The mud near the five foot section of wall vibrated. She couldn't hear a noise but some tremor was shaking the floor minutely. It didn't seem natural. A quake would be accompanied by an uneasy feeling, a feeling like the floor was swinging.
Some part of this structure was moving. Some part or parts she couldn't see. Were there other moving doors and panels? They must be near … or massive.
+2 on next interaction with a moving section of this challenge
Cairee turned around with her back to Zahra. She seemed frozen. There was something on the far side of her. A bandaged face looking at her from beyond her door. A terrible face.
please make yet another perception checkDC24 (raised because of your nat1) or dungeoneering check DC15.
Tymythy:
please make yet another perception checkDC20 or dungeoneering check DC15.
Cairee:
There was a rumbling sound. It was coming from the five foot wide wall. It began to lower slowly revealing another pane of glass. After a short while, the wall stopped so that the top of the wall was eighteen inches above the mud (or 3' of the stone floor).
On the other side of the new pane of glass was a dias, like a little table. On the table there were marks and at the centre of the marks there was a keyhole. Over the keyhole there was a small sandglass floating without sign of chain or rope that just seemed to have started pouring gently.
More importantly, beyond the new space was another window leading to another room. The room was a mirror to her own and at its' centre was Zahra. She was wreathed in light and she was squinting like she had a terrible headache.
No sound seemed to be making its' way through the windows.
You can try to mime her a message - bluff DC15 for a simple message/bluff DC20 for a complex message. If you succeed post a spoiler called Cairee and Zahra.
Behind Cairee there was a feeling of dread. She could feel Ousel quivering. The glass was gone. On the other side of the door in the curved wall there was now a face, a man's face wrapped in rotting bandages. His intense eyes didn't wander from her. His voice was made of icicles.
"More company from the master. I've been so alone since they took back the Taryth woman. I see they've remembered me."
Please save Will DC16 or fall into despair - paralysed with fear
Zahra:
There was a rumbling sound. It was coming from the five foot wide wall. It began to lower slowly revealing another pane of glass. After a short while, the wall stopped so that the top of the wall was eighteen inches above the mud (or 3' of the stone floor).
On the other side of the new pane of glass was a dias, like a little table. On the table there were marks and at the centre of the marks there was a keyhole. Over the keyhole there was a small sandglass floating without sign of chain or rope that just seemed to have started pouring gently.
Zahra could feel the magic emanating from the hourglass. It was powerful. Wave upon wave of mystical energy flowed through the space between her and it making her head throb and her vision threaten to white-out. She didn't succumb. She held her ground but this must be some of the work of Hallwn himself.
More importantly, beyond the new space was another window leading to another room. The room was a mirror to her own and at its' centre was Cairee and Ousel. Cairee's head was being circled by her own ioun stone which gave off its' whirling light.
No sound seemed to be making its' way through the windows.
You can try to mime her a message - bluff DC15 for a simple message/bluff DC20 for a complex message. If you succeed you can post a message called Cairee and Zahra
Ousel - perception:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
The ioun stone took to the air and began circling Cairee's head. The light lit the room creating a slightly shifting shadow.
She shouted.
And waited.
No immediate reply. No reply whatsoever. Ousel looked at her and shook her head no.
Cairee went to the door and looked but could find no sign of a trap. Not on the door, in the mud, or about the nearby wall.
Zahra:
please, another perception check DC30 - or nat 20
Dounia:
please, another perception check DC30 - or nat 20
Dounia's rapid search around the room produced no sign of any kind of trap. Her knowledge of underground spaces (either natural or manufactured), however, made her think the space looked like one quarter of a circle. Were there three other quarters?
Yes, the door mentioned is on the eastern curved wall. Yes, the western wall does look suspect but, no, the drawing on the map doesn't signify the carved word.
Tymythy waided through the sucking mud over the floor to look at the short wall. He noticed scrapes along both the right and left edges of the wall. There was a seam at the top of the wall just above the carved word. Although there was no visible mechanism, no trigger or lever, he was certain the wall sunk down into the floor.
The placement of the word was unusual. Perhaps when the wall dropped it would be closer to eye level implying the wall didn't go all the way down.
Do you want to continue with your second perception check?
Zahra:
Zahra has been able to hold onto the spear since she caught hold of it.
The room lit up and Zahra's shadow swung about as she moved her little ring. The room was nearly featureless. The door on the curved wall had no handle, no lock, the hinges weren't on this side of the door. The mud floor sat over what felt like flat stone. There was no sign of immediate danger.
But there was writing.
On the five foot wide wall at the very top was a word in Ilmaninite.
