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

[Marullus]

Katsumi - Reaction to seeing Kentaro leaving the fight area (if any)

You mean Taisho, right? Kentaro is still puffing along behind...

[ffilz]

Taisho will take a cautious walk.

[jemmus]

Katsumi - Reaction to seeing Kentaro leaving the fight area (if any)

You mean Taisho, right? Kentaro is still puffing along behind...

Oops, Taisho.
Taisho's movement also noted.

[jemmus]

Turn 5
Katsumi is first up. He's 6 yds from the o-bakemono, to its right Side. He has many options.
1) Move 2-3 yds to Close and Engage to attack using the ring end of the kyotetsu-shoge (Entangle or Trip) at Long or Medium range. No pluses or minuses to BCS.
2) Move 2-3 yards to Long or Medium range and use the blade end of the weapon (-2 or -1 to BCS, respectively).
3) Close to Short range of (currently) the beast's Side and attack next turn.
4) Charge now for a guaranteed Side attack. +1 to BCS, a possible substantial bonus to damage (TBD, by we all the committee). No secondary actions this turn. If the monster turns to attack you, it has +2 to BCS.
5) Change facing to the left for one point of BMA, move forward 4 yds, change facing to the right twice. Next turn he'll be in position to Close to Engage for an attack to target's rear facing, or to Charge it. The dumb but cunning o-bake would have to change facing to avoid an attack from rear facing. Which would mean turn away from Ito to its front.

[Enoch]

I will choose Option 5: circle around behind the o-bake and force him to choose whether to face Katsumi or Ito, or split the difference and give us both side facing (or just retreat).

Katsumi steps carefully to the side, stepping over his left foot with his right, then sliding his left foot back past his right, as he quickly slides around behind the hulking creature. As he does so, the ring of the kyoketsu-shoge begins to hum, picking up speed.

[jemmus]

The bleeding red ogre sees the human slipping to its rear, shakes the long black main on its huge head and roars in its hog-like voice, Bakayaro! It turns to its left, steps a yard back, and smashes its club against the armored bushi. The ronin's stout armor again protects his body from harm.

Bakayaro means "stupid bastard," and its such a bad insult that Ito, Katsumi, and Taisho have probably never heard it said in earnest before. The o-bakemono opened the range to Long for Ito (-1 BCS for a katana, +0 for his club). Ito is just at the edge of its front facing (+0 BCS). He could step forward and to the left for an attack to its side.

Katsumi is lined up for a side attack next turn.

Ito, please post your two Actions.

Omi, please roll your dai-kyu shot.

[spanningtree]

OCC:

Step forward and to the left for an attack to its side.

Would that take one of Ito's attacks?

[Marullus]

No, you get movement in conjunction with your first attack (only) then extra attacks are from that position. You can move 1/2 BMA without losing your first attack, or your full BCS at the expense of the first attack. Stepping forward-left 1 yard should be well within Ito's 1/2 BMA.

[jmacatty]

Kyujutsu using AP arrow
[1d20]=6
BCS = 12 (Base 10+1 Level+1 AP)
Assuming the monster's AC is less than 6
Damage
[3d5]=6

[jemmus]

That hits. If the o-bakemono survives Ito's two attacks that will happen in earlier Phases, we'll need another 1d5 damage roll. (Omi gets one extra damage die for Point Blank range).

[jmacatty]

Yeah. It's funny, I moved to point blank to get bonuses, and then forgot about them.

[jmacatty]

extra d5 roll

Output: [1d5]=4

[spanningtree]

Ito takes a step forward and to the left, snapping his katana out in two successive strikes.

To hit: [1d20]=3
Damage: [1d6]=6+3=9

To hit: [1d20]=2
Damage: [1d6]=3+3=6

[ffilz]

Ito takes a step forward and to the left, snapping his katana out in two successive strikes.

TLDR: smack... smack...

Taisho feels like he made the right choice to look for where the bakemono-sho got off to...

[Marullus]

"Tafu!" exclaims Kentaro, hearing strange voices in his camp speaking of his father's horse. He also draws his sword, the massive no-dachi filling his beefy hands, and breaks into a full run towards the camp. With his concern for Tafu, he no longer follows Omi out of propriety, out-pacing the slower, heavily-laden Samurai.

<Triggered!>
As soon as he comes into view, Kentaro calls out, "If you threaten my father's horse, I shall introduce you to this, my father's sword as well. Step back from our belongings lest you be slain as robbers, too."
</Triggered!>

Footage of Kentaro's approach.

[jemmus]

Ito stepped to inside the o-bakemono's long extended arm and struck from the side. The katana gashed the monster's neck, nearly severing it, then neatly struck off the hand grasping the club. An instant later Omi's arrow drove almost to the fletchings into the o-bake's ribs. The heavy red ogre thudded to the earth. Its life and evil career ended with a long, foul, rumbling flatulence. From the woods, a voice that Taisho and Ito recognize as that of the warty tan bakemono-sho in the blood-stained peasant shirt snorts Yabai! The sound of heavy biped crashing away through the brush was heard. Katsumi and Omi turned their heads and listened, appraising what that might be.

Taisho moved a wary step toward where the bakemono-sho had gone.

Bucketfuls of purplish-black blood flowed down the mountain slope. White moonlight reflected from the silver bracelet on the dead monster's left wrist.

Yabai! - "It's a dangerous/risky situation that I don't like!"
Those attacks took the o-bakemono to -18 HP(!)
With Cautious Walk, Taisho moves 1 yd per turn.

Ito - 2 Budo, 2 On
Taisho - 0 Budo (because gakusho), 1 On

We have to make a ruling on Budo and On for Omi and Katsumi. From the way the rules are written, it would seem that they wouldn't get any. Omi's attack came after the NPC was already dead. Then again, we earlier ruled participating in a combat with even a missed attack earns Budo. Omi did close to participate in the overall combat, its just that his attack came after the NPC was already dead. And that was because of the nature of PBP and trying to move things along with simultaneous posting.

Katsumi didn't get an attack in, but he did influence the combat by making the NPC change facing. Ito's rolls were low enough that the didn't need the +5 to BCS for a side attack. But he could have needed them.

So:
a) Award Budo and/or On in these two situations; or
b) Keep it simple and stick with the rules as written.

(BTW, to move things along we may someday decide to go with milestones leveling instead of Budo leveling).

[jemmus]

Footage of Kentaro's approach.

HA! I narrowly avoided a public LOL.

[Marullus]

Since the bakemono-sho is running across our path, any chance of Kentaro catch up with it? Or does he get a free escape?

[Enoch]

Footage of Kentaro's approach.

HA! I narrowly avoided a public LOL.

That was only five rounds of running! You have to loop this is you want it to be accurate.

[jemmus]

Here's what Taisho and Ito know about the bakemono-sho. On Turn 1 its club flew off into the woods. On Turn 2 it took off in a run in that direction, along the trail. Its BMA is 4, Taisho's is 3. We just finished Turn 5. They don't know what it did during Turns 3-5. It could have kept running, walked or done something else. It's voice sounded like it was maybe 20-25 yds from Ito, Taisho and Katsumi. (Actually the sound of it crashing through brush will happen early in Turn 6, because it already used its BAP for Turn 5. Everyone did hear its voice at the end of Turn 5).

Here's how the situation looks at the end of Turn 5.