1st Scroll - The Will of Nobles - 1st - 3rd Days

[jemmus]

Katsumi
Having dropped his first opponent, the young shinobi skipped toward the other one, the ring of his weapon circling. The peasant swiftly bends to snatch a broken tree branch from the ground. The ninja's ring and rope wrap around his torso and other arm, entangling him. Katsumi pulls the stretchy rope of hair hard, binding hard onto the man. He grimaces and kind of grunts, but he does not cry out.

Katsumi did a Close to Engage move and attack on BAP

The older farmer used Turn 1 to move to the fallen tree branch. He's using this turn to pick up a stick (makeshift club). Your first attack was in target’s side facing +5, so BCS is 14. The Entangle attempt hit, and the peasant failed his Speed ST, so he's entangled.

You can change your second action and do your third action. The NPCs do have BAP 5, so you're tied for your third action. Please roll a d20 for a tiebreaker with the entangled peasant.

We'll get to the tripped peasant after you've done your third action.

Close To Engage
This Option allows Unengaged characters to move up to one-half their
Base Movement Allowance in yards and execute an attack on the same
Action Phase.

Entangle
The Entangle attack is an attempt to subdue an opponent. If the
attacker makes his BCS roll, the target is considered entangled
unless the target can make a Speed Saving Throw. If the Saving
Throw is made, the target suffers Restrictions equal to the attacker’s
Effect Number.

An entangled character may attempt to break free on any Primary
Action Phase. It requires a Strength Saving Throw to break free.
Alternatively, if the character has a cutting weapon available, he may
attempt to cut his way free. Attempts to “hit” the restraining cord are
at 50% of the character’s Base BCS. It requires 5 points of damage to
sever a hemp rope, 10 points for a hair or silk rope, and 20 points to
sever a chain.

The attacker may attempt to completely subdue the target by
thoroughly wrapping him up. Once the target is entangled, the
attacker, on each available Primary Action Phase, may accumulate
Effect Numbers from his Base BCS. Once the Effect Numbers total
10, the target is totally subdued and incapable of attacking or
breaking free. If the Effect Number total reaches 0, the target is
freed.

A Critical Success by the attacker on the initial Entangle attack or
a Critical Failure by the target on his Speed Saving Throw results in
the target being automatically subdued.

[jemmus]

Kentaro and Uesigi
The two bushi move through the forest toward the sound of the cry. The silk cords of their armor mute the clinking of the metal plates to a quiet rustling. Kentaro must skirt low branches to avoid snagging the long hilt of the no-dachi on his back.

This is movement through rough terrain, so there should be a reduction in BMA. The rules say that Strategic movement in rough terrain is at -25% BMA. Tactical Time Scale has the below about Cautious Walk. I don't find anything about terrain modifiers for Detailed Time Scale. Let's go with a 25% rough terrain BMA reduction for now. Let's also take any encumbrance effects into account.

Cautious Walk
Characters move slowly, keeping their senses honed for danger,
or simply taking in a fairly full view of the surroundings. Saving
Throws to detect Hidden Things are at normal value when moving in
this manner. The Cautious Walk covers 5 yards times the BMA per
minute.

[Marullus]

Okay, at the Cautious Walk of 5 yards/minute, and both of us with BMA 5, is 25 yards/minute. It takes us 6 minutes to close the 150 yards through the forest.

That leaves Katsumi with 60 more Detailed Turns before we arrive. It does allow us to Spot Hidden Things without penalty, though, should we need to do so in our approach.

Kentaro left his Samisen and Horse behind, carrying his No-Dachi and pouch for a total of 55 pounds with allowance of 66 pounds unencumbered. (He could also carry his bow unencumbered, but I did not specify that he brought it.) His BMA is 5 and his Hidden Things BCS is 4.

Omi's sheet shows Armor, Dai-Sho, and Bow at 43 of 44 pounds, and 3lbs in his belt pouch (with food and clothes left behind on his horse). If he is carrying all of that, it is 46lbs and he is Lightly Encumbered. If he dropped either his pouch or his bow, he's unencumbered.

