I also just checked Lightning Reflexes.
a) a separate roll is required to see if LR works in the first place. This is a pretty easy roll though, but...
b) it only counts for threats you are not fully aware of. Neither Ludwig nor Thor were caught by surprise, so LR would not count for either one.
c) you are twisting in the wind and I call shennanigans
It was the Lightning Reflexes roll that Ludwig botched, which happens before the initiative order. Ludwig was definitely surprised that Thor would attack Carmen, and his "oh shit" us-vs-them response kicked in. If he'd had a chance to think about it, he wouldn't have done it, because ultimately his self-preservation would have won out. He fell into aether because his botch happened on the LR check, before initiative rolls occurred.
You can handwave Carmen getting out of the way if you want. YOU let ME know how you want your character's actions adjudicated and then let me know when I can tell you how everyone else responds.
You're welcome to disagree on mechanics specifics, but
be a dick about it and you can run your own damn adventures. I wanted to handwave this shit anyway, and I certainly didn't spend two evenings drawing up character sheets for the Aesir for my health.
chillax. I'm just saying. I let you complain a lot too, so just let us all be mellow.
([size=10]and I'm trying to avoid getting maimed here, so cut me some slack here lol[/size])
Maybe I can buy LR kicking in for Ludwig. If that roll botches, I would think he would fail to react at all. Falling off the bridge is pretty harsh. But don't worry, I will talk Thor into going after him.
And why does Fast Casting make everyone so cranky?
:mrgreen:
(smiles, everybody, smiles...)
I just doubt that Thor qualifies for the Lightning Reflexes bonus, because he gave a warning and was waiting for Carmen to cross the line. I only cried shenanigans because you added that information in after the fact. Please forgive me.
If the Fast Cast roll is successful, she will back off far and away from Thor. If Ludwig falls off the bridge, she will cast her flight spell and go after him.
Now, what's Frey gonna do?
Difference between you and me is... You LIKE storyguiding, and you're good at it.
It's a botch. It's supposed to be worse than a 0!
Because the mechanics of it don't make a whole lot of sense.
Carmen can get away from Thor. Unfortunately he is enraged, frothing at the mouth as bolts of lightning start zapping at random out of Thor's beard. (Good thing Ludwig fell off the bridge, because he has no MR.)
Heimdall leaps to his feet first, shouting at Thor in the same guttural language they were arguing in before.
Skirnir grabs Carmen by the neck of her dress and drops her in Skidbladnir, navigating the ship down towards the swirling vortex below.
Freyr also jumps to his feet, speaking soothingly, though Carmen cannot understand what he's saying.
Round two, go.
I suppose in round two, Carmen and Skirnir chase after Ludwig in Skidbladnir, while Heimdall and Frey deal with Thor.
And I once considered putting Storyguiding on my resume back when I was in the IT recruiter game. "Lead and coordinated an international team in the construction and maintenance of an interned data site and served as moderator of their forum." But really, I hate IT recruiting. It is legalized indentured servitude of H1 Visa holders. And the whole corporate culture thing really made me ill. Not that I am really any good at the chef thing, and sometimes I really hate it. But it is honest work, imparts a sense of accomplishment, and I fit in with the culture.
As for being an SG, I do enjoy the grand creative aspect. It can be frustrating sometimes, but it has taught me how to compromise and be diplomatic. I would not claim to be exceptionally talented at it. I just persevere and I can keep it going and know how to move on past mistakes. Same with cooking on the line. When I am really slammed, I catch myself making shortcuts. I am capable of quickly correcting mistakes and moving on to the next ticket ([size=20]that damn printer has given me PTSD[/size]). And next time, I figure out how to turn my shortcut into routine (instead of skipping a step because I always forget it, I combine that step with another to shorten the procedure and insure all pieces are put in place).
Translate that into SG technique.
And Fast Casting makes perfect sense to me. Perhaps I should set up a combat encounter as an exercise so that we may develop a harmonic procedure.
It's probably because I haven't played AM all that long, I think of initiative orders and how much action fits into a round in D&D terms. 1) If someone starts a fight unexpectedly, that someone acts in the surprise round, and no one else acts until after the surprise round completes. 2) Even when you're taking Attacks of Opportunity (pretty much analagous to Fast-casting) there's a hard limit to how many you can make in a single round, and thus a finite amount of action that can fit into a single round. The rules of fast-casting don't have either of those things so it goes against my sense of how game mechanics "should" work.
Anyway, swimming through the vortex until you fish out Ludwig takes up plenty enough time for Freyr to soothe Thor until he can come back to his senses. (Fury + Wrathful is a dangerous combination.)
Once the cranky gobber is recovered, the first thing out of his mouth: "Don't go thinkin' I give one whit about what happens to you. Only reason I tried to help you was because I knew Vulc would kill me if I let anything happen to you."
Skirnir says, "Now that we're back together, we have to go back to Asgard to get you to Midgard. I'm sorry neither my lord nor I thought to say this before, but-- do not provoke Thor. He is quick to anger, slow to calm, and he spares very little thought for mortals. Especially not those who don't worship him. My lord will have made excuses for your provocation, but Thor will expect an apology, and if you can't give him one he will be even more short-fused than usual... if that's possible. So give him a very wide berth until his quarrel with Heimdall is resolved. Can you do that?"
Plus Berserk!
Well, I hope you know the only reason I went after you is because my father taught me that any warrior worthy of honor will never forsake a fellow. No man gets left behind.
Can I what? Teach Thor some respect? Certainly :mrgreen:
(Just wait for it, I have a cunning plan, really, just wait until I write up something fantastic that will amaze and astound you!)
