So that's what rf 1/2 means.
actions:
try to regain balance
continue Defensive martial dodging and Active Evasion
Elbow Strike the foot soldier in front of me
If I miss with the first Elbow Strike, I throw a second Elbow Strike
If he is still alive after the elbow strike(s),I use style basic attacks on him until he is dead
let's see how far these actions go.
(Regaining balance is a given, that's what you spent the last round doing. 93, 19, 4, 98, 60, 74, 50 20 74 97 59. Eli's combined bod BRA and ABL: 35.) The defensive martial dodging was a failure, but not a botch. The active evasion is successful (-10). Your initiative. You miss with your first elbow strike, (18 35 20 -10) the second connects solidly! (30 intensities OHHHH) His eyes roll back in his head and he goes down like a ton of bricks with a broken sternum. The samurai sneers at you, holding his sword levelled to you in a practiced stance. And you... attack him immediately?
If the samurai is more than 5 feet away
I pick up the the weapon that the guy I killed had, and throw it at the samurai.
Then I use Aggressive Running Side Slide (+RS=SM to next side-arc kick-based attack)into a Flying Side Kick (base dangerous RF1 -10SM, on failure lose balance and forfeit next attack)
(dangerous +DC from style,+DC from MSV, +10 damage mod. from style= Fatal +10 damage mod.)
If the samurai is more than 5 feet away
I bum-rush him with style attacks.
(Can I gust say "dangerous +20 damage mod." and call it a day?)
(Sure, what would be more helpful in making it faster would be the SAL of the skill instead of the modifications for damage. But I remember your style is 24.) (35 24 = 59, +10 for style 69) (random integers= 58 42 80 06 80 40 34 47 96 43 03) (samurai cover -40, tv -23, you have a 6% chance to hit as will become readily apparent) (I just realized you didn't say you're trying for your defenses: an oversight on your part I'll assume;) Your defensive martial dodging still eludes you, but your active evasion is still there for you (providing you a much needed penalty to his damage). Your first swing goes wild; your second connects extremely solidly (roll 6, effective dangerous, 16 (damage category penalty conferred), 1 damage/2 = 1 intensity) -- and he laughs pitilessly in your face. That's when you feel that this fight is probably not a great idea.
You forgot to add my 2@1 MSV
I assumed it was still the third minute.
I'm running in the direction away from the village.
When I am far enough away from the samurai I hide.
(You are right, I forgot your MSV. My mistake entirely. The number to beat is 27, much different than 6. Still doesn't change much about the round. It still is round three, but I was giving you a chance to modify your actions). You begin to run, and he stops laughing. He yells, "Get back here, coward!" He turns and goes for his horse. You hear him ride past your hiding place; he has his bullseye lantern with him, and is shining it around looking for you. He asks loudly, "Where are you?" When he gets no answer, he continues his search, painfully close to you; then, "Aha, I've found you!" and he goes off galloping in another direction.
I sneak back to the clearing.
How many soldiers are there?
What do they here on them?(weapons?money?other interesting things?)
I'm spending 15 minutes searching.
It was only the two bushi and the one samurai. Twelve ninja are dead, and there are the two bushi who were wielding clubs. (You could get a completely dark green outfit if you were to rummage through your fallen comrades' clothing, but you may have a bit of difficulty in the darkness.) The ninja did not bring anything with them other than their clothes; they all seem to be in training, and to have been killed by the Samurai's blade. The bushi each have a small amount of money on them (has the world's currency been yet established in this session? rice? dollars? yen? yuan fen tael chi'en?) They have no armor and each had clubs; peasant warriors, by the look of them, hired by the samurai for some fodder. Judging by the samurai's behavior, this was clearly a trap, and someone clearly told where the meeting location was for some reason. You do not see Edge among those fallen, nor any women, nor any older men.
(No, MJ hasn't mentioned money yet.)
I grab the money and head towards the village.
I'm using the sriff sense to help keep my bearings.
We will say it is rice; you would know this as your character, and not mistake the pouches of rice on the persons of the bushi as their lunch. You make it back to your village without incident.
I sneak to the herbalist guest house and change into my civilian clothes.
I try to follow my routine until Edge or some other ninja shows up
OK. (GE: 14) Some time passes. A week, then two. Life in the village is as pleasant as could be. Then, one night, you are woken by Edge in the usual manner. He says to you, "Come, Mantis, we must move from here again. Our training location has been compromised, and many of the teachers have fled. We will travel to a new training ground; it will be several days travel from here."
I switch to my ninja garb, grab my things and follow him.
as we travel
"How was it compromised?"
