In reply to Father Carlos Eldersan (msg # 357):

"Fascinating." Alessandra notes.

"Too true, too true," Valentino answers.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the knowledge to create a panacea."

"Rather than something that the Pearl had to keep doing, it does it once and it's done. I just can't think of anything that would have a long-lasting effect."

"True knowledge that was not dependent on the artifact could, indeed, be beneficial. So long as it can benefit everyone and we can find a way to distribute it to all.

As you resume walking, it isn't too long before you spot three riders on the road ahead. Clearly they are heading in your direction (unless the horses are walking backwards). They seem to spot you at about the same time.

It appears they have a discussion amongst themselves for a few moments, and then they start galloping forward.

"It appears that those riders are eager to join us. One can hope that their intent is friendly, but it would not be unwise to prepare for violence, should it erupt."

Vasily rests his hand on the hilt of his sword, but doesn't draw it in hopes that things can be resolved with words rather than swordplay.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:55, Mon 24 Aug 2020.

In reply to Vasily Pavlychenko (msg # 365):

Alessandra worries that their intentions are not friendly, but all they can do is wait and see.

"Judging by their appearance, I would hazard to guess that they are brigands, and despite our slightly superior numbers, they mean to rob us at the very least," Valentino says.

"Perhaps they presume that anyone on this road is prey!"

"If so, they are sadly mistaken!" With that, he draws his sword.

By the time the horsemen approach within 50 feet, it is now clear to see that they do not look like nice people at all. Their charge does not diminish; clearly, their intent is to overrun the four of you, hoping that one or more will stay down!

They have drawn their swords as well.

You have just enough time for one action.

Vasily pulls out his sword and moves sideways a bit from the group to force the horsemen to split up, rather than trample the group as a single unit. "It is a shame they are choosing not to parley."

In reply to Dread Pirate Robert (msg # 368):

Alessandra notices the figure, and wonders who he is. She hopes he is not dangerous. Could he be allied with the apparent brigands that are getting closer to them? Two of her traveling companions have drawn their swords, and if the men that they are about to fight are working for him, she does not want to get in danger.

You're in danger enough, she scolds herself. You knew something of the sort could happen, silly.

So she turns to the right,and slips off to the figure. She will be on her guard,though. At least she brought a dagger.

Your guess is that the approaching riders are brigands. Since they are on horseback and you aren't, they assume they have the upper hand, which is why they don't seem intent on conversation.

It would seem as if their first effort will be to attack you as they ride by. If their first attack doesn't kill you, they will probably pivot and then see what the situation is.

I need you to state what action you are going to take and then roll the dice for the Trait+Skill you think is appropriate.


Alessandra has moved off the road towards the figure she spotted out on the moor. As she gets closer, she can see by his garb that he is probably a sailor. It seems an odd place for a sailor to be. This could very well be the Praed fellow they are looking for.

His actions continue to be strange. He walks in one direction for 10 or 20 yards, stops, looks around, then turns around and walks back the other way for about the same distance and looks around again.

When she's close enough to see his face, she can see that he has a sort of dazed look. Possibly he's wandering aimlessly, but he also seems to be looking for something. Yet, in his dazed state, he might not even see what he's looking for if and when he spots it.

Since the brigands can clearly see that Alessandra is a woman, they probably don't consider her a threat, or at least not much of one, which is why they are directing their efforts at the men. In any case, the moor can be a bit treacherous footing, unsafe to ride a horse into it. Even leading a horse would be hard. If they decide to pursue Alessandra, no doubt they will do so on foot.


Anders is just rounding the outcropping himself, and one of the riders spots him and heads for him, presumably thinking he's with the other three.

You also need to state what you are going to do and roll dice for it (unless it's merely a mundane action).

As the rider closes with him, Vasily takes a couple of steps and launches himself into the air, attempting to bash the rider high and hard. Throwing his weight behind a strike with both his off-hand fist and the guard of his sword, Vasily hopes to knock the rider off his horse.

OOC: 08:53, Today: Vasily Pavlychenko rolled 47 using 6d10 with rolls of 10,5,9,9,8,6.  Finesse + Weaponry.

So I have 3 raises, plus an extra die (which the GM can buy, if he wishes)

First raise will go towards the Bash maneuver which will do 1 wound, but also make it so they deal 3 (my weaponry) fewer wounds, assuming they attack this round.

Valentino will simply strike at the brigand as he rides by while attempting to avoid the brigand's own attack.


Finesse+Weaponry

14:12, Today: Valentino Iocovelli rolled 36 using 6d10 ((5,2,3,9,7,10)).

Reroll the 2 and 3.

14:14, Today: Valentino Iocovelli rolled 3 using 2d10 ((2,1)).

Well, that sucks!

Still... 3 raises.

He'll use 2 Raises to do 2 extra wounds and 1 Raise to avoid the attack (or else take 1 less wound).

