I thought the beast had the initiative on all of us.
The beast's initiative: 11
Phelippe's initiative: 10
Acutus's intiative: 9
Roberto's initiative: 7
Petrus's initiative: 5
Checking above, the beast has an Attack of 15. It wants Fleur, but as her designated defender, she cannot be until you are Incapacitated (or stop defending).
So the smaller beast is attacking you 
Roberto is going to Fast Cast a Pilium of Fire. I'll be right back with a roll 
Okay, here we go...
Fast Cast Speed: Quik +1, Finesse 3 (speed), Quick Mastery +1, die roll of 4, total equals 10.
Plus a point of Confidence (down to 4) equals 13.
Casting Roll: Sta +1, Creo 6+3, Ignem 11+3, Mastery 4, Aura ?, Fast Cast Penalty -10, die roll of 3, equals 21
Minus 20 then plus Penetration 2 (Creo) and Mastery 4 (Penetration) equals 8.
damage is 15 + die roll of 4 equals 19
[color=red]Damnit! I must be getting rusty!
It doesn't penetrate, even with the +4 for aura.
Phellipe or Petrus still needs to roll a defense- are they working as a team with Epona or not? I thought they were but they rolled two initiatives...
I'm still a little rusty with combat, so please bear with me.
Here's Petrus's Defense Roll.
Which prevents this beast from hurting you, and leaves the rest of the team in a position to attack. Roberto has rolled his attack... Fleur is waiting to see if anyone needs healed.
Since Epona's Initiative hasn't been rolled yet, it is: 1 + die roll of 9 = 10.
She is using Short Sword and Shield. She's not using the dagger that turns into a Long Sword because she'd been told that it doesn't work on magical creatures.
Rereading the Group Combat rules (p. 172-173), let me see if I have this right.
We're all (Epona, Phelippe, and Petrus) part of the Group. Petrus is the Defender. Petrus is the Leader, as he has the highest Leadership (3, vs. Phelippe's 2 and Epona's 0.) The Vanguard would also be Petrus, as he has a Longsword skill of 16. The only way Epona (with a Long Sword Attack of 10) could be in the Group is if she uses her Short Bow (Atk: 16), so she will switch to that.
So, the group, as I see it, is:
- Petrus: Leader (Effective score of 4), Vanguard (Longsword & Kite Shield; Atk +16, Dfn +11, Dmg +10), and Defender (of Fleur)
- Phelippe: Group member (Sword & Shield; Atk +14)
- Epona: Group Member (Short Bow; Atk +16)
- Carlos: Group Member (Herrero Knife {Bwah?}; Atk +13)
- Allen: Group Member (Battle Axe; Atk +12)
- Albert: Group Member (Spear; Atk +12)
Too many people for one group, but Phelippe (2), Carlos (2), Allen (4), and Albert (4) all have Leadership. So, how about Petrus, Phelippe, and Epona in one group, and Carlos, Allen, and Albert in another? With either Allen or Albert as Leader, and Carlos as Vanguard?
There are 2 groups:
Roberto: Init +3, Atk +15, Def +13, Dmg +11; Soak +8, Enc 0
Carlos: Init +3, Atk +13, Def +11, Dmg +6, Soak +3, Enc 1
Allen: Init +1, Atk +12, Def +11, Dmg +9; Soak +8, Enc 0
Albert: Init +3, Atk +12, Def +11, Dmg +7; Soak +5, Enc 0
and
•Petrus: Leader (Effective score of 4), Vanguard (Longsword & Kite Shield; Atk +16, Dfn +11, Dmg +10), and Defender (of Fleur)
•Phelippe: Group member (Sword & Shield; Atk +14)
•Epona: Group Member (Short Bow; Atk +16)
I believe the second group should be adding the leadership bonus to defense, since the beast will be focusing attacks on them,giving an effective +20 dfn, but that is not my call.
With Roberto casting can the first group attack as a group?
I don't think so. The "Groups" section is in the Combat section, and only talks about combat. Magic-using is technically non-combat (even spell-damage is included as "non-combat damage").
My opinion is that Roberto can engage as a combatant (and be part of a group), or he can act as a spell-caster, but not both. If he begins as a combatant, but then casts a spell, that breaks the group, and they can't reform until they've been out-of-combat for a turn (but "a single round in which the members of the group neither attack nor are attacked is long enough.").
Roberto Fast-Cast a spell and did not break from the group. He still gets an action.
That's what i would rule.
However, as a compromise I would say it is fair to rule Roberto can contribute to the Defense of his Group but not the Attack. Since he is Vanguard, that means his Group can Defend but not Attack.
But it is a slippery slope, since he could have let off a Fast Cast after attacking.
But I am not worried. Another round shall pass and Mister P is handling himself okay so far.
in this case the group had not yet entered combat, so they may easily do so next round. I see nothing in fast casting which allows for taking other combat maneuvers during the same round.
Which means Petrus and Acutus may still act this round.
I apologize if I've been slow with this. It's my first time in a group combat. I had thought that having defended, Petrus did not get another action.
In this case, staying between the beast and Fleur he will attack the beast, hoping to wound it.
Def 8, advantage 12, dmg 22, soak 12, medium wound, times 3. The beast takes off, leaving a trail of blood behind.
Now isEpona's time to shine.
[color=red]Lead on Hunt Mistress!
Epona smiles as she unstrings her bow and focuses on the trail of blood. It should be child's play for her to track the beast, but she's also wary of being led into a trap. (And how the blustering blue blazes did I not give her Stealth?)
Per 1 + Hunt 5 + die roll of 5 = 11.
The trail is easily followed, and leads to a cave which is forbidding and sinister, being shaped a bit like an open maw.
Fleur comments "They aren't big on subtlety are they? Okay, the black beast should be in here from what Chi Chi told us, It will want the flowers but aside from that will be happy to kill anyone who stands up to it, or happens nearby before the flowers are there to distract it. So does anyone want first crack before my defenders and I go in to hold its attention?"
Petrus examines the cave maw, but is careful to stay between it and Fleur. There was no telling if that creature was in hiding or was just biding its time, waiting to strike again.
Reviewing a few things...
Is Epona qualified to be part of a group? All five combat scores need to be within the margin (Init, Atk, Def, Dmg, and Soak).
Maybe she fits. Not sure.
The Herrero knife Peregrine put a ? on, it is a Short Sword with a nickname. Pedro Herrero was part of Roberto's entourage in Novus Mane and Bibracte. He was an expert smith, and made a short sword for Carlos ("Hererro's Long Knife") and a long sword for Roberto ("Kindness"). However, in CharGen importing them into this saga, I purchased the items using the economics HR's.
How wide is the cave mouth? How many can stand abreast entering? Is it the same cave as Carlos encountered before? What time of day is it?
[color=red]I think I have a plan...