A night watchman approaches, weapon sheathed.  "Um...  Hi?  Thanks for uh..."

He glances from the dude with the caved-in skull to the one Meiou beat on.

"...For the heroics.  So you uh...  Planning on taking down their base as well?"

A couple more night watchmen are approaching, also non-threateningly.  One of them is the same one that welcomed the group to town.

Mits was a bit surprised by Meiou's rage beating.  Perhaps he's got some old trauma that the guy reminded him of.  On the bright side, no one's giving him a hard time for it.

"I think it works better when they're conscious enough to feel the punishment," Mits comments with a little chuckle, "I guess we know who the bad cop is in this interrogation."

She smiles and waves to the approaching watchmen.  "Hey guys!  Please keep voices down when discussing what happens next.  I've been warned that word travels fast 'round here and we don't want the badguys to be tipped off."

(( I've been in many a game where interrogations can drag on and on.  Assuming everyone's cool with it, we can just go a round or two of RP and I'll infodump all the stuff the bandits spill so we can move on with the adventure.  But if the group wants to go back-and-forth with the bandits one question at a time, we can do that too. ))

Well to be fair all they really knew of the rabbit aside from what they learned
from their brief time working together was that he is a folk hero. he had apparently
slain some really bad person for some bad thing they had been doing.
Meiou didn't really like talking about and always shyed away from the subject any time
Rai brought up how cool he was or something seemingly shaming himself over it.

whatever the case maybe he was not responding to anyone's voice or instructions on how to
beat someone properly. He was lost in his blind rage only briefly reacting with murderous glares at being touched like he was ready to jump to one of them in an instant.  it was quite clear whatever had happened to him in the past before their meeting was something he
was rather ashamed of and that this state was not something he was proud of. it was also quite clear that to be touched again would mean they were next for this.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:24, Tue 26 Mar 2019.

Raichel isn't normally gentle with people. And gods know she doesn't mind this particular bandit being beaten to death. But she can see Meiou is hurting. To the point of hurting himself physically.

Raichel wraps her arms around Meiou and gently puts him in a hold before picking him up. It's one of those "you can't do anything" holds so that Meiou won't hurt himself.

It briefly looked like Meiou was going to fight Raichel, but he's too immobilized now. She turns her back to the bandit so Meiou can no longer see the bandit. Although her movements were gentle and her expression concerned for Meiou, she straightens up and turns her attention to the night watchmen and her expression and tone become more stern and annoyed. "Hi, guys. Sorry. Dunno what got into this guy. Not that these guys didn't deserve it. They were so evil they were getting excited over skinning people or watching people get eaten alive by zombies they apparently have as friends." that last part said with disgust.

  "I'm pretty sure it was the intent to skin us and assorted necromancy that's gotten into him, Raichel.

  He doesn't mention to Darcy that roadsides are often short on spare furniture, because it would just figure stolen chairs would be what gets the local guards to do anything.  He does however, pick up Meiou's fallen gun. He'll give it back when he's not a tangle of limbs.

In reply to Ben (msg # 345):

Darcy takes a look at the bundle of limbs that was Meiou and Raichel, lets out a sigh, and casts Calm Emotions on Meiou to get him to chill out.  (I'm guessing that the DC is 14, and if she can't cast 2nd level spells at this time, please let me know so I can rectify.)

...and places her hands on both Raichel and Meiou in the effort to calm them both down.  "If only I was able to cast Calm Emotions," she said.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:06, Tue 09 Apr 2019.

Bri'kus was just about to try to speak with Meiou again until the guard appeared. Hoping to avoid an awkward conversation, Bri'kus attempts to slip into the darkened tree line (Stealth 16) and think of the best way to progress this situation.

He didn't expect to see a group of guardsmen approaching shortly after the first guard and was slightly relieved he ducked out in time. (At least he hoped he did. lol)

Rai grabbing Meiou up was unexpected, but he hoped that the raging rabbit would get a moment to calm down after it, especially since so many guards were witnessing the scene. Bri'kus was already a petty criminal, he didn't want to add involvement in a murder to his repertoire.

