So, while we're trying to figure out what to do next, I figure I'll go strike up a conversation with the door. It seems possible that it's alive, so it might be able to understand language. I'll try to explain the situation here, see if I can convince it to help us out. If it doesn't respond to Common, I'll try Halfling and Goblin as well.
I'm guessing that Diplomacy is the most appropriate skill here. If you can take 10 on Diplomacy, I do so, for 16. If not: You roll 1d20+6: 1+6 | 7
Even if this doesn't usefully influence the door, maybe it'll at least get a response from it. Also, what size category is the door, if it is a creature?
I examine the silver end of the sceptre to see if it can hold a key in it. If so, I propose that once Clem gets a holy symbol and we're rested again, we try opening the door with a key held in the sceptre.
Either end of the scepter would fit the depression nicely. There's no way you can see to fit a key onto the end, though, unless you used superglue or something.
In the meantime, I'd like to test something. First, I'd like to have Grog touch the sceptre to the throne a few times, to see if it can both open and close it reliably and repeatedly (possibly using the other end, in case one end opens the passage while the other closes it).
If that works, then I'll go inside the chamber behind the throne with a light and have Grog close the throne passage, wait a few seconds, and open it again.
I've started marking up Clem's sheet to indicate which spells he can't cast in his current state of nature.
Turns out to be most of them, but the good news is that almost all of them just require a holy symbol. I still have Teleport (and Dimension Door, except I've cast it already).
Losing my wisdom boost doesn't cost much except a single level 5 slot (which I've already used today).
I'd like to teleport back into town to pick up a new holy symbol, and maybe some trousers. Er, after borrowing a few gp from somebody. I'm happy to do this myself and return tomorrow.
I can take 3 other people. More if we rest for a few days, but I can only teleport once per day so some people are going to have to spend at least one night in the tomb.
OK, since I am as always the nicest DM in the business, Clem has no trouble finding a new holy symbol back in town. If he wants to use party funds to buy non-magical items, that is fine too.
Iain's on holiday now, so I'll wait until he checks in before going on to Paulie and Rosie's plans, but in the meantime you guys should decide which of your plans you want to execute first.
My impression from the (admittedly chaotic) transcript was that the essentials of Paulie's proposed plan had already been established, but in case I'm wrong, let's do that plan first.
Actually, though, before that plan, I have another. When we first come to enter this room, I stay in the tunnel with three cheap rapiers (bought in town for just this purpose), and see if Kong can be taught to stand at the door and hold it open. If it eventually closes anyway, I see if we can teach Kong to open the door with the rapiers. If either of these plans work, I propose we leave Kong here to either a) keep the door open, or b) open the door when asked.
This means leaving him out of the final battle, which is probably OK, since he doesn't have magic weapons or anything. Alternatively, Crumbli could trade with him.
After we work this out, I say we go with Paulie's plan, and after that, I would like to try my touch-the-sceptre-to-the-indent plan.
OK, the order will be
- Clem goes into town, gets a new holy symbol, buys some gear so he's not as ill-equipped as Crumbli
- Rosie tries to teach Kong how to open the three-slot door
- Grog plays around with the sceptre and the throne
- Rosie plays around with the sceptre and the bloody doors.
Grog kindly gave Clem his old breastplate +2, but Clem could still use a holy symbol and ideally some pants. He goes around the party begging for alms until they give him 30gp, then teleports into town for some shopping.
He buys a cheap wooden holy symbol, a sack, some parchment that he can use for his "shield of faith" spell (after scrawling some suitably pious words on it), some chalk, torches, flint and steel, rations, bedroll, and some stylish peasant-style clothes.
Finally, he blows 25gp on a beautifully carved wooden greatsword. Burning this should be good for another Divination spell, just in case we happen to need it.
Moving on to the three-slot door: when it shuts automatically, it does so with incredible force. For example, Grog doesn't even come close to being able to stop it.
You try teaching Kong to use the rapiers, but he can't seem to get the hang of it. Good idea, though.
I'm going to assume that even with the failure of that plan, you go ahead and let the door close behind you, since Clem can always Dimension Door back and let everyone out.
OK, on to Grog and the throne: once the throne has been caused to sink (by touching the silver end to the silver crown inlay, as you originally discovered) there doesn't seem to be any way to cause it to rise again (short of maybe injuring the big doors again, which I assume you do not feel like repeating), so Paulie isn't able to conduct any of the rest of the experiment.