CHOOSE
Zahra focused. She reached out to the secret light that revealed mystical energy and she could feel the presence of magic.
You haven't done a real look through the space but from where you are it looks like an iron wall is 6" on the other side of the window in the door. The 'nose' is what you can see through the window.
Map
Cairee could see magic laced and folded into the very walls. Everything about the way these tunnels were fashioned seemed to be part of the 'sifter', it was like they were traveling through the mind of Gossamer House. As she tried to focus on the sources of magic she found they shot past before she could understand them.
It takes three rounds to focus detect magic. rnd 1 - you detect the presence of magic. rnd 2 - you know the number of auras and the direction of the strongest. rnd 3 - you can pick the auras out and attempt to identify them
-
Cairee plumped into the eighteen inch deep muck (difficult terrain). Its' thickness keeping her from the harm of a ten foot final drop. She stood quickly and a shaken Ousel peeked out from her hood.
A stone disk turned across the tube that brought Cairee to this place. The way back was now blocked.
The light was dim (You can see but the conditions are dark enough for something to get a chance to hide). The smell was a natural one but the stillwater rot was strong. There was a wall about five feet wide in front of her. Cutting back at two side were two walls about eighteen feet long. The wall behind her was curved and had a door at its' centre. The door was made of cold iron and had a pane of glass at it's upper centre. There was no handle. The hinge pins weren't visible. The door must open outward.
The glass looked thick and she could see herself reflected in it three for four times. It must have been four or more layers of glass pressed tightly together. Perhaps as thick as the door, which was at lease two inches.
Six inches beyond the window was another wall. Wait! It was also made of iron. Perhaps it was another door?
She urned her attension to the five foot wall. There were scrape marks on the right and left. At the roof there was a seem. This wall must descend into the floor at least part of the way. At the top of the wall, carved in the language of the gods, was one word.
CHOOSE
I'll let you know that you have 2 rounds of actions before they are interrupted
Dounia landed deep in the eighteen inch muck but didn't waste a second. She was on her feet and thinking like a surviver.
A fen! That meant things she could barely see. Things that could make a billygoat sick. She wrapped her clothes tight and looked around. It wasn't a bog. It was a room with a boggy floor. Even under it all she could feel stone. (Dounia will get +4 to any saves vs disease for the remainder of this challenge)
A stone disk turned across the tube that brought her to this place. The way back was truly sealed.
The light was dim (You can see but the conditions are low-light). There was a wall about five feet wide in front of her. Cutting back at two side were two walls about eighteen feet long. The wall behind her was curved and had a door at its' centre. The door was made of cold iron and had a pane of glass at it's upper centre. There was no handle. The hinge pins weren't visible. There was no lock to pick. The door must open outward.
The glass looked thick, perhaps as thick as the door which was at lease two inches. It was sealed inside a welded frame.
Six inches beyond the window was another wall, a wall of cold iron. Even if she could get the door open it would only provide a four inch space.
Everything about the room meant 'lonely'.
I'll let you know that you have 2 rounds of actions before they are interrupted
Tymythy landed well barely falling to one knee. The mud was eighteen inches deep and the smell wasn't like the bogs he lived a few days from. It was still-aired and still-watered. It smelled like bog boots left in an old chest and opened once a year.
A stone disk turned across the tube that brought him to this place. The way back was truly sealed.
The light was dim (You can see but the conditions are low-light). There was a wall about five feet wide in front of Tymythy. Cutting back at two side were two walls about eighteen feet long. The wall behind her was curved and had a door at its' centre. The door was made of cold iron and has a pane of glass at it's upper centre. There was no handle. The hinge pins weren't visible. The door must open outward.
The glass looked thick, perhaps as thick as the door, which was at lease two inches.
Six inches beyond the window was another wall, a wall of cold iron.
Everything about the room meant 'lonely'.
He turned his attension to the five foot wall. At the top of the wall, carved in the language of the Hlewmylani, was one word.
CHOOSE
I'll let you know that you have 2 rounds of actions before they are interrupted
Zahra lifted herself up like she was buried beneath stones. Her ribs felt cracked in several places. She was covered in muck. Quickly grabbing for the vial she kept, she unstoppered it and drank. The potion had a burning iron-tinged spiciness. As she began to feel better a stone disk rotated into place to cover the tube that dropped her here.
healing:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
She looked about the room in the dim light (consider the lighting condition here to be low-light) and saw four walls. One was five feet wide. The two walls branching off it were about eighteen feet wide. Behind her was a curved wall.
In the centre of the curved wall was a door made of cold iron. The door had a glass window. Beyond the window but only by six inches was an iron wall.
