Tomb of Horrors? (Inactive)

Game Master leinathan

Spellcraft Aid Another: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27

So that brings it up to a 33.. If you would allow Aviel's to be an assist it would be 35.. So CL 18 or 20 depending..

It's trapped with a fireball and a lightning bolt spell, as well as a circle of death spell.

"Well looks like a fireball, a lightning bolt, and a circle of death spell.. Maybe it would better if we left the room and have a summoned critter to set em off.."

"I really don't like doing that." Garret says with a shake of his head. A moment later he nods in resignation. "Alright."

I don't think anyone has any summon spells prepared.

Ah.. I though Aviel had some sorry..

"If no summons are to be had than i would suggest you let master dwarf disarm them.. He seems much more adept at doing so from what I've seen.."

Do you have the ability to disarm amgical traps Sir Garret? Because if not you messing with that would prob be suicide.. I understand you a pally, but you not stupid..

"I can summon, and have a wand to summon as well," volunteers Shadassa.

"Well that sounds like the best option imo.. We all exit the room and Shadassa sends a minion in to explode the traps.. It may take a few if the traps do not go off at the same time.. Being a proximity they could also reset.."

"A hound archon and a fire elemental? Those could work." Shadassa swishes her tail thoughtfully.

Sure thing, from now on.

"My my, there is some powerful magic at work here. Yes let us utilize our temporary allies as best we can. I do apologize for my lack of preparation in the regard of assistants. I was unsure of the eventualities we might have in this place."

"An archon would understand our need. That option would be best."

Ferrek is once again remaining oddly silent when expected to help, but as the decision is reached to disarm the traps by triggering them, he finally breaks his silence with an interjected "Bah." Having broken his silence, he continues, "Let me take a look at it before you go summoning something to help."

The dwarf moves closer to the altar as he speaks. By the set of his shoulders, he's very determinedly not looking at anyone. "As much as I don't want to do this, better I give it a shot than we call on an ally who we might need more later."

Disarm (generic underground trap) vs fireball: 1d20 + 34 ⇒ (17) + 34 = 51
Disarm (generic underground trap) vs lightning bolt: 1d20 + 34 ⇒ (17) + 34 = 51
Disarm (generic underground trap) vs CoD: 1d20 + 34 ⇒ (7) + 34 = 41

Working quickly, he sets about carefully defacing the runes, all the while muttering dire predictions to himself.

Sorry, RL ate me for a couple days.

Unless Ferrek has a way to disarm the traps from at least ten feet away, they go off as he approaches. I don't see a way on his sheet, so I'm narrating it that way. I hope that's okay.

Ferrek stubbornly approaches the altar, so upset is he at the idea of having been doubted. He was, after all, a master. Unfortunately, what he wasn't was a magical savant, and getting closer to the altar seems to trigger something.

The first thing is a warping of light around him. He feels his very spirit pulling forth of his body, but he grits his teeth and resists it. His spirit has weight enough to stay where it is - safely inside him.
Directly after this is a deafening explosion followed by a loud boom, as both a wave of fire and a wave of electricity rocket out of the sides of the altar.

Ferrek Reflex vs. lightning: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16
Ferrek Reflex vs. fire: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19

Fire damage: 10d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 1, 3, 6, 4, 5, 1, 4, 6) = 35 Successful save, so actually zero.
Electricity damage: 10d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 2, 5, 1, 6, 4, 5, 6, 6) = 45

Ferrek drops backwards on his knees, avoiding the wave of fire, but the electricity washes through him, sending him jerking and shuddering with pain. Ferrek takes 45 damage.

Doggedly, though, Ferrek continues to the altar, flesh sizzling from the lightning, and manages to successfully disarm the trap.

You forgot to add in his +3 vs traps and +2 vs spells to saves.. That would make his save vs the LB a 21 instead..

If I know that there's no way to disarm the traps without approaching them and setting them off, I'd really like to put myself in as the one who triggered the traps instead of Ferrek. I'd be happy to take the existing rolls. Would that be acceptable?

With his +5 vs spells/traps kicking in he will pass the LB save, if its the same as the FB, and take 0 damage.. After that he was successful with the COD one.. There's no need to retcon and blast yourself..

