[003] Into the War Camp

[Samwell Turleton]

Souta remembers the creatures' slashing into her side and supports Toshizo's plan to use the narrow passage to the tunnel to their advantage. Souta returns her sword to the saya and readies an arrow in her bow.

[Marullus]

Hit Points	Power	Turn Order
Ha 27 / 41 Toshizo 24 / 24 Souta 17 / 19 Taka 0 / 9 (subdual, unconscious) Eiji 11 / 11 Jīva 10 / 10	Taka 0 / 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)

---

With the timely warning from Eiji, you decide to back up and use the tunnel to your advantage, each of the warriors forming a front line and also preparing their bows. Souta sets her lantern behind her, propped against the wall once more, and Eiji stands in a second rank, able to use the long handle of his shovel to his advantage between his companions if necessary. Jiva crouches protectively next to Taka's prostrate body, growling low in his throat.

You wait a minute or two, then all begin to hear the slapping of bare bakemono-sho feet on the smooth stone coming from the darkness to the south... so many feet...

I am going to assume you all decide to hold your actions, ready to fire when they come into view. So, you can all fire your held action on phase 12, then proclaim your normal action on its normal phase as well.

...no rules listed for Poor Light - please apply a -1 BCS penalty for shooting beyond the lantern light until they close within it.

The warty, small figures come out of the southern passage in a rush - they emerge single file but begin to fan out by the time they round the corner and enter your line of sight from where you've positioned yourself. They are in dim light flickering at the outermost reaches of your lanterns as you see them. The front two let out a battle cry as they pass the corpse of the ashigaru-armored bake lying by the tunnel entrance and rush at you, raising masakari battle axes above their heads! You see the two behind them coming with wakizashi, like those outside, and from the sound of it, there are more still coming. The bake are unarmored, dressed in scraps of poor haori, ragged with wear, on their upper bodies with loincloths underneath.

bakemono_sho.jpg (17.99 KiB) Viewed 690 times

Turn 1, Phase 12
As soon as the goblins appear, Ha releases an arrow from his Dai-Kyu at the one on the left! But instead, there is a sickening splintering sound as the bow snaps instead, the arms unable to withstand the awesome forces of the strong warrior's held shot. The arrow drops harmlessly to the ground, the bow now unusuable.

Ha fires a bowel-raker. BCS 12 -2 Bowel Raker -3 AC -2 Moving +2 point blank = 7 BCS
Ha dai-kyu (BCS 7) [1d20]=20 [5d6]=13+[5d3]=12+3
Critical Failure (1117.6) [1d20]=16
Bow Breaks!

...and everyone else!

Cave fight 05.JPG (32.95 KiB) Viewed 690 times

[Marullus]

*bump*

[ffilz]

Eiji's primary goal is to protect Taka. If the bakemono close and attack the bushi, and Eiji can wop them from the 2nd rank he will. I think that means he holds his action at the moment, though by his turn, the situation may have changed enough that he would do something else.

[Marullus]

They will move after your turn, so you can hold a shovel-womping at your discretion. If that'syour choice, roll a d20 and a damage roll. You can hit just fine from the second rank but with a -2 BCS for striking between two allies.

[jemmus]

Toshizo guesses that whichever bakemono-sho is at the front and center might be the fiercest one. He looses a willow leaf arrow at it.

[1d20]=20 willow leaf [2d6]=9
Dang.
[1d20]=16
15-17 Bow breaks.
What are the odds? I guess 5% (1 in 20) x 15% (3 in 20) = 0.075%. 75 out of 1,000. If I set up the math right.

[Marullus]

Let's see if Souta breaks hers.

[jemmus]

Those bake-sho are probably like, "WTH? Huh? Tricky humans trying to set up some kind of breaking bows trap?"

[ffilz]

They will move after your turn, so you can hold a shovel-womping at your discretion. If that'syour choice, roll a d20 and a damage roll. You can hit just fine from the second rank but with a -2 BCS for striking between two allies.

Probably a miss once armor is accounted for...

Damage though if he does hit:

[Samwell Turleton]

I love this -

Willow Leaf Arrow [1d20]=20, [2d6]=7

Critical Failure [1d20]=7

Dazed

[Marullus]

Souta has never entered combat and NOT been dazed on round 1.

