I'm hearing you, and Xiaoxing is 'by the book' enough to stay true to the plan she discussed with Oruku, however the monk has muddied the waters somewhat and Oruku is late, so she'd move on if someone else thought it was a good idea!
Hideyodhi seems to have decided our course of action. Then Xioxing decided a completely different course. I'm inclined to follow the first post to avoid retconing things. Xioxing starts to comment on heading out but the lion hears none of it and rushes to act. Sounds about right.
Well, I'm sorry to hear that you've become somewhat frustrated.. I hope it's more of a "what do we do what do we do!?!" kind of frustration rather than a "this game sucks" frustration :}
At any rate, I'm going to go ahead and have the scorpion doorguards react to Hideyoshi. I will agree that it's quite the natural course of action for a Lion.
Also, I think we've done quite a few scenes since the last XP award so I think I'm overdue ;) I'll call it 3 XP for Hideyoshi, Xiaoxing, and Katsuyoshi. A point of glory to each as well due to the Crane hatamoto's recognition of your service. And with that glory comes a point of honor as well.
Utz!
Oh no worries, the game is great! For me personally, its a combination of not being intimately familiar with the cultural norms (like Xiaoxing is), pbp making the mystery-type story kind of hard to follow, and trying to 'be the Lion.'
So I decided to 'be the Lion', hopefully within the framework of what we are supposed to be doing!
Oh no worries, the game is great! For me personally, its a combination of not being intimately familiar with the cultural norms (like Xiaoxing is), pbp making the mystery-type story kind of hard to follow, and trying to 'be the Lion.'
So I decided to 'be the Lion', hopefully within the framework of what we are supposed to be doing!
Well, as I said before I kind of changed the plot sequence up slightly by giving you a new batch of clues before you had a chance to follow up on the ones that brought you to the scorpion warehouse. You definitely won't want to miss out on what you can learn inside there, so I'm glad you forced the issue and went on in :D
I'm also glad you voiced frustration with following the plot. It's hard to read the players in PbP.. if the clues are too obscure I need to make them more prominent.
Oh no worries, the game is great! For me personally, its a combination of not being intimately familiar with the cultural norms (like Xiaoxing is), pbp making the mystery-type story kind of hard to follow, and trying to 'be the Lion.'
So I decided to 'be the Lion', hopefully within the framework of what we are supposed to be doing!
Well, as I said before I kind of changed the plot sequence up slightly by giving you a new batch of clues before you had a chance to follow up on the ones that brought you to the scorpion warehouse. You definitely won't want to miss out on what you can learn inside there, so I'm glad you forced the issue and went on in :D
I'm also glad you voiced frustration with following the plot. It's hard to read the players in PbP.. if the clues are too obscure I need to make them more prominent.
I think you did fine to get us to this point, the monk just totally threw me, which is why I went all Lion on 'em.
No frustration at all with the game, really enjoying it!
Just like Hideyoshi-san, was thrown by the monk's appearance, and genuinely IC Xiaoxing is keen to do her duty but concerned the monk's warning might turn out to mean the group has missed something.
Doesn't matter now as we're going all SWAT team :D
Paizo.com was down a few hours ago, which is the time we usually see updates from Xiaoxing and Katsuyoshi.. so I'm going to give some more time for them to get posts in before I move us forward again.
Yup was down all evening for me unfortunately, and just woke up :)
Will go to the gameplay thread now!
Oh man. I hope that attack is as awesome as I think it is! What a good time to get a great roll!
Oh man. I hope that attack is as awesome as I think it is! What a good time to get a great roll!
3 in iaijutsu skill, 3 in agility, +2 dice rolled and +1 die kept for full attack is indeed 8k4 for the attack roll. The attack roll looks legit, and rather nice to boot ;) Helps make up for their ridiculous init roll at any rate.
The 4k2 damage code of your special katana is augmented by your 3 strength, +1 die rolled for the called raise, and +1 rolled & kept for void, then an effective honor rank of 8 added to the damage roll for your school technique. I'm coming up with a 9k3+8, but even still the 10th die in your sequence was a 3 which you weren't keeping anyway, so it's mox nix on the outcome there. Score one treasonous Scorpion going down like a stack of wet noodles!
I'm guessing Katsuyoshi and Hideyoshi are busy this weekend so I'll give it another day before advancing the combat round.
All good :)
I will also agree that the Sun is a good idea right now ;)
However with the current situation being mid-combat, I am going to call it a complex action to draw it forth and activate the magic. That does mean no attack that round.
