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[5E OOC] The Further Adventures of James and Illeana

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rednblack

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« Reply #555 on: <02-16-17/1612:05> »
I figured that Riposte was coming, and though about Edging.  I'm glad I didn't, since he got 8 Hits.

Well, that should cover it for the match.  Let's have James go out with a bang, though. 

CT6 IP2
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack.

James will pre-Edge: AGI (11) + Close Combat (7) + Touch Only (2) + Edge (5) - Called Shot (4) = 21 dice.
Melee Attack + Edge: 21d6h5 10
Well, well.  I think this is literally the first time pre-edging on a dice pool above 15 has panned out for me. 
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #556 on: <02-16-17/1622:35> »
I was thinking that we were doing "first to five cuts" not "best of five cuts". Looking back, I see that the language was unclear. In my mind, we're still going, but if you've had enough of the back-and-forth then we can call it off.

CT6 IP2
Wilhelm has to use Edge to break his Limit if he wishes to Parry.

Parry + Edge: ?d6h5 9 hits

Parry unsuccessful. James sticks the tip of his rapier through Wilhelm's cheek.

Action pauses and/or ends at the end of CT6. Three cuts each.

rednblack

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« Reply #557 on: <02-17-17/1100:04> »
We can go first to 5.  Even if James doesn't get another cut in, 3 to 5 is a lot more respectable than 2 to 5. 

Initiative: Initiative: 16+4d6 28
James is slowing down a bit, though it appears as though he'll go first.

We'll try the CFD woo, which I should have rolled before Initiative, but I keep forgetting about it.
CFD Woo: 6d6t5 0
No help anyway.

CT7 IP1
Free: Pre-Emptive Parry
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack

16 dice for the attack: Melee Attack: 16d6t5 5
Yeah, these average rolls really leave James open to the riposte.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #558 on: <02-17-17/1325:55> »
Yes, they do. I've been expecting you to leverage Reading the Defense more regularly in order to boost your hits to limit your susceptibility to Riposte. On the other hand, attacking first forces him to burn initiative via Parry interrupts, as he doesn't have the opportunity to use Pre-Emptive Parry first. Given his lack of a second Free Action, that's really handcuffing his offense as he can only really spend his Complex Actions on Reading the Defense after calling Pre-Emptive Parry.

CT7 IP1
Wilhelm: Initiative: ?d6+? 27, good roll, but James is still first

He will attempt to riposte. This costs 7 initiative and brings him down to 20. It cancels his Reading the Defense bonus.

Riposte: ?d6t5 5 hits, not good enough

Tie goes to the attacker. James lands a hit.

For his action @ 20, Wilhelm will use Pre-Emptive Parry (dropping him to 15) and then Reading the Defense.

Reading the Defense: ?d6t5 5 hits, defense read

CT7 IP2
James: 13 (three cuts, two Edge spent, 1S)
Wilhelm: 5 (four cuts, one Edge spent, Reading the Defense bonus)

rednblack

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« Reply #559 on: <02-17-17/1603:17> »
Yes, they do. I've been expecting you to leverage Reading the Defense more regularly in order to boost your hits to limit your susceptibility to Riposte. On the other hand, attacking first forces him to burn initiative via Parry interrupts, as he doesn't have the opportunity to use Pre-Emptive Parry first. Given his lack of a second Free Action, that's really handcuffing his offense as he can only really spend his Complex Actions on Reading the Defense after calling Pre-Emptive Parry.

That's been my thinking.  Reading the Defense is great for this kind of ceremonial combat -- I find its usefulness in regular combat to be fairly limited -- but James' big advantage is his initiative, so punishing Wilhelm on that front seems the smarter move, at least for first passes.  Whether or not that's true -- James has been tagged twice on Ripostes now -- is unclear, because I don't know if James would've been tagged with those extra attacks.

CT7 IP2
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack

16 dice for the attack.
Melee Attack: 16d6t5 5

I will use Reading the Defense for the next pass, as those 3 extra dice for my first pass will be a very welcome addition.  I'll go ahead and roll it so we can jump right into the next pass after James defends again.
INT (9) + Close Combat (7) = 16 dice.
Reading the Defense: 16d6t5 5
Defense read.

So, that makes:
CT7 IP3
Complex: Reading the Defense

CFD woo: CFD Woo: 6d6t5 3

Initiative: Inititaive: 19+4d6 32

Let's go ahead and roll Soak.  BOD (5) + WIL (7) = 12 dice.
"Drain": 12d6t5 5
That's nice.  Wasn't expecting it.

To recap:
James will attack on CT7 IP2
James will need to defend against Wilhelm's CT7 IP2 attack.
James will Read the Defense on CT7 IP3
James will activate his CFD woo powers for Hits -1 CTs, in this case 2.  His REA is boosted from 7 to 10, hitting his Augmented Maximum.  "Drain" is Soaked.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #560 on: <02-17-17/1652:57> »
CT7 IP2
Wilhelm defense: Parry: ?d6t5 9 hits, parried

Wilhelm attack: Attack + Reading the Defense bonus: ?d6t5 7 hits

James will need to spend Edge in order to break his Accuracy and successfully parry the attack.