If Omi is Lightly Encumbered, it drops his BMA from 5 to 4, and lowers his Maximum Number of Actions from 2 to 1. It also lowers his Hidden Things BCS from 3 to 2. The change in BMA changes our travel time from 60 Detailed Turns to 75 Detailed Turns (7.5 minutes). (As stated above, Kentaro is matching/following Omi now, so we use Omi's BMA for the pair of us.)

If he has his bow, we're already in Long Range for it, depending at what point we get line-of-sight through the forest. He enters Short range at 90 yards and Point Blank at 40.

[jmacatty]

Omi is carrying his bow, with a willow leaf nocked

[jemmus]

Okay, at the Cautious Walk of 5 yards/minute, and both of us with BMA 5, is 25 yards/minute. It takes us 6 minutes to close the 150 yards through the forest.

That leaves Katsumi with 60 more Detailed Turns before we arrive. It does allow us to Spot Hidden Things without penalty, though, should we need to do so in our approach.

Kentaro left his Samisen and Horse behind, carrying his No-Dachi and pouch for a total of 55 pounds with allowance of 66 pounds unencumbered. (He could also carry his bow unencumbered, but I did not specify that he brought it.) His BMA is 5 and his Hidden Things BCS is 4.

Omi's sheet shows Armor, Dai-Sho, and Bow at 43 of 44 pounds, and 3lbs in his belt pouch (with food and clothes left behind on his horse). If he is carrying all of that, it is 46lbs and he is Lightly Encumbered. If he dropped either his pouch or his bow, he's unencumbered.

If Omi is Lightly Encumbered, it drops his BMA from 5 to 4, and lowers his Maximum Number of Actions from 2 to 1. It also lowers his Hidden Things BCS from 3 to 2. The change in BMA changes our travel time from 60 Detailed Turns to 75 Detailed Turns (7.5 minutes). (As stated above, Kentaro is matching/following Omi now, so we use Omi's BMA for the pair of us.)

If he has his bow, we're already in Long Range for it, depending at what point we get line-of-sight through the forest. He enters Short range at 90 yards and Point Blank at 40.

Thanks for doing the calculations. I think going forward I might just make a GM call for situations like this. -25% movement rate isn't that realistic for moving down a forested mountain slope, off of the trail, by partial moonlight. It would probably be more like half the speed of walking on clear flat ground in daylight.

[ffilz]

Thanks for doing the calculations. I think going forward I might just make a GM call for situations like this. -25% movement rate isn't that realistic for moving down a forested mountain slope, off of the trail, by partial moonlight. It would probably be more like half the speed of walking on clear flat ground in daylight.

I really want someone to come up with a good system agnostic movement system... And then hints on how to incorporate various game systems where there are specific determinants like encumbrance or attributes that can't be ignored at risk of breaking the system.

[Enoch]

If the Entangle hit, then that does change my actions. My second action will be an Attack action with the knife-end of the kyoketsu-shoge. It takes a -1 due to distance (Short weapon at Medium range), but presumably still gets the +5 due to side facing.
Attack BCS 9 (Base BCS 6, -1 armor, -1 range, +5 facing): [1d20]=20
...Now I will further demonstrate how the Critical Failure rules work!
Critical Failure: [1d20]=6
Soooo close to a simple miss. Per 1117.6, a 6 on the Critical Failure chart is a Daze effect. As seems to be typical in Bushido, the meaning of that is buried inside another chart (this time the Combat Special Effect Table in 1117.5, "Critical Success in Combat". "Target Dazed" is definined as "Target forfeits next Available Action Phase". Katsumi will not take his third action this Detailed Turn.


As Katsumi struggles with the entangled farmer, a sudden jerk makes him lose his grip on the blade, nearly cutting himself. It takes him several seconds to regain his grip.

[jemmus]

Katsumi
In the past 10 seconds the neophyte ninja has been a whirlwind of motion. Four times his ring, rope and blade weapon has flashed out, tripping one foe and binding the other. With one hand he tautens the hair rope and rings bind on his target, and with the other he flips the weapon's blade up to within his grasp. His hand misses the catch, the blade drops and swings from the rope in an elusive circle.