Well, then...
Heh, sorry about that :(
It's a tough spot now that we're down to two kicking characters. I'm working on three contingencies.. what to do if you:
1. Choose death before dishonor and fight to the death
2. Choose discretion as the better part of valor and pull back, leaving the bad guys however much time it takes for the cavalry to show up to destroy evidence and escape
3. Choose to swallow honor and pride and delay the bad guys by offering to give up and subject yourselves to interrogation, and hope they're too distracted with questioning you to resist the cavalry showing up.
Option 1 isn't necessarily the end of the campaign. The punk-ass guards aren't as dangerous as the scorpion bushi were.. there's just a pack of them. They're dangerous b/c of numbers. You CAN beat them, but the odds may be against you.
Option 2 is the difficult one. It should be clear by now there's some damn useful clues to be found in the warehouse, and missing out on them would prove to be a helluva shame.
Honestly I was kind of hoping that's why Option 3 comes to pass. Heh but their window to capture you probably just closed with your clearing the door and a way out.
Well, anyway, that's me thinking out loud. Those are the options I think you're most likely to pick, and I'm figuring out how to ensure that the plot survives whatever choice you make :D
I just realized:
I didn't subtract the damage for Xiaoxing's and Hideyoshi's armor!
Xiaoxing should be on 12 damage instead of 15.. that makes enough difference that she still has no wound TN penalties.
Hideyoshi should be on 32 instead of 41, which makes HUGE difference as being +17TNs is vastly better than being flat out unconscious.
I'm sorry that I didn't remember that earlier.. but better late than never :} That correction does also help your party's action economy significantly.
Seat of the pants action...love it :D
All is good no matter what happens, let the dice land where they may, honour will be satisfied!!!
No Katsuyoshi!!! :O
Now none of us are either opening the door or attacking to reduce their numbers and they get a free round of attacks whilst we dither!
Objectively it's quite a funny situation:
I will stay and die so you can live!
No, I will stay and die so you can live!
(both get mown down by ninjas)
Lol :D
No Katsuyoshi!!! :O
Now none of us are either opening the door or attacking to reduce their numbers and they get a free round of attacks whilst we dither!
Objectively it's quite a funny situation:
I will stay and die so you can live!
No, I will stay and die so you can live!
(both get mown down by ninjas)Lol :D
They certainly never would have expected that.... maybe they'll be too confused to capitalize :D
Quietly Hideyoshi opens the door and then pulls a lion and refuses to leave.
Quietly Hideyoshi opens the door and then pulls a lion and refuses to leave.
If we don't hear from him today that's what I'll have him do.
Ugh, thats brutal. Going to have to weigh the full attack thing more carefully. Of course I thought I could finish that Scorpion.
Lets see if we survive this next round, and then depending on what happens I may be forced to do something youthfully stupid.
I will be genuinely impressed if Katsuyoshi can come up with something even more silly than our current actions ;p
Ever here of a shugenja pouring there life in to a spell? I think that constitutes silly enough. Also, we are both crippled so only xiaoxing can actually run.
Oh god, the lion wants us to be sensible... what is life.
As stressful as this scene may be... at least the Dice Gods chose a fortuitous moment to make the GM's dice go cold :D 30 dice rolled that round.. only 1 exploding die in the lot!
And the longer you last, the better your odds are. Your eyes are adjusting to the darkness.. and the cavalry is bound to show up sooner or later!
Ah now, Xiaoxing actually has an injury to her knee, so it would be a limping run! To her mind Oruku-sama already has most of the info the party knows and so can save the city as well as they can, and her view on her own honor means she won't leave comrades behind, so looks like we're all in it together ;)
I'm relatively impressed we've lasted this long! GM that was a good time for the DiceBot to be mean to you ;)
Ok.. I'll think out loud for you guys at this point.
It's annoying for a player in a face to face game when her character is out of the action that keeps dragging on and on... and it's got to be even moreso in PbP when the action is a day per round.
So I'm thinking of just ending the scene so we can move on. What do you guys think?
Having managed to get outside, plus a mystery figure is distracting the guards from bringing their full weight of numbers down on you.. I think it's reasonable to give you the option of escaping to seek help or being drug down kicking and screaming down to join Xiaoxing in captivity. Unfortunately, rallying & taking out the rest of the guards by yourselves just doesn't seem a plausible possibility to consider at this point.
