Vasso Commands the Sniff Lord

Summary

In Session 3, with the party trapped between a locked portcullis and The Sniff Lord, Vasso uses his I Am the Law paladin ability to command the creature to retreat. After Safia suggests targeting the creature's carotid body—which the party interprets as simply strangling it—Vasso decides to confront The Sniff Lord directly with authority rather than violence. Drawing on his bond with Safia ("he has so much to learn from her"), Vasso advances down the corridor making noise and invoking divine authority. His successful roll causes the creature to cautiously back away, buying the party time and granting Vasso tactical advantage for his next action against it.

Details

The confrontation begins when the party realizes they cannot escape through the portcullis and cannot communicate with The Sniff Lord. Safia proposes using a broomstick to press a pressure point in the creature's neck—the carotid body—to render it unconscious, though the party interprets this simply as choking the creature. Katniss suggests a different approach: using corks from liquor bottles at the altar to blunt The Sniff Lord's tusks. Safia successfully pops some corks free while Vasso considers his options.

Vasso psyches himself up to use his paladin authority, explaining his plan: "I'm gonna do an I am the law where I say, hey, you, you with the goose. You get away from us." He trusts Safia's knowledge because of his bond with her—"I gotta save my friends, right?" Rather than attempting to physically subdue the creature, he decides to invoke his righteous authority, drawing on his experience "yelling at, you know, foxes that are coming into our area."

Vasso walks down the corridor toward The Sniff Lord, clanging his sword against the stone walls and shouting: "Get out of here... you, you with the goose. You get away from us. You get... in the name of mother earth, you on God, get. We don't want you anymore."

He rolls an 8, adding his +2 Charisma modifier for a total of 10—a success. Shawn describes the creature's reaction: The Sniff Lord's ears perk up and it turns to face Vasso. The creature lifts itself up on its knuckles in a plank position, "engaging its core," feet straight out behind it. For several tense seconds, the party cannot tell whether the creature will obey, flee, or attack.

Then the creature begins to back away. "You see it inch backwards," Shawn narrates. "It's not fleeing, but it seems to be. It's backing up. Like the noise that you're making. Whatever it is you're doing is working. And the sniff lord backs away from you cautiously."

Participants

Vasso — Uses I Am the Law to command the creature; advances down the corridor making noise and invoking divine authority
The Sniff Lord — The creature being commanded; responds to Vasso's authority by backing away cautiously
Safia — Suggests targeting the creature's carotid body; pops corks from bottles at the altar; her knowledge motivates Vasso through their bond
Katniss — Proposes using corks to blunt the creature's tusks
Shawn — Adjudicates the I Am the Law roll and narrates the creature's reaction

Consequences

Vasso successfully demonstrates his paladin authority, establishing that The Sniff Lord can be influenced through command rather than direct combat
The creature backs away from the party, creating space and reducing the immediate threat
Vasso gains a +1 forward on his next roll against The Sniff Lord, a mechanical advantage from the 10+ result on I Am the Law
The party gains time to plan their next move and potentially escape or press their advantage
Vasso's bond with Safia—"he has so much to learn from her"—proves tactically valuable, giving him confidence to attempt the command