init: 4

The sudden movement of the bedraggled folks rushing to attack catches Mixtli's eye, but he's taken aback by the flurry of activity.

The foursome of attackers lunge forward, one a man with short, tightly curled beard carrying a sickle, another a woman with her braids haphazardly pulled back in a bun carrying a short digging spade. A young man with a pruning saw, and an older woman, her locs graying at the tips swings the remnants of a rake, the handle snapped midway down its length.

Sickle Attack: 16 Damage: 3
Spade Attack: 2 Damage: 1
Saw Attack: 8 Damage: 1
Rake Attack: 10 Damage: 4

The sickle slashes viciously across the arm of a young woman, blood flying in an arc.  The woman with the spade, and the young mane with the saw miss their targets, but the older woman sinks the tines of her rake into a festival worker who collapses in the dust as she lunges over her victim towards her next.

There is screaming and panic, but the festival folks were caught unaware as well, and its taking them a moment to make what little sense can be made of the attacks.

((The main party is about 60 ft from the commotion, while Kora has met up with her two companions from her druid circle, and is 120 ft away.))

Mixtli: 16 (no longer surprised)
Farm Folk: 16
Festival Workers: 12 (no longer surprised)
Tandor: 10 <----<<
Trencher: 4 (Surprised)
Kora: 3 (Surprised)

Tandor's eyes go wide in shock but his body surges forward. Gilbert leaps from his shoulder, darting through the crowd to the downed woman. If the woman...or was it a man...too far to tell...were only unconscious she might yet be saved. And if not her, the young woman with the bloody arm could be. Moving with all his speed, the agile cat reaches the person stabbed with the rake, checking for the rise and fall of chest, or the scent of life. Tandor runs behind, but not a full sprint. That would take away his ability to cast a spell and he needed to cast a spell if a life was to be saved, one way or another.

As he runs, sudden inspiration strikes him. "Ho! Here we are. We are the ones you're looking for! We're the ones you want to kill!" Perhaps he could distract the attackers from their madness or least redirect it to him and his companions, who'd be far better able to deal with it.

ooc: Gilbert takes the Dash action to reach the downed person and check for life. If the person is down (i.e. less than 0 HP but not dead), Tandor will cast Spare the Dying on that person, through Gilbert. If the person is dead, or Gilbert cannot tell, Tandor will instead cast Sanctuary on the woman with the wounded arm. Let me know if this isn't doable, please.

((Awesome!))

Gilbert, responding to his master's needs without instruction, darts to the woman, arriving and placing a paw on her, and channeling just enough healing magics to keep her from the cusp of death.

For his part, Tandor runs forward, casts the spell through his familiar and calls out to the four attackers.

((Let's have a Social Charisma check of some sort, distinctions between them would mostly just be flavor.))

Quote from Spiderwrangler >>

((Let's have a Social Charisma check of some sort, distinctions between them would mostly just be flavor.))

Thanks! I'm thinking Performance is most applicable, based on how I wrote the post: 20

The attackers all look in Tandor's direction as he pulls upon his clerical oration training. He clearly has their attention as their body language shifts to suggest they will be running to oblige.

Trencher's head whips around as he takes in the four bedraggled farmer folk whose attention is now on his companion who has run to the aid of those attacked.

Deeper into the town, Kora hears the screams and commotion. Is that one of Trench's friends waving his arms about? What's going on?

Mixtli: 16  <----<<
Farm Folk: 16
Festival Workers: 12 
Tandor: 10
Trencher: 4 (Surprised)
Kora: 3 (Surprised)
Little 'd' druids: 2

((Forgot about Kora's companions, but I'll say they are after her in the order.))

(Just a heads up, I leave for a bit of vacation Thursday August 8, gone for 11 days.  I will be on a cruise ship with little to no Internet access, I think.  So you will have to autopilot for Trencher for this time.    Bad timing, as you just get back into posting yourself!   Oh, well,   I will be back soon, and will hopefully get a few posts in before I leave for vacation.)

Mixtli creates a tiny force balista on his shoulder and uses it afterwards on the attacker with the sickle.

Attack: 16 Damage: 7

The blast impacts the sickle wielder in the shoulder, spinning him around, but he remains on his feet. The sickle wielder sprints for Mixtli, not quite reaching him, while the other three rush in Tandor's direction, much to the obvious relief of the attacked workers, who were cowering expecting another blow. None of the three festival workers that were left standing attempt to attack those that accosted them as they charge the party.

