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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 90235" data-attributes="member: 143">MasterOfHeaven: you make good points (and I've read the various "ECL" threads on the rules page), but personally I tend toward reluctance when it comes to house-ruling things like ECLs.  It does seem though that genasi are among the weaker of the ECL +1 races... maybe ECL +1/2?  They do have a cool flavor to them, however.  Glad you guys liked the cats!  Time for the conclusion of the scene...* * * * * Book III, Part 14Lok managed to catch the first slash of the metal claws against his bracer, but the second caught him on the edge of his face, drawing a trio of deep cuts across his cheek.  His feline attacker was possessed of incredible speed and considerable strength, and kept up an unflinching assault as powerful strokes from its war claws tore into him.  The doughty warrior was glad that he hadn’t removed his armor; the battle would have been over quickly if he had, he suspected.  He held his ground and planted his left foot down firmly to absorb the weight of the cat-man’s attack, matching his fortitude against his opponent’s agility.  He let fly a mighty punch that the cat-man dodged, and in return took a pair of hits that glanced off of his armored shoulders.  He struck again, hitting his opponent this time with a glancing blow that just caught the edge of its jaw.  The cat-man snarled, and before Lok could draw back his hand, he bit down hard on the genasi’s fist.Pain flashed up Lok’s arm as the cat-man’s sharp teeth dug deep into his stony flesh.  His instinct was to jerk the hand back, but he resisted the impulse and instead stepped forward and drove his fist forward, intending to shove his fist down into the cat-man’s throat.  His adversary snarled and dodged back, breaking the connection, and managed a parting shot with one of his natural claws, scratching across Lok’s face with a hind leg as it flipped back and landed smoothly on its feet.  It faced him, its teeth wet with Lok’s blood, and offered a feral smile in challenge. “He’s in trouble,” Benzan said, from where he and his companions watched the desperate struggle a short distance away.  He shifted slightly, uneasy, the movement bringing the hilt of his sword within closer reach.  One of the cat-men noticed the action, and hissed at him.  “Entreprenez une démarche fausse, chauve, et nous vous couperons dans les bits kitty morsure-classés.”Benzan snarled back, but Cal cautioned him with a hand on his arm.  “Steady,” he said.  His voice kept carefully neutral, but loud enough so that all of them could hear, he added, “Trust Lok—but be ready on my signal to open a can of whoop-ass on these pussycats.”Benzan nodded, and eased back from the cat-man, turning back to the struggle that raged before them. The two combatants circled each other warily.  The cat-man had managed several darting attacks, but none had penetrated the genasi’s considerable defenses.  Lok, in turn, could not pin down the cat-man, landing only one more glancing blow that did little damage.  The cat-man seemed to grow weary of the stalemate, for it suddenly crouched and launched another full attack, much like its initial rush that had nearly overcome the genasi warrior.  Lok was ready, and took the brunt of the flurry of blows, deflecting a pair of strokes before a third sliced through his defenses and tore another gash along the line of his jaw.  The genasi held his ground, however, and as the cat-man darted back, his thick hand shot out, and locked around his adversary’s ankle.  The cat-man twisted to break away from the fighter’s grip, but Lok was far too strong, and the vise of his fingers was like iron.  Lok’s barrel legs started churning, driving him toward the edge of the circle.  The cat-man was like a storm of claws and fur on top of him, tearing at him, savaging his upper body with strokes that cut deeply into whatever exposed flesh they could find.  Lok ignored each attack, his charge carrying him to the very edge of the ring of watchers—and driving several of them hastily back out of his path—before he saw what he had targeted.  With every ounce of the amazing strength that was compacted in his mighty frame, he slammed the cat-man down hard against the flat surface of one of the many boulders that jutted out of the surface of the hill.  A mighty smack filled the clearing at the impact, and the pained yowl erupted from the creature’s battered frame as it slumped to the ground, stunned.  Lok, still holding his grip on its leg, twisted and spun around, tossing it bodily back into the middle of the circle, where it rolled to an awkward stop in a jumbled pile of furred limbs.  The cat-man tried to get up, once, a dazed expression on its face, then it crumpled back to the ground.  As the remaining creatures watched in stunned silence, Lok walked over to his adversary, and stood over him.  His fist came up into a cocked and ready position.“Yield?” The cat-man tried to speak, but was having a difficult time getting more than a confused growl out of its mouth.  One of the others, however, accompanied by a sabre-tooth tiger at its side, stepped forward and addressed him.  “Vous vous êtes prouvés dignes, et pouvez partir avec l'honneur,” it said.“It says that we’ve proven ourselves worthy, and may depart with honor,” Dana translated.  “Yeah, why don’t we get out of here before they change their minds,” Benzan said, wary at the hostile looks that were directed at them from every direction.  The companions left, Dana helping Lok, who could barely see with blood from several cuts flowing down into his eyes.  As they hurried away—to the west, away from the encampment below—she covertly healed his wounds with her wand.  “Amazing,” Captain Horath said.  “I’ve known dwarves to have incredible strength and stamina, but I’ve never seen the likes of what you did against the hydra and that cat-man.”“I did what needed to be done,” Lok said simply, and with that they continued on their journey, traveling as quickly as they could to leave the territory of the strange and honorable cat-people behind them.</blockquote>

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