Vibria's Initiative was too low to affect the progression of events.
Well, Featherbottom is going to think you just set him on fire. And he is going to freak out in berserk fury, landing on Venkath's back and gripping onto him with his claws in a desperate frenzy. Venkath howls, Featherbottom shrieks.
Featherbottom Initiative 1d10+0=6
Venkath Initiative 1d10=1, then 1d10=5, -1 = 9
Featherbottom tries a FastCast 1d10+5=12
Endurance of the Berzerkers
Venkath attacks with a claw/grapple 1d10=1, then 1d10=2, +19 = 23
Featherbottom Defense 1d10=1, then 1d10=8, +11, =27
wow...
I discovered a math error halfway through and corrected, and exploders all over the place. I was certain Featherbottom was finished.
Anyway...
Featherbottom Attacks 1d10=1, geeze, then 1d10=8, +14 =30
Venkath Defense 1d10+15=23
Featherbottom Attack Advantage +7, Damage +15, equals +22, versus Venkath soak of +1; Light Wound
I think I will give Lord Featherbottom a -3 to defend against this, seeing how he is entangled in a grapple with Venkath. 1d10=5 +11 = 16, -3 = 13; Attack Advantage 3, Damage +5, equals +8, versus a Soak +9
no discernible effect.
Venkath attacks 1d10=9 + 19 = 28
Featerbottom Defends 1d10=10, !, then 1d10=5, 1d10=10
Um, that is a botch.
Defense 0, Attack Advantage 28, +11 damage = +39, versus a soak of +9 equals 30 points of damage...
At size +3 that equals Incapacitated. Venkath manages to get a grip on his larger opponent, and with a criss-cross slash of his terrible claws, he eviscerates Lord Featherbottom and spills his entrails all over the ground.
If you guys choose to do anything, so it now. Venkath's very next action is going to be to light him up and dine.
Wow, this really escalated quickly. Vocis is going to stand there and decide how he feels about this. I'm leaning toward guilty, followed by lots of rationalizations. It'll probably take a while.
Just saying. It's one thing to march a guy to his doom. But you threw rocks at him, in a deliberate attempt to harm and distract him after you pledged to assist him. Vibria, well, she is a hot headed Flambeau , and had Dragon blood, and she is a bit selfish. But you are a Tremere, you are supposed to be a staunch supporter of order and civic responsibility.
But enough of all that.
To finish out the round, Lord Featherbottom's action is forfeit, and Vibria goes last. Then at the top of the next round, Vocis goes first, and if nothing happens to interfere, Featherbottom becomes dinner.
So it in essence comes down to this...
Vibria, then Vocis, then Venkath.
But I am getting the hint that you guys are not much bothered. Yes? Shall we move on to plundering the house of the murdered magus?
[color=red]Well, that went quicker than I thought, Vibria thinks before she realizes that Venkath is about to eat the Bjornaer.
[color=red]"Wait! Don't eat him!" she yells at the drake as she runs up to him. [color=red]"We have to return his body to...um..." She looks to Vocis.
[color=red]"I'm sure somebody would care that Featherbottom was killed in a tragic hunting accident and want proof or something, right?"
[color=red]"Anyway...this is the guy who was making all those owl bear things that you and your brothers have been dining on," she tells her cousin. [color=red]"He was a little put out and wanted to do something about it."
As to how Vibria feels about it...she had been thinking that they were going to be in so much trouble if her little mischief had worked. But it didn't, Featherbottom got in over his head and paid the price, she would expect the same to happen to her if she went up against a powerful enough creature without being properly prepared. She feels bad that he's dead, but that's about it.
I'm well aware. Like I said, Vocis doesn't feel good about this, but 'dying in a hunting accident' is a solution to the problem of a lunatic magus living in our territory and killing our magical allies. It's not a good solution - it's a solution. He's leaning on plausible deniability to get through this, which is why he was invisible.
And to follow our theme, he immediately regrets this decision.
But apparently we're going to intervene. This is what happens when you follow a ditzy Flambeau's lead without really discussing it first. Vocis will add his voice to Vibria's, run over to the scene of the fight, and dismiss Visions of Hell. Yes, wait!
Venkath looks up at you, blood dripping from his chin, intestines dangling from his teeth...
What?...
