The Tomb of Horros Part 1 (4e) - Group 2

Game Master Rev Rosey

Perception. Great. Perception check 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
"All clear, folks, as far as I can see.

The bottom of the pit contains no dangers, but also, more distressingly, no exit that Arishat can identify either.

Shadow step to the bottom of the pit, 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21 perception

Lynore teleports to the bottom of the pit and helps Arishat search.

Arggghh! Can someone offer an aid another here? DC16 to aid at level 13.

Thom climbs down to the bottom of the pit and helps with the search.

Perception AA, 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

laughs at poor DM, he he

I had originally ment to, but I didnt watn to Ad Hoc it :), can I try again? My passive is high enough to aid other :)

I am in serious danger of ruining yet another keyboard, I'm laughing so much. Yes, you can Lynore. I'll update properly shortly.

Between them, Lynore and Arishat contemplate the stonework, and finally spot the discrepancy they somehow knew must be there. Long unused, a panel creaks open leading into darkness ...

Arishat stares for a moment, then looks around. "Who has the torch? We're going to need it."

Thom brandishes his hand forth, and a glowing ball of light appears.

"Who needs a torch?"

The narrow passageway twists and turns before opening out into a ruined chamber. There are no other doors and the central area is entirely taken up by a gaping chasm. Necrotic sludge flows over the edge in a neverending rain and gushes from wrecked brickwork in the walls of the pit. At the bottom, you see four familiar and unwelcome symbols. Trapdoors, shaped in the likeness of the Devourer, and coloured red, yellow, green and grey.

MAP

14 squares down to reach the bottom. Sludge causes 2d10 necrotic damage if a character enters or starts their turn in it.

What is there in the chamber that we could secure ropes to? Could we get ropes across from one side to the other, then another one down from those into the centre of the chamber?

Alternatively, how steep are the sides of the pit? Would it be possible to block the holes in the brickwork and descend the pit relatively safely if the sludge was shut off for a time?

You can tie ropes to the door and if you have a climbing kit could possibly rig a cross rope from a piton driven into the wall.

Cutting of the sludge flow is going to be difficult as you can't really see the holes under the stuff.

The thick black circle is the lip of the pit - completely covered in sludge.

Whips out her handy dandy climber's kit, 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12 Athletics to rig up a cross rope rig
Well that wasnt very swift, anyone want to borrow some of my kit? +2 to the check

Barel will use his dungeoneering prowess to find the strongest rock in which to embed the pitons. He then offers to help lynore with her task.

I hope this actually helps, so here goes: dungeoneering check= 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (17) + 16 = 33

Barel looks at Lynore as she offers the kit. "I am not so great at it either, but I will give it a try."

Athletics=1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 9 + 2 = 29

Barel's knowledge of stonework is unsurpassed and with Lynore's somewhat cack-handed help, he finds a secure spot to anchor the other end of the rope. With some care, it should now be possible for a person to climb down, mostly avoiding the tumbling sludge.

For "with some care" please read a DC25 Athletics or Acrobatics check to keep away from the sludge on a swinging rope. Failing by more than 5 means you are hit by sludge and take 2d10 necrotic damage.

Barel has some ideas about how to help even more. "What if we tie two ropes to the person descending, could we help guide them down and steady them in the center of the well on the way down? Then, when most people are down, then we can guide them from below.

What do you think?

"Perhaps if we got a second rope across, someone could be on that one helping lower people from above as well."

Might that help as well? As Aid Another, if nothing else? With Barel's idea and that, it might be easier. I think we only have to get one person down to secure the rope at the bottom and stop it swinging.

Do you have enough rope to do this thing? A standard coil is only 50 feet. You have 300 feet between you. You need 140 feet for the double line down to the bottom of the pit and you'll need more than the 160 feet left to run a parallel line over the pit itself. Note that getting all of it back is likely not possible - Thom can Mage Hand the hanging bits with no problem, but he wouldn't be able to see the support lines from the bottom of the pit.

I would be prepared to reduce the DC to 20 if you can do it. Once you have one person down, they can hold the bottom of the rope and the DC would drop to 15 for the next people down.

