The Stairs!

[pawsplay]

I kill the staircase and take its stuff.

In Olde School Dungeon, staircase kills you!

 

[jefgorbach]

First, check the immediate area for signs of traffic/recent activity for an idea asto what lurks nearby then determine if the stairway area can be isolated from intrusion so hopefully nothing from level-1 follows us down/lays traps for our return before letting the "scout" proceed down cautiously while the form a defensive zone above.

Once at the bottom, determine if the landing can be isolated from the rest of the level, for use as a defensible camp for further incursions. Rig a trip-line across the stairs before exploring level2.

 

[Janx]

standard protocol is sweep all open areas before opening doors or changing floors in almost any game.

Especially if a computer is running it, and it doesn't tend to respawn or open doors.

leaving an upper area unsecured means there is a chance something in that layer could come downstairs or block your escape.

Sure, there's always a chance something from below will come up, or something from outside even will come in. But usually, the more turf you leave uninvestigated, the more unknowns you have.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I go OLD SCHOOL.




You enter a dark room lit by a single oil lantern hung from a chain in the middle of the chamber. On the West wall, you see a door. On the Northern wall, you see stairs

:> take stairs

you take the stairs

:> put stairs in pocket

you put the stairs in your pocket

 

[RangerWickett]

Go back outside the dungeon, take a few planks of wood from the wagon our donkeyhorse pulled in, and proceed to craft a makeshift trap door over the stairs. Weight the trap door with stones, etch it with prayers, and rig a trap on it so any creature that opens it from below will be doused on oil and lit on fire.

Then go back to the wagon, get a couple chickens, and prepare to send them into the next room on the first floor.

Unless you have a time limit, why not be paranoid?

 

[Evilhalfling]

Charge down the stairs! (or persuade someone else to.)
deeper is better, more treasure, more interesting stuff, come back and kill the easy stuff (maybe) once you have the better stuff from below.

 

[howandwhy99]

The Situation:

You are in a group consisting entirely of 1st level adventurers. You are on your first adventure, in your first dungeon. You explore the dungeon for only a few minutes, encountering nothing, when you come across a staircase leading down to a lower level.

Do you go down, or do you continue exploring the first dungeon level?

Well, one of the common rules is level 2 stuff is on level 2. And we're all level 1 and had no real changes so far. No new friends, new stuff, or new knowledge about what's going on here.

That said, why not? Maybe that rule isn't in place? Maybe this is a stair down to an allied area? Maybe it goes down to Dungeon Level 10(tm)? We can't really be sure.

But if we think about it a bit more, either there is a barrier to keep what's even worse down there or it's not as bad as we think. Either way, the decision's up to us.

 

[the Jester]

Finish the level. Leave no enemies behind you to make flight impossible.

 

[Lidgar]

standard protocol is sweep...

Standard protocol for defeating stairs:

 

[jonesy]

Standard protocol for defeating stairs:

But, but, what if you are facing a crane stair?