Yell out "Stop thief" and head off in pursuit.

Quote from Guilliame >>

Yell out "Stop thief" and head off in pursuit.

This is not a combat, as yet, but I need you to roll for Initiative. That's a d20 roll, plus +2 for Guilliame.

5

Quote from Guilliame >>

5

The urchins all have a better initiative than Guilliame and are making a run for it. Two of them, not the one who has Guilliame's purse, are close enough for him to possibly catch. Or, he could try something else.

Where was the purse?

OOC I have to say, Phill, that I find it incredibly depressing that I can't have  character go to the post office in a hyper-vigiliant state without getting robbed by street urchins. I'l thinking of just chucking it in.

Quote from Guilliame >>

Where was the purse?

Without guidance, I was assuming it was in a pocket of his clothing.

OOC I have to say, Phill, that I find it incredibly depressing that I can't have  character go to the post office in a hyper-vigiliant state without getting robbed by street urchins. I'l thinking of just chucking it in.

Sorry Andrew, It was the bad roll for the Perception to check to see if someone was trailing Guilliame that led to the snatch and grab, but don't give up just yet as you are right in thinking that this is unusual for this part of Constantine. And, if you bear with me for a little while, you will discover that Guilliame's cry for help has not gone unheeded.

Does Guilliame want to try to catch one of the boys he was close enough to chase?

Does Guilliame want to try to catch one of the boys he was close enough to chase?

Yes. 

It was the bad roll for the Perception to check to see if someone was trailing Guilliame

If one bad roll is sufficient when you are actively looking for pursers I assume everyone in the whole town including all the player characters have been successfully hit multiple times.

Quote from Guilliame >>

Does Guilliame want to try to catch one of the boys he was close enough to chase?

Yes. 

It was the bad roll for the Perception to check to see if someone was trailing Guilliame

If one bad roll is sufficient when you are actively looking for pursers I assume everyone in the whole town including all the player characters have been successfully hit multiple times.

The children came from in front of him and they took advantage of the fact he was more concerned about what was behind him. And, as I said before, Guilliame wouldn't be expecting this sort of behaviour in this part of town.

Guilliame rushes after the closest of the little thieves and tries to grab him by the scruff of the neck.

Please roll a d20 with a +3 bonus [This is technically a Grapple (Athletics) check, which Guilliame is proficient in].

Could you also please make another Perception check (d20 +1).

Grapple 17

Perception 7

Quote from Guilliame >>

Grapple 9

I'm afraid the dice aren't with you, Andrew. That roll doesn't exceed her Dexterity check, which was a 17. You can, however, roll again to try to gain some experience because that was a test of your Athletics skill.

Perception 14

Guilliame rushes after the closest of the young thieves. The young Stemian girl is small and nimble, and Guilliame doesn't even come anywhere near catching her. 

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he sees another of the child theives suddenly stop and crumple to the ground.

What does he do?

Grab hold of the backpack and clutch it in front of him. Don't move otherwise.

The young girl rushes away and is soon out of sight around a corner.

Guilliame pulls his backpack off and, while clutching it to his chest, looks around.

The first thing he notices is a Sorian man with a patriarchal, ringleted beard heading towards a well-dressed woman who is lying on the ground.

Then he sees that the other two children of the four who robbed him are also on the ground. One of these two is the one who grabbed his coin pouch.

Then he hears a commotion from up the street and when he looks that way he can see two of the city guard making their way towards the scene, being pointed in his direction by many a bystander.

Have a quick check in the backpack to make sure the jewel is still there and then close it up again. 

Guilliame looks in his backpack and see that Alice's jewel is safe and sound.

While he is doing this, the two steel-helmeted guards arrive and rush over to where the man is tending to the fallen woman, who now appears to be stirring.

From where he is standing he can't hear clearly, but he hears the the an say the words 'hooligans' and 'thieves'.

Fasten up the backpack knotting the straps and see if the urchin who stole my purse is lying around somewhere.

Just let me let of some steam here Phil.

1. Every time something important happens I have rolled rubbish dice - all through history. Bad dice - rock falls and my character dies. Bad dice person in circle dies. Now bad dice get robbed. It doesn't happen every time - just every time anything important is happening and it is showing every sign of happening again. 

That is not your fault but I am owed about 10 supercriticals at important times and I know that ain't gonna happen.

2. Guilliame wouldn't be expecting this sort of behaviour in this part of town.

I thought saying I was checking I was being followed implied I was worried about this behaviour even in this part of town - not that I wasn't. Surely that is a reasonable assumption. If it isn't then let me state categorically now if I check that I am being followed it means I am concerned about the situation. I don't understand why that needs to be said but there you go.

Guilliame fastens the straps on his pack and puts it on.

Then he crosses to the child who looks like most the one he saw with his purse. He is a Stemian boy, about 11 or 12, and he seems to be unconscious.

Lying next to him, is Guilliame's purse.

"Don't touch that!" says one of the guards sharply to you.

The older man, who is dressed as a merchant but wearing lots of golden jewellery, then says, "No! It's his purse. He's the one they robbed."

This man looks familiar to Guilliame. No doubt he has seen him around the neighbourhood before.

Make a straight Wisdom check (+1 to roll) to see if Guilliame can remember this man.

15

If you say there was a fifth urchin creating a distraction behind that caught Guilliame's attention while the others came from the front I can cope with that.

Quote from Guilliame >>

Just let me let of some steam here Phil.

1. Every time something important happens I have rolled rubbish dice - all through history. Bad dice - rock falls and my character dies. Bad dice person in circle dies. Now bad dice get robbed. It doesn't happen every time - just every time anything important is happening and it is showing every sign of happening again. 

That is not your fault but I am owed about 10 supercriticals at important times and I know that ain't gonna happen.

I understand your pain, Andrew. I also suffer from the dice—remember I lost my character in Jeff's campaign a little while ago, through just that; rolling a 1 on a death save to avoid the character dying when they were knocked to zero hit points.

For this reason, I am using a home brew mechanic for this campaign called 'Hero Points'. You can find it on the world site in the Homebrew Rules section. These points, which can be accumulated while playing and added to die rolls if the player thinks they are needed, are designed to help in such cases. Take a look and let me know what you think. I haven't mentioned them before this as the situation hadn't arisen that I thought warranted their use; they are mainly to be used in combat. Any suggestions on how to make the mechanic better would be appreciated.

2. Guilliame wouldn't be expecting this sort of behaviour in this part of town.

I thought saying I was checking I was being followed implied I was worried about this behaviour even in this part of town - not that I wasn't. Surely that is a reasonable assumption. If it isn't then let me state categorically now if I check that I am being followed it means I am concerned about the situation. I don't understand why that needs to be said but there you go.

It still would have required a Perception check, I'm afraid, which unfortunately he failed. He can't be looking in both direction at once and the thieves would have waited until the best moment to make their move. 

There is also a stat call Passive Perception, which you will find on the left-hand side of the character sheet. This is sort of the default value for a character's awareness as to what is going on around them. Unfortunately, the thieves' deception roll beat that.

Anyway, I will take onboard what you have said and try to give better descriptions of the surroundings so that there is a better understanding of what potentially might happen.