(OOC: We're getting all of the low rolls out of the way early on! Hopefully that 14was high enough, otherwise, we'll have to keep working the problem.)
Xanrym sees that the insignia is very old, probably from a time when this city was ruled by the drow. Apart from that, the operation of the door is a mystery.
Khessa sighs; she was hoping the way to open the passage was more obvious... but she quickly turns her blue eyes to the wizard of the party and suggests: "Theldrin, if I remember correctly, we already established that the glowing gold stain is magical... You know a ritual to learn the details of a spell in progress or how to use a magical item, right? You could try casting that ritual on the gold stain... Maybe you'd discover how to use it."
Xanrym sees that the insignia is very old, probably from a time when this city was ruled by the drow. Apart from that, the operation of the door is a mystery.
(OOC: Wait, have we been saying "Blood for Lolth" in Common? If so...)
Xanrym tries moving close to the insignia again and then saying in Elvish, "Blood for Lolth."
If that doesn't work, then Xanrym suggests, "The Drow can all see in the dark. If this secret door is magical, maybe it can only be opened in darkness? Or perhaps the mechanism is only visible to Darkvision, in the absence of Light?"
If that doesn't work, his other idea is, "Do you think that this door can only be opened by a drow elf? Maybe we could get Numa to try it or at least touch it? Or perhaps it requires the blood of a drow elf?"
Finally, if Syllen's Detect Magic doesn't reveal the mechanism for opening the door, while they wait for Theldrin to cast Identify, Xanrym says, "Do you think the door could have been crafted out of the stone from the Earth Node? Maybe we need to cast a spell on the door itself to 'trigger' it?"
Apart from the magic items on yourselves, Syllen sees that the stain on the wall indeed is magical. As soon as Theldrin begins to cast a spell on it, the stain lights up golden. Around the stain a door shines blue and open inwards to a dark tunnel behind. Theldrin understands that any magic used on the insignia would have opened it.
You all go down the tunnel beyond and to the inner sanctum of Matron Ellessarwa of House Dusklorn. How do you light the way as you go?
Apart from the magic items on yourselves, Syllen sees that the stain on the wall indeed is magical. As soon as Theldrin begins to cast a spell on it, the stain lights up golden. Around the stain a door shines blue and open inwards to a dark tunnel behind. Theldrin understands that any magic used on the insignia would have opened it.
You all go down the tunnel beyond and to the inner sanctum of Matron Ellessarwa of House Dusklorn. How do you light the way as you go?
Woo hoo!
Xanrym volunteers to scout at least 60-ft ahead of the group this time, using Stealth and the last of his Invisibility to ensure that he doesn't alert the drow. Maybe it's a good time to use that spell scroll of Darkvision that he had Syllen create so that he doesn't need a light himself.
If the way ahead is dark, Xanrym hopes that there's a solid door at the far end of Elessarwa's room so that they don't give themselves away with light before the reach her room, but he does have half-a-dozen candles in his pack that they could use for illumination without casting too much light. Even if they do that, it's probably a good idea to cast Light on a couple of items now and to bring them along, fully covered. That way, when they first enter Ellesarwa's torture chamber, they can fist cast those items into the room to light the scene.
Planning ahead
If there's a door at the Ellesarwa-end of the tunnel, Xanrym suggests that they gather right outside it and douse all lights before he tries to open the door. Then, he'll try to sneak through the door and into Ellesarwa's torture chamber. If he finds the matriarch there, he'll cast Silence on her. When his companions hear him casting the spell, that'll be their signal to rush into the room to attack. As they enter, they can toss their Light objects into the room, toward Ellesarwa.
If anyone has a way to keep Ellesarwa and her wizard consort in the area of Silence, they should start with that.
Note: we don't know the dimensions of the room, but Xanrym will try to position the AoE of Silence so that it covers Ellesarwa and ideally leaves at least a little space where The Company's spellcasters can see the enemy without entering the area of Silence. (That probably means centering the Silence on Ellesarwa or right between Ellesarwa and the wizard, if he's there with her.)
Not sure what to do if we get into Ellesarwa's torture chamber, and she's not there. Just hide in the darkness and wait for her to arrive?
Theldrin casts Light on a copper piece and keeps it handy but tucked away. Assuming the rest of the party follows Xanrym he falls in line, keeping towards the center of the group.
