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Post by venger on Feb 21, 2010 19:53:02 GMT -5
Sent on a mission to find the magic keys needed to activate the terracotta army, we followed the squirrel Ratatosk over the rainbow and to the Land of Sand. It was blisteringly hot and everyone had to save vs. death magic or overheat but some of us were just thankful not to be in the Land of Song anymore.
We found the wandering spirit of Amun-Re, who exposited a large block of text about his ruined civilization. We followed this plot lead southwest through the desert. After several grueling days of travel, some forgettable landmarks and a few quick random encounters, we arrived at the Temple/Tomb of Amun-Re.
The locals weren't happy to see us at first, but we convinced them of our sincerity and good intentions by not slaughtering them outright. They showed us a book that was in archaic common, we translated-- blocks of text ensued. Heiroglyphs all over the temple said pretty much said the same thing -- offerings to Amun-Re disappear, as do those who go looking for them.
We got a guided tour of the temple from the local priest, then with some hemming and hawing, one by one we jumped into the flaming offering bowl and were, ostensibly, devoured by the consuming fires of Amun-Re. The natives loved it.
Once everyone had "sacrificed themselves" to Amun-Re, Dana revealed that one by one we had been transported to a strange octagonal room. Four mist-shrouded exits left the room in four facets of the wall, in the other facets were four levers to pull.
Lying in the center of the room was a skeleton with a sword, the sword pointed at one of the arches leaving the room.
The orange mist smelled like "Hell" and detected as TRAPPED.
The entire room detected as MAGIC.
We pulled a lever and the domed ceiling began to glow. Everyone except Kazan was pulled upwards, slamming into the now magnetized ceiling, suffering 1d8 damage.
(Kazan doesn't wear metal armor.)
The rope of climbing proved helpful in this situation.
Everyone got down. We set the rope of climbing to horizontal mode and everyone held on--- we tried the other levers... they made the ceiling more magnetic. Zinc and Alfred took more damage. We turned the magnet off, Zinc and Alfred fell taking more damage.
Levers exhausted, we turned to the orange mist.
It seemed stupid to walk into the trapped mist, so Rensslaer decided to cast Animate Dead on the skeleton in the middle of the room over Zinc's objections.
We now have a new buddy/trap-detector named "Bones". We tied a length of rope to "Bones" and sent him into the mist. Nothing bad happened to the animated skeleton or the rope.
So we tied Kazan to the rope and sent him through each of the portals. The mist is like nitrous-oxide and once you're in it you get confused and lose track of what you're doing. You can't hear anything through it and you can't see anything through it, so we basically spool Kazan out on the rope and reel him back.
We mapped a bit and there are several 10'x30' "islands" of corridor in the mist and it's shaping up to be kind of a maze.
Rensslaer bashed in a chunk of stone over one of the arches so we don't lose all orientation.
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Post by venger on Feb 21, 2010 19:57:22 GMT -5
It's possible Kazan is making random turns as he's wandering confused in the mist and our map isn't accurate.
My first suggestion would be to drop a coin in each of the sections of 10'x30' corridor so that we know if we're treading the same ground over and over.
If we rope ourselves together and have the skeleton lead us through to each mist-free zone, I think we could navigate pretty well.
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Post by Ginger on Feb 21, 2010 22:36:08 GMT -5
Wouldn't you notice that the rope bending if it was twisted around a bend in the passage?
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Post by venger on Feb 21, 2010 23:29:01 GMT -5
Wouldn't we hear him calling out?
Wouldn't holding his breath help?
It's magic, dog. "A wizard did it."
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Post by Dead Greyhawk on Feb 22, 2010 7:35:23 GMT -5
One of the things you noticed with Kazan and Bones is that the rope does tend to veer to one side over time. Another is that when Kazan lost his mental orientation, the rope wobbled around from side to side a bit, presumably from him moving from one side of the corridor to the other. You didn't attempt to track if the rope consistently shifted to one side of the corridor or the other, but you certainly can track that next time, if you remember.
