GM WhtKnt's Into the Borderlands, Table 1 (Inactive)

Game Master WhtKnt

Galador nods in agreement with what Makira said, and motions for the heroes to lead the way.

With the charred plants acting as a landmark, Theo regains his sense of direction quickly.

Galador nods in agreement with what Makira said, and motions for the heroes to lead the way.

Theo nods in kind, restoring the light to his staff.

"If all the changing light levels and sudden noises haven't totally discombobulated me, then this should be our path." Theo says, walking in the indicated direction.

Looking at the map, which way do you want to go from here?

I guess we keep going forward down the hall.

I figured we would keep heading down the path we (the original trio) were on when we encountered the screaming plants.

That was my thinking as well.

The great hall is filled with all manner of plants and fungi, but appears to have no other exits.

"Where to next, then?"

Ya'Bo start the 10 min. Detect Magic ritual to see if anything magical is hidden with in the fungi.
Lets go to the red x on the bottom left of the map.

Seeing as how the valiant heroes seem to know their business, Galador falls into step.

The detect magic reveals no auras in the fungi garden. The party proceeds to the designated spot on the map, but just shortly past that point, they find their way blocked by a kobold with a spear. The kobold says something in Draconic.

Little confused why the kobolds would be down here when the tower was their area.
Ya'Bo tells the others, "This one says we are entering kobold territory. I will see if he will tell me what lies beyond."

"How do we know he'd tell the truth? Kobolds are not known for their...lawfulness."

Do we need to see the tower to find what you seek? Should we turn around?

Telling every one what the kobold said.
"No, Makira was it, we have been in the tower but I do not remember another way for there to here.

Let's just keep this passage in mind and search else where. if we need to we can always come back."

Ya'bo leads the party away and then tells them "I am not sure how many of those kobolds understand a language other than Draconic. So with that in mind, Galador. No I do not trust them at all. But I rather play nice to them until we have no other choice. We have no idea how many of them there are and they know the area.
Theo, Ore, and I have been in a spot where we almost got pounded into lunch for some monsters because we just stumbled in blindly. I am hoping to avoid that mistake again."

How about the north east passage next and we just keep going from east to west passages?

How about the north east passage next and we just keep going from east to west passages?

This works for me.

"Ya'Bo. There are two more corridors to the North, correct? Shall we retrace are steps and take the paths in turn? I believe that would make the North Eastern passage our first route."

"Sounds good, I was just heading for a spot." he replies.

Ore chuckles, letting his guard down for the first time in a little while.

The corridor leads to a corridor going east and then continues north to split into three corridors, two going west and one going east.

The map has been updated.

Theo pauses a moment and peers down the first Eastern path. He looks for obvious door frames along the walls, and to see if he can make out the far end.

@GM -- The map is showing about 20ft of this passage. I'm looking for basic info on the next 40ft (60ft dark vision).

You can just make out a door frame on the north side of the corridor at the edge of your vision.

Galador goes and opens the door.

Ya'bo moves up to check the door.

The door opens to reveal an unadorned 20-by-30-foot chamber with smooth walls. To the northeast is a 10-foot wide alcove that extends to 20 feet deep.

Galador searches the room and alcove for treasure.

Perception!: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Noticing the space's relative smallness, Theo pauses at the door.

Speaking of space... On average, how high are the ceilings in this place?

"Anything thing of value?", he asks, poking his head past the threshold.

Galador finds nothing of value or interest. The ceilings here average 10 feet.

Ya'bo moves into the room and takes a look around as well.
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

"If the room really is baren, it could be a good place to make camp should the need arise." Theo muses, leaning against the door frame; more in than out of the room at this point.

Single point of entry also makes this room a choke point, even more so than the hall itself. Something to keep in mind if we find trouble nearby.

The room certainly appears barren, even to Ya'bo's keen eyes.

Satisfied that the room doesn't hold any secrets, Theo wanders down the last few yards of the passage.

Keeping close to the wall, he peeks around the corner.

Link is to image of the exact corner I mean. I don't trust my ability to give directions.

The map has been updated. The X shows the party's current position. The corridor turns again to the north and ends at a door.

