White Plume Mountain -- the slippery room solution?

[Quasqueton]

I recently ran my group through part of White Plume Mountain -- they abandoned the adventure after completing just one wing (of three).

They spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how to get through the “slippery room”:

~60’ long x 20’ wide.

An open pit (5' across) at each end (from wall to wall), filled with nasty razors coated with super tetanus (save vs. poison or die in a few rounds).

The area (floor, walls, ceiling) between the pits is covered with a silver sheen of super slipperiness.

The fly spell specifically does not work in this room.

****

How did your group get through this area? This is something that has had me wondering for years (since I first read the room).

I just don’t see how a party can get across.

Note: I’m not looking for theoretical ideas – I’m not playing a DM in this thread. I want to know how your group actually got across this in play.

Quasqueton

 

[Crothian]

One group had an archer with arrows designed to pentrate a wall of stone or wood, grappling hook arrows and the like with rope. He shot one long way down the room and then secured the rope on his side and they climbed.

Another group pryed off the copper trap in the hallway before the slippery room and used that to cover up the pits and createa walk way.

My last group did it the hard way (balance check, jump check, balance check...) I think 3 of the 5 were close to death by the end of it and they only lived becasue the room was a lot less lethal as written in the new update.

 

[TheYeti1775]

One group had an archer with arrows designed to pentrate a wall of stone or wood, grappling hook arrows and the like with rope. He shot one long way down the room and then secured the rope on his side and they climbed.

Another group pryed off the copper trap in the hallway before the slippery room and used that to cover up the pits and createa walk way.

My last group did it the hard way (balance check, jump check, balance check...) I think 3 of the 5 were close to death by the end of it and they only lived becasue the room was a lot less lethal as written in the new update.

Something similar on the solve, it's been awhile. Ours involved heavy rope, a potion of levitate, and the classic 10ft pole. Fighter zig-zaged his way across using the pole as a push off on the walls. When he got to the opposite side, he just pulled the rope taut. And tied off with Pitons. We left in place incase of quick retreat.

Looking back some spider climb might work as well along the walls.

Yeti

 

[kenobi65]

Ah, yes...this was one of the first adventures I ever played in, shortly after I discovered D&D.

It took us *forever* to get across the room. Our eventual solution involved a large number of iron spikes hammered into the floor, creating a hand-over-hand system to cross the floor, and two doors (stolen from elsewhere into the dungeon), used to bridge the pits (the doors were secured in place with more spikes).

 

[Mark Hope]

It was about 20 years ago that I played this, but I seem to recall that we somehow secured planks or doors or something over the pits and crossed that way. Plus there are only two pits, iirc, so the risk isn't really all that great.

 

[BlackMoria]

I've been through this one a few times with different DMs.

First time through it with one group, one of the spellcasters had a spell (I think it was called rainburst) that made it rain. He used the spell to wash the slippery areas off and the party jumped the pits.

On another occasion, the mage cast wall of stone and we used it as a impromptu bridge across the entire room.

On another occasion, the cleric used stone shape to make bridges and the party used rope relays to keep from slipping.

 

[Piratecat]

I think the easiest way is to slide across with a 10' pole. Jam it down into the pit itself and use the momentum to polevault up and over.

If you had a 10' or 15' board, you could also "sled" across without falling in if you got up enough speed.

 

[Umbran]

Our group used variations of the methods P-cat mentions. Physically getting across the room was less problematic than getting the stuff we needed to do so into the room

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

As slippery as the floors were, if you had a good balance skill you could run, jump across the first one (assuming enough space to get some speed) and then jump over the second one - the key there would be to jump UP and let you forward momentum carry you over the modest five-foot distance. If you tried to jump forward, you'd slip and do a header into the pit.

 

[Piratecat]

Another solution: ever skip a flat rock across the water?

Okay, so have the strongest party member grab the halfling and wind up. . .