He responds, "We do not fully know. It is apparent that one of us was discovered and tortured into disclosing the location of the meeting place, and a soldier was waiting in ambush and killed several stupid enough to attack him." (So they tarried away and were married next day by the turkey who lived in the hill... oh, sorry, wrong story.)(GE: 26) The journey takes several days, with the two of you resting in shifts during the day and travelling by night away from commonly used footpaths: unfortunately, this often means wading through waist-deep rice paddies, and your soreness is not being helped by your wetness. On your fourth day of travel, during Edge's watch, you are woken up by him yelling, "Ambush! Run!" He doesn't seem to be waiting for you. There are 4 samurai on horseback in several directions, but none in the direction he is running.
I follow him until I find a good hiding place.
Unfortunately, there aren't too many of those in the rice paddies in broad daylight. You might be able to disappear under the water, but the question would be "for how long". Edge is running like a madman through waist deep water, then ground, then water, then ground, etc. and the samurai are having some difficulty coaxing the horses through the uneven terrain, so are not keeping up with your speed, let alone his. After about six hours of constant running, you and he have both collapsed in the same place, panting heavily and feeling that your hearts are about to explode; the samurai are out of sight behind you. After catching breath, Edge turns to you and says, "The day is coming to a close. We will both sleep until nightfall and continue onward; better we both risk it now and be sharp tonight than we both be dead tired tonight." He begins to go to sleep where he lays.
I pass out.
You awaken again; thankfully, this time Edge has awakened you during the night. "We continue," he breathes, his voice somewhat hoarse from the exertion earlier. He is walking a bit more slowly than usual; you, also, feel the burn caused by the lactic acid eating away at your muscles. The travel tonight seems especially long./// (ge: 15) You find a plant growing in the wild, the seeds of which you know to have a natural analgesic effect; the most notable side effect is a feeling of euphoria. Do with it as you will.
I grab a hand full and put them in one of my pockets.
I'll continue following Edge and tough out the pain.
OK. /// The end of the night's travel comes, and Edge again insists on taking first watch. He wakes you for yours in the middle of the day and passes out himself. /// Once night falls, he awakens, and stands. You are still feeling stiff, but not nearly as bad as you felt twenty four hours ago. The night's travel wears on. /// Two days later and he points, saying to you, "That star in the sky; follow that star, and you will find the village in another day or so. I will find you in several days to bring you to the new training ground." He starts to walk away, then turns back towards you. "You did good, Mantis. You run very fast." Then he disappears into the night.
I follow his directions until I can see the village.
You -- you are changing your clothes, yes?
Yes, that is why I stopped when I could see it.
Do I find a hiding place to change cloths in?
Well, not necessarily a hiding place, but you are far enough away from any sign of people that you know of that you doubt anyone would notice.
I change into my civilian clothes and try to put my ninja clothes inside the ninja shirt.
I'm trying to make it look like a traveling bag.
Any particular destination in mind? This isn't exactly a bustling city, but it's not dead calm, either.
I'm going to the residential section.
I'm going to try to convince somebody to let me stay with them in exchange for me to work in the field. I also mention that I just finished my apprenticeship as a herbalist, so I can assist them if they get sick.
(ge roll: 10) Most of the people you ask are suspicious of strangers; you ask a young man, and he tells you, "Yeah, I guess I could use a hand out here... no funny business, though, alright?" You help him for the day, hard, sometimes wet work, but it's a hot meal (plain rice) at the end of the day and a nice bed of straw to sleep on; your host is faring no better.
I continue helping him and trying to make myself useful.
OK. Time passes, a week or so. Are you continuing with your training on your own? If so, how and when?
Can I get a description of the surrounding countryside?
my ideas for training will depend on that.
You're right in the heart of rice paddy country. The places with flat, level ground more than eighteen inches wide outside the town proper that don't have houses on them are few and far between. However, you have during the course of your trip here with Edge gotten pretty good at not stepping in them on accident, even in the dark of night when sometimes they can look almost like solid ground.
I wait until Edge shows up. I don't like the idea of training out in the open.
Alright. Today marks two weeks since your arrival here, and the townsfolk have begun to become accepting of you; your hard work has paid off in that respect. Today the people are excited; apparently there is a well-known stranger (?celebrity?) of some kind passing through.
I ask my host about this well-known stranger.
He tells you there's a weaponsmith passing through who has made many beautiful quality katana for samurai.
"Is he staying here for awhile?"
"He may stay the evening, but I believe he is only passing through. Why? Were you hoping to meet him?"
"No, I was just curious. Although I think I'll take a look. I'll be back shortly."
You take your leave, and it is rather easy to find the master weaponsmith. He has long, white, thinning hair, and is kneeling in the town square, drawing thoughtfully on a pipe. He takes note of your presence, and continues smoking his pipe.