Quote Originally Posted by jere7my View Post
It would not have taken any longer to mouth the word "Teleport", or to point at Zz'd'tri and make a "Get us out of here" gesture or two, than it did to convey two complete sentences in Drow sign language (and in Common — he was talking about bec de corbins and curvy Drow maidens in the same amount of time). The sign language just allowed him to do it in style.
Repeating it doesn't make it true.
How do you mouth a word with an helmet, anyway?

Here's an experiment: Time how long it takes you to say those two sentences, about the bec de corbin and so on. Then try to silently communicate the word "Teleport" or "Get us out of here" in the same amount of time or less. I bet it won't be that hard...even if you don't know Drow sign language.
I'm not speaking about timing, but about Roy receiving the message just as well.

Good point. Doing it this way, Roy couldn't possibly say "Durkon! They're going to teleport!" in the next panel.
Roy only realized they were gonna teleport when he saw them all packing together holding hands. Then turned to Durkon in hope of a dimensional anchor of sort. Only when he confirmed of not being able to do it he run there.

Had he foreseen their intentions earlier, had he had TIME, he would have simply run there. But he hadn't, because of T's secret code, which is what bought them the time needed to escape.
This is to address Peelee as well.

I think you're missing the joke. Back in the day, everybody who could learned Drow sign language, because it was Kewl. It's not any kind of a stretch to say that a random old-school character sheet from the time immediately following the release of Unearthed Arcana would have Drow sign language written on it. For a while, that was as common as a 17 comeliness.
Just as someone else said
Quote Originally Posted by Watcher View Post
Ugh. Fine, sure, it's totally reasonable for Tarquin to know Drow Sign Language, but I really REALLY wish it had even come up as an obscure background joke somewhere before, instead of him saying "Oh by the way I know the exact thing to do to undercut their victory."

Even a Chekhov's Gun is better than a Deus Ex Machina.