Huh. You're right. Ferrek actually takes zero damage. Damn evasion.

For what it's worth, I figured that the problems inherent in how it's possible to disable magical proximity traps was part of why only characters with Trapfinding are able to do it. But apparently, there's some debate over that, and I can certainly can't come up with a good description of what being able to get close to them to disarm them would involve. One of those threads suggests either finding "border defining" runes and smudging them or just moving in special ways that don't trigger the trap, but I'm not sure whether those feel sufficient to me.

That being said, Isletta is entirely correct about the +2 vs spells from being a dwarf, and +3 vs reflex traps for being a rogue. There's also another +3 if I'm considered to have failed at disarming the trap, but that may not apply if it went off before I even rolled. Only the first one is in my stat line, so I'll add the +3 traps, and leave it up to you how to go forward. So long as I don't die outright, I'm good with anything.

You seriously don't take any damage. As far as disarming proximity traps, there is actually a legal item that are basically thieves' tools on the end of a really long rod that allows you to disarm at range.

Works for me.

Ferrek looks up from the alter as he scratches out the last rune. "That's that." He appears slightly singed by the very close call with the lightning, although much less so than it may have looked to his companions. "And that is why Highhelm sent me." For a moment, his voice and posture are full of satisfaction at a job well done, and then he seems to huddle in on himself a bit once again as he starts to move away.

Once he's past the first pew, he shoots the altar a nasty look over his shoulder, then shudders. "Now, I'd appreciate it if you destroy that thing. It's really quite disturbing."

Garret couldn't help but be impressed. He whistled as the dwarf expertly set off the traps and stepped back out of the blast radius with hardly a singe. Garret was speechless. He just nodded and stepped up raising Unkindness to his shoulder. He pulled his dark hood up over his head and whispered a prayer. The Pharasman spiral pulsed to life on the ground beneath his feet and the runes on his axe lit up with a purplish flare. Gone again was the jovial career soldier. Instead, The Reaper was brought forth to perform a sacred duty.

Lady Death's Champion brought his axe down onto the terrible altar like an executioner.

Adamantine axe. Power Attack. Smite Evil.

Can I coup de grace the altar?

Shadassa watches, eyes wide, at the trap dodging and subsequent smiting. "..erm...no summons or healing, then..." she mutters.

Coup de grace is for living, helpless opponents, so no.

Garret flares with divine energy before he brings down his Unkindness on the altar, still pulsing with power. The axe smashes into the wood, splintering and warping it, and it takes a few strikes, but the altar takes some serious damage.

How far are you gonna go with wrecking it?

All the way. And then I'm going to to pour holy water on the wreckage. And then I'm going to have Shadassa consecrate the area where it used to be.

Word.

Paladin of Death. Card carrying member of the "really not f%&*ing around" club.

You forgot to say take a dump on it.. That's how Paladin's consecrate stuff.. Holy S&$#!

Isletta stands back as Sir Garret goes Chuck Norris on the altar.. "Man he really does not like that altar.. Shall we try the ring in the slot now? Ferreck would you mind checking it for traps?"

Laying absolute waste to the evil altar takes a few minutes, but Garret and Shadassa are more than capable enough, and by the time they're done, the evil aura has been expunged and there's little more than wood shards and chopped-apart, small pieces of steel lying on the ground where the altar once was.

I'm assuming that Shadassa is actually casting consecrate, right?

Shadassa takes the time to bless a vial of water, mixing this with silver dust and letting it splash to the floor. As she does this, her eyes roll back and she utters liquid syllables in Aquan and fiery hisses in Ignan. An invisible wave, first warm, then cool, ripples across everyone in the room, dampening the overwhelming sense of evil and foreboding, if just slightly, and perhaps the shadows draw back a bit.

"The DC to resist positive channeled energy within this area gains a +3 sacred bonus. Every undead creature entering a consecrated area suffers minor disruption, suffering a –1 penalty on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saves. Undead cannot be created within or summoned into a consecrated area. If the consecrated area contains an altar, shrine, or other permanent fixture dedicated to your deity, pantheon, or aligned higher power, the modifiers given above are doubled (+6 sacred bonus to positive channeled energy DCs, –2 penalties for undead in the area)."