Two of them (saw and spade), are able to close with Tandor, and swing at him.

Saw Attack: 2 Damage: 3
Spade Attack: 5 Damage: 1

Up close, both Mixtli and Tandor can see their eyes are covered in a glistening red blood-like sheen some of which is running down onto their cheeks, mingling with crusted trails of past spilled tears.

The townsfolk continue to flee, two of those injured in the first wave of attacks checking on the their downed companion, and unaware of Gilbert's role in preserving their life, shooing him to safety as they drag her to the side. A woman in a saffron colored dress rushes to Tandor's side, wielding a broom that she prods at them with.

"Cato,? Aba!? What has gotten into you? You stop this, now!"

Receiving no response from them, she turns to Tandor, "Please, don't hurt them, they aren't themselves!"

 ooc: Been a busy few days. I will post by tonight.

Tandor glances at the woman. "I'll do what I can but I can't allow them to hurt others, right minds or no. The many before the few." The priest realizes his options are few and vows to be better prepared next time. Unhooking his mace, he swings at the spade-wielding woman, hoping to knock her unconscious. Meanwhile, Gilbert rushes back, ready to serve as conduit once more.

Attack: 15 Damage: 8

ooc: going for non-lethal damage.

((Can Mixtli use his force ballista non-lethal?))

Unsure of what the commotion could be about, Kora dashes to get closer to her new acquaintances, seeing if there was anything she could do to help.

Trencher rushes up to Tandor, and having seen the somewhat reluctant bonk, swings down with the flat of his greataxe at the spade wielder while still in motion.

Attack: 22 Damage: 12

She crumples and goes down, as the dwarf bellows a challenge to the others.

Kora sprints closer, where she can see Trencher and his friends squaring off against some ill equipped, disheveled folks who seem to be the aggressors, with townsfolk fleeing from the combat, with the exception of a woman she knows as 'Aunt' Dellie, who is facing down the attackers with a broom. Kora doesn't know any of the three remaining attackers by name, but she recognizes the faces of a couple of them, she's pretty sure they are local farmers from up Ribbon. The two members of her circle rush after her.

((Force Ballista won't be able to do non-lethal, by rule has to be a melee attack (though I had in my head damage type mattered too, it doesn't... a melee spell attack seems to be fine?). I've been considering implementing some homebrew 'knockout' rules into my games, but mid combat where it might be relevant probably isn't the time.))

Mixtli: 16   <----<<
Farm Folk: 16 (Sickle -6, Spade -8, Saw, Rake)
Festival Workers: 12 
Tandor: 10
Trencher: 4 
Kora: 3 (60' away)
Little 'd' druids: 2

((aw mid combat rules changes are the best;P; Sorry!!! didn't notice it was my turn))

Mixtli will focus his force balista on one of the attackers that hasn't gotten any damage, hoping not to kill it outright and being able to deliver non-lethal blows with other means.

Attack: 24 Damage: 10

After which he moves into melee for an attacker that looks for the worse trying to hit a knock-out blow with the back of his dagger

Attack: 15 Damage: 5

((If you really want 'em... :D Though you've kind of inadvertently aligned with a good part of what I'd been thinking with the switch to a pommel strike for 1d4...))

Mixtli's ballista detonates a blast into the saw carrying farmer, while he runs away from Sickle to back up Tandor and Trencher, raining a sharp blow down on Saw with his dagger, dropping them clattering to the ground.

Sickle runs after Mixtli, slashing at them, while Rake claws at the bellowing Trencher.

Sickle Attack: 16 Damage: 2
Rake Attack: 19 Damage: 1

The townsfolk with the broom continues prodding at the crazed farmers, imploring them to see reason.

Mixtli: 16  
Farm Folk: 16 (Sickle -6, Spade  (unconscious), Saw (unconscious), Rake)
Festival Workers: 12 
Tandor: 10 <-----<<
Trencher: 4  <-----<<
Kora: 3 (60' away) <-----<<
Little 'd' druids: 2

Kora is confused.  Why is Trencher and his friends knocking these farmers unconscious?  Though.. why are the farmers being aggressive?  Seeing the concern in Aunt Dellie's face makes up Kora's mind.

She lifts her hands up and wiggles her fingers.  A 20' square section of the grass suddenly turns into snaring vines as they break through the earth and wrap around peoples legs.  She focuses it around the farmers, not worrying who all else she gets as these vines don't have thorns... yet.

DC STR save of 13 or you're restrained.

She continues to run towards the group (30')

ooc: Is Tandor Restrained?