The day after the bear fight was not my favorite day. The Miasmist loved it of course. New friends, lots of talking, etc. Blarg. I considered casting Stagnation or Stasis on myself so that the day passed more quickly subjectively. I didn't know about the princess right away but I was still agitated even before that. And it got worse. What could be worse than a princess? A princess and her duchess best friend since childhood. Horrible. There's nothing specifically wrong with women. The Miasmist is a woman after all. But at some point the gender ratio does have a noticable impact on things.

Of course I also hate the idea of having 7 close friends generally. 1 friend is close to ideal. Maybe 2 if we were very similar. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices to eventually reach the point where you are fighting dragons. The Miasmist told me that having only 1 male party member really benefitted us, although maybe having 2 wouldn't have been a huge change. When you are off in the wilderness with people for days or weeks and some of them might not be so great, that impacts women more than men, for the obvious reason. Of course some parties get lucky and have a gender split perfect for them.

In our case the Miasmist and her sister had agreed to look for female members and had pitched the twins on that. The Cleanser of course had a specifically gender related problem with her old party. I'm not a people person but I am a "people with tier 1 Aleatory Traits who aren't actively annoying" person. I won't say I was happy with our recruiting strategy but as long as it was sufficiently elitist I could ignore the other aspects. Through a combination of chance and "female friendliness" we probably ended up with a higher potential party than otherwise.

The Shieldmaiden, Miasmist, Eruptor, and Treant all had tier 2 Aleatory Traits. The Cleanser had a Tier 1 and I had a Tier 0. Part of the draw of the Princess and the Duchess was their tier 1 and tier 0 traits. Vigentimancy, commonly called Vigor magic, and Caecumancy better known Arcana or Arcane magic. Of course I'm getting ahead of myself. They didn't just walk in and call the Miasmist and Cleanser like moths to a flame.

We were all downstairs at the inn eating breakfast after our rest day. The Miasmist was trying to "integrate" me into the party so I was forced to be there. The Eruptor was dragged into discussing buff choices and damage output with me. The others were doing their thing. Since she had to talk to me she was petitioning me to buff her more. But I wasn't having it. Until she tiered up or got a new Talent focusing Haste on her was not efficient. The Miasmist was shooting me "profund looks" so I was trying to behave as I ruthlessly rejected the Eruptor's pleas. That's when she walked in.

Monsters don't really "understand" things and humans, especially adventurers, typically don't fight, so the clothing of an aventurer often advertises their capabilities unless they are trying to be discreet for some reason. Some people with Tier 0 talents that were unearned might hedge a little to avoid unwanted attention. This girl was way too young to be a top tier adventuer so her royal purple hue indicated a very, very lucky neophyte Arcanist. She was also clearly a noble. Althugh adventurers are often dressed fancier than the common people noble adventurers are usually halfway between noble and adventurer. She headed right for our table.

She walked, through dead silence, to the 2 seats occupied by the Miasmist and the Cleanser. She was animatedly telling our heal minion how it took a tier higher healer to fend off an afflicter. They were laughing so I assume this was "good hearted teasing". I don't know how she got the info, maybe she payed someone? But she asked the Cleanser if her current party was a big improvement over the one she left due to "inappropriate behavior for adventurers". Sadly for our party the shock of a youthful Arcanist meant there was dead silence in the inn.

I won't detail the conversation but suffice it to say that her answer was yes and when the Arcanist gave me a side-long glare her credibility for not putting up with "presumption", a word only a noble would use for that meaning, smoothed over any concerns about me. With a bit of help from the rest of the party. She asked to do a test expedition into the Academy Dungeon. She was very stiff and formal about it, for an adventurer. In any case off we went. I've provided her general information below including her Talents and Traits.

I was on my best behavior because I desperately wanted to interact with another "Tier 0 Toddler" as we were sometimes derogatorily referred to. Especially an Arcanist. In order my obsession goes Time/Abstraction/Arcana/Gravity/Thought/Dominion/Planar/Space. I was quite excited but I tried to keep it under control.

Intelligence Focus Awareness Thaumaturgy Ritual Schooling Manasophy Attunement 2 Retention 2 Ingenuity 2 Sagacity 2 Mana Boost Permanent Passive +50 mana Mana Efficiency Permanent Passive -5% mana cost Mana Strike +1 magic dmg per attunement Boost 10 mana Mana Bolt 25 magic dmg Single Target Range 20m Cast 1s 40 mana

She had a very standard hard magic build. Which was lucky. Imagine being an Arcanist but your Birth Traits were specced for the front line combat. I knew of one famous hero who made it work but his bad traits were offset by his luck in finding vialbe young Dungeons for his plan. As a noble she probably got out of any sort of social Education traits by virtue of being an Arcanist. Her Arbitrary Trait was interesting to me. I might have taken Hydromancy with Arcane but I guess she wanted to be burst/support and not pure support. I get it. I kinda regret that I mostly caste Chronomancy buffs all the time, with occasional support afflictions for the Miasmist. Lightning was a great choice really.

