless the wall proves to be an obstacle some of us can't overcome.
Uh. I had to go do research. I think Dimension Door out of a Create Pit spell would work. Most teleportation spells forbid extraplanar travel. Buuuuut, Create Pit generates an extra-dimensional space. Meaning it's not technically part of any dimension. It's a weird grey area, but I'm inclined to think you can probably dimension door or teleport out of a created pit.
I'm also inclined to think that the Teleport Trap effect would indeed extend into the newly created extra-dimensional space. But that's another weird grey area also, so reasonable people might disagree.
Overall, I suspect jumping in a created pit would probably work as a means of bypassing Cust's Teleport Trap, even if the Teleport Trap were to extend into the area of the created pit. At this level Túrion's spiked pit would be at the maximum depth of 50 feet, and Teleport Trap works in 40 foot cubes. Even if Cust was paranoid enough to extend the effect below the level of the bottom floor of his manor, I somehow doubt he'd go with more than a single forty-foot-cube down. High level magic (and permanency spells) get real expensive. He would want good coverage without bankrupting himself, like any good businessman.
Pity this didn't come up before we left the nicely concealed basement room. Ah, well.
At this point, I suspect that casting any spells with verbal components is simply going to confirm that someone is here, put the guards on high alert and probably rouse the house. If they discover the secret room has been tampered with before we can get back with reinforcements, Cust is likely to flee. And he probably has an escape plan -- or multiple escape plans -- already in place.
Not sure what to do, to be honest.
Aye, sorry for not being here earlier to bring it up :)
And yeah, that was the gist of my assumption, as well. That area-based effects WOULD extend into the extra-dimensional space, but within limits. (So a Fireball above would explode to cover up to the full spread downwards, but not the "entire" pit area - meaning at 50 feet downwards we should be outside any effects if they normally extend ~ 20 feet out from the mansion.
I also considered misleading the guard with some kind of illusion, but have nothing 'ready-to-go'.
I also considered Suggestion and/or Modify Memory, but that fails as plan as soon as there is more than one guard checking.
I could probably spend the recently acquired Hero-Point to petition for casting Haste(which I have prepped) with Silent Spell(which I don't have).
But that would only be reasonably valid if we are sure we can clear the wall and get out of sight. I think we need some more info on that and other available 'cover'(shrubbery/trees etc) before deciding.
I also do have invisibility available, but that is casting again - I myself could turn greater invisible via SLA - maybe draw the guard somewhere else with more noise.
The wall is 20 ft away and 15 ft high. There are some bushes you could try to jump behind and hide. I'll rule that if a create pit gets you far enough to be outside the teleport trap, then you can teleport.
Mel is correct that I don't think there's much question here of you guys surviving and very little question of you escaping with your identities intact. The question is whether or not the break in is realized.
Oh good. I think Kazador makes a much better guard than a thief too.
Ah, damn.
Did I just get tackled down in a pbp-version of "Get down Mr. President"?
I'm not sure if the guard has jurisdiction on private property, but I suppose that's not my problem now...
Mel has the Fast Stealth rogue trick. She doesn't take penalties on Stealth for moving at full speed. That's pretty much an auto-pick rogue trick for me on any character I play that has access to rogue tricks.
So if you're shutting the window, I guess I can get a round of the Boots of Haste back and just double move, winding up in exactly the same place.
My plan was to close the window and fade to invis, hoping everybody could hide before they decide to check outside the room(since the window would be closed again).
So yeah, was pretty much already planning to touch the window, just doing it with a bit more emphasis now that he's supposed to be the culprit.
@Fast Stealth - wasn't sure. There's so many rogue tricks I love, I often can't fit all of them in. I'll readily admit there's others that rank higher on my personal preference list, though - but good to know you have it.
Sorry, not a great plan, but when no-one else was moving I ran with it. How is Turion disguised?
I deliberately held off posting on that because I sometimes feel like I have too much influence on the course of the adventure. I'm glad we're handling this in a way I wouldn't have thought of.
Technically, not at all disguised because I did not state so and preferred posting with my proper profile for quick access to profile information/spells/skills.
I did once again leave Nelly behind(I miss her) for another round of sneaky stuff, so it would make perfect sense if Túrion was in his "Janus"-getup of young human male, just in case someone spotted us.
(And because we were looking around the premises earlier)
But it's in the GM's hand at this point...I'll just say that no matter what, Túrion would most certainly have attempted to hide elven ears simply because they'd make him stand out too much.
As for the plan: For what it's worth, I do have decent Escape Artist and can run faster than any of you. So even without magic I may be able to "flee" before being fully apprehended.
Just saying, I'd rather prefer to avoid questioning or proper guards arriving. So if a diversion comes up(such as the house guard discussing with you) I may make an attempt at that.
That works - explains why we were here.
The trick is going to be explaining you looked suspicious and we followed you here but critically did not enter the house. I seriously doubt the guard loses jurisdiction if someone crosses into private property, and an argument can give you an opportunity to leave.
Doesn't have to be theft either. Could be pranking or romance, but the trick is to make it mundane.
If you kick Hal and bolt it works just as well, and gives us a reason to chase you out of here.
Sorry for my slowness, folks. Lots of illness in my house this week.
No hurries at all from my side.
Just wanted to say I hope you are doing better, or getting well soon.
Sounds like Hal's deception has done the trick. Are we done with this scene? If so, let's go roust Viscount Turick out of bed and come back at dawn with a bunch of his men to arrest Cust and retrieve documents and the artwork.
So, do we want to go on this raid? It would raise our profile in the city quite a bit, I imagine, which might make future skullduggery more difficult. And Duke Beaumont remains in play.
Thoughts?
I have a feeling that considering his paranoia and other preparations, he would have means of slipping out from a regular raid. Invisibility, shape-changing magics, a pre-registered short-range teleport to a safe room outside...in other words, I am not entirely sure if the raid is truly optional - that is, if our quarry will be secured without our assistance.
If it IS purely optional, then I expect we don't get to loot the place, so unless the XP would help push us towards the next level, keeping a low profile would seem desirable. (Plus why risk something if there is no gain to be had...the dude had a empowered disintegration in the cellar...don't misunderstand - if we had personal stakes in the matter, sure, but it would seem our overarching goal of preventing an escalation to the point of war would be achieved regardless of our personal participation.)
While I'm good with it, I can't see Hal volunteering. Could be voluntold though.
Yeah, the crux is that this is an IC/OOC problem. In character, we have every reason to want to avoid calling attention to ourselves.
Out of character, it's been a while since we had a proper fight. Our caution and sneakiness have paid off! But I bet Kazador is itching to kick down a door and roll initiative.
Ooc, yes, throwing dice into the eyes of baddies is great fun
IC, he’s happy that things are going smoothly thus far. Sure, he’s not the sneakiest, or the most charming, or the smartest guy around. But he’s not a berserker either.
How about this? Let's go along, but observe from the sidelines. If it looks like he's escaping we can intervene.
I just had a thought, though. Is Teleport Trap something you can mess with using Disable Device? If so, I kind of wonder if Hal might be able to mess with the spell on a sufficiently high roll. Say, by changing the password so that Cust can't teleport out of his own trap.
We might need a DM ruling on that. A quick Google search did not yield anything useful on whether or not Teleport Trap counts as an actual trap trap.
I'll go by the Trap in the name and the fact that sounds cool. You can try to mess with a teleport trap, yes.