Hammer Time
The gate to hell is alluring, but the hole beneath a stone desk is more intriguing. The only problem is that we can't get to the hole beneath the desk, what with the desk being in the way. We have a few potions of gaseous form with us, but not enough for the whole party any more, as Brennan panicked and drank his to flee from some baying hounds, and if we need to come back up this way they won't really help with getting us down there.
A simple solution is for one of us to drink a potion, take gaseous form, and scout through the hole to see if it's worth taking the time to demolish the desk. So that's what we do. Explore times for the monk, which is me! I become a gas, which is quite liberating and lets me fart with no one noticing, and disappear down the hole beneath the desk.
Under the desk are stairs leading down to a corridor, which opens to three more corridors, one with hulking doors broken off their hinges. Yep, I'd say there is something to investigate down here, so I turn my gassy self around and return to the room above. On regaining my normal form I tell the others what I saw, and that our only real option is to smash the desk to pieces, which will take a while.
Arleks, who it must be admitted was paying pretty much no attention last week when I gave the solid stone desk a tentative whack, boasts that 'I can break it apart in 2 hits. I have a big hammer'.
'No, it will take a lot of effort. The desk is very hard.' I know. My best shot barely made a chip.
'I have a very big hammer', he says. Okay, then, give it a go. Arleks brings his very big hammer crashing down on the desk, slamming it heavily. He rolls the maximum 8 points of damage on his D8, adding his strength and other bonuses as normal.
'It will take about another, oh, 170 hits', estimates the GM.
'You may need to roll higher on that D8', I say to Arleks, as we all start pounding on the stone desk so that we can advance our adventure.