She had never felt more alone.
I'll let you know that you have 2 rounds of actions before they are interrupted
Beneath them was what had seemed an unending hole. The smell of mucky fen was getting stronger and, although the end was only a few heartbeats more, it seemed to take ages.
An image of a simple shirt over an outline of boots and a shirt under a mask.
'Hide armour was laid out before me. Was it once worn by my grandfather, or, did I put it on to disguise me?'
When one achieves the age to enter into an adult role do they take their place in a world of responsibility or one where they feel apart? Are you forthright or guarding yourself?
Dounia:
For the question about the hide armour (question 6) you've written:
"tough one! She wants to know about her history, though, so probably grandfather. Then she would change her mind to a disguise"
I feel like you wanted to create a sense of indecision in your answer here. You definitely come down on the side of 'disguise' though. I feel like it represents a high commitment to indecision so a slightly higher DC. But it doesn't represent a lack of decision-making in you as a player..
I'm giving Dounia a will DC10 save. Failure means she hits the divider and takes 2d6damage before going down the choice of 'hidden'. Success means she avoids hitting the barrier.
~
A < with a scroll in the opening and a < with a collection of small dots.
'A bird awaits me this morning. Does it bear a note of some importance, or, wait there impatiently for my bread crumbs?
What is your responsibility to the small/the unnoticed/the frail? To learn from them or to aid them?
Dounia:
For the question about the bird (question 7) you' were very definite but then added "Maybe Ousel can have a crumb." A flash of doubt.
I'm giving Dounia a will DC3 save. Failure means her wrist or ankle hits the divider and takes 1d6damage before going down the choice of 'note'. Success means she avoids hitting the barrier.
The slough-ish smell was getting stronger.
~
A great long U or an oval with a ? in it.
'Upon a great stone these words are carved. 'Beware, or fall into The Pit!' or '(Your Name) once walked this path!'
Do you look at great matters and take the better part of wisdom? Do you avoid calamity and refuse to be pulled into folly while others rush in out of fear of losing their place?
or
When all is weighed, do you stand with/against/equal to the great? Do you go to the centre of important matters with a voice to be counted with the voices of the powerful? Do you see what needs to be done and, when no one steps forward, do it?
Zahra:
I decided before I sent out the questions that if anyone sent back something other than a clear A or B it would reflect an indecision for the characte and there would be a consequence.
For the final question about the great stone you've written:
"this one was hardest...if there's true danger she would want the sign to warn people but otherwise she'd choose 'Zahra alSilimiel once walked this path!' because of the name change :) New name, new purpose".
You've given me a clear conditional response. Zahra must make a will DC13 save. Failure means she hits the divider between the two tunnels and takes 3d6damage before going down the choice of 'name'. Success means she avoids hitting the barrier.
The shute came to an upward curve and then dropped straight down. Each one of the Blackbirds found themselves almost knee deep in muck. The air was still. The light was dim. The smell was of loam, natural rot, and still water.
(New map to come with a deeper description of the space - posts after this will be 'all spoilers')
Tymythy had closed the distance enough for Dounia to reach out to him but she was focused on the tunnel. She could hear a hollowness to the sounds that echoed. There must be other tunnels, maybe many tunnels.
Maybe hundreds.
Tymythy watched a second time as the person he strove to grab hold of was wisked away. Dounia disappeared into the tunnel marked by the torch. It was now he and Cairee alone-together under the sign of the crook. They were fifteen feet apart.
Zahra concentration - spellcasting on a rollercoaster DC15:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
The tunnel provided little more than a controlled fall with occasional turns that shot its' occupants around in a corkscrew around the smooth surface. The constant motion made it difficult for Zahra to concentrate. She couldn't - quite - get into it.
Each of the Black Birds, regardless of which path they were on, all came to a rapid series of forks. Before each fork there were new diagrams.
A flame over a triangle and a flame under an upsidedown U.
'I have a fire that burns in the hearth. Has it been stoked by my hand in secret, or, does it give light to the house on the mountain?
Is power/means/truth/purpose something to be tended to alone under one's own council, or is it something outside of oneself to be aspired to and shown to all.
Dounia:
I decided before I sent out the questions that if anyone sent back something other than a clear A or B answer it would reflect an indecision for the character and there would be a consequence.
For the question about the fire (question 3) you've written "… I don't really understand, but I think…".
You didn't give me a conditional response though so I'm giving Dounia a will DC8 save. Failure means she hits the divider and takes 3d6damage before going down the choice of 'secret'. Success means she avoids hitting the barrier.
~
A series of five radiating curved lines and a curled rectangle.