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Post by venger on Feb 22, 2010 14:47:37 GMT -5
Another idea--
Kazan puts Rensslaer in an Otiluke's Resilient Sphere. Assuming it provides protection against the mental disorientation, Rensslaer then commands the skeleton push him through the mist-filled hallways.
**Man, the one time we could really use the added perspective of a WIZARD'S EYE.
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 22, 2010 16:35:01 GMT -5
I doubt this is going to be solved by the use of a specific spell.
The next thing to try is sending two people through the same portal and seeing if they end up in the same place. We could send them at the same time or staggered. I suspect that they will come out at the same place.
Maybe what we end up doing is tying everyone together and sending one person ahead. Once that person is in a passage they tug and everyone follows. I have cord so we can mark the rope every ten feet. Then we can use this to measure the distance between each passage. We use that to try to map the area. Maybe the first thing to try is going in a square to see if we end up where we started.
At each passage we could mark the doorway we leave from and the door we enter from. We scrape "1-" at the first doorway we leave from and "1+" at the doorway we arrive at. Then scrape "2-" at the next doorway we leave from and "2+" at the doorway we arrive at. Etc. Eventually we should be able to tie everything together like a strange jigsaw puzzle.
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 23, 2010 10:52:37 GMT -5
I doubt this is going to be solved by the use of a specific spell. I guess we could try dispel magic. It might temporarily reveal the true passages or it might turn off the door ways. The room was described as an octagon with 10' sides. That means the diameter is 10 + 10 sqrt(2) < 25 feet across. So a single dispel magic (30' cube) should cover all walls. If instead it is a 30'x30' room with the corners cut off (as I drew it) then the best we could do is two doorways. Unless Basil casts the spell since druids get a 40'x40' cube.
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Post by venger on Feb 23, 2010 10:57:15 GMT -5
Clearly the 12th level guy with the 40' cube should cast it as opposed to the 8th level guy with the 30' cube.
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Post by Mr. Trommer on Feb 23, 2010 12:52:29 GMT -5
Since the mist only causes disorientation, we should tie ourselves together with rope and wander around the maze. That way no one will get lost from the others. It will also not put any one person at risk at the end of the rope.
I want to save the Dispel Magic for when Zinc is charmed again.
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Post by Wolfgar on Feb 23, 2010 13:31:14 GMT -5
I am in agreement on both points.
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Post by venger on Feb 23, 2010 14:56:36 GMT -5
Since the mist only causes disorientation, we should tie ourselves together with rope and wander around the maze. That way no one will get lost from the others. It will also not put any one person at risk at the end of the rope. Good plan, except we should have the skeleton lead us. It'll save time because it won't get disoriented in the mist.
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Post by Dead Greyhawk on Mar 1, 2010 20:34:49 GMT -5
As promised, the text from the white book with the metal clasps:
BOOK OF AMUN-RE:
Verse 1
“I, Amun-re, do set forth a record of myself and of my dealings with this world. The years fold back in my mind. There were green and fertile fields in my youth. Throughout the land flowers grew in abundance in the thick and lush forests, filling the air with pure fragrance and well-being. Traders in their sandships would travel a year and more to come to our oasis on the borderlands and bid a high price for our sweet perfumes. Fruits and sweetmeats came from our fields, while within the city of Terbakar, the mills turned out a secretly woven cloth, fine enough for emperors and empresses.”
Verse 2
“The river of Athis was the mother of our land, giving life itself with its waters. Springing forth from the courtyard of the Old Palace, Athis blossomed all that she touched, even in the harsh Borderlands, and gave strength and health to her children. My father would sit with me beside the spring and tell me the stories of her wonderful power and her blessing to the land; the very gift of Isis. There, by the raging torrents of Athis, I grew strong in the love of my father, as we played and learned of life and its living.”
