<strong>The Wilds of Dra Sirdu: to battle!</strong><br/><br/>Realizing that any more wild aggression or gutsy attacks would result in its own guts ending up all over the forest floor, the reptilian ringleader retreated, desperately trying to fend off Eshalu's apparently unanticipated martial prowess. It hissed and snapped at her as she closed in on it, clearly outmatched in terms of pure skill, despite its obvious strength and speed. However, the pair of attacking spearlizards granted it the<em>Momentary Distraction</em>it needed to avoid serious physical harm. Still, in a direct duel like this, even with the aid of two underlings, it stood no real chance: for every blow it cleanly deflected, two nicked its flesh or tore at its scant clothing.<br/><br/>Deciding to change tactics rather than stand and die against the superior swordswoman, the creature dodged one last sword-stroke and then ducked behind a tree. While its rapid movements made it fairly audible, visually tracking it would be immensely more difficult, particularly given the supernaturally deep darkness that still obscured the forest. Sort of truly<strong>Epic</strong>acuity, any further pursuit of the creature would be significantly impaired by its erratic movement and active abuse of the<em>Unnatural Night</em>'s effects on its opponents.<br/><br/>Even as their leader attempted to outmaneuver its opponents, the lesser lizardfolk died left and right at under the swords and spells. Overeager in their initial assault, the trio assailing Reliyian screeched in surprise as she summoned her icy vine-whip. One fell beneath the half-naked elf's furious assault, while another's arm was pierced by the cascade of razor-sharp frost. Her sorcery drew the attention of the pair previously attempting to bedevil Eshalu, and they, along with the two survivors of the original pack, rushed her en masse, hissing hatefully. Something about her magic had provoked them in some odd way, however, as they didn't bring their weapons to bear at the unarmored woman, but instead attempted to drag her down by hand with their sheer numbers and brute strength.<br/><br/>Lazerette faired just as well in dispatching one of her attackers. When one of them lunged past her with a missed spear-thrust, a pair of quick cuts, first to the dominant arm, and then to the chest, brought it down with a pained gurgle. The other two, rather than being intimidated by her lethal attack, seemed almost encouraged by the challenged she offered and closed in, spears menacing and jabbing.<br/><br/>The last trio of saurians had clearly underestimated the<em>Scholar's Resilience</em>. When Aeryn fended off their attack with nearly contemptuous ease, they backed off for a moment, somewhat confused by prey that didn't simply roll over and die. One of them snapped something harsh and high-pitched, and they began their assault anew, trying to corner her and bring her down.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Mechanics</div><div class="spoiler_body"><br/>Because Eshalu tied, rather than beating the attack roll, the attack does create a boost. The lizard pack hands it off to their boss to prevent him from getting filleted.<br/><br/>Similarly, because Aeryn beat her attackers by 3 shifts, her success with style creates the <em>Scholar's Resilience</em> boost. I'm giving it a bit of an ambiguous name so that it can be used on your next turn for Create Advantage, Attack, Defense, or whatever.<br/><br/>Defenses:<br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li>Lizard Alpha defending against Eshalu: Offensive invokes of <em>Chilled to the Bone</em> and <em>Deep Cut</em> and defensive invokes of <em>Momentary Distraction</em> and <em>Canny Defense</em> balance out for a net of +0 from invokes. Net of two stress resulting in filling of third stress. At 2013-03-25 18:35:37, L. Leader (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-8 Result: 0 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=45223)</li><li>3-pack 1 defending against Reliyian: Net of 3 stress taken. One member lost, one injured. At 2013-03-25 18:29:32, 3-Pack 1 (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-8 Result: -2 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=45221)</li><li> 3-pack 2 defending against Lazerette: Net of 2 stress taken. One member lost. At 2013-03-25 18:29:37, 3-Pack 2 (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-8 Result: 0 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=45222)</li></ul>Outcomes:<br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li>Alpha - Filled mild consequence, 2nd and 3rd stress boxes. Negative aspects <em>Chilled to the Bone</em> and <em>Deep Cut</em> can still be invoked. Positive boosts <em>Canny Defense</em> and <em>Momentary Distraction</em> consumed.</li><li>3-Pack 1 - Lost one member. One member with 1 of 2 stress. Dissolved to join with 2-pack 1 </li><li>3-Pack 2 - Lost one member. Renamed to 2-Pack 2</li><li>3-Pack 3 - No change</li><li>2-Pack 1 - Gained two members, one of which has 1 of 2 stress. Renamed to 4-Pack 1</li></ul>All of the above resolves during the PCs turn (or, for the reorganization, as a free not-really-action at the beginning of their turn). The packs, as described above, granulize the Saurians' (as Healergirl so aptly describes them) movement, but in reality they're just flowing to and fro in a fairly uncoordinated manner. The larger groups (and thus larger dice pools) are to avoid the "PC can kill infinity goblins" issue.<br/><br/>Antagonist actions:<br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li>Alpha creates advantage using Stealth. Spends Fate Point to invoke <em>Unnatural Night</em> for +2. Net of 7 to prevent formation of a <em>Dancing in the Shadows</em> aspect on itself. Fate point (and thus defense roll) granted to Eshalu as she has lowest FP and is tied for highest Notice At 2013-03-25 19:00:08, L. Leader (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-8 Result: 1 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=45227)</li><li>4-Pack 1 attacks Reliyian for net of 4 incoming stress. At 2013-03-25 18:57:28, 4-Pack 1 (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-8 Result: 0 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=45224) </li><li>3-Pack 3 attacks Aeryn for net of 3 incoming stress. At 2013-03-25 18:57:43, 3-Pack 3 (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-8 Result: 0 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=45225) </li><li>2-Pack 2 attacks Lazerette for net of 3 incoming stress. At 2013-03-25 18:57:52, 2-Pack 2 (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-8 Result: 1 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=45226) </li></ul></div></div>