((Laud Hailer doesn't give a bonus in this case, it basically allows you to address the crowd in a full manner. Yes you would need to make an Awareness test as well should you want to try and hear Ariel.))

Neither the priest nor her fellow novice seem to perceive Ariel's half-worried, half-angered yell, and the usually stoic girl feels her calmness slowly sapped away by the constant pushing and shoving of the nearby pilgrims. Truly, it was a sight unworthy of His ethereal gaze, the riotous crowd being far from the ordered masses she was used to from service in the convent.

And now she had even lost sight of Estelia. Fortunately for her, the cleric chose this moment to address the crowd, apparently utilizing a servo-skull with a built-in laud hailer to augment his natural voice. Though the two may be unable to register her, Ariel at least was able to home in on Balthazar this way. Thank the Emperor for small favours.

Of course, that did not make it much easier to actually reach them, for the closer she got, the harder the pilgrims were shoving and pushing each other around. Her lithe physique was putting her at a distinct disadvantage against the older and mostly heavier civilians.

((if possible, I'd try testing for Acrobatics to weasel, duck or jump through the crowd -- if this should be acceptable, please roll with my AGI 35))

((Testing Awareness, target number... 10. Rolled a 34 for three degrees of failure.))

Balthazar does not see Ariel or Estelia in the crowd as he scans the heads around him. He hopes that they will be able to follow the laud hailer to his position. He tries to lead the crowd in the direction indicated by the dock hand.

((How does the crowd react to his efforts?))

((Nothing has changed since my last post that I can tell))

Estelia continues making he way back toward the Father's voice. She is a little bit worried that she can't see him, and annoyed she cannot find Ariel. Hopefully she will not have to use her pistols. That could only end badly.

On 4/4/2017 at 6:53 PM, Servant of Dante said:

((Awareness test: 20(Per) - 10 = 10 Roll : 76 Fail ))

Estelia pushes as far as she can toward the top of the ramp, but she is still surrounded by pilgrims taller than herself, and cannot find the other Novice. Frustrated, she moves back the way she came, toward the father, attempting to clear the crowd away from herself with her elbows and the buts of her pistols. Gently.

Estelia continues making he way back toward the Father's voice. She is a little bit worried that she can't see him, and annoyed she cannot find Ariel. Hopefully she will not have to use her pistols. That could only end badly.

Estelia makes her way back towards Father Balthazar with as little resistance as she had been experiencing. The pilgrims stay as far away as they fear getting rebuttal, so mostly an arms length. Those touched by her elbows or pistols quickly move and ecstatically praise her as if they had received a blessing. Some pilgrims carrying children even hold them up close to her hoping for Estellia to move them away.

On 4/4/2017 at 8:29 PM, Covered in Weasels said:

Seeing the general confusion among the crowd, Balthazar finds a nearby step or shipping crate (if one is available) and climbs to a better vantage point, hopefully putting his head above the crowd. With a brisk rap from the butt of his hammer, he brings his laud hailer servo skull online. It flies into the air just above his head and magnifies his voice for all to hear:

"Greetings, faithful of the Emperor! Truly I am blessed to find myself in such pious company as soon as I set foot upon this world! Let us make our way to the nearest place of worship, that we may give thanks for our safe journey!"

((Rolling Charm +10, target number 48. Rolled a 55, giving me one degree of failure unless the laud hailer grants some sort of additional bonus.))

As Balthazar says this, he scans the crowd for a sign of either Estelia or Ariel. ((Balthazar doesn't have a microbead yet, I'll have to fix that as soon as possible Should I make an Awareness test for that too?))

((Testing Awareness, target number... 10. Rolled a 34 for three degrees of failure.))

Balthazar does not see Ariel or Estelia in the crowd as he scans the heads around him. He hopes that they will be able to follow the laud hailer to his position. He tries to lead the crowd in the direction indicated by the dock hand.

((How does the crowd react to his efforts?))

Those closest to Balthazar try to move away now, even though they are reluctant to move away from the priest. However, those in the back of the crowd seem to have not heard or are unmoved, and are keeping the crowd from dispersing. This is now beginning to cause some major contention as the pilgrims are beginning to have a schism of sorts over those listening to the priest versus those seemingly not listening.

On 4/7/2017 at 8:48 PM, Lynata said:

Neither the priest nor her fellow novice seem to perceive Ariel's half-worried, half-angered yell, and the usually stoic girl feels her calmness slowly sapped away by the constant pushing and shoving of the nearby pilgrims. Truly, it was a sight unworthy of His ethereal gaze, the riotous crowd being far from the ordered masses she was used to from service in the convent.