Verse 3
“But not by him alone was I instructed. Daily was I taught by the priests and wisemen of my country about the order of emperors and the heavens. I learned of the passing of the emperors and how they, after death, journey to Heaven Westward, making the long passage in their burial ships, sailing across the River of Death until they reach the Farthest Shore. There, they are admitted to their separate estates by Osiris, God of Death, according to the riches they have brought with them. I also dreamed of wicked men whose minds had darkened and forgotten the old ways, who plundered the Old One’s tombs and took their riches, thus robbing them of their place in Heaven Westward. As a boy, I would often cry in the night at such thoughts–and the fear of judgment of Osiris lodged in my heart.”
Verse 4
“My father had built a tomb for himself to guard against just such wickedness. Yet, only a few years after my father’s death, there were whisperings that even his great burial place had been desecrated. I was tortured by thoughts of his spirit wandering forever, alone. Cloaked in the darkness of deepest night, I went to my father’s tomb. No priest followed me to witness my trespass upon the world of the dead. I carefully slipped past the traps that barred the way when, suddenly, I came upon his sarcophagus.”
Verse 5
“I gazed through watery eyes at the broken clay pots that had contained the gold. The once jewel-encrusted hull of my father’s ship was barren and scarred with gouges. I knew with certainty that he could not have approached the great Osiris in that mockery of a boat, without so much as a humble clay token.”
Verse 6
“In weakness and horror, I fell upon my father’s sarcophagus and stared at the scarred wooden image of my father’s face. It had once been covered with the purest of gold leaf. His golden Staff of Ruling was nowhere to be found. I lay myself upon the scarred surface to hide its imperfections, weeping great tears of fury. My torch went out as, too, did the light within my soul. I emerged from the tomb as the sun arose. Clutching my own staff, I swore by all the gods that I would not be cheated of my place in Heaven Westward.”
TALE OF THE YEARS:
Verse 1
“But it was said throughout the land that from that time forth, those who entered the tomb either came forth saying that its riches were already plundered or else they never returned at all.”
Verse 2
“The fact that no treasure has ever been brought out from the tomb is emphasized by the fact that the curse is still in effect.”
Verse 3
“Munafik, the Chief High Priest of Amun-re, was also something of a sage–a lover of book-lore and of learning.”
Verse 4
“It was said later that Munafik may have had a hand in the curse, for of all the books he read, many were of the black arts, and the prophets that passed this way avoided him as a beggar would a good bath.”
Verse 5
“Though there had been much bad talk about Amun-re, it was generally known by the people and priests alike that he was the greatest of the gods in Heaven Westward, for he alone manifested his power in his own temple.”
Verse 6
“Sacrifices of food and gold were brought daily to lay on the altars before the statues in the small worship temples left and right from the stair entrance to the tomb.”
Verse 7
“It is our priesthood rite that whatsoever Osiris accepts he will take from the altar and that which he wishes the priests to have, he leaves on the altar. This profited the priests greatly, except that all offerings left in the East Temple would disappear and never be found again.”
Verse 8
“Several priests, upset to see their assets disappearing, searched the room carefully, and they, too, disappeared. The temple became a most hallowed spot, so that all who wished to give offerings came to that temple only. The priesthood then became unprofitable and our doctrine had to be changed.”
Verse 9
“Offerings were often made, for a passage was always provided between the tomb of the emperor and his likeness, whereby his spirit might pass into his ordained statue and live within the stone we worship here. Such a passage was always provided for the emperors that they might live among us once more.”
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Post by Dead Greyhawk on Mar 1, 2010 20:36:54 GMT -5
The inscription from the temple without the big flame:
It was said throughout the land that from time forth, those who entered the tomb either came forth saying that its riches were already plundered or else never returned at all.
That day did the river dry and the rains disappear. The arid sun burned into the land and everything withered from its gaze.
The people too dried up and blew away like the grass that withered beneath their feet. The war with the North has destroyed the land, and only these few outposts endure.
All now that remains is I who tend this temple in the hopes that some soul might turn that terrible wrath of Amun-re.
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Post by Dead Greyhawk on Mar 1, 2010 20:37:45 GMT -5
The inscription from the temple with the big flame:
Though there had been much bad talk about Amun-re, it was generally recognized by the people and priests alike that he was the greatest of the gods in heaven westward, for he alone manifested his power in his own temple.