Even though Father Carlos was the third member of their group, besides Alessandra who had moved off the road for some reason, one of the brigands seemed intent on ignoring Carlos. He momentarily cast a glance behind him to see if there was something else that the brigand was heading for, but he didn't see anything.

His calling didn't permit him to attack so readily as the others, but he had a more clever idea. He took a few steps backwards, and waited for the one attacking Valentino to ride by.

Carlos's intent was to suddenly step in front of the horse, throw up his hands and yell at the horse. The intent was to spook it, get it to stop and rear up, and, hopefully, throw off its rider.


Wits+Ride

14:40, Today: Father Carlos Eldersan rolled 15 using 6d10 ((2,7,1,1,1,3)). Includes 1 re-roll.

ACK! What a horrible roll! That's only 1 Raise!

As Anders rounded the corner, he took the situation in at a glance. The group he'd been slowly overhauling over the past hour had run into trouble, it seemed, from a group of mounted ruffians. And more, one of them seemed to think he was one, and was attacking!

Well! What to do? He was no cossack! He was no mounted warrior, skilled with sabre and pistol! He could barely ride!
Dismount and draw your weapons, form a shield wall with shield and axe, hold the high ground, hold the line. Let them break against you like the wave breaks on the rock. Thus we stood against them at Scutten. Thus we scattered them at Upphelvick. No horseman can stand against the shieldwall of the Northmen! his father's voice whispered in his ear from beyond the grave.

Faugh! Anders spat fiercely, and whipped his horse forward! It jolted disastrously, almost throwing him off, but he somehow held his seat, and knees and elbows flapping, he rode to meet the horseman. When he got closer, he whipped the horse again and then bounced up on top of the saddle, perched there for a moment, and then launched himself in a flying tackle against the rider.

39 including a reroll for Finesse + Athletics. Three raises so one to avoid damage and two to cause damage. Or one to successfully jump and take them both to the ground, one to cause damage, one to avoid damage. Is this how this works, it's new to me!
 

Anders' leap carried him full into the rider and carried him bodily from the saddle! They hit the ground with a thump, Anders raking care that he landed on top.

Once on the ground, he sat on the other man's chest, and banged his head repeatedly on the ground.

Bump!

Bump!

Bump!

(OOC: I was going to make rolls for the villains, but decided it wasn't really worth the effort/hassle at this time.)


Vasily's tactic works fairly well. He manages to hit the brigand and do one wound, but he misjudged the distance he had to go. He jumped too close to the horse in order to reach the brigand with both hands, slams into the side of the horse and bounces off. As he tumbles to the ground, he can't keep his feet due to the impact and tumble, but lands without taking any wounds and manages to roll back to his feet.

OOC: Forgot to assign Flair bonus, so that would have been 2 extra dice, which would have given you another Raise at least. Used that to keep from taking damage and rolling back to your feet.


Valentino easily hits the brigand he attacked for two wounds, wound have taken one wound but used his 3rd Raise to negate it. Alas, his action was mundane, no flair.


Father Carlos got two extra dice for Flair, but the extra Raise wasn't enough to succeed in what he was doing. Whether the horse was better trained or just didn't have enough time to react and stop is uncertain, but, at its rider's prompt, he charges right through Carlos. The angle is slight off, though, so instead of running him over and knocking him down, Carlos bounces off the horse's broad chest and winds up rolling along the side of the horse. The unexpected maneuver, though, keeps the brigand from hitting Carlos. And the horse gallops on straight at...


...Anders, his apparently intended target... until Carlos got in the way. Still a bit startled from Carlos's action, the brigand isn't prepared for Anders' leaping attack. You see his eyes go wide when Anders stands up on his horse, but doesn't seem to have an idea what is going to happen.

At Anders' leap, the brigand manages to get his sword up and deliver a single wound even as he and Anders collide and both go tumbling to the ground.

With 2 bonus dice from Flair, Anders could have 2 additional Raises. You can either use them to do more wounds to the brigand or to avoid your own wounds.


That leaves two brigands still on their horses. They wheel their horses around and charge back.

Give me your Approach, then I'll give you the Consequences, dice to roll, and Flair bonus if it's warranted. THEN you roll the dice. This should get us back on track.

OOC: The two additional raises that I did not yet spend (because I wanted to see what happened) I guess I would use to add to the damage, unless you had some other use for them. Also, did you wish to buy any of the leftover dice (like my one), by any chance? Definitely could use a hero point!

Vasily sees that his bash was ineffective and decides something a bit trickier, but a bit more straightforward towards his goal is in order; he decides to target the belt holding the saddle to the horse.

He's heard of some of the great Castillian swordsmen standing stoic until the very last second, then deftly side-stepping their opponent. It certainly seems like a good time to give that a try; failure or success, he'll certainly learn something about that approach! So, he takes a stance, with his side towards the enemy and watches, ready to step forward or backward just as the horse arrives. He must be ready to move either way, depending on which appears to be more advantageous.

Just as he can feel the warm breath of the horse on his forearm, he makes his move, suddenly stepping to one side of the horse and lashing out at the saddle strap with his sword.

