I realise this post will be asking for help in a second addition adventure, but I didn't see a board during my scan for second edition.
I am currently in a party for a second edition Return to White Plume Mountain adventure. I've come up with a way to cut the adventure short, but I need some help. I am going to cause the volcano to erupt, killing everything living in it and anything caught in the radius of the eruption. I will do so by utilizing the dimension door power to drain an amount of the water in area 35-The Boiling Lake, to another part of the volcano. I will then drop 100-200 flasks of alchemists fire and roughly 600 gallons of tar, oil, and pure alcohol combined (in containers) into the lake. The resulting explosions, caused by increased pressure within the containers, should cause enough structural damage to the bottom of the lake to cause the volcano to erupt (lava flows underneath the lake). However, I want to evacuate Ringland (the nearby town) before doing so. If I don't, it'll simply be mass murder and the group paladin will spread the word after I take off and I'll have half the world after me for it. I will not include the details, so any who will help can do so in an educated manner (without guessing or suggesting a route I have already managed to deny...unless I forget to add it here).
If you are wondering why I want to blow the volcano, here are four reasons-
1) Because it sounds like fun.
2) Because I've never done it before.
3) To cause chaos.
4) To kill the false Keraptus' and their minions (which appears to be the goal of the adventure).
I am a level 10 chaotic neutral psionicist traveling with a lvl 12 palladin, two lvl 12 fighter/priests, and a level 11 fighter/mage. Thus far I HAVE maintained a decent balance with my actions and reasoning for my actions (although I am pushing chaotic evil, with lawful evil close behind).
The DM decided to use a plot hook that had a mage hiring us to find and return a weapon that was stolen from him, which is a weapon that is part of the adventure. As a reward, he offered us a 10,000,000 GP diamond (he finds the weapon to be worth more, apparently). The diamond happened to have the constant attention of the local thieves guild, who try to steal it about once a month. The party decided to wait until the thieves attacked again and capture a few, to see if they new anything of the stolen weapon. I had not met up with the party yet, however, and did not know this. Before meeting the party, I met the thieves, who hired me to help steal the diamond (which I did so very effectively, but that comes later). We agreed on 10,000 gold for my services, and at this point I knew nothing of the actual size or value of the diamond. Afterwards, I met up with the party, learned what was going on and the plans to capture the thieves if and when they struck. The next night, when gaurding the diamond, I used time shift and a magical black horse statue that turns into a horse and can go ethereal to steal the diamond by tieing a rope around it and dragging it through the ethereal plane. After arriving at the warehouse to meet the thieves, I forced them to up my patment to 100,000 gold before giving them the diamond. I then went back to the party and the diamonds owner and told them where to find the thieves. I did, however, manage to aquire the weapon he wanted later and return it to him. That got the city gaurd off my back. I then took the diamond and gave it to the thieves, which got them to stop trying to kill me. Yes, I did that without the party knowing.
That was to explain that I am not well trusted. The person who hired us also happens to be the cities mayor and a high level mage.
The city is three weeks away from Ringland (DM says it should be out of the blast radius of the volcano). I need to come up with a good, plausible arguement as to why the cities mayor (the guy I stole the diamond from for the thieves) should believe me when I tell him that the volcano is going to erupt within a week or two, so he will do what he can to get the town (ringland) evacuated. I can't get help from my party because when I told them what I was going to do, the mage teleported them halfway across the globe without telling me where they were going.
The only other option I can think of is gnolls. When travelling through another area, the Plague Fields, outside the volcano I befriended a tribe of gnolls by teaching them how to breed cattle (my original intention for this was to help them become a world power). If I do this, I need to come up with a way to convince the gnolls to raid Ringland. Since they no longer need to attack towns for food, how would I do this? I already know what I'll tell the palladin when I see him again, though: "I made sure that the town was empty before causing the volcano to erupt."
I do not have clairaudience/clairvoyence, and therefor no way to dicern the parties current location. Any thoughts? I'll check back once in awhile incase I remember a piece of information I forgot to include.
I do not play 2nd edition, but this sounds really cool. I think the gnolls are the best bet. If 2nd edition has Diplomacy, then use it on the gnolls. Their attitude should be friendly after what you did for them. If it doesn't, then be your character can, if he wants, bribe them. After all, it would be helping him as much as the townsfolk: As you said, if the volcano blows up, you will be on Most Wanted posters pretty fast.
I hope this helps.
Owner - Johnny Scott Comics and Games
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This may oversimplify things, but why not forge a letter in the Paladin's hand to the mayor, warning him of the impending eruption? You could have it delivered via a messenger pigeon, or by courier.
