Rei Oshiro, scion to a family tradition sworn to defend a particular set of mystic artifacts from falling into the hands of those who would use them for selfish ends, has confronted Dr. Jason Battle, occult-trained relic hunter in an ancient underground city. The ruins are the resting place of an enormous Demon Stone, capable of transforming the world if properly activated and focused. Battle wants the stone to fulfill his goals, while Oshiro plans to guard the stone’s resting place. Both Rei and Battle are Power Level 3.
154
5
Director: This underground cavern is brimming with ambient ki energy. You can feel that your opposing spirits are strong enough to de-stabilize the entire ruins! We’ll start at Range 3. The Time Count will be set at 99.
Rei: What happens at zero?
Director: Bad things. De-stabilizing things. Maybe
“crushed under mountains of rock” kinds of things.
Okay, time for Initiative. Dr. Battle will be spending 1 FS to add to his Initiative.
Rei: I have 1d6 for Initiative and 1d8 for Control and a +1 Control Bonus.
Director: Good! Battle has a d10 for Initiative, but since he’s using a point of Fighting Spirit, he’ll have a d12 instead. He has 1d6 for Control. Let’s roll it.
Rei: 5 for Initiative and 8 for Control.
Director: A 1 for Initiative! Crap! And... 5 for Control.
Rei, you go first then.
Rei: Okay, I have 8 Control to work with. Not bad.
I’m definitely going to begin with a Combo. I’ll start with my Demon Hunter Kick. It’s L3. Then I’ll add four more Basic Moves for a 5-hit Combo. That’s 7 of my 8 Control.
Director: Not spending that last point?
Rei: Nope.
Director: Why not?
Rei: I want the Accuracy bonus. Oh, I need to move first. I forgot we were at Range 3. The Demon
Hunter Kick is Mobile, so I spend 1 FS to move 2 Ranges to Range 1.
Director: Okay. Battle chooses to Evade. He has a Defense Bonus of 1 and a Skill level of 2, so that’s 3. I’ll put two Fighting Spirit into it because he’s ready for the attack. That’s a Defense Total 5. So you need to roll a 5 or better.
Rei: Okay, cool. My Accuracy for this 5-hit Combo is 1 for the kick, 1 for having more Control than I needed, and 1 for my own Accuracy bonus. So, +3.
Director: That’s a difficult Combo though; a 5-hit Combo gets you a -1.
Rei: Okay, so +2. I’ll spend two Fighting Spirit for a total of +4. I guess I don’t need to roll. Pow! “This ends here, Jason! We determine who’s the best right now!” My damage is 1d6+1 for the Demon Hunter Kick, but my Strength increases it to 1d8+1. What about Battle’s Stamina?
Director: Actually, it’s a –1, so your damage increases to 1d10+1.
Rei: Awesome! I also get +4 for the 4 Basic Moves I stuck on, so 1d10+5!
Director: Looks right - roll it!
Rei: A 5! 10 points damage!
Director: Wow! Battle is down to 40 Life Bar already.
He gets Knocked Back to Range 2. He’s not Knocked Down, is he?
Rei: No, the Demon Hunter Kick doesn’t Knock Down.
Director: Well, that’s something. But that’s also more damage than Battle’s Stun Threshold, so he’s Stunned.
This is not going well for the good doctor! This is the
155
5
first hit of the battle, so Rei, you get 3 Fighting Spirit back, the same as your Power Level. Battle has to use his turn to begin recovering from being Stunned.
That’s it. So that’s the turn - Rei leapt forward toward Battle, ambient ki
trailing behind him as he flew through the air. The first kick landed, then he twisted his hips to land another kick while still in the air, and as he came to land on his feet followed up with flurry of punches.
All the blows landed, sending the relic hunter reeling back across the pulsing rocks of the ruins.
Rei: I get Glory, right?
Director: Yeah, 8 Glory this turn: 3 for using a Level three move (the Demon Hunter Kick) and 5 more for hitting with a 5-hit Combo. You also get 3 Super Energy (1 for the turn, 1 for the Special Move, and 1 for the successful Combo). Battle gets 2 Super Energy (1 for the turn and 1 for suffering Life Bar damage).
Rei: How long was that? I’m worried about these ruins.
Director: Not long at all. A 3. The Time Count drops from 99 to 96. Next turn!
Rei: I’m totally pressing this advantage! I’m spending 1 FS on both Initiative and Control.
That gives me 1d8 and 1d10.