Sacrifices of food and gold were brought daily to lay on the altars before the statues in the small worship temples left and right from the stair entrance to the tomb.
It is our priesthood rite that whoever Osiris accepts he will take from the altar and that which he wishes the priests to have, he leaves on the altar. This profited the priests greatly except that all offerings left in the east temple would disappear and never be found again.
Several priests, upset to see their assets disappearing searched the east temple and they, too, disappeared. The temple became a most holy hallowed spot so that all who wished to give offerings came to that temple only. The priesthood then became unprofitable and our doctrine had to be changed - trade turned to trick.
Offerings were often made, for a passage was always provided between the tomb of the emperor and his likeness, whereby his spirit might pass into his ordained statue and live within the stone we worship here. Such a passage was always provided for the emperors that they may live among us once more.
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Post by Dead Greyhawk on Mar 1, 2010 20:48:39 GMT -5
Morvan makes 5th level magic user. Alfred makes 4th level fighter.
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Post by Wolfgar on Mar 2, 2010 8:17:36 GMT -5
Though there had been much bad talk about Amun-re, it was generally recognized by the people and priests alike that he was the greatest of the gods in heaven westward, for he alone manifested his power in his own temple. I am slightly worried about what this might mean. One interpretation is that cleric spells don't work in the temple. Though I guess we have already used some healing and detect traps. Maybe you can't re-memorize spells. Do any of the passages we read seem like they will be useful?
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Post by Mr. Trommer on Mar 3, 2010 14:27:38 GMT -5
May we have Amun-re's speech? What I wrote is a little spotty:
“I am Amun-re, son of…seek…Emperor of this land before you…robbers…took token of their…I swore…I would…so it was I made war…I entered contract…theft proof…tomb…my people turned on me…I cursed them…spring…if river stops…Osiris…star of mopilar…tomb stands…my wealth is yours…remove the staff of ruling to release…”
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Post by Ginger on Mar 3, 2010 18:01:58 GMT -5
Dungeons and Doctorates-- cowbirdsinlove.com/156#On the actual topic, I've got nothing. Let's just wander around and map as we go. I don't think we can do anything that systematic.
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Post by Dead Greyhawk on Mar 3, 2010 19:49:06 GMT -5
So speaketh the shade of Amun-re:
“I am Amun-re, son of Takosh-re of the House of Mo-Pelar! These rags you see are but my shadow which has walked these lands for time uncounted in search of mighty men of valor, to plead their aid.
“In my time was I Emperor of this land before you. It was a green and beautiful land, blessed by the gods of heaven westward with a wondrous spring that gave life to our land and nurtured our crops, yet robbers did raid the tombs of my forefathers and take from them tokens of their passage into the lands of the dead, thus keeping them from their reward after life. I swore that at all costs would I not fall prey to their evil deeds.
“So it was that I made mighty and terrible war upon my neighbor lands, plundering their wealth for my own passage. I did enter contract with a great mage who did work a mighty wonder and, upon the sweat and blood of my people, did I build a theft-proof tomb.
“My people turned against me with bitter hatred. I not only robbed our borderlands, but did tax and plunder my own people and take from them their wealth. They rose up in anger, demanding their gold and precious gems, their lives and freedom, but I cursed them saying:
“’By the ruling staff and the star gem of Mo-Pelar, I curse you. Threaten not my life, or by these implements of my power and holy name of Osiris, will the stopping of my heart also stop the spring of Athis from her life giving flow. If the river stops, so shall your land wither in the wilderness. This I do swear by Osiris’s holy name and these implements.’
“From a sea of upraised fists before me rose the one with a spear. The shaft sped from the darkness, and so that night did the spring of Athis stop its flow.
