"All you smart fellows had better start thinking of a way to get us out of here - fast. How about all those doodles on the wall, do they give some sort of clue - and what about that Z thing you pulled out?" Hurgah growls.
-
Gandel does his best to shout over the growing cacophony:
"It's not a "Z", it's a hieroglyph, a symbol from the age of the Black Sphinx. It means 'Time'!"
"It came out of the sentence I translated to you earlier:"
"My coin comes with the gift of time and if leveraged wisely, soon you will be richer than all those around you."
"But I don't see how that fits in."
"The symbol on the coins on the other hand is not a hieroglyph at all. It's a rune! If I am correct, it's the personal rune of the Pharaoh of Numbers, in fact. It's called the 'Rune of Reckoning'. The texts indicate that bad things tend to follow wherever that symbol is seen. It's certainly one to avoid."
"I'll be sure to note that in the future if we ever get out of here!"
OK! Let's do this!
Made it!
Now I'm gonna get to work and affix an explosive bomb to whatever is sealing off the doorway.
Bomb against whatever I need to hit a freakin wall
Second attack against the wall
Damage from first attack fire damage.
Damage from 2nd attack fire damage.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!" (though I don't know if anyone can hear me!)
Xerissa fires a pair of fiery blasts at the wall, but the flames do not do much more than cover her side in a coating of black soot.
Hal screams at Donkor "DISPEL THAT WALL!"
In the meantime he charges at the wall where the "original" coin was placed.
First i will place the Z rune on that spot hoping contact with time will stop the duplication.
If that fails i will cast Remove Curse.
If that fails Intelligence check to think of something else!
Lev'rage! Karek bellows, keying off the word spoken first by Donkor in relating the tale, then by Moonpate, picking out the important words, then Gandel, telling the story of the coin again.
Drabsbringer, whad is dis rune? Karek yells, thrusting some coins at Gandel.
Hal screams at Donkor "DISPEL THAT WALL!"
-
Well they definitely heard that!Speaking of walls, this spoiler tag is for anyone who succeeds on a Spellcraft check as a free action.
Assuming we are dealing with the spell wall of stone, then dispel magic will not assist. The duration of the spell is "instantaneous", which is a way of saying it creates a permanent but mundane effect. Dispel magic is no more effective on wall of stone than an ordinary wall. The only way dispel magic works is if it is cast as a counterspell a the time the wall of stone is being cast. Here, we're too late for that.
Notably, wall of stone is susceptible to disintegrate. But I don't think that helps anyone here.
In the meantime he charges at the wall where the "original" coin was placed.
First i will place the Z rune on that spot hoping contact with time will stop the duplication.
If that fails i will cast Remove Curse.
-
That's going to be three rounds for Hal. His dwarven legs (Speed of 20) means he'll need a round to get to the wall. Another to apply the "Time" hieroglyph to the coin "slot". And a third to cast remove curse. That's totally fine, I just raise it in case anyone else in the party wants to do anything during those three rounds. There could be some serious doubling going onduring that time.If that fails Intelligence check to think of something else! 1d20
-
Can't blame a guy for trying, but I am way too old school a GM for that to apply. There's no 'roll to solve' option here, I'm afraid.I would permit a INT check to do something like calculate a specific distance or a pattern or timing, but nothing quite so global, if that makes sense.
The good news is you are not held to Hal's lousy roll. If you've got an idea, you can run with it. (And I see you have several.)
Drabsbringer, whad is dis rune? Karek yells, thrusting some coins at Gandel.
-
"WHAT?!""That one!?"
"It's the rune of reckoning!" he shouts back. "A very bad sign, I fear. Before the Four Pharaohs of Ascension formed their alliance, they each had a personal symbol they used in battle or in their city-states. This one belonged to the Pharaoh of Numbers."
"It's--"
At that point, you can't make Gandel out over the crash of the coins, but from his sour expression, you doubt he feels his history lesson would be of any assistance. (Also I am probably pushing how much he can say in a free action.)
So Hal dashes over to the coin slot with the time hieroglyph in his hand. By the time he makes it there are 65,536 coins in the room. Fortunately the rising tide of coins has not raised past the coin slot yet.
This room is starting to look depressingly small. Don't pharaohs usually design grand spacious halls?
Spellcraft:
Sooron looks over at the "wall" Hal is talking about, and casts dispel magic despite not being sure what is going on over there.
Caster level check:
Spellcraft
Karek hastens over to the same wall Hal is moving towards.
Spellcraft:1d20+7
Sooron looks over at the "wall" Hal is talking about, and casts dispel magic despite not being sure what is going on over there.
Caster level check: 1d20+8
-
Karek hastens over to the same wall Hal is moving towards.