And now she had even lost sight of Estelia. Fortunately for her, the cleric chose this moment to address the crowd, apparently utilizing a servo-skull with a built-in laud hailer to augment his natural voice. Though the two may be unable to register her, Ariel at least was able to home in on Balthazar this way. Thank the Emperor for small favours.

Of course, that did not make it much easier to actually reach them, for the closer she got, the harder the pilgrims were shoving and pushing each other around. Her lithe physique was putting her at a distinct disadvantage against the older and mostly heavier civilians.

((if possible, I'd try testing for Acrobatics to weasel, duck or jump through the crowd -- if this should be acceptable, please roll with my AGI 35))

Ariel is now getting pushed forward as it seems she ended up on the other side of the divide on pilgrims that did not hear Balthazar.

((If you would like to try and shove your way through the crowd now instead of trying to maneuver you may attempt a +0 Strength test.))

((as mentioned OOC you got a 77 on the Acrobatics roll))

Estelia is gratified by how the pilgrims make space for her. As she makes her way through the crowd, she takes care not to bludgeon any infants, Emperor knows why the pilgrims would hold their children out in front of them when an armed person is forcing their way through a crowd. As she reaches the priest, the Novice attempts to look for Ariel again, to no avail.

"if I at least knew which direction to look in, I might be able to find Ariel, but she blends in with the crowd in that robe. And our height doesn't help.

We should do everything we can to keep this from becoming violent. One of us could easily get trampled if the crowd decides to run, not to mention the more slow moving among the pilgrims."

Trained in close quarters combat and obstacle courses, Ariel still found herself outmatched by mere pilgrims, the sheer volume of bodies pushing down on and disabling her skills. At times she even feared she might lose her gun, so instinctively she began to move more forceful, her dissatisfaction at the situation unloading itself in futile resistance against the unordered crowd's movement.

((I doubt I'll win with ST25, but why not -- it's still a 1:4 chance! I already have an idea of what to try next if this fails :D))

((Testing Awareness, target number... 10. Rolled a 34 for three degrees of failure.))

Balthazar does not see Ariel or Estelia in the crowd, but he does notice the change in demeanor in the back of the crowd. He attempts to make his way over to the site of the brewing schism to resolve things personally. His servo-skull hovers above his head and amplifies his voice as he attempts to make his way through the crowd. Worried about where the Novices could have gone, he hopes his floating skull and amplified voice will give them a destination.

((Are there any tests required for this?))

On 4/11/2017 at 10:41 AM, Servant of Dante said:

As she reaches the priest, the Novice attempts to look for Ariel again, to no avail.

"if I at least knew which direction to look in, I might be able to find Ariel, but she blends in with the crowd in that robe. And our height doesn't help.

We should do everything we can to keep this from becoming violent. One of us could easily get trampled if the crowd decides to run, not to mention the more slow moving among the pilgrims."

On 4/12/2017 at 10:29 PM, Lynata said:

At times she even feared she might lose her gun, so instinctively she began to move more forceful, her dissatisfaction at the situation unloading itself in futile resistance against the unordered crowd's movement.

((I doubt I'll win with ST25, but why not -- it's still a 1:4 chance! I already have an idea of what to try next if this fails :D))

((Rolled a 33 so unfortunately 1DoF, do remember guys you have fate points too you can use if you like.))

The crowd already seems very tight against the group that are trying to move away. Ariel's force is nothing against them and a couple of pilgrims ahead of her she hears the distinct crack of a fist to a face.

The crowd has finally broken into a fight.

7 hours ago, Covered in Weasels said:

((Testing Awareness, target number... 10. Rolled a 34 for three degrees of failure.))

Balthazar does not see Ariel or Estelia in the crowd, but he does notice the change in demeanor in the back of the crowd. He attempts to make his way over to the site of the brewing schism to resolve things personally. His servo-skull hovers above his head and amplifies his voice as he attempts to make his way through the crowd. Worried about where the Novices could have gone, he hopes his floating skull and amplified voice will give them a destination.

((Are there any tests required for this?))

((No test for beginning to move through the part of the pilgrims that you successfully ordered to start moving.))

Balthazar moves through the swayed part of the crowd easily enough until he reaches the portion of the crowd that is now getting into a larger and larger fight. No weapons seem to have been drawn, but this engagement certainly has the chance of becoming bloody very quickly at this point.