The mayor may not trust you, but I'm sure he'd trust the Paladin.
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I don't want to sound too negative here, or dissuade your idea (I'd prolly have tried something along those lines), but I don't see the volcano erupting from that. it is far more likely that, assuming the barrels (or containers, wtv) explode at all, the water will be pushed upwards, the ground (especially the hard rock layer) will hardly be damaged. I'd have to do a bit more research, but unless you can find some way to contain the explosion and direct it at the rock, you have very little chance of even making a dent, much less erupting it. and then there's the possibility that even if you pierce it, it might not be pressurized enough (havn't read the adventure) to erupt at that point and all you might do is drain the lake, which will cool the lava. which may end up with the desired effect anyway.
Incidently, the explosives that you're using? not really powerful or efficient at all. the alchemist fire is more like napalm, so hitting the barrels will cause them to burn from the outside in. you're more likely to get a large fireball then a contained explosion. plus, due to the tar (and what i can only assume is pitch, since if i remember my basic chemistry, tar doesn't actually burn) you'll have it raining fire for a good minute to two minutes, scarring and destroying everyhtign in a good area. hello forest fire.
It's a common misconception that most people make, that an explosion goes in all directions equally, but that's not true. like much else they follow the path of least resistance. which is why miners have to drill holes, stuff explosives in and then plug the holes to do any damage to the rock.
Good luck with that though.
just my 2cp.
I do not know what a second edition psionicist can do, but perhaps you can use your psionic powers to create some ominous events in the village which foreshadow an eruption. When the villagers are superstitious and do not know whether the signs come from you, it might work.
You could also frighten some livestock in and near the village. Animals always seem to be the first to notice impending earthquakes/eruptions.
Good luck with your plan. Hope you enjoy the adventure.
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Another thing to consider, is that if you manage to get the lava to erupt, it will probably be more like Hawaii’s Mt. Kilauea...
Yes, lava burns and flows, but the actual eruption is more of a "boiling over" effect...
For a volcano to erupt ala Mt St Helens or Mt Vesuvius with a powerful blast, it has to have a closed cauldron....
I just wouldn't think that the lava flowing under the lake holds enough pressure for that kind of devastating eruption...
Just my two coppers anyway...
It is fantasy after all (but I enjoy a little more "realistic" grounding in my campaigns)...
Enjoy...
-That One Digitalelf Fellow-
I'm not counting on the alchemist's fire or any of the other things I'm throwing down there to do the job. I'm counting on the concusive force from the explosions, which would be achieved by the items changing form while in their containers and causing to much pressure. Did you know that it is possible to boil water in a paper cup? As far as whole cauldron thing, from the looks of the map that is what it seems to be. If I could find a map online, I'd show you. From what my DM says, the water has been keeping the rock cool much like boiling water in a paper cup. If I can get rid of the water or create a weakness in the rock, the pressure from the lava underneath (which does seem to be pushing up, from the map) should melt or destroy the rock within a matter a minutes at the most. I know about explosions, chemicals, the laws of physics, among other things, so I kinda know what I'm doing. I don't want to simply drain the water via dimmension door, like I have been, because if it blows right away (like my DM says it will) I won't have enough time to teleport out.
My DM isn't requiring the use of proficiencies in his campaigns, but that doesn't mean that we aren't allowed to use them if we want to. Don't know if that'll help at all.
I have been trying to find ingredients that I know have a decent boom when pressurized, been thus far I have not been succesful. Apparently very few people, if any, have found a way to contain oxygen, CO2, or hydrogen at this point in time.
What if I dimension door the lava to either
A) Where the water is pouring into the small lake?
-or-
B) Where the water is flowing out?
I'm thinking the lava would plug the tunnel out (atleast after cooling and turning to rock) and cause the water to overflow. Or, if I stop the flow in then what water is in there will either drain or turn to steam. Eventually the lava would take care of the rock and it would explode or simply overlow into th tunnels and eventually out of the volcano.
Any thoughts?
Or I could continue to systematically flood the tunnels with boiling water...but I don't think my character would have the patience for that...
Hav you already visited most of the rooms in the dungeon? Are there any weak spots you can use? Or can you plug the lava flow somewhere so that the pressure builds up?
Actually if you dumped the lake into the lava that would cause an immediate and very violent explosion...water and molten material do not play nice...
Are you saying open a door going from in the water to in the lava? That is a possibility I hadn't thought of...now I feel stupid...
And this is the area where the wall of rock is thinnest, about 20ft at the most according to my DM.