-
Since he hasn't really moved since he pulled the coin out of the slot, I'd say Karek's already there. (The coin slot, as I've taken to calling it, is right at the end of the hieroglyphic tale.)If there's something else he still wants to do, he still can.
Yeah, man, my die rolls sure sucked. but that's OK, Xerissa will just keep bombing, two every round! Just let me know how many rounds I got. my luck can't stay that way forever. Or can it? hopefully she won't be attacked from behind while she's bombing the wall!
Spellcraft:
"We must get out of here soon! I can transport us all to the other side of the door, but we must all be in contact!
Breach yells, attempting to not be outdone by a bunch of stupid coins.
Sounds good to me! Go ahead and roll the next round's worth.
"We must get out of here soon! I can transport us all to the other side of the door, but we must all be in contact!
-
------
You can feel your feet begin to sink within the carpet of coins. Hurgah in particular looks to have been immobilized. He's standing within the largest mound, it's now up to his waist.
Hal pauses where he is and tries to link up with the closest Dune Squad member.
Hurgah kicks his way through the coins, looking to Moonpate for directions.
Since Hal seems to have forgotten what he was doing, Karek will get the rune from Hal and touch it to the coin in the wall. If that doesn't do anything, Karek will take the coin out and touch the rune to that spot on the wall. If that doesn't do anything, Karek will dig the rune around, trying to find a spot to "leverage" "time".
Hal will grab Karek's hand and gesture at Moonpate, "HE IS TRANSPORTING US OUT OF HERE! I WILL HOLD THE RUNE FOR NOW!"
Hal's words do not stop Karek from trying to take the rune.
Will Save:
Sooron will attempt to move wherever he needs to be to facilitate Moonpate in the teleportation.
Hal pauses where he is and tries to link up with the closest Dune Squad member.
-
Easily done!
Hurgah kicks his way through the coins, looking to Moonpate for directions.
-
Karek digs his way out, climbing on top of coin mountain.
Moonpate seems to be indicating the Dune Squad should head towards the exit, the opening in the center of the northeast wall --the one Hal has revealed is actually sealed off by a wall of stone.
Since Hal seems to have forgotten what he was doing, Karek will get the rune from Hal and touch it to the coin in the wall. If that doesn't do anything, Karek will take the coin out and touch the rune to that spot on the wall.
-
If I have it right, believe we're talking about the Time glyph - the hieroglyph formerly known as the "backwards Z".Tapping the coin in the slot with the Time Glyph does not have any noticeable effect.
Wrinkling his face, the dwarf then digs his fingers into the slot and removes the coin (an act that went over well the first time he tried it). Once the coin is out he tries inserting the Time Glyph into the slot.
It doe snot appear to fit, nor does it have any noticeable effect. if the glyph is meant to go somewhere, it is not here.
If that doesn't do anything, Karek will dig the rune around, trying to find a spot to "leverage" "time".
-
I'm not sure I got exactly what he is trying to do, so don't hesitate to correct me. I think you mean Karek is working the rune around the area surrounding the hole or coin slot in such a way that it might be used to pry something open.This does not yield any results. Worse, the tide of coins is about to rise beyond the hole!
-
Hal will grab Karek's hand and gesture at Moonpate, "HE IS TRANSPORTING US OUT OF HERE! I WILL HOLD THE RUNE FOR NOW!"
-
Sounds like Hal takes back the Time Glyph.
Hal's words do not stop Karek from trying to take the rune.
-
Er, never mind, back again.
-
Seeing the opening respond so strangely to his spell, Donkor eyes the exit with suspicion. As he does so, the illusion fades away and he can see, quite plainly, what Halstadt has been talking about. The entrance has been completely sealed off with a wall of stone.
Sooron will attempt to move wherever he needs to be to facilitate Moonpate in the teleportation.
-
Moonpate is trying to herd the party towards the former exit. It's tough going with his legs now sinking into the quicksand of coins with every step.
The coin pile is now several feet off the floor. Or is it just that the ceiling is lower than you previously thought.
The sound of coin-grinding-on-coin is now deafening (but not quite yet in the official game sense of the word)
The coins are duplicating so frequently the sea of coins appears to ripple in waves.
Hal struggles over with Moonpate certainly ready to get out of this mystical money bin!
There must be a moral about Dwarven greed in here somewhere!
Hal struggles over with Moonpate certainly ready to get out of this mystical money bin!
-
Technically, Moonpate hasn't head over yet, but I think we can infer that would be his intent. Hal rushes over behind Donkor, reaching the stone-sealed door.
