IC VIII

[thirdkingdom]

The stairs descend into a room measuring twenty by twenty. It appears to be empty. Stout wooden doors are set into the north and south walls; both as appear to be in decent condition. Neither door seems to be trapped, nor can any noise be heard emanating from within.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

After Rhys checks the doors for traps, Lanny checks to see if they are stuck in place like the doors in the basement's west wing.

If they are stuck, Lanny will attempt to use his strength to force open the northern door.

From SOP on Standards Thread:

If door opens normally: Thordin opens the door.
If door is stuck/locked/barred: Bregalad or Lanny uses physical force to open the door (Strength: 15).

Stuck doors: Require Strength check to force open
Locked doors: Require Strength check (minus 4) to force open
Barred doors: Require Strength check (minus 8) to force open
Magically locked doors: Cannot be forced open

Note: A failed first attempt at forcing open a door will alert any creatures on the other side and prevent them from being surprised.

[thirdkingdom]

The doors do not appear to be swollen shut.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny glances around the seemingly empty room.

"No wizard statue on this side... Well, I suppose we should go ahead and clear the basement rooms. Let's start with the north door. If no one minds, I'll open it this time... I'm trying to maximize the usefulness of my invisibility."

Lanny waits to see if anyone wants to do anything in the current room. If everyone is ready to continue, he will proceed to slowly and quietly crack open the door to the north, poking his invisible head into the room beyond.

Just doublechecking the mapping - is this room 20x20 or 15x15? I believe the corresponding room in the west wing was 15x15.

[thirdkingdom]

20x20. I have decided to eschew the existing module design and make my own, for those following along at home. Rooms will be bigger, for one.

[Bouv]

Tratiln will continue follow along with the party, lightning additional torches as needed. "I wonder what sort of traps and creatures will be done here?"

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

20x20. I have decided to eschew the existing module design and make my own, for those following along at home. Rooms will be bigger, for one.

@TK: Should I make the corresponding basement room in the west wing 20x20 as well, or will that one remain at 15x15?

@All: Lanny is assuming, based on his mapping, that there are just a couple of cellar rooms in each wing of the castle, rather than an entire second level going underneath the entire first floor. If it turns out to be the latter case, Lanny may wish to change directions and check out the other humanoid statue before going any further on the second level.

[sulldawga]

Marodin will ready his hammer and shield, waiting for Rhys to open the door.

[Alethan]

Marodin will ready his hammer and shield, waiting for Rhys to open the door.

Rhys waits for the stronger members of the team to open the door...

[sulldawga]

Marodin sighs loudly and walks up to the door. "You open it and stay behind it. I'll let whatever's on the other side hit me. Deal?"

[Alethan]

Marodin sighs loudly and walks up to the door. "You open it and stay behind it. I'll let whatever's on the other side hit me. Deal?"

I was under the impression the SOP was for Rhys to check the doors for traps and listen at them, then stand back for someone with higher strength to open them in case they were stuck and needed a STR check.

We've been following that procedure ever since this thread post, when we first entered the castle...

[thirdkingdom]

So, in the original post describing the room I mentioned that the doors seemed free of traps. This was following the SOP that Rhys examines each door, both listening and checking for traps. The doors also appeared to not be locked or stuck. frobozz has already posted that Lanny opens the door and sticks his head through.

Lanny opens the door slightly and peers through the crack. The corridor beyond is unlit, and with his elf-sight he can see that it stretches for 40' before opening into a larger room. He cannot make out any details of the larger room from where he stands, nor can he detect any sign of life.

frobozz: Nah, keep the other statue room the same size.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny peers through the northern door.

"My goodness... It is quite dark, but I can tell there is quite a lengthy hallway extending beyond this door. I think my map may not be doing justice to this basement... It may be far more extensive than I previously believed..."

Lanny closes the northern door and moves to the southern door. He repeats the process of slowly and quietly opening the door and poking his head through, trying to determine the overall extent of the basement level.

Sorry all, not trying to hog all the posts, just trying to determine if I will need to draw a new map for the basement level.

TK, how wide was that northern corridor?

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Innana Peeks in over the groups heads. She steps back and looks around to make sure nothing is following them.

Innana steps back behind the group and keeps a watch as Lanny, and Merodin investigates the room.

[thirdkingdom]

Lanny the elf

Sorry all, not trying to hog all the posts, just trying to determine if I will need to draw a new map for the basement level.

TK, how wide was that northern corridor?

We'll go back to the 10' corridors, from here on out.

Lanny opens the southern door just as cautiously. Again, his elf-sight allows him pierce the darkness that veils the hallway. It runs south for 30' before turning to the right.

[Bouv]

Tratiln, just looking around, "Hm, not too sure if I like how...quiet...it is down here. Starting to get me worried."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny closes the door as he relates the information to the party.

"It looks like we have long corridors running both north and south from this room. The south corridor turns to the right... I wonder if it might run the perimeter of the castle and connect with the rooms in the basement of the west wing? In any case, we should decide whether to start here with the basement level, or to finish up on the first floor."

Finishing up on the first floor might include checking the other humanoid statue for hidden treasure and also checking the bedrooms (which we never searched but indicated we wanted to search). If the vote is to start clearing the basement, Lanny will suggest the northern door because, well, it is just as good as the southern door. Or do we even want to search the basement level at this time? Any thoughts? I will update the map after work.

[zebediah]

Tratiln, just looking around, "Hm, not too sure if I like how...quiet...it is down here. Starting to get me worried."

Drudsa the dabbler

"Did you expect the place to be more lively? I am grateful the place is not crowded with monsters but we should be prepared for a change of scenario, this castle seems to be full of surprises."

After Lanny speaks the mage responds:

"I am fine with finishing the search upstairs, if that is what you guys want to do. I would, however, prefer to continue the exploration here. Considering that the points of interesting are usually within chambers rather than corridors I'd say we check the northern hall before turning to the southern corridor. Up to you guys."

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

"There is nought but the trapped statue upstairs, and we know where it is. What else is there to do? Nothing. Let's stay where we are, pick a door, and be on our way! And I agree with Drusda. Quiet is nice, for a change..."

[thirdkingdom]

So, it sound like three votes for the northern corridor. Let's see if we can't get one more vote today. If there are no objections by tomorrow morning I'm going to update in the morning.