Estelia continues to follow the Father's voice, hoping that Ariel will do the same. The Novice has accepted that she will not be able to find her in the crowd by wandering aimlessly, and her attention is increasing focused on the people around her, as the situation continues to escalate.

((If someone actually tries to hit or grab Estelia, she will respond immediately with force))

Quickly realizing that physical force would have even less of an effect against the crowd of mostly larger pilgrims than her previous attempts, Ariel grew even more concerned as she noticed signs of impending unrest. Though the novice had spend countless days and nights in close proximity to dozens of other girls, this assignment was the first time she was finding herself in an actual crowd of disorganised and apparently disordered people. As if the cramped corridors on the station had not been bad enough, being surrounded by so many bodies pushing and shoving from all directions threatened to evoke feelings of claustrophobia, making it harder to assess the situation with a calm mind as she usually did.

Nevertheless, she was unwilling to simply give up.

"Children of Desoleum!", the novice raised her voice, hoping it would carry across at least the handful of people she was able to see directly. "Kneel! Kneel you fools!" A hint of desperation tainted her voice as she exhorted the nearby men. "A cleric is visiting, let us pay our respects!"

((I'm going to request a Command roll; pending further modifiers I suppose it would have a Target Number of 10 as Ariel does not actually have this Skill -- ridiculously low chance of success, but 10% is better than nothing and barring just re-trying Acrobatics I think I'm out of serious options at this point))

Balthazar approaches the rowdy pilgrims, hands raised in a calming gesture. "Now, now, sons and daughters of the Emperor. It would not do to shed the blood of other faithful Imperial citizens today, for He is watching over us all after this auspicious landing. Come, let us proceed to the church and give thanks for our safe travel!" He raises the hammer aloft to emphasize this last point.

((What tests are required here?))

On 4/16/2017 at 2:53 AM, Servant of Dante said:

((If someone actually tries to hit or grab Estelia, she will respond immediately with force))

((We'll see how Balthazar's test works out.))

On 4/17/2017 at 1:35 AM, Lynata said:

"Children of Desoleum!", the novice raised her voice, hoping it would carry across at least the handful of people she was able to see directly. "Kneel! Kneel you fools!" A hint of desperation tainted her voice as she exhorted the nearby men. "A cleric is visiting, let us pay our respects!"

((I'm going to request a Command roll; pending further modifiers I suppose it would have a Target Number of 10 as Ariel does not actually have this Skill -- ridiculously low chance of success, but 10% is better than nothing and barring just re-trying Acrobatics I think I'm out of serious options at this point))

((+0 mod, would you like me to apply a fate point or something before I roll?))

5 hours ago, Covered in Weasels said:

Balthazar approaches the rowdy pilgrims, hands raised in a calming gesture. "Now, now, sons and daughters of the Emperor. It would not do to shed the blood of other faithful Imperial citizens today, for He is watching over us all after this auspicious landing. Come, let us proceed to the church and give thanks for our safe travel!" He raises the hammer aloft to emphasize this last point.

((What tests are required here?))

((+0 Command or +10 Intimidate, they are beyond charming now.))

13 hours ago, ThenDoctor said:

((+0 mod, would you like me to apply a fate point or something before I roll?))

((nah, I tend to be fairly conservative with FP and this isn't a situation where I feel I should use them -- if this fails she will just try to re-test Acrobatics or Strength, depending on how the crowd reacts, if at all))

((Rolling Command +0, target number 38. Rolled a 99 for lots of degrees of failure, but I'll spend a Fate point to re-roll. This time I got a 77 for four DoF. Less awful, but still not great.))

((How does the crowd react?))

Estelia attempts to keep close to the Father. She scans the crowd around her repeatedly, more frustrated by the minute. They can't go anywhere till they have located Ariel, and any overly aggressive action could start a stampede. Muttering something under her breath - half prayer and half curse - Estelia straps her pistols back into her holsters and, starting with Father Thorn's shoulder, attempts to spring on top of the crowd, aiming for a particularly heavyset fellow's shoulder and the shoulder of the pilgrim next to him.

((I'm making an Acrobatics test I assume. I checked, and modifiers (including bonuses from skill training) apply to the governing Characteristic for the test. Imperial Flak Armour such as Estelia is wearing has a max Ag of 50, and Estelia's base Ag is 45, with a +10 in Acrobatics. If for some reason you don't give a negative modifier to what I'm trying, my target score will cap out at 50. The way I read it, if you give a -10, my target score will be 45, since you combine all modifiers before applying them (?) ))

((Agility: 45(Ag)+10(skill)+[difficulty modifier (DM)] = 55+[DM] (max 50) Roll: 12 4+[DM]/10 DoS (I may or may not have done a double fist pump when I saw that number :P) Praise be to the Emperor for He is good . (now watch this be a test at -50 ) ))

((If successful, Estelia and I want to look around for Ariel. I assume this will be an Awareness test?))