As the coins explode to 262,144 in number, the Dune Squad finds itself split on two sides of the room:
Donkor, Hal and Moonpate at the stone-sealed door,
and,
Karek, Hurgah, Breach and Gandel at the panel of hieroglyphs with the coin slot (and the tale of the Pharaoh of Numbers and the beggar) on the other side of the room.
and,
Xerissa on the outside of the room,
and
Lydia in part unknown (hopefully not actually in parts)
Man! I'm like chucking bombs at the side of the door the wizards gonna exit on with the whole party! I don't wanna roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Karek, his investigations at the coin wall complete, assents to Moonpate's plan. Time to go!
As the coins explode to 262,144 in number, the Dune Squad finds itself split on two sides of the room:
Donkor, Hal and Moonpate at the stone-sealed door,
and,
Karek, Hurgah, Breach and Gandel at the panel of hieroglyphs with the coin slot (and the tale of the Pharaoh of Numbers and the beggar) on the other side of the room.
"This is intolerable! I'm all for drowning in beer but not this cursed pharoah's treasure! Let's get out of here now!
You're stalling. : )
Time to roll.
Karek, his investigations at the coin wall complete, assents to Moonpate's plan. Time to go!
-
"This is intolerable! I'm all for drowning in beer but not this cursed pharoah's treasure! Let's get out of here now!
-
Would you stay if I sweetened the deal by offering you 524,288 thick round coins?Next round might be a significant number as we hit seven figures.
At this point anyone looking to move in the room must first succeed on a DC 10 Climb check in order to free their sinking feet. Failure means no movement for the round is possible, but you can otherwise spend your turn as you like.
It's starting to sound like cymbal crashes are going off in here.
Spurred into action by Moonpate's announcement that the group is leaving, Hurgah starts to push his way through the piles.
He halts as he sees Breach and Gandel struggle in the sea of coins, and spits out a few arcane phrases. The red ruby eyes of Klimachtahn flash an angry crimson as the half-orc suddenly grows in size, causing a virtual tidal wave of coins to spill in all directions. Then Hurgah's eyes start to take on a red haze matching that of the golden serpent armband, as he surrenders himself to his draconic rage.
Reaching out, he grabs Gandel with one hand and Breach with the other and half-carries, half-drags them to the far side of the room. In a few massive steps, he stands within arms reach of Moonpate, still holding both his adventuring companions by the cuff, and gives the Potentate a curt nod, signaling that he is more than ready to abandon the chamber.
Spurred into action by Moonpate's announcement that the group is leaving, Hurgah starts to push his way through the piles.
He halts as he sees Breach and Gandel struggle in the sea of coins, and spits out a few arcane phrases. The red ruby eyes of Klimachtahn flash an angry crimson as the half-orc suddenly grows in size, causing a virtual tidal wave of coins to spill in all directions. Then Hurgah's eyes start to take on a red haze matching that of the golden serpent armband, as he surrenders himself to his draconic rage.
Reaching out, he grabs Gandel with one hand and Breach with the other and half-carries, half-drags them to the far side of the room. In a few massive steps, he stands within arms reach of Moonpate, still holding both his adventuring companions by the cuff, and gives the Potentate a curt nod, signaling that he is more than ready to abandon the chamber.
-
Moonpate quickly organizes the Dune Squad to link up while the coins continue to replicate.
Once everyone is in place, Moonpate taps into his most recently mastered power of psychoportation, bending the very laws of time and space to his will. Rather than seek to batter down the door, the Dune Squad simply teleports beyond it, to the other side--
--escaping from the fast filling chamber of coins.
No sooner does the Dune Squad materialize on the "safe" side of the stone-sealed door, when they are greeted by a massive fireball of flame.
It appears to have come from a rather apologetic-looking Xerissa, with her hands at her neck as she grits her teeth.
Karek, his investigations at the coin wall complete, assents to Moonpate's plan. Time to go!
-
Just in case it matters, I believe Karek is the last member of the Dune Squad to hold on to the Time glyph. Did he take it with him?
No sooner does the Dune Squad materialize on the "safe" side of the stone-sealed door, when they are greeted by a massive fireball of flame.
It appears to have come from a rather apologetic-looking Xerissa, with her hands at her neck as she grits her teeth.
"What the...!
Moonpate instinctively and with surprising speed throws himself to floor and attempts to cover up his bald head.Reflex Save: Doh!!!
Breach remains stoic as he literally gets carried away by a giant Hurgah. As Moonpate zaps them out, "Let us...," he starts before instantly diving to the side, rolling out of the way of a ball of flame that apparently came out of nowhere. Quickly gaining his bearings, "Heads up! They were waitin' for us!" Breach looks around for the nearest enemy as he pulls his axe out. Seeing no visible threat, "Be wary! They're invisible! C'mon out and show yerself, ya coward!" He mocks the invisible enemy, looking around sharply as he waits for a response.