Y'know, I'm thinking it is pretty much too late for this guy. At this point, your biggest concern should be covering up any evidence
Yeah, I came up with a desperate plan to save him, then realized a) he's still in owlbear form, b) he's freakin' huge, and c) his Parma's still up. Time to get our stories straight. Vocis cancels his invisibility and says to Vibria This isn't good. Stay here with Venkath while I talk to the grogs. Then he walks back to the troops and tells them what happened. Bad news, gentlemen. The drake Lord Featherbottom was planning to kill is Venkath, one of Sigmundo's favorite descendants. Featherbottom attacked before we could stop him and Venkath killed him almost immediately. All of you keep your distance and let Vibria and me sort this out.
Vibria scowls at the fact that she was too slow to keep Vanketh from eating the Chimeric form of Featherbottom...or at least get started on the hors d'oeuvre.
[color=red]"Dammit, I wish I'd realized in time who he was going after, or that I could have been quick enough to stop him before he got himself killed."
She goes over and sits by Venkath, giving him a hug. [color=red]"You see, this...owlbear is one of us, a wizard who is able to take the form of an animal. Or, in this case, a form combining two animals. And if he just up and disappears, people may wonder what happened to him."
She pauses, and thinks for a minute. [color=red]"Or maybe not. He was a loner, who apparently killed his whole family in a blood haze, and was somehow creating those owlbears you and the others have been feasting on, breeding them and releasing them into the wild. Which from what I understand about Bjornaer[sup]1[/sup], runs against everything they believe in. So...he was obviously a dangerous, insane madman whose recklessness brought about his own demise."
She's as much talking to herself, reasoning this through, as anything else.
[hr][/hr][sup]1[/sup] Which is, basically, nothing.
Um, yeah. Okay. Whatever you say cuz. Looks like an owlbear, tastes like an owlbear. And he came at me first. And drew first blood. Lucky shot. Thanks for the assist though, you guys pelting him with rocks.
They all nod and shrug their shoulders and think nothing more of it. All except Javier, who looks puzzled. Why were you guys throwing rocks at him though?
Vocis comes back to the scene of the crime and takes a look at Featherbottom. In the complete absence of any medical knowledge, he's going to assume that 'intestines on the outside' equals 'dead or at least unsalvageable'. Venkath, could you give us a moment? The creature that attacked you was actually a brother magus of the Order. Vibria and I need to discuss the repercussions of his death. Please be assured that no blame will fall on you. He was clearly the aggressor and you were simply defending yourself.
((Assuming Venkath gives us some space, or we move away to get some space...))
Vibria, I'm afraid we're in some serious trouble here. We've essentially participated in the murder of a member of the Order without declaring Wizard's War. We could both be Marched for this if it goes to the Quaesitors. I've told the grogs that we realized this was Venkath, but Featherbottom attacked before we could stop him and was killed almost immediately. Lies with a seed of truth, basically. The only way we can get through this is to assemble a story that puts all blame squarely on Featherbottom himself and stick to it without exception. I'm going to have to lie to my wife about this, which is something I don't take lightly. You can't confide in anyone, you can't discuss it with me, you just have to take it to your grave. If anyone finds out the truth, it could get back to Solomon and he'd be obligated to charge us in Featherbottom's murder.
As for the story, what I gave the grogs seems like the simplest way to handle this. You and I, as representatives of the covenant, were trying to get on Featherbottom's good side by assisting him on a drake hunt. We felt this was the most diplomatic way to approach a resolution with an unfriendly trespasser, since Sigmundo has no qualms with us killing his more bestial descendants. We arrived at the cave, took our positions, and Featherbottom teleported into combat with the drake as soon as it appeared. We realized too late that the drake was Venkath and did what we could to stop the fight, but it was over before we could even slow them down. Our attempts to stop the fight included distracting illusions on my part and throwing rocks on your part.
I just gotta say that I'm loving this.
You can't write this stuff, you can't plan for it. It just happens.
Classic sandbox gaming, where characters drive the stories
8)
Vocis is going to stand there and decide how he feels about this. I'm leaning toward guilty, followed by lots of rationalizations. It'll probably take a while.
, and had Dragon blood, and she is a bit selfish. But you are a Tremere, you are supposed to be a staunch supporter of order and civic responsibility.