Fulmenomancy Attunement 4 Retention 2 Rigor 2 Static Field 5 dmg ENV/10s -10% mana cost TYP GRP (Light) +5 dmg (Light/Water) Aoe 20m Self Cast 3s 80 mana Lightning Bolt 25 dmg +2s Stun Single Target Ranged 25m Cast 1s 55 mana Shock 30 damage Single Target Ranged 30m Cast 1s 40 mana Jolt +3s Stun Single Target Ranged 30m Cast 1s 70 mana

Lightning is a composite Aspect of Light and Water as you may know. It is primarily known for diverse stun options, long ranges, and low mana costs. There are a few mana related buffs including the domain spell static field, but nothing compared to water. Finally I'm sure you've all been waiting to see the abilities available to perhaps the second or third most famous Talent, Arcana.

Arcana Attunement 6 Retention 4 Rigor 4 Perception 2 Sorcery Permanent Passive +40 mana +5 spell dmg Suffuse +20% spell damage +5 mana cost DUR 5s Single Target Range 10m Cast 2s 40 mana Pervade +50% mgc dmg penetration Single Target Range 10m Cast 1s 40 mana Stupefaction +1 control dur DUR 4s Single Target Range 20m Cast 2s 70 mana Attunement 22 Retention 17 Rigor 16 Will 5 Zeal 0 Sagacity 7 Style 0 Acumen 2 Insight 0 Ingenuity 4 Perception 5 Precision 1 Celerity 1 Fortitude 0 Tenacity 0 Brawn 0

As far as her attributes the Arcanist was doing great for a caster. Arcana actually had way better caster stats than Chronomancy. That is because Chronomancy had room to brawl since Haste boosted movement and attack speed.

The Arcanist truly has extraordinary powers. There are other abilities that increase control duration but nothing quite like the singular Stupefaction. Sorcery is quite strong, arguably 50% better than Mana Boost as a passive. Much like Warm Air Sorcery can't boost DoT damage but it can boost environmental damage. Suffuse is quite interesting as well. Especially with Haste on your side. Pervade is more situational and becomes more important as you level. Higher ABS and RES start to appear on lvl 4 and higher creatures.

The combination of Jolt and Stupefaction is incredible in my opinion. Even more so with a Chronomancer involved. You could stack 16s of Stun on a creature before the duration runs out. Of course casting Jolt directly is possible but it costs 70 mana for only 2s extra of CC. Additionally Stupefaction scales as you add more sources. It is important to note the increasing potential for control resistance on higher level monsters and that Stupefaction and even Jolt lose value if you are fighting larger groups of monsters.

In any case off to the Dungeon. Time to get to the 8th or 9th floor perhaps. The first floors are the same rats and stuff. Sometimes we do a little party split to help people engage with each other member and for practice. The three person party was myself, the Eruptor, and the Arcanist. We were some of the most synergistic in small groups plus the Eruptor got to play with Haste more which she was excited about. Finally getting to cast Molten Spurt or Sear as well instead of repeated Lava Rains. Getting the Cleanser and Treant and Shieldmaiden to work on front-line training and stalling while the Miasmist kind of abused Gloom.

Finally we gathered together for a big full party fight. The Arcanist, and later her best friend, had much better gear than us, probably filched it before they ran off. Her Arcanist's Crown had plus 2mana/s and plus 70 mana and her amulet had +49 health while her bracelets had +28 mana each for 56 total. Her fancy Arcanist's Robes had +14 health and +36 mana. Aleatory Talents might be randomly distributed but wealth wasnt.

In any case 22 Attunement was 88 mana. Additionally 20 Attunement was +2 mana/s and 2/2+14 Rigor was another +3 mana/s for a total of +5 mana/s. Attunement(88)+Base(20)+Staff(20)+Arcana(40)+Robes(36)+Bracelets*2(56)+Crown(70)+Manasophy(50)=380. Absolutely astonishing. Her Health was Base(40)+Robes(14)+Amulet(49)=103. Nothing astonishing but great for a mage.

