Étienne taunts and defends.
He says in Arabic, "Come on out you feckless thug, there's no power for you here now, I sent her away. Only my sword remains for you to taste." while moving into the line of fire, if possible.
There is no taunt skill, Etiquette and Charm are both 4, consider them two sides of the same coin? So Com (3) +Skill (4) + Die roll of 7=14.
Defense total:Qik 0 + SW(4+1) + Wpn (1) +Defense roll of 2=8
Abdul Fati:
An awareness check Com (2) +Awarealerness+ Die roll of 7=11
His actions are conditional, if 11 is sufficient to get an intent from Étienne's speaking in Arabic and his movement, if there is any, he'll call out in Castillian, "Hold your fire!"
If he can't suss it out, he'll advance and back up Étienne.
Defense Total: Qik 1 +SW (8) +Wpn (1) + die roll of 0=10, no botch
[ooc: when I ran the combat with qcipher in Bibracte, to get used to combat (from 3rd edition), I tried to get him to roll attack/spell, damage rolls if applicable (spells) and defense, every round. Soak can be sorted out in between if there is contact, and the results of damage can be assessed to subsequent rounds. If any magic users get here, if they're in physical range of attack, have them roll for defense, in addition to any other actions taken.]
Edit:added commentary about damage roll to OOC portion.
Edited again: I meant damage rolls for spells, that was entirely unclear.
Have players declare their actions for the next round, rolling all nescessary dices (even if these happen to be unused after all)
have them declare what they'll probably do in the 1 rounds afterwards, without rolls. That way, if someone lags behind, you have an idea of their reactions.
Like:
Round 3: Marie uses her bow. Roll 3 + Dex 3 + Bows 6 + Short bow 3 = 15 (dammage +6).
Round 4: She'll fire another arrow, unless the monster closes on her, in which case she'll retreat
With a panicked scream, Esteban runs the hell out. That is, as far as his arthritis will carry him...
Since this may be important, I'll roll to see if one of his joints "lock up"... Ouf! 1d10=4
Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
So, Esteban:
Round 2: Flees. defense roll if needed: 1d10=5 + 0 = 5
Round 3: Stops if far enough and hide, or flees
Marie:
Round 2: Will fire up another arrow, unless she hears fati's command to hold back. Attack 13 + 1d10=5 = 18 (damage +6)
Round 3: Will fire another arrow, unless the monster closes on her, in which case she'll retreat, trying to bring him towards Maria's sword if she can, or Fati
Round 2
If she's not within melee range of the demon in the child (it has to be a demon, what else could it be? ), she will close to melee range and swing at the tentacle with her sword.
Attack is Dex 1 + Single Weapon (Short Sword) 8 + Sword Atk Mod 3 + Shield Atk Mod 0 - Missing Eye 1 = 11 + die roll of 5 = 16.
Defence is Qui 1 + Single Weapon (Short Sword) 8 + Sword Dfn Mod 1 + Shield Dfn Mod 3 = 13 + die roll of 2 = 15.
Damage is Str 1 + Dam Mod 5 = 6 + Attack Advantage
Round 3 (Declaration)
She will again attack the tentacle unless she thinks that attacking the creature's incipient face will be more fruitful.
Maria will draw back with her sword but stay her hand, faced with momentary indecision - the body is that of a child, but no child she's ever seen had a tentacle crawling out of her eye. She fears that the child may already be lost...but there's still that sliver of doubt .
She holds her action this round, but will attack next round unless someone tells her something to influence her decision, with whatever appropriate penalties to be sure she hits the tentacle and not the child that the demon is possessing.
Étienne does his best to call a cease fire and taunt the demon from the body of the child as indicated above.
(I had made a change regarding Étienne, giving him Leadership, and it is pending your approval. Where this may be applicable is with Leadership, which covers taunting, which would reduce the total from 14 to 12.)
A face....no, a mouth....no, a maw grows out of one of the child's feet, teeth made of sinew and bone.
"Mine!" the maw screams in anticipation.
The maw begins to shift towards the tentacle coming out of the child's eye, leaving the leg boneless and limp. The tentacle reaches for Etienne, but misses.
"You are feeble. You'll get nothing more than you have now. You smelled power, and you let it fall through your pathetic grasp. Your masters must truly be disappointed in you.", said in Latin.
Com 3, +Lead 2+die roll of 6=11
More defense, but no attacks.