26 minutes ago, Servant of Dante said:

Estelia attempts to keep close to the Father. She scans the crowd around her repeatedly, more frustrated by the minute. They can't go anywhere till they have located Ariel, and any overly aggressive action could start a stampede. Muttering something under her breath - half prayer and half curse - Estelia straps her pistols back into her holsters and, starting with Father Thorn's shoulder, attempts to spring on top of the crowd, aiming for a particularly heavyset fellow's shoulder and the shoulder of the pilgrim next to him.

((I'm making an Acrobatics test I assume. I checked, and modifiers (including bonuses from skill training) apply to the governing Characteristic for the test. Imperial Flak Armour such as Estelia is wearing has a max Ag of 50, and Estelia's base Ag is 45, with a +10 in Acrobatics. If for some reason you don't give a negative modifier to what I'm trying, my target score will cap out at 50. The way I read it, if you give a -10, my target score will be 40, since you combine all modifiers before applying them (?) ))

((Agility: 45(Ag)+10(skill)+[difficulty modifier (DM)] = 55+[DM] (max 50) Roll: 12 4+[DM]/10 DoS (I may or may not have done a double fist pump when I saw that number :P) Praise be to the Emperor for He is good . (now watch this be a test at -50 ) ))

((If successful, Estelia and I want to look around for Ariel. I assume this will be an Awareness test?))

((Yes, Acrobatics at +0 is fine, Awareness will be +0 should you wish to attempt it. I'll be nice and not have you roll to stay on top of these pilgrims since they're becoming a mob essentially.))

On 4/18/2017 at 9:45 PM, Lynata said:

((nah, I tend to be fairly conservative with FP and this isn't a situation where I feel I should use them -- if this fails she will just try to re-test Acrobatics or Strength, depending on how the crowd reacts, if at all))

A call comes from further ahead than Ariel, "We are children of the Emperor! **** these fools for standing in the way of us and His preachers." and the group surges forwards.

((38 was the result of Command))

18 hours ago, Covered in Weasels said:

((Rolling Command +0, target number 38. Rolled a 99 for lots of degrees of failure, but I'll spend a Fate point to re-roll. This time I got a 77 for four DoF. Less awful, but still not great.))

((How does the crowd react?))

As the call from Ariel's side goes up this group calls out, "SEE? Even the Father detests these fools in the way of the True Path! He raises his Hammer and we shall fall against them!"

((I really can't this of another outcome of all this failure other than the pilgrims getting into a fight. Do you want to participate in the fight? Or do you wish the pilgrims to fight among themselves while you try something else?))

((OK so 4 DoS on that Acrobatics roll. I'm going to pretend that's why I'm not rolling to keep my footing :D. Here's the Awareness check (it'll be much less impressive I'm sure) ))

Estelia crouches somewhat to keep her balance atop the shoulders of the crowd. To her, the fact that she had kept her balance through her jump, while wearing Flak armour no less, was only more proof that the Emperor doesn't really mind a little swearing, as long as it does not take the place of proper prayer and devotion. If only she could convince . . . anyone, really, that she was right. Even Ariel. Especially Ariel, since she had reported her more than once for "profanity." The Novice scanned the crowd as thoroughly as she could from her perch. If only Ariel were wearing something more distinctive; perhaps she could look for light reflecting off her shotgun.

As she looks, Estelia calls out to Ariel as loudly as she can. Maybe if she couldn't find Ariel, Ariel would see her.

((Awareness: 20(Per)-20(Untrained)=0 natural 1 needed Roll: 93 (is that 9 or 10 DoF?) ))

((Looks like it's up to Ariel to spot/hear Estelia))

((Wrong thread))

Balthazar watches in exasperation as the pilgrims descend into a violent melee. At this point the situation seems to have spiraled out of his control, and wading into the fight with his warhammer to crack the skulls of simple pilgrims. Instead, he tries to get the attention of some dockyard security so they can resolve the situation.

