You gather your things and get to Fingas. He stares at you suspiciously for a moment. "Wait a minute," he says, "Borimer just came through here a couple minutes ago. He totally ignored me and went down there." He points down the ladder to the west. "And now you guys arrive with someone new." He looks at Sark. "And with no explanation, we're just supposed to run. Is Borimer clearing the way?"

He follows you down the ladder and that's when you all notice something: at the bottom (where it says "to 17A"), something is missing. Dalharen's body, which was thrown over the edge is gone. The weakest of the doppleganger "brothers," who was somewhat--maybe?--kind of friendly toward you had died, you thought, after being thrown over the edge by Haklara, but now the body is gone.

(link to a message in this game See posts 59 and 63 as a memory refresher.)

Geebo is assisting Sark through this. Sark is still in shock from the rescue and his confinement. Geebo is trying to talk to him in Gnomish to bring him out of the shock.

You stand at the bottom of the ladder ("to 17A" on the map).

OOC: Don't forget about my Stone Shape spell. I have a feeling we'll need all the help we can get to escape without having to surf some lava.

"Either Dalharen is actually alive, or Haklara grabbed his body to use as an anti-magic aura to hamper us leaving," Kahan comments, his paranoia getting the best of him. "We need to make it back to that bridge where we followed Haklara, but I still do not know how we can get out of here without suffocating from the poisonous gases that are blocking the way," he explains with a furrowed brow.

Shae says, "I can't recall exactly, but didn't we have everything we needed to escape, adn that's what Dalharen wanted from us so he could escape? He just said something like it wouldn't be enough for all of us anyway. Something like that. Anyway, let's start down the path and talk it oiut on the way." If there are no protests, Shae will lead them back to the room with the pool of water where they confronted Dalharen.

You quickly go through the maze of tunnels. At a few points, you see lava seeping in from above, and one tunnel now has ankle deep lava flowing. Luckily, none of these block your path and you eventually make your way back to the underground water area with the whirlpool.

NOTE: I am reusing the previous map below. There is no Tenvillah, and you are all generally clustered where the player initials are at--so generally you can ignore that.

However, you remember that after crossing the whirlpool area, it became hard to breathe and one of you collapsed into unconsciousness, so you are cautious.

Also, Geebo still holds the white rabbit. Since it is alive, the air is still good.

Going forward, I suggest we determine the following for you:

1) What is your light source? It is dark ahead. Those with infravision should be okay but others may want something for the darkness.

2) How long can you hold your breath? We will have timing issues where this will be good to know and we will start a countdown.

3) What are in each of your hands, if anything? There may be times where you will want your hands for climbing, holding on or the like. You can't do so with weapons in them.

4) You may want to look over the inventory items, including the newer items, to see if anything may be helpful in an oxygen deprived environment.

Also, your characters are very aware that time is limited. They don't know how long it will be before the tunnels flow with lava from behind them, but it will likely be less than one hour.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:20, Tue 13 July 2021.

Tahldar hurries as he knows time for them is short.  "We have to cross the bridge!" he exclaims stating the obvious.

OOC: I can cast one more third level spell.  So I could cast fly on whomever is the strongest to ferry us over the broken bridge.  I believe Tahldar's fly is still going, but he is too weak to carry anyone.  So I will cast Fly on whomever would like it.  I'm thinking Kahan.

Question Answers:
1. Does anyone have a lantern or torch for light?  I would suggest mundane means for light as any magical one we create could be nullified. Tahldar has neither torch or lantern.
2. I haven't a clue how long Tahldar can hold his breath.
3. Tahldar's hands are free.
4. The only item I see that might help are the vials labeled 'not air'.  Though one would think how being something other than air could possibly help.

Sorry, but one more thing you should keep handy: You should know your speed (walking, running, flying or other mode of mobility used).