“Well I am happy to go with your plan. It might be best if we don't waste a spell scroll if we do not have to. I can just cast darkvision on you. Also if you manage to get Elessarwa in the silence spell I am happy to keep her in place with Entangle.”
(OOC: If Syllen understands how hex works he would suggest Coriana casting hex and pick Str checks. That way if Elessarwa fails her first saving throw she will have disadvantage on getting out of Entangle.)
Xanrym asks Coriana to make him a token with Light. Since he'll be the first one in the room, he can take the token from his pouch and toss it toward Ellesarwa as soon as he casts his Silence spell.
“Well I am happy to go with your plan. It might be best if we don't waste a spell scroll if we do not have to. I can just cast darkvision on you.
Xanrym's voice replies back, "Yes, that would be terrific. If the matriarch's chamber is not lit, then I'll need to be able to see in the dark if I am to silence her before [spells]Invisibility;I'm seen[spells]." He reaches out to take Syllen's hand and then put it on his own invisible head. That way, Syllen knows where Xanrym is to cast his spell.
To the group, he says, "All of this preparation would be for nought if this tunnel ends in a gate instead of a solid door, and she can see our lights coming down the tunnel long before we can see her. We've run a good race to get here: let's not stumble just before the finish. I can scout ahead before we bring any lights too far into the tunnel. If the tunnel opens right to her chamber through a simple archway or a gate, then we won't be able to use any lights within a few hundred feet of the matriarch's chamber. If there's a solid door between this tunnel and the matriarch's chamber, then everyone can carry one of the candles, and we'll just have to extinguish them before we open the final door."
Xanrym quickly runs through the plan one more time. Basically, Xanrym will scout way ahead so that none of the other humans brings a light anywhere near the matriarch's chamber until we're sure that there's no way for light in the tunnel to be seen in the matriarch's chamber. But Syllen should probably follow very close behind Xanrym on his first trip down the tunnel, using his remaining concentration on Detect Magic to ensure that Xanrym does not stumble into any magical traps.
If we find another solid door or an insignia marking a secret door at the end of the tunnel, then Xanrym (or Syllen) can return to the others to let them know that it's safe to approach with their candles. Assuming that's what we find...
"You can all bring your candles with you, and we can gather outside the door to the matriarch's chamber."
"I can try the 'Blood for Lolth' passphrase to see whether it opens that door."
"If that doesn't work, then someone else will need to cast a spell on the door like Theldrin did here in the tannery." (Not sure whether a Cantrip is sufficient or whether we need to expend a spell slot / ritual-cast a spell.)
"Before we actually open the door, everyone will extinguish their lights."
"Then I'll try to enter the room through the door without being noticed, uttering the 'Blood for Lolth' passphrase one more time as I do, just in case."
"As soon as you hear me start to cast Silence, Syllen should enter the room, if needed, and cast Entangle. He has the sight of the elves, so he should be able to see Ellesarwa to target her with his spell even before we bring our own lights into the room."
"After I cast my spell, I'll cast Coriana's token toward Ellesarwa. Everyone else should pour into the room as soon there's enough light. If you have a ranged attack, target the spellcasters, starting with anyone who was not trapped in the zone of Silence."
"Avery, Khessa, if there are any drow guards or other creatures guarding the chamber, your priority will be keeping them away from me and Syllen so that we can keep Ellesarwa silenced for as long as possible, hopefully long enough to take care of her before she can cast a single spell. If they don't come for us, then pick your target as you like, but try to ensure that no one gets out of the room to warn the rest of House Dusklorn."
"We don't want to get bogged down in Ellesarwa's chamber: let's get in and out, as quickly as possible. Even with the Silence, I expect that the fight will raise alarms."
Also if you manage to get Elessarwa in the silence spell I am happy to keep her in place with Entangle.”
"Perfect!", Xanrym is pleased. "I can even try to use my powers to make it harder for her to avoid your spell."
Memories of the surprises that have ruined past plans (like the invisible Will-o-Wisp attacking him while The Company fought the evil priest, Garath, in the naga's lair or the Phase Spider trying to break his concentration in an apparently-empty room on The Emperor of the Waves. They have a good plan, and The Company has fought well together in the past and improvised well when things went badly. He says a quick prayer to Fharlanghn.
Xanrym asks, "Is there anything else we need to prepare before we go?"