The guards look disgusted with the necro-bragging revelation.  On Mittens' urging, they lower their voices.

"Gross."

"Well that's um...  unsettling.  We didn't know they had necromancy."

"If you want us to take them into custody, we can do that...  But it'll only stick if you wipe out the rest of the bandits.  Otherwise the gang'll just break these guys out and burn down the building afterward."

"And likely kill one of us to set an example."

Mits is keeping a close eye on Meiou.  Sure she likes the guy plenty, but if he makes a move to follow through on those murderous glares, she'll be ready to hit him in the gut with her hammer.  Assuming Meiou has sense enough to not attack his allies, Mittens answers the guards.

"Necromancy doesn't scare us any.  I daresay the scariest thing around is us.  And at this point, I think one of us is ready to take down the bandits all by himself and nobody better get in his way.  And I have no doubt he could, too, from what I've seen when we fought the goblin bandits.  But speaking for me and Rai, those bandits will be brought to justice tonight."

Worried that if they regain consciousness the bandits may say something to set off Meiou's rage again, Mits gags the prisoners.

"To prevent them from alerting anyone," she explains, "We'll just have to limit our interrogation to yes or no questions.  Darcy?  Once Meiou calms down, would you be so kind as to wake one of them for questioning?"

(( DC 7 Medicine check to patch up a bandit well enough to wake up in under 10 seconds.  Failure means it takes a full minute. ))

In reply to Mittens (msg # 349):

((Darcy rolls 23 on her Medicine Check))

Bringing someone back to consciousness after he was beaten half to death is something Darcy could do in her sleep.  After binding the bandit's wounds and making sure that he's at least 1 HP, she then bats his head like a cat until he wakes up.

"Wakey Wakey Eggs and Backey!"

the rabbit had struggled for abit in the grip of rai eventually passing out as they were grabbed by Darcy and let go . he remained unconscious for the time being and seemingly zenning out from the experience.

To Ben she shrugs. "Maybe? Only Meiou knows and he's unconscious."

Raichel looks back at the Meiou in her arms and says, "...I've been mad before, but I don't think I've ever passed out from being angry. And people back home said I have a temper."

She sets Meiou down, figuring once he sleeps it off, he should be fine. All the same, she takes his gun so he can't just start randomly shooting at people.

Making sure the bandit is awake, Raichel nods to Darcy, then looks at the bandit and gags him before saying, "You will be quiet or you will die. You'll nod for yes, shake your head for no, and shrug your shoulders for I don't know. Do you understand?"

Should the bandit nod, Raichel looks at the guards and says, "If you take them into custody, keep them bound and gagged so they can't call for help or try escape. And make sure they are hidden so peeping bandits can't peek into the jail and see them. That will hold off your troubles long enough that the rest of the gang will be either dead or unconscious by then."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:53, Tue 07 May 2019.

  Ben is so very glad that even in a worst case scenario, healer's kits require zero skill to stabilize someone.  Just as his player is so very glad, that this GM doesn't go 'Quality of life rules that isn't magic? Thaaaat doesn't sound right!' and dismiss it.

  But the cleric knowing how to do so without wasting charges because she's smart about that sort of thing? So much more practical!

  Ben comments to the guards, "You are the most reasonable outnumbered and under equipped guards I have ever met."

OOC: I've had a conversation with a friend about how the 'spare the dying' cantrip is still super useful even with the existence of healer's kits, because a cantrip lets you shove an assembly line of dying soldiers past a single cleric all day long, as many times as you want.  While a Fighter can only stabilize the dying so many times per day kit!

Once Darcy wakes up the bandit and Rai asks her question the bandit answers with a terrified nod.  The guards look shocked by Ben's compliment and give him a nod.  Apparently this guy runs into a lot of outnumbered and under equipped guards?

"Um.  Thanks."

They discuss between themselves which basement in town would be best for hiding captured bandits in.

