How many rats would it take to defeat a Lion in Khazan?

[Marvel-Studios Rep]

Both sides are bloodlusted.

IÂ’m also curious about how many Lions it would take to defeat MCU black widow.

[The MunchKING]

Just the one.

Likewise,

One could probably do it.

EDIT: Or that one.

[BitVyper]

It depends a little bit on how we think rats will operate under Khazan bloodlust. Rats are definitely smart enough to have at least some basic strategy, but Khazan is a situation they would never encounter anywhere else. Basically the questions I think we have to ask are: Do the rats have to at least try to actively attack, and will at least one or two rats just kind of not engage the lion? If yes to both, I think the total number you need is like, relatively low. Just enough to harry and bite the **** out of the lion such that wounds and infection will kill it before it can kill the non-fighters.

If all rats MUST engage the lion directly, then you need a shitload, because the lion is going to keep killing for a fair amount of time before it succumbs to its wounds.

If the rats aren't required to engage at all... like one? A rat can probably hide from a lion in the arena and take nibbles on it while it sleeps. The lion proooobably dehydrates/starves/whatever first? Maybe even gets killed by infection from a rat bite

[big_adventure]

I think that the unique rat in your example would succumb to dehydration first - Lions are big lazy cats from the dry hot savannah, who are used to eating and drinking only occasionally, with metabolisms suited to long periods of inactivity and lots of mass to store water and energy. Rats are tiny speedy nervous creatures that are adapted to eating and drinking pretty constantly.

[BitVyper]

Well the rat is going to be getting some moisture from taking bites out of the lion when it sleeps (rats get most of their water from their food generally, so this is pretty common, and as long as they're eating, they can do like a month without actually drinking any water), but I did consider the lion's bigger reserves as a possibility too. There's also a question of if there's any moisture at all in Khazan. I can't imagine that it's 100% dry - there'd be condensation at the very least, and that's potentially all the rat needs. If there is, the rat needs less and will be better able to access it, if there isn't, then we're back to if it's getting enough out of the occasional lion bite. Rats need very little moisture overall, and can subsist on negligible amounts (albeit not very healthily past a point). Regardless, I don't think the lion is likely to catch it except by sheer luck, so this is pretty much what it boils down to.

Google says it takes a rat 2-4 days to starve (which would include dehydration because of what I mentioned above), and lions ~4 days to die of dehydration, so if the rat gets nothing from chewing on the lion, then the lion probably takes like 6-7/10. But the rat will probably chew on the lion, which I think tips the scales in its favour.

[Captain Morgan]

Where is the rat hiding exactly? The stands are sealed off by a god proof barrier and there's no features in the arena. Is it burrowing in the sand?

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Just one and his name is Splinter

[BitVyper]

Where is the rat hiding exactly? The stands are sealed off by a god proof barrier and there's no features in the arena. Is it burrowing in the sand?

According to the rules thread, the ground is "simple Earth" and the arena is set up like a Roman amphitheatre. Live burial is called out as an option in the rules thread. Only the walls are specifically indestructible, so there should be a lot of opportunity to hide for a rat.

I'm not particularly feeling a need to argue the point though. It's a weird set up, and "who starves/dehydrates first" isn't a particularly compelling fight, just a simple comparison of metabolisms. I think the lion will struggle to catch it at the outset and that the rat will ultimately have ample opportunity to burrow and hide. Rats can be pretty deep burrowers, and I don't think the lion is catching it at that point. It's not really a fight though.

[Captain Morgan]

I'm also confused why the lion wouldn't just catch the rat at the bell. They can move at 50 mph compared to the rat's 8. My house cat could catch a rat that starts 100 feet away in open terrain.