(OOC: Xanrym's bardic inspiration lasts 1 hour, so if someone wants a boost for an attack roll that could do a lot of damage, let me know. Xanrym could provide that inspiration now. But he's trying to save some of his inspiration in case we need it to get out of the drow's stronghold or to debuff an unexpected opponent's saving throw vs. other spells, like Blindness/Deafness.)
Khessa smiles smugly at the Company's coordination: "Well... then, if Ellesarwa remains imprisoned by your magical powers, I'll skewer her from a distance with my Pike. If she resists, however... I'll move closer and try to hold her there while I slice her to pieces with my Greatsword."
The blonde arcane warrior will try to stay in the front row (while letting Xanrym scout ahead), so she can act as a bulwark against any 'unpleasant surprises'.
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I think that Xanrym could re-roll if he wants to. Technically you've just given Theldrin advantage, not added your own modifier to the roll.
Xanrym - Investigation: 14
Trying to figure out the operation of the secret door in the tannery.
(OOC: Hm...decent but not great. Since our whole plan depends on getting through this door, I'll use Xanrym's Heroic Inspiration to re-roll that.)
Investigation: 11
(OOC: We're getting all of the low rolls out of the way early on! Hopefully that 14 was high enough, otherwise, we'll have to keep working the problem.)
Xanrym sees that the insignia is very old, probably from a time when this city was ruled by the drow. Apart from that, the operation of the door is a mystery.
[[ OOC: OK, assuming the passage didn't open. ]]
Khessa sighs; she was hoping the way to open the passage was more obvious... but she quickly turns her blue eyes to the wizard of the party and suggests: "Theldrin, if I remember correctly, we already established that the glowing gold stain is magical... You know a ritual to learn the details of a spell in progress or how to use a magical item, right? You could try casting that ritual on the gold stain... Maybe you'd discover how to use it."
Hearing Khessa’s question, Syllen speaks.
“I can quickly check if there is anything magical in the area.”
With that Syllen casts Detect Magic and will look to see if anything about the wall or in the room is magical.
(OOC: Wait, have we been saying "Blood for Lolth" in Common? If so...)
Xanrym tries moving close to the insignia again and then saying in Elvish, "Blood for Lolth."
If that doesn't work, then Xanrym suggests, "The Drow can all see in the dark. If this secret door is magical, maybe it can only be opened in darkness? Or perhaps the mechanism is only visible to Darkvision, in the absence of Light?"
If that doesn't work, his other idea is, "Do you think that this door can only be opened by a drow elf? Maybe we could get Numa to try it or at least touch it? Or perhaps it requires the blood of a drow elf?"
Finally, if Syllen's Detect Magic doesn't reveal the mechanism for opening the door, while they wait for Theldrin to cast Identify, Xanrym says, "Do you think the door could have been crafted out of the stone from the Earth Node? Maybe we need to cast a spell on the door itself to 'trigger' it?"
[[Forgot about the reroll rule. I assume I didn't spend my luck point and heroic inspiration then.]]
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Assuming Syllen detects magic on the wand stain, Theldrin will begin casting Identify as a ritual.
Apart from the magic items on yourselves, Syllen sees that the stain on the wall indeed is magical. As soon as Theldrin begins to cast a spell on it, the stain lights up golden. Around the stain a door shines blue and open inwards to a dark tunnel behind. Theldrin understands that any magic used on the insignia would have opened it.
You all go down the tunnel beyond and to the inner sanctum of Matron Ellessarwa of House Dusklorn. How do you light the way as you go?
Woo hoo!
Xanrym volunteers to scout at least 60-ft ahead of the group this time, using Stealth and the last of his Invisibility to ensure that he doesn't alert the drow. Maybe it's a good time to use that spell scroll of Darkvision that he had Syllen create so that he doesn't need a light himself.
If the way ahead is dark, Xanrym hopes that there's a solid door at the far end of Elessarwa's room so that they don't give themselves away with light before the reach her room, but he does have half-a-dozen candles in his pack that they could use for illumination without casting too much light. Even if they do that, it's probably a good idea to cast Light on a couple of items now and to bring them along, fully covered. That way, when they first enter Ellesarwa's torture chamber, they can fist cast those items into the room to light the scene.
Planning ahead
If there's a door at the Ellesarwa-end of the tunnel, Xanrym suggests that they gather right outside it and douse all lights before he tries to open the door. Then, he'll try to sneak through the door and into Ellesarwa's torture chamber. If he finds the matriarch there, he'll cast Silence on her. When his companions hear him casting the spell, that'll be their signal to rush into the room to attack. As they enter, they can toss their Light objects into the room, toward Ellesarwa.