'I met a stranger just east of the market. Did they whisper the words to a lost song, or, give a fading map through forest?'
Is wisdom to be found in the love/poetry/tradition/sharing-of-the-past, or is it to be found in experience of unwalked roads?
~
An arrow in a circle in an eight pointed star and an arrow pointing downward and missing its' head.
'On a long journey I found an arrow in the desert. Was it fashioned into a crude compass, or, left with its' head in the hot sand?'
In the face of unending toil is the means for violence a tool or a path?
Tymythy and Cairee:
You are still in the same tube as each other. Before the choice of arrow or compass I'm going to give you both a standard action.
also for Tymythy:
To the 5th question you had a conditional response. I send it back to you: "Depends on the situation, but if it's one or the other and no half-ways, then arrow as an arrow."
I decided before I sent out the questions that if anyone sent back something other than a clear A or B it would reflect an indecision for the character and there would be a consequence. You've written "…depends on the situation…" (Tymythy gets a consequence) but then clearly "…if it's one or the other and no half-ways…" (but it will be a low DC).
I want Tymythy to make a DC6 Will save. Failure means he hits the divider and takes 3d6damage before going towards the choice of 'arrow'. Success means he avoids the barrier.
Zahra's name echoed through what sounded like an insane honeycomb of tubes until it came back amplified and layed upon itself. Cairee, her call answering itself, tried to get some control. She copied Tymythy but he was a promising young hunter who could scale most trees with little thought. Cairee was not, nor was her staff Kizu'gina. A piece of the cracked end came free and the priest of Saiph spun sideways.
Dang - I must have edited the questions from my original source. I' just checked and the change doesn't seem significant and shouldn't effect our results. I'm giving Tymythy a conditional bonus to his climb roll (as before) which was already very good. Not able to stop his progress but slow it enough that Dounia might be able to pass him something to hold on to. Dounia - it will need to be something you have quick access. Fishing for something will use up your action.
Though not timely enough to help Zahra, Tymythy's technique was working, and Dounia. He kept working … she was only five or six feet above him now. Cairee was coming into sight behind Dounia.
Zahra watched as new glyphs began to appear. One was a question mark with a long upright line. The other was a short line with a teardrop next to one end.
In a different tunnel Tymythy, Dounia and Cairee could see similar marks as they traveled a horse's length from each other.
'I have a strong ash shaft in my right hand. Is it the crook I used to guard the flock, or, a torch I hold high to show the road before me?
Does your physical connection to the world (practical talents/skills/what makes you special in comparison to others) give you a sense of responsibility to others (crook/left) or provide a path through lonely obsticles (torch/right)?
After this unconscious choice you may perform another single move or standard action
The images carved into the walls aren't magical runes. They're just drawwings/icons. They seem to be a kind of prompt - if you see a picture of an elephant you think elephant. Perhaps there is some kind of magic detection than can tell what of the two images one has an affinity for?
Tymythy fought against the forces of the slide. He could see Zahra about nine feet behind him. He hit a straight section of tunnel and there was Dounia another ten or twelve feet behind her. He could only assume Cairee was following. He tried to control his slide enough to lay back and brace either side of his weapon on the curved sections of the tube. (turning your roll into a weapon aided climb - reduces distance between he and Zahra 5') It slowed him down enough to see Zahra come a little closer.
Zahra watched her spear sliding after her. She grabbed for it and caught it just past the spear end. Smiling, she looked down. Tymythy was eight feet - no seven and a half - no, four. Tymythy began to reach out to her. Suddenly she shot down a separate tunnel.
She was alone. She was still sliding.
Dounia's back hurt from her first fall and now she was sliding on the hurt. She watched Zahra shoot away to the left. Before she could do anything about it she was off to the right, Tymythy was nearly fifteen feet ahead.
She looked back and ten feet behind she could see Cairee rolling back and forth, trying to match her movements with her staff. Finally, she caught it and followed right, where Dounia and Tymythy went before her.
Dounia - you don't use acrobatics to climb, oddly enough you use climb (the dangers of mixing game mechanics) for which you have +6. Dounia's peerless talent doesn't extend to climb so you use your first roll of 1. Please make a reflex save DC12 - if you fail you tap your head as you go down for 1d3 nonlethal damage.
Zahra - yes, you drop the heavy 9' long spear and it is sliding around the shoots after you. You can use your one action to grab for it. You made a knowledge roll - if you aren't using your action for the knowledge roll then you will get a little information but I will give you a little more if you are making it your action.
<edit> Zahra - sorry, I see you are retrieving a rope. Retrieving a rope is an action. You won't have time to use it. I will give you a little info for the knowledge roll.
