TrialBySchmendrick/ResplendentAirVsTerrestrialHero

Trial started: {2/22/07}
Trial completed: {2/25/07}

Home: Resplendent Air Style, "Magnificent Cloud"

IanPrice tests out Resplendent Air Style, a combat style using flashy displays of wind and lightning. Starting with a ranged Essence-based attack, it continues providing strong attacks througout. Although Essence is the only tool for attack besides the body in this style, any form of armor works just fine.

Cloud is an Air Aspect who specializes in Leaping (Athletics +2) and Elemental Essence Maneuvers (Martial Arts +2). He wears Eye of the North, a pair of blue jade Hearthstone Bracers set with an Elemental Lens (-1 Speed to attacks, +3 Dodge dice, double effectiveness of Elemental charms which cause direct damage or create non-permanent items out of elemental energy, 6m attunement). The lens mirrors the setting for a hearthstone on the other bracer, each positioned as the eye of a hurricane superimposed over a map of the northern quarter of Creation. He also wears an Exceptional Reinforced Breastplate, painted with midnight blue enamel (+7L/+6B soak, -0 mobility, 1 fatigue). Cloud's additional charms are: Elemental Bolt Technique, Elemental Empowerment Method, First Martial Arts Excellency, First Dodge Excellency, Third Martial Arts Excellency.

His Combo is "Mela Scorns the Unrighteous." Airborne Assault combines with Maelstrom Attack to create a devastating throw for 15m2w, in which Cloud leaps into the air, then descends on his hapless opponent with a crushing grip. This grip bears the target to the ground for (Strength + Essence + bonuses + successes)x2 damage, stunning the opponent for 5 ticks. Its inescapable pressure is unblockable.

Away: Terrestrial Hero Style, "Hero"

Ambisinister will be fielding the butter counterpart to Five Dragon's bread: Terrestrial Hero Style! While not as versatile as Five Dragon, THS excels at grappling combat and features a few potnent, potentially devasting charms. Though the practioner may not benefit from weapons of any sort, including clinch aids, he may wear armor of any weight or class. In addition, Hero knows the charms; Bonds of Unbreakable Ice, Crushing Glacier Prana, Blade Deflecting Palm, Effortlessly Rising Flame, Fallling Star Maneuver, and the Third Martial Arts Excellency.

Hero specializes in Grappling (Martial Arts+2) and While Armored (Dodge +2). He bears the powerful combat armor "Surging Undertow." Surging Undertow is an ancient, battle scarred suit of Gunzosha Armor. The armor's plates default to a mottled pattern of deep green, dark blue and black. Found on the ocean floor, the armor is encrusted with barnacles and coral. (Artifact 4, commit 5, 9L/9B, hardness of 5/5, +2 strength, +2 accuracy, +1 PDV, double movement, +2 awareness, +2 resistance, +4 stealth, regeneration. fatigue 1, mobility penalty -1)

Hero knows a single combo:"Pier Smashing Wave" -Falling Star Maneuver, Pounding Surf Style, Trireme Strikes the Rocks-Hero pauses for an infitesimal moment as his anima pools out in a deep, static calm. Then he surges forth into action with the speed of a wave breaking on shore, his essence roiling and engulfing his foes as he shatters them against the ground.

Signs

• The Musician: Second Edition rules in place
• The Pillar: Schmendricks are considered to be Terrestrial Exalts, complete with aspects, with 5 charms besides their styles.
• The Sorcerer: Each combatant has one Combo with up to 3 charms.
• The Guardian: 4 total dots of Artifacts and Hearthstones.
• The Quiver: The battle will be taking place in rough terrain, a Bamboo Forest during a rain storm, to be specific. Fighters must flurry a Dex + Athletics roll if they wish to move and attack on the same tick, and must make a reflexive Dex + Athletics roll to keep their feet when struck solidly (ie, successful attack). The difficulty of these rolls is 3. All other physical actions take a -2 external penalty due to slickness and unstable ground.
• The Haywain: Due to the rainstorm, a -1 internal penalty to ranged attack rolls accrues for each 10-yard increment separating the two fighters, to a maximum of -4. This doubles to each 20 yards of distance if the target is well lit up, such as a character displaying an 11+ mote anima banner.

