Ral's Run (IC - Ral. Beniliusbob only)

[Grognardsw]

It is time. One of the Guild Houses looms before you. Its true purpose is of course hidden under the guise of a respected and complicit merchant, as much of the city's underworld is veiled in legitimacy.

You enter and are escorted to an impressive library.

In an alcove, a wall of books parts to reveal a secret passageway down. You walk for some time through a maze of passages, doubtless subterranean, then arrive at a simple room. 

You are seated before a large desk. The Guild Lieutenant sits before you and speaks.

"Welcome Ral. As you know, the thieves and assassin’s guild of Lankhmar is a powerful institution, its tendrils deep in commerce and government. As such, its structure is elaborate and its training intense. Part of this training is an elaborate obstacle course, a testing ground in the cellars of the guild headquarters: The Assassin’s Run."

"The facility serves many purposes. The Run is a gymnasium for the practice of skills not easily performed repeatedly with discretion in public places. It is a training zone for novices and experts alike. It is a safe room for the Guild, defensible and deadly against intruders."

You nod your head and think of the others rumors heard in certain quarters. That the Guild has a hidden highway through the sewers of the city, and that the Run is connected to it. It is also said there are secret apartments at the center of the Run where the Master lives.

The Guild Lieutenant continues: "All Guild members are required to take the Run to advance in rankings. The Run's reputation is known throughout the underworld of the Realms. Many visiting adventurer thieves come to experience it."

"During your Run, the Guild Master will be watching you through a Wizard Eye (cast by a mage who serves as one of the Guild lieutenants.)  As the Guild does not want to maim or kill its members, blades will be blunted and projectiles padded (same damage, but subdual/non-lethal.) Traps that would be lethal are disqualifying. You may occasionally receive instructions via note. Follow them."

"Like much a thief does in life, you are scored by time and accomplishment. Move quickly, but not so quickly to preclude strategy. Have a sharp mind, but do not deliberate overly long. Combat may be necessary to accomplish a task, but it often is a means to an end, not the task itself. The wise will realize the difference and act accordingly."

The Lieutenant points to a door. "Good luck."

[beniliusbob]

Ral will gently tap his way forward with the 10' pole to check for pressure plates or tripwires in front of the door. If all seems clear, he'll move forward to give visual scrutiny of the door, its handles, locks, etc.

[Grognardsw]

Ral the halfling cautiously checks the floor, which seems normal and safe.

The Guild Lieutenant smiles and sips a cup at Ral's actions.


The door has a lock but is unlocked at the moment.

[beniliusbob]

Ral will further examine the handle and the doorframe for nefarious substances or materials, and poke a lockpick into the keyhole to check for any suspicious springs. If nothing jumps, he'll turn the handle and open the door gently - as quietly as possible.

[Grognardsw]

Ral examines the door and its handle. It seems untrapped and free of surface poisons. The halfling opens it.

Darkness and descending stairs meet you upon opening the door. The light from the room shows five feet of stairs before blackness engulfs.

- Ral detect traps [1d100] = 42. Feel free to include rolls with youR actions. When you roll, you'll see a PbP Forum Code come up. Paste that in and the hyper-linked roll will be inserted automatically, as mine was here. Tap the roll and you'll see what I mean. Thanks.

[beniliusbob]

Ral will turn to the guildmaster...



...then draw his tinderbox and strike a flame to light a candle. He'll proceed down the stairs, holding the candle up in his left hand and, with the 10' pole vertical in his right, tap each step gently to test for plates and false steps before he steps down. As he reaches each new step, he'll raise the candle and peer at the ceiling overhead and the walls to either side, looking for gaps or holes where he might be shot with poison darts or struck with scything baldes.

I'm basically just looking for anything suspicious, not making a Find/Remove Trap roll for each step. I'm a pretty vindictive DM when it comes to traps, so I'm probably being overcautious.

[Grognardsw]

The candlelight flickers as

Ral goes down the stone stairs tapping and observing. The light carries effectively only 4', beyond which is dark silhouettes. The stairs are 6' wide, the ceiling 8' high. The stairs go down 10' then turn west in a 10' swerve that continues as far as your candle lights.

Rounding the curve, Ral’s precautions pay off as his pole slides against a raised stair. One could take a tumble tripping over that. The Halfling thief steps over and continues down another 20' then to an end in what you guess to be a room, as your candle light is limited. You see 4' around you. There is a wall to your immediate left and right, running from the edge of the stairs.

Then appears a line of light on the floor in the wall opposite you, perhaps maybe 20-25' away. Light from under a door?

- A perfect animated graphic response!
- Overcautiousness never hurt anyone Though it may slow you marginally.
- You may wish to map. It may or may not help. My descriptions may be more precise than usual. I normally provide maps, but in this case given it’s a test/challenge adventure, it's up to the players.

[beniliusbob]

Ral carefully places the pole on the ground, crouches, and moves as silently as possible across the intervening space towards the line of light. He runs his fingers carefully across the floor and moves the candle around to try and catch any light glinting off tripwires or suspicious metal objects.

Move silently, rolls [1d100] = 16 against 57
First 10': Find/remove traps, rolls [1d100] = 2 against 50
Next 10': Find/remove traps, rolls [1d100] = 48 against 50
Final 10': Find/remove traps, rolls [1d100] = 18 against 50
Not sure the last 10' FRT check is necessary, but if it is...!

[Grognardsw]

Ral goes no further than three feet when, as he is searching for traps, his hand goes through the floor. It is an illusion before the halfling, at least directly in front of him.

[beniliusbob]

Ral backs up, picks up his 10' pole, and pokes it through the floor where his hand went through. He swings it around, trying to discern if there is any space to creep alongside the walls, or how wide the illusionary floor is if he has to leap it.

[Grognardsw]

Ral places his candle on the floor, takes up his pole, and feels out that the pit is 6' wide and square. The candle casts its dim glow 4' about. The pit could be walked around.

About 20-25' across the room is what Ral suspects may be a door from under which light eeks out.

[beniliusbob]

Ral picks up his candle and his pole and walks around the pit. When he reaches the other side, he'll approach within 3 feet of the "door" and lift the candle for a better inspection.

[Grognardsw]

Ral observes the door:



From under a small quarter-inch gap at the bottom of the door is light, most likely from a torch thinks the experienced thief.

[beniliusbob]

Ral places the pole on the ground and examines the door's handle, keyhole, and the space where it fits into the frame for any sign of traps.

Find/remove traps, rolls [1d100] = 73 against 50

Blithely ignorant and satisfied that the door is safe, Ral blows out the candle softly, gets down on hands and knees, and puts his ear up to the crack beneath the door to listen for noise.

Hear noise, [1d100] = 11 against 25

[Grognardsw]

Finding no traps, Ral listens at the door. It is silent.

[beniliusbob]

Setting aside the snuffed candle, Ral draws a dagger and opens the door -just enough to be able to peer through into the room beyond.

[Grognardsw]

Ral cracks open the door. It begins to squeek. A short 10' corridor is revealed, leading into a room from which torch light emanates.

[beniliusbob]

A short 10' corridor is revealed

Sorry, do you mean the corridor is 10' long, or is it really short and just 10' wide?

[Grognardsw]

The short corridor is 10' long, about 8' wide. It opens into a room, the left wall of which is the same left wall of the corridor. As Ral looks, that wall total is about 30'. At the halfling's current position, he can't see to the right side of the room.

[beniliusbob]

Leaving the pole and candle behind, and still clutching the dagger, Ral sneaks forward...

Move silently, rolls [1d100] = 53 against 57

...and peers around the edge of the wall to see the right side of the room.