Zix's Run (IC - Zix. Slgarrett only)

[Grognardsw]

The door is not trapped and the click indeed was the lock opening, perhaps in response to the ringing of the gong. Zix opens the door. Beyond is a shaft down. Iron rungs are in the wall.

[slgarrett]

She'll put her equipment away, take the torch in her teeth and start climbing down the shaft.

[Grognardsw]

Zix descends to the bottom of the 10' shaft and finds a corridor extends west 40' from the pit bottom. At 40' there is a lit torch in the wall, and the corridor turns south.


General appearance.

I think a torch too big to carry in your mouth. You can hang it from you with a little rope or something.

[slgarrett]

Probing the floor, ceiling and walls with her 10' pole Zix will continue down the corridor, with the torch in one hand and the pole in the other.

How many find secret doors rolls should she make? (passing ability)

[Grognardsw]

Let's sum it up in one roll. Thanks.

[slgarrett]

Okay... but statistically it works to my disadvantage. If you figure that P(SD) is the probability that a secret door is present within 10' of the character and P(D | SD) is the probability of detecting it, given it's presence, then the probability any secret door within 10' of the character is P(D | SD) P(SD). Therefore if I roll for each 10' segment of wall the cumulative probability of detecting a secret door is:

Ptotal = 1 - (1 - P(D|SD)P(SD))^N

Where N is the number of 10' segments she passes.

After 1 segment the probability is: P(D|SD)P(SD)

Since Ptotal is an increasing function of N, the probability for N>1 is always greater than P(D|SD)P(SD).

But if you say so...

Zix Rolls To Detect Secret Doors of Which She Passes Within 10': [1d6] = 3

Darn..

[Grognardsw]

Wow, are you a math teacher in RL? I figured if a character gets one secret door roll for a whole room, a hallway is about the same. But for trap searches, you can do 10' section rolls.

[slgarrett]

No, I make computer models and simulations. My background is in physics. I do a lot of mathematical and scientific computer programming.

Sometimes I think if people understood the math of what they're doing a little better then they'd play D&D a little differently. I have a blog about mathematical issues that come up in D&D. I haven't contributed to it in a while, though, because I've been mostly focused on other things.

[Grognardsw]

About 10' before the south turn, Zix's pole and her footfall feel funny. She stops. The stone slab in front of her pivots on a central axis, her end sinking down as the other end of the 10' slab goes up.

[slgarrett]

She'll continue to probe the area with her pole, looking for an easy way around.

[Grognardsw]

The pit's pivot-top takes the whole 10' in front of Zix, wall-to-wall.

[slgarrett]

Zix sighs and decides she'll have to risk it and climb horizontally across the northern wall over the pit. Carefully, she tosses her torch and pole to the other side and searches for some hand and foot holds...

Zix Makes a Thief Skill Check: [1d100] = 72

..successfully!

[Grognardsw]

Zix climbs slowly but surely horizontally across the wall to the other side of the pit. The corridor continues 10' then turns south for 50' before ending in a door.

[slgarrett]

Zix will pick up her pole and torch, then begin slowly making her way to the door, probing along the walls, floor and ceiling for depressions, loose stones, etc. with her 10' pole.

[Grognardsw]

Do you want to make a few Find Traps rolls?

[slgarrett]

Sure. I'll make one for each 10' section of corridor, plus one for the door. I'll also do similarly for the "passing" Find Secret Doors rolls. So... 60' total from where she's at plus the door, that's seven rolls.

Zix Makes a Thief Skill Check: [1d100] = 84 with base probability of success = 45%
Zix Makes a Thief Skill Check: [1d100] = 58 with base probability of success = 45%
Zix Makes a Thief Skill Check: [1d100] = 79 with base probability of success = 45%
Zix Makes a Thief Skill Check: [1d100] = 78 with base probability of success = 45%
Zix Makes a Thief Skill Check: [1d100] = 75 with base probability of success = 45%
Zix Makes a Thief Skill Check: [1d100] = 49 with base probability of success = 45%
Zix Makes a Thief Skill Check: [1d100] = 90 with base probability of success = 45%

not encouraging...

Zix Rolls To Detect Secret Doors of Which She Passes Within 10': [1d6] = 5
Zix Rolls To Detect Secret Doors of Which She Passes Within 10': [1d6] = 4
Zix Rolls To Detect Secret Doors of Which She Passes Within 10': [1d6] = 6
Zix Rolls To Detect Secret Doors of Which She Passes Within 10': [1d6] = 3
Zix Rolls To Detect Secret Doors of Which She Passes Within 10': [1d6] = 6
Zix Rolls To Detect Secret Doors of Which She Passes Within 10': [1d6] = 2
Zix Rolls To Detect Secret Doors of Which She Passes Within 10': [1d6] = 1 - she may have detected a secret door in the last 10' section!

[Grognardsw]

Zix moves down the corridor, checking carefully for traps. She finds none, though expects to, and approaches the door at the end. Ten feet before it she steps on another pivot-top pit trap (Dex. check please.)

[slgarrett]

Zix attempts to avoid falling into the hole she's stumbled upon..

Zix makes a DEX (17) check: [1d20] = 11

..successfully!

[Grognardsw]

On her toes for such traps, Zix deftly leaps back as the floor slab moves under her. She is 10' from the south door, however the pit trap takes up the space in front of her right up to the door.

[slgarrett]

Since the trap has been found, Zix attempts to disable it using her ability to remove traps..

Zix Attempts to Find or Remove a Trap. Base Probability of Success 45%: [1d100] = 98

Well that was lame...

..unsuccessfully.