[IC] Death & Taxes (Session 3)

Bump for Nera's action. She can still try Deception (PPP) if she wants to de-escalate. She also has the Quickstrike talent, which adds a boost to attacks versus anyone who hasn't acted yet (in this case, everyone).

Bruce's crap now you guys know Bruv's full name! :P just gonna counterspell, unless/until it becomes apparent that something more significant is manifesting, or whatever.

I'd like to do it subtly though if it's usually overt...

And I do want to point out that Bruv bowed out of the judging, so he's not going to remain at the table. He will position himself somewhere close but not out in front of everyone.

Sounds good. From my read, Counterspell is just a matter of mental focus, so it won't be obvious unless someone is looking for it. Just keep in mind Bruv* can't wander too far away, as Counterspell is limited to medium range.

*Funny that your autocorrect turns Bruv to Bruce. Mine always wants Nera to be Near but leaves the other names alone.

Well, I don't feel NEARLY so bad about my earthen wall now... 😅

LOL. I hope I've done my due diligence in hinting that violence against the villagers at this point is going to have consequences—from the mayor, your employer, your boss, and potentially the baronial legal system.

However, after sleeping on it, I don't want to make what happens next seem like a punishment. So if the intent wasn't to kill, somebox, let me know. Nera can make the attack non-lethal. With arrows, that would mean adding either two setbacks to the check (to represent a called shot on their weapon hands to knock the weapons out), or one setback and two strain.*

Or we continue on! I just want to make sure I've given you every opportunity to continue non-violently if that was the intent.

*(Mechanically, called shots are Aim maneuvers. You can Aim once for free and add 2 setbacks, or Aim twice for 2 strain and reduce that to one setback.)

Tronus & Nera

OK, check out the modified two posts above. Essentially, the guards are disarmed and can't recover their weapons without straining (thanks to Painful Blow). The escorts have reminded both of you that causing anything more of a scene here is likely to bring down the whole village on you (what would have happened if we'd gone ahead with the kills. ;) )

Tronus is up. I'm not trying to wall the weaver off from you, just represent the fact that the mayor doesn't want you poking around her hut (for any of several possible reasons, including trying to keep you safe while you're his guests). We're still in structured time, but Tronus is welcome to try another approach to getting access to her if you want, like a Negotiation check. Or abort mission and let Nera use her sneakiness to try to gather information once you've gotten to your evening destination.

Hildar, Bruv, and Nekurr
At any point, you're welcome to roll a Daunting (PPPP) Geography, Average (PP) Lore, or Formidable (PPPPP) Forbidden check to cross-reference the poetry with what you suspect you know about similar village pageants (Geography), lore about the goddess Aris (Lore), or details about the evil bird and spider gods Hildar brought up (Forbidden). You're at two setbacks at the moment, since there are two more contestants. After the next, you'll be at one setback. After all three, you'll be a 0 setbacks, but if this is some sort of spell, that's when it would pop off.

Bruv can give me a Daunting (PPPP) Perception check with a setback for dim lighting to represent him scanning the crowd for signs of unusual activity. If he's focused in on just the mayor or another person, the difficulty goes down to Easy (P). One roll will represent the whole pageant.

Hildar's advantages are still unaccounted for. They can be used to boost another Forbidden check (as the story gets told more fully), or could boost Bruv's Perception check if you'd like.

Roger that, mcneils5. Remnant, you're up in the structured encounter. I'll advance the pageant at the same time to keep us roughly in sync.