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

[jemmus]

I see, thanks. I have to revise the bandit archer (3PHdh)'s action. If the rate is 2 yards/yard, he doesn't have enough BMA to backstep into a stony square. Posting in the Rules Discussion thread.

Ito and Omi, please hold your actions until we figure this out.

[jemmus]

Turn 10 Revised due to rules clarification. Sorry, everyone.
The bandit with the yari (5Py) meets Ito's charge with thrust of his weapon. The yari's head pierces Ito's armor and slashes the bushi's side.
The man with the han-kyu and parts of heavy armor 3PHdh glances behind him and with a look of consternation drops his han-kyu and draws a gleaming katana. Kentaro's arrow hums over his head. Ito is just out of reach of a katana strike for him.
The man with the naginata swings it at Ito, but the wicked-looking curved blade meets nothing but air.
Taisho watches and listens, looking all around. All is quiet on the mountainside, except for the sound of bow shots, flying arrows, and steel striking steel.

Ito hit for 2 HP. Has taken 13 HP damage so far.

The bandit with the han-kyu couldn't move as he wanted. Map revised.

Ito can attack 5Py. Long Range (-1), Partial Concealment (-2), on Treacherous Ground (-1) = -4 to BCS. 4PN is out of range this turn, because the diagonal length of squares is 1.4 yards. So he's 2.8 yards away (more than a yard beyond Long range for a katana, so no attack allowed).
Ito can also (Easy) Climb onto the flattish rock lying in front of him. That would give the Elevated Position bonus to BCS (+1, -1 to NPC's BCS). Since he's Engaged, I'm going to say the Deftness/2 BCS applies. On a failed roll, the character just stays in place and doesn't climb. Like Walk, Run, etc., I'm going to say Climb is a Primary Action.

Kentaro and Ito have acted, need Ito's and Omi's actions.

[jemmus]

Bump
Need Ito's and Omi's actions for this turn.

[jmacatty]

Ito will attack:

[1d20]=10 A miss, I'm sure.

Omi continues to charge.

[jemmus]

Ito leans forward to slash at the spear-wielding man. The blade of his katana strikes, but the man's ashigaru deflects the blow. He responds with a hurried strike with his yari. The head hits but it can't penetrate the bushi's heavy armor. The wounded man to Ito's right swings his naginata again, but again cuts only air.

Those were secondary actions from Turn 10. Ito and 5Py (only) are Engaged status. Omi ends the turn at AA11 and not engaged. jmacatty, if you don't like where I put Omi, please let me know.
Which of the two samurai inherited the +1 or +2 katana? The char sheets don't show it.

[jemmus]

Turn 11
The man with the yari again drives its point at Ito. There is a sharp sound of steel striking steel, but the yari again fails to penetrate the samurai's tough armor. The wounded man naginata again flashes at Ito, and again fails to hit him. The man in the dark blue heavy armor quickly climbs onto the rock before him and stands with his katana held in two hands, in the on guard position.

Those were the NPCs' primary actions. The rules don't mention and attack after a Climb action (as with a Charge), so no attack for that character this phase. Will post an updated map soon.

Need everyone's primary actions for Turn 11. If you have an secondary actions, please go ahead and state them.

[Marullus]

Kentaro again fires an arrow over the head of the other bow-wielder (3PHdh).

Daikyu [1d20]=17 [5d5+3]=16+3=19

*Sigh* No more luck for me, I guess!

[jemmus]

Kentaro's ya strike's the man on the lying rock's conical steel kabuto and rebounds away. Very briefly, a sound like a very muted and muddied temple gong struck by steel instead of a cotton vibrates out. Carefully but quickly shooting archer and shamisen player Kentaro is reminded of the pitch of an o note played on a shamisen's lowest string. The man with the yari and the man with the naginata very briefly look away toward the source of the arrow strike. But the man on the rock, katana and wrists before him in the classic and elementary defense or offense kenjutsu preparation fight stance, shows no reaction at all. Kentaro and Taisho can't see his eyes from beneath the brim of his wide steel helmet shaped like a peasant farmworkers hat. But it's as if he had already expected to step into a hailstorm before he stepped into it. The man's eyes flicker to Omi and his position, then lock onto the closer Ito's. But only Ito and Omi see that. From atop the standing rock, from the swordman's posture the big bushi Kentaro and the gakusho Taisho sense that.

Turn 11, Phase 10 - NPCs have done primary actions. Ito stopped to do a kenjutsu attack at Long (-1) range at the yari NPC. Tentative position for Omi after his Turn 10 move, after moving 2 squares. jmcatty can revise it, Omi was at X22 before moving. He can move 2 squares per turn in gray stony squares.

Next up are Ito's and Omi's primary actions for this turn. Then Taisho's. The order of posting doesn't matter. Taisho's one action will go last. Don't forget to at some point activate your Blessings (+2 to BCS) from the gakusho Taisho from the morning on the highway before venturing up the mountain. Everybody except the ninja Katsumi got one.

[ffilz]

Taisho is continuing to be watchful.

Could you use one (contrasting) color for the PCs and another (also contrasting) for the NPCs? It's sometimes hard to see everyone.

[jmacatty]

Not sure how you are ruling this, but Omi and Ito both will close to optimum range for the katana, and strike. If that takes two rounds, so be it.