Theo hovers inches from the door, listening intently. Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Theo, as you approach the door, the floor gives way beneath you! The entire 20-foot section in front of the door collapses, dumping you unceremoniously into a pool of very cold water. You suffer 1d4 ⇒ 4 points of damage in the fall and are submerged in very cold water about 8 feet deep.

Startled by his sudden loss of footing, half a curse leaves Theo's lips before the shock of cold water forces him to fill his lungs with air. If not for a particularly large chunk of floor slowing his descent into the water, that last gasp might have spelled his doom; as it has for many a drowning victim.

"Damn, whore-spawned sh*te!!", Theo finishes the curse in his head. The sudden shock from the cold only adding to his vitriol.

Just as Theo's mind has finally established up from down, Theo's feet hit bottom. Unfortunately, he has too much momentum for a dead-stop. The same slab that slowed his initial descent also drastically reduced his overall drag in the water. Theo's knees buckle on impact and he is slammed into a sitting position.

More annoyed than hurt, Theo stands up, his armor anchoring him to the floor. In an ideal situation, Theo can hold his breath for the better part of a minute. "Probably closer to 30 seconds, given the circumstances", he thinks to himself. Bending back down into a squat, he kicks off with force, hoping to break the surface in a single burst. Having to tread water in this armor would be...sub-optimal.

Apparently, there is no RAW for swimming in metal armor. Seems kind of boring. Thought I'd see if you or the others would be interested in a house rule about it. Athletics or Strength check, maybe?

Also not sure how far down from the floor the surface of the pool is. Can I reach up and pull myself onto the floor if I break the surface?

Ya'Bo rushes over and looks down in the pit fearing to see Theo impaled on some spikes. He is relieved that it was only water. And takes off his rope to lower it down.
"One of you tall folks might be better at pulling him up."

You can pull yourself onto the shore. The pool is at the entrance to a small room. Slick with moisture, this natural cavern is about 40 feet wide and 50 feet long. Several natural, irregular niches and cracks line the west wall. To the south, the pool exits to a corridor that opens into a larger room.

Definitely an Athletics check for swimming in armor. Failure indicates that you sink and must hold your breath or begin drowning. Also, this water is VERY cold and imposes disadvantage on these checks.

Theo's jump is pathetic. His hand is inches from the surface and it still doesn't clear. He is betrayed on multiple levels by his armor.

Beyond its weight anchoring him to the floor, the metallic bits hemorrhage his warmth as readily as they would repel sword or spear. This is no more true now than it was before he fell. But the water's appetite for energy is insatiable and its maw expansive. It bites into Theo's stamina, consuming his very life force with every passing moment.

"Damn. Couldn't even clear a foot without a couple of extra kicks."

Swim (Ath), Disadvantage: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Swim (Ath), Disadvantage: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Theo commands his legs to kick...but to little avail. Two limp flails fail to carry him any further than his initial hop. As he falls back to the floor, he looks up at the surface just in time for his first pangs of dread to be washed away by what he sees onshore.

Minor Illusion, centered just above the pool.
"Ya'bo! My hand is maybe a foot from the surface, but my strength is drained. Any of the tall folk should be able to reach in and grab me!"

Makira gasps and rushes to the edge. Can you reach my hand, sir? as she reaches as far as she can to Theo.

Makira gasps and rushes to the edge. Can you reach my hand, sir? as she reaches as far as she can to Theo.

Makira's hand plunges into the water moments before Theo was to lose the last of his composure. Theo grips her forearm with all the strength that his numb digits can muster before managing another meager hop; anything to help compensate for Makira's smaller frame.

His free hand breaks the surface first, and he is able to pull himself the rest of the way up. The next few minutes are spent alternating between greedy gasps for air and tangents of gratitude towards his companions.

Once the initial shock begins to wear off, Theo realizes he needs to do something about his soaking (and freezing) attire.

"Hey, Ore. I think I'm gonna need to borrow that dragon scale robe for a bit, friend."

I vote we start a fire in that empty room before poor Theo freezes to death. Any objections?

I would agree. A fire sounds good.

Using Prestidigitation Ya'Bo starts a small fire to warm Theo.

