Charm Person help

[italianranma]

I see this situation coming up in the near future. Let's say that my PCs are fighting in a battle against multiple opponents (let's call them halflings, for no other reason then to stop confusion). My PC charms a halfling. On the charmed one's next round what would he do? My gut says he'd try to stop the other halflings from attacking. If the caster's allies attack the other halflings (but not the charmed one) does the effect end? Let's say the other halflings try to convince the charmed one that he's been charmed. What is that? A sense motive check against what? I'd say the DC of the charm spell. Does this sound right?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Say you're in a gang.

And a bunch of strangers show up on your turf. That's just Not On, so you and your gang jump them.

And then, a short way into the rumble, you suddenly realise that one of the guys on the other side is your Best Friend. One of his buddies just shot Tom, and that chick he's with is laying into Dave with a big knife... but he's definitely your Best Friend.

What are you going to do? Try to tell Dave to stop fighting with the chick with the knife, just 'cos she knows your Best Friend? Try and jump in between everyone who's screaming and fighting? Try to grab your Best Friend and get him the hell out of the rumble before he gets hurt? Shoot the girl before she manages to gut Dave? Shoot Bob, because it looks like he's about to lay into your Best Friend with a club?

How you react is going to be highly situation-dependent.

-Hyp.

 

[italianranma]

Thanks Hyp

Usually you give out more sass then advice but I truly appriciated that last bit of advice. One last question, what happens if they charm the last enemy left standing?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Usually you give out more sass then advice...

Hey, what's that supposed to mean?

One last question, what happens if they charm the last enemy left standing?

It will still depend on the situation.

Your Best Friend just showed up with a bunch of toughs who killed Dave and Tom and Bob.

What happens next? If the caster gets the rest of the party to lower their weapons and gives some sort of explanation, it will obviously go more smoothly than if the chick with the knife starts coming for you! After all, he might be your Best Friend, but you don't know her, and damned if you're going to stand still and let her rip you up!

You trust your Best Friend, but you've got no connection to the rest of them, and he'll have some convincing to do if he expects you to understand why his buddies just whacked your entire gang!

-Hyp.

 

[italianranma]

Thanks again

I like the way you explain things Hyp.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I like the way you explain things Hyp.

You still owe me an explanation on the "sass" comment

-Hyp.

 

[italianranma]

About the sass

I've been reading a bit too much KODT stuff, and when I think about dnd I start talking like Bob. Anyway I just get the feeling sometimes that when you offer advice, you do it in a way that says "isn't the answer already staring you in the face?" Most of the time you're right, but sometimes after you've given an explination I wonder if you were trying to help the person, or just intimidate him into going with what you think. Even so I still think its funny.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Anyway I just get the feeling sometimes that when you offer advice, you do it in a way that says "isn't the answer already staring you in the face?"

It's the only way they'll learn

-Hyp.

 

[shilsen]

How you react is going to be highly situation-dependent.

I'd also add that it's character-dependent. The way one PC/NPC reacts to his best friend may be very different to the way another one reacts to her own best friend.

 

[AuraSeer]

Anyway I just get the feeling sometimes that when you offer advice, you do it in a way that says "isn't the answer already staring you in the face?"

That's because it is, much of the time. Sometimes it's hard to answer very simple questions without sounding superior.

Easy questions-- ones with answers clearly listed in the rules-- don't usually make for interesting threads. Lots of people will just pass them by without bothering to answer. That means those people that do answer them, answer more than their share. So you end up with normaly friendly posters, like Hyp, having lots of posts that boil down to "try reading the book, hoser."