<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;">Well, with this post, I hope to get things moving along alot quicker now! With my schedule freed up a great deal more, I'd like to get back into the habit of posting 1 post every 3-4 days. Generally speaking, I'll try to get something up after 1-3 days after the last PC has posted.<br/><br/>Also - I have a total of 17 NPCs I'm controlling for this combat. To cut down on the amount of spoilers and such depicting damage, unless the damage is rolled against PCs, or the PCs are damaging an NPC, I won't be posting the roll results.<br/><br/>I hope everyone enjoys the coming fight...&gt;:3 <br/><br/>Also, for those running a game...for heaven's sake, keep up with your notebook. Rewriting so much stuff...SUCKS! XD</div></div></div><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;">After thinking it over, given the distance away the party is from the combat, it would be 1 round of posting little more than 'I run' before you even reached the fight. I've decided to expedite this, and allow everyone to move their full movement during the first, surprise round, just to keep the action flowing. In the event that you do NOT want to do this...please PM me, and I will edit this post.</div></div></div><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;">Last spoiler, really! Slightly experimental post as I try to figure out how to handle this many NPCs. The way it’s set up might seem a bit weird – just going to experiment a smidge and see what ends up working best. Namely, this will help me with scenes later in the game when the fight is not only between the party members and a single set of enemies… *Ack! Spoiler!* Also, to avoid having a post 100000 pages long, going to add in some spoilers (really small ones) for descriptions of some of the NPCs.</div></div></div><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Sarysa</span><br/><br/>The roaring crackle of flames slowly dies down around the charred dragoness - leaving her little the worse for wear. A few burned spots on her armor, a few fire-smudged scales on her right hand, and some platemail that had been super-heated by the sudden burst of flame and accompanying heat. Tiny wisps of smoke rise from the rapidly-cooling metal armor covering the dragoness' body, mingling with the thick, black clouds that rise from the ruined remains what had once been a wagon.<br/><br/>The wooden frame lay in broken pieces, the super-heated embers (Or, in some cases, flickering flames) glowing dully amidst the thick foliage of the outskirts of the Falteen forest. Even the crates the merchant hand been hauling lay scattered within about 10 feet of the smoking wreckage, most of them burning with small flames or at least blackened and charred from the well-placed fireball. The crates, or the flames, were hardly the most pressing matter at the moment, though…<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> Sarysa may make a DC 16 spot check to notice the following…</span><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;">A quick glance to survey the damage – It was pretty bad. No way the wagon would be moving again – and there was still the matter of the cargo.<br/><br/>The cargo…<br/><br/>One upended crate (thankfully one NOT on fire) appears to have spilled open, revealing…a hand? Pink skin?<br/><br/>..Someone, or something…was in the crate…<br/><br/>It didn’t look like whoever it was (Or whatever it was), was moving..</div></div></div><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"> The party…</span><br/><br/><br/>Almost like ghosts, the ambushers materialize out of the forest. In unison, the ambush party breaks cover and begins to fan out around the charred wagon and it’s surprised guard, their hoots and howls rising above the crackle of flame from the smoking carcass of the wagon. The white-and-red dye marking their fur, skin, or scales almost makes them look like something out of a nightmare – blood-painted ghosts of the deceased. To any average person, the sight would be enough to instill utter terror.<br/><br/>“I’ll wager half of them die.” Seemingly in no hurry, a tall, stout-looking male wolf steps out from behind one of the broader trees along the edge of the narrow pathway. His fur remains undyed – and he was the only one with any sort of significant armor. Thick, leather-padded shoulderguards adorn his broad shoulders, and cured hide bracers grace his right hand – obviously, his sword arm. His chest and stomach remain unclothed and unarmored, showing off his broad, furry chest. Almost casually, the wolf eases a 4 foot long blade from the leather scabbard at his side, apparently in no hurry, as if the battle would simply wait for him. He was easily six feet tall at the shoulders, his coarse, brownish-gray fur partially hiding his toned, athletic body – and the muscle that flexed with every movement he made “Wanna make that bet, Mellina?”