With a social attack (and that’s what this effectively is), you need to pick a stat to hit if he doesn’t go along. Ideally something that would tip him towards a virtue you want him to increase, in this case.
What are his stats? Am I convincing the human or the demon?
Human, always. And you don’t know his stat values, but NPCs have the same stats you do.
Ok, so I guess I'm targeting his honesty? Not going along with it would mean he’s lying to himself about why he’s doing what he’s doing?
Is that a reasonable chain of thought for this kind of attack? Again, don’t have my book with me now.
If you target his honesty you would be decreasing his honesty and possibly increasing his deceit. That would be the sort of thing you want to do if you were say, trying to get someone to commit a crime for you. In this case you probably want to hit his deceit, or possibly cruelty.
Definitely go after his cruelty. It’ll reduce any attack dice, and raise the stat he needs to not hurt the people, I think.
Ok, targeting cruelty then!
nodding along like I completely understand the mechanics, when I’m not sure I do
So right now we are simultaneously trying to kick him in the nads, plant false memories from a 10 foot tall demigod looking thing, convince him to not be so mean, and… just being a ghost?
I think we might just kill him from pure shock with that!
Brad is just grappling him now, to stop him from hurting others. It brings us closer to parity. Every one of us is trying to stop him, I think.
Ok, and since you are grappling, instead of hand to hand, would you not still get your devious bonus? Or does grappling get included in that, in which case you would roll 10d10 + 4 bonus.
also, when using flame wreathed, you may go beyond 10 dice.
Though rolling 7x8 I could understand you not wanting to reroll with more dice ;)
Yeah, as malkav said, grappling is a different sort of attack so it doesn’t get the addition to the pool. It’s Open Endurance instead of Open Cruelty for one.
Yeah, Flame-Wreathed turbocharges attempts to damage someone in melee, it doesn’t help hold them in place. I figure it ought to burn the grapplee, though, even though it doesn’t say specifically, so I will apply the “if they hit you in melee” damage instead.
Jose isn’t really trying to stop him in that he’s not sure what he’d add right at this moment.
Alex
“Yeah, not thirsty, but probably for the best to cut him down to size.”
Having reread the stats on the Headsman and what exactly the contact effect of Flame-Wreathed hits, this is going to be a little more interesting than I thought at first.
All
The Headsman roars in berserk rage, coruscating blue light gathering around his hands. The crowd scatters screaming as a burning figure charges at him, wrapping arms pulsing with tongues of vivid flame around the scissor-headed executioner and grappling him with inhuman power, trying to stop the villain’s attack from reaching its target. The impact knocks one of the bolts up, blasting a chunk out of the ceiling, but the other still manages to punch into a running student’s leg, sending the boy sprawling and clutching the scorched flesh, sobbing. The flames are beginning to spread into the black robe the Headsman is wearing, and he cries out in pain as he burns anew.
Moments later, a shimmering, ghostly figure floats up to the wrestling pair and leans in to whisper, “Your enemy is not among us. Look to the shepherd. -pause- And leave those poor people alone.” The villain’s eyes widen, and he shouts, “NO! You lie!” But the idea has clearly impacted him deeply. And then the silvery finger of something glorious and terrible settles onto the beset man’s shoulder, and he seems to blink a few times. “Why…why did I think this pitiful rabble had done…” His eyes grow wide and mad again. “But you! You liars and horrors and monsters. Maybe you didn’t do this. But I…I have to redress your slander. I…” He shudders, fighting against the burning man’s grasp.
Alex works a glowing keychain puzzle intently. And by the former cage, Jose shivers quietly at a rush of terrible new memory.
OOCly: The tackle knocked a die off both the Headsman's sets, but one of them still had one. Flame-Wreathed knocked a point of Courage into Cruelty and then Maria's argument pushed it back. The Headsman no longer thinks anyone here killed his friends (he false memory is vague and will fade by tomorrow, but Maria's revelation may have more lasting impact), but he's berserk (as in Patient 0) and has seized on a new casus belli. If you can slide his Cunning into Patient he will probably calm down enough to take his leave and go try and find the real killer. Or you can just kill him! :) Either way, new round.
Well, uh, sorry for suggesting you target Cruelty… (DOH!)
(proposed)
Brad Stevens
“You’re not going fucking anywhere until you calm down! STOP RESISTING!”
Brad continues to hold onto the Headsman, making sure he can’t do any more damage.
Unless I can, like, kick his Cunning in the nuts?
I have no clue how to target a stat like that and reading the rules is like trying to decipher stereo instructions.
I think it would be some sort of social roll to get him to calm down or something