[003] Into the War Camp

[Samwell Turleton]

Poor Souta is going to drown in the mud after being skewered. Things are not looking good and I did not expect that ill turn of events. Who was it that said this game is really bloody - you weren't joking!

[jmacatty]

Ha aims his last bowel-raker at the bakemono dragging Souta:

BCS 12+1(level)+2(range)-2(arrow)=13

[1d20]=16

[jemmus]

Toshizo aims his last bowel raker at the leading bakemono-sho.

BCS 12 - 2 for bowel raker. 23 yds, Short range, +0.
[1d20]=13 Damage [2d6]=7[1d3]=1
Yeah, Souta went down quick. It was the game store owner that I bought my Bushido rule books from who said just two words: "Bushido. Bloody." He wasn't wrong, was he?

[Marullus]

Turn Order:

Phase 16: Jīva (Basic Action)
Phase 12: Bakemono-sho (Basic Action)
Phase 10: Souta (Basic Action)
Phase 9: Toshizo (Basic Action)
Phase 6: Eiji (Basic Action); Souta (Secondary Action)
Phase 5: Ha (Basic Action)
Phase 4: Toshizo (Secondary Action)
Phase 3: Souta (Secondary Action)
Phase 2: Taka (Basic Action)

(Round 5, Phase 9 and 5)
As the bakemono-sho splashes through the mud carrying Amano Souta, the broadheaded arrows fired by Toshizo and Ha thud into the wet grasses around him.

TOSHIZO: Firing Dai-Kyu (BCS 12) at short range (+0) with a bowel raker arrow (-2) against Armor Class 3 (-3) and lightly encumbered (-1)when the target is moving (-2) = BCS 5 4. You rolled a 13 for a miss. Note: You should roll [2d6] plus [2d3] for the 2-man bow damage.

HA: Firing Dai-Kyu (BCS 13 (Your BCS is 11 + level = 12, not 13.)) at point blank range (+2) with a bowel raker arrow (-2) against Armor Class 3 (-3) when the target is moving (-2) = BCS 8 7. You rolled a 16 for a miss.

Eiji has his shovel back last turn, and got to take an action on Phase 6 between the bow shots (run 6 yards in some direction, or some other choice).
Taka's action next, then we roll into their turn at the top of Round 6.

Edited: Checked sheets, look at the math in the spoiler above.

[Samwell Turleton]

Taka's finger explores the slice in the arm of her kimono and she looks back at the two arrows lodged in the side of the building. The danger from the cave grows more real to her. She feels a growing sense of panic rise inside her and she instinctively passes into the kakuriyo.

Astral Senses (BCS 12)[1d20]=6

[ffilz]

I'm not sure Eiji can get anywhere useful before the bakemono-sho get to the cave, but he will run towards them anyway.

[Marullus]

I'm not sure Eiji can get anywhere useful before the bakemono-sho get to the cave, but he will run towards them anyway.

He's got to start somewhere, after all, six yards at a time.

[jemmus]

6 yards per turn = 1 yard per second. 3,600 yards per hour. 1,760 yards are in a mile. So a little more than 2 mph. That makes Eiji the gakusho still more than three times faster than a tortoise (0.62 mph). Working as intended.

[ffilz]

6 yards per turn = 1 yard per second. 3,600 yards per hour. 1,760 yards are in a mile. So a little more than 2 mph. That makes Eiji the gakusho still more than three times faster than a tortoise (0.62 mph). Working as intended.

The next time I create a character, I will consider the attributes more carefully. A walk of about 1 mph is painfully slow. If I'm remembering the math, the daily travel rate for such a low BMA is pretty bad too.

Hmm, does the "average" person actually even have a reasonable movement rate? Attribute scores of 10 are average right? Oh wait, Eiji has Speed 10 and Deftness 12.

[Marullus]

Hit Points	Power	Turn Order
Ha 9 / 32 Toshizo 21 / 24 Taka 9 / 9 Eiji 11 / 11 Jīva 10 / 10	Taka 27 / 38 Eiji 0 / 28	Phase 16: Jīva (Basic Action) Phase 12: Bakemono-sho (Basic Action) Phase 10: Souta (Basic Action) Phase 9: Toshizo (Basic Action) Phase 6: Eiji (Basic Action); Souta (Secondary Action) Phase 5: Ha (Basic Action) Phase 4: Toshizo (Secondary Action) Phase 3: Souta (Secondary Action) Phase 2: Taka (Basic Action)

---

(Round 5, Phase 6)
Eiji sets off at a run to the cave mouth, where the bakemono-sho are escaping with Amano Souta's body. Jīva runs beside him, tongue lolling happily.

BMA 3, run action x2, is 6 yards.

(Round 5, Phase 2)
Ha sees Taka beside him, the noble woman standing with eyes closed, entering a trance and no longer seeing him...
(Taka will need to be led by the hand if she is to move in a trance.)

