Sense motive Selena's bluff:
Sense motive Lash's Bluff :
Although he has only known Selena a short time, Thantos very quickly determines that this supposed betrayal is surely an act; Selena's actions over the past several weeks make no sense to him otherwise. But Lash's strong reaction convinces him that either he's wrong about Selena or that Lash hasn't caught on to Selena's intentions. Casting his gaze between each person in the chamber, trying to read their faces, Thantos can't be sure if Selena can be trusted and decides not to interfere either way at the moment.
Your gut twists as you come to the realization that Selena likely hasn't betrayed you and that this is an act. You, however, seem to be the only one who realizes that. Dirk has gone beet Red with anger, Thantos looks extremely confused and Lash is obviously out for blood.
Selena's ploy may have confused the Queen, but she's obviously in danger of being Skewered on the blades of either Lash or Dirk.
Your mind spins back through all of the events leading up to this point, wondering where it is her loyalties could have turned. She seems so sincere in her betrayal, and Lash, the woman who knows Selena best, obviously believes Selena betrayed her and you all.
While you can find nothing to make you believe this, you decide that your gut feelings have gotten you out of trouble before and you decide to trust your gut now. You decide, then and there, that Selena cannot have betrayed your party.
That conflict resolved in your mind you watch as Lash steps forward to attack and Selena turns to flee to the right of the stage toward where Armand and the man with the broken nose is.
How could she?
Did she fight as hard as she could upstairs? Maybe she held back some of her power to ensure you got captured? While everyone was asleep in their cells did Selena perhaps commune with the Queen magically to provide her information? Weren't those soldiers you killed a few minutes ago waiting for you? Could Selena have had something to do with that?
Hundreds of thoughts such as these bombard your brain, stunning you momentarily as scenario after scenario blazes through your mind in all the ways Selena may have betrayed you...from the sublime to the most insane, they all, somehow, make sense. In a split second, your mind starts concocting an elaborate scenario that has Selena working as a plant from the Brotherhood.
Still, in the back of your mind, you also understand that she's been in mortal peril several times, and upstairs could even have died.
While her betrayal seems obvious to you, you're not stupid enough to discount the fact that perhaps this is some kind of ploy on her part...it certainly wouldn't be the first time.
Watching Selena running toward the broken nosed man, you decide to let the situation play itself out. If the guy with the two handed sword kills her, at least he takes his sword away from Armand's throat for a time, giving you an opportunity to do...what? If he doesn't, her betrayal becomes obvious and gives you just another target to kill.
And if she's not a traitor? Maybe she will come up with something to help you all out. Looking around and getting your bearings, you realize that her betrayal doesn't change the situation you are in. You start looking for your next option.
You both realize, glancing at your companions, that the others have not fully caught onto your game. PARTICULARLY, the look in Dirk's face has gone from confused to down right murderous as you realize you just declared yourself against his best friend and the man he's spent the better part of 30 years trying to find...and it's OBVIOUS he doesn't realize this is an act.
It's your show ladies, hopefully you have a plan beyond starting a fight with each other. :)
You can tell, even from this distance, that Armand is in bad shape. The bruising on his arms and shoulders indicate that he's been hanging there for a significant period of time and it's likely he will need REAL healing before he's even capable of doing more than moving his arms. Most of the wounds on his body are superficial, but some of the bruises denote definite internal damage.
Regardless of your freeing of Armand or not, he will NOT be swinging anything in this fight...and will likely need a very large amount of healing magic simply to survive the ordeal.
That said, there are some signs that Armand is not QUITE as "unconscious" as he's making it out to be. Perhaps, given the right circumstances, he may be able to aid himself...
(Adding an additional +5 situational bonus to the Queen's roll due to the "other language" communication you had with Lash...that's a bit of a tip off.)
Bernal grips his staff harder and starts forward but stops at a raised hand from the Queen. She slowly stands from her throne, watching the event play out below her, raising her sword to a defensive position.