Granite Rat lvl2 Health 200 Abs Phys 20 Mana 150 MOV 10m/s Cave Claw 30 dmg 1s Mineral Claw 30phys/30earth 15mana 2s Crushing Rock Jaw 50phys/50earth 30mana 1s Stun 2s

Granite Rats were still level 2 but they were a strong evolution of Stone Rats. Double the health, quadruple the mana, and over 50% more powerful abilities including control. Sure the stuns were for 1 second but with 10 rats that was a lot and you couldn't keep them under your control as effectively as when we fought the bears. A few weeks ago with just me, Miasmist, and Shieldmaiden we had defeated 8 Stone Rats. Our challenge today was, depending on how you thought about what stats, roughly 8x as hard, though we had more than doubled our own party size and had far larger mana pools.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Eruptor Treant Cleanser Arcanist Health 78 Health 78 Health 170 Health 78 Health 128 +15/s Health 78 Health 103 Mana 238 +5/s Mana 238 +6/s Mana 166 +4/s Mana 177 +6/s Mana 66 +6/s Mana 218 +6/s Mana 323 +7/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Quicken 0s Dusk 3s Ground Wall 1s Roiling Ground 3s Forest Heart 1s Revitalize 1s Static Field 2s

After testing things in the earlier floors I planned on giving the Eruptor more attention for this fight. With the help of the Arcanist she could deal damage to the Granite Rats as if they only had 5 magic resist since physical absorbtion counted half vs magic and Pervade was an option. We'd go back to our safer battlefield control fighting method. We have 50m of distance to abuse. Well 45 for the frontline.

I cast Quicken, the Treant cast Forest Heart, the Miasmist cast Dusk, the Eruptor cast Roiling Ground, the Shieldmaiden cast Ground Wall, the Cleanser cast Revitalize on me, and the Arcanist cast Static Field.

Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 MP 150 MP 150 MP 150 MP 150 MP 150 MP 150 MP 150 MP 150 MP 150 MP 150

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control:

The rats close the distance 15m.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Eruptor Treant Cleanser Arcanist Health 78 +5/s 8s Health 78 Health 170 Health 78 Health 128 +15/s Health 78 Health 103 Mana 245 +5/s Mana 234 +6/s Mana 170 +4/s Mana 183 +6/s Mana 72 +6/s Mana 224 +6/s Mana 330 +7/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Accelerate 0s Dusk 2s Ground Wall 0s Roiling Ground 2s Forest Heart 0s Revitalize 0s Static Field 1s Haste 2s Haste 3s

I cast Accelerate on the Shieldmaiden to help her stall more. No one else is ready to cast again.

The rats close 15m and hit the Ground Wall.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Eruptor Treant Cleanser Arcanist Health 78 +5/s 7s Health 78 Health 170 Health 78 Health 128 +15/s Health 78 Health 103 Mana 258 +5/s Mana 240 +6/s Mana 126 +4/s Mana 189 +6/s Mana 44 +6/s Mana 185 +6/s Mana 337 +7/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Accelerate 0s Dusk 1s Absorb 0s Roiling Ground 1s Barkskin 0s Revitalize 1s Static Field 0s Haste 1s Haste 2s ABS 10 20s Haste 3s

I cast Accelerate on the Arcanist. Time for her to start buffing hard. The Eruptor and Miasmist have will cast the turn after next. The Arcanist will cast next turn. The Shieldmaiden casts Absorb on the Ground Wall. The rats will be forced to blow at least 2 2s mana using ability to take down the wall, except for 2. Ground Wall is a 10m linear wall with 5 sections of 80 health each. The Cleanser casts Revitalize on the Treant. The Treant casts Barkskin on herself. The cooldown is quite long so even 10s of stalling before the frontline takes damage won't matter materially.

The rats begin to attack the wall for 60 damage each. Modified by Absorb it would be 30-10+30-5=45 from each rat. The wall will fall after that next enemy phase.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Eruptor Treant Cleanser Arcanist Health 78 +5/s 6s Health 78 Health 170 Health 78 Health 128 +15/s +5/s 8s Health 78 Health 103 Mana 225 +5/s Mana 246 +6/s Mana 135 +4/s Mana 195 +6/s Mana 90 +6/s Mana 191 +6/s Mana 268 +7/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Accelerate 0s Dusk 0s Absorb 0s Roiling Ground 0s N/A Revitalize 0s Pervade 2s 0s Haste 0s ABS 20 5s Haste 1s ABS 20 5s Haste 3s +50% MagPen 5s ABS 20 5s ABS 10 19s Haste 2s ABS 20 5s +50% MagPen 5s

I cast Accelerate on the Eruptor to prepare for Lava Rain. the Eruptor, Miasmist, and Cleanser can act again next turn. The Shieldmaiden cast Absorb on herself and the Treant plus the Arcanist and me. The Treant waited for mana to recover. The Arcanist cast Pervade on the Eruptor and herself with Haste.

Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 HP 200 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 150

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

ENV:

DoT:

Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control: Marks: || Control:

The rats deal 45 each to their wall segments knocking them down. 2 rats only 2s attack.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Eruptor Treant Cleanser Arcanist Health 78 +5/s 5s Health 78 Health 170 +5/s 20s Health 78 Health 128 +15/s +5/s 20s +5/s 7s Health 78 Health 103 Mana 137 +5/s Mana 218 +6/s Mana 89 +4/s Mana 139 +6/s Mana 49 +6/s Mana 153 +6/s Mana 275 +7/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Quicken 0s Acid Splash 1s Magic Resist 0s Lava Rain 0s Amber Armor 0s Revitalize 1s Suffuse 0s Haste 3s ABS 20 4s Haste 0s ABS 20 4s ABS 5 20s MR(Earth) 12s Haste 2s +50% MagPen +4s +5SPE DMG +4mana SPE Cost 5s ABS 20 4s ABS 10 18s ABS 5 20s Haste 1s ABS 20 4s +50% MagPen 4s

Everyone was prepared to act this turn. The rats would hit the trapline in front of the frontline next turn. I cast Quicken as usual. The Treant cast Amber Armor on herself and the Shieldmaiden. It would waste 2 seconds but that still left 3. The Eruptor cast Lava Rain. It would only get one tick but she had a ton of mana and nothing else to do. The Miasmist cast Acid Splash on the trap line. The Shieldmaiden used her last second of Haste to cast Magic Resist Type(Earth) on herself. It went 10s so it would last even with the trap line. The Cleanser cast Revitalize on the Shieldmaiden. The Arcanist cast Suffuse using Haste on the Eruptor.

Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat HP 190(-10) /200 HP 165(-35) /200 HP 165(-35) /200 HP 165(-35) /200 HP 165(-35) /200 HP 165(-35) /200 HP 165(-35) /200 HP 165(-35) /200 HP 165(-35) /200 HP 190(-10) /200 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 150

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5) [=50]

DoT:

Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s

The rats run forward into the trap line. The rats all start to take damage from buffed domain and environmental effects. Luckily they have a little immunity to the domains. And their is limited synergy with Static Field. Their absorbtion applies to all the effects but domain spells take buffs regardless of casting time and so Pervade engages. 20/2=10 Absorbtion but 10/2 from penetration means 5 from each ENV effect. Lava Rain cast after Pervade so it gets the bonus. 30-5[20/2/2]=25. Unfortunately they leave range when they move. The total damage is 35 but 10 for the 2 rats at the edge out of Lava Rain range.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Eruptor Treant Cleanser Arcanist Health 78 +5/s 4s Health 78 Health 170 +5/s 19s +5/s 8s Health 78 Health 128 +15/s +5/s 19s +5/s 6s Health 78 Health 103 Mana 104 +5/s Mana 218 +6/s Mana 89 +4/s Mana 85 +6/s Mana 55 +6/s Mana 153 +6/s Mana 170 +7/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Accelerate 0s Acid Splash 0s Shield Bash 0s Lava Rain 0s Bash 0s Revitalize 0s Jolt Jolt 0s Haste 2s ABS 20 3s ABS 20 3s ABS 5 19s MR(Earth) 11s Haste 1s +50% MagPen +3s +5SPE DMG +4mana SPE Cost 4s ABS 20 3s ABS 10 17s ABS 5 19s Haste 3s ABS 20 3s +50% MagPen 3s

I cast Accelerate on the Arcanist. Acid Splash deals 30(boosted by 5 water and 5 heat from Static and Warm) to the middle 8 rats and adds marks. The Miasmist and Cleanser can act next turn. The Eruptor casts a new Lava Rain on the middle 8 rats. Another 35 damage each. 65 damage will apply plus the Domain damage of 10 to all. The Shieldmaiden Shield Bashes a rat diagnol from her for 25 damage and a 2 second stun. That rat has 4s of control. The Treant bashes a rat for 15 adding one second of control. Damage on both is reduced by 20 to 5 and 0. The Arcanist uses her last second of Haste to cast 2 Jolts. The edge rats have 5 seconds of control.

Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat HP 180(-10) /200 HP 105(-60) /200 HP 105(-60) /200 HP 105(-60) /200 HP 105(-60) /200 HP 105(-60) /200 HP 105(-60) /200 HP 100(-60) /200 HP 105(-60) /200 HP 180(-10) /200 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 150

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) [=20]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) [=20]

DoT:

Marks: || Control: 4s Marks: || Control: 1s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 1s Marks: || Control: 1s Marks: || Control: 1s Marks: || Control: 1s Marks: || Control: 3s Marks: || Control: 1s Marks: || Control: 4s

The rats all lose a second of control. 8 of them take 30-10=20 from Acid Splash and they all take 10-5=5 and 10-5=5 from Domains and then the middle 8 take 35-(10/2)=30 from Lava Rain. 20+5+5+30=60. One takes 5 from Shield Bash.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Eruptor Treant Cleanser Arcanist Health 78 +5/s 3s Health 78 Health 170 +5/s 18s +5/s 7s Health 78 Health 128 +15/s +5/s 18s +5/s 5s Health 78 Health 103 Mana 109 +5/s Mana 208 +6/s Mana 93 +4/s Mana 92 +6/s Mana 61 +6/s Mana 114 +6/s Mana 65 +7/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s Accelerate 0s Infect 1s Shield Bash 0s Bash 0s Revitalize 1s Jolt Jolt 0s Haste 1s ABS 20 2s ABS 20 2s ABS 5 18s MR(Earth) 10s Haste 0s +50% MagPen +2s +5SPE DMG +4mana SPE Cost ABS 20 2s ABS 10 16s ABS 5 18s Haste 2s ABS 20 2s +50% MagPen 2s

We are all ready to cast. Several of the rats will be cleared to take action this turn. The plan is to get as many as possible locked down, and let damage go a bit. Lava Rain has 70 damage coming in if they can't escape and they are taking another 10 a turn from Domain environmental effects. Miasma will start ticking this turn as well. DoT damage is not impacted at all by damage absorbtion.

The Arcanist used her Haste to cast another (70*0.8=56*2=112) 2 Jolts leaving her at 65 mana. The rats second from the edge were the target. The plan was to contain the 4 middle rats between the locked down rats and force them to waste attacks on our off tanks. I cast Accelerate again to get the Miamist ready to deal 20 acid damage to the remaining 7 heavily damage rats. They would all die on their next phase after our next phase. The Shieldmaiden and the Treant both bashed a rat. The Maiden bashed the rate 4th from the right while the Treant bashed the same rat as last time 3rd from the left as her Bash was only a 1s stun. The Cleanser Revitalized the Arcanist. The Miasmist lacked Haste cast Infect on the 3 center-right rats. the Eruptor had 1 more second of Haste and had just cast Lava Rain so she cast Molten Spurt for 90 damage on one of the edge rats.

Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat Granite Rat HP 170(-10) /200 HP 60(-45) /200 HP 60(-45) /200 HP 60(-45) /200 HP 60(-45) /200 HP 60(-45) /200 HP 55(-50) /200 HP 55(-45) /200 HP 60(-45) /200 HP 170(-10) /200 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 135 MP 150

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) [=20]

DoT: 5

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT: 5

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT: 5

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT: 2+5

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT: 2+5

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT: 2+5

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:5

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) + 25(+5+5) [=50]

DoT:5

ENV: 5(+5) + 5(+5) [=20]

DoT:

Marks: || Control: 3s Marks: || Control: 3s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 0s Marks: || Control: 0s Marks: || Control: 0s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 2s Marks: || Control: 3s Marks: || Control: 3s

All the rats lost 1 second of control. Some were clear and could potentially begin attacks next turn.

I am going to end the log here. Suffice it to say that the central rats *did* die and the 2 outlying rats were easily dispatched once alone.

I won't include a descriptive log here. I think this battle is worth observing. Following that very successful fight the Arcanist asked us to meet them back at the inn that night. Upstairs in a private room a much more subdued girl, who was clearly still a noble of some kid walked in. That is when we learned that these 2 girls were very high level nobles, the Duchess an Arcanist and the other girl, her childhood best friend, a princess. Her Aleatory trait was actually a little weaker than the duchess but it was still Tier 1. Vigentimancy, commonly called Vigor magic, is the magic of a top tier frontline combatant combining strong defense with even stronger offense.

We didn't get the details of her life that night but the following morning, before we went into the dungeon yet again. This time as *Challengers*. In fact the shock of meeting a princess was quickly overshadowed by the second most iconic experience of true adventurers, your first Tier Up. Obviously new Talents are the most iconic and wondrous.