The wiry, leathern old peasant pushes his bound arm against the rope with all of his might. To no use, he cannot get free of the entanglement.

The ninja senses that to his rear, the other peasant is rising to his hands and knees.

Uesigi and Kentaro
The magnificently armored bushi continue maneuvering through the logs, stumps and undergrowth of the nighttime forest. The one in front carries his dai-kyu with a willow leaf-headed arrow nocked. The great massive bushi follows him, both of them on alert for any hidden dangers.

Taisho and Ito
In the little clearing, the beautiful gibbous moon in a cloudless autumn sky has risen to directly overhead. It's long-eared hare standing and pounding mochi rice cakes in a mortar can be clearly seen. Far away in Kyoto, kuge noble men and women are probably drinking sake and composing impromptu Moon-viewing haiku. A gentle breeze rustles the trees, maple leaves swing back and forth on their way to the ground. The scent of Taisho's almost-done pot of rice and herbs wafts through the campsite. It would be a perfect autumn evening... if not for the absence of the fellow travelers and ignorance of their situations. And if not for the continuing restlessness of the big bushi's horse.

Oof, our first natural 20 Critical Miss. The peasant failed his Strength saving throw, he's still entangled. The other peasant misses his Action this round due to both failing a Health ST from the Trip and more Distractions than his Wit. He made a Wit ST this turn vs. the Distractions (not going to give a spoiler for the result).

Katsumi is up for Turn 3. Please go ahead with BAP 15 and Action Phase 10. Rolls for Action Phase 5 (Katsumi, then the entangled peasant, then the prone hoeman): [1d20]=8[1d20]=16[1d20]=13 Katsumi goes last in Phase 5.

Does Taisho have a horse at the campsite? I lost track of where we ended up with that.

[ffilz]

Does Taisho have a horse at the campsite? I lost track of where we ended up with that.[/ooc][/spoiler]

Taisho did not wind up with a horse. Fortunately for him, his kit is pretty basic and he is only partially encumbered even when carrying everything.

[Enoch]

Running his right hand down the rope until the blade fell neatly into his palm again, Katsumi closes quickly with the older peasant, raising the blade to strike.

I'm assuming that I'm still in the older peasant's side facing. I probably have the movement to slip around behind him as part of a Close to Engage action, but that feels cheesy. If I'm not in his side facing anymore, my BCS will be 5 lower.

Close to Engage knife strike: BCS 11 +5 (side facing)
Close to Engage knife strike BCS 11 +5 (side facing): [1d20]=13
Knife damage: [1d5]=5
I assume that doesn't put him down, so Katsumi will pull back and slash at the peasant's throat.
Attack knife strike BCS 6 +5 (side facing): [1d20]=10
Knife damage: [1d5]=5
Wow. The rolls are really with me today.

[jemmus]

Katsumi
The old man gasps in pain as the shinobi's blade bites into the side of his neck. He reflexively turns to face his attacker and tries to fend him off with his stick. It is an unwieldy weapon, more of a dry pine branch with branchlets and twigs than a real club. The shinobi easily dodges it, but the peasant's quick shift in his stance causes his own attack with his blade to go wide.

The NPC is Entangled, with Effect Number 1 (Katsumi's BCS of 14 - the die roll of 13). He has 1 Restriction. I can't any specific information about how Restriction apply. I applied a -1 Restriction penalty to the BCS for the attack (and another -1 for the improvised weapon).

Because the NPC won the tiebreaker roll for the tied Action Phase, he went first and changed facing. The +5 for attacking from the side doesn't apply, so Katsumi's attack missed.

(BTW, Bushido's combat system is so detailed that I had to make an Excel chart to sort everything out for the three characters. Very helpful, especially for tracking the Distractions and Entangled status. And making it and charting everything out was pretty fun!)