Hold breath: Here is the rule:

Under normal circumstances (with a good gulp of air and not performing strenuous feats), a character can hold his breath up to 1/3 his Constitution score in rounds (rounded up). If the character is exerting himself, this time is halved (again, rounded up). Characters reduced to 1/3 or less of their normal movement because of encumbrance are always considered to be exerting themselves. If unable to get a good gulp of air, these times are reduced by 1/2. All characters are able to hold their breath for one round, regardless of circumstances.
While attempting to hold his breath beyond this time, the character must roll a Constitution check each round. The first check has no modifiers, but each subsequent check suffers a -2 cumulative penalty. Once a check is failed, the character must breathe (if he cannot reach the surface, he drowns).


And from the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide:
Holding Breath in Nonswimming Situations
In certain situations, characters might wish to hold their breath
to avoid breathing the surrounding air. In order to calculate the
duration of such an attempt, use the formula explained for swimming, but add one round.
Characters cannot use this ability to avoid the effects of a gas
unless they suspect that a gas is about to be released. For example, if party members must make a saving throw, and some characters become paralyzed as a result, the other characters may decide to hold their breath to avoid breathing the threatening gas

This actually seems extraordinarily generous since a round is 1 minute (as opposed to a combat round, which is 6 seconds).

And the rule on movement in darkness if you don't have a light (also from Dungeoneer's Survival Guide):


MOVEMENT EFFECTS
OF DARKNESS
Although characters without the ability to see in the dark normally make every effort to provide themselves with a source of
light underground, sometimes unforeseen situations can plunge
a party into total darkness. Even characters with infravision have
difficulty seeing objects that are the same temperature as the surroundings of the underearth.
This can be a very unsettling experience for a group of adventurers. The following effects can help recreate this situation for
gaming.
If characters try to move at their normal movement rates in
complete darkness, even probing the floor and walls ahead of
them does not guarantee that the party avoids hazards. If a character encounters an obstacle while moving in darkness, he must
make a Dexterity Check. Failure means that the character does
not detect the obstacle in time to react, and his momentum carries him into it.
Characters in the dark can safely move at 1/3 their normal
movement rates. This pace is slow enough to keep the lead characters from blundering into any gaping holes in the floor, or walking off the edge of a cliff. This also assumes that the characters
are steadily probing the ground in front of them as they plod
along.
Unless a character has some means of determining direction,
such as trailing a hand along a corridor wall, it is virtually impossible to walk in a straight line in complete darkness. This is not
usually an issue in narrow dungeon passages. On the wide-open
but pitch-dark plains of some realms of the underearth, however,
it is truly a formidable task for a character to keep his bearings
about him.
The DM should make a secret roll on ld12 to determine the
unknown changes of course that might occur if characters walk in
complete darkness. Consult the following table to find the result:

This roll should be made after every three turns that characters
spend walking in darkness. The roll should be made at the end of
the character’s uncharted movement, even if such movement
has lasted less than three turns. For each turn less than three,
however, allow a -1 modifier to the d12 roll.
If characters travel over rough or uneven floors in darkness, or
stand a chance of tripping over small rocks or other rubble, the
DM can require as many Dexterity Checks as he deems appropriate. Each failed Dexterity Check means that the character sustains 1 point of damage in a rough fall.
Characters traveling over these surfaces can prevent any such
accidents by slowing their movement to 116 their normal rate.

As I recall, you have 1 lantern remaining (and 1 was broken a long time ago) and a bunch of torches in the portable hole.

(I can peruse the equipment to see what items you might want to set out or have handy, though I don't want to give anything away--not that there is anything to give away per se, since there are likely several ways to get through this.)

Note that once this gets moving (hopefully by Monday?), it would be nice to move it along at a fairly quick pace of a post every day or so. This will increase the intensity/suspense of the time crunches that will happen.

From the other side of the chasm, Kahan will retrieve a flint and steel, as well as a flask of lantern oil. Lighting the oil on fire with the flint, he will toss the vial across the chasm and into the opening to the tunnel. "I want to ensure the poisonous gas is not also flammable. I have heard stories of miners getting killed by flammable gases under the earth, both from inhalation and from explosions when they lit a torch for light," the priest will explain, waiting to see what happens with the fire before crossing the gap.

OOC: Kahan has a strength of 13. I'm not sure how much his carry capacity is, but that should be plenty to get everyone over the ledge except for maybe Fingas? Also, about how much air is in the portable hole, if we were to try to stash some people in there?