“In death my spirit gleefully approached my pyramid but Osiris stopped my spirit from entering that tomb, for, said he, ‘Your monument to life was to be the benefit you brought to the people under your stewardship, not this edifice of stone. As you looked only to your death in life, so shall you look only to your life in death. I am bound to fulfill your curse, for you have called it down with power in my name, but I do curse you, Amun-re, that you shall not enter this tomb where are the implements of your voyage to heaven, until some mortal soul does despoil this place, taking your staff of ruling and the star gem of Mo-Pelar from your theft-proof tomb.’
Before mine eyes I have seen the death my curse has caused. The land withered without the blessings of the Athis. The barbarian nations revolted and great strife occurred. The devastation and fiery rains laid waste to all my works, and the people fled or died.
“I have even talked with the wind in hopes of help. Uncounted seasons have passed and my kingdom is not now to be seen in these desert lands, save for my tomb which stands now as then. Many have tried, I trust, and none have succeeded. My wealth is thine, if thou can be undo this thing, that I have done. Remove both my staff of ruling and the star gem from my tomb that you may have wealth and release me. Follow my path to wealth or woe, to thy destiny or doom.”
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Post by venger on Mar 7, 2010 20:11:43 GMT -5
This was a good week. We could have spent 2-3 sessions in that horrible maze, easy.
Gotta hand it to the new guy -- he answered the riddle AND he was right about that big bronze fist pummelling him into unconsciousness.
All that can be said about that battle was... FAIL. Mistakes were made, we survived.
Next steps: we bring Zinc back to aliveness, rest, remove the ring of contrariness and move on.
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Post by Ginger on Mar 7, 2010 23:03:53 GMT -5
We gotta find his spellbooks! And yeah, it's great that we jumped ahead to fighting the 11th level MU, but bad the way we fought him.
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Post by Friedrich on Mar 7, 2010 23:37:11 GMT -5
We gotta find his spellbooks! And yeah, it's great that we jumped ahead to fighting the 11th level MU, but bad the way we fought him. Yeah, I agree. We definitely ruined this dude's day. We killed his giant fist. Killed a bunch of his mud-fighters and made him go through a bunch of his spells. To top it all off we even flushed him down the toilet. Hopefully, if he had his spell book on him it was ruined. If not, we can find it now before he gets back.
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Post by Wolfgar on Mar 8, 2010 11:28:10 GMT -5
Assuming he needs spellbooks they should be where his heart is. It would have been nice if we could have just kept him tied up. Now we have to worry about him stalking us. Though I don't think he will be as tough if he doesn't have a bunch of defenses between him and us. Where do we want to rest and for how long? Assuming this room serves as a bottleneck to get further into the temple we could wait here for him. We can spike the doors shut at the far side of room to give us plenty of warning - assuming he doesn't have a teleport, dimension door or polymorph self memorized. We know at the minimum Morvan and Alfred need 8 hours of sleep. Did Zinc or Basil use any of their 3rd or 4th level spells? If not that will help with staggering the resting. I am guessing at the time we need assuming no one else levels. Morvan: 8 hours of sleep, ~2 hours for magic user spells, ~4 hours for cleric spells Alfred: 8 hours of sleep Kazan: 6 hours of sleep, ~3 hours of memorization Basil: 6 hours of sleep, ~3 hours of memorization, 4 hours of sleep, ~3 hours of memorization Zinc: 6 hours of sleep, ~4 hours of memorization, 4 hours of sleep, ~4 hours of memorization Rensslaer: 6 hours of sleep, ~3 hours of memorization, 4 hours of sleep, ~3 hours of memorization Flam: no rest needed Here is a proposal for what we can get done in 16 uninterrupted hours: hour | Morvan | Alfred | Zinc | Rensslaer | Kazan | Basil | Flam | 1 | sleep | sleep | sleep | sleep | watch | watch | sleep | 2 | sleep | sleep | sleep | sleep | watch | watch | sleep | 3 | sleep | sleep | sleep | sleep | watch | watch | sleep | 4 | sleep | sleep | sleep | sleep | watch | watch | sleep | 5 | sleep | sleep | memorize | memorize | sleep | sleep | watch | 6 | sleep | sleep | memorize | memorize | sleep | sleep | watch | 7 | sleep | sleep | memorize | memorize | sleep | sleep | watch | 8 | sleep | sleep | memorize | memorize | sleep | sleep | watch | 9 | memorize | watch | sleep | sleep | sleep | sleep | watch | 10 | memorize | watch | sleep | sleep | sleep | sleep | watch | 11 | memorize | watch | sleep | sleep | memorize | memorize | sleep | 12 | memorize | watch | sleep | sleep | memorize | memorize | sleep | 13 | memorize | watch | sleep | sleep | memorize | memorize | sleep | 14 | memorize | watch | sleep | sleep | watch | watch | sleep | 15 | memorize | watch | memorize | memorize | watch | watch | sleep | 16 | memorize | watch | memorize | memorize | watch | watch | sleep |
We won't be at full but everyone will have had at least 6 hours allowing them to get a full compliment of spells if need be.