Skirnir shakes his head. "I cannot in good conscience return us to Asgard if you're going to get yourself killed. We'll have to try navigating the vortex. Plus, if Heimdall's beliefs prove true, it may be unsafe for all of us."
Ludwig looks scared. "I can see the space between the boundaries, all melting together. Normally, seeing the boundaries is sufficient to navigate them, but with the way they're constantly shifting... you'd have to be able to control them, to force them to stay stable long enough to cross."
Clearly impressed, Skirnir nods agreement. "That is essentially how it works, yes. Fortunately I have some experience exerting my will over formless miasma. It's difficult, but not impossible. It is lucky that I'm not trying to bring us back to Asgard. Aiming for a specific location is infinitely more difficult than opening oneself to the vortex and grasping at the first one whose random shift is easy to hold onto."
Skymir, you have to trust me. I was just being smarmy, I apologize. I will do as you ask and humbly beg Thor his forgiveness. I am the leader of a covenant of stubborn magi. I am learning well how to cope with the oversensitive and tempermental.
He shakes his head. "No, I don't have to trust you. What I have to do is make sure you get Elaine's belongings back to your world and get whatever use out of it you can, so that you will then be obligated to find my älskade Myanar and bring her back to me.* You may deal with oversensitive temperamental magi, but they are mortal. Thor is a god, and when he throws a temper tantrum, entire landscapes get leveled. Ever hear of the Blue Pearl Mountains? No? Thor is the reason for that." (Skirnir's Folk Ken check is 20, to determine whether Carmen is a loose cannon, or if she'll put self-preservation before her need to prove something.)
Ludwig grunts his agreement. "You get yourself killed, and Thor won't be the only one throwing temper tantrums. Vulc would have a fit."
(That might be too much to be explained by coincidence. Vulc looks like Thor, AND has a similar temperament. Different triggers, but still. There's definitely some relation, there.)
- ("After all this time?" "...Always.")
Oh? You are trying to obligate me, eh?
Well then, take me to Thor and then Asgard. Or no deal.
Honestly, I know what I am doing. I plan to placate Thor's ego 
(Still need your Guile roll so he can gauge Carmen's intentions.)
"Breaking a promise to a god is neither easy nor pleasant, and your half of the bargain was already performed when you took Elaine's belongings out of the castle." Skirnir smiles smugly, but his smile quickly vanishes as he continues: "I'm not even certain I CAN get us out of here to a targeted location, and I'm not even going to try unless you convince me you won't get yourself killed. To what end do you intend to try placating Thor's ego? You mean nothing to him and he is nothing to you; all you need to do is lie low and wait for his altercation with Heimdall to be over, and then you can cross back to Midgard."
I was thinking of using flattery, hero idolization, telling him how he has been inspirational to my magical studies what with the lightning and all.
I am really convinced Thor is not such a bad guy. He is the Lion of Asgard! Maybe he is just misunderstood. There are many tales about how he has had issues with his father. This is something I can relate to.
Carmen Perez, Therapist of the gods!!!
"You still haven't told me why you want to try," Skirnir reminds Carmen. ("And you STILL haven't rolled a Guile," Ryu reminds Mark.)
Ludwig shakes his head. "Don't matter," he grunts. "No point in going back. If the hairy one loses that contest the big one's gonna destroy the bridge, and we won't get back home that way anyhow. I ain't a bettin' man but I'd still put all my money on the big one drinkin' everyone else under the table."
Don't you see? That is why! I have to stop Thor from doing this thing. That is why asked him to escort me to Asgard, that is why I poked him in the arm.
And why should Carmen roll Guile? Saving that for Thor. She is being honest with Skymir.
"Thor won't necessarily destroy Bifrost, he just wants to cross it into Midgard," explains Skirnir. "Midgard hosts a cult of witches that worships the All-Father, and they seek to enter Asgard, but Odin has had a vision indicating that their presence here would eventually lead to catastrophe. Thor wants to cross the bridge so he can find these witches and slay them all. Heimdall is Bifrost's guardian ("the Ever-Vigilant," we call him), and he won't let Thor pass because he believes the bridge will either melt when it meets the Storm God's power, or simply break under his weight. I know he doesn't look any heavier than my lord Freyr or Heimdall himself, but Thor weighs as much as if his entire body were made of lead, and then some."
(You roll a Guile because he's trying to read your personality. He wants to get a sense of whether Carmen's a loose cannon, or if she's fickle/flighty... anything that might indicate she may commit Suicide-By-Thor if he takes her back to Asgard.)
Skirnir stares at Carmen's face long and hard. While he ponders, the sheep nibble on Carmen's hair. Finally Skirnir speaks. "I think that, while you are certainly capable, you may have a tendency to underestimate the difficulty of the challenges you may face," he says carefully. "In that regard, I cannot risk attempting a return to Asgard at this time. There is no benefit to doing so, and it appears that you wish to do so because you relish a challenge. That, simply put, is not worth the expenditure of my energy to attempt the return."
Skirnir turns the helm downward, deeper into the miasma. "Svartalfar, I would appreciate a second set of eyes in looking for an opening out of here," he tells Ludwig, who nods agreement.
You ask for a Guile roll. I give you a 12, plus Presence +2 & Guile 3 equals 17, which can be modified by confidence.
Try again...
Skirnir, if you don't turn back now, Asgard is doomed. Please...
Presence +2, Leadership 2 (trying to inspire him), die roll of 1d10=1 then 1d10=6 equals 16, and Confidence can push it as high as 19 or 22