[Adventure] The Lost Treasure of House Cannith (Judge: Evilbob)

[LadyLaw]

The warforged walks carefully around the room, being sure to keep the disc with the torch close. He finds several tables covered with things, and there are pictures on the walls. As above, everything is covered in a thick layer of dust.

[sblock=Perception 22]You find a loose brick in the north part of the wall the hallway is on.[/sblock]

 

[hornedturtle]

Perception check 1d20+7=10

OOC: By the way can you take twenty on perception?

 

[LadyLaw]

GM: Nope. The best you can ever take in 4th edition is a 10. You do not find anything that looks like a switch in your search. For the record, since I know you as players brought it up earlier, I'm not into the same person trying a particular check more than once. If something were to change the situation under which the check were made, that'd be one thing, but in the case of you simply didn't roll as well as you'd like, I'm against it.

 

[hornedturtle]

OOC: Great, I understand but either way I've failed, lol.

After a quick search of the area finding nothing resembling a off switch, 354b walks back over to the end of the hallway, "Task accomplished, hallway transversed no trap disabling device found," he announces.

 

[Antithetist]

Colgrave quirks an eyebrow at Thalin as the bard breaks into his spontaneous poignant ballad. "A sensible enough sentiment," he says finally, his tone neutral as Thalin states his intentions. "Certainly this is no profession for anybody possessed of both a healthy self-preservation instinct and a lick of common sense."

After a quick search of the area finding nothing resembling a off switch, 354b walks back over to the end of the hallway, "Task accomplished, hallway transversed no trap disabling device found," he announces.

"There's no mechanism to disable this thing?" Colgrave calls back, frowning. "This makes no sense. This place was a functioning workshop, wasn't it? Did the Cannith artisans play hopscotch down this hallway in peril of their lives on a daily basis?"

He gives a sigh. "I suppose it's possible that they used some method of controlling it remotely - some seperate arcane device or somesuch..." he muses. "But that's of no use to us. Allow me to be quite clear - I may have a high opinion of myself, but I'm not so deluded as to fancy myself an athlete. I'd as soon bet my life on a coin toss as on my competency to traverse this hallway."

He brings a hand up to stroke his beard, appearing deep in thought. "If there's no shut-off, then there must be a way to make a continuous safe path of purple tiles. Hmph. I wonder if it might be possible to trigger the gold and blue tiles from a safe distance."

Intent on testing his theory, he unslings his backpack and removes the rope, bedroll and climber's kit from it, setting them aside. The load suitably lightened, he waves a hand and the pack is lifted by an invisible hand. It hovers ponderously over to a position above the blue tile in the fourth row, where it is unceremoniously dropped.

OOC: Minus the rope and climber's kit, the backpack weighs 18 pounds. Assuming that everybody else will hold off for another round to give Colgrave time to experiment, he will use Mage Hand to lift the backpack (minor action), move it to F2 (move action), and drop the backpack (free action). He'll also sustain the Hand (standard -> minor action).

 

[LadyLaw]

GM: Ok, here's a couple things to consider before I tell you the results of your attempt: 1. The range of Mage Hand is only 5, so you'd have to move up to A2 in order to put it at F2. This would require 2 turns worth of actions based on what else you said you want to do. As no one is on the tiles, that's not really a big deal, but I wanted to toss that out there for your consideration. 2. The only way I think you can be accurate enough at a distance is to be hovering the pack less than 5 feet off the ground before you drop it. If you'd like to drop it from a height higher than that, you'll need to tell me how high and make an Arcana check (DC 17) for accuracy of where it falls. Failure on that check will result in the pack falling randomly on one of the surrounding squares that is also in range of Mage Hand. 3. For the record, the tunnel you're in is about 20 feet high. Let me know how you are proceeding based on these considerations and I will let you know what happens.

 

[Antithetist]

OOC: Multiple rounds is fine by me - I kind of figured that would be the case anyway, since it will presumably take some time to make the necessary adjustments to the pack's weight. As long as other people are happy chilling out for a round or two while Colgrave tries this, it should be all good. Regarding drop height: for a first attempt, let's go with the 'under five feet' option. If it doesn't work, then I'll be looking to try it from a greater height. Am I really going to need to make a check just to move the hand vertically 4 squares and drop it, having established the right position first by resting the backpack on the relevant square? Not to quibble excessively, but a DC 17 skill check just to move a Mage Hand 4 squares up in a straight line seems a bit harsh (although it's a nonissue if I can take 10). Your call, though, obviously.

 

[LadyLaw]

GM: Hmmm...I was thinking of the movement differently, but I can see your point. I didn't think it would be overly difficult. 17 is something you can succeed at 75% of the time. My thinking was that from a distance of 20 feet, your aim would be not necessarily perfect (think the crane game). Technically, just taking a 10 isn't always an option. However, in this case of simply raising the bag in a straight line, I do think it would be acceptable to take a 10.

The mage hand carries the pack out and drops it from a couple of feet in the air. It lands successfully on the gold tile, but nothing happens.

 

[Antithetist]

Colgrave frowns. "Maybe with a little more height..." the backpack rises up to the ceiling and drops with a thud onto the tile.

OOC: Cool. Taking 10 for an Arcana result of 22.

 

[LadyLaw]

GM: Ok, so Photoshop has suddenly stopped functioning and I'm really not sure why. I tried re-installing to no avail. I downloaded GIMP for now, but I'm not familiar with it, so lets hope I'm still going to be able to update this properly. *crosses fingers* I apologize if there is an even more negative change in image quality.

The pack hits the floor with a loud thud and the floor slides as it did before.