Doors, doors everywhere
Subject What's behind door number 1
When everything is packed up and ready to go, the party members take their assigned positions and prepare to move on. The tension is high, with everyone hoping that this would lead to the way out. "Ok Surin, let's do this" Harp says. The halfling nods and inserts the copper key into the first lock.
The key turns soundlessly and a muted click is heard. The party is quiet and on edge. Surin slowly pushes the door open until it stops against the wall to the right. Twenty feet away there is another door, this time with a lock set made of copper with small jewels set into it. "Surin, take a look. Take your time." The halfling nods and moves slowly through the open door. He spends the next 15 minutes or so making a detailed search of the floor. He stops once but soon continues on. When he gets to the other side he turns to the party. "Stay back a few feet from the door." When everyone backs up a few feet Surin presses a normal looking stone on the wall and there is a sudden rush of air.
At the feet of the party, just inside the door, a pit opens up. Surin edges close to the lip and looks down. "It's not that bad. Only 20 feet or so. Hold on while I reset it." The halfling goes back to the same stones and presses them again. The fake floor moves slowly back into position. "That is what would have happened with out the key. Let me take a look at the next door. You guys can come on in if you want. I am fairly sure that the floor is safe now that I have reset it and the door is open. Just don't close it and try to reopen it.
Over the next 3-1/2 hours Surin searches each door in turn. After the copper clad door, there is the copper and jewel door, the brass door, the brass and jewel door, the silver door, the silver and jewel door, the electrum door, the electrum and jewel door, the gold door, the platinum door and the platinum and jewel door. Each lock set gets more and more intricate and involved. "Not sure I could have done those last two, even with my cousins "tools". The pits get nastier and nastier as well. The last one looked to be over 70 feet deep with spikes on the walls and floor and some type of material on the spikes.
The party gets to the last door. This hallway is 30 feet long, 10 feet wide. Surin inserts the platinum and emerald key in the lock set and turns the key. The door swings open into a dimly lit hallway. It goes ahead for 4 0 feet and opens on the left. Surin peeks a head in. After a quick look around he turns to the rest. "I think we are in the maze part now."
OODM: How do you want to handle the maze? Updated map tonight.
From: Karl
Subject Door number 1
Salix will follow Harp's lead.
From: Kevin
Subject Door number 1
OOC: Any suggestions? Send Surin out looking while we sit and have lunch? Form a human bread crumb line with a person staying at each intersection until we hit a dead end? Harp is open to suggestions.
From: Porter
Subject Door number 1
When the orc mentions the possibility of sending Surin out, Mund pipes up "I don't think that's a good idea. At least let me watch over the little guy. I'm quick on my feet and good at avoiding traps, and I can hopefully protect him long enough to let him get away.
From: Karl
Subject Door number 1
Pssst! "OOC" means "Out of Character". Harp didn't really suggest anything.
Kevin is asking for input. ;-)
From: Derek
Subject Door number 1
Allistair thinks for a few minutes, reviewing the poem.
13 Doors, 1 way out, 1 way in. 11 keys, 11 doors.
Without the right key, beware the floors.
After the maze and the doors,
You will leave here, if still alive, with mores.
Many creatures protect the keys.
But if you succeed, be on your knees
When you meet the master, he that sees.
"I can think of two likely possibilities. One is that of these eleven doors, only one leads to the exit. The other is that some or all may lead to the exit, albeit some ways being much more difficult than others. Either way, it stands to reason that the more difficult to obtain keys would grant a higher reward, i.e. the exit."
"However, the fourth line of the poem suggests that there is treasure to be found here, and it would also stand to reason that each door could have some sort of treasure at the end, with the final door being the exit. I know that Mund would find this adventure much more worth his time if he found a magical weapon he could use, and I'm confident the rest of us feel similar, if not quite so vocal."
"Being methodical might not be the quickest way out of here, but it assures that we haven't missed anything."
From: Porter
Subject Door number 1
"If there's a chance of making this gods-damned prison worth my while, I'm taking it. We've been here forever and all I've got to show for it is this stupid shield and this unknown potion which keeps looking tastier and tastier every day."
From: Karl
Subject Door number 1
OOC - he should get in a conversation with Salix. He can detect poison if he prepares it (so it wouldn't happen today) but he could at least rule it out for you (on the potion thing, I mean).
