(OOC - As I thought about it, Thalla would not wait for the others to put down the coffin ... so game on, y'all!

Thalla watched as the men continued to move forward, ignoring what the others had said. She had seen similar people - once they had decided on stupidity, they often could not be swayed from their path ... except by violence. The others seemed intent on setting the coffin down, but she shook her head - first off, she was not going to risk being stabbed by a farm implement because of some ill-conceived notion of a human ceremony. Second, the Professor was dead; whether he remained in his coffin or fell out made little difference to that fact ... perhaps viewing his body would show these cretins that he was NOT an undead thing. No, she would approach this prudently and practically - engage the enemy and teach them the error of their ways quickly, before this degenerated into chaos.

Letting go of the coffin, she stepped forward, eying the group carefully. While the others might feel constrained by 'rules of engagement' and seek to strike those armed, she had no such compunctions - kill the head, the body will follow. Moving forward, she slipped up to the old man and lashed out at him, her hands raised defensively as she tried to take out the ringleader.

Spoiler: Actions
Show
Release the coffin (free action); move forward to engage the old man (move action); enter turtle style and dodge (swift action). Attack (unarmed, non-lethal)
Attack - (1d20+2)[18], Nonlethal dam - (1d6+2)[5]

Status
HPs: 10/10; AC: 17 (Dodge+Turtle style)
F +4 R +4 W +5