How do you handle this situation?

[amerigoV]

Send in a gnome to see what happens.

 

[ExploderWizard]

The halfling holds a rope that turns into a room, while the dwarf seems to have collapsed on top of the halfling.

A rope that turns into a room.

Exit the madhouse with all due haste.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

A rope that turns into a room.

Exit the madhouse with all due haste.

You have heard of Rope Trick,

Bring a large pile pf rocks into the room with the gem. Get someone else to throw rocks at the gem.

 

[ExploderWizard]

You have heard of Rope Trick,

Heh. It isn't the effect so much its the spontaneous nature of the occurance without a detectable proximate cause.

 

[LostSoul]

1. Get some captured goblins and have them: grab the gem, touch the ropes, touch the people. After first asking them what's up, though you can't trust a goblin.

2. Cut one of the ropes at a distance - douse it in oil and burn it perhaps.

Then watch.

 

[Wik]

Oo! A variety of responses! Just what I was hoping for! I'm trying to get in the habit of writing weird "tricks" for a BECMI dungeon, and I didnt' want them to be too obvious. This one seems to be less obvious than I thought, which is great.

and now, answers:

Go back to the first set of adventurers, farthest from the gem. Using a form of remote manipulation, such as Mage Hand, sever the rope, then tow its far end as far back up the corridor towards the gem room as possible.

Then take the two frozen forms, retreat, and attempt to revive them using Dispel Magic, Remove Curse and anything else some Heal, Arcana or Religion checks might suggest.

If they cannot be unfrozen, search them thoroughly for clues.

First, mage hand isn't available. This is a BECMI dungeon. But assuming some way of doing it, you remotely sever the rope, and loop it back into the room. Upon doing so, and making a few quick checks, you are able to wake up the two adventurers. The last thing they remember was seeing the earlier adventurers in their group tying the shorter rope, and deducing that they needed a longer rope.

1. Don't touch the ropes or anyone touching the ropes.

2. Find a different dungeon to explore; that's pretty freaky and there is no explanation that will make it less so.

#1 is easy enough. But the DM won't let you do #2. He's worked his butt off on this dungeon, and you're stuck here, like it or not.

How much gold do I have.

Party separates...someone casts Dispel Magic. If nothing happens...

Hire some hirelings...and one member of the party who wants to reroll their character anyways. Give one of the hirelings a big stick. Have them hit the gem for all they are worth.

Go down and see what happened. If everyone is stil unconscious...see if you still have a spellcaster. Send them down with an Anti-Magic Sphere scroll and have them cast it.

If it works...great...if not...finally send on last hireling down to kill everyone still down there and take there stuff...

Hopefully they return.

I suppose that would put me under the evil alignment there...

Dispel magic on the people causes them to wake up for a second, look around, and then touch the rope and fall back asleep.

Character with the big stick pokes the gem, and the second his stick touches the gem, he drops the stick and falls asleep. The gem wobbles a bit on the pedestal, but remains there.

No one has an anti-magic scroll. You're all level 3.

Use the 10 foot pole you are carrying (ODD right?) and shove it such that it will dislodge the rope, preferably starting with freeing the first set of adventurers found...

See if they 'wake up' on their own once the connection with the gem is broken.

Consider throwing a pole against the pedestal / gem to dislodge the gem itself.

Since the aventurers in the room with the gem are presumably not touching a rope or the gem itself, assume that there is an area effect somehow, capable of knocking out all PC's in the room.

At the same time, be on the lookout for something completely different. Maybe there is no real connection between the gem/pedestal and the freeze in time effect, maybe there is some monster around that creates the effect. If you spot anything moving, squash it first, ask questions later.

Also, I would want to know if there is any indication (dust, the style of clothing / hair fashion etc.) of how long the other adventurers have been in stasis....

The second your 10 foot pole touches the rope, the person holding it falls to the ground, asleep. The pole seems to magnetically stick to the rope in the process.

Throwing the pole to hit the gem, however, works. And wakes up all the adventurers!

***

I'm not really gonna keep going from there, because I think the trick's been figured out. Any advice on how to make it better? More fiendish?

 

[Mark CMG]

Have the others watch as I walk into the room and take the gem.


*Edit* Ah, solved before I hit reply. Congrats. I think it is spelled out enough, Wik. Good stuff!

 

[jonesy]

What's 'fairly' low level?


Detect magic, dispel magic, search for traps.

Drop a burning torch onto the rope. Drop blankets on both sides once it cuts to douse the fire. Try to move the adventurers away from the site to revive and question them.

If nothing works, post a sign that says 'stop touching the gem', and move on.

Edit: oh, Wik already answered.

 

[jonesy]

Throwing the pole to hit the gem, however, works. And wakes up all the adventurers!

So, does freeing the gem disable the trap, or is the gem the thing doing it?

 

[JacktheRabbit]

They seem mostly dead to me. I go through their pockets looking for loose change. ;-)


Barring that we explore sections of the dungeon the rest of the day with plans to return the next day when the party spellcasters can stock up on whatever divination magic they have access to.

Other options would focus around spells like summon monster which allow me to have something ELSE touch the bodies or rope. I am not risking that me touching something that is touching them wont transmit the effect to me as well.

This is all assuming that the frozen party doesnt have an obvious "we are evil" look about them.