I can teleport 4 squares when standing next to a person and going to a person already across. So that may help a little. Acrobatics I can handle much better. I have an ability that would let me go insubstantial (sustain minor) or phased for quite a long way (1 round when i choose, insubstantial as a sustain minor) Would either of these help navigate the room to put me near the bottom to help other people down?

how about forego the two lines that Barel suggested in favor of someone holding the rope at the bottom. What would that make the check?

Could Thom summon his Iron cohort to hold the rope line at the top of the pit, that way we have a steady anchor.Too bad Lureene was already summoned, she could fly down there.

As long as the Iron Cohort doesn't need to be within line of sight, that works fine as an anchor point. Once you have someone down there, the DC to get down for any subsequent characters would be 20 Acro/Ath I think. You still have Lynore's climbing kit, so you'd all be at +2 for the skill check on that.

Rev, its a close burst 2 so He would have to be at the top of the pit, but could hold the rope securely. If he is not adjacent to Thom, then he cannot use the Immed interrupt effect, but other than that, there is no LOS requirement.

That's fine. Summon away :)

Is any kind of plan emerging then?

At present, it looks to me as if you're attaching one end of a rope to the door and the other to Thom's Iron Cohort and then attaching another rope in a kind of "T" to lower someone down. Once down, that person holds the rope for the rest. Is that right?

That looks like what we were talking about to me

Or one end to a rock, the other to the Iron Cohort. Either way works.

If this doesn't qualify as an encounter, Arishat can 'Take 10' and descend, using Lynore's climbing kit for +2 to get the Athletics check to 26. Can she use Athletics then to 'Aid Another' as they come down?

Arishat descends and discovers that the bottom of the pit is no more appetising than the top. Necrotic sludge rains down around her, running off into darkness, while at her feet, the four trapdoors leer unpleasantly.

You can use Athletics to aid another on the descent. Can I also have a Perception check from you.

Perception Check 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Next time someone else gets first go at the Perception check, all right?
Edit: A crit! Now who never notices anything, +5 Perception bonus.

Looking up, Arishat notices a small ledge of crumbling stonework jutting from the wall. From above it was invisible under the rain of sludge.

MAP

"Hey is there room down there?"

"Plenty of space at ground level. But there's a ledge part way down. I'm wondering if we need to investigate it. Still, I'm holding the rope."

How far off the ground is it, and how practical would it be to climb up to see what's on it once we're down? As in, would we be climbing up a rain of sludge?

Seven squares up. You can investigate, but not without getting covered in sludge.

1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19 Acrobatics to climb down, it looks like an acrobatics check could be used to descend

It can. Do you want to stop off at the ledge on the way down or are you just joining Arishat at the bottom?

I will check out the ledge 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13 perception

Still hanging onto the rope, Lynore rests an exploratory toe on the ledge, wincing slightly as the black rain gushes over her.

1d10=3 damge from the falling sludge

The stony projection moves very slightly beneath her feet. It will take her weight, but not for very long. Ten feet above her, she notices that the sound of the black rain echoes strangely.

Your passive perception is good enough to notice the second item.

Can I see what is causing the echo, I have low light vision if it helps and climb 1 ft up the wall to try and relieve some of the weight, 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14

You can, if you use your passive perception :) Take 1d10=4 necro damage from the rain.

It is hard to tell, but Lynore thinks there is an opening in the wall behind the curtain of necrotic rain.

"Hey guys there is a opening in the wall up here. Should I explore it?"

"Hey guys there is a opening in the wall up here. Should I explore it?"

"Sure, it may be important. If there is room, let me know if you need another set of eyes and I will come help explore. Maybe a dwarf's eyes can help figure out the space."

I have perception +10, but high Dungeoneering (+16) and Nature (+14), which could potentially be of use...but if anyone else would do better, then feel free to speak up before I head down there.

1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20 to climb up and see if i can get into the opening

redotting

DOT TIME!

Release the attack dots!

Dot. Back. Now.

Lynore scrabbles up the wall and finds a passageway behind the curtain of necro-sludge. It seems to go some distance.

Was any of the 100 ft of rope I have being used? If not I want to lower some down into the chamber and tie it off up here

"Guys there is a passgeway up here. I do not fancy going through any more of those mouths if we can help it. It may even be a diversion."

"Do you want me to move this rope across towards you?"