So... if tymythy and Zahra both make our initial Ref/Acrobatics, we can hold to each other. If Zahra fails Tymythy can't compensate.
If we both then make our Ref/Acrobatics checks Tymythy will for sure fails his Strength check, but Zahra can still make it at disadvantage for both of us...
Yes. If Tymythy passes his ref/acrobatics and Zahra fails hers then Tymythy must make a second roll to continue to hold on.
If Zahra passes her STR check at disadvantage then she is holding Tymythy when you reach the two tunnels and this may effect the outcome of that fork.
I've only written to where the interchange happens.
The four joined hands and took a big step into the smooth walled tube. Standing together was difficult. The passage was nine feet in diameter but their was no flat bottom and the surface was a polished and hardened sandstone.
Those with a perception bonus of +6 or more hear a tiny click
It only took the length of three heartbeats but the tunnel began to spin.
Reflex save or acrobatics DC14 or you fall prone. If you fall you let go of your partner's hand(s) - and any weapons you happen to be holding. <edit>If you succeeded but your partner let go of you then roll again to see if you hold on despite them letting go.
Then the far end of the tunnel began to tip forward. Everyone began sliding in smooth arcs around and down with the tilt and the spinning.
If you managed to hold on to your partner(s) make a strength ability check DC14 or you let go. <edit>at disadvantage if your partner let go
People began sliding faster … and FASTER … and FASTER
survival DC10:
The tunnel has tilted to more than 45degrees slope
It was hard to tell how long this passage was but within a few seconds the tube shot everyone out into dead space. They landed in a new section that wasn't spinning, but it began to curve right and down and left and up. For a moment people were airborne again but still inside a 9' passage.
Coming towards you was a sharp ridge that divided the path into two tubes. The runes were gone. Cairee could feel Ousel. Zahra could feel the slightly frosty protection that surrounded her.
All magic is back. You are out of the anti-magic field. You can perform a single action (standard or move) during your passage in the tubes. If you try to cast a spell give me a concentration check DC10+spell level. Attempts to climb are at DC35. hehehehe
As you get closer to the split new runes carved into the sandstone whip by. They aren't like the first. They aren't wizard's marks but pictoglyphs. Some look like circles surrounded by wavy lines. Others look like circles inside of a square. A questions comes to your mind, intrudes in the chaos. It feels like you are asking yourself this question …
'I have four stones I keep in my pocket. Are they the bright stones I found in an old box, or, are they stones I pulled from the rush of a river?'
And subconsciously, out of instinct perhaps, you've answered it.
This is happening too fast for you to think about the meaning of the question or what the 'right' answer might be (actually, the right or left answer). You have answered all of these questions already in the questionnaires I've sent out. The cryptic question was meant to point to: Does what is personal and precious to you (knowledge/truth/power/a secret self etc) come from a social understanding or manufactured place (right of inheritance/schooling/meritocracy) or a found place (the natural world/will/discovery/accident)?
Welcome to the sorting machine! You get to perform your action before the sorting starts.
In the dark, while the Black Bird's were fighting for their lives.
Voice one, "We have so little time left."
Voice two, "You've broken our promise not to talk about it. It's hopeless. We can't change our future. All we have is now and if I think of what happens when this is all over I …"
Voice one, "Shhh, you're right. We have one more night." A heavy pause. "We'll make it count."
Voice two, "I'm worried. I don't know if we can manage it tomorrow night. He's already risked too much and it almost got him killed last time. He'd do it … if we asked."
Voice one, "He loves you, you know."
Voice two, "I know and I love him, so much, just not in the way he loves me. It shames me every time I ask him for help. He knows why I ask. I know he knows. I ask him anyway and he does it anyway."
Voice one, "This may be the last time you have to ask."
Voice two, "There's still a chance. We could pull this off. We've done it before - three times now. We can do it again."
Voice one, "It feels different this time. The, I don't know, the air feels different. If we can't then right now may be all we have. We 'll leave. We'll forget everything. We'll hate each other from across the Groszah'Saal." A long quiet. "Big spoon."
Shifting in the dark.
Voice one, "There's still one promise that hasn't been broken. Promise me again."
Redacting my last post - missed Cairee's edited post and her roll for Ousel. I added a +4 circumstance bonus for the timing with Dounia's success with the lock. The result becomes 13. Still not stellar.
Ousel flew over the crowd and dropped the handkerchief towards the young attendants. It floated down gently and a proud Ousel returned to their guardian, Cairee. The children had their hands out grasping as the overdressed Viscount Vertbatton reached over their heads and snatched at it but missed. It was finally caught by a young man of about squiring age.
