If the trap is attached to the lock, let’s have Giacomo jam a pick in there, and then I’ll use [COLOR=“Blue”]mage hand to (from a safe distance) waggle the thing around in the lock until I manage to trigger it.
I could never use mage hand to actually pick a lock, but I’m pretty sure I can simulate a terrible attempt at it![/COLOR]
Yeah, let’s do that. If the door is still shut, we can kick it in.
Looking at the ground sheepishly…
“Just so you understand, I am not, I repeat, not making this suggestion… but perhaps our large mute friend could be persuaded to open the door? Just an option we may wish to consider. Not that I would ever suggest such a thing.”
“Hah! I imagine we can manage to direct any potential violence, explosive or otherwise, towards the chap on the other side of the door.”
Joseph nods at Giacomo and prepares to put Operation: Wiggle the Lockpick into action.
Our bruisers should prepare to rush through the door wreckage as quickly as possible, assuming I manage to pull it off.
Harald is **always **prepared to spring into violent action. He even sleeps aggressively.
Although for the time being, Harald will [del]stand clear of the incoming blast zone[/del] thoughtfully give Giacomo all the elbow room he needs for his precision craft (and mentally bet on how far the body parts will be flung).
However, I shall use the spare time (and distraction) to discreetly cast Enlarge Person, [COLOR=Black]keeping the spell charge in my hand for the time being.[/COLOR]
I believe the spell’s duration only starts ticking once the spell effect is actually applied by touch, rather than when it is cast ? Not sure, so it’s up to our GM. If not, oh well, 1 minute is still 10 rounds, shouldn’t take *that *long to open a bloody door 
I very gingerly place a pick–Lockpick? that’s what these are? I thought they were merely some interesting tools I found on the, ah forget it–in the lock, making sure not to trigger the trap.
Readying my sling…and standing back next to Harald.
The Brute sighs and runs a hand over one of the fresh burns on his scalp, but takes up position to rush the door if Giacomo can open it.
making a placating gesture towards Aji and aiming my crossbow towards the door
“A joke only, my large friend. To show no hard feelings, should this fledgling company hold together, I will allow you to carry my pack on the road. I have some wonderful Elven rations you can help yourself to.”
Zachary stands by, bombs at the ready, although to be honest if Harald can’t kill whatever’s on the other side in short order it’s probably not going to be overly troubled by a little alchemy. Still, one does what one can.
The plan works like a charm. Giacomo gingerly places one of his cheapest picks in the lock, and Joseph first carefully, then energetically wiggles it from a distance. It takes a moment, but eventually a blast of fire bursts outward from the lock. The door latch appears damaged. Loud shouts and guttural moans sound from the room beyond.
That’s a clever solution. I’ll award an XP bonus for the creative teamwork.
We are indeed playing with that rule. Consider it done.
Everyone, steel yourselves ! May we meet on the other side !
(I move in confidently, Ingrid already singing as she slices the air)
Joseph plasters himself to the wall as the rest of the party rumbles past, then follows in their wake, whip at the ready.
Giacomo also hangs back but will follow the big guys closely, daggers at the ready. He tries to see if his pick survived the blast. If not it was a cheap redundant pick.
I move in right behind him.
I move to allow the melee fighters to pass, keeping my crossbow aimed towards the door. If the mage is visible I’ll take a shot at him. Provided the mage is visible I’ll concentrate on him unless I’m attacked in melee.
I’ll try to move to within melee distance of the mage, if I can I want to discard the crossbow and use the claws to disrupt his concentration as much as possible.
Zachary quaffs his bomber’s eye formula and falls in, prepared to fling a stink bomb at the evil mage if there’s a clear shot. He murmurs to the company “If I shout ‘Plague rats!’, stop in your tracks until the bomb goes off.”
My plan is : if **The Brute **acts before me and manages to do his dodging thing to get to the mage, follow him (don’t care about AoOs one bit, although I of course won’t take some just for the hell of it if they can be avoided) and Enlarge him to help with the grappling. Then from then on rage and go to town to clean up the riff raff ASAP.
However, if the place is too cramped, he fails his move, **Zach **gets his fartbomb on target first or what have you I’ll use the enlarge spell on myself, rage and try to clean up the zombies one by one, trying my best to finish my turns 2 squares away from enemies (and, if possible, protecting squishies with my reach) so that enemies get an AoO should they try to come into melee w/ me, while I’m only one 5-foot step away from a full attack next turn.
Sorry for the long delays, folks; it’s a busy time at work for me. With Harald and Aji breaking the door down, only they will act in the surprise round. Everyone else will act in the regular round.
Harald’s beefy shoulder crashes through the damaged door. It flies off its hinges and the two men burst into the room.
Two trolls, each carrying a firebrand, are arrayed around the mage in orange robes. Their bulk fills the entire area around the mage; any attempt to rush past them will need to go through them instead. The trolls ashen faces highlight their piggy red eyes, and their grey, knobbly skin drips with sweat.
Harald acts first-- he lowers his shoulder and continues his charge straight through into one of the trolls. His clothing rips along its seams and he swells to nearly the same size as the trolls as he lets out another Norse battle cry. Harald’s body slams into the troll low, catching it just below the ribs, and he nearly carries it back ten feet until he finally crashes the troll into the wall right next to the mage. The target troll’s counterblow is too slow, and Harald gets inside the troll’s reach easily, but his companion takes the opportunity to give Harald a nasty blow with his firebrand. Only 6 damage
Aji takes the chance to try out his acrobatic skills. Rather than run through the gap that Harald has created, he runs forward and leaps off a chair, catches a low-hanging chandelier, and swings through the air, bouncing neatly off a bookshelf and landing in a crouch right next to the mage. Aji tries to catch the mage’s outstretched arm, but his enemy leaps backward nearer a window and evades capture.
Trolls, huh ? This is gonna suuuck… if anyone’s got Knowledge(local), now might be a good time to try and figure how trolls work 
Finally, a challenge worth the trip ! Come 'ere you big lunks, if you think yer hard enuff ! Fight me ! FIGHT ME ! I’ll chop your balls off and feed them to your boss !
(I’ll try and pull the trolls to me to either side, with the twin goal of distracting them so that other party members can have a clear path do their thing 'cause if they don’t I’m going to die fast and ugly ; and getting my back against a wall corner, library, anything to not get flanked by them since they’ll already have an easy enough time hitting me.)