If you want to split the party we can deal with that via separate spoiler tags but I think we're all ready to move on with the story by this point.
Just as an aside I'm in no way complaining, was just posting to keep impetus up and show I was reading along!
On the subject of what to do... Save yourselves!
I'm about to do my duty. It is more important for me to inform the magistrate what has happened in case we all die so I am going to send a birdy and then attempt to run... depending on how quickly the rest of the scorpion get here.
I was contemplating sacrificial magic, but there are no rules for it in this edition.
I'm not entirely sure what to think about this. While it has been a good game, very skillfully run by our illustrious GM, I'm not a fan of games with the type of lethality this one shows in the combat system. Had I fully understood, my character concept would have been very different.
To this end, we won't run very far if we try to go together. The wound penalties to action type seem to be too high. Hence, Hideyoshi holding the door. That way one of us (Katsuyoshi) will make it out.
Ah Hideyoshi, I feel somewhat guilty for not playing a little more optimally, really I should have used the guard action on you to protect you whilst you attacked, please excuse my poor tactical choices in this battle!
I get the feeling that this was supposed to be tough, and we're also under-strength party-wise :(
You are correct about the lethality of the system, and it is a learning curve (I'm still learning apparently ;) but I have to shoulder some of the blame!
And GM, Hideyoshi is right, you are running this very well, I think we've just been hamstrung by vanishing players and system inexperience >.<
Lethality: It's a hallmark of the L5R system. It recognizes that any given fight is a life or death situation, and has the optional rules for expanding wound ranks to enhance surviveability. I'm open to considering going Earthx3 for wound ranks, for example.
3 Players instead of 6: Yes, that's hurting us a bit I think. I'm glad you guys are having fun and my goal is to keep it that way. But of the three characters we still have active, there's not a lot of diversity in capability. I think the party is hampered less by numbers than by a lack of options in courses of action. I hope we can attract some new blood. If nothing else, perhaps some creative/unusual options for spending XP may start becoming attractive to branch the party's capabilities out.
I get the feeling that this was supposed to be tough, and we're also under-strength party-wise :(
The writers of the adventure meant for this to be an object lesson in knowing when NOT to fight.. a quote from the sidebar addressing what to do if your plan fails to avoid a fight: "Direct combat gets players killed. Tactical combat and strategic planning saves lives. Encourage your players to use their advantages." The writers seem to assume the players would sneak in and conduct cat and mouse games with the guards.
Since the party really didn't have much capability to do anything beyond a frontal attack, I decided to make sure you at least have armor and a bunch of cannon fodder to soak sneak attacks. I was also going to richly reward use of the sun.. the guards' eyes were adjusted for the darkness.. they'd have been blinded at first and then a rolling TN penalty to their rolls as they adjust to the brightness. But my improvisation backfired when I gave you the clue that corrupt city watch members leaked a warning of the upcoming raid.. with hindsight I should have anticipated that it'd be natural that you'd want to act before they could prepare for the raid. So I kind of feel at fault for the whole thing going off the rails a bit here. I'm ready to move the story on and I think you guys are too :}
But in the here and now: Shinjo Xiaoxing doesn't really have a choice since she's unconscious.. she's captured. Mirumoto Katsuyoshi wants to break away and go get help. That leaves Akodo Hideyoshi's decision. Would you rather your character swallow his pride and make good on a retreat to bring reinforcements? Having a powerful Otaku horse nearby makes the possibility plausible... it can carry the two of you and still outrun pursuers on foot. Or would he rather fight to cover Katsuyoshi's escape? (and join Xiaoxing for the next chapter)
Just waiting on Hideyoshi's decision so we can move on!
Hence, Hideyoshi holding the door. That way one of us (Katsuyoshi) will make it out.
Thanks for the opportunity to change it, but can't make it any clearer than that. Katsuyoshi will have time to struggle to the horse, struggle to climb on, and ride out.
Nope. I have a duty to get the message out. This kinda hamstrings me because I have a much better way to get the info out, prayer works as long as I can get the spell off and send my message.
Nope. I have a duty to get the message out. This kinda hamstrings me because I have a much better way to get the info out, prayer works as long as I can get the spell off and send my message.
Would you rather say you fire off a warning/plea for help to Doji Oruku with your spell and then end up captured with Hideyoshi and Xiaoxing?
Warning bird is faster and harder for them to stop. Scorpions are in cahoots with the oni, unknown how far the corruption goes, whisper has the sword and the Togashi is an ally. I think I can get that all off in the time it takes for the rest of the scorpion to surround us.
