Game Thread, Chapter 2: Down the Rabbit Hole

[HeadofVecna]

[spoiler]Sounds like a job for Spellcraft.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Shlurshech spellcraft (1d20+16=24)[/spoiler]

Xuuvosic points at the hydra, a disdainful sneer evident on his inhuman face, "If anyone is on the fence, I'm telling you for a fucking fact. That shit ain't real."

[PhaedrusXY]

[spoiler]No successes on spellcraft so far. [/spoiler]Since Xuuvosic pointed it out, you can all now see through the illusionary creature. You can also see through the fake piles of rubble at either end of the cavern and through the unobstructed exits.

While you're fairly sure this is some kind of illusion, none of you are sure what the exact nature of the figment is, nor if it was recently cast or was some kind of contingency left behind previously.

The barghest says "Well... he probably knows we're here. It shouldn't be long now."

[Kuroimaken]

"Should we pretend we're all scared upon his arrival?"

[VennDygrem]

<<We just need to stay on guard and not let up any details we don't want to give away right away, if possible. We're bargaining for information here, so if this thing is game, he's going to want something in return. I don't know what we can offer it, though.>>

[Kuroimaken]

A rather malicious grin filled Raoul's face. <<We could start off with you.>>

[PhaedrusXY]

The barghest coughs as if startled, opens his mouth as if to say something and then closes it again, and relays telepathically <<That might not be so far fetched as you think... The last time I came through here, he wanted one of my minions as payment, as well as a few items that I took from my master's corpse. He also had his skum try to subdue me, but gave up after I proved too much for them.

I gathered that he values payments in flesh more than most other things... and not what you'd typically want in a slave, either. The minion he took was a goblin that was so old as to have one foot in the grave already. He was mostly useless, except that he knew a lot about the drow city and its politics. He'd been a personal servant to my old master, and had been with him to meet many other influential drow in the city. So he'd seen a lot...>>

[Bozwevial]

It sounds as though the aboleth is something of a collector of knowledge. Almost...a filing clerk, if you will. Marlowe seems slightly taken aback at this idea, head cocked to one side.

[VennDygrem]

<<Perhaps, then, we ought to be a little more intelligent on just who we would offer up. Perhaps someone with the capacity to leave once we have what we want. Perhaps someone who can... teleport?>>

[VennDygrem]

Cade looks in Xuuvosic's direction, but fails to get his point across. He then calms himself down, scowls at Raoul, and concentrates at the task at hand. The Demon must be slipping through in the stress.

<<So, if no one is open to that plan, what do we do now then? Just sit here and wait for the Aboleth or its minions to come collect us? Or are we going to be a bit more proactive?>>

[Bozwevial]

Is there some way we can ascertain ahead of time whether teleportation might be inhibited?

[spoiler]I don't suppose there's faerzress around here? Whatever Knowledge skill this is (1d20+5=25) Well, if it's common knowledge, I guess I figured it out? I don't think this would be Knowledge(planes)--maybe arcana or dungeoneering?

If not, then I suppose Marlowe's thinking of something the aboleth might have done. Which is a possibility anyway.[/spoiler]

[Kuroimaken]

<<We're probably better off giving up the barghest and perhaps one or two of Xuuvosic's minions. We shouldn't build a plan based on an assumption we can't make straight away.>>

[PhaedrusXY]

The barghest looks unruffled at Raoul's comment. He shrugs and said "I expected no less."

[Kuroimaken]

<<Please. You were expendable from the very beginning. We considered raising just your torso so you wouldn't be a liability once you started bitching...>>

[VennDygrem]

<<Look, I know you derive some sort of twisted joy from driving that point home, but now's not the time to be feeding our egos just yet. We've got some business to attend to.>>

Cade looks in at the piles of rubble, barely visible now as he recognizes the illusion.