Swept away by the raging crowd, the undercover novice can do little but struggle in futility as a sea of shoulders is propelling her forward. Like all members of the Sisterhood, she was trained in hand to hand combat, but this was something different. Being overwhelmed by the tide of bodies, she knew she was at risk of being crushed at any moment. Her situation had become so desperate that she had to fear of losing her longarm. Did someone call her name? It almost sounded like Lia's voice, but she could not possibly be sure as her ears were assailed by the frantic raving of the rioting zealots.

Frantically casting her gaze around, Ariel attempted to ascertain her position on the platform before beginning to try and work her way through the crowd, this time towards the nearest edge, hoping to at least have a chance at catching her breath once she would have reached a spot where the faithful would simply stream past her.

((feel free to roll any Tests that may be necessary for this, please!))

On 4/20/2017 at 5:22 PM, Servant of Dante said:

As she looks, Estelia calls out to Ariel as loudly as she can. Maybe if she couldn't find Ariel, Ariel would see her.

((Awareness: 20(Per)-20(Untrained)=0 natural 1 needed Roll: 93 (is that 9 or 10 DoF?) ))

((Looks like it's up to Ariel to spot/hear Estelia))

Ariel sees her fellow sister worm her way through the mass of people coming out behind the mob she, Ariel, is standing on.

On 4/21/2017 at 7:04 PM, Covered in Weasels said:

Balthazar watches in exasperation as the pilgrims descend into a violent melee. At this point the situation seems to have spiraled out of his control, and wading into the fight with his warhammer to crack the skulls of simple pilgrims. Instead, he tries to get the attention of some dockyard security so they can resolve the situation.

Glancing off to the side of the fighting mob now Balthazar sees that the dock workers, instead of trying to solve this problem themselves, have gotten the attention of what seem to be the local Enforcer force of Port Gyre. He sees them, 1 lead dock hand and 2 Enforcers, in conversation and looking at the crowd.

On 4/22/2017 at 0:43 AM, Lynata said:

Frantically casting her gaze around, Ariel attempted to ascertain her position on the platform before beginning to try and work her way through the crowd, this time towards the nearest edge, hoping to at least have a chance at catching her breath once she would have reached a spot where the faithful would simply stream past her.

((feel free to roll any Tests that may be necessary for this, please!))

((HA the Emperor finally protects! Rolled an 08 Awareness +0, and to work your way through the crowd a 15 Strength (+0 mod)))

Ariel finally sees Estelia as she climbs on top of the mass of people desperately looking for her and shoves her way through the crowd back to the clearing behind the pilgrims that had listened to Balthazar.

None of them seem to notice, or really care, about her moving through the crowd as they are in their own fights.

((see OOC thread))

Estelia calls out again as she finally notices the other Novice. As she hops down from the shoulders she is crouching on she says, "Emperor bless you sir," and moves as quickly as she can in the direction she saw Ariel moving. As she passes Farther Thorne, she points, "Ariel is moving that way out of the crowd. I'm going to try to join her." She stops herself in front of the crowd ((I'm assuming there's a small bit of clear space around Father Thorne)), and, standing as tall as she can and taking a deep breath uses the most commanding voice she can muster, "In the Emperor's name, stand aside "

((Command: 30(Fel) - 20(untrained) + 10(devotional iconography) = 20 Roll:86 fail ))

Seeing the crowd's apparent ambivalence to her words, the Novice attempts to jump and force her way through them.

((Acrobatics: 45(Fel) +10(skill) = 55 Roll:17 4DoS before difficulty modifiers. I suppose the Emperor just wants me to use acrobatics for everything))

((Strength: 30(S) = 30 Roll:27 1DoS before difficulty modifiers))

Her attempt to push through the crowd of scrambling faithful failed, sort of. In the attempt to weasel between two smaller pilgrims, Ariel had grabbed their shoulders in an effort to anchor and launch herself further through the throng, but instead of catapulting herself between the next couple bodies, she had somehow managed to land halfway on top of them! Instinctively, the novice sought to steady her position with a booted heel placed on another, adjacent shoulder and a hand on some some squat person's bald head. The people, already being shoved and pushed from all sides and losing their mind in the ruckus and religious frenzy, did not even seem to notice.

Fortunately, her newfound vantage point also allowed the novice to catch a glimpse of her longtime comrade, and she had to fight a sudden urge to immediately set off towards Estelia in order to rendezvous with the other girl. Instead, she tried shouting her name - a futile effort amid all the other cries - and pointed towards a direction where the crowd seemed lighter, indicating a way out.

((Does Balthazar see Ariel as she boosts herself into the air? If so, he would like to make his way towards her.))