Transcript

Setup

Lightning flashes over the An-Seung province, the dull roar of rain mixed with fluting sounds as raindrops occasionally drop precisely inside the hollow tubes of the bamboo poles this land is known for. Magnificent Cloud strides through the dusky rain and green bamboo, returning to his homeland after long years away in training. He knows who awaits him here, and he calls out, "Hero!"

Lightning strikes again as the declaration echoes, this time flowing into Cloud's anima. His stance is proud and calm, at peace with the storm, yet ready for war.

Hero emerges from the murk and gloom like some stirring primeval creature arising from the ocean floor, water sluicing down his armor in streaming rivulets. His shape is hard to make out as the Gunzosha's camoflauge system blurs and distorts his sillouhette, "So the prodigal son returns home. By the tenor of your message I understand that you have not given up on your misguided pursuit of this new Martial Art. Ours are the ways of the ancient ocean, old as the Dragons themselves. Your flightly style cannot possibly stand the test of time.

Hero settles down into a relaxed, undulating stance, his arms and torso swaying to the pull of distant tides, "Come little brother, let us see what happens when Storm meets Sea."

Cloud activates Resplendent Air Form (6m) and Hurricane Force (1m2w, current bonus +6L, doubled to +12L).

Hero activates Terrestrial Hero Form (5m), setting all five points to enhancing his grapple.

C: --|-----|----|-|-, wp: 6/8, psnl: 12/0/12, prph: 20/12/32, DV plty: -0, Soak: 10B/9L/7A

H: --|-----|----|-|-, wp: 8/8, psnl: 12/5/12, prph: 27/5/32, DV plty: -0, Soak: 13B/11L/9A

Join Battle

"Yes, let's," Cloud replies, tension crackling on the air along with the lightning.

Cloud declares Join Battle. Wits + Awareness = 6 dice, (1, 6, 7, 10, 10) 5 successes.

Hero rolls (wits 3+awareness 3+Gunzosha 2)= 8 dice, (3,5,5,7,8,8,8,10) 6 successes

Tick 0

The water flowing down Hero's armor glows briefly with the deep blue light of his anima before spiraling off of him. The water pooling around his feet swirls up and away, following invisble eddies and whorls in his anima, collecting the falling rain as it does. Hero moves forward in a low stance, the rain now falling ineffectually on the surface of his spiritual ocean.

Hero will guard and move. He's also activating his anima power(5m) which I feel should alleviate the environmental penalties in some way. Naturally I'd like them to go away entirely, but I feel lowering the difficulty of the stability check to one and halving the external penalty to 1 is fair. Ian?

Fair enough, since you're eliminating half of the elemental nature that's slowing you down (the other half beind Earth, since it's slick mud). At 4 yards range, I think you're rather well illuminated by the light coming off my anima.

C: --|-----|----|-|-, wp: 6/8, psnl: 12/0/12, prph: 20/12/32, DV plty: -0, Soak: 10B/9L/7A

H: --|-----|----|-|-, wp: 8/8, psnl: 7/5/12, prph: 22/5/32, DV plty: -0, Soak: 13B/11L/9A

Distance: 4 yards (I assumed a starting distance of ten)

Tick 1

Cloud spreads his arms, adjusting his stance as he gathers the essence around his arms. He then is surrounded by a blast of wind, pushing away rain and bamboo stalks alike. As one of the plants leans away from him, he rakes a hand through it, the lightning around his palm shredding the tube easily. Splinters of green bamboo are caught up in Cloud's anima, and he makes a spear-hand gesture at Hero with his other hand, sending a stream of needle-splinters, raindrops, lightning, and cold wind at the Gunzosha-clad warrior.

With a quick motion Hero crosses his forearm before Cloud's attack drawing a dome of water from his anima into the path of the blast. In a split second the lighting arcs through liquid in his anima, grounding itself as the freezing winds solidify the water and trap the splinters within. Hero rolls back on his heels, then surges forward in eerie silence, bursting through the thin ice shield. Quick as a breaker his hand locks itself around Cloud's outstretched wrist and yanks the young martial artist forward and off balance...

Cloud's aura flares, sheer air pressure forcing Hero back, keeping his hands away. The high winds threaten to pick even the heavy Gunzosha armor off its feet. "Storm drives the waves, brother."

...Hero drives forward through the winds, his hand closing around Cloud's wrist and slipping off at the last second on a patch of accumulated frost.