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Post by Ginger on Mar 8, 2010 11:48:36 GMT -5
Wow, this chart is awesome.
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Post by venger on Mar 8, 2010 13:15:54 GMT -5
That wizard is only maybe twenty minutes behind us.
He shot out of the lion's mouth, most likely tumbled downstream to the jungle area... best case, he couldn't get out of the water in time and cruised down the canal, falling into the shaft lined with green slime.
I can't imagine that will slow him down too much though.
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Post by Wolfgar on Mar 8, 2010 14:54:56 GMT -5
That is certainly a possibility. I think I caught up to Zinc past the room with the flying fruit and before the slime covered shaft. I saw Munafik float by. So he should have gone down the slime covered shaft. He should have been able to stop in the well with the sphinx. (I wonder if he will have to answer a riddle.) If not he goes hurtling out into the dessert(?) and has to go the long way around. From the well room he would need either fly, polymorph self, teleport or dimension door to get back. Any of those would get him back almost immediately. There is no way to know what spells he has prepared short of finding his spellbook.
So either he is coming back soon or he is not. If he is not we would like to rest and avoid wandering monsters. This room seems good as wandering monsters are likely only from the back door. If he is coming back soon then we need to either hide or prepare to capture him. We don't have a good place to hide long term (rope trick lasts 14 turns) without exploring further in our weakened state. If we are going to capture him then we need some fighting room so we can surround him without exposing ourselves to area attacks. This room is not the best room for that but I don't know where else that is better.
So I think the options are push on and try to find a better place to hide or hunker down here as long as possible. And if he comes back we could always run. But I will convert my remaining first level spells to MM just in case. And we could set up a wyvern watch on the far side of the room.
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Post by venger on Mar 8, 2010 15:04:32 GMT -5
That is certainly a possibility. I think I caught up to Zinc past the room with the flying fruit and before the slime covered shaft. I saw Munafik float by. So he should have gone down the slime covered shaft. He should have been able to stop in the well with the sphinx. (I wonder if he will have to answer a riddle.) If not he goes hurtling out into the dessert(?) and has to go the long way around. From the well room he would need either fly, polymorph self, teleport or dimension door to get back. Any of those would get him back almost immediately. There is no way to know what spells he has prepared short of finding his spellbook. It seems unlikely that he'll go past the slime covered shaft... there is not a great sucking pressure pulling people into the sphinx room, otherwise we would have never made it through. So best case he's treading water in that room. Worst case, he's Dimension Dooring to his spellbooks.
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Post by Ginger on Mar 8, 2010 15:06:04 GMT -5
How broad was the ledge overlooking the pineapple room? If we could hide out there, it would be defensible. Bad guys couldn't see up, and you'd just jostle the trees to drop exploding pineapple bombs on anyone you saw.
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Post by venger on Mar 8, 2010 15:08:51 GMT -5
I recall it being fairly narrow, as people were concerned about the gravity re-reversing and them not being able to keep balance on the platform.
ALSO- Basil and Kazan are first and second in the marching order until such time as I'm convinced they aren't total cowards.
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