<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Mesil</span><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;"><img alt="Image" src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o42/Kitsunea/Wolfwarrior.jpg"/> <br/><br/>Artist unknown</div></div></div><br/><br/>“Half? Oh, my dear Mesil…I bet three-quarters. My expectation…is that only Yunah and Yeyah will survive. They’ve always been my favorites. And the only ones with any sense…” A split second after the wolf reveals his position, a slender, female cat-shifter steps out behind him (Notably keeping just a step behind and partially obscured by her burly meat-shield). She is garbed in little more than a slinky black ‘dress’, if it could even be called that, which clings to her figure quite nicely. She is obviously not garbed for battle, nor does she share the white-and-red dye that the others have spread across their bodies. Her slitted, yellow eyes watch curiously from behind her stalwart defender, a coy smile creeping across her muzzle “I’ll bet you…Yunah and Yeyah excel.”<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Mellina</span><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;"><img alt="Image" src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o42/Kitsunea/Catgirlmage.jpg"/><br/><br/>Artist unknown</div></div></div><br/><br/>The duo pause forty feet from the battle-site, watching the proceedings with maliciously curved grins “Hrm…” Mesil taps a finger against his chin. Only Yunah and Yeyah. What did he have to lose? “Very well. I’ll make that bet. You win, and Yunah and Yeyah survive…you get the rat. I win? Either one of them dies, or someone else fells more foes? I get the rat.” It was a sure bet. He’d personally trained Orina and Gray – they’d end up putting those two cats to shame.<br/><br/>“Hrrrm….Deal. Though…we might have to spice up the deal…privately. Perhaps when we return…?” The catgirl’s hand disappeared beneath the wolf’s tail, giving his backside a firm, playful little pinch.<br/><br/>“Erf! Gyaa! Ohhh…I think we can work something out, you sexy little thing. Fine. The bet is on. I hope you wore some padding on your knees, because you’ll need it when we return…” Mesil’s grin broadens even more, and he plants the tip of his sword in the ground, hefting his shield…and simply watches.<br/><br/>This was going to be fun.<br/><br/><br/>“Oh, save your tongue for later, foolish boy. You’ll need it. Now hold still…”<br/><br/>Working her hands in the air in an intricate arcane pattern, the feline utters a single word -<br/><br/>“<span style="font-style: italic">Bovinlatis</span>”<br/><br/>The half-blood feline’s hand lifts and gently taps the wolf on the shoulder, a soft, reddish glow temporarily suffusing his body. It fades away just as quickly as it had arrived, sending a little shiver through his body “Mmph…must you do that?”<br/><br/>“Oh, I don’t doubt your strength, wolfie. Just in case one gets brave, though…well…a little magical power behind that arm of yours never hurts.” Her sly smile was enough to ease the wolf’s slightly stung pride – to think, she didn’t trust the strength of his sword-arm. Bah. Cats.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Gray</span><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;">Gray is a short, skinny lizardman, just barely pushing five and a half feet tall. He is armored only in the most basic padded armor – though like most of his kind, he is somewhat twitchy and light on his feet. His emerald-green scales are dyed red and white in a tiger-like pattern across nearly his entire body. His only weapon appears to be a long, slender staff with a wooden ‘knot’ on the tip – a warclub of some sort.<br/><br/><img alt="Image" src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o42/Kitsunea/Lizard_Warrior_by_kayngi.jpg"/><br/><br/>Art by Kayngi</div></div></div><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Orina</span><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;">Orina is a 5’6” female fox. Only the fur around her eyes and muzzle, and the soft, white fur on her belly are dyed the reddish tinge. She wears very little in the way of armor or clothing, her surprisingly shapely – and somewhat athletic – body covered by little more than a leather bodice studded with small bits of metal, and a leather loincloth. She carries a shortspear, holding it gracefully in her grasps.