The Boos Vertbatton's crassness had produced watered down the gesture somewhat.
Ousel - move the crowd cha mod + circumstance bonus:1d20 - 2 + 4 ⇒ (1) - 2 + 4 = 3
Ousel flew over the crowd and dropped the handkerchief towards the young attendants. It floated down gently and a proud Ousel returned to their guardian, Cairee. The children had their hands out grasping as the overdressed Viscount Vertbatton reached over their heads and snatched it in the air.
Boos cascaded through the audience as the entire scene was enlarged in the lake.
The runes had a quality of not being quite real. Light from a window hitting the floor would have the same quality. If they could change one rune, just one, they might disrupt the anti-magic field. But the incorporeal writing was beyond reach, and if they altered the wrong rune it could create a disastrous result.
Cairee - if you do this with Ousel then give me a performance or diplomacy roll from Ousel. If they have no skill in those then a straight 1d20+cha mod. Then, feel free to discribe
Dounia held up the key and a smattering of applause went out. If anything, the crowd seemed too amazed at her work to start an uproar. The laughter at Hallwn's table stopped. Iolanthe was standing near the edge of the eastern castle and had a shrewd look in her eye that said, 'foiled me again, but I'll get you before the party is over.'
Tymythy grabbed the spear with both hands and worried it upwards. With a little additional help from Zahra the one inch thick iron rod came free quickly.
This qualifies as a long spear and is quite heavy. Also treat as cold iron. (simple two-handed melee | damage 1d10 | critical 20/x3 | length 9' | weight 12lbs | piercing | special: brace, reach)
Dounia took a careful look at the room and was confident that the space itself was safe to walk through. The tube at the other end of the room, however, felt suspicious. On closer examination, the passage didn't seem to be trapped but a seam at the front end of the tunnel implied that the passage moved independently of the room somehow. The seam was so fine she'd nearly missed it. No trigger was obvious. Perhaps it was weight activated?
One thing was certain. The spiral of runes in the tunnel were a continuation of those in the room.
Zahra took a closer look at the runes around the circumference of the floor. It was clearly an anti-magic field, a field not to destroy magic but suppress it.
With her friends behind her all trying to show encouragement Dounia had worked almost without thinking. Zahra and Tymythy's voices were strong and confident and their implicit trust was palpable. It was like Cairee was doing her breathing for her. As Dounia yanked the key free something inside the stone door cranked out a ratcheting sound like a chain unhooked and fell down through a wooden tube.
Dounia had figured out the third and final secret of the lock. Keep the key
# rounds to the final secret:2d4 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4Door opened in 1minute 24secs
There were no baited trip wires or secret panels as the door opened to a firm push. Beyond was a circular marble room about ten feet across. Faint wizard marks followed the outside edge of the floor. As the group entered Cairee still didn't have a sense of Ousel's heart and it was clear what the runes were for.
On the opposite side of the room there was a smooth round tunnel nine feet in diameter. A spiral of the same runes ran around the inside of the tube until it disappeared in the darkness.
When Tymythy knocked the staff off of the spear head the spear shaft shifted slightly. The mechanism must hold the spear firmly but not altogether immobile
Everyone else - If you want to give me a creative way of assisting and make a skill roll somehow related to the aid, I will consider granting her a bonus. Make it different (enough) from the assistance of others and I'll allow it to stack. Just make it 'coolsmart'.
Tymythy - this was from my post labeled Saturday 12:33. I'm ruling that your aid is too similar to Zahra's. You're sort of aiding her aid roll. No additional bonus for Dounia.
Tymythy stood from Dounia and gave Kizu'gina a quick knock, levering it into the staff and freeing it.
OK Dounia - you can make your Sense Motive roll
<edit>
Kizu'gina felt odd. Somehow inert in his hands.
"Would some light help?"If Dounia responds no, she won't do this. She reached into one of the pockets of her robes and produced a grey, hollowed out stone. An unbroken light emitted from the Ioun stone. Cairee moved a little closer, holding it out so Dounia had a clear, lit view of the lock.
Sorry, I am retconing this
"Would some light help?" She reached into one of the pockets of her robes and produced a grey, hollowed out stone. She held it in her hand and then released it - nothing - the stone stayed put, it did not light up.
Any magic item inside the anti-magic field has all of its' magical effects suppressed while inside the field. Any magical weapons or armour are currently Masterwork quality only. Potions drunk inside the field will have no effect. Any character ability labeled (SP) or (SU) - Cairee's channeling or Zahra's claws - will not work inside the field.