Selena flees from Lash, running towards the brute guarding Armand with a two handed sword. "Oh please! You must protect me! I'm a true servant of Queen Ilyana!"
So let me explain the +5 a second.
Imagine the situation. You are an evil leader in charge of a keep that has been invaded by 6 people who are obviously here to kill you...they've fought their way through half your forces and killed one of your lieutenants before being captured.
Despite being stripped of their weapons and armor they've managed to work together to overcome your ogre Jailor as well as a contingent of your men kept down in the dungeons to keep the peace. She doesn't need to know these are all facts because you'd never have gotten here otherwise.
So 5 obviously VERY formidable folks just walked into your inner sanctum, fully armed and armored, to confront you. One of them is a known, trained, captain of a king's guard/elite soldier type and another is a known infiltration/spy/seal type. Your prisoner is none other than an escaped king, on the run for 30 some odd years.
All of a sudden, out of the blue, one of the "hired help" in that 5 declares herself in Allegiance to you, someone you've never seen before, heard from or otherwise known about...and someone who practically fought to the death in the keep above 3 days ago.
And then says three words in a language / communication method you've never heard of.
To say you'd be "suspicions" is probably a rather large understatement. That Sense Motive bonus I provided likely wasn't large enough.
The ONLY reason this bluff of yours hasn't completely failed is the reactions of your comrades...while the Queen might not believe you, EVERYONE else surely seems to...and that is enough to throw at least SOME doubt.
Of course, you've got to ask yourself, if I were the queen in this situation, would it matter to me, AT ALL, whether or not someone just declared their allegiance to me?
Would it not be easier to simply, forcibly, recapture you ALL and sort it out in the comfort of my own throne room, probably under extreme torture?
Belief or not, there's a long stones throw difference from believing someone is Aligned or not with you and trusting them.
In regards to your question: A lover could easily "entangle" their love in a tight embrace that would leave them helpless to do much. However I wouldn't say that they don't realize they're being grappled, they would simply ACCEPT that they're being grappled.
As to your second question about intent, IF the brute were to accept you into his grasp, pulling his sword away from Armand and taking you into his arms, or deciding to let you past him to get behind him, the answer is absolutely you could grasp/grapple him in a "surprise" round to allow Lash a strike.
*I* Personally am having a hard time with the whole scenario so if you'd like to respond with "advice" from a player or DM perspective I'm happy to take it.
First off, I do NOT want to punish "initiative". Whether the idea is good or bad, I hate to punish you or the party for acting on an idea, I need MORE participation, not less. The problem I'm having is laid out for you above...I cannot come to terms with an intelligent evil leader who's managed to whip up an army of this magnitude and become a real threat to the region falling for a completely off the cuff ploy such as this.
AT BEST any sane being would be skeptical that you're not just trying to switch sides when the going gets rough...and given her opinion of you as a party "mercenary" already I would think that would be how she'd read this situation...regardless of your or her rolls.
At WORST regardless of her belief in your sincerity, she doesn't know you, has no idea about your capabilities and really how much can one person do for her? Her "prize" on the wall is worth a heck of alot more than any of you even were you ALL to declare your allegiance. And here you are, a questionable commodity, heading straight for the only obstacle that keeps the party in check and gives her the possibility of recapture without risking her life in a fight.
In either case you are better off either dead or captured. Again, anyone sane would realize this is not the situation where you want to be making snap decisions on loyalties of people you don't know. Hostile and bluffing till proven otherwise is sort of the evil motto anyway.
So on one hand as a DM I want to reward creative play and not trounce creativity, on the other hand I think, this time, you really DID bite off more than you could chew. Rolls aside, I cannot come up with a reason why any of the villains in this room wouldn't at least react to you with suspicion...and that would mean keeping you away from Armand regardless of their opinions on your loyalties till they have a chance to figure it out for themselves while NOT being under fire so to speak. I can conceptualize why he's not slit Armand's throat at this point, but I don't know why his next action isn't an overhand chop to your undefended head.
