Harpy questions

[JezzaL]

Hi there, I'm going to be running a fight with some harpies in the next session and having not used them before I had a couple of questions about the Captivating Song ability.
According to the Bestiary, the ability lasts while the harpy sings plus one round.
So does that mean:

Round 1 - Harpy (init 15) starts singing (standard action)
Pc (init 10) fails save, starts walking to harpy

Round 2 - Harpy keeps singing (standard action)
PC keeps walking to harpy

Round 3 - Harpy does something else (so it was singing up until the start of it's Round 3 turn)
PC keeps walking to harpy

Round 4 - Harpy does something else
PC is free to act.

Is that how it would work?
Also, attacks from the harpy's allies don't break the effect, is that right?

Thanks for any advice.

[Adam Daigle]

From where I'm sitting, you've got it right.

And yeah, the harpy can call a victim to her and then work them over while they just stand there trying to defend themselves. Harpies really enjoy the fear in the faces of intelligent meals.

[JezzaL]

What's the definition of 'defend themselves'?
Does this mean someone affected could fight back against anyone who attacks them except the harpy?

[Adam Daigle]

Essentially the 'defend themselves' bit is in there to allow PCs their full AC, so the PC is not flat footed or helpless against the harpy. While it doesn't state it specifically, I'd think the affected character wouldn't have the faculties to fight other foes as it is completely captivated and transfixed on the harpy at the moment.

[Moriquende]

The Harpy description states

Quote:

Captivated creatures can take no actions other than to defend themselves. A victim within 5 feet of the harpy simply stands and offers no resistance to the harpy's attacks.

I would agree that "defend themselves" equals full AC. However, what does "offers no resistance" mean? Is that the equivalent of "Helpless"? (Helpless: A helpless character is paralyzed, held, bound, sleeping, unconscious, or otherwise completely at an opponent’s mercy) Paralyzed, held, bound, sleep and unconscious to me mean essentially that the creature cannot or will not "move" or "flinch". This enables a coup de grace.

If you rule that the creature "defends itself" from the Harpy, then there's no coup de grace. If you rule that the creature "defends itself" from everyone except the Harpy, then the Harpy has a coup de grace if you also rule that "Captivated" is the equivalent of Helpless. What are your thoughts on this?