Ousel flew over to Dounia and alighted on her shoulder. The desert girl twitched slightly but kept her concentration. Ousel stared at the moving fingers and corkscrewed her head right, then left, then back. She flew to Cairee's shoulder.
Ousel, "When I'm airweaving sometimes a big group of earthbound get together and earthweave. Sometimes like the rings of a tree, holding hands. Jumping up. Bending down. This looks kind of like that."
Dounia worked and as she did she realized The movements aren't random. They have a rhythm to them. Not a pattern but a 'way' a rhythmic quality.There's definitly a mind at work here.
The description for Ioun Stones is very poor in the equipment section.
In the magic item rules it is described like this:
"These crystalline stones always float in the air and must be within 3 feet of their owner to be of any use. When a character first acquires a stone, she must hold it and then release it, whereupon it takes up a circling orbit 1d3 feet from her head. Thereafter, a stone must be grasped or netted to separate it from its owner. The owner may voluntarily seize and stow a stone (to keep it safe while she is sleeping, for example), but she loses the benefits of the stone during that time."
As it orbits around the head the light moves slightly with it to create a slightly shifting light. I would allow a 'Use Magic Device' roll to try to make it work slightly against it's nature - glow a little while held, but, this is not an issue at this time.
Zahra referenced Iolanthe so we'll say you've heard about her from Dounia. She's the chief trap maker for Hallwn. She sits at the table with him and is a Teifling.
Make a Dc10 perception check to notice the writing - you must be able to speak sahradhurone. The magic of gossamer house doesn't translate writing
To Zahra's eye it looked like her teammate was just moving key parts about senselessly with no reason or strategy. Cairee and Tymythy could barely work out how she was reacting to the lock. At times she seemed to be on defence and others working aggressively to advance the passage of the key.
She worked by touch alone, feeling for openings and snapping back from sudden obstructions. She tried not to think. Tried not to let her mind get in the way. If she became too self-conscious her hands would slow.
Still, a thought came to mind. The movements of the lock are random or with a pattern so complex it couldn't be predicted without hours of study by a knowledgable engineer
A little voice came to Cairee's ear.
Ousel, "Oooh, little worm fingers. I want to bite them."
# of rounds to get through the second secret:2d4 ⇒ (1, 3) = 4
Dounia has been working furiously at this lock for a full minute now.
Dounia - your second successful roll means you now know two of three secrets of the lock without shutting down the mechanism. Please make a third roll, but this time it is a sense motive check, DC18. No key bonus but with the opportunity for others to assist as with the last roll. Dounia - please don't roll until everyone chimes in on whether they are assisting in some strange way or not. Once you roll then that roll will be final with no more assistance possible.
Dounia has been working furiously at this lock for a full minute now.
Dounia - Sense Motive result nat1:
A piece of the key breaks. Go back one stage and redo the s.o.h. roll but with one less key part
Dounia - Sense Motive result between 2 and 13 (inc.):
Something isn't going right. You seem to have fallen back a step. Reroll the s.o.h. check for stage 2, then try the sense motive check again
Dounia - Sense Motive result between 14 and 17 (inc.):
There's something about this final stage you aren't cluing in on. Roll again.
Dounia - Sense Motive result of 18 or more:
Iolanthe made this lock. Dounia feels like he knows a little bit of how Iolanthe thinks and there is never a single stage to anything the trap engineer does. Dounia gets the feeling the key will be needed again later. Quick - flatten and remove the key!!!
Dounia - On your character sheet you have noted:
*(b)Sleight of Hand9 = 4r +3c +2Int ???
Sleight of Hand is modified by Dexderity. It should read:
*(b)Sleight of Hand11 = 4r +3c +4Dex
And the current map should be updated.
Cairee - you can retrieve your staff but it has the broken condition.
"If the item is a weapon, any attacks made with the item suffer a –2 penalty on attack and damage rolls. Such weapons only score a critical hit on a natural 20 and only deal ×2 damage on a confirmed critical hit."
You always have a 5% chance of getting some kind of partial success. We will count your opportunity as passed.
Dounia moved to the escutcheon as Zahra followed and stretched out with her senses. She did everything as Haseena had taught her and tried to see into the invisible spectrum of arcane colours but nothing happened. Nor did the great, great, grand-daughter of Silimiel feel comforted by the wall of force she could normally summon.
Cairee reminded everyone that they had entered a space resistant to almost all magic as she came to Dounia's left side. It was difficult for her as she felt the complete absence of connection to Saiph.
Tymythy was not far behind.