[jemmus]

Wow. The heroic bushi warriors are doing slapstick comedy. Somewhere in the kakuri-yo kami are getting a good laugh and clapping their hands.
I'm wondering, how does getting dazed during a bow shot happen? Bowstring really scrapes your forearm bad? Somehow poke yourself in the eye with the butt end of the arrow? You missed so badly that it takes you a few turns to believe it and process it? Or so embarrassing that you spend a few turns making excuses to everybody for it?

[Marullus]

I said I assumed you all held your action and so all break your bows on Phase 12. Nobody stated their follow-on actions for the turn, so I'm making some logical assumptions below.

Hit Points	Power	Turn Order
Ha 27 / 41 Toshizo 24 / 24 Souta 17 / 19 Taka 0 / 9 (subdual, unconscious) Eiji 11 / 11 Jīva 10 / 10	Taka 0 / 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)

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Turn 1, Phase 12
As soon as the goblins appear, Ha releases an arrow from his Dai-Kyu at the one on the left! But instead, there is a sickening splintering sound as the bow snaps instead, the arms unable to withstand the awesome forces of the strong warrior's held shot. The arrow drops harmlessly to the ground, the bow now unusable.

Souta stands in the middle, between the two armored bushi, and also looses her bow... but the string snaps! Her bow is likewise useless in her hands.

6-8 String frays. Bow functions at 1 less man-rating than normal.
If multiple fray results reduce Man-Rating below 1, the
bowstring breaks

The ranged failures have a separate table, so it isn't possible to Stun yourself with your bow. It is a miss, and the string frays. But that lowers your Man Rating 1 bow to 0, so it converts instead to a broken string.

String breaks. Bow is useless until restrung. To restring the
bow the character must have a spare string. He will choose the
Option for Loosing with the type of bow to be restrung and
must make a Strength Saving Throw. Additional attempts to
string the bow do not receive a bonus. Each attempt stands
on its own.

So, your bow can be restrung during combat with a STR savings throw (I'm assuming all archers have spare strings since it's not even a real item). That's not going to be possible since you're about to be engaged in melee, so I'll go ahead and assume Souta changes to her sword and drops the currently-useless bow. The good news is that you can restring your bow after the combat where Ha and Toshizo both have broken the wood and theirs are useless.

Ready and alert, Toshizo adds his own shaft to the presumed volley... and his bow breaks as well! All three bushi stand, their bows useless in their hands.

A disembodied cackle, brittle with age and decrepitude, the very sound of childhood horror stories of old hags in the mountains, echoes in the darkness.

Turn 1, Phase 10/9
Swift-thinking, Souta and Toshizo both stow their useless bows and draw their blades, ready for the impending clash with the onrushing bakemono-sho.

Both can use their primary actions Exchange Weapons. They are each allowed 1 yard movement, but I'm assuming their going to hold ranks. You can use this 1 yard retroactively if needed.

Both have a secondary action they can hold to execute when the bakemono-sho reach them on their turn (Phase 12), before executing your next turn after.

Turn 1, Phase 6
Eiji grips his shovel, also standing at the ready for when one of the warty bake come within reach!

Held action will trigger on their turn.

Turn 1, Phase 5
A step behind his faster brethren, the strongman also exchanges his bow for his blade and is ready to receive the oncoming horde.

He also can use his primary action to Exchange Weapons. He doesn't have a secondary action to hold, though.

Turn 2, Phase 12
Then the Bake are upon you! There is a moment of trepidation at the sheer number of foes pouring into the circle of light cast by your propped paper lanterns, the mishappen, but thankfully unarmored, creatures of the night filling the cavern.

The two in the vanguard, both carrying masakari axes, are close enough already to reach you. By virtue of the line you've chosen, Ha stands within easiest reach and they both rush to swing at him, concentrating their attacks on the thickly-muscled bushi. The first trips on a protrusion on the cavern floor and hits the ground, hard! He is dazed as his companion rushes onward to Ha, swinging his axe but missing in his frustration at arriving alone. Eiji swings his shovel between the shoulders of his friends due to its length, but misses the bake.

Two masakari against Ha [1d20]=20[1d20]=13 [1d6]=4[1d6]=5
Critical failure [1d20]=12
First one trips, falls, and is dazed.
Second one: BCS 12 -4 AC for Ha (not charging) = BCS 8, a 13 misses. No damage.