In the spirit world...

Success! That costs Taka one power, leaving her at 34.

Taka's senses once again dilate outward, her eyes closing as the supernal visibility of life infuses her directly without them. The darkness of the cave yawns beyond the firelight and in the kakuriyo she drifts towards it without fear. The tusk-toothed mouth she saw leering in the darkness coalesces into a large dai-bakemono, its appearance slovenly and unkept but bright with magical energy to her senses, the nimbus of a shugenja practitioner around him, but oddly, she percieves, pulled off-center, light bleeding away from him into the cave tunnel behind him.

dai-bakemono.jpg (209.09 KiB) Viewed 627 times

"Ho ho, little girl! Bravely comes she, to die in the net," it chortles, putting away its dai-kyu. "Come, I will show you true power little one."

Since you entered the astral, he's free to engage you directly under "1092.2c The Occult Duel."

• He is stating "to the death" but if you lose you will only be forced back into your body unwillingly (which also knocks you unconscious with subdual damage). If you wish to retort as a form of "Setting other stakes" you may do so... he's obviously confident.
• He has the higher power score, so gets the first attack. His BCS will depend on the school he uses.
• While in the Astral, magic is freeform/descriptive according to school, not bound by your specific spells. So, Taka can freely describe water effects or wood (life/soul/will) effects.
• Since Taka's initial schools are equal to her Wits and her Wits is part of her normal Magic BCS, her numbers don't vary. Either school will have BCS 12 for her.

School of Metal (BCS 16) [1d20]=12
His base BCS is 16, reduced by Taka's magic resistance (i.e. level) (-1) and by her knowledge of Metal/10 (-0) = 15. Effect number is 3, plus his level (+4) results in 7 Power Score damage to Taka.
34-7 = 27 / 38
(It's a new sub-system, so double check me.)

The large bake, towering two feet taller than Taka in the astral as he would in the physical realm, flings his hand outward towards her. The spiritual space between them is fill with writhing chains of black iron, coiling and writhing as they try to bind her, freezing to her astral touch.

(Round 6, Phase 14)
To the relief of Ha and Toshizo, no more powerful bowshots come from the cave mouth, a greater concern as Taka meditates passively before them.

(Round 6, Phase 12)
The sodden mud now takes its toll - the first bake carrying Amano Souta slips and goes down face first in the muck as he tries to evade the arrows flying around him. The third one, entering the mud at a dead run, also falls. Both struggle and splatter, trying to regain footing in the slippery conditions. The second bakemono-sho, however, splashes through the mud and dissappears into the cave mouth.

Amano Souta lies next to the bake, face up in the muck, still unconscious, but at least not carried as the bake worries about his own problems.

Speed ST (BCS 5) [1d20]=7 [1d20]=4 [1d20]=14

I'll count mud-mired foes as Passive (+2 to your BCS to shoot them).

Toshizo, Eiji,Ha, Taka!

Night Fight 8.JPG (57.23 KiB) Viewed 627 times

[jemmus]

Toshizo see the ground before the bake turn to mud and again marvels at the samurai lady Taka's wondrous mystical powers. He pulls a yanagi-ba arrow from his quiver and takes aim at the monster-beast lying prone in the mud next to Souta.

BCS 12, +0 Short Range, +2 Passive Target, +0 willow leaf arrow
[1d20]=8 [2d6+2]=9+2=11

[Marullus]

(Round 6, Phase 9)
Toshizo see the ground before the bake turn to mud and again marvels at the samurai lady Taka's wondrous mystical powers. He pulls a yanagi-ba arrow from his quiver and takes aim at the already wounded monster-beast lying prone in the mud next to Souta. His arrow arcs upward in the night sky, coming down vertically through the bakemono-sho's chest, ending him. Skewered to the mud, he lies unmoving next to Souta. Only one bakemono-sho remains flailing in the mud, the cave mouth silent...

BCS 12, +0 Short Range, +2 Passive Target, +0 willow leaf arrow
[1d20]=8 [2d6+2]=9+2=11

TOSHIZO: Firing Dai-Kyu (BCS 12) at short range (+0) with a willow leaf arrow (+0) against Armor Class 3 (-3) and lightly encumbered (-1)when the target is Passive (+2) = BCS 10. You rolled a 8 for a hit! I see 9 damage... where are you getting the +2? Toshizo doesn't have a STR bonus.

Eiji, Ha, Taka!

[Samwell Turleton]

Taka's astral form struggles against the writhing chains. Vapor coalesces around the chains and head of the dai-bakemono filling the space between Taka with a dense fog. The chains begin to oxidize and the dai-bakemono is shrouded in a thick cloud.

