Gars signals to the others that its a far walk down the southeast tunnel. He motions to Sleepy, directing him to pick the lock. He then moves quietly over and repeats the maneuver, padding a short way up the northwest hallway and peering ahead with his magical sight.
Locks, discovered traps, stuck doors, and other obstacles
usually take a full turn to pick or pry free. Most
locks or small traps can be defeated with a Dex/Sneak
skill check. The difficulty begins at 8 for a fairly good lock
or average needle trap. If the PC is in a panicked haste,
an attempt can be made as a Main Action at +2 difficulty,
but failure means the lock’s jammed against further attempts.
Failing to disarm a trap usually sets it off.
Marullus wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2023 1:54 pm
Gars signals to the others that its a far walk down the southeast tunnel. He motions to Sleepy, directing him to pick the lock. He then moves quietly over and repeats the maneuver, padding a short way up the northwest hallway and peering ahead with his magical sight.
Exploration Round 7
Gars pads down the NE hallway, being as quiet as he is able. That hallway is not nearly as long as the other. It opens into a circular room, perhaps 30' in diameter. The primary feature of interest in the room is circle engraved in the center of the floor. It is carved into the stone, with a pentagram drawn in chalk within the circle. To one side is a table filled with all sorts of liquids and solids, to Gars' eye indicative of spell components. Next to the table is a lecturn, although there is no book perched upon it.
Gars's magic sight perceives a feint dull glow of magic from the circle. Nothing active but seemingly ready for future use?
Spell components are always valuable. For a moment that seems like an eternity, Gars tries to convince himself to just loot the table and hurry back to his companions. But he cannot resist - the allure of unknown magic. He moves with great care, illuminated to his eyes by the glow of the magic itself, to investigate the nature of the sigils and what potential they may hide...
Gars knows of a few different types of circles. Some are for protection, others for summoning. This one appears to be for teleportation. One would draw the circle, recite the proper incantation, and everything within the circle would be instantly moved.
Gars further notes that the carved circle in the floor is meant to be filled with substances. The more valuable the substance, the farther the distance of the teleportation.
Finally, Gars detects signs that this circle has been corrupted somehow. It can be used with blood instead of, say, silver dust.
Ciarra is able to successfully identify the four walls of the room but her search yields nothing further.
"Genius! Blood is easier to get..." mutters Gars to himself as he examines the engraved circle. He turns abruptly to Ciarra, his eyes with a fevered excitement, "This is what we're looking for. It will take us to the place worth exploring. When we're done here, of course, of course. Come on, let's get back quickly." When Ciarra comes with him, he hurries back to the others.
Masterful Expertise: Once per scene, the Expert may reroll any non-combat skill check as an Instant action. This allows the Expert to make a roll and then immediately use this ability if the resulting total isn’t good enough to succeed. In cases where it matters, the better of the two rolls may be used.
Sneak + Dexterity: [2d6+1]=8+1=9 The complication here is that Sleepy doesn't have Thieves' tools or anything like that...just a dagger
At the same time the others check out the passages, Sleepy is examining the lock on the chest. He's got a dagger and a skinny piece of bent metal but that's all he needs. The lock is tricky but he's seen similar mechanisms and, taking his time, he's able to jimmy it open.
Lifting the heavy lid, a breathtaking trove of valuable items are revealed!
There is a set of Plate Armor, polished to a gleaming sheen
Resting atop the chest plate is a metal chain with a silver triangle attached. The triangle is made of silver with gold inlays and a sizable ruby embedded in the center. The gold inlays shoot out from the ruby like a stylized sun's rays
There are stacks of incense sticks, quite pleasing to smell
Within the chest, there are three smaller lockboxes, each with the key in its respective keyhole. Each lockbox contains (according to Sleepy's eyeballed estimate) 1,000 sp
Sleepy silently takes in the chest and its contents. As he does, he swears he can hear a fiddle playing from down the hallway where the shovels and picks are banging. Then the others return and their footsteps temporarily prevent him from hearing more.
I don't think Thieves Tools exist in WWN. There is the Criminal Tools gear bundle but, much like the Wilderness Travel Gear bundle, it's not clear what's in the bundle and what value it imparts. Crawford has said on Reddit that thieves can craft their own lockpicks from "a few lengths of wire and a flat bit of metal".
So I'm going to house rule that any lock with a DC of 8 or below can be picked with no additional tools needed. More complicated locks will require the Criminal Tools gear bundle.
Gars rejoins the others as he and Ciarra return. With Sleepy looking over the open chest, he joins him there, looking long and appraisingly over the contents. Detect Magic on the chest's contents.
Turning to the others he surmises quietly, "The northeast is a dead end... of sorts. There is a teleportation circle which I expect will get us onward to a place of TRUE interest." He cannot contain his excitement at that prospect. "Before that, we have a choice. Do we take this treasure and abscond with it, returning after? I find it a risky proposition, to take this treasure and not deal with its erstwhile owners, especially if we wish to return, as I certainly do. If we eliminate the threats here so we can more confidently return without them setting spiteful traps for our arrival, we first look to this southwest tunnel. I expect the diggers to be undead, of course, since there is no sign here of habitation by the living. Since they're digging, it likely isn't a completed work and may also be a dead end, and the end of it." His brow furrows. "But only half this site. Remember there was another tunnel from the entrance. Not to mention a prospect of going down below the drains to find their laboratory where it collects. If we commit here, agreeing it is safer to finish before we leave, we must explore all the tunnels until we either find and eliminate the master of these undead or exhaust the tunnels to know they at least do not reside here and may have some period of time before they discover our assault and plunder..." He looks serious. "...and one who can animate so many dead is certainly dangerous for us to find."
"That platemail is enchanted," Gars says to Lavin, "Why don't you see if it fits?
...and grab that incense?"
He picks up one of the smaller boxes and tucks it in his pack, motioning for Sleepy and Ciarra to do the same with the other two. He then picks up the silver triangle with a ruby medallion and looks to interpret its symbology and heraldry. Int+Know [2d6+2]=9+2=11
Lavin, nodding in agreement, pulls the armor out from underneath the medallion and looks at the rest of the group. If there's no objection, she turns her back, strips off her war robes, and dons the plate mail.
"How's it look?", she asks, extending her arms and turning. "Does anyone want to wear my robes?
They're heavy, but good at turning away a blade."
