Hrm. Lots of easily ruffled feathers here.
"
Please, I mean no disrespect. I am simply trying to get a feel for the situation. As the Master says, to be prepared is be always free to act. If we rush headlong into a situation where we could so easily find ourselves out of our league, disaster awaits. I would prefer not to face the imminent conflicts as an unruly mob when we could be working together to escape our pursuers. Now, I have a great deal of experience both as a soldier and as a leader of small companies, and I would like to think we can all appreciate the value of a good plan. We should have some kind of leader in mind before we fragment - as we have here - and all go looking for trouble. I'm willing to take up that role, unless there is someone here better qualified, but to do that I need to know who I'll be leading and as much as possible about what is going on."
"
Unless another candidate steps forward, I believe I would be the best choice for a, shall we say, coordinator of efforts. I have no desire to impose my will on you - far from it - but a rather strong desire not to go back to whatever nightmare we were receently plucked from. To ensure that that does not happen, we need to take swift and decisive action, yes, but also action guided by one purpose and one plan. "
"
I was a soldier for many years and an officer and field commander for many more before I fell in with the adventuring crowd. Since then, I've had the distinction of leading more than a dozen expeditions into terrain as dangerous and forbidding as this mysterious frozen wasteland. Indeed, command has become second-nature for me, and I know intimately the value of the right advice at the right time. I have even been privelaged to take up the arcane arts, as you've seen, and I am familiar with the vagaries of personality and ability that keep adventurers, wanderers, and old hands at the game of combat such as you appear to be from acting with one purpose. If you'll cooperate, I guarantee our chances of survival and escape will increase dramatically than if we simply wander over to mysterious buildings to poke them and see what they do. "
{OOC - Adauth is looking to be recognized as overly-large-party leader here. From an objective standpoint, I don't think there's any doubt that he's the best qualified, since he has everything you'd want in a leader (that's the way I made him). He has solid wisdom and intelligence scores (13 and 14), the highest non-imp charisma (18), bardic knowledge and divinations for reconnaissance and planning, marshal's auras and bardic music to represent the appropriately-given orders, all of the interaction skills he needs (Bluff, Intimidate, Sense Motive, etc.), and a spell selection geared to group tactics and battlefield control. Adauth is also tied for second-highest level character present, behind the imp, who doesn't strike me as the leaderly sort. Not trying to force anyone's decision, but there you have it.}
{For reference only, I rolled a Perform (oratory) check for the little speech and a Diplomacy check to soothe any bruised egos. The results were
31 and 26, respectively.}
Ashy - [sblock]The proper abbreviation of my handle is Kell.
I'm making the bardic knowledge check to see if I recognize such structures as this shrine from my research and travel, now that I've gotten a good look inside and out. Given Adauth's background, this most likely would come from the adventurer rumor mill - Adauth is something of a freelance commander for the leadership-impaired, so he's well in tune with goings-on of the adventuring sort. I know I'm out of my usual haunts here, but I figured a check result good enough to get know that's "extremely obscure, known by very few, possibly forgotten by most who once knew it, possibly known only by those who don’t understand the significance of the knowledge" will dredge up
something to work with.
Just don't give me the usual "you heard in a song a while back" result, please.
Ugh, I hate those.
I see Adauth's bardic knowledge as representing a careful attention to detail and extensive travel and research, especially since he's not a musician of any kind.
I'm putting this into a spoiler block because I don't want anyone to get the impression I'm trying to force you to adjudicate bardic knowledge in a certain way. I've just been burned one too many times by DMs who make BK into a completely useless ability. :\ [/sblock]