Occult Duel [1d20]=11

The only thing that I can see for setting any additional stakes would be for an oath by the loser to be a servant. I don't think I have a good chance here so I might just leave the current stakes on the table.

If there is a power reduction for the dai-bakemono will depend on if it has a resistance to water, correct?

If it does go through it would be 1 effect number + 1 level for a reduction of 2 power

[Marullus]

Only one bakemono-sho remains flailing in the mud, the cave mouth silent...

...but in the Astral realm, a flamboyant battle rages over the small mountain valley. A thick fog rolls off of Taka's sleeves, rolling across the valley floor and enveloping the dai-bakemono who stands, glowing in the astral, but in the darkness of the cave in the real world. The iron chains corrode to red-brown rust and fall away in the fog, the vapors causing her foe to choke and cough (-3). The thick fog then glows momentarily, illuminating red-orange as a sheet of flame tries to burn through it, but the thick moisture snuffs it, smothering it, leaving Taka's astral form standing above the cloud with the dai-bakemono within.

In the real world, the mud steams faintly, odd wisps of vapor appearing a moment, then gone.

Taka makes a Water School attack (BCS 12) which would be reduced by his magic resistance, but she is surprised to find he has none (which is abnormal) (-0) and by his knowledge of Water School/10 (-0). Roll of 11 is an effect number of 2 plus her level equals 3. She does 3 power damage to the dai-bakemono.

If it does go through it would be 1 effect number + 1 level for a reduction of 2 power

You're right, but I don't like that. When Effect = Damage, you can hit but do 0. In general for Effect numbers, I prefer to count from 1.
...maybe I shouldn't do that.

Dai-bakemono Fire School (bcs 15) [1d20]=17
So, his attack will technically be on the top of the next round, but I'm going ahead and narrating it since they're the only two in the astral plane. I will hold the next actions until after we have Eiji and Ha caught up.

[jemmus]

TOSHIZO: Firing Dai-Kyu (BCS 12) at short range (+0) with a willow leaf arrow (+0) against Armor Class 3 (-3) and lightly encumbered (-1)when the target is Passive (+2) = BCS 10. You rolled a 8 for a hit! I see 9 damage... where are you getting the +2? Toshizo doesn't have a STR bonus.

For some reason I thought basic arrows are 1d6+1. Please disregard the +2 damage. Sorry, I forgot about the -1 to BCS for partial encumbrance.

[ffilz]

Eiji will continue to run toward the mud.

[Marullus]

I will assume Ha shoots the last, stuck goblin:
Ha [1d20]=4 [5d5+3]=15+3=18

Eiji continues to run towards Amano Souta.

Ha shoots another arrow, impaling the last goblin, currently sliding in the mud. (-18) It too falls still.

There is a moment of silence in the valley, just the odd steam rising for a moment from the pool of slick mud lying below the rich grasses.
(The Astral combat rages unseen. No bakemono-sho remain to act on their turn.

Toshizo, Eiji, Ha, Taka!

Eiji needs two more rounds of movement (with a speed save on the last turn for the mud) to reach Amano Souta.

Toshizo and Ha should state two rounds of action. (I am remainingin detailed turns because Taka's combat is still ongoing.

[jmacatty]

Sorry, I was out of town for the weekend.

Ha will walk to check out the seemingly dead bakemono, looking to see if any arrows are recoverable.

[jemmus]

Revised
Seeing the last of the bakemono-sho drop with Ha's arrow in it, Toshizo lowered his bow. He was rather satisfied with his kyujutsu shooting. He looked around the area and observed everyone's position. The mage lady Taka seemed to be in deep meditation. He couldn't tell for sure, but it seemed that her face showed little reactions. Like she was in a bad dream, or maybe traveling somewhere in her mind.

The arrows had stopped flying from the cave. But whoever had been doing it was still unharmed, at least as far as Toshizo knew. Souta was very likely still in danger. He started running toward his prone body, dai-kyu still in hand.He ran into the house, took the best katana from the bandits' stash of loot and left his katana there. "I'll buy this from the group with my part of the reward, if they'll agree." He quickly grabbed six arrows to replace the ones he'd shot and dashed back outside.

One turn of Observe Situation. One turn of Run toward Souta. I hated to spend a turn that way, but it only made sense that after focusing on bow shots, Toshizo would look around to see where his friends are. Toshizo doesn't realize Taka is in an occult duel, thus he doesn't charge the cave to assist her.

Second turn is running into the house to get the +1 katana from the bandits' loot. I couldn't find the post with the description of the loot, but I think there were arrows. Don't know if Toshizo has time for all of that in one turn. Maybe a turn to run, a turn to equip, and another turn to run back to the fire.

[Marullus]

Okay, I will advance after Taka's next post.

For Toshizo, the only better-than-average katana in inventory is the one claimed by Ha. There are several fine yari, though. The replacement arrows are bowel rakers.