[IC]Back to Basics

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Mon Sep 29, 2014 1:19 am

(Yeah, Lucas entered the room as soon as the others showed it to be safe. No way was he waiting alone in the hall.)

"Is there something out there?" Lucas asks, wondering how the door came closed on its own.

He listens at the door to try to hear if there is any noise from the corridor.

Then he uses his somewhat keen senses to search the room for hidden or concealed doors

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Mon Sep 29, 2014 1:54 am

Flintbeard checks to see if the metal piton he stuck in the door was knocked into the room. (Flintbeard is trying to figure out if it was through sheer mechanical force that the door managed to close, or if the piton had been dislodged by something unseen)

Flintbeard makes tracking checks to see if anything else was in the room before them recently, and listening/stonework checks to figure if there's a flow of surface air coming from anywhere in this tomb as that may signal a way out. Are there any particularly large funerary goods (like a boat or chariot) that could be blocking a hidden pathway?

As Atani works on lockpicking the door and somebody knowledable in drow and religion checks the shrine, Flintbeard will chip at the plaster wall the doorway is in to see if there's anything underneath, he does this with all walls in the room.

How tall is the ceiling? Flintbeard also gives the ceiling a good eyeballing

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Mon Sep 29, 2014 9:13 am

(Got it. Alright just before I get to the smashing, can we figure out the lapis lazuli writing?)

Gilles was working on it. Ask him.

He listens at the door to try to hear if there is any noise from the corridor.

Then he uses his somewhat keen senses to search the room for hidden or concealed doors

Lucas hears nothing. He finds no hidden or concealed doors.

Flintbeard checks to see if the metal piton he stuck in the door was knocked into the room. (Flintbeard is trying to figure out if it was through sheer mechanical force that the door managed to close, or if the piton had been dislodged by something unseen)

There is no sign of the piston; Flintbeard cannot see how the ancient mechanisms could have produced enough force to dislodge the piston on its own.

Flintbeard makes tracking checks to see if anything else was in the room before them recently, and listening/stonework checks to figure if there's a flow of surface air coming from anywhere in this tomb as that may signal a way out. Are there any particularly large funerary goods (like a boat or chariot) that could be blocking a hidden pathway?

The collective feet of the group have stirred up too much dust, erasing any tracks that might once have been there. There is a chariot, but no sign of a hidden door under it.

As Atani works on lockpicking the door and somebody knowledable in drow and religion checks the shrine, Flintbeard will chip at the plaster wall the doorway is in to see if there's anything underneath, he does this with all walls in the room.

Chipping away at the plaster, the older stonework is revealed underneath - it seems to be an erotic/grotesque mural involving sea elves, drow, and sharks. (Gilles recognizes it as a fable from the legends of the Sea Mother).

How tall is the ceiling? Flintbeard also gives the ceiling a good eyeballing

Eight feet.

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Tue Sep 30, 2014 5:45 am

Lucas waits patiently while the others work on the trap and the inscription.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Sep 30, 2014 8:28 pm

Gilles pauses for a moment as he finishes looking over the inscription. "The inscription's of no use to us here. Nothing to help our current predicament. I'm going to check for another way out; that might be of use."

Gilles will try to detect secret doors in the room using his elven ability to do so. EDIT: He will also make a Hear Noise check to see if he can hear anything special. (Gilles won't bother with infravision because there are so many heat sources in this room already.) If he doesn't find anything from either of these, he will attempt to detect magic, specifically on the door and the shrine, but also a sweep throughout the room, ignoring the aura from the shortsword and the ring.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Tue Sep 30, 2014 8:41 pm

"Do we think the precious stones are of any value?" Atani says as he takes a look at the gemstones. Attempting to hide his subtle racial distrust of Gilles as greed.

Atani will try to read the writing while he traces the gemstones with his fingers

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Tue Sep 30, 2014 8:59 pm

Gilles will try to detect secret doors in the room using his elven ability to do so. EDIT: He will also make a Hear Noise check to see if he can hear anything special. (Gilles won't bother with infravision because there are so many heat sources in this room already.) If he doesn't find anything from either of these, he will attempt to detect magic, specifically on the door and the shrine, but also a sweep throughout the room, ignoring the aura from the shortsword and the ring.