Omi has a +1 blade, so I assume Ito has the +2.

[jemmus]

Ito steps among the stones in front of the katana-wielding man closing to katana stroke range. To his right, Omi does the same. The man with the yari makes a wild jab at Ito, but the blades fails to pierce the bushi's armor. The man with naginata's weapon is blocked by the man standing on the rock; he can't wield it against the foe. The man on the rock's katana slashes down at Ito but misses the moving samurai.

Taisho observes all around the field, but notes notice of interest except the battle going on below. A small lizard runs up the rock, moves its head to observe the gakusho and bushi in turn, and runs down another side of the rock.

I don't usually post NPCs' rolls, but the yari guy's secondary action was interesting.
[1d20]=1 BCS was below 1, not an automatic critical success. Roll again using raw BCS: [1d20]=20 Not a hit, and per the rules not a critical failure.

Turn 12
The yari again thrusts at Ito, but it misses the bushi's body. The bloody man runs with his naginata lowered, from behind the lying rock to behind thick foliage to Omi's right. The man on the rock slashes at Omi and his katana bites into the bushi's shoulder.


Omi - 7 HP damage
Ito and Omi are engaged status, so can't Charge. Can't close to engage and attack, because that only allows movement of half BMA. They need their full BMA to enter the stony squares. If Ito wants to get to optimal range for the NPC with the spear (5Py), he'll have to climb on the rock next turn. He's in optimal range for the NPC with the katana (3PHdh). Attack on 5PY is -4 BCS (long range, treacherous ground, target partially concealed). Attack on 3PHdh is -2 BCS (treacherous ground, target in elevated position).

I tried to use higher contrast colors. But different colors contrast differently depending on the squares' shading. So I went with cool colors are PCs, warm colors are NPCs.

Need everyone's actions.

[Marullus]

Kentaro is excited as the other bow-wielder (3PHdh) stands high upon the rock, making him a better target and looses again...

Dai-kyu [1d20]=20 [5d5+3]=14+3=17

*Sigh*

[ffilz]

Taisho will continue to observe.

And thanks for the re-coloring, much easier to read now.

[jemmus]

Need Omi's and Ito's actions, then we'll proceed.

[jmacatty]

Omi will attack the man in front of him.
I really am not sure how to calculate the BCS, so I will juist roll:

[1d20]=17

Ito will attampt to climb the rock:

[1d20]=4

[jemmus]

Turn 12 (second half)

Ito swiftly scrambles onto the lying rock. The man with the yari is now below him, only a yard away. Omi slashes at the man with the katana on the rock, but fails to strike his body. An instant later Kentaro’s arrow swishes over the man’s head. The man with yari is now at an awkward range for the long weapon. He makes a hurried jab at Ito and manages a solid strike, but cannot penetrate the heavy o-yoroi. The man on the rock smoothly continues his strike to Omi’s shoulder and aims a skilled horizontal slash at the bushi’s side. But the glittering katana can’t cut through the tempered steel.

Up on the standing rock beside Kentaro, Taisho sees an unexpected site. A figure in worn, dirty men’s shirt and short pants and a farmer’s conical hat carefully, quietly, even stealthily picks its way through the stones to the south of the hut. It has a wakizashi in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other. Waist-length hair tied in a ponytail hangs down her back. For Taisho is now sure it’s a woman, from the way she moves. He wonders if it could be Akemi, the only woman on the mountain that he knows of. But he can’t see the face. And this woman’s appearance and smooth, cat-like movements are so different from that of the oiran with her voluminous clothing, elaborate coiffure, and mincing, lady-like steps.

Kentaro, focused on his kyujutsu, sees only his target and the fierce and rapid fight going on before him.

I'll post the first half of Turn 13 and an updated map soon, probably later today. People can state Turn 13 actions if you want. Omi and Ito can wait for the results of the NPCs' primary actions (which happen first in the Turn) if you prefer.

[ffilz]

Sorry for not keeping track, who is Akemi?

[jemmus]

She's the oiran courtesan the group met in the hut.

[ffilz]

She's the oiran courtesan the group met in the hut.

Ah, OK, will wait to see map to better judge what she might be doing. It doesn't look good though...

[Marullus]

Kentaro is excited as the other bow-wielder (3PHdh) stands high upon the rock, making him a better target and looses again...

Daikyu [1d20]=2 [5d5+3]=14+3=17
Redo as a humming bulb...
... [5d3+3]=12+3=15

The problem of arrows...

So... I wasn't counting. This fight has gone on a long time and nobody helped give Kentaro extra arrows when he asked, so he's about to be done.

I went back through all the posts to audit my arrow use.
I knew I shot 3 of 5 bowel-rakers first. I didn't count that I shot 8 armor-piercers when I only had 5. That means that the next two were the bowel rakers and now he's going through his humming bulbs. (Most were misses, so no real impact.)

I re-rolled the damage above to shoot the guy with a humming bulb.
I then have 1 arrow, a humming bulb, left.

1 bowel-raker
1 bowel-raker
1 bowel-raker
1 armor-piercer
1 armor-piercer
1 armor-piercer
1 armor-piercer
1 armor-piercer
1 armor-piercerbowel-raker
1 armor-piercerbowel-raker
1 armor-piercerhumming bulb