I go out of town for the weekend and suddenly this game blows up. Tally ho! Also, DM, so there is a door on the normal floor, at the edge of the new 20 foot pool, but there is also a large cavern under our floor that we have not explored, yeah? So I presume that it's possible to navigate the pool to get to dry land on the larger chamber, yeah?

"Could I see that map quick?" the artificer asks, perusing the dimensions.

"It seems to me that if we make a hole in the back wall of the room we're currently in, we would be next to the door that we were trying to get into in the first place.

Ya Bo, once Theo is warmed, would you mind using your powers of prestidigitation on the pool below? Methinks we will all have to brave it to explore the cavern, and it will be much safer once it is warmed to a more sustainable temperature. I know it will take some time, but we should finish our work at the same time."

That said, he goes to work.

Using his Smith's tools with expert proficiency he knocks a man-sized hole in the room adjacent to the pool, putting them within an easy arm's reach of the door they were trying to get to. The rocks dislodged to make the hole he sends into the water, creating a makeshift island of sorts.

While engaged in this, in the bottom of the new hole, he makes a small rock post that can serve as a secure spot to tie a rope to, which he does.

"Alright, who wants to go spelunking?" he asks, tugging on his rope and making ready to descend below.

Ya Bo, once Theo is warmed, would you mind using your powers of prestidigitation on the pool below? Methinks we will all have to brave it to explore the cavern, and it will be much safer once it is warmed to a more sustainable temperature. I know it will take some time, but we should finish our work at the same time."

"Woah, friend. It's true that blessings fall on those who respect arcane power, but you may need to temper your expectations a bit."

Theo makes a vague gesture with his hand, conjuring a translucent abacus. He flicks his wrist toward the phantom instrument in front of him. The beads of the abacus begin to jump, not slide, from one side of their bar to the other. Such a basic mirage can't involve movement, so Theo continuously casts Minor Illusion in order to run his calculations. ​

"Even being conservative with our measurements, we are still dealing with...", Theo scans his final tally one last time. "With at least 1600 cubic feet of frigid water."

Even taking a rule-of-cool, super-literal reading of RAW: letting YaBo warm each individual square foot of this pool, it would require 1600 casts to warm the whole thing. Its cast time is "instant", but it has a verbal and a somatic component. So time does pass during each cast. One second would leave Ya'Bo sitting there spam-casting for 30-min (I guess 15 if Makira helped). Besides that, Ya'Bo needs to be able to touch each cube he's warming.

If you take it as just a constant energy dump, then the rate is too slow. The surface of the water will bleed heat faster than it can be warmed.

"I think we can explore the water safely with just a little bit of preparedness. That tether you set up is a good start.", Theo waves the abacus away and takes a seat next to the fire.

"The water is profanely cold, but it's not frozen or anything. If one isn't wrapped in steel, and if they've had a chance to acclimate, exploring the area below shouldn't be an issue. Especially not if there are people on the dry end of a tether ready to pull our hypothetical diver to safety."

Only one problem I see here, and that is the pool is 40 feet below the upper level of the dungeon. This means that unless Makira has the ability to abnormally extend her arms, Theo is out of reach. Theo can swim to the side, but pulling himself up in armor requires an Athletics check (and let us not forget that damnable cold, so it's at disadvantage). Theo takes 1d4 ⇒ 1 damage from the cold while floundering in the water.

Ore watches suspiciously, concerned why nobody is laughing at Theo's very excellent use of "Temper".

Galador lowers a rope down to Theo, helping his endeavors. Help action to give Advantage/Cancel Disadvantage.

Athletics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

All strength has left Theo, devoured by the ice elemental that he's decided must currently be digesting him. Theo can feel that the fiend's paradoxically frigid stomach acid has broken down his physical stamina and is moving on to his mental clarity. Gathering all of his remaining faculties, he modifies his earlier illusion, "Too weak."

We will never reach him just standing around! Makira says.

Taking the rope laid out before her, she quickly takes the end and dives straight down with it in her hand. She prays that her aim is true so she can reach the elf before he drowns. She doesn't know why, as she doesn't know him well, but she feels it's worth the risk and effort this will take.

Hang on sir, I'm coming! she yells.