She exhales and looks about. "This room will remain blessed for three quarters of a day. It is something for us, if a trifle to the eternal evil that resides here. Let us use it well."

Ferrek relaxes a bit as the altar is reduced to pieces. "Well done." He motions towards the ring-shaped hole in the wall, which he had been examining during the process. "I've taken a look at this and..."

Perception vs stone trap: 1d20 + 38 ⇒ (14) + 38 = 52

Ferrek doesn't find any overt traps on the doorway.

Isletta flips him the ring.. "Here you go.. Lets see what happens.."

Enjoying the fact that the headache that had plagued him since he'd come into this room was gone, Garret moved to take up a defensive position near Ferrek.

Farrek catches the ring and nods appreciatively to Sir Garret. "Good. If there's something nasty standing on the other side of this, waiting to eat my face, I'm jumping behind you."

He turns the ring around, looks through it at the wall, then places it into the socket and prepares to dodge.

Pressing the ring into the socket, Ferrek stands prepared for anything. A faint amount of dust falls out of the hoop that the ring was pressed into, then the slab of stone comprising that part of the wall slides slowly down.

The resulting opening opens into a staircase, descending to the right. At the end of the staircase, it turns to the right into another hallway, but nothing more can be seen from the doorway.

"Well i guess we go down.. Ferrek you wanna take point and search etc..? Or i can send my familiar to have a peek if yall wish.."

"I'll go with you. The rest of you follow a little ways back."

Ferrek and I in front. The rest 15' behind us.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

The staircase moves down, perhaps 30 feet, before turning into a hallway. The hallway extends for perhaps 25 feet before coming to a door.

"Well, we've sacrificed the loop of magical metal. How many does He have around, I wonder. And then, the two pits and a fortuitous fall, and checking the wall? Did that prior pit count?" Shadassa murmurs somewhat to herself, near the drowess.

"Oh good. Nothing jumped out at us."

Ferrek moves forward next to the protective shelter of the paladin, carefully watching the hallway. His highly-trained senses are alert for any possible trap triggers, or the telltale marks of hidden doors.

Perception (general): 1d20 + 30 ⇒ (7) + 30 = 37 (+4 if stonework, +2 if metal, +4 for traps and I get another (secret) roll by the GM as I approach each trap, if there are any - let me know if you just want me to roll that too, in the future)

After reaching the door, he takes the time to study it from a distance, before approaching it and checking it for both traps, then locks, then traps inside the lock, just to be safe.

Perception (traps): 1d20 + 34 ⇒ (9) + 34 = 43 (+4 or +2 if applicable)
Perception (general): 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (17) + 22 = 39
Perception (traps): 1d20 + 34 ⇒ (7) + 34 = 41 [ooc](Likewise)

The door is neither trapped nor locked, although it is stuck closed and will require some brute strength to open.

"Should have named my axe Lockpick." Garret says, taking his axe to the door near wherever it seems to be stuck, then giving it a solid kick.

Strength check, please.

What is the door made of?

Strength: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

And if that doesn't cut it, I do 1d8+14 damage that ignores hardness. A strong wooden door has 20 Hit points. I can probably take it clean off it's hinges in two swings.

The door's made of wood, but cutting off the hinges won't unstick it, you'll still need to push on it. Luckily, that does cut it.

Garret puts his foot to the door, and it bursts open. The open door reveals what seems to be a normal room, but with no floor. Instead, there's a 30-foot-deep pit.

Isletta casts Extended Fly..

"Well i assume thats one of the pits talked about.. Riddle says the fall would be fortuitous.. Perhaps we should check it out.."

"Well that's hardly what I'd call welcoming. But perhaps fortuitous. Cousin, do go ahead, if anything should happen, you would be able to carry at least some of us out.

Casting Fly on Garret.

"Uh..." Garret says, startled at the unfamiliar feeling of levitating off the ground.

He practices going back and forth and up and down in very short distances a bit and nods. "How long will this last?"

Shadassa extends wings of flame, lifting into the air.

"We'd best not be caught above the pit." She watches Garret. "Do you feel ready?"