Cloud activates his Anima Power for 5m (mostly so I can leap further later) and attacks with Lash of Wind for free (1m for 2L, doubled to 4L by the lens) using the form's cost reduction. He'll pay 1m out of aspect, 1m form surcharge, and 4m to buy 7 dice (the maximum) with his First Martial Arts Excellency. His anima flare is now at the iconic (16+) level, bringing Hurricane Force to its maximum (+8L, doubled to +16L by the lens).

2 dice for elementally powered cuisinart antics.

Hero will use his PDV. If my stunt isn't good enough, then I'll activate Blade Deflecting Palm for 1m (Does anyone else think it's silly that a man covered from head to toe in magically powered combat armor can't parry lethal damage without a stunt?). As a note for further ticks, Hero only knows the 3rd MA Excellency and cannot enhance his DV in step 2. In addition, Hero will abort his guard to move and flurry (clinch, keeping balance). He will supplement the clinch with Crushing Glacier Prana (10m 1 wp) in addition to channeling valor. I'll finish my description based on whether I hit or miss. My balance roll is (Dex 4 + Athletics 3 -1 mobility -3 flurry)= 3 dice 1,5,8. Success! Thank you anima power! Hero activates the 3rd Excellency for a defense reroll for 3m.

Gunzosha's gauntlets specifically make an exception to the standard N tag, allowing you to parry lethal with them without a stunt. Your stunt is pretty cool anyway (just as cool as mine, really), so 2 dice to you too. Cloud does in fact use Shield of Wind for 1m (discounted from 2 by the form), giving him effectively +9 dice to parry (7 from the charm, 2 from the specialty, this is his maximum), and will use Gale Force for a free (8L + 16L) counterattack if you miss. Also spending a willpower on the defense. Should I just use the same dice for this, or is it a seperate stunt?

Regarding stunts, the way I always run things in my games is that the stunt is rolled seperately for each action. Being that I didn't realize that Gunzosha gauntlets allowed me to parry lethal damage, would you be opposed to my swapping out Blade Deflecting Palm for the 3rd MA Excellency? How would you like to determine stunt success? Not that it matters here, but shouldn't you also be suffering the -2 external penalty to physical actions (seeing as you are using a dexterity derived pool) as imposed by the Quiver?- A

Sure, save the mote. As for stunt success, I count it based on whether the objective is achieved - unless it involves a Perfect defense, in which case I make the person roll the stunt dice, and give them the reward if successes come up. Not an issue here, clearly. As for the external penalty, yeah, I should be. -I

Cloud's Attack

1. Lash of Wind (4 Dex + 5 Martial Arts + 2 Elemental Essence Maneuvers + 7 excellency + 2 stunt) = 20 dice, base damage 20L.
2. Defense declaration: Parry (4 dex + 5 Martial Arts + 2 fist + 2 Gunzosha targeting = 15) / 2 = 7 DV + 2 stunt dice, 2,7=8 DV
3. Attack roll: 20 dice (1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10), 10 successes.
4. Attack reroll: none
5. External penalties: 7 DV reduces 10 successes to 3, external penalty for mud and rain 2 reduces 3 successes to 1.
6. Defense reroll: 3rd MA Excellency (4 dex + 5 Martial Arts + 2 fist + 2 Gunzosha targeting + 5 excellency = 20) /2 = 10 DV + stunt, 2, 7 = 11 DV
7. Base damage: 20L + 1 successes
8. Soak: 11L reduces 21L to 10L
9. Counterattacks
10. Result: Reroll negates attack, Cloud misses. Hero's defense stunt is a success.

Hero's attack

1. Clinch (6 Strength + 5 MA + 2 Grappling + 5 THS Form + 2 Gunzosha + 4 valor + 2 stunt - 3 flurry)=23 dice
2. Defense declaration: Parry (4 dex + 5 Martial Arts + 2 fist + 2 Elemental specialty + 7 Shield of Wind = 20) / 2 + 1 willpower = 11 DV
3. Attack roll:23 dice (1,1,1,1,1,2,2,3,4,4,6,6,6,7,7,7,7,8,8,9,9,0,0)= 12 successes
4. Attack reroll:23 dice (1,1,1,2,2,2,3,3,4,5,6,6,7,7,7,7,7,7,8,8,9,9,0)= 12 successes
5. External penalties (11 DV + 1 Environmental)= 12 which reduces 12 successes to 0
6. Defense reroll
7. Base damage: 9L (P) + successes
8. Soak: 6L (due to piercing)
9. Counterattacks