Rosie laughs, goes back down to the rest of the group starkers, opens the door with the three rapiers we left there, drops them again, goes back into the columned hall, picks up the sceptre, and tries again.
| You roll 1d20+8: 13+8 | 21
On the mud Rosie just repeated the same action six more times. The first five times she got teleported to the entrance, and the sixth time (rolling a 17+8), nothing happened.
You roll 1d20+8: 1+8 | 9
dfan says, "Same thing"
Rosie gets a workout and runs through the tomb a few more times.
You roll 1d20+8: 4+8 | 12
You roll 1d20+8: 5+8 | 13
You roll 1d20+8: 2+8 | 10
You roll 1d20+8: 2+8 | 10
You roll 1d20+8: 17+8 | 25
[tomb] Rosie exclaims, "Woo-hoo!"
dfan says, "OK, that time nothing happened"
...revealing a room 50 feet east-west and 40 feet north-south (the doors were in the middle of the north wall).
A silvered ceiling reflects a grand room with inlaid ivory and gold tiled walls and a polished agate tiled floor. A hulking black iron demonic sculpture rests in each corner of the chamber, each bearing a distinctive weapon. In addition, the chamber contains a gold filigreed bronze urn from which issues a thin stream of smoke, two iron chests, and a granite sarcophagus which is plainly inscribed with the name ACERERAK.
http://hamesucken.com/tomb/30.jpg
Also, as you enter (which I am assuming you are doing), Finn's ioun stone drops to the ground.
If anyone else has a magic item that has visible effects, let me know...
Also. let me detail the statues while I'm here:
Each iron statue is 9 feet tall and is forged of black iron. The statue to the northeast stands with a saw-toothed two-handed sword raised to strike; the statue to the northwest has a huge, spike-ended mace; to the southeast the sculpture readies a wickedly spiked morning star, and the one in the southwest has a glaive.
Rosie goes to pull out her map, and then realizes it's gone. "Crap! Anyone have any paper?" Fortunately, she'd studied the thing enough that she reproduces it vaguely accurately. She eyes the room, and makes a few more sketches. When Finn walks past her into the room, she says, "Wait, the other lich woke up when we-- oh. Well, OK. Still, don't touch a statue yet. Or, you know, get within five feet of one."
Still on the stairs outside the room, she shows everyone her sketch.
http://strackenz.spod-central.org/~lpsmith/rpg/transcripts/tomb/Tomb.png
"So, if my rough estimate of where our stuff is is right, our stuff isn't in one of the chests; it's in a room off to the side. But I don't quite trust the sketch--Clem, can you cast Locate Object one last time? And if our stuff indeed is not in this room, can Crumbli search for secret doors on the west wall?"
Without entering the room just yet, I'll cast Detect Magic and peer through the doorway at everything.
As for magical items, I've also got an ioun stone (but after seeing what happened to Finn's, I'm waiting before going inside: I'd like to know whether or not he can reactivate his, whether inside the room or outside it). And does a Handy Haversack count as a "visible effect"?
[ok, maybe i was a little hasty in assuming you entered the room (duh, it's the tomb of horrors), but nothing leaped out to attack you, so no harm done.]
Finn steps right back out of the room and the ioun stone starts circling his head again.
[paulie rolls a 20+1 on his spellcraft]
The statues are overwhelmingly magical, but you can't determine the school of magic.
Standing where he can see inside the room, but not actually stepping inside, Clem carefully envisages his old flaming holy symbol (boy, that was one awesome flaming holy symbol, never had any problems corrallin' the undead with that thing) and casts Locate Object.
Clem's holy symbol is west by southwest of the top of the stairs where you are (that is, still consistent with Rosie's map), and at like a 45 degree angle down.
Searchity searchity. First I'm just going to make a quick circuit of the room to see if I spot anything with my elfy secret-door-auto-vision. If that doesn't find anything, I'll start going meticulously down the west wall, taking 20s (for 35). At 2 minutes per 5-foot area, that should take me 16 minutes.
Another thing: I think it's safe to assume that these are the "iron men of visage grim" mentioned in that clue, and therefore they "do more than meets the viewer's eye". Maybe they transform into cars.
Oh, good point. Which means there may be something here about 'left and left and found my tomb and now your soul will die.' Perhaps it means the secret doors are to the left, though that doesn't really work for our stuff. Oh, well.
Trying not to get too freaked out at the huge scary statues looming over her, Crumbli does an exhaustive search of the west wall, but finds nothing.
The quick look around the room doesn't turn up anything either.