Gilles detects no secret doors, no strange noises, and detect magic reveals no other magical auras aside from that treasure you've already found.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:26 am

Standing Atani says "Alright well I imagine you all knew this time was coming"

Atani will wind out a little bit of chain at the end of his weight, and stand a bit off and to the side of the door. He'll get the weight moving in a lazy low circle around himself and then torque his body towards the door whipping the weight into it as hard as he is able. If that fails he will do so a few more times until he either makes progress or sees the effort as futile.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 9:25 am

The lock mechanism smashes, along with the trap it contained. Several more blows eventually causes the door to cave in.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 10:13 am

Flintbeard pushes the chariot halfway through the door to see if anything happens.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 10:15 am

Flintbeard smashes away the remains of the door. The chariot does fit, although there's barely an inch to spare on either side.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 6:18 pm

Head out of the room and into the corridor heading north. Have a skeleton with a ten foot pole stumbling 10 feet in front of me as we make our way north to see what lies that way.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 6:50 pm

Flintbeard proposes having the skeleton push the chariot down hallways

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 6:56 pm

Atani agrees wholeheartedly, that guy will lead the way.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 7:27 pm

Gilles agrees to the skeleton plan.

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 9:27 pm

"Um, okay. You can all go ahead, then. I'll follow with the light." Lucas says, still not getting any closer to the skeletons than he has to.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 10:03 pm

Turning to the northern fork you had earlier passed, you see that the corridor is about ten feet long, and ends at an iron door - now quite covered with rust, so that the figures once carved or cast in it can hardly be seen, although the image of a vast, grinning skull remains in the center of it.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 4:56 am

Keeping a back against the corner toss the weight down the hall then drag it back, testing the floor. Once that is done direct the skeleton to push the chariot up to the door, clamber onto it, then attempt to open the door. If the door is locked then see if there is any place on the door, like the skull, where a grappling hook could be affixed. If that exists then have the skeleton attach my grappling hook to the door and every party member pull on the rope together. If that doesn't work then pull everyone back and throw the wrecking ball at the door over and over again. Throwing the weight and moving behind the wall as quickly as possible until we see headway or until I give up and we think of something else.

If the door does open then move into the room in our marching order, giving the chariot skeleton some room to lead, investigating the room after he's bumbled about it a bit.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 6:38 am

Dorgan will make a check for hidden passages along the corridor, after opening the door and before heading inside. Other than that, I'm fine with Atani's plan.

ETA: unless the party is being threatened, of course.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:46 am

Flintbeard makes his history check on the door to get an idea of where it stands compared to everything else we've seen, maybe get a clue as to what it's blocking. Is this older or newer than the burial room we just looted, that kind of info.

Flintbeard will also take a look to see which way the door hinges swing so we know whether to yank it out or bash it down.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 9:29 am

The skeleton pushes the chariot up to the door - at which point a large stone block falls from the ceiling, crushing both skeleton and chariot in a crash loud enough it probably woke up the guards and porters outside the dungeon. [Skeleton #2 is destroyed]

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:40 pm

Lucas jerks back at the noise, causing his lantern to shake and everyone's shadows to slide and jump across the walls. Once he recovers, though, he is glad to see another skeleton destroyed. He attempts to peer over or around the block, to see how much of the corridor is blocked.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:43 pm

The block appears to be a cube three feet in every direction - strangely, it also appears cracked from the fall, and there appears to be evidence of a hollow within.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 11:47 pm

Investigate the hollow, then try to open the door with my own hands

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 11:52 pm

On closer appearance the block is not simply a rough-quarried cube of stone - but a carefully cut and polished casket of white marble shot with silver, and joined by mithril staples; each of the sides is about three inches thick. When it landed, however, the force of the impact (besides crushing the skeleton and the chariot) has cracked it on three faces, revealing that the interior is hollow - and from within there is the gleam of gold.