Tymythy, ”Wonder if it’s just the door, or if magic is banned from the whole challenge,”
Dounia bent a bit to get close enough to use all of her senses on what she was about to do and all of her senses did just that, ignoring the slightly conspicuous arrangement of sand on the door sill. She took a moment, listening to Cyra's voice in her mind. Don't rush it. See it, hear it, feel it.
She stepped forward and slid the key into the skull guarded lock and heard Cyra's voice again. And don't forgt to check for …
Cairee clutched her quarterstaff in both hands, ready to...what? Bop a monster on the head? She turned her attention to the door. When she had inspected it she had seen no hint of a trap. But that didn't mean there wasn't one now.
The sand beneath Dounia's feet jumped minutely as if registering some distant sound. A stone plate beneath her sunk the width of a pinky finger. Ca-chunk Then everything suddenly felt like it was in slow motion. The sand between the desert thief's feet exploded and a one inch metal shaft shot upward. The end of the shaft had a narrow teardrop spearhead that threatened to stab just under her chin and up into her brain.
But Cairee had noticed the trap in time. With her 'useless' staff she shoved Dounia's shoulder and pushed her six inches out of the way. The spear split the end of the shaft, ripped it from Cairee's hands, and held it eight feet from the ground. If a stone had been between Dounia's chin and the spear it would have been shivered to pieces, such was the force of the spear.
Dounia found herself on her backside at Zahra's feet looking at the side of the pole. There, in elaborate scrollworked Sarhadhurone, the language of the desert people, was writ: "I hope you're enjoying the games as much as I am. Love, Iolanthe."
There was uproarious laughter coming from Hallwn's table ... and nowhere else.
Dounia then heard a scraping and a sound that was like the bending of metal. She looked over to the door and the exposed ends of the key parts were turning around their centre shafts - each in different directions. They were jamming and in danger of shattering inside the lock!
Without thinking, she ran back to the key and started to manipulate the keys except now there was a spear shaft in the way. She reached around and got back to work. The lock wasn't like any other she'd seen or felt. The tumblers were moving! The key had to change shape as it passed further into the passage - each piece had to find their place. Her tools would have to do the same!
A thought entered her mind, This was all mechanical and the silver key is a special kind of lockpick and barely a key at all. No magic could be used here. Whomever built this lock is a genius.
# of rounds it took to understand the first secret of the lock:2d4 ⇒ (4, 2) = 6 Dounia - your first successful roll means you've discovered the first of three secrets of the lock without shutting down the mechanism. Please make a second roll, but this time it is a sleight of hand check. The DC35 but you get the same key bonus as before.
Everyone else - If you want to give me a creative way of assisting and make a skill roll somehow related to the aid, I will consider granting her a bonus. Make it different (enough) from the assistance of others and I'll allow it to stack. Just make it 'coolsmart'.
Please check the Current Map and give me your location when you post. Dounia is in front of the door trying to work the lock. Wher are the rest of you?
Dounias - it doesn't matter with that roll but you've added the bonus for master work thieves tools twice. You have the +2 added to your skill and then when calculating the DC bonus.
Like I said, however, it still puts you comfortably over 40.
The key is small and Zahra saw it from quite far away. It was remarkable that she saw it was a 'complex' key and could only guess at how many sections.
Any tool could act as thieves tools in this situation though.
Much of the wall ten feet away from the plain escutcheoned stone door had been repaired after The Adherents had attempted to blast their way through. As the Black Birds approached the door they felt odd.
sense motive DC25:
You feel your stomach drop a little and sense something like passing into an invisible fog.
Cairee:
You no longer have that second feeling, that 'other' emotion in your chest.
Ousel whispered to Cairee, "If I close my eyes I can no longer see you."
The Escutcheoned Door lock has a DC40 (trained only)
If you have one piece of the key you get +2 on your attempt
2 pieces: +5
3 pieces: +9
4 pieces: +14
5 pieces: +20
You can substitute thieve's tools for any missing key part at a -2
If the tools are MW then no penalty
No key parts and no thieves tools -20 (for a DC60)
Examples:
- if you have 4 key pieces and a set of masterwork thieves tools you function as if you had 5 key parts, or a final DC20
- if you have 3 key parts and regular thieves tools for (+14-2) +12, or final DC28
Or …
Try something else. Give me something to work with and I'll change the DC according to how 'smartcool' it is.
I'm going to add …
Beware of 'natty 1s' and know that it may not be a single roll.
Also …
When the Sisters of the Silken Scroll attempted the escutcheoned door on day 2 Zahra was watching them. She had a particularly good perception roll and could see they had a 'complex' (but not full) key. I'd say she could guess at them having three or possibly four key parts (despite only having had the chance to find one).
You were also told it took the Sisters nearly an hour to get through.
