I'm going to admonish you a bit. Marcus already suggested that Charge of the Angry Winds would be ineffective. And while Fiona is not combat incapable, she's not combat optimized, and I don't see her heading off into an unknown situation if she has any hint that their might be combat. And if she's preparing for a spell, I think it's reasonable that she has a hint. Combat is deadly, and to illustrate that, I'll point out what happened to Heims in Albion...
Right. In that case, head to the back, let the combat-monkeys head front, but be where she can cast Curse of Circe or do something else if need be.
And do we have designated red shirts?
I think we're just using random grogs from the covenant for Fiona's and Marcus's shield grogs. Say, two Tough Guy grogs from p. 22 of the main rulebook?
That'll work. You'll either need to run them (do initiatives and determine actions) or recruit someone to run them.
Okay, I can handle that unless someone else wants to.
Marcus's grog has an Initiative of Qui 1 – Enc 3 + die roll of 3 = 1. He will move in front and to one side of Marcus so he can step in and try to block any upcoming missile fire with his shield (or his body,if he has to) while still leaving the magus a clear line-of-sight/line-of-fire for his spells.
Fiona's shield grog has Qui 1 – Enc 3 + die roll of 6 = 4. He will stay between Fiona and any incoming fire from below (being less concerned with leaving a path open for her spells than his brother guarding Marcus, since she's not a battle-mage).
I've created a couple of grogs, Falko and Jehanne. If you don't find them too irreverent, Falko can be Marcus's shield grog and Jehanne can be Fiona's.
I've modified the initiative rolls based on the new characters; otherwise everything is great.
Works for me.
Who's going down first, one of the grogs, or Wilhelm?
My first thought was one of the grogs (probably Jehanne, since he has the higher Soak), then have Wilhelm behind to loose an arrow past him if need be. But then I got to thinking that Wilhelm has a better Awareness, so he can see/hear whether it's a trap.
So, let's go with Jehanne, with Wilhelm right behind him with his sensors on full scan. Then Glaukopis (back far enough to where he's not an immediate target, but close enough that he might be able to make out what they're saying and translate) and Fiona back a little bit, then Marcus and Falko.
So: Jehanne < Wilhelm << Glaukopis < Fiona < Marcus << Falko.
Works for me. Falko is rear guard then?
Yep.
The magi nod to the grogs when they are ready; Wilhelm juts his chin towards the stairway at Jehanne. Jehanne just stands there, and Wilhelm rolls his eyes meaningfully at Jehanne. When the dark-haired grog still doesn't move, Wilhelm sighs and whispers impatiently, "Take the van, dammit!"
Jehanne smiles and claps Wilhelm on the shoulder in a friendly way, before readying his mace and starting down the stairs.
Holding his sword low with both hands, Falko scans the charred hallway behind them, humming softly to himself.
The downstairs is poorly lit, but there is some light here and there. The hushed voices are from two giants down at the end of a hallway. There are two wooden doors on each side of the hallway and the two giants at the end of the hallway in front of yet another door, but that one is iron and appears to go into the hillside.
((Wilhelm isn't a grog, he's Peregrine's companion character.))
Wilhelm motions for Jehanne to stay put, and goes back to whisper to the magi, [color=green]"There are two giants in a room. I think I can at least wound both of them before they can counter-attack, but I don't know if I can kill them. Perhaps if you magicked them?"
"Well, I certainly can. Fiona hasn't wanted to kill... Marcus says quietly.
Oh, and since everyone is giant sized except Marcus, I'm just giving him an effective +3 Quickness.
His initiative is 14.
Fiona motions for Marcus to slide up past her. [color=blue]"Be my guest. The more we...incapacitate now, the fewer we have to fight past on the return trip, right?"
"Very well, I am unleashed." Marcus jaunts down the steps without an escort or nary a care and unleashes 6 Balls of Abysmal Fire at each guard. Both are effectively incapacitated, but moaning loudly in pain. Two of the other doors open and out come five more giants. "Ahh, more babes for the party."
Round 2 actions (Marcus is pausing pending all other actions.)
Round 2 Declarations
Wilhelm will put an arrow into one of the giants. Preferably one of the new ones, if he has a good shot, or one of the wounded ones to put them out of their misery and shut them up.
Fiona will spont a CrAq spell to put a layer of oil under the giants' feet. Looks like Base 3 to create a natural liquid that isn't contained, R: Voice (+2), D: Concentration (+1), T: Individual, for a final target level of 10. Her CT is Sta 3 + Cr 6 + Aq 6 + Aura 10 + die roll of 2 = 27, halved is 14. I'm guessing she'll need a Finesse roll to place it properly? Int 1 + Finesse (Precision) 4 + die roll of 3 = 8.