...eight more, all armed with short swords and yelling their war cry to enhance the bravery of their fellows, charge forward, ready to impact your defensive line.

Behind them, in the dim light of the cavern, you see the large form of a Dai-Bakemono strolling in, watching his minions rushing before him and observing the situation.

This would normally be an Observe Situation roll by someone (usually Eiji or Taka) to see this bystander outside of engaged range. Since Eiji is attacking, there's nobody to make this roll. I'm giving it to you free purely for dramatic reasons, but know that this is where that would be useful in the future.

Their decision to charge means they arrive and hit you on Phase 2, so you know they're rushing you and get to act first.

Toshizo and Souta are each holding a secondary action to strike executable on Phase 12. They can do so at half-BCS without moving against the two axe-wielding foes. Toshizo is two-yards from the standing one (long range, -1 BCS). Souta is optimum range from him, and long range from the dazed one on the floor (-1 long range, prone +5, passive +5).

Then you all get to also take your normal actions on their normal phases.

I'll resume after your posts with Phase 2, when the eight other bake arrive and strike at you at the end of their charges, then they also go again immediately with normal actions on Phase 12 of the next turn. You can hold your final action of the turn to prepare for the incoming charge - a secondary action allows for a Parry (increase your AC) or an Attack (to take one down). Technically, they will execute their charge actions, then your held Attack actions, then their normal actions, in case turn-order becomes imperative. You can hold to attack at Long Range (-1 BCS) if you want to hit them before their charge arrives instead.

Cave fight 06.JPG (39.15 KiB) Viewed 634 times

[jemmus]

The hair on the back of Toshizo's neck stands at the sound of the cackling voice. Did the hag's magic cause every bushi's dai-kyu to fail? If so, the evil thing will be powerful foe indeed. He throws the wrecked dai-kyu to the ground, draws his katana, and stretches forward to aim a katana slash at the masakari-wielding bakemono-sho.

Kenjutsu BCS 6, -1 = BCS 5. [1d20]=4 [1d6+2]=5+2=7

[Marullus]

Nice! That's Phase 12. Go ahead and state actions for the round, too. Enemiesdon'tgo until Phase 2.

[jemmus]

For an instant Toshizo is tempted to strike at a closer, easier target, rather than reaching for the wounded axe-wielder again. But he follows a principle his formerly samurai father had engrained in him. "Reduce the enemy spears thrusting at you by one. This means, when you've injured an enemy, do not switch to a new opponent. Continue at the until he can no longer attack." He strikes again at the bake. There's time for a second strike, but instead he raises his blade to parry a blow. It's early in the fight, no use the chance of a terrible mistake by making a hasty and unfocused attack.


New personal maxim, from Toshizo effectively being killed from a critical failure in his fight with the bandit officer: "A secondary action attack is only at half BCS for success. But the chance of rolling a crit failure is still 1 in 20."

Primary Action
BCS 12 - 1 = 11. [1d20]=5 [1d6+2]=3+2=5

Secondary Action
Parry. BCS 12 / 2 = 6. [1d20]=17 Failure, so +1 to base AC of 5.
Parry
Critical Failure: No bonus to Armor Class
FaiIure: + 1 to Armor Class
Success: +(Effect Number/5) to Armor Class. Minimum bonus is +1
Critical Success: an additional +1 to Armor Class

[ffilz]

Interesting, you need a BCS 9+ for a parry to have much chance of other than +1...

[Marullus]

Interesting, you need a BCS 9+ for a parry to have much chance of other than +1...

Yes, it still shocks me how much the game system is tuned to high-level expectations where you have 19 BCS in multiple things. I am interested in seeing how things are after our first downtime session that allows skills to improve.

[Samwell Turleton]

Souta wields her katana in a cutting movement against the axe-wielding bakemono-sho. She then deftly shifts her weight to thrust her blade tip into the prone bakemono-sho before returning her katana to an on-guard position to parry the charging attackers.

Kenjutsu (BCS 11)[1d20]=12, Damage [1d6]=1+2
Kenjutsu (2nd Action)[1d20]=13, Damage [1d6]=5+2
Parry (BCS 10)[1d20]=1

[Marullus]

Nice parry!

We're just looking for Ffilz, then, and Mac if he's back.