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

[jmacatty]

Ito will stand ready at M32.

[jemmus]

The travelers take positions around the bandits' dwelling place. Akemi says to Omi and Ito, Bushi-sama, I'm afraid I will be a hindrance here. And I will admit, I am afraid of being in a combat. If you will excuse me, I will go to the cookhouse. She rises, leaves the hovel, and when she passes Ito on the path to the wellshed, turns and bows to both bushi. She then goes to the well/cook shed and seats herself in the doorway, so that Ito can plainly see her in her colorful kimono. She doesn't move.

The travelers scan in all directions and patiently wait in cool late summer air of the mountainside. After a little more than half an hour, at the beginning of the hour of the monkey, they hear men's voices approaching from the other side of the foliage that screens this part of Chiyo-san, to the south. At first they can't make out the words, but then they can indistinctly make out parts.
...it was your own fault anyway...
...Doctor! ...explain to a doctor...
Then, closer and more distinctly, in a commanding voice,Quiet now. No more chattering like a bunch of old women!

In a few moments, at the trail where the travelers entered this area, the foliage parts. A man in partial ashigaru armor and a helmet steps through. He has a naginata and a wakizashi. Behind him comes a big, bearded man similarly armed and armored, but with a hankyu slung across his back. He holds a rope in his hands. He pulls it viciously and a man in pilgrim's clothing stumbles through the foliage and onto the trail. His wrists are bound, his hat and pilgrim's staff are missing, and he has a black eye and swollen lips. Despite the pilgrim's clothing, his skin is fair, like that of one who stays mostly indoors.


You wait about an hour and a half, to around 3:30 PM.

The samurai can prevent Akemi from going to the well shed if they want.

1P = Bandit 1 in partial light ashigaru armor.
2PH - Bandit 2 in partial light ashigaru armor, has hankyu.

The range from Kentaro to 1P is 21 yards. (Corner to corner diagonals are 1.4 yards).

Actions?

[jemmus]

During the long seconds and minutes watching and waiting, scanning and searching, in this desolate but strangely and uniquely place of natural beauty... Shinto gakusho Taisho mind goes into a contemplative-- but still aware and highly observant-- state. The gakusho considers and meditates on the visit to the wind god's shrine on Neno-san this morning. The kami chose to put its numinous presence in Nippon not in a town, not on the top of a wind-blown mountain, but on the side of pine-scented Neno-san. An ordinary mountain, far from any city, but the shrine a short hike from a minor highway, but a highway still.

Fuujin-sama is wild, fearsome and powerful. Its mind is more like those of the o-bake than those of humans'. Yesterday's o-bake fight on Neno-san because of attraction to Fuujin-sama? Or Fuujin-sama's siting its presence to Neno-san because of the o-bake? The o-bakemono and sho-bake came confidently close to the kanushi's shrine. Do they actually control Neno-san? Then, what of Chiyoda village? And what of the singing girl yurei ghost? Are we wasting time with these bandits and rewards on Chiyo-san?

In any event, paying respects to the wild god of wind Fuujin was good. It knows us now.

Paying respects to his/its twin brother Raijin, the god of thunder and lightning, would be good. When it's worse, they appear together. Typhoons, tornadoes, floods. Taisho comes back from his reverie. Standing atop the rock, he's the first to see the returning bandits, a second before Kentaro. He silently nudges the ronin bushi and indicates with his eyes and nose.

[Marullus]

Kentaro pulls a watakushi arrow from his quiver and places it in his massive bow. Accepting the direction from Taisho, he aims at the big, bearded man who carries the hankyu. He carefully aims, taking advantage of them being stationary as they stop to argue. He releases a first shot, hoping to take down the bandit with surprise.

Daikyu (point blank / Watakushi) Base BCS 12 [1d20]=10 Damage [4d6+3]=12+3=15 plus [4d3]=7
Up to the GM to figure in other factors like higher ground, passive/still, surprise, etc. If that hits, it's 22 damage to 2PH.

[jemmus]

Turn 1 - Detailed Time Scale
Kentaro drew his great bow back and shot a hard shot at the tall bearded man. The razor-edge of the forked arrowhead struck the man's cuirass with sound like a hammer striking a steel plate. The arrow struck a joint between breastplate's bands and embedded itself deep into the man's left shoulder, twisting his torso around from the force. The startled man cried out from shock and pain. The smaller armored bandit before him looked back, momentarily stunned into inaction. Then he called out to the rear, Yumi da! He raised his naginata and scanned the fore, trying to spot the shooter. But Kentaro and Taisho see that his eyes didn't alight on them.

The big wounded man twisted back around, raised his naginata's blade, and tried to spot the archer. But also to no avail.


Yumi da! - "There's a bow!"

NPCs had higher BAPs, they used their Primary action to Walk into the area.

Point Blank is 2-10 yards. x4 for 4 Man Rating bow = 8-40 yards. Range is 21 yards. BCS is 12, +2 to BCS for Point Blank, -2 for watakushi bowel raker. -2 for target is moving. Since the rules don't mention modifiers for elevated position for missile weapons, no modifier. Adjusted BCS = 10, roll of 10 hits.