I'll pause here in the discussion for a moment to get a perspective from you looking at it from the evil side of the fence.
From a complete out of character bit: there is a built in "out" in this scenario that hasn't been played yet. It's one that only I know about and is meant to be the "ace in the hole" for the party who is placed in a completely helpless situation.
I'll let you respond before I make a decision where I want to go with this, but I did want you to know that I consider your action inspired and any decision I make will try not to "punish" you for the ploy you are running right now.
I felt like I had to make a split second decision, as I felt like Armand could be killed at any moment (and I want to prevent that from happening). If these acts can generate enough chaos and confusion (if only temporary) to help clear Armand from any immediate danger, I will consider the act a success.
As to my reasoning behind the action itself. 1) I felt like the Queen thought highly enough of herself (and her plan) that she would welcome an ally who understood that intelligence. 2) It is an immediate and desparate move that relies on Charisma and skills I have access to. And 3) I needed to communicate the sword effect's as quickly as possible without letting the Queen know that I knew about it. I was hoping that her grip on the sword would be a little more relaxed if she thought that we did not know its power.
|
As Selena run towards "Prince Charming" Mirds in a quick action take off his bow and aims at her.
"You &!?@¨%! You'll die now!"
Attack:
Damage:
Initiative:
Lost my dots... :(
As Selena gets within about five feet of the man with the broken nose, you watch as Ilyana drags her hand across her throat.
The man with the huge sword seems confused at the Queen's reaction and hesitates a second, but a military man does know one thing...how to follow directions. Slightly late, the big man shrugs once and whips his sword across in what looks a bit like a half-hearted slice at Selena.
The sword cuts across with less speed than you would expect, and Selena, realizing her ploy either failed or something else went wrong, dives under the arc of the sword, ending up just out of reach of the Broken nosed man, just on the other side of him from Armand...well within attack range and on her side on the ground.
Just as he's about to take another swipe at Selena however, the situation grows more chaotic as another entrant makes her way into the fray.
With a hiss like a cat and a growl of pain a forgotten figure steps through the door...Sarala. While still built like the Sarala you know, and still wearing the pittance that did little to cover any of her nudity, she has completely changed.
The first thing you notice is that she seems to have grown taller, to just around 6' in height. Where before was skin, she is now covered in short fur, orange with black stripes to be explicit. The hair on her head has grown longer and more bushy and turned orange with black streaks, and she has grown a long, catlike tail. Her incisors are now sticking out through her mouth and are definitely feline...and match the claws that have seemed to grow from her fingertips. Strong, feline muscles ripple down her arms and legs as she moves.
Where Sarala once stood is a full grown, fully fledged were-tigress and she's obviously exceptionally mad.
"Blackmaer you b@$^@rd! Where is your wolves-bane now? You thought I'd stay locked up in my cage forever? Your eternal plaything till you got tired of me? I grow tired of your games, now lets play mine!"
A look of complete horror crosses the big man's face as his sword strike at Selena's helpless and prone form stops in mid swipe and he turns, slowly, stunned, as Sarala takes a few long strides and leaps, like a pouncing cat, tackling Blackamer and carrying both of them several feet from the bound Armand. Blackmaer and the were-tigress both end up rolling back to their feet, facing each other.
A look of rage crosses the Queen's face as she screams "Kill them! Kill them All!" and the robed man to her right raises his hand.
Immediately the two dogs at her feet spring toward your group, and movement all around the room identify the zombies shuffling into the fray.
Initiative
Lash continues her dash only hesitating a fraction of a second as the now capable form of Sarala barrels past her to collide with Blackmaer.
Grinning she continues her rush her direction changing to follow the rolling forms, pouncing on the armored man as her rises.