[HeadofVecna]

Xuuvosic shrugs, << Once we find the motherfucker, we can feel the fish out about what it wants. With all the traps and shit around, trying to trick it might not be the best way to go. I knew those construction worker bitches in the pit could be useful for something. >>

<< Marlowe, you wanna take point again? The tunnel those Skum took, I think. Unless we're not done diddling with the Hydra? No? Alright, let's go. >>

[Kuroimaken]

<<I have to admit, he really knows how to drive people forward...>>

[Bozwevial]

Marlowe shrugs, almost strolling along the tunnel Xuuvosic indicates, peering around for movement.

[PhaedrusXY]

Is there some way we can ascertain ahead of time whether teleportation might be inhibited?

[spoiler]I don't suppose there's faerzress around here? Whatever Knowledge skill this is (1d20+5=25) Well, if it's common knowledge, I guess I figured it out? I don't think this would be Knowledge(planes)--maybe arcana or dungeoneering?

If not, then I suppose Marlowe's thinking of something the aboleth might have done. Which is a possibility anyway.[/spoiler]

Sorry. I've been busy as hell and missed this. The answer, from earlier in the thread:

Relevant info available from Knowledge (Dungeoneering)[spoiler]
DC 20: It isn't safe to use teleportation over long distances within or into the underdark (you can teleport out just fine, though). There are pockets of magic-infused stones, many of which that glow or give off other forms of radiation and provide the energy required to sustain life here. These pockets also scramble teleportation, causing even the most precise forms to be unreliable and dangerous. The further you teleport, the more likely to be off it is. If you keep it within line of sight, you'll be fine. If you only go from one cavern to the next, you'll probably be fine (you might be shunted through a few feet of rock and take a bit of damage at the worst). If you try to go further than that, you're likely to materialize inside solid rock and die.
[/spoiler]

Do notice that this is only within or into the Underdark, not out of. You can teleport out just fine.

[Kuroimaken]

Is there some way we can ascertain ahead of time whether teleportation might be inhibited?

[spoiler]I don't suppose there's faerzress around here? Whatever Knowledge skill this is (1d20+5=25) Well, if it's common knowledge, I guess I figured it out? I don't think this would be Knowledge(planes)--maybe arcana or dungeoneering?

If not, then I suppose Marlowe's thinking of something the aboleth might have done. Which is a possibility anyway.[/spoiler]

Sorry. I've been busy as hell and missed this. The answer, from earlier in the thread:

Relevant info available from Knowledge (Dungeoneering)[spoiler]
DC 20: It isn't safe to use teleportation over long distances within or into the underdark (you can teleport out just fine, though). There are pockets of magic-infused stones, many of which that glow or give off other forms of radiation and provide the energy required to sustain life here. These pockets also scramble teleportation, causing even the most precise forms to be unreliable and dangerous. The further you teleport, the more likely to be off it is. If you keep it within line of sight, you'll be fine. If you only go from one cavern to the next, you'll probably be fine (you might be shunted through a few feet of rock and take a bit of damage at the worst). If you try to go further than that, you're likely to materialize inside solid rock and die.
[/spoiler]

Do notice that this is only within or into the Underdark, not out of. You can teleport out just fine.

[spoiler]I think his main concern was a dimensional anchor or something of the like.[/spoiler]

[PhaedrusXY]

[spoiler]I think his main concern was a dimensional anchor or something of the like.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Dimensional Anchor is a ray you fire at an individual. You can put it on an area by including it as the "extra effect" in an Unhallow spell, or you could use the 8th level Dimensional Lock spell. Dimensional Lock has a visual effect (green field). Both of these have very limited areas, though.

The Forbiddance spell can also be used to prevent dimensional travel within an area, and has a much bigger area. You'd almost certainly know if you walked into that because some of you would be damaged by it, though.

So if the area was warded magically against teleportation, you'd probably know, except for the Unhallow case. And that could be detected via Detect Magic or whatever.

Chances are people in the underdark aren't too worried about putting up teleportation interference spells in general, because the underdark itself is enough of a deterrent against anyone trying "Scry and Die" tactics on them. The only time they'd use stuff like this is if they wanted to prevent people from escaping, and that would only be used in traps/holding cells/etc, which means you probably wouldn't know until you were in one of those. [/spoiler]