The closer you get to the actual lighthouse, the lower its compulsion. So in a sense, the closer they get to the mermaids, assuming the mermaids don't go for them, the easier to persuade them away.
As with PCs — you feel a compulsion, but it's nothing you absolutely can't resist. Certainly mortal peril would qualify as enough of an incentive to get out of the lighthouse dodge premise, once they see the furious mermaids.
The reality is, though, that the mermaids are fast, furious and decently intelligent — they'll try to mimic sound and otherwise lure the boat travellers close.
I'd say if they get near enough to the mermaid ranks (and said ranks haven't been thinned by the deadmaids), the boats won't be in for a good time. It's probably easier to try to dispel them at easy. But if your only option is getting to them when they've gotten relatively close to the mermaids — they won't fight you for the privilege of becoming mermaid fodder.
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As with PCs — you feel a compulsion, but it's nothing you absolutely can't resist. Certainly mortal peril would qualify as enough of an incentive to get out of the lighthouse
dodgepremise, once they see the furious mermaids.The reality is, though, that the mermaids are fast, furious and decently intelligent — they'll try to mimic sound and otherwise lure the boat travellers close.
I'd say if they get near enough to the mermaid ranks (and said ranks haven't been thinned by the deadmaids), the boats won't be in for a good time. It's probably easier to try to dispel them at easy. But if your only option is getting to them when they've gotten relatively close to the mermaids — they won't fight you for the privilege of becoming mermaid fodder.