Director: Battle spends Fighting Spirit on Initiative too, keeping his 1d12.
Let’s roll.
Rei: Crap!
Initiative 2, Control 7.
Director: Initiative 9! I rolled Control 4, but that doesn’t really matter this turn. It looks like Dr.
Battle catches a break through a momentary lapse in Rei’s concentration. Time to get back into the fight! But I have to use this action to recover from being Stunned too. At least Battle will have the benefit of his full defensive capabilities for the remainder of the turn.
Rei: I’m still bummed that I’m not going to be able to annihilate this guy quickly. Oh, well. You know what? I’m going for the same Combo I had planned anyway. I’m starting with the Airwalk Fist and then I’m adding three more Basic Moves. That’s 7 Control, just what I rolled.
Director: OK, I should choose to go on Total Defense at this point…but where’s the guts in that? I’m going to use Tactics for defense. With my Defense
156
5
Bonus and another 3 FS, Battle’s Defense Total is 6.
Rei: OK, let me see if I can figure out my Accuracy for this. The Airwalk Fist has no mod, and I have my +1 Accuracy Bonus. I get –1 for attempting a 5-hit Combo, right? So that’s a +0 total.
Director: Nope. You never moved and you’re still at Range 2.
Rei: I can’t move when using the Airwalk Fist. Can I attack at this Range?
Director: Yes, but attacking at Range 2 has another – 1 Accuracy, so you have a –1 to hit.
Rei: OK. I’ll spend 3 FS on Accuracy. So I get a total +2. [Rolls] A 3. 5 total – a miss.
Director: Had Battle just used Defense, your attack simply would have missed. But he used Tactics, which means I get to choose a Defensive Response to use on Rei. Right now, I can only use the Basic Response or Jinking. I’m going to use the Basic Response and see if I can’t get a simple jab to strike home.
Rei: OK, how do I figure my Defense Total against this? Is it the same as a normal attack?
Director: No. Because you’re defending against a Defensive Response, you only get to use the Defense Skill, and your skill level is halved.
Rei: I have a 3 Defense. Do I round up or down?
Director: Down, my soon-to-be-struck opponent.
So that’s a 1.
Rei: Yikes. I’ll spend 2 FS on defense. My Defense
Total is 3.
Director: OK. A Basic Move has +0 Accuracy, but I get a +1 because I have more Control than I need for the attack. Hey! It looks like my Control mattered after all!
Rei: Yeah, but you’re attacking at Range 2 too.
Remember?
Director: Yes, yes. OK, so that’s a –1. Right now, I have a +0 Accuracy, and Battle spends 2 FS, so he has a +2. So I don’t need to roll to hit.
Rei: So I suffer the humiliation of both missing and getting hit in response?
Director: Yup. The damage is only 1d4 for a Basic Move, but Battle has a +1 Damage Bonus. His Strength and your Stamina are both 0, so there’s no modifier for that. I guess that’s it. [Rolls] Four points of damage.
Rei: My Life Bar drops to 46. Knock Back?
Director: Yes, so we are now at Range 3. No Knock Down, no Stunning. Shaking the stars out of his eyes, Battle’s vision clears just in time to see Rei’s body tensing up for a powerful uppercut. Acting on instinct honed from hundreds of precarious
situations in his long career, Dr. Battle throws a quick kick into Rei’s side. Rei tumbles to the ground and rolls back to his feet, ready to re-engage.
“You’re not ready to take me on, Oshiro! I’ve learned techniques you couldn’t even imagine!” No one earns Glory this turn –you missed and Battle only used a Basic Move. But you do get 3 more Super Energy. Battle gets only one more.
Rei: Time Roll?
Director: Wow! Only a 1. Busy turn! Down to 95.
157
5
Ready for next turn?
Rei: Let’s do this. We’re back at Range 3, just like we started. I’m not spending any Fighting Spirit on Initiative or Control.
Director: OK, neither am I. Let’s roll.
Rei: Initiative 4, Control 2. Great.
Director: Initiative 5, Control 1. Not much better.
Battle has Initiative. I’m going to advance 1 Range and stop. We’re now at Range 2.
Rei: Why did you do that?
Director: Well, really, it’s none of your business, but…we both rolled lousy Control, so probably not much is going to happen this turn, so I’m going to set up for next turn. Plus I get a +1 to my Defense Totals this turn for moving 1 Range and not attacking.