(( Rather than fuss with modifiers or advantage for questioning the villain who is beaten, bound, outnumbered, surrounded, etc., I decided to just set the DC to -1 for getting this mook to talk.  And set the DC to -1 for seeing through any lies he tells.  I went and rolled intimidate and sense motive for each char (though I don't have the time to look up individual modifiers) for laughs.  If you want to play up how much your character beat the intimidate or insight checks, feel free to do so.

Intimidate:
Ben 18+
Bri'kus 9+
Darcy 12+
Meiou 19+
Mittens 8+
Raichel 19+

Insight:
Ben 13+
Bri'kus 16+
Darcy 16+
Meiou 7+
Mittens 9+
Raichel 3+ ))

...Once the interrogation is complete, the team is able to map out the bandit lair, has a good idea of how many enemies there are, what kind they are, where they are, where the captured villagers are, and any other important bits of info that'll improve chances of wiping out the bandit group with minimal risk.  ((Zero fog of war on the map when I find the time to build it, stats of the monsters are known to PCs in character, and whatever other sensical advantage I can toss at the group should it come up.))
This message was last edited by the player at 17:46, Thu 16 May 2019.

Mits too is surprised at Meiou passing out, but figured it more a result of trying to struggle against an expert martial artist's hold than from being that mad.  "Nobody call him mad as a march hare, please."

This said mostly to herself.

Mits laughs from the way Darc wakes the bandit.  "That's exactly how mom would sometimes wake me!"

To the bandit she explains, "Rai and I come from a big tribe of mighty warriors descendant from weretigers.  Bacon is a yummy breakfast meat that can be made from the belly of any of the critters our clan hunts.  And sometimes we hunt bandits."

The bandit cringes from the suggestion that he could become the bacon Darcy was talking about and is quick to answer any of Mittens' questions.  When Mits catches him exaggerating about how strong Glasstaff is, she noms on some bacon staring at him with a hungry look in her eyes and he backpedals and gives a more accurate answer with a whimper.  Glasstaff not so strong he could take on a whole squad of guards all by himself.

(( Intimidate DM d20+0=8.  Perception DM d20+2 = 11 ))

Mittens thinks to herself that maybe later she'll tell her allies that her clan aren't really cannibals and she was just fibbing to scare the villain.  [flashback] Elder: "Our ancestors found out that bandit bacon is not yummy at all.  That's why we feed them to the war drakes instead."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:44, Thu 16 May 2019.

In reply to Mittens (msg # 355):

"You better tell us what we need to know, young man,"  Darcy said.  "Looks like some of us are still hungry."

To Mittens, Raichel says, "Nice touch making them think you and I are people-eaters."

Then to Darcy. "Thanks for backing us up... and believing we aren't people-eaters."

Raichel thanks the guards for being helpful. She waits for them and the bandit captives to be out of sight before going to wake Meiou. She holds him in her arms, and pats his cheek with her hand. "Hey hey... I know it's night time, but we still got a job to do, Meiou.. wake up... please?"

Raichel will not elbow-drop Meiou to wake him. She prefers softer methods for waking allies if possible and since there isn't any immediate danger, the check-pat is just a pat. Not a slap.

If he doesn't wake from the cheek-pat, though, she will gag him and then poke around him to try and find ticklish spots and thus wake him with laughter that is muffled.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:26, Mon 26 Aug 2019.

in all honesty it was probably a result of his beserk rage and the struggling against the martial artist.

The rabbit didn't seem to stir at first but after a few more pats he would start to come
around . his eyes started to flutter as he then sputtered with a few coughs.

  "I have the feeling it would be too much to hope wildly spiraling between claims of eating people or not, is something I can avoid becoming a regular part of our day to day."

  Preston relaxes on Ben's shoulder, and totally wasn't about to start helping Raichel flap-Pat, pat Meiou in the face to wake them had they not already done so. That would be crazy.

  "So, aside from probably looking like it's namesake. What does Glasstaff's Glasstaff DO?" Ben isn't expecting bottom of the barrel help to know that, except perhaps things made up entirely like 'My glasstaff could totally disintegrate you if you displease me'!