Where does the +3 in [4d6+3] come from? If from Strength, I think the bonus applies to handheld weapons only. Because the Strength bonus for archery is accounted for in the bow's Man Rating. Open for discussion, of course.

Ito, Omi, Taisho, actions for this turn?

[ffilz]

Taisho has nothing of use at range unless there are kami or magic involved. Since that seems unlikely, he will try and stay in cover as much as possible (no sense being an easy target for the bandits bows) while also continuing to watch the bandits and watch for more.

[jmacatty]

Ito steps to the end of the hut to see if he can see anything coming up the path. As he passes Omi, he motions him to be silent.

[jmacatty]

Omi, scowling, will move to the other end of the hut to look for any movement.

[Marullus]

Drawing another arrow, Kentaro tries to finish the large man off.

Daikyu (bcs 12) [1d20]=3 damage [4d6+3]=16+3=19 and [4d3]=10

[jemmus]

I'll post a new map this evening.
Turn 2
The bandit at the front leaps diagonally forward and to the left. A crash as if of breastplate upon stone is heard and he disappears behind some thick brush. 1P apparently to Z10 Behind the foliage that screens this area of the mountain off the map south of DD11, a crash like that of some heavy wooden thing, as well as armor doing the same, is heard. It is immediately followed by a man's exclamation of Oi! coming from the same area. The big wounded man drops the pilgrim's rope and leaps forward and to the right. A crash of armor on stone is heard, and he also disappears behind brush. 2PH apparently at AA13. And again from the foliage that screens this area, a man's shout of Bakayaroh! Kazuo, where's the bow?

Ito quietly moves to the corner of the hut, observing. He sees the direction that Kentaro and Taisho are facing, but his vision of the area is blocked by foliage six yards away.

Omi scowls at Ito's gesture indicating he should be quiet. He moves to the other end of the hut, but doesn't detect any movement.

The battered man in pilgrim garb seems terrified. He tries to hurries away to his left, but must pick his way among boulders.

Taisho goes prone on the top of the rock, making himself a small target for arrows. With his eyes at this height, he can still see most of the field, but not over the tops of as much brush as before.

Oi! - Hey!
Bakayaroh - Idiot! (About the worst curse word in modern Japanese. Pretty much only used by yakuza.

Kentaro's action follows the bandits'. If he can make a Perception of Hidden Things at -4 BCS, he can see part of the bandit's body. Or he can shoot blindly into the thicket and hit on a Critical Success. Or he can do something else.

Taisho can also make a Perception of Hidden Things at -4 BCS, for the same reason. If he spots a concealed bandit and points him out to Kentaro, Kentaro can shoot at -6 BCS. If Taisho wants to change his Action, just let me know.

I'll post a revised map this evening.

[Marullus]

I'll let the existing action and roll stand: if Taisho can point out the bandit, it hits with a -6 BCS.

Kentaro has a 4 BCS for perception, so with a -4 also only works on a critical success, so it's really up to Taisho. If you want a roll anyway...
Perception [1d20]=20

[jemmus]

End of Turn 2 Positions
I'm not sure where Omi wanted to be.
Clarifying -- If Taisho is lying prone on the tall rock, he won't be able to roll for Perception of Hidden Things to see either bandit. There are YT squares obstructing view to the YT squares behind them.
Several NPCs are screened and off of the map, to the south. From the sounds, they were right behind the two bandits and the pilgrim that entered.

[jmacatty]

Omi should be at the north end of the hut, on the east side.

[jemmus]

Map in the above post updated and replaced. Omi, does that look about right? There's no window at the north side of the room. You'd have to exit to see anything moving outside.

[jmacatty]

That looks right, but I was thinking they both had moved outside.

[jemmus]

Good then, I didn't catch that. So it looks like Omi and Ito have both north and south covered.

[jmacatty]

Ahh....btw, I have no idea how to find either character sheet.

[jemmus]

That's alright, that's how things happen all around various PBP games. Everybody arranges things differently, and keeping track can be a job. No mind, we're playing a game here, not how to do IT stuff.
Omi - download/file.php?id=23844
Ito - (Saved a different way, but quick and easy, I think.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... =914438268

The travelers heard a hard bow shot, a thunk like upon a thin pot, and an "Oof." And then, a couple of leaps onto rocks and scrambles. And from behind the entry area onto this trail head, a crash of things dropping to the ground. A wooden box perhaps, and empty armor hitting the ground. Panickly and hissing like, Bakayoroh! Kazuo, where is the bow! And then we go to Detailed Turn 3.

[Marullus]

...I don't understand what happened there.

[ffilz]

Taisho seeing the bandits diving for cover and not drawing bows, will observe this turn and then maybe drop prone next turn. He doesn't want to lose sight of them if possible. That can be deadly...



Nope... Maybe Taisho didn't see the bandits at all