<strong>The Wilds of Dra Sirdu - Greater Perils Still</strong><br/><br/>As a fair quantity of ice and sharp metal reveals, however menacing the plants might be, they are still, ultimately, plants. Stalks split and shattered and leaves fell like, well, leaves under the assault. Their numbers thinned, the continued thrashing was reduced to a few weak swipes from mangled (though still spiky) branches and shredded shrubbery. The less threatening greenery, which had escaped the first round of retribution, did their best to tangle feet and ensnare arms. A ropey net of vines snatched at Reliyian's ankles, tightening around them and dragging her across the loamy ground away from her companions. Aeryn and Eshalu found themselves similarly besieged by a pair of belligerent and surprisingly flexible shrubs which aimed to pin them against the aged (if still quite durable) stone of the wall. Still, unlike their sorcerous friend, they retained their footing and the associated height advantage.<br/><br/>The flock flurried through the air for a moment longer, but the shining, whirling blade of Eshalu's spear caught the attention of a few, sending them wheeling down in a screeching pod. The initial aerial sally didn't pose much of a threat, but with the first few members to lead the rest of the flock, the<em>Whirlwind of Mad Birds</em>descended on her like a single entity, slashing with their overgrown claws, battering with inky black wings and even pecking viciously when given an opening.<br/><br/>During the chaos, an shadow fell across the group, and the wall creaked slightly under the mass of an enormous spider which had clambered atop it from the other side. Despite its size, it was making some effort to be stealthy, but unless the fight was consuming the entire attention of all three party members, it should be fairly noticeable. It had quite clearly<em>not</em>been present earlier, given the thorough inspection that had been given to both sides of the dilapidated structure.<br/><br/>In addition to its size (which, being the equal, if not a bit larger, than that of a horse, was nothing to sneer at), the spider looked fairly robust for a web-spinning opportunist. Its legs were thick and hairy, and its body had the heavy-set look of a roaming hunter. More bizarrely, however, its bristly, rigid hair formed a framework for a vast variety of fungi and molds: everything from thick, meaty mushrooms with broad caps to slick green slimes. Like the plants that already surrounded them, these flora looked a bit more mobile than the normal sort. A few puffy tendrils of fungus looked to be helping it in its trip over the wall, their white flesh forming sticky lines between the spider's belly and the ancient masonry.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button"> A Cavalcade of Mediocrity (And a Spider)</div><div class="spoiler_body">Fittingly, after my single bizarrely high roll, I get several more normal ones. The spider only needs one person to spot it and raise the alarm (Notice defense; everyone can make an attempt until someone beats it's +0/Mediocre), while the birds are just attacking Eshalu. As before, the plants are targeting everyone at the same time.<br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li>An ineffective (create advantage) Stealth roll by the new arrival. At 2013-05-18 16:56:35, Fungus Spider (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-7 Result: 0 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=46418)</li><li>An ineffective (attack) Fighting roll by the flock of birds, targeting Eshalu. At 2013-05-18 16:56:02, Flock (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-4 Result: 1 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=46417) Fate point to invoke the <em>Whirlwind of Mad Birds</em> to reroll the attack: At 2013-05-18 17:18:19, Flock (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-4 Result: 5 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=46419)</li><li>An ineffective (might, I guess?) create advantage roll by the plants. At 2013-05-18 16:55:05, Dangerous Plants (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-6 Result: -1 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=46416)</li></ul>As you may note, the plants rolled one fewer die this time around. They're mindless plants. They can't defend themselves. Every five stress they take (cumulatively), they lose a die. When they hit zero dice, they're neutralized as a threat. Both the flock and the spider, by contrast, will be treated as their own entity, with the normal stress track setup.</div></div>