2.4 The Ice fights Back!

[candi]

Gabe recoils from the plants, "This place gets more and more discomforting with each passing second." He returns to the first room, "Anything of interest in here, and for those who are interested those plants back there" He points his thumb back over his shoulder, "Malbolge, poisonous plants from the sixth hell."

[Ogremind]

Zack: "It's like this warlock was asking to 'mysteriously vanish'. So do you think the books are trapped to self destruct if someone touches them? I wonder if it is possible to get around it by moving them without touching them."

[Michael]

Lairaunwen Elereth explains, "If you touch the books, the two reading lamps will torch them. I could disarm the trap, except it would leave the books vulnerable to cold. I was going to wait until after we take care of whatever is causing all of this cold. "10

[crysun]

Zynthis: "Hey everyone, look at the little doggie I found." Zynthis pulls the figurine out to show everyone. "I wonder if it does anything, maybe give wishes or something." Zynthis rubs it and says "I wish to be stronger!"

[harknail]

When Zynthis shows his stone dog to others, those trained in arcana recognize it as magical. As Zynthis continues his experimentation, he works out what it is and what it does (without actually activating it).

It is an Onyx Dog. Once per day it can be used to summon a black mastiff (medium sized dog) as a standard action. This dog only has 9 HP, but you can spend a healing surge when the dog is summoned to give it temp HP equal to your healing surge value. The dog's attack is +7 vs AC for 1d6+3 damage. The creature remains for 8 hours or until dismissed or destroyed. It can be summoned again after an extended rest. It takes a minor action to command it, but it still gets no more than the normal action allotment (attack & move or double move). Also as an immediate reaction you can have it attack an adjacent enemy that has just attacked you. But it can't otherwise make opportunity attacks. It counts as an ally for flanking.

Edit: And it's speed is 8 and it has low light vision.

[candi]

"What if the answer to what is causing the ice is contained in those books. Did anyone have a good look around, I think we've hit a solid dead end here - so the solution is either at hand or beyond reach."

Gabe himself examines the trapped books himself, trying to discern how difficult a disarm attempt would be.

[dice=20] +10
= 21 Arcana [rand=5368804799802904939972917816625820165476790893817519401414298311]

[harknail]

Nov 27, 2009 17:07:50 GMT -5 candi said:

"What if the answer to what is causing the ice is contained in those books. Did anyone have a good look around, I think we've hit a solid dead end here - so the solution is either at hand or beyond reach."

Gabe himself examines the trapped books himself, trying to discern how difficult a disarm attempt would be.

Using Laira's description as a guide, Gabe looks at the magical enchantments and traces the connections. He sees that touching a book wouldn't target the book itself, but rather direct the lamps attention at the person who touched the book. It would indeed be fairly easy to disable the protective triggering spell without setting it off, and that would indeed end the protection from cold that these tomes have enjoyed.

Meanwhile Harknail stands in the doorway, going back and forth between looking at the bed and looking at the bookcase that had been behind the desk. The wheels of his mind turn slowly, not being much used during centuries of isolation. He's trying to think of something but can't quite get the thought to gel.

[crysun]

Zynthis: "I think I'll come him Wolfie." Zynthis pauses for a sec, "Unless he doesn't bark that is. Anyway, if nobody minds I'd like to hold on to him just for now."

OOC: I don't really want to claim him as an item mainly because I feel someone else could use it more effectively. Zynthis is going to be doing heals as a minor action which means the dog wouldn't get to attack on those rounds.10

[harknail]

Nov 27, 2009 19:56:38 GMT -5 crysun said:

OOC: I don't really want to claim him as an item mainly because I feel someone else could use it more effectively. Zynthis is going to be doing heals as a minor action which means the dog wouldn't get to attack on those rounds.10

Just to be clear, you can use a move action to do a second minor action instead of a move.

