Theldrin agrees with Xanrym's plan and will cast Light on a piece of debris, then toss it towards the northern area of the hold below. He has his crossbow loaded and ready as he prepares for the group to open the trapdoor.
Khessa counters: "I agree that the door was nailed shut to keep the undead locked in... but I don't see what advantage there is to going down to fight them using the tradoor, instead of the door".
"We would be in the middle of the cargo hold, with the possibility of being attacked from all sides and any retreat would be made more difficult by having to go back up" the blonde arcane warrior points out. "If we used the door instead, the undead could only come and attack us from one direction - in front. They couldn't surround us - on the contrary, we could use the threshold as a choke point, if necessary. And any retreat would be easier too".
"I have no problem staying in the front row" the tall adventuress agrees. "It's true that I'm probably the best suited to act as a... human barrier. But I think it's preferable to use the door".
(OOC: There is no "door" down. The door that was held shut with spikes was the door between Krell's room and the galley. When Xanrym said "trapdoor", he was referring to the one in the galley:
Khessa is able to, with a few pushes, open the door to the south. Judging from the stove along one wall of this room, this was once the galley....A moldy trapdoor in this area leads down, a bar has been inserted through a set of rusted brackets to keep it barred from above.
Both ways down to the hold are basically trapdoors in the floor of this level: the grate (in the middle of the hallway) and the trapdoor (in the galley). So, Xanrym was proposing to go down through the trapdoor in the galley at the south end of the ship.
I think that Coriana suggested opening the grate first so that we have a second exit from the hold. Xanrym was just suggesting tying off a rope that way, but we don't have to do that. If we need to climb out of the hold via the grate, we could always have Coriana Jump up and then lower a rope for the rest of us. Xanrym just doesn't want to be trapped in the hold of the ship when the kraken returns to pull the ship to the bottom of the sea!)
(OOC: Not sure. I think that the galley's trapdoor is solid, so it could be covering some stairs or a ladder down to the hold. Or a giant spiderweb! I guess we'll find out when Khessa removes the bolt and opens the trapdoor!)
(OOC: I just realized that Syllen would have 60 feet of dark vision so he could look 60 feet down and see as if everything was dim light. Syllen would have looked down the hole and hopefully gotten a general sense of the layout. Also he could make a Perception roll at disadvantage to see if he notices anything useful. I forgot that Syllen is the only one with dark vision. Also how far down is the Cargo Hold from where we are?)
(OOC: I just realized that Syllen would have 60 feet of dark vision....he could make a Perception roll at disadvantage to see if he notices anything useful.
(OOC: since we already lowered the glowing fork through the grate, there would be dim or bright light covering a 40-ft radius area, which would cover most of the hold. Therefore, Syllen should be able to make that check w/o disadvantage.)
Also how far down is the Cargo Hold from where we are?)
(OOC: Good question. I guess once Theldrin drops a piece of debris into the hold, we should have a sense of how far of a drop it is.)
(OOC: We also have our familiars with Darkvision too we could use if needed. Not sure if Dusk weighs 10 lbs or less... according to my research a male housecat averages 8-12 lbs so maybe if Drumdigby agrees could roll for it. If he's 10 lbs or less he could ride on a Mage Hand)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(OOC: Sure and thinking Syllen would take a look too)
Theldrin casts Mage Hand and then calls Dusk out of his pocket dimension to site in the palm of the spectral hand. He then slowly sends the hand down into the hold area below as he sits on the floor. He takes a deep breath and focuses on seeing through Dusk's eyes, ready to dismiss the cat immediately at the first sign of approaching danger.
Dusk Senses 60 ft Darkvision, Perception +3 (Mage Hand can move up to 30 feet from Theldrin)
"Truly! This ship is benighted! The Demon Queen of Spiders has spun her dark webs here, which do not simply obscure the view: they muddle the mind and dull the senses!"
Coriana will use mage hand to try to break open a her-sized hole in the grate to ease future leaping if needed. She will join the others down the moldy trap door, but will probably stay near the back.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Thelanis - Darkness Below: Kholias Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
Coriana will use mage hand to try to break open a her-sized hole in the grate to ease future leaping if needed. She will join the others down the moldy trap door, but will probably stay near the back.
Xanrym had her in the middle (4th one down into the cargo hold) so that she has the option of melee or range. She's welcome to be at the very back, but Xanrym worried that the Phase Spider might show up and attack the last person left in the galley before they can get into the cargo hold. Its behavior reminds him of the "trapdoor spider," an ambush predator, except that it jumps out from the Ethereal plane to snatch its prey. He was planning to equip his spear and guard the rear just in case the spider materializes again when the party is split between the galley and the hold.
A mage hand materialises and Dusk hops on. The hand flies down into the hold with dusk sitting on it peacefully. Dusk sees a lot of old debris and packaging along the west side of the ship, but can't quite make out any particular chests matching the description your looking for. The northern half of the hold is flooded with water, will you send Dusk up to investigate that part of the ship?
A mage hand materialises and Dusk hops on. The hand flies down into the hold with dusk sitting on it peacefully. Dusk sees a lot of old debris and packaging along the west side of the ship, but can't quite make out any particular chests matching the description your looking for. The northern half of the hold is flooded with water, will you send Dusk up to investigate that part of the ship?
(Reminder to Theldrin that we'll be descending into the hold on the south end of the ship, so we may be able to avoid that water-filled portion of the hold if we find Aubrek's crate before we reach the north end of the cargo hold.)
Theldrin decides that's enough recon for now and dismisses first Dusk, then the Mage Hand. He blinks a few times as he opens his eyes, then stands and tells the others what he saw through Dusk's eyes. He seems ready to head down through the trapdoor as he checks over his gear and makes sure his crossbow is still loaded.