From: Karl
Subject Doors, doors, everywhere
If I'm not mistaken, we've already passed through the 11 doors. Those are the ones we just opened with the 11 keys we won. Now we're at the maze. Your post below seems to imply that we have 11 doors in front of us, still. I think the confusion is because the word "doors" appears after "maze" in line three, but I suspect that was just to allow the rhyme in line four.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. :-)
From: Mark
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
I think Derek's comments were meant to be said before the doors were opened, since he copied the turn from a couple of days ago when Harp asked for thoughts on the writing on the wall.
From: Porter
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
I'm confused about the doors we opened -- were they in series or in parallel?
From: Derek
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
No, I think I just don't understand what is going on. I thought after getting the eleven keys, we entered a big room with eleven doors side by side. But it seems that instead the doors were sequential all in a row. I somehow missed that from Mark's description. I guess if we had an updated map it wouldn't have been a problem. Well, just ignore/delete Allistair's comment then.
From: Mark
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
They were in series, heading north, from the one door in the middle of the north wall that had the copper lock set on it. The party is now in a hallway approx. 250 feet north of the main room. The map I send out tonight will make it clearer, but my map program stuff is at home.
There were a series of doors, one after another, each with a lock set that matches a key that had been found.
From: Porter
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
I just know that if Mund gets his hand on a magic dagger, kopesh, girly rapier, or something like that, we'll never encounter anything again that requires magic. But if he can't get it, we'll keep running into them time and time again.
From: Mark
Subject Back to the begining
Here is the original description of the main room when the party entered it.
Harp signals for the rest of the party to make it way across the pit. It takes several minutes for everyone to either climb down or make the leap.(Those with even or better bonuses, take 10 and make the leap. The others climb down and up the other side.) Soon every one is in the new room. This room is 50 feet east/west and 40 feet north/south. The door they just came in from is in the extreme SW side. There are no doors on the south wall but there are doors every 10 feet along all the other walls, for a total of 13 doors, including the one the party came in from.
And then after Surin's search of the main room.
It takes Surin only a couple of minutes to make his search of the doors. He lets every one know his findings. "First, only one door is locked, and that is the one in the middle of the north wall. That door is bound in copper and iron and the lock is made of copper. All the other doors are unlocked and not trapped as far as I can tell."
From: Karl
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
Ah, silly me. I didn't read what he was replying to.
From: Kevin
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
OOC: Mark, I noticed that they keys were in sets of a type of metal and then the same type of metal with a gem. With one exception - the gold key did not have a matching gold key with a gem in it. I am sure one of our more intelligent members (Allistair, Kal, Surin or Salix) would have noted this.
From: Kevin
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
I am heading out to meet my college room-mate, and will not be able to check in. Harp will suggest that they let Surin and Mund move forward, slowly, while the rest of the group follows 30 or so feet behind, trying to keep the map as updated as possible.
If anyone has a better way to map out this thing, pipe up. Mark, if someone proposes a good way, go with that.
From: Josh
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
"I suggest I go with Surn, instead of Mund." Kal says "Mund is certainly a fierce warrior, but we will need more than just brawn to get through this maze, I imagine. I've been trained to deal with a multitude of situations, and I've prepared some non-battle spells today as well. If it does come to combat, well, that won't be a problem."
From: Porter
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
Mund lets out a laugh at this. "Until you get hit once, then you're down like a sack of spuds. I swear, my brother's tougher than you, and he doesn't try to pretend that he's a fighter."
From: Josh
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
Kal looks at Mund and smiles. He turns to Harp and says "Your call."
From: Mark
Subject Updated map
Attached is the updated dungeon map. I have show what Surin can see with out going too far into the next section.
The X's are the traps that the party bypassed.
From: Ashley
Subject Updated map
Surin rolls his eyes. "Honestly you two. Why not just flip a coin? You both got skill enough. God forbid you both come along and try to work together."
From: Josh
Subject doors, doors everywhere
"If we're sending two people with you, it'd probably be best to send Mund and Allistar. Allistar's more trained in magic than I am, and my sword arm would just be redundant."
Kal continues, "If we're sending only one, I believe I'm the best choice to go."
From: Josh
Subject Doors, doors everywhere
"Actually, Harp and Allistar would probably the best choice if two are going."
From: Kevin
Subject Party animal
Just got home, do not have time to think of a good response. Will send more tomorrow AM.