Attack
Selena will crawl away 5 feet and use her heavenly fire to heal Armand.
Hanging about 2 feet above the ground by his wrists, Armand looks all but unconscious. Stripped to a loin cloth and nothing else, blood is running freely down the man's wrists, down his arms, and along his chest, obviously from where the manacles he's been attached with to the wall have cut into his wrists from the weight of hanging there. A hemp rope attaches the shackles to somewhere up farther on the wall, keeping all suspended.
Key:
(Black - Party Members)
D: Dirk
S: Selena
L: Lash
A: Armand
T: Thantos
M: Mird
R: Sarala
(Red- Enemies)
Q: Queen Ilyana
N: Bernal (Caster)
B: Blackmaer (Fighter)
Z1-Z7: Zombies
D1-D2: War Dogs
Party:
Enemy:
Round 1 Initiative:
---------------------
Selena: 22
Armand: 21
Zombie 6: 15
Dirk: 14
Zombie 2: 14
Zombie 1: 14
Zombie 7: 13
Blackmaer: 12
Bernal: 12
Zombie 3: 12
Lash: 11
Mird: 9
Dog 2: 8
Sarala: 6
Thantos: 5
Zombie 5: 3
Dog 1: 2
Zombie 4: 1
EDIT: Although, I think you are supposed to roll the extra damage, not just multiply what you got on the first die... that would be a little too hopeful. :)
With a sinking stomach, Thantos sees the zombies begin to lumber forward in his peripherals. He instantly wheels on his feet and casts a web to ensnare them.
Selena: Heal Armand (4 pts)
Armand: Hang There Mostly Unconscious
Zombie 6: Shuffles Forward (Will not be caught in Web)
Dirk: < Select Action >
Zombie 2: Moves Around the platform toward Bernal
Zombie 1: Tightens up on Bernal providing him Cover
Zombie 7: Shuffles Forward
Blackmaer: Attacks Sarala
Bernal: Spell Cast: Silence
Zombie 3: Shuffles Forward
Lash: Backstab Attack: Blackmaer (You are 90 deg from Sarala, I'm allowing the backstab this round due to Blackmaer's attention being SOULY focused on Sarala but I don't THINK you qualify as flanking.)
Mird: Shoot's Bernal
Dog 2: Leaps to attack Mird
Ilyana: Attack Dirk
Sarala: Attacks Blackmaer
Thantos: < Select Action >
Zombie 5: Attacks Dirk
Dog 1: Attacks Thantos
Zombie 4: Attacks Thantos
Thantos: You'll need to select another action this round other than spell casting...by your turn you will be silenced. Note by the time you attack you will be engaged from the square to your north by a Zombie and the Square to your East by a Dog.
Dirk: What action are you performing?
Thantos draws his dagger and attacks the approaching zombie while shouting through gritted teeth, "I DON'T. LIKE. ZOMBIES!"
Dirk's warrior instinct engages in a blink. With an eye on Armand, Dirk decides in a heartbeat to cut his way to the Queen, while also protecting Thantos from the oncoming attack of the War Dog (1).
Dirk springs into action with his battle cry on his lips, "BLADES OF HELL!"
The room erupts in chaos as everyone starts moving at once.
Both zombies at the entry door (Z6, Z7) shuffle forward, closing in on Mird and Thantos's back.
Ignoring Blackmaer, Sarala and the Selena connundrum for the moment, Dirk falls back to his combat training and an old war addage "Cut off the head and the body will soon follow." Turning his attention to the Queen, he notices, however, that one of her war dogs attentions is on Thantos and decides to head it off before it can engage. Calling his war cry, Dirk lunges forward, blade raised above his head as he charges to the foot of the stairs and takes a leap to the middle, bringing his blade down in a swipe at the canine. Its attention focused on its target, the snarling beast never sees the attack coming as Dirk's blade slices through it, knocking it clear off the stage to land on it's side unmoving.