Again, you are taking chances to 'get the spell off' with your wound penalties. Why? If it doesn't go off, then what?
For the same reason you suggest getting up on a horse(Which is trained not to accept strange riders] with no skill and one arm. In my mind it seemed better than hobbling. If the spell doesn't work I have wasted a turn. But, seeing as how the crippled state does hamper me so I can try to hobble away at 2 strength a turn, see how far that can get me... not very either way. I'm not optimized for running at the moment. Xiaoxing was probably our best bet until she was struck down by a lucky strike, but these things happen.
I'm handwaiving that whatever choice you want, you get off. Spell or retreat on horseback. It beats taking another week or so real time to resolve what occurs.
Since your preferences are Katsuyoshi does the spell, and Hideyoshi covers him, then that's what my fiat says you manage to pull off. (His wound penalties can be partially offset by doing the Center Stance trick again. It's a rank 1 spell, so the TN isn't that big to begin with. If we drug this out.. after spending a round in the Center Stance he'd need a TN30 while rolling 4k3+3. It's plausible he'd get it off even w/o benefit of GM fiat) After that the guards surround and swarm you both and drag you off to parts unknown along with Xiaoxing.
A gameplay post to move the story along will be up within an hour or two.
For the same reason you suggest getting up on a horse(Which is trained not to accept strange riders] with no skill and one arm. In my mind it seemed better than hobbling. If the spell doesn't work I have wasted a turn. But, seeing as how the crippled state does hamper me so I can try to hobble away at 2 strength a turn, see how far that can get me... not very either way. I'm not optimized for running at the moment. Xiaoxing was probably our best bet until she was struck down by a lucky strike, but these things happen.
Fair enough.
Well, we shall see. I am aiming to play against his perception of the 'nobility of the Lion'. Not quite lying, embellishing some aspects for effect.
1) The magistrates (emphasis on the plural) do not all know of the plot, just Oruku.
2) We did do all of those things, and it wouldn't be a stretch for a 'noble Lion' to seek glory in that way, possibly dragging his companions to a messy end in the process.
3) Try to kickstart the classic Bad Guy Speech to buy us time. Time for what, I don't know.
All this being said, with the huge Wound penalties, I don't see what we can do if we only have tonite to end this. I don't see how we get healed into functional units before dawn.
3) Try to kickstart the classic Bad Guy Speech to buy us time. Time for what, I don't know.
He's pretty well on the cusp of monologuing. He's willing to talk, at any rate :D
You don't know how long you were unconscious, but you have to assume Doji Oruku would hurry once he heard the message from Katsuyoshi's Little Bird.
All this being said, with the huge Wound penalties, I don't see what we can do if we only have tonite to end this. I don't see how we get healed into functional units before dawn.
That's something I had to think about. I anticipate a neat solution that should make everyone go "Of course! That makes perfect sense!" You may even be able to already guess what it'll be.
Oh, and Katsuyoshi, the only reason I'm not docking honor for taunting Hodei is because I feel the GM shouldn't ambush players with honor hits wherever it's possible to refrain from doing so. So, that's the fair warning. I won't tell you what Hodei will or won't do, but I am telling you continuing on that course will entail an honor hit.. whether the statements you make are true or not is irrelevant to polite courtesy :D
I'm going to remind you of an old clue at this point.. both because it's from several months ago and the guy who got that clue isn't around anymore to remember it.
"(The Cranes in the Inn of Orange Blossoms) are toasting the fortunes for the good luck they were blessed with to stumble across some high quality merchandise that they were able to quickly turn around for a tidy profit."
You know, it just maybe is relevant to recent discoveries and I don't want you to forget about it :D
Can't forget what you didn't know to begin with. I actually expected the honor hit, kinda built in to the character. There are a good many ways that will probably present themselves so as to allow for the making up of said hit.
Hey guys. So, my real life went really, really crazy for a while, but I can start playing again, so I'm here! I meant to get back to you guys a while ago, but tha just wasn't on the plate until very recently. GM says I'm not gonna actually appear "on-screen" for a bit, but there's one more player present. Maybe we can turn things around a little.
Welcome back!
And your character will be back as well pretty soon, maybe even tomorrow! Depends on whether or not the other players want to pump some more info from Mr. Information Spigot NPC, hehe.
Whenever we move on to the next scene, Katsurou will be there waiting for them!
Ah welcome back Katsurou-san! :)