OOC: This may qualify for my quirk: "Earn a Hero Point when you commit to a dangerous course of action because of your thirst for knowledge about dueling." Which would be another very welcome hero point.

It seemed like a good idea in his head! Clearly, it lacked something in execution.

Seeing that the brigand and someone else are now on the ground, Father Carlos hustles over to the two, easily deciding which one was the brigand. As he runs, he'll stoop to pick up a rock. His intent is to conk the brigand on the head with the rock, but if the brigand recovers sooner and moves to attack the other man, Father Carlos will throw the rock at the brigand while shouting out something to distract him.

As he runs, it occurs to him that if he had waved a cloak up in the horse's face, that might have done the trick since the horse would have not been able to see what was in front of it. Ah, well... live and learn.

OOC: I think my last post works as an approach, use large size and strength advantage to get on top and pummel the other guy.

I'll use last turn's unspent raises to avoid damage.

In reply to Dread Pirate Robert (msg # 371):

Alessandra wonders whether she should ask the man who he is, and introduce herself as well.

Looking back at her companions, she can see that they have begun to fight. They are brave men. They will win, most assuredly.

If you'd asked, he couldn't have said why he was being so... ordinary... in this encounter. Perhaps he did not see these brigands as much of a threat, or perhaps he was tired from the walking. After all, he'd spent most of his life aboard a ship. That's where his feet belonged!

The brigand that had attacked him had taken a wound but wasn't yet discouraged. When he turned to come back at Valentino, Valentino simply decided to repeat his last effort.

As the man charged back at him, he chose to stand his ground and parry the attack and riposte.

OOC: Too many games, too little brains! It's all well and good to get this game back on track, but it doesn't do much good if I don't get myself back on track! 7th Sea requires more extensive thinking on the part of the GM which I've been struggling to find. Need to post early in the day before I get too tired to think straight! Especially since this game's mechanics are completely different than any other game I play or GM.


=== Vasily ===

Finesse+Weaponry+Flair (+2 dice)

Risk: If your timing is off, the horse could collide with you if you don't succeed. If you do succeed, timing slightly off could cause the rider to fall on you.

Opportunity: You could conceivably swing up onto the now bareback horse with 2 Raises and take control of it, or you could spend 2 Raises to render the brigand unconscious after he falls.


=== Father Carlos ===

Resolve+Weaponry (-1 die for a rock); no Flair.

Risk: You could accidentally hit Anders as you get in each other's way. Or he could hit you!

Opportunity: Knock the brigand unconscious with 2 Raises... or add your Raises to Anders'.


=== Anders ===

Brawn+Brawl (no real Flair here for pummeling the brigand)

Risk: The only real risk here is that you and Father Carlos could get in each other's way and accidentally hit each other. That could conceivably give the brigand an Opportunity to inflict more wounds on you... or escape.

Opportunity: You simply knock him unconscious with 2 Raises.


=== Valentino ===

Finesse+Weaponry (no Flair)

Risk: If your timing is off, the horse could collide with you, giving you one wound from the impact and opening you up for an attack by the brigand.

Opportunity: You could either disarm the brigand with 2 Raises or knock him off his horse with 2 Raises or you could inflict additional wounds. In the latter case, he's likely to decide the risk to him is no longer worth it and simply ride off.


=== Alessandra ===

Although the man looks dazed and confused, perhaps disoriented, he still seems to be searching for something though it's clearly not on the ground since he never looks down.

As you get nearer, you realize that he matches the description the others gave you of Prado the sailor.

He seems oblivious to your approach. If you attempt to talk to him, he might not even know you are there.

13:48, Today: Vasily Pavlychenko rolled 41 using 8d10 with rolls of 5,4,6,1,6,9,2,8.  Finesse+Weaponry+Flair (+2 dice).

4 Raises - I'll use 1 raise to avoid the risk, and 2 raises to render the brigand unconscious. The last raise I'll use to either avoid the risk (if it requires more than 1 raise) or to do a parry if anyone attacks, or to create an opportunity for another character if nothing else. :)

Vasily, this having been his first time trying this, is a bit nervous about whether he'll manage. He times it surprisingly well, but does step the "wrong" way; forward. The result is that he has to spin around just in time to catch the strap with his sword. On the bright side, the brigand's pure shock at the stupidity of Vasily's actions leaves him ill-prepared for the results. Not only does the saddle fall off, taking the brigand with it, but he also fails to keep any semblance of balance and knocks his head on a rocky patch of ground, leaving him unconscious.

Exhilarated at the fantastic result, Vasily smiles broadly and looks for how he can help next.

Anders gleefully banged the man's head on the ground, and then punched him unconscious with a powerful right cross. He heard a step and looked up to see a priest towering over him with a large rock. "Hej,  steady now! No need for that!" he cried out.

OOC: Two raises knocks him out.
13:11, Today: Anders Mendelsson rolled 29 using 6d10 with rolls of 5,3,3,5,7,6.