The two zombies on stage, oblivious to the combat around them, follow the commands of their master and shuffle in front of Bernal, providing him cover.
On stage Bernal finishes his chant to no noticable effect.
All of a sudden, sound ceases to exist for you. It is as if you were struck deaf.
No Text, Intentional
No Text, Intentional
All of a sudden, sound ceases to exist for you. It is as if you were struck deaf.
All of a sudden, sound ceases to exist for you. It is as if you were struck deaf.
The zombie at the north east door (Z3) shuffles forward and attacks Thantos, catching him in the shoulder with it's punch. Thantos staggers a bit as he recovers from the zombie's magical strength. Following up, a second zombie engages Thantos (Z4) also knocking Thantos around with another punch.
Mird's arrow streaks off his bow, slicing between the two Zombies as they step into place to lodge straight into Bernal's ribcage, almost carrying the pudgy man off his feet.
Launching itself practically over Dirk, the other dog leaps from the stage and streaks right at Mird, trying to carry him off his feet. The dog jumps at Mird, latching onto his outstretched arm and chomping down before letting go and landing on his feet.
On the platform stepping in front of the Zombies, past where Dirk's sword knocked the dog off the platform, killing it in the process, Ilyana raises her sword in a combatant's salute and with a murderous gaze and an obviously insane smile she lunges forward, slicing at Dirk's face, but his quick backstep takes him behind the swing.
"I've waited for the opportunity to meet you in combat, you disappoint me Dirk."
Lumbering up beside Dirk toward his back, Another zombie from the east side of the room takes a lumbering swing at Dirk's head, but the blow goes wide.
Over to the side of the stage chaos erupts as well.
On the floor almost under Armand, Selena regains her feet. Seeing no threat around her, she focuses her energy in a cool silver stream at the mostly unconsious Armand. The brusing on his face and chest seem to lighten from a deep purple to a somewhat lighter shade, but he is obviously far from healed. The deep gouges at his wrists where the shackles have cut into his skin slightly heal over but re-open almost immediately as the weight of his body causes the shackles to dig back into his already hurt wrists and a low groan escapes him.
In combat, Blackmaer smiles evily as he whips his two handed sword through a pattern, taunting Sarala to strike only to have the sword back in her way as she starts forward. Soon, he catches her out of position and whips the sword across in a arc straight at the center of her exposed body, slicing a deep gouge across her midriff. ()
As Blackmaer's attention is focused on sarala, Lash steps in behind and tries to drive her raiper straight through Blackmaer's back, however the tip of the rapier scrapes along his brestplate, failing to find the chink in the armor Lash thought was there. Finishing his stroke through on Sarala, Blackmaer glances back toward Lash. "You're next."
Sarala steps into the arc of Blackmaer's swing and makes her own attacks, swinging with both paws, trying to claw out his eyes. Laughing, Blackmaer brings his blade back up to block, effectively negating both of Sarala's attacks.
"Silly farmer girl, you really think your were-form is any better now than you were 3 months ago when I caught you in the woods? You bore me, and I realize now that you will never be properly trained. I'm afraid I must kill you so I can attend to your friends."
All sound ceases to exist for you. It is as if you were struck deaf.
Sound comes normally to you, you can hear everthing going on around you.
Sound comes normally to you, you can hear everthing going on around you.
All sound ceases to exist for you. It is as if you were struck deaf.
All sound ceases to exist for you. It is as if you were struck deaf.
Lash launches herself into a tumble her roll taking her behind Blackmaer, forcing him to split his attention in opposite directions.
Twisting as she lands her blade darts out, seeking a vital organ only to have her strike sllapped away effortlessly.
sneak attack from flanking
Calling upon her heavenly power once again, Selena casts forth a mage armor on Sarala, boosting her armor for the fight, then takes a 5 foot step away from the battle, attempting to lift Armand's form enough to ease his injury from causing further damage.