Kahan throws the flask and lights the oil on fire from a distance. The explosion is about the equivalent of a fireball from Tahldar. It sweeps through the tunnel, knocks you back a few steps, and burns off Kahan's eyebrows.

Now you know that whatever is suffocating over there it is, in fact, very flammable.

DM NOTE: You guys always have a way of outguessing me on some of these things.

Blinking a couple of times after the explosion, Kahan wiped the soot from his face. "It is a good thing we didn't use a torch, then, just as I suspected," the priest comments unhappily. He will pick up a rock and cast Continual Light on it, making sure to stay away from Geebo. "Geebo, we need to deal with those antimagic rings on your fingers. I wouldn't wish this fate on anyone, but I think it is best we remove the fingers. I can heal you once they are removed, so you will not be in pain for long, but they will not grow back either," he tells the gnome, wondering what his thoughts on the matter were, as well as the others. He knew time was of the essence, but wandering around in a dark, flammable-gas-filled cavern without magic was nigh impossible.

As you stand discussing options, Sark Gurlek steps up in front of Geebo. You look back at the strange gnome in his ragged clothes and long white beard.

"Yes, yes," he says, animated for the first time. "This...Tarimar...he...experiment... but... overrun.  Jark...me brother...I...enslaved...help him."  He pauses, seeking for words. He has a difficult time speaking and thinking clearly without the psychic connection to his twin brother and after years of having no one to talk to.  "Xren Codex...and building...yes...of devices and things. But...accident...gas leak.  Tarimar, he...close off...so no one... enter or leave. He take Jark... leave me here. This many, many years ago."

He pauses, thinking. "Tarimar take...one... shapeshifter... dark creature... rest he lock in here... and me."

"Do you know how fast the gas is leaking? It's possible that we could, carefully of course, detonate the gas, in a controlled manner, in front of us, so we do not suffocate," Kahan asked, although he wasn't hopeful that the gnome would know, or remember for that matter.

Sark says, "Gas from..." He splays out his hands and makes them into fists over and over as if to show something spreading. "...from living thing. Uh... plant.  Mold... moss... spore."

Shae had been contemplating this dilemma in silence. She perks up at Sark's statement. "Mold, spores and fungus maybe? We just fought that god-like thing that's the queen of fungus or or something. Zuggotmoy? I wonder if there's a connection." She ponders in silence again. (Try for a wisdom check?)

"I have no spells that affect air quality." Tahldar says simply.

Time you can hold your breath (not swimming):

Fingas: 6 rounds (3 if exerting self)
Kahan: 5 rounds (3 if exerting self)
Leo: 4 rounds (2 if exerting self)
Shae: 4 rounds (2 if exerting self)
Tahldar: 7 rounds (4 if exerting self)
Geebo: 4 rounds (2 if exerting self)
Sark: 4 rounds (2 if exerting self)


Note: If encumbered enough to affect movement by 1/3 or more, you are considered exerting yourself always.
-Walking is not exerting
-Talking, casting spells or anything that makes you lose breath is exerting yourself
-Fighting or performing physical feats is exerting yourself
-Concentrating or using skills may or may not be exerting yourself
FOR EACH ROUND you do something that is exerting yourself, that round counts as 2 rounds.

RULE (Modified): Holding breath beyond this takes a CON check each round (-2 cumulative for each round). If failed, pass out that round. Character dies of asphyxiation one round after that.


You are encumbered if your movement is reduced 1/3 or more due to weight allowance. Typically, this will fall between 50-120 pounds of weight carried, depending on your strength. (See table 48 of the Player's Handbook.) I also found a good site here with the tables: https://advanced-dungeons-drag...i/Encumbrance_Tables

Also, don't forget this rule, which may help you on encumbrance: One of the special properties of magical armor is its effect on encumbrance. Although magical armor appears to weigh as much as normal armor, the weight of magical armor applies only toward the weight limit of the character. It does not apply when determining the effects of encumbrance on movement and combat. In essence, the armor appears to weigh as much as normal armor but does not restrict or hamper the character.
I don't think anyone is technically encumbered enough to trigger the exertion rule above, but I haven't checked yet.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:03, Mon 23 Aug 2021.