[crysun]

Nov 28, 2009 0:20:47 GMT -5 harknail said:

Nov 27, 2009 19:56:38 GMT -5 crysun said:

OOC: I don't really want to claim him as an item mainly because I feel someone else could use it more effectively. Zynthis is going to be doing heals as a minor action which means the dog wouldn't get to attack on those rounds.10

Just to be clear, you can use a move action to do a second minor action instead of a move.

Got it. I can't move, attack, heal and dog attack at the same time but I can attack, heal, and dog attack. Thanks

[Ogremind]

Zack will take a look at that bookcase. Any interesting books? If they are frozen, I can use Prestidigitation to warm them.

[candi]

Gabe wonders if "subjecting the books to the elements" will actually cause them any immediate harm. If it was cold enough to cause them damage immediately they would be in far worse shape themselves... would they not?

[dice=20] + 10 =
19 Arcana[rand=41074907764634594681943289577258849722510691914946721951308208265]

[harknail]

Prestidigitation didn't restore the books on the lower levels, the pages were still brittle and very delicate (assuming someone tried that). Cold makes things brittle, and it is very cold inside. Thanks to the Protection from Elements spell, the group isn't feeling it as much. It's not so much that the cold harms the books, as make them very vulnerable to harm, even from normal handling.

Harknail gives up on trying to figure out why the bedroom is so much larger than the library and asks, "Why art not thou looking at these books?"

[Ogremind]

Nov 30, 2009 2:08:20 GMT -5 harknail said:

Prestidigitation didn't restore the books on the lower levels, the pages were still brittle and very delicate (assuming someone tried that). Cold makes things brittle, and it is very cold inside. Thanks to the Protection from Elements spell, the group isn't feeling it as much. It's not so much that the cold harms the books, as make them very vulnerable to harm, even from normal handling.

Harknail gives up on trying to figure out why the bedroom is so much larger than the library and asks, "Why art not thou looking at these books?"

I don't understand what you mean. The description of Prestidigitation is that it can warm an object for an extended period of time -- that should bring the books to a cozy temperature, regardless of how cold the room is. Are you saying the cold has permanently damaged the books?
"I am. Give me a minute, the cold seems to be a problem. Besides, he was a Warlock, not a Wizard, so its entirely possible that his powers had more to do with the bed than the bookshelf."

[harknail]

Correct, the long exposure to cold has permanently damaged the books on the lower levels.

To be clear, there are two separate enchantments at work here, the protection/trigger spell on the bookcases, and the continuous flame/attack spell on the reading lights. So far everyone has just been looking at the protection spell.10

[Ogremind]

Nov 30, 2009 12:22:09 GMT -5 harknail said:

Correct, the long exposure to cold has permanently damaged the books on the lower levels.

To be clear, there are two separate enchantments at work here, the protection/trigger spell on the bookcases, and the continuous flame/attack spell on the reading lights. So far everyone has just been looking at the protection spell.10

I think I'm missing something. I was under that impression that the desk had a few books on it rigged to trigger an attack from the reading lamps, but that there was a separate bookcase that Harknail was looking at.

[harknail]

The desk is has only the two reading lamps, which are attached to the desk. All the books are in bookcases, which are protected by a protection spell which will trigger an attack spell if the books are touched. The lamps have a small jet of continuous flame coming out of them which is obvious from anywhere in the room, but no one has specifically examined the lamps other than to determine that they (being the only other magic in the room) must be what is triggered when a book is touched.

I had a feeling that I must have missed something in my description of the spells.

[Ogremind]

Okay, Zack will take 10 on the lamps (21 Arcana check) to determine their function, and, if they are the only thing triggered by the book spell, how to disable them without disturbing the protection on the books.
Let me know if I need to chance a higher roll.

[harknail]

Zachary looks at the reading lamps and realizes that these spells would be harder to just break, requiring a disenchant ritual. On the other hand, there is no trigger on the lamps themselves, so they would not defend themselves from a physical attack. Enough physical abuse should break the enchantment just as it did for the guardian dog constructs outside.

[elricz]

"When do you want me to start?" Thursagan has been patient during all the talk about magic, but now that there is something real to do he is eager to use his hammer.10