Shattered Kingdoms

I think the reason that a check is not done BEFORE the brandish is that it could be non-grouped combat. There is a GM hellion and a veteran warlock in the room, not grouped. You brandish the staff and you afraid to direct the spell at the hellion, but not the warlock. Thats how I figure the mechanic is supposed to work and makes sense.

Shouldn't be the case. A staff affects a room and not a target. You are either afraid to brandish the staff in the hellion's presence (and thus not brandish at all) or, since the spell affects the room, you brandish and affect the room, with or without a hellion in it. I think the first case is the more proper one RP wise, but perhaps the second one is better balance-wise, I don't know.

What's happening now is clearly wrong, though.

Just because a hellion is staning there doesn't make you afraid to do anything. You're scared to hit the hellion, yes. But you're not scared to hit the [REDACTED] bag sitting at the table across the room. Why they hell would you be? Why would the hellion care about him enough to stop you unless they were with him. It all makes perfect sense. Don't [REDACTED] with the hellion, pick on someone your own size.

Yes, but if you KNOW that the staff will hit the area, and thus the hellion too, (and you should know that, you have TRAINED in the use of staves), you wouldn't dare use it in the presence of the hellion if you do feel intimidated.

Imagine you are in a diners, and there's a big bully guy in there. You are intimidated by the big guy, and have nothing against him anyhow. You want to activate a big boom device, to get back on a school kid, but you know that the device will also annoy the big guy too, and you may get your rears smacked. Would you activate the device if you are indeed intimidated by the bully?

It's a staff. They can be resisted. If you are afraid of 'wasting a charge' when the spell doesn't hit, don't use it.

I say thumbs up for the way intimidation works. It's kinda pointless to be too scared to attack one person, but be able to flip out on the entire room including the hellion.

that's not a correct analogy because you may be tougher than the bully. Hellions aren't really bullies either. Just because someone interprets them as a bully and plays one that way doesn't mean that *all* hellions are bullies.

I don't like the way that it works currently, but I'm not going to cry myself to sleep at night because I can't brandish a stave on a hellion.

Brandish affects everyone in the room is why it doesn't stop the brandish, not a certain person.

Why bother amongst stubborn people...

Why wouldnt it hit your own group as well? I mean if you want to be realistic, whats really special about them just fighting with you? I think it is fine as is.

Oooh... I want a staff with 1 overpowered charge of B augmented sixth, please.