<br/><br/><img alt="Image" src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o42/Kitsunea/Shifter2.jpg"/><br/><br/>Artist unknown</div></div></div><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> Ponnie </span><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;">Standing at just over 5 feet tall, Ponnie is shorter than your average dingo. He is also a little more ‘healthy’ than the average dingo. Whilst he could not quite be called ‘chubby’, he had certainly never missed a meal, and it looked like physical labor was not exceptionally high on his ‘to-do’ list. His armor and clothing is rather minimal, consisting of little more than a simple, thigh-length leather wrap to protect his modesty,and a pair of clothen foot-wraps. His pudgy belly is painted with the red-and-white markings, as is the short, thin blade he carries.</div></div></div><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"> Sarysa…(Ponnie, Orina)</span><br/><br/>The dragoness was about the only thing still standing near the wreckage of the wagon. The merchant had been thrown clear, and now lay on the ground, unmoving…but still breathing. Yrin – well, he had still been in the wagon when it went up in flames. There is no telling if the greenhorn fox had even survived the blast.<br/><br/>Of course, the unconscious merchant and young fox were hardly her primary concerns.<br/><br/>Like wraiths, Orina, Ponnie, and Gray dart amongst the trees, only leaving the protection of the forest when they’d closed in close enough to the dragoness to avoid any sort of ranged weapon she might possess (though she’d hardly been given time to use it!).<br/><br/>“Get the lizard. Pry her out of that suit…Gray, you back her against the wagon…Ponnie? Draw her attention. Don’t kill her – just weaken her. I prefer my meals still squirming.”<br/><br/>Hopping over a bit of foliage, Orina – the speaker – levels a spear at the dragoness’ face, her pretty, slender muzzle contorting in a wicked looking grin “Why don’t you make this easy on yourself, hrm? Drop that little hammer of yours, surrender…and I’ll give you a quick send off, hrm?”<br/><br/>Ponnie – already looking the slightest bit winded – stumbles out of the foliage just behind Orina, his own long, slender blade not even out of it’s scabbard yet. Despite his companion’s bravado, he seems just slightly put-off by the heavily armored dragoness. She looked like the toughest one in the group – why in the hell had Orina chosen THIS one to attack.<br/><br/>“Uh…Orina…why don’t we-“<br/><br/>“GRAY?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Orina’s attention momentarily shifts to her scaly companion, Gray…who was calmly making his way to the unconscious merchant. With a snide-looking sneer over his shoulder, he reaches down and grabs the merchant by the cuff of his jacket, hefting him up effortlessly in his arms “Sssssilly girl. I intend to earn my placccce. Any prey will do.”<br/><br/>“Useless scale-skin! Fine. We’ll do this ourselves.” Without so much as another word, the female fox takes a single stab at Sarysa, apparently relying more on strength than precision to penetrate the defenses of the armored dragoness.<br/><br/>(Attack roll #1 – 1d20(11) + 8 = 19. Miss!)<br/><br/>*Scrrrrting!*<br/><br/>The faint, shimmering glow representing the power of Sarysa’s faith shield briefly flashes in front of her, redirecting the tip of the spear from the center of her chest to the curved side of her armor. The metallic tip of the spear grazes along the thick armored plating uselessly, unable to penetrate the dragoness’ formidable armor.<br/><br/>“Wh-gah! Ponnie! Distract her! Head in there and swing your sword or something!” Already, Orina appeared frustrated – what in the hell was that magical shielding?!<br/><br/>Ponnie – sighing deeply – draws his blade, leveling the thin, curved steel at the dragoness “W..why do I have to?”<br/><br/>“JUST DO IT!”<br/><br/>Setting his jaw in determination, Ponnie begins to slowly circle around Sarysa, moving just outside of her reach to flank the heavily armored dragoness.<br/><br/>(Ponnie uses both move actions to flank Sarysa/Draw his blade during a move action)<br/><br/>((Update, Part 1/2. Breaking this up into portions. The rest will come in a day or so!))