To Ben, the bandit gave detailed accounts of how GlassStaff's powerlevel can go from a shocking handshake or whacking you over the head with his "unbreakable" staff, to pulling a Kylo Ren style Hold Person on an insubordinate thug then blasting him to death with bolts of force from his eye sockets.  From the descriptions, Ben was able to infer the mage's character sheet and the details of his unique magic item:

EVILMAGE
Medium humanoid (human), lawful evii
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 22 (5d8)
Speed 30 ft.
STR
9 (-1)
CON
11 (+0)
INT
17 (+3)
WIS
12 (+1)
CHA
11 (+0)
DEX
14 (+2)
Saving Throws Int +5, Wis +3
Skills Arcana +5, History +5
Senses passive Perception 11
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarvish, Elvish
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Spellcasting. The mage is a 4th·level spellcaster that uses
Intelligence as its spellcasting ability (spell save DC 13; +5 to hit
with spell attacks). The mage knows the following spells from the
wizard's spell list:
Cantrips (at will): light, mage hand, shocking grasp
l st Level (4 slots): charm person, magic missile
2nd Level (3 slots): hold person, misty step
ACTIONS
Quarterstaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
target. Hit: 3 (ld8 - 1) bludgeoning damage.

Evil mages hunger for arcane power and dwell in
isolated places, where they can perform terrible magical
experiments without interference.

STAFF OF DEFENSE
This slender, hollow staff is made of glass yet is as strong
as oak. It weighs 3 pounds. You must be attuned to the
staff to gain its benefits and cast its spells.
While holding the staff, you have a +1 bonus to
your Armor Class.
The staff has 10 charges, which are used to fuel the
spells within it. With the staff in hand, you can use your
action to cast one of the following spells from the staff if
the spell is on your class's spell list: tnege armor (1 charge)
or shield (2 charges). No components are required.
The staff regains Id6 + 4 expended charges each day at
dawn. If you expend the staff's last charge, roll a d20. On a
1, the staff shatters and is destroyed.

With the bandits and the guards no longer present, Mits gives Ben an apologetic look.

"Sorry if that made you uncomfortable.  Not too much to hope for.  Will try and avoid talking about cannibalism from now on."

But to Rai she whispers, "Thanks!  Figured I may as well capitalize on people's racism against us."

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Meiou."

Mits searches around for Bri'kus.  "Bri'kus?  You still with us, buddy?"

Raichel gently sets Meiou down and says, "You alright, buddy? You kinda went crazy there for a bit."

She does keep her eyes and ears alert for Bri'kus, though.

In reply to Raichel (msg # 362):

Darcy somehow looks over what the party just found out about this Glassstaff.  "At least we know why he's called that.  Maybe he'd have a glass jaw as well.  Wizards are known for being glass cannons, especially lower-leveled ones."

She then goes over to Meiou to join in on those checking up on the rabbitfolk, patting his head if he lets her.

He still seemed rather out of it "i dont know.. i just remember blacking out and waking up here.."
upon darcy reaching for him his eyes widened and he jerked back with a flinch as if expecting her to hit him. Rai might remember some similar moments when she first found him. mostly how uneasy he was at her grabbing him and the like.

  Ah, Staff of defense. The Exact Words are what keeps it a 'sort of okay (if you knew those spells)' item, rather than 'one of the most broken items in 5th ed'. Which of course is why so many people screech 'It should be a reaction! That's more fair!'

  This does have IC implications, because it will be the difference of whether or not Mister Glass Staff is essentially immune to all physical combat, VS AC Spells, and magic missiles while still being able to use their entire spell table on shooting the party.

  "Glass Staff's choice of glorified walking sticks will mean he'll be able to easily run away from most methods if he so chooses.  Hopefully it's not quite as strong as rumored in the hands of a wizard."

  Ben sighs at Meiu's reaction to Darcy, particularly given she wasn't even the one to choke him out.  "Meiou, while I get the feeling you've met too many people with no regard for it.  Darcy actually knows what personal space is."