'A flooded area... A kraken...'Khessa thinks 'Maybe the undead will not be the worst we are about to face?'
But the blonde arcane warrior is there with a purpose, a goal. It has proven impossible to save people. She wants at least to retrieve the precious cargo that costed so many lives.
Theldrin agrees with Xanrym's plan and will cast Light on a piece of debris, then toss it towards the northern area of the hold below. He has his crossbow loaded and ready as he prepares for the group to open the trapdoor.
Khessa counters: "I agree that the door was nailed shut to keep the undead locked in... but I don't see what advantage there is to going down to fight them using the tradoor, instead of the door".
"We would be in the middle of the cargo hold, with the possibility of being attacked from all sides and any retreat would be made more difficult by having to go back up" the blonde arcane warrior points out. "If we used the door instead, the undead could only come and attack us from one direction - in front. They couldn't surround us - on the contrary, we could use the threshold as a choke point, if necessary. And any retreat would be easier too".
"I have no problem staying in the front row" the tall adventuress agrees. "It's true that I'm probably the best suited to act as a... human barrier. But I think it's preferable to use the door".
(OOC: There is no "door" down. The door that was held shut with spikes was the door between Krell's room and the galley. When Xanrym said "trapdoor", he was referring to the one in the galley:
Both ways down to the hold are basically trapdoors in the floor of this level: the grate (in the middle of the hallway) and the trapdoor (in the galley). So, Xanrym was proposing to go down through the trapdoor in the galley at the south end of the ship.
I think that Coriana suggested opening the grate first so that we have a second exit from the hold. Xanrym was just suggesting tying off a rope that way, but we don't have to do that. If we need to climb out of the hold via the grate, we could always have Coriana Jump up and then lower a rope for the rest of us. Xanrym just doesn't want to be trapped in the hold of the ship when the kraken returns to pull the ship to the bottom of the sea!)
Oh, my bad. So it's a jump down either way? Then either way is fine.
(OOC: Not sure. I think that the galley's trapdoor is solid, so it could be covering some stairs or a ladder down to the hold. Or a giant spiderweb! I guess we'll find out when Khessa removes the bolt and opens the trapdoor!)
Great! Khessa removes the bolt and opens the trapdoor.
(OOC: I just realized that Syllen would have 60 feet of dark vision so he could look 60 feet down and see as if everything was dim light. Syllen would have looked down the hole and hopefully gotten a general sense of the layout. Also he could make a Perception roll at disadvantage to see if he notices anything useful. I forgot that Syllen is the only one with dark vision. Also how far down is the Cargo Hold from where we are?)
(OOC: since we already lowered the glowing fork through the grate, there would be dim or bright light covering a 40-ft radius area, which would cover most of the hold. Therefore, Syllen should be able to make that check w/o disadvantage.)
(OOC: Good question. I guess once Theldrin drops a piece of debris into the hold, we should have a sense of how far of a drop it is.)
(OOC: We also have our familiars with Darkvision too we could use if needed. Not sure if Dusk weighs 10 lbs or less... according to my research a male housecat averages 8-12 lbs so maybe if Drumdigby agrees could roll for it. If he's 10 lbs or less he could ride on a Mage Hand )
You can absolutely have your cat ride on a mage hand if you want to investigate further. Is that what you want to do?
(OOC: Sure and thinking Syllen would take a look too)
Theldrin casts Mage Hand and then calls Dusk out of his pocket dimension to site in the palm of the spectral hand. He then slowly sends the hand down into the hold area below as he sits on the floor. He takes a deep breath and focuses on seeing through Dusk's eyes, ready to dismiss the cat immediately at the first sign of approaching danger.
Dusk Senses 60 ft Darkvision, Perception +3
(Mage Hand can move up to 30 feet from Theldrin)
Dusk Perception: 23
Syllen Perception roll: 13
"Truly! This ship is benighted! The Demon Queen of Spiders has spun her dark webs here, which do not simply obscure the view: they muddle the mind and dull the senses!"
Coriana will use mage hand to try to break open a her-sized hole in the grate to ease future leaping if needed. She will join the others down the moldy trap door, but will probably stay near the back.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Thelanis - Darkness Below: Kholias
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Xanrym had her in the middle (4th one down into the cargo hold) so that she has the option of melee or range. She's welcome to be at the very back, but Xanrym worried that the Phase Spider might show up and attack the last person left in the galley before they can get into the cargo hold. Its behavior reminds him of the "trapdoor spider," an ambush predator, except that it jumps out from the Ethereal plane to snatch its prey. He was planning to equip his spear and guard the rear just in case the spider materializes again when the party is split between the galley and the hold.
A mage hand materialises and Dusk hops on. The hand flies down into the hold with dusk sitting on it peacefully. Dusk sees a lot of old debris and packaging along the west side of the ship, but can't quite make out any particular chests matching the description your looking for. The northern half of the hold is flooded with water, will you send Dusk up to investigate that part of the ship?
(Reminder to Theldrin that we'll be descending into the hold on the south end of the ship, so we may be able to avoid that water-filled portion of the hold if we find Aubrek's crate before we reach the north end of the cargo hold.)
Theldrin decides that's enough recon for now and dismisses first Dusk, then the Mage Hand. He blinks a few times as he opens his eyes, then stands and tells the others what he saw through Dusk's eyes. He seems ready to head down through the trapdoor as he checks over his gear and makes sure his crossbow is still loaded.
[[I'm flexible]]
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Thelanis - Darkness Below: Kholias
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
'A flooded area... A kraken...' Khessa thinks 'Maybe the undead will not be the worst we are about to face?'
But the blonde arcane warrior is there with a purpose, a goal. It has proven impossible to save people. She wants at least to retrieve the precious cargo that costed so many lives.
The tall adventuress opens.