Now I don't want this to come off as a whine, I really just want to know what the balance is supposed to be.

Here's the situation. I am bound and trussed. I am backstabbed. I beat down the thief and he flees after 5 rounds. During the fight I was able to do spec skills, dodge, parry, yada yada. I wasn't able to, after the fight, quaff a potion, move, or untie myself. He grabs another thief and they gang me. I don't see how this is very balanced at all. Being totally without the ability to move outside of combat for 6 hours?

Being that blackjack is the setup for this situation, I also have to ask why it is that skills which are much less effective fail so much more. Take a skill like stab for instance. Mastered it fails easily 30% of the time, and you take damage for it. Blackjack has never failed on my current char, and he always wears helms with good ac.

WarAngel