<strong>The Wilds of Dra Sirdu - Arachnoid Combat!</strong><br/><br/>Thankfully for the whole of the group, it only took Eshalu this second time to be the charm in dealing with the birds. Blood sprayed in bright arcs and avian carcasses littered the ground, one falling after another. The group split and swirled away in all directions, their angry, terrified cawing filling the air. Soon, that too faded and only the fallen birds and the dark shapes disappearing into the sky spoke of their presence moments before. For Eshalu, however, the harsh noise of their voices remained, echoing in her head. If only for a moment, the<em>Fading Cacophony</em>made concentration and movement difficult.<br/><br/>The fungus-covered spider, however, had no patience for either her or her fellows' weakness. The glaze of ice summoned by Reliyian's viciously chilly invocation lasted only a moment before, with a fairly unpleasant crackling noise, it twisted around in a display of surprising flexibility and began prodding at the scholar imbedded in its abdominal fungus. She had chilled it, certainly, but not thoroughly enough, as it tried to move and shake off the cold rather than freezing solid.<br/><br/>The action was menacing enough from a distance, but on Aeryn's end, it was more unpleasant still. Immense, fang-tipped mandibles jabbed at her, venom leaking from their hollow tips. If it actually connected with her, the bite would be surprisingly light, though no less unpleasant for it. The small nip was quickly accompanied by the uncomfortable rush of injected toxin.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Mechanics and Comments</div><div class="spoiler_body"><ul class="bbc_list"><li>Athletics defense roll against Eshalu's attack, resulting in a minor (upgraded to moderate) consequence: At 2013-05-21 00:06:27, Flock (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-5 Result: 3 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=46486) This is effectively a "misplay" by the flock, as they could have converted it into stress, but I'm instead having them take it and concede out of the fight to make this slightly more winnable. The tie on Eshalu's defense roll does leave behind the negative aspect noted in my first paragraph above, which I'll probably invoke against her next action.</li><li>Physique defense roll against Reliyian's chilling spell: At 2013-05-21 00:07:42, Fungus Spider (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-5 Result: 2 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=46487). However, the creature has 5 Physique (as one might have guessed from its earlier size-based Create Advantage roll), meaning that the actual outcome is a 4, not a 2. It defends safely this time around.</li><li>At 2013-05-21 00:09:14, Fungus Spider (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-3 Result: 5 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=46488) Fighting of 3, plus an invocation of Aeryn's <em>Trampled and Entangled</em> aspect. I believe that Aeryn should actually be out of stress boxes, at this point, seeing that she took one point from the plant attack, and then another one from the spider's Create Advantage. The <em>Trampled and Entangled</em> also gets one more free invocation due to the success with style (3 point difference offense over defense).</li></ul><br/>Anyway, in the past I've been somewhat oblique about the skills/stunts/whatever possessed by my NPCs, but I've decided that's honestly not that helpful. I'll try to be a bit more open and clear about it going forward.<br/></div></div>