Rei: We’ll see how this works out. I’m also moving forward 1 Range to Range 1 and attacking with a Basic Move. I have more Control than I need, so I get a +1 Accuracy.
Director: Good. Battle is going to use his Evasion Skill. He has a Skill level of 2, plus his Defense Bonus, and he once again is going to spend 3 FS on defense. Defense Total of 7.
Rei: 7? Wow. +1 Accuracy for Control and +1 for my Accuracy Bonus, and…3 more FS. +5 should do it.
[Rolls] Crap! Another 1! I missed!
Director: The ki energy in this place must be aligned against you. Battle’s Evasion is successful.
Rei: So what does that mean?
Director: A successful Evasion means either he can move out of the way or take an Accuracy bonus on his next attack. I’ll be doing the latter. So not much really happened this turn. Battle cautiously moved forward, sizing you up…
Rei: …and then I stepped forward to throw a strong punch…
Director: …and Battle ducked underneath it. The adventurer has a devious smirk on his face. No Glory this turn either. Rei gets 1 Super Energy, as does Battle. Time Count…4! I guess there was a lot of cautiously moving in and out of range before we had that dull exchange. 91 left on the Time Count.
Let’s get a more exciting turn going!
Rei: OK. We’re in range for my best Combos now!
I’m going to spend 1 FS on Initiative and 2 FS on Control. That’ll be 1d8 and 1d12.
Director: Battle spends 1 FS on each as well. 1d12 and 1d8 for me. Roll them.
Rei: Initiative 8 and Control 10! Yes! That makes up for last turn.
Director: No, it doesn’t, I’m afraid: Initiative 9, Control 4. It’s Battle’s move first.
Rei: This guy is annoyingly fast.
Director: Yeah, but you’ve already seen that he can’t take a punch. He’s going to move in 1 Range to Range 0. And he’s going to do a Throw. That costs him 1 FS.
Rei: Are Throws unblockable like they are in fighting
158
5
games?
Director: No, but they do get a bonus to Accuracy.
How are you going to defend yourself?
Rei: I’m just going to use Defense; it’s my best Skill.
So that’s 3. I’ll spend 3 more FS to give me a 6 Defense Total. That’s the best I can do.
Director: You could skip your action for the turn and go on Full Defense. It will add 2 more to your Defense Total and give you an Initiative bonus next turn.
Rei: That sounds good, I guess. Let’s try that.
Defense Total 8. Rei instinctively reacts to Battle’s lunge forward and gets ready to respond!
Director: Alright. Battle is using his Heart Breaker. It has an Accuracy bonus of +1, I get +1 for being at Range 0, and I get a +2 bonus for successfully Evading last turn. I will spend another 1 FS on Accuracy, giving me a +5 against your 8. [Rolls] 5!
That hits.
Rei: Today is clearly not a good day to be the hero.
Director: Battle whispers in Oshiro’s ear, “You were going to defeat me, Oshiro? How were you going to do that? A family legacy is not the same thing as technique and experience. You don’t stand a chance!” The damage for the Heart Breaker is 1d8, which isn’t modified by your Stamina. Battle does have a +1 Damage Bonus, so 1d8+1. [Rolls] 7 – so that’s 8 points off your Life Bar.
Rei: OK. I’m down to 38 now. Crap! 8 points is higher than my Stun Threshold! I’m Stunned!
Director: Actually, you’re not. Damage from Throws is not applied against Stun Threshold.
Rei: Am I Knocked Back?
Director: Normally, yes, a Throw would knock you back to Range 1. But this move has the Hurl Element. Instead of Knock Back, you get hurled away 2 Ranges to Range 2. Also, all Throws Knock Down the opponent.
Rei: So I lose my action standing up, right?
Director: That’s right, you would. Except you chose to go on Total Defense, which counts as your action for the turn. So you will have to spend your action next turn to stand up. OK, so Battle closed in with Rei for a grapple and then threw him away 15 feet onto some jagged rocks.
Rei: Ouch. Oshiro groans in pain and frustration.
Mostly frustration.
Director: Battle gets 3 Glory for using his Level three Throw. And you get 2 more Super Energy, 1 for the turn and 1 for suffering Life Bar damage. Battle gets 2 for the turn and for the Special Move. Hey, how much Super Energy do you have now?
Rei: Nine. One point away from being able to do a Super Move…
Director: Let’s see if you can make that happen.
Time roll 2; we’re down to 89 and we’re at Range 2.
You’ll have to spend the next turn standing up. Let’s go!
And the battle continues.