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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6845049" data-attributes="member: 6787650">Yep, I assumed as much. Otherwise I'd have spent more time talking about using a familiar or Paladin's warhorse to scout things out before moving through the vortex; but I figure, if you know you're going through anyway (because the world will end if you don't) you might as well go through instead of dithering around worrying why the familiar didn't come back. (BTW, I think you could still get information out by sending in the familiar/steed, possibly invisible, to reconnoiter and then re-summoning the familiar/steed afterward, but that burns time and resources without changing the basic fact that you still have to go through the portal eventually.)If it weren't for the five-hour time limit (not even enough time to reconfigure spells memorized) I would be a lot more cautious about entering the portal.It still makes sense to go through staggered though, using summoned creatures as your point guard. Because I'm not real fond of killing, I'd send the creatures in with orders that will keep them from killing any hypothetical women or children immediately on the other side of the gate, while still presenting enough of a threat to trigger any hostile creatures (e.g. Death Slaads should launch a Fireball as soon as five or six Giant Owls are through the portal). If I were using zombies I'd send them in with similar orders (possibly disguised with Seeming) to grapple instead of kill. Then when the PCs show up a round or so later, we're in a good position to either negotiate (with nonhostiles) or kill (hostile enemies).Of course the DM might declare that there's something wrong with the demiplane and that summoned creatures poof out of existence once they get there. I'll worry about that if it happens though. I'd still have Animated Objects to fall back on, as well as the actual PCs.</blockquote>

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