She steps back in surprise before in a slightly alarmed tone but still comforting.
"Whoa whoa please calm down and please tell us what's going on."
Calm them down with my words and get them to tell me the problem.
You smile and begin speaking softly to get their attention, but at first they either ignore you, or glance at you and shy away as if you are an unexpected threat, or at least an awkward bystander. You raise your voice for attention though, both adding to the mix, and altering it, ever so slightly. very gradually, attention drifts toward you, while hte groups kinda organically move slightly away from you in a sort of arc.
Sneak a bit closer to Noir, and cast generic combat buffs. So end, dex, and str.
...Y'know, I've never really asked how buffs work, despite both my chars relying fairly heavily on them. Do you have a codified system you could describe? I've been assuming casting a simple dex buff would buff dex three times as much as buffing dex, str, and end, and both spells would cost the same mana. And I think it's been stated that keeping buffs active continually drains mana, which is why Dar doesn't do so. Is my understanding correct?
I do not have a codified system. I base the buffs on a) your character and the intentions behind it, b) the situation, c) how much you have done in the recent rounds, d)the complexity and number of actions you take (I am a little harder than PW here, I think), e) specificity and f) my own, lazy, capricious whim. Oh, and of course g)overall fun.
a) This character, being a cat with cat based magic, was intended to be mostly self buffing with cat oriented buffs, and you stick with that pretty regularly (speed, make me look frightening, etc), so it hasn't been a problem except with "toughness." Therefore in this situation, I am going to interpret this as one big "cat fight buff".
b) the situation is stable for you, - you are calm, out of the fight, have clear line of sight, etc - so no negatives there.
c) the last period of time has been calm, though it is dark by now andyou guys have been going all in game day, so a bit tired, but magically okay - not at peak though.
d) You want three separate stats bumped. If I were to bump all three by one, that'd be con - 1 to 2, dex, -1 to 0, and str, 0 t o1, which would be four level ups worth of bump.
in order for you to do this much, it would drain you completely and make you worthless for an extended time. (I am assuming that is not what you are going for here thogh) Alternatively, you could buff one roll for one of them and remain in the fight, or buff all of them for one roll, and need to sleep a solid cat's day's sleep and eat a good meal before doing more than minor magic again.
e) you want a very vague buff here -and to be honest, most of your "buff other" actions and one or two in the last encounter have been vague. I usually respond to these rather vaguely, so it hasn't been a real issue. but in this case, the vagueness mixes with the other criteria and makes for a more complicated thing. I could lump it all into "cat fight buff" which starts with "making her look bigger so they don't want to fight her."
f) I am well rested, alert, and giving this better attention than I have in a while, so my whim favors you today.
g) Gosh, I nearly typed a whole essay on 'fun' just now.
I think that codifies it pretty nicely, and will now add this to my folder for future use. I am even going to put it in the OP, I think. (in fact, I did, before finishing this post)
I observe how Noir handles the situation, letting her take the lead on what we do.
Well, she's turning on the charm, and, unlike poor Reggie, who wold be getting pummeled right now for saying "HI. I think you guys are just swell" she seems to be doing okay. Must be her mother's influence. This time.
>"Warning. This area is forbidden to all but approved personnel due to life-threatening dangers to those not versed in specific safety procedures.
Please turn back, or we will take all necessary efforts to prevent your entry and death. Violent measures have been approved as deterrents."
The whole group of them literally jumps wen you begin broadcasting in a loud, metallic voice. The don't seem to be hearing the specific words, but they are staring, huddling, and backing up as you talk, hovering closer to them. the curiosity and mischief in their countenance is gone, replaced with skittish fear and doubt.