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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 6279959" data-attributes="member: 1210">Here's one that was part of a low epic slog through 100 miles of Underdark to confront Torog. Well, it ended in confronting Torog, but they really just wanted to put an amulet around the neck of the Final Phoenix, which Torog keeps in a cage. This skill challenge is kind of interesting in that the party's marching order matters in the first check. Anyhow, extracted from my notes: ...3 miles after area 16, the air starts to smell sulphurous. After one more mile, the party enters an area where bubbling pools of mud and steaming flows of water become increasingly common. This area has a number of dangers related to the geothermal activities here, and navigating the area without harm requires a skill challenge that takes place in several stages. The skill challenge covers three miles of travel, but takes a minimum of nine hours.Total Distance from Gear Complex: 16 miles to smell; 17 miles to geothermal areas Ceiling Height: Varies; average 20'.First Stage (Scalding Eruptions): As the party proceeds, they enter an area containing several hot geysers about to erupt. Characters in the front rank may make Dungeoneering or Perception checks, DC 26, to notice this hazard in time to warn the party to stay back. Failure indicates that each party member suffers an attack from the geysers: +24 vs. Reflex; Hit: 4d10 fire damage; Miss: Half damage. If the party is forewarned, they take no damage here.Navigating through the geysers requires each character to make three checks of some sort, even if they avoid the worst of it (i.e., the attack listed above). Characters might try to suss out the geysers' timing (Dungeoneering DC 19 or Perception DC 26), scamper past using Acrobatics (DC 30), just try to bear the heat (Endurance DC 26) or run through as quickly as possible (Athletics DC 35). Each failed check results in 20 fire damage. Powers that grant fire resistance that last until the end of  the encounter only apply to damage from one of these checks, as the entire ordeal is spread out over several hours and the checks are at different points along the route.  Alternatively, a power that lets a character teleport at least 10 squares counts as 1 success for that character; sufficiently powerful magic may let the party bypass this section entirely.     Second Stage (Poison Gas): The characters next pass through an area saturated with toxic gas. Each character must make three Endurance checks, DC 19, 26 and 35. Each failed check costs the character a healing surge; if the character has no remaining surges, he or she takes damage equal to his surge value. This is a poison effect.Third Stage (Minor Eruption): Finally, in one area, a section of wall has broken away and lava is spattering out from it, raining down on a section of the cavern. To get by safely, characters must make an Acrobatics check, DC 29; failure indicates 25 fire damage. Again, clever use of teleportation magic will allow the pcs to bypass this area. The pcs are still in the geothermally active area when they enter encounter area 18, but it is less dangerous; though there are terrain hazards, the pcs are not in automatic danger.</blockquote>

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