1117.1
The Entangle attack is an attempt to subdue an opponent. If the
attacker makes his BCS roll, the target is considered entangled
unless the target can make a Speed Saving Throw. If the Saving
Throw is made, the target suffers Restrictions equal to the attacker’s
Effect Number.

The attacker may attempt to completely subdue the target by
thoroughly wrapping him up. Once the target is entangled, the
attacker, on each available Primary Action Phase, may accumulate
Effect Numbers from his Base BCS. Once the Effect Numbers total
10, the target is totally subdued and incapable of attacking or
breaking free. If the Effect Number total reaches 0, the target is
freed.

1117.3
Restrictions
These are hindrances to combat due to the environment around
the attacker. They may not be ignored.
Restrictions consist of solid objects such as trees, walls, ceilings,
etc. which are within Range of his weapons. The value depends on
the number of such hindrances within Range.

1116.4
Think of the Basic Movement Allowance as a number of points that
the character may expend in order to move. For each point spent, he
may move forward 1 yard. To change facing by 60 degrees, he must
expend 1 point.

[jemmus]

Ito and Taisho, Kentaro and Uesigi
Further up the mountain, not so far away from the campfire, the mournful cry of a sabi sabi ("lonely lonely," a whip-or-will) bird can be heard. It is as tragic and melancholy as always. But somehow this bird's cry seems more emphatic than usual. Or perhaps not.

Everyone, Wit STs please. Uesigi and Kentaro, -1 to BCS because of distance.

[Marullus]

(Are you counting the right moves for Katsumi? He strikes twice (on 15 and 10) before the peasant acts to change facing (on 5). I don't think Katsumi has posted his phase 5 action yet, right?)


Wit ST (4-1 BCS=3) [1d20]=11
Kentaro works his way towards the screams, anxious as he passes through the haunted forest.

[jemmus]

The peasants both rolled higher d20s rolls for Phase 5, so they go before Katsumi. Katsumi's Phase 5 move was to strike with the blade again. The peasant changed facing before he could strike, so his attack missed. Katsumi can change his Phase 5 move, considering the new information about the peasant's facing change. But I don't think he has many other options. Movement or trying to add to the Entangle Effect Number can only happen on the BAP, not this secondary phase.

The other peasant failed his Health ST after being Tripped, so he has no action this turn. On top of that, he has 14 Distractions. No Action at all for him this turn. I did give him a Will ST to try to reduce some Distractions. I'm not sure if an ST should count as an Action. But I thought not at least giving him an ST might make both Trip and Distractions too overpowered.

[Enoch]

You asked for my Action Phase 15 and 10 actions, which were both strikes against the older peasant. I haven't posted an Action Phase 5 move yet.

As for saves, I'm assuming those are essentially free actions (though with consequences for failure).

[jemmus]

Oh, sorry all and thanks Marullus and Enoch. I missed the count of the Actions. Katsumi is up for his third action this turn, on Phase 5. But he's eliminated his target, I don't see that Katsumi can do any rulebook actions. No movement allowed. The prone peasant is to Katsumi's back right quadrant, around 4-5 yards away. Changing facing toward him (movement) can't be done as a secondary action. Maybe retrieving the Entangle weapon or some other kind of RP?

Katsumi
The hilt of the shinobi's blade smoothly snaps into his grip. The blade strikes the peasant's neck from the side once, and rapidly once again. The brief groan from the first cut becomes a gurgle. The old man's knees crumple, and the mountain pulls his body and lays it head down along its slope. The dappled moonlight illuminates the one visible eye as it fades to glazed. The ninja is sure that no life remains.

Even in the heat of battle and the hurry, a haiku, slogan, mantra of his clan springs into the ninja's mind:
Kono Yoh ni
Odayaka no tsuru
Ikeranai to.
(In this World,
Even the gentle crane
Must do what it must to live.)

Only the young ninja knows what his thoughts may be, in the pale and shadowed light of the Moon.

[ffilz]

Ito and Taisho, Kentaro and Uesigi
Further up the mountain, not so far away from the campfire, the mournful cry of a sabi sabi ("lonely lonely," a whip-or-will) bird can be heard. It is as tragic and melancholy as always. But somehow this bird's cry seems more emphatic than usual. Or perhaps not.