Shae says, "We should work out some hand signals while we're in there to save our breath. I think we also need to be prepared to backtrack to this safe area if needed so we can get new breaths and head back in."

Shae makes up some hand signals for: forward, quiet, follow me, "I have to go back for air," "help me," "look at this," and does a hand clapping alternate signal for each also.

"Any other phrases we might need to work out in advance?"

"Run would be the only one I think we should add." Tahldar says as he quickly claps three times.

Shae nods in agreement and then suggests that they leave Geebo, Fingas, and Sark behind while the others scout ahead for about 1-2 minutes to see what you are up against and then return here to get some fresh breaths and consider the next steps.

Sark hears you and says, "From here...uh...first cross...5, no 6, platform. Very tricky. Tarimar use...magic...lots magic...but not there. Tarimar always...paranoid...no one know...can know...his secrets...or he...uh...send them to...eh...Callarduran Smoothhands ... God...death. Tarimar work closely with...ehh...inner circle only."

Kahan agrees about the hand signals. "I would love to scout ahead, but we might not have the time. Remember the lava is coming, eventually, and it will ignite the gas if we haven't dealt with it," he reminds everyone. "Is there anything else you can remember before we go?" he asked Sark.

Since in Sark's experience, it was over a decade ago, he does not have a clear memory, except to tell you that there were some strange platforms and then various chambers consisting of Tarimar's laboratory. There was an exit, but Tarimar was saying he would block the exit before the gas took over so no one could get his experiments. Sark doesn't know what eventually happened because he was imprisoned in the ring of fire.

Nevertheless, you are able to hold your breath and scope out the first room, which comes after a stone door that must be centuries old and has been reduced to rubble at some point, thus allowing the gas to escape south.

Beyond the door is a a ledge—a short extension of rock placed high on the wall of an enormous natural cavern. Far below, a vast lava pit boils and bubbles. It must be slowly rising but is currently about 50 feet below you. A series of wooden disks, each suspended from the ceiling by a massive steel chain, forms a set of “stepping stones” that lead across the cave to another ledge on the far side about 80 feet to the northwest.

The ceiling changes in height but averages 20-30 feet above you. Stabbed in the center of the ceiling is an ancient dagger with a glowing ruby hilt, clearly emanating some sort of power. Between the slight glow of the lava and the ruby red glowing gem, the entire cavern is cast with an eerie crimson glow. Water drips from the ceiling, likely as a result of the rising lava all around the mountain, covering the wooden disk platforms.

Each wooden disk is about 4 feet in diameter and hangs about 6 feet from its nearest neighbors. Each is attached to its chain by a giant ring fixed in its center. The disks swing freely and tilt when any weight is placed upon them. In addition to the watery wood, the disks and chains, as well as the walls of the cavern, are covered with a wet, slippery
scum of algae that live on the water and nutrients.

Points A and B mark geysers of lava that shoot sporadically into the air and are gradually getting higher as the lava level rises.

You start from the disk marked 9 and would move to the disk marked 1.

You don't know what power is emanating from the dagger embedded in the ceiling 20 feet above.

After observing the room, you rush back to get air and discuss your options.

NOTES: A rogue can try to bypass the the disks by successful wall climbing at -10% (-20% for ceiling crossing). A check must be made every 30 feet--save allowed.

Also keep in mind that you must do this while avoiding breathing in the noxious, flammable gases.

Alternatively, the gases only reach about 10 feet below the ledge. There is a 40 foot area where the gases have not yet reached the lava and where there is some available air but you would need to climb down there and may take heat damage.



This message was last edited by the GM at 00:54, Wed 01 Sept 2021.

Shae looks at the situation and says, "I can transform into a bird or maybe even a creature that can climb the walls and make it across. If you have any flying left in you, that would also help us easily navigate this. I also wonder if we have something like an airtight skin in which to hold air and take a breath from it if we run short."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 01:47, Wed 01 Sept 2021.