The marauders appeared not to be complete idiots, despite the stereotypes. While the five "heroes" took pause to decide what they were going to do about this situation and prepared to attack, the two human watchers armed their crossbows and gave warning to the rest of their group. They didn't look particularly threatening, with simple piecemeal leather armor, of about average build, with crude spiked clubs as their backup. Both male, as was most common for this sort of "profession".<br/><br/>Two more figures climbed out of the toppled wagon, previously obscured by the thick cloth of the roofing. One appeared to be a dwarf, a bit under five feet tall but almost as wide in the shoulders. He barely had any hair on his head, facial or otherwise, most of his skin being scarred from burns, and a peculiar cross-like mark on his forehead. Any dwarf would instantly recognize him as a so-called exile, a person who has shamed their homeland and was forbidden to return, alongside with having their beard permanently removed in a rather cruel fashion. However, he was wearing better gear, with bits of metal here and there, and had a good battleaxe on his back.<br/><br/>The other was almost his opposite. Covered in striped orange fur from head to toe, with a full mane of blond hair atop her head, and just over seven feet tall. A tiger beastman, as these type of people were often called by the more civilized races. Not necessarily less intelligent than humans or others, their kind, along with many others, appeared a long time after the more hospitable regions of the world were already taken. Not only did they have less time to develop their own culture, their harsher living conditions held them back significantly, despite their superior physique. She was relatively slender, but as all beastmen, probably had more strength than her large stature displayed. She used a poleaxe for a weapon, but had barely any clothes on, clearly wearing even those just for the sake of decency.<br/><br/>As the heroes began to charge, especially with one centaur taking a rider, their intent was made clear. The bandits responded quickly, discharged their crossbows at the two horse-women, who were closing in faster than the rest, and prepared their weapons for melee.<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">I'm going to put non-narrative stuff under spoilers, placed appropriately to the narrative. Unless stated otherwise, you should look in these. <img alt=";)" src="./images/smilies/wink.gif" title="Wink"/><br/>I'm going to be performing rolls for your characters' out of turn actions. Otherwise, the back and forth of action and result would take far too long.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Enemy Actions:</span><br/>Elisia uses Quickening on party. Fumble 6 (Mind). Success 3 (from skill) + 4 (1d6) = 7. Successful. STA: 1/3 (at round end, will be 2 at the beginning of next round thanks to recovery).<br/><br/>Human bandit A shoots Wilnomna. Accuracy 4 + 2 + 6 (1d6) = 12. Dodge 11 +2 (quickening buff) = 13. No hit.<br/>Chance to hit rider Elisia. Roll 1d6 = 1. Miss.<br/><br/>Human bandit B shoots Alex. Accuracy 4 + 2 + 4 (1d6) = 10. Dodge 11 +2 (quickening buff) = 13. No hit.</div></div></div><br/><br/>Despite being charged in an almost straight line, the two bandits managed to miss their targets with only minor swerving required from the latter. With a quick glance toward the attackers and then each other, the dwarf and beastman stepped forward, the former moving to intercept Alexandra and the latter Wilnomna. The two humans of the group, clearly the lackeys, were left to face off against the roughly humanoid members of the party.<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Tigress bandit moves to attack Wilnomna. Accuracy 6 + 4 + 4 (1d6) = 14. Dodge 11 +2 (moving fast) +2 (quickening buff) = 15. No hit.<br/>Chance to hit rider Elisia (pure luck). Roll 1d6 = 2. Miss.<br/><br/>Dwarf bandit moves to attack Alex. Accuracy 4 + 4 + 4 (1d6) = 12. Dodge 11 +2 (moving fast) +2 (quickening buff) -2 (intercepted) = 13. No hit.<br/><br/>Human bandit A moves to attack Ferya. Accuracy 4 + 4 + 3 (1d6) = 11. Dodge 8 -1 (focused elsewhere) +2 (quickening buff) = 9. Hit.<br/>Attack 2 (1d4, from parameters) + 4 (from skill) = 6. Defense 4 (from skill) + 1 (1d5, from parameters) -1 (focused elsewhere) = 4. Block failed.<br/>Damage 4 (1d4) + 5 = 9. Armor 3 (from natural armor and physique) + 1 = 4.<br/>Ferya takes 5 wound and 2 fatigue damage. HP: 7/12, STA: 4/6 (will be full at the beginning of next round thanks to recovery, so effectively this hit only damaged your HP).<br/><br/>Human bandit B moves to attack Anya. Accuracy 4 + 4 + 3 (1d6) = 11. Dodge 10 +2 (quickening buff) = 12. No hit.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Other:</span><br/>I'd like you all to make a perception roll (d6, as the standard we're going to use).</div></div></div><br/><br/>The beast-woman attempted to strike Wilnomna, but the centauress merely turned a bit without slowing down, letting the large halberd pass by her and the elf on her back with no harm, before turning to face the tigress, who was preparing to fight her head on.<br/>While Alex attempted to rush one of the weaker-looking humans, the stocky dwarf stepped in front of her, swinging his large axe. She managed to avoid his attack by moving to the side, but he was now blocking her from flanking the others, a violent gleam in his eyes. Despite his height, he had a very intimidating look to him.<br/>Eager for a challenge, Ferya couldn't quite decide which looked more threatening, the almost cubic male or the tall female. Unfortunately, she seemed to forget about the human bandits and the fact she was running toward them the whole time. Before she knew it, one of them was swinging his club at her. She tried to use her sword to defend herself, but it was a little too late. The club went past her blade and struck her side, its spikes piercing her skin.<br/>Anya was close behind Ferya, but she seemed more focused on what was happening around her. The other human meant to strike at the salamander girl as well, hoping to quickly incapacitate her, but she forced him to attack her instead. She didn't take any unnecessary risks, either, moving out of the way of his attack as soon as she baited him to strike. He managed to put up his guard before she could take advantage of it, however.<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Okay, I'd like to establish a little rule. In combat (and during other challenges), I would like people to only make one IC post per round, with me deciding the outcomes and bringing it to a close. Which order you go in doesn't really matter, so you are free to post whenever you're ready. However, I will assume that whoever posts first acts first, whenever their sequence is relevant.<br/>If possible, let me know via PM if you won't be online for a while. I'll take over your character (mostly just bringing them along) so the waiting doesn't last too long for others.<br/><br/>At this point you may be wondering, how do I handle combat?<br/>Well, simple, really. Just like you would in a tabletop game, you describe what your character attempts to do. If you are aware it involves dice rolls, then you can do them preemptively in your post (preferably under spoilers), or just let me take care of them for simplicity. Be aware that it is rather important how you describe your actions.<br/>For example, in this round, Alex got a penalty to dodge because she chose to go after a weak opponent, and was caught somewhat off-guard by another one interfering. Wilnomna didn't get this penalty because she didn't focus on anyone in particular, implying she was most watchful of the enemy closest to her.</div></div></div>