Defense total:Qik 0 + SW(4+1) + Wpn (1) +(die roll of 1, so 2* a die roll of 3, 6)=12
Some OCC character observations, Étienne isn't brave, per se. His motivation is that he started congratulating himself for a job well done, and then it promptly fell apart around him. He's trying to salvage what last little bit of it he can, or die trying.
Edit:
OOC(Crap, kinda forgot I was running Abdul Fati, too.) He's continuing to back up Étienne allowing him to manage it as he sees fit. I'm bordering on having him take an opposite approach if Étienne should fall: say a quick prayer to Allah and then order an attack.
In the first round of combat, Azura ports back to the covenant (no Aegis! Yay!) and shouts at the top of her lungs, "DEMON AT THE CAMP! ANYONE KNOW D-E-O?"
Round 3
Maria, seeing that the child not only has a tentacle sprouting from his eye and reaching for the sergeant, Etienne, but also has for all intents and purposes lost his leg as it became a hideous maw.
This is problematic on several levels. First, Azura's Leap was the spell that triggered his attack (it was the first spell cast within the demon's detection range after someone wearing a spell touched him). So, Azura arrives in the covenant at the end of Round 1, and will hear the screams from the camp, along with the rest of the village. For expediency, I'll concede that she can figure out that it must be coming from the camp, but she most certainly cannot know the nature of the foe.
Second, the magi sanctums are all inside the regio. Granted, Cygna has already shown a lot of interest in interacting with the humiliores, but I think it's definitely stretching it to think they'd be able to coordinate within 2 rounds.
That second aspect was a major consideration when I designed this scenario -- while this covenant may have the resources of a winter covenant, it has the protocols and procedures of a Spring covenant.
Etienne's verbal jibes strike as true as Maria's blade. Roll damage for both. (Etienne's verbal attack does +Presence damage).
"Fools! Soon you will learn! I'll feast upon your souls, grow stronger upon your magic, and then they'll all know who I am!"
A tentacle wraps around Etienne's torso. His tunic fades from the brilliant sky blue of Azura's Doublet of Impenetrable Silk back to its original color. Etienne is still grappled, but otherwise takes no damage this round. Any other magics active on Etienne right now?
Another tentacle sprouts out of the boys right arm, a heartbeat after the first tentacle grapples Etienne.
Étienne's damage is Pre 1 + die roll of 6=7.
No other active magics.
Will Étienne be able to swing his sword at all next round?
About the covenant activity, Ra'am and family are probably still on the Cijara side. Since he's without sanctum and has only begun designing it, it is unlikely he's left the guest quarters. Getting there is going to be the big trick for Ra'am.
Unless you're going to say that Cygna carries it on her usually... and I'm not saying you can't be summoned at all. Just that it will take a few rounds, given the lack of guards, etc. Hrm. On the other hand, the grapevine grows on both sides....
Where does Azura arrive at, exactly?
Cersei's Miracle Gro is probably in a large barrel in her lab.
Yes, but I don't want you to know how much that was.
See MRB 174 for rules on Grappling. You can attempt to escape, but that's pretty much it.
I concur that it is logical for Ra'am to be on the Cijara side. Waiting for Arya to say exactly where Azura arrived to determine how quickly Ra'am can meet up with her.
It seems like the combat is about to begin round 4 while the covenant is still at Round 1-ish.
Round 4 actions
Étienne will attempt to escape, and continue his tongue lashing.
"It would appear that you have the only the power of the child who's body you stole. How pathetic. My soul will be safe."
Attempt to free from grapple: SW 4+1 + Wpn 4 + die roll of 2=11
If taunting is still possible:
Attack: Com 3 + Leadership 2 +die roll of 6=11
Possible Dmg: Pre 1 + die roll of 3=4
Abdul Fati will also attack a tentacle that has ensnared Étienne.
Attack: Dex 1+SW 8 + Wpn 4 +die roll of 3=14
Defense: Qik 1 + SW 8 +Wpn 1 + die roll of 7=17
I pictured it as being with her, in her robes (don't they have a sleeve pocket or something for things like that?); both her character sheet and the library magic items listing have it as with her.
So, I'm guessing that means you want me to roll a stress die (no botch) plus the damage modifier for her sword, then? If so: die roll of 9 + 6 = 15.
Are we doing damage from weapons different than RAW?
RAW Damage from weapons is: Strength+Weapon Damage Modifier +Attack Advantage. The randomness of the damage is already included in the attack total.
Damage from spells or supernatural effects, such as the taunting in this case, is typically a base amount + stress die.
), she will close to melee range and swing at the tentacle with her sword.