On the Road (OOC)

On reflection, maybe it'll slow things down too much to try to come up with a shared plan. Perhaps Meht should just look for whoever on the other side seems to be leading the charge and try to shoot them too.

Leesha is still by the captain and and has not taken any actions. From what we last saw, Meht went there with her, so go ahead and insert yourself into that scene, do it as though you arrived with Leesha or are arriving shortly after, or even (so long as it does not rip spacetime) insert yourself at a point before the captain speaks.
As much as possible I would like that as well, but it is not always an option in PbP. Unless we all commit to regular and predictable postings we can end up prema-waiting and all locked up in scenes that depend on other players.
I don't have an answer for that one. I do have to adjust my style for this since I am mainly character focused in most games.
I say that this game should not have too much deep impact on the landscape but have a whole complicated background with the bandits and Calum and something big scaring them and so on, which may never come to light if the fight goes the wrong way or the players are not interested in that.

I really need to remember what this game is meant to be and keep those plans for more committed games.
We can spin off some of this into its own game with he players who are serious about working togeter.

What would you want to achieve with the 'shoot them'? Focus on the outcomes rather than the mechanics, so we know what to do when you succeed. :)

Yeah none of this was meant to be a criticism of you, more just trying to analyse why I was feeling stuck, which I was worried was slowing the game down. Having written it down I can see that it's mostly structural factors, and that for the reasons you say, trying to land on a consensus about what to do isn't really practical.

No worries. I agree with you. :)

The more OOC discussion we have the less the IC tends to slow down, as well. We can't know what the other players are feeling/thinking (even after they tell us), but the more we know that they are 'stuck' rather than 'busy' the more we can offer guidance without concerns of applying too much pressure.

re Meht: Meht wanted to get out of town and start a new life using his skills. He's a guard, and also has a loan for a bow to pay back, so he's going to try to be a good guard while that's his livelihood. Having done something which has gotten things out of hand, he's going to want to try to fix them.

Good to know, these sorts of long-term goals help me know what will be interesting to throw at the characters.
Remind me: what did he do that have 'gotten out of hand'?
But, I meant in the short-term. Why would Meht 'shoot them'. Are you just wanting someone to die, or do you hope to achieve some bigger goal by taking out 'the leader'? Disrupt, demoralise, disorganise? Die? Something that does not start with a 'd'?

re out of hand: the group is under attack because Meht shot the bandit leader, which is not what he'd hoped would happen :)

re goal: yes, he wants to take the wind out of the bandits' sails.

re why shooting: I guess because I feel a bit stuck and it's obvious? :) I should probably think a bit harder about it though.

Oh, right. True, this is all sorta your fault. :)
It worked last time. :)
Though, I don't know about a 'leader', they are pretty much a wild melee now.
If your intent is to 'stop the fighting', and you were wanting to talk to the captain (with the healer nearby), maybe a check on the 'downed' bandit leader will offer solutions? I am not sure a human would be able to get to her body, but you have options.

That's an excellent idea, I've been wanting Oli to be more involved and that's a perfect thing for him to do.

Not sure what modifier to use for Pet though - any tips?

Depends what he is doing. He is an extension of your character and does not have his own stats. Just like a sword uses your character's stats, so does a pet.

It is tricky when pets act 'independently', but it is still Meht doing whatever is being done.

If no stats apply we can always roll the die of fate, but that offers very little control.

You would definitely need to roll. What you roll would depend on how you are doing it, as would the consequences.

If you try to sneak over there then that would probably be a DEX roll. Anyone noticing you 'sneaking to her body' might assume nefarious intent and treat you with hostility. And I mean anyone, your side and theirs.
Your side might assume you are running away, or that you are in league with them, or something and may attack you in the extreme case.
Their side would make you a priority target with any assumption about what you intend with her body.

If you want to try to convince everybody to stop and deal with the facts (that only you know) you would probably need a CHA roll, but it would be at a major disadvantage. Enlisting the captain, for instance, into your plan would be its own roll, but simpler and more likely to yield good results with any followup (like getting to the bandit leader).

Those are not the only options, merely the only ones I thought to write here.

I meant looking in the 'scanning, looking around' sense - looking to see if there's a safe way before trying to do anything.

If there's not a safe way, and it sounds that way, then approaching the captain becomes the likeliest choice.

Drat this language! :)

No, that would not need a roll, and you mostly have an answer above. Do you need more?
Definitely no 'safe way' without risks.

It's a real pity WoDu doesn't have that XP-on-a-miss mechanic :)

LizzyPinkHood: There are no downsides since you got an 11, but what does it feel like, for the recipient, when you cast your Protector's Blessing Ritual in a hurry?

theatreofcomets: I am not thrilled with the results of your 6. We can negotiate if you have any better ideas.

As things stand you have a choice. You can obey the captain, keeping your job secure but putting your life at risk; or you can take some other action (maybe related to the bandit leader or not, as you like) and risk your standing with the captain and the other guards. You will not lose your job here --since that is boring and breaks the story-- unless the players choose to part ways with the caravan.

I apologize for making everyone wait, firstly, I know it is PbP, but I was absent for some time due to work appearing in my life and it is demanding time-wise. I hope nobody felt too bad in the meantime.
As for magic, given it's nature and what we already had mentioned in the previous posts, I think Meht could feel it as a descending pillar of hot wind, invisible and lacking solid manifestation for anyone but him. It envelops and protects, but might also feel like a burden, since being performed in a hurry it puts recipient under pressure of otherworldly influence to which nothing born under sun should be used to, at least I think this could be interesting additionally due to Meht potentially acquiring some ideas of his own regarding nature of this power, or something like that ^_^