CT8 IP1
James: 32 (three cuts, two Edge spent, 1S, Reading the Defense bonus)
Wilhelm: Initiative: ?d6+? 23 (four cuts, one Edge spent)

rednblack

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« Reply #561 on: <02-17-17/1745:33> »
I'll eat the hit. Still rolling to make sure James doesn't Glitch and embarrass himself.
Parry: 23d6t5 8

CT8 actions forthcoming.
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rednblack

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« Reply #562 on: <02-17-17/1814:37> »
Ok, so James takes a cut, tying them back up again at 4 to 4.  Do I want to Edge my next attack, drop myself to 2 Edge, but possibly end this thing?  The main question here is: James probably maintains his social standing  just in not embarrassing himself in his first Mensur duel.  This would also justify his invitation.  At getting a few touches in, James probably sees some social benefit, and makes Adelard glad that he invited him, as at least he put on a show.  If James wins, though, does that stand to increase his social standing, potentially make a conversation with the Baron go more smoothly, or even justify such a conversation to begin with?  Considering how friendly Wilhelm is -- despite his "knowing" who James is -- I don't think there'd be hard feelings, though these things can be hard to tell.  He is the agent of a dragon, though, so what was the guy expecting.  Like James, I have to act with incomplete knowledge: is an extra point of Edge, a very precious commodity, worth the gamble of a Hit, and then the gamble on it resulting in some IC benefit. 

I think I'll go for it.

CT8 IP1
Free: Pre-Emptive Parry
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack

James has: AGI (11) + Close Combat (7) + Touch Only (2) + Reading the Defense (3) + Edge (5) - Called Shot (4) = 24 dice.
Melee Attack + Edge: 24d6h5 8

That drops James to 2 Edge.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #563 on: <02-17-17/1823:25> »
Well Wilhelm does not want to lose so he'll Edge.

Parry + Edge: ?d6h5 9 hits, parried

He had one 6 turn into two extra hits. Exploding dice made the difference.

Free: Pre-Emptive Parry
Complex: Reading the Defense: ?d6t5 6 hits, read

CT8 IP2
James: 17 (four cuts, three Edge spent, 1S, +3 REA through CT9)
Wilhelm: 3 (four cuts, two Edge spent, Reading the Defense bonus)

rednblack

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« Reply #564 on: <02-17-17/1845:17> »
Well, fraggit.

CT8 IP2
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack

James is back down to his crummy 16 dice and 7 Hit Limit.  It's so hard being a magically-enhanced cyber soldier.
Melee Attack: 16d6t5 1
How many Edge is this win worth?  I don't think I can spare anymore.  If Wilhelm Ripostes, that should do it.

ETA: I'm going to get an IC in when this pass is complete.

Also, before this pass begins, James is going to switch and start fencing left-handed.  That isn't worth an Intimidation test, by any chance, is it?
« Last Edit: <02-17-17/1847:09> by rednblack »
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #565 on: <02-17-17/1935:52> »
Hmm, switching hands is clever. For that, and because 1 hit on 16 dice is a 1st percentile roll, I'll give you a Pity Point of Edge. Wilhelm might still riposte, but at least it won't be because James embarrassed himself with his left hand.

Edge: 15d6t5 5 hits, for a total of 6 hits

That's fair. Very well, let's riposte and bring this to a close.

Riposte: ?d6t5 6 hits

Hmm... what does that mean on a riposte? Who's the attacker and who's the defender? Who does the tie go to? You're both the "attacker", so does the hit go to you both? Do we have a TIE?!

rednblack

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« Reply #566 on: <02-17-17/2008:27> »
I think James would still technically be the attacker, but there's enough wiggle room to call it a tie. Who knows, maybe they'll get a chance for a rematch sometime.

Unless you say different, that's how I'll treat it. Should be able to get an IC in tomorrow when I'm taking a grading break.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #567 on: <02-17-17/2046:40> »
It could go either way. Run & Gun is fairly clear that in this case (a tie) the riposte does not succeed. Whether our switch - the tie going to the attacker rather than the defender - changes that is uncertain. However, Wilhelm does have a point of Edge remaining, on paper anyway. Did he come into the fight with his full Edge, or is he saving it for something else? Trying to bed one of the attendees of tonight's gathering? That's up to us to decide.

I'm fine with ambiguity. I'm also fine if the IC post suggests that one of the cuts lands a fraction of a second before the other.

rednblack

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« Reply #568 on: <02-20-17/1132:52> »
IC in.  I guess we should at least finish out the pass.  Wilhelm has enough Initiative for another attack, and James gets a IP3 action.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #569 on: <02-21-17/0122:45> »
Wilhelm spent the rest of his Initiative on his riposte. James gets IP3. You're free to roll for that.

Wilhelm will be inwardly disappointed but will be outwardly polite, if distant. He will put on a brave face about how he stood toe-to-toe with a surrogate for Schwartzkopf, but will promptly retire for the evening.

James will be celebrated, as many wondered if Wilhelm could be touched, let alone beaten, such was his reputation for defense. James will enjoy a positive Social modifier for the remainder of the event. We'll call most people Friendly (+2). James' wounds and physical prowess will also benefit Intimidation rolls, should any arise.

An interesting fight. Riposte is very effective and reminds me of the melee rules from 2nd Edition, when either party could hit on a melee attack regardless of who initiated it. (I'm curious to see if it was that way in 3E but my book isn't where I thought it was.) It really taught you not to attack someone who was better than you because it would just give them an extra opportunity to smack you aside.

Wilhelm had both the adept version of Riposte and the martial arts version, but only used the latter. In 4E I had an unarmed adept with several ranks in Critical Strike (back when you could make an "I Punch Through Worlds" unarmed adept) who also had a lot of Combat Sense. She picked up the adept version of Riposte (because the MA version didn't exist in 4E) and I had this idea of using all those ranks of Combat Sense to act as a sling shot of sorts, since she could dodge an incoming attack and then use the difference in hits as a positive modifier on her subsequent counterattack. Sadly she never got to use it because the game ended before I could roll out my new trick. Now, with martial arts Riposte, that approach seems largely obsolete.