If anyone has a way to keep Ellesarwa and her wizard consort in the area of Silence, they should start with that.
Note: we don't know the dimensions of the room, but Xanrym will try to position the AoE of Silence so that it covers Ellesarwa and ideally leaves at least a little space where The Company's spellcasters can see the enemy without entering the area of Silence. (That probably means centering the Silence on Ellesarwa or right between Ellesarwa and the wizard, if he's there with her.)
Not sure what to do if we get into Ellesarwa's torture chamber, and she's not there. Just hide in the darkness and wait for her to arrive?
I know it will get crowded, but Coriana summons Asclepius.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Theldrin casts Light on a copper piece and keeps it handy but tucked away. Assuming the rest of the party follows Xanrym he falls in line, keeping towards the center of the group.
Looking at where Syllen thinks Xanrym is.
“Well I am happy to go with your plan. It might be best if we don't waste a spell scroll if we do not have to. I can just cast darkvision on you. Also if you manage to get Elessarwa in the silence spell I am happy to keep her in place with Entangle.”
(OOC: If Syllen understands how hex works he would suggest Coriana casting hex and pick Str checks. That way if Elessarwa fails her first saving throw she will have disadvantage on getting out of Entangle.)
[[I will make that a priority.]]
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Avery will cover rear
Xanrym asks Coriana to make him a token with Light. Since he'll be the first one in the room, he can take the token from his pouch and toss it toward Ellesarwa as soon as he casts his Silence spell.
Xanrym's voice replies back, "Yes, that would be terrific. If the matriarch's chamber is not lit, then I'll need to be able to see in the dark if I am to silence her before [spells]Invisibility;I'm seen[spells]." He reaches out to take Syllen's hand and then put it on his own invisible head. That way, Syllen knows where Xanrym is to cast his spell.
To the group, he says, "All of this preparation would be for nought if this tunnel ends in a gate instead of a solid door, and she can see our lights coming down the tunnel long before we can see her. We've run a good race to get here: let's not stumble just before the finish. I can scout ahead before we bring any lights too far into the tunnel. If the tunnel opens right to her chamber through a simple archway or a gate, then we won't be able to use any lights within a few hundred feet of the matriarch's chamber. If there's a solid door between this tunnel and the matriarch's chamber, then everyone can carry one of the candles, and we'll just have to extinguish them before we open the final door."
Xanrym quickly runs through the plan one more time. Basically, Xanrym will scout way ahead so that none of the other humans brings a light anywhere near the matriarch's chamber until we're sure that there's no way for light in the tunnel to be seen in the matriarch's chamber. But Syllen should probably follow very close behind Xanrym on his first trip down the tunnel, using his remaining concentration on Detect Magic to ensure that Xanrym does not stumble into any magical traps.
If we find another solid door or an insignia marking a secret door at the end of the tunnel, then Xanrym (or Syllen) can return to the others to let them know that it's safe to approach with their candles. Assuming that's what we find...
(Not sure whether a Cantrip is sufficient or whether we need to expend a spell slot / ritual-cast a spell.)
"Perfect!", Xanrym is pleased. "I can even try to use my powers to make it harder for her to avoid your spell."
Memories of the surprises that have ruined past plans (like the invisible Will-o-Wisp attacking him while The Company fought the evil priest, Garath, in the naga's lair or the Phase Spider trying to break his concentration in an apparently-empty room on The Emperor of the Waves. They have a good plan, and The Company has fought well together in the past and improvised well when things went badly. He says a quick prayer to Fharlanghn.
Xanrym asks, "Is there anything else we need to prepare before we go?"
(OOC: Xanrym's bardic inspiration lasts 1 hour, so if someone wants a boost for an attack roll that could do a lot of damage, let me know. Xanrym could provide that inspiration now. But he's trying to save some of his inspiration in case we need it to get out of the drow's stronghold or to debuff an unexpected opponent's saving throw vs. other spells, like Blindness/Deafness.)
Khessa smiles smugly at the Company's coordination: "Well... then, if Ellesarwa remains imprisoned by your magical powers, I'll skewer her from a distance with my Pike. If she resists, however... I'll move closer and try to hold her there while I slice her to pieces with my Greatsword."
The blonde arcane warrior will try to stay in the front row (while letting Xanrym scout ahead), so she can act as a bulwark against any 'unpleasant surprises'.