2nd Scroll - Flight from Okitsu

[jemmus]

The dice gods didn't indicate an encounter, so I'm going to call it moot as to whether you set watches for the night and move along.
The bushi rise to a cold and hungry dawn. The horsemen saddle their horses and mount up. The Minamoto Ryusuke is still weak, so the Matsumoto takes the lead position. Ryusuke's horse can follow his across the bunds. Kentaro, the more experienced ronin is next, followed by Hiroshi.

They continue northward as fast as they can, weaving along the tops of the raised earthen ridges. It is overcast, and the fields are white with yesterday's light snow. The hooves and feet leave impressions in it that could be easily followed. By noon, they have made good progress and seen no enemy bushi or patrols. In the late afternoon, they reach a village which they will pass have to pass around 200 yards to the right, or take to the mountains. There's a wider bund ahead, with granite rocks protruding along its way. Apparently there was a line of rock here, and the ancestors of the village's peasants had to give up precious paddy yardage and build around it.

A dog begins barking, then another. They stand at the southeast edge of the houses, alerting their owners about the intruding men and horses.


Map image courtesy of Crayola Corp and Mrs. Burris's kindergarten class. 1 hex = 10 yds.

Actions?

[Marullus]

"To the lee of the bund," Kentaro says, pointing right. "we will avoid the mountain, but perhaps it will shield us somewhat as we pass the town." He dismounts and leads his horse, Tafu snorting at the dogs. He loosens his sword in its scabbard.

[jemmus]

The three dogs continue to bark at the encroaching men and horses. The bushi's warhorses eye them and snort to one another. The bushi know that horses and dogs have been enemies since Izanagi first dipped his yari in the ocean and let the drops from it form the islands of Nippon.

The bushi make their way along the foot of the mountain and across the fields. The two samurai remain mounted, and both easily jump their horses over the first bund. But at the second, they both have trouble and have to try again. As the group draws abreast of the village, the dogs grow more excited and run down from the village and into a field, barking furiously. Then behind them, three bushi in partial heavy o-yoroi appear running. The dogs stop barking and stand watching the group. Each samurai bushi carries a dai-kyu in one hand and a naginata in the other. They stop at the edge of the village. Soon two more bushi appear, these on horseback and carrying dai-kyu. Their o-yoroi looks new and splendid. One bushi's set has more yellow-gold cords than the typical red and gold pattern. He appears to be around 35 years old. He calls out to the blood-stained bushi.

Bushi, you can only be enemies fleeing from battle. I am Imagawa no Dainori, ninyo of Sakai village. Son of Imagawa no Takanori, who collected the heads of the brigands of Mount Ishisaka. Grandson of Imagawa no Norio, who slew the earth spider of Ichikawa. The Taira did not kill you at Okitsu, but the Imagawa will kill you here. He says something inaudible to the samurai, and all they descend into the field before them and briskly trot toward the northeast. The dogs follow, stopping every few steps to face the group and snarl.


Hiroshi's character sheet didn't have the weight of his partial heavy samurai armor. I calculate that he's partially encumbered, so has 4.5 BMA instead of 6.
Actions, please.

[ffilz]

The three dogs continue to bark at the encroaching men and horses. The bushi's warhorses eye them and snort to one another. The bushi know that horses and dogs have been enemies since Izanagi first dipped his yari in the ocean and let the drops from it form the islands of Nippon.

The bushi make their way along the foot of the mountain and across the fields. The two samurai remain mounted, and both easily jump their horses over the first bund. But at the second, they both have trouble and have to try again. As the group draws abreast of the village, the dogs grow more excited and run down from the village and into a field, barking furiously. Then behind them, three bushi in partial heavy o-yoroi appear running. The dogs stop barking and stand watching the group. Each samurai bushi carries a dai-kyu in one hand and a naginata in the other. They stop at the edge of the village. Soon two more bushi appear, these on horseback and carrying dai-kyu. Their o-yoroi looks new and splendid. One bushi's set has more yellow-gold cords than the typical red and gold pattern. He appears to be around 35 years old. He calls out to the blood-stained bushi.

Bushi, you can only be enemies fleeing from battle. I am Imagawa no Dainori, ninyo of Sakai village. Son of Imagawa no Takanori, who collected the heads of the brigands of Mount Ishisaka. Grandson of Imagawa no Norio, who slew the earth spider of Ichikawa. The Taira did not kill you at Okitsu, but the Imagawa will kill you here. He says something inaudible to the samurai, and all they descend into the field before them and briskly trot toward the northeast. The dogs follow, stopping every few steps to face the group and snarl.


Hiroshi's character sheet didn't have the weight of his partial heavy samurai armor. I calculate that he's partially encumbered, so has 4.5 BMA instead of 6.
Actions, please.

Hiroshi should be unencumbered. He has armor (25) dai-sho (8), 3-man Dai-kyu (9), quiver and 12 arrows (1.8), geta (1) for a total of 44.8 decently under his 50 lb Unencumbered capacity. All other possessions are lost...

[jemmus]

OK, sorry about that. I saw 0 for the armor weight on Hiroshi's chargen sheet and assumed the lbs weren't included. Here's revised map. The group is a hex farther north.

[Marullus]

We were using the heavy wall for cover, so I think we're four yards closer, but hopefully that doesn't matter.

Kentaro sighs heavily. The pride of flatland bushi is so impractical. He looks to his companions - the two wounded samurai, his companion ronin - it is better they not reveal their names, their injury, or their shame to good names. He has the others pause the line of progress behind him, letting them benefit from the cover of the stone bund-wall while he steps forward fully into view, handing Tafu's reigns off to Hiroshi.

Straightening his towering, broad form, he calls back across the yards that separate them. "I see you, Imagawa no Dainori. I am glad to find you so well rested today. Your armor is so shiny and new. Did you sleep in the comforting arms of your wife? Spendid indeed. Indeed, I come from war, though I saw no Imagawa upon the field. I would find my way home and seek such comfort as well, except for your disruption. We offered no threat to your village and this is only your vanity and shame that speaks now."

He gestures to the gristly bundle, like a bunch of grapes, on the rump of his horse. "I carry the heads of the last eight men to stand before me today, and it is little to me to add your own to their number. I am a generous man, however. Your fellows need not die as well, I say. Let them stand to still protect your village after your folly. When this challenge is done, they will not challenge further and we shall walk on to leave your village in peace. Otherwise you face my companions, whose tally of heads is even greater than my own."

He unsheathes his katana's blade, letting them see it. ""I am Togakushi no Kentaro, grandson of Togakushi no Daisuke, who overcame the dragon of Hida. I served as yojimbo to the Fujiwara, son of the Emperor's Lieutenant Minister, and this is the blade awarded for my service in saving his life. I accept your duel, and with it I will end your life."

Kentaro steps forward towards the middle of the field (16 -5 = 11 yards from his companions) and stands there to wait.

Having declared this a duel, I've placed it on his honor to be a one-on-one fight. Hopefully his words-backed-up-by-deeds result in the others backing off after.

[jemmus]

I misunderstood, I thought you were staying along the edge of the mountain. Here's the revised map.

Jumping the regular bunds on horseback requires a bajutsu BCS. (The one with rocks projecting can't be jumped). If the BCS fails, the characters have to dismount and lead the horse over. Or stand on it dismounted, or stay on this side of it.

If fighting mounted, bugei BCSs have to be averaged with the bajutsu BCS.

The Minamoto and Matsumoto intake their breath when Kentaro issues his challenge. Wounds..., the Matsumoto murmurs, but says nothing else. They sit their horses stoically and observe, silently wishing the best for their companion.

You speak insults, Togakushi no Minamoto, the ninyo calls out. For that I must battle you, even though I suspect you are not even samurai. But after I kill you, we will still kill your Minamoto companions. These men are hungry for battle also. He gestures for the other bushi to continue moving to the northeast, nocks an arrow in his dai-kyu, and trots his horse foreword toward Kentaro.


Need Hiroshi's action.

[ffilz]

What is protocol with a duel? I assume we should prepare to battle the others.

[jemmus]

Bushi step forward, announce their names, brag about their ancestors, and challenge any comers. Then somebody on the other side does the same. Field duels like this usually begin with kyujutsu shots, with the opponents both closing on each other. It seems that they were excited or had adrenaline rushes going and were in a hurry to get at each other. The duels usually ended with the stronger bushi wrestling the other one out of saddle and both dropping to the ground and grappling. They would end with one or the other stabbing through the other's armor with a tanto or aiguchi. Because in reality, katana and wakizashi slashes couldn't cut through o-yoroi, it took a short, rigid stabbing weapon. Bushido doesn't take that into account, the same as every RPG (or movie) I've seen.

The expectation is that they duelists will open with arrows, close on each other, and probably end with blades. The non-participants on both sides will raptly watch and honorable not gang up on anyone. Of course, a head will be taken as a trophy. But the PCs can use tactics and not follow expectations if they'd like. Normal On rules apply. The Imagawa On would be reduced by dueling ronin, especially wounded ones. The PC bushi's would be increased for dueling samurai in wounded states. If the PC duelists don't follow expectations and instead use tactics, the On earnings would be neutral.

[Marullus]

Oh. I assumed a duel didn't start with archery, hence posturing with the sword, and that since he was on foot, i handed over the reins to start on foot with sword. We can retcon back to bows if we need to...

Just narrate the appropriate start point and we will begin action there?

[jemmus]

That's fine. It's all your call, Marullus. It's a duel. How the chars choose to do it won't matter for On, budo, social standing, etc. Fresh Imagawa vs. battle-wounded ronin, it all equals out.

[Marullus]

I obviously goofed the expectations.

* I want to meet him honorably and by so doing shame him.
* I don't want to act stupid on accident (like bringing a knife to a gun fight or standing there with a sword when just shooting me down with a bow is expected).
* I expected that fleeing or refusing after he issued his challenge and stated his lineage would cause the huge On reductions for dishonor, so that wasn't an option. Thus, trying to take all the risk on personally that the others could then leave without dishonor. (I was hoping I would at least get a social roll on that... which he'd fail unless winning the fight has a nice bonus modifier. )

I thought goading him into a sword-only fight sounded samurai-like. If it is unrealistic, set it up and tell me what expectations to follow.

Edited: Sorry about the typos. Posting from my phone drops a lot of spaces.

[jemmus]

We can totally retcon if you'd like. Part of this is historic Japan culture, which players shouldn't have to be familiar with for making decisions. The ninyo's speech wasn't really a challenge to a duel, he was just announcing who he was before battle. The other thing is duels normally didn't prevent a general battle from happening. They were just a prelude to the battle. (Later in history a daimyo, the famous Uesugi Kenshin, proposed that he and the opposing daimyo (the even more famous Oda Nobunaga) fight winner take all, loser's army go home. Nobunaga didn't take the deal).

I'm going to say that Social Standing rules don't apply in this situation. The Imagawa are at war with the Minamoto and their allies, so you're enemy bushi that need to be killed. No negotiations.

So, options:
-Retcon and Kentaro doesn't challenge to a duel. If the group manages to run from this fight, there won't be any loss of On. They're outnumbered, and it was a threat, not a challenge to a duel.
-Fight the duel, either traditional style, or on foot with katana. Kentaro has the impression that the proud ninyo wouldn't shoot arrows at him from a distance, if Kentaro weren't also shooting.
-Hiroshi has the same option of retconning or proceeding with a duel. (If you want to duel, you wouldn't have to RP the speech about bragging yourself and and your ancestors).

If anyone wants to retcon, we'd be at post #23 above. https://www.unseenservant.us/forum/view ... 05#p601305

[Marullus]

Kentaro still thinks fleeing is unlikely, and he will stand to allow the others what advantage they can take.

We were using the heavy wall for cover, so I think we're four yards closer, but hopefully that doesn't matter.

Kentaro sighs heavily. The pride of flatland bushi is so impractical. He looks to his companions - the two wounded samurai, his companion ronin - it is better they not reveal their names, their injury, or their shame to good names. He has the others pause the line of progress behind him, letting them benefit from the cover of the stone bund-wall while he steps forward fully into view, handing Tafu's reigns off to Hiroshi.

Straightening his towering, broad form, he calls back across the yards that separate them. "I see you, Imagawa no Dainori. I am glad to find you so well rested today. Your armor is so shiny and new. Did you sleep in the comforting arms of your wife? Spendid indeed. Indeed, I come from war, though I saw no Imagawa upon the field. I would find my way home and seek such comfort as well, except for your disruption. We offered no threat to your village and this is only your vanity and shame that speaks now."

He gestures to the gristly bundle, like a bunch of grapes, on the rump of his horse. "I carry the heads of the last eight men to stand before me today, and it is little to me to add your own to their number. I am a generous man, however. Your fellows need not die as well, I say. Let them stand to still protect your village after your folly. When this challenge is done, they will not challenge further and we shall walk on to leave your village in peace. Otherwise you face my companions, whose tally of heads is even greater than my own."

He unsheathes his katana's blade, letting them see it. ""I am Togakushi no Kentaro, grandson of Togakushi no Daisuke, who overcame the dragon of Hida. I served as yojimbo to the Fujiwara, son of the Emperor's Lieutenant Minister, and this is the blade awarded for my service in saving his life. I accept your duel, and with it I will end your life."

Kentaro steps forward towards the middle of the field (16 -5 = 11 yards from his companions) and stands there to wait.

Having declared this a duel, I've placed it on his honor to be a one-on-one fight. Hopefully his words-backed-up-by-deeds result in the others backing off after.

The Minamoto and Matsumoto intake their breath when Kentaro issues his challenge. Wounds..., the Matsumoto murmurs, but says nothing else. They sit their horses stoically and observe, silently wishing the best for their companion.

Kentaro replies quietly to his companions, seeing the samurai direct his men northwest to intercept across the fields. "You have my horse, so all three of you on mounts who rested. One must dally on foot, so I will delay them. Use the rock bund to disguise your movement and go straight up the mountain - I will find you if I live. Otherwise... tell Akemi and Taisho that they may light a candle for my rebirth."

Kentaro feels the ground under his feet. He never liked battle from horseback, anyway. Let Tafu go on to safety. He stands and waits for the samurai proudly, katana in his hand.

He will still proceed in hope that a sound defeat of this samurai might cause a morale check for the others.

[ffilz]

Hiroshi will take Tafu, though he will have to lead Tafu over obstacles since he doesn't have Bajutsu, so just the 1 BCS as a bonus skill. Dying here will serve no one.

[jemmus]

The Imagawa bushi walk and ride to the northeast. A foot bushi calls the dogs and they cross the field to join them. Dainori walks his horse toward Kentaro and calls out, Roni, if you are to fight on your feet with the dai-sho, I will do the same. Come and meet me in the middle.

Matsumoto no Ryusuke dismounts and says, Fight well, Togakushi no Kentaro. He bows. Minamoto no Yukinori also dismounts. He says, Fight well, Togakushi no Kentaro. I hope to see you again. He bows. The bushi turn and head for the partial concealment of the rocky bund. When the samurai reach it, they break into a run to the southeast, toward the mountainside. Dainori turns in saddle and yells to his bushi, They are running! Run them down!


Kentaro's action needed. It's a tactical scale turn (1 minute). 10 yds movement per BMA. He's still at the spot on previous map.

[Marullus]

It's a tactical scale turn (1 minute). 10 yds movement per BMA.

...I'm not understanding. What does this mean?

Kentaro's action needed. It's a tactical scale turn (1 minute). 10 yds movement per BMA. He's still at the spot on previous map.

Last turn he moved his BMA (5 yards) west of the bund, which puts him at 7 yards from the guy at the start of this turn. He's close enough to charge and attack if this is a regular Detailed Turn, but I need to know that's right.

[jemmus]

Each hex is 10 yds. I had this tactical scale turn be one minute. Each hex is 10 yds, and characters can walk 10 yds x BMA per minute. (I had Hiroshi and the samurai do a hybrid move. They started at a walk until they reached concealment, then spent the rest of their BMA running). I'm updating the map with Kentaro's.

Next turn will a 30 seconds tactical scale turn. If we switch to detailed scale now, it could take quite a few boring turns for Kentaro and Dainori to close with each other. But if we stay with a 1 minute turn, whoever has the higher BAP could be on the other one next turn. Then wouldn't have the options of choosing range, doing a charge attack, etc. The turn after that will be detailed scale. In detailed scale, bunds take an extra 2 BMA to cross.

If you saw the first update to the map, please note the revision. This one has Kentaro moving directly west as his post stated, instead of northwest.

Need Hiroshi and Kentaro's Turn 2 actions.

The most usual Tactical Turn is 10
minutes, but the duration can vary from 1 minute to 1 hour.

Normal Walk
Characters move at a normal walking pace. They cannot be overly
observant at this pace and receive -1 to all Hidden Thing detection
rolls. A Normal Walk covers 10 yards times the BMA per minute.
Run
Characters run like blazes, at 20yards times BMA per minute.

[Marullus]

"I am in no hurry to end your life," calls back Kentaro, maintaining his stance. "Admire the clouds if you wish. Smell the rich scent of the rice bunds." He stands unmoving, letting his friends use the time to flee.

Trying to goad him into a charge - the nature of a charge give Kentaro more advantage as a defender as long as the actual attacks resolve in Detailed a Turn.

[ffilz]

Hiroshi will continue to try and escape.