[sblock=OOC]Back again. Sorry for the delay again.[/sblock]
Splashing and hopping through the marsh didn't give Kurin the chance to spot the concealed troll. He jumps back, instinctively searching for higher terrain, while his hands move to his pick. "We not know what yer speaking about troll! We be travellers, that's all, bother us no further if you care for your life!"
[sblock=OOC]The Awe skill can "instill wonderment, admiration, or even fear", so that sounds right for intimidation. You have Awe 1, which I'll roll for you. To oppose it I'll roll the Troll's Hate, which is currently 4. Enemies can spend Hate points to use special abilities in combat, and they also represent its resolve. (When an enemy's Hate goes down to 0, it gets a penalty to all its rolls.)
...roll...
OH MY GAWD! Look at all those 6's!
Ok, Kurin rolled the best he possibly can short of getting a Gandalf rune, including a Tengwar. That would have been a Great Success on a Hard (TN 16) task. But this troll just rolled
3 Tengwars.
Ok, even though you didn't technically succeed, I'm giving you your second AP in Personality for the epic attempt. (Let's say you invoke your Proud trait for that, since a wiser course would have been to try and persuade rather than threaten...) But, nonetheless, its rage overmatched your intimidation.
Since it won the contested roll, it attacks immediately. But I'm also going to give both of you some bonuses for all those Tengwars.
Your single Tengwar turns into a bonus die for the battle. (You enraged it enough to make it reckless which helps you get the jump on it.) You now have 2.
And each of its Tengwars turns into a Hate point. It now has 7.
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The troll looks shocked for a moment that the tiny prey is speaking to it in such a matter. Then it snarls, spraying foul smelling spittle at you, and roars,
"Little dwarf! This my swamp! You no travel! You MEAT! Stringy meat and tough, but I crack the bones and suck the marrow! MARROW GOOD!" It lopes towards you, knuckles dragging the ground, and starts sweeping its huge club wildly through the air. You have only moments to react.
Riggins goes white again for the second time.
Riggins, paralyzed with fear, can't find any good ground to receive the troll's charge.
[sblock=OOC]
You have Battle 1, and don't roll high enough to get any bonus dice.
Ok, so here's where it stands: Kurin has 2 bonus dice, which he can spend to add to any of his dice rolls, or give to another character to use immediately (must use them on the next action).
The Trollwife has 3 special characteristics: I'll give you their names but not tell you what they do until they come up. Those are: Great Size, Horrible Strength, and Hatred (Dwarves). (That might explain why it rolled so well against Kurin...)
Since Authiel readied her bow, she can make 1 missile attack (TN 16 - that's 12 base, plus the Troll's parry of 4) before it arrives.
Then, everyone choose a Stance. The stances are:
Forward: TN 6+Parry to hit or be hit; instead of attacking may "Intimidate Foe" - roll Awe or Battle against TN 15 (base 10 plus the Troll's Attribute Level of 5), and on success it loses Hate points
Open: TN 9+Parry to hit or be hit; instead of attacking may "Rally Comrades" - roll Inspire or Song against TN 14, and on success all companions regain Endurance points
that were lost during the current combat. On failure, lose a point of Hope.
Defensive: TN 12+Parry to hit or be hit; instead of attacking may "Protect Companion" - if that companion is attacked, may spend a point of Hope to redirect the attack to yourself
Rearward: may only make Ranged attacks (TN 12+Parry to hit); instead of attacking may "Prepare Shot" - next round, if the attack is successful it automatically scores a Piercing Blow
You may only choose a Rearward stance if at least 2 characters are in one of the three close stances to protect you (and if enemies outnumber you 2 to 1, nobody can take a Rearward stance, but that doesn't apply here). So only 1 person can take a Rearward stance here.
Since you are setting yourselves up to receive the troll's charge, all of you can attack first.
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[sblock=Trollwife]
Attribute Level: 5
Endurance: ?
Hate: 7
Parry: 4
Armour: ?
Club: ? (Damage: ?, Edge: ?, Injury: ?)
Crush: ? (Damage: ?, Edge: ?, Injury: ?)
Great Size: ?
Horrible Strength: ?
Hatred (Dwarves): ?
[/sblock]