Everyone, Wit STs please. Uesigi and Kentaro, -1 to BCS because of distance.

Taisho fails:

[jemmus]

Katsumi
Katsumi turns and skips toward the other peasant, who is trying to rise to his hands and knees. His face is bruised from his headlong crash into the rough terrain of the forest's floor. "Don't get up," the young ninja says. The cowed peasant lies back down, fearfully eyeing the very quick man in the plain, unbleached kimono and his strange coiling weapon. No armor, not a bushi. Yakuza or shinobi. Must be shinobi. His only hope for life is to fully cooperate and to beg for mercy.
"Who are the muro no banjin, the stranger says.
"Bandits. The force travelers on the highway to pay a tax."
"Pay a tax. They don't kill anyone?"
"Only the weak ones who can't fight. The strong ones only pay a tax."
"How many of them are there? How are they armed and armored?"
"There are three ronin with ashigaru armor and dai-sho and bows. Four peasants with only yari. Sometimes some villagers with kama and knives join them."
"Where do they live?"
"On Chiyo-san, on the other side of the highway. Some live in the village."
"And why were you going to report us to them?"
"They buy from us. Sometimes they share some of the tax with us. They protect us from other bandits."
"I see. Now, look the other way and find the pine sapling growing from a rock."

The peasant turns his head and looks around the moonlit forest. The ninja wraps the cord of his kyotetsu-shoge around his fists and swiftly moves in to strangle.

The peasant couldn't take an action this turn (Turn 3) because a failing a Health ST after being Tripped. He also has 14 Distractions, so probably couldn't take an action next turn. He's doomed, so Enoch and I decided to to move things along and skip the to-hit and damage rolls.

Does Katsumi do anything with the bodies, or does he just leave them? If he wants to try to conceal them, please make a Discovery of Hidden Things roll, +1 and adding Katsumi's level. (I'm going to assume that ninja training would include concealing victim's bodies). By the way, everyone in Nippon knows that ghosts can arise from bodies that aren't given proper rites and burned (Buddhist) or buried (Shinto). It depends on how strong the Will of the deceased is, and the manner of death.

Ito and Taisho, Kentaro and Uesigi

Since that's done, we can skip the remaining Wit STs and move on. (Sorry for the abrupt change of plans).

Not far away on the slope above the campfire, perhaps along the path to the Neno-san shrine, a female voice is heard. It is singing a well-known folk song, "Magical Flowers." The voice is sorrowful and melancholy, reminiscent of the voice of the sabi sabi bird.
Glowing flowers, magical flowers

Turn back time, bring back the past

Heal the wounds, river of fate

Flow upstream, resurrect him

Dreams of the past

Glowing flowers, magical flowers

Turn back time, bring back the past

Heal the wounds, river of fate

Flow upstream, resurrect him

Dreams of the past

It is dead silent throughout the woods. Kentaro's horse has frozen, it's ears laid back and the whites of its eyes showing. A cloud crosses the Moon, and the mountain is in deep shadow. The sabi sabi calls out its mournful cry once more. The cloud passes and the Moon shows itself again, high above the mountain.

Everyone please state your actions. We're back in Tactical Time Scale (10 minutes per turn).

[Marullus]

(As we're still a significant number of minutes away and heading for Katsumi rather than the voice, I'll wait for Katsumi to answer about what he does with the bodies before we arrive. )

[Enoch]

Katsumi arranges the bodies in a peaceful pose, then kneels down before them, reciting the haiku he heard over and over as a child. Then he bows his head and begins reciting a norito, but falters and stops.

He is kneeling before the bodies, his head bowed, when the others arrive. When he spots Taisho, his eyes light up.

"Ah, Taisho. You are a priest, are you not? These fellows need your assistance. "

He turns to Kentaro with a serious expression. "Do not worry, my friend. I would not have them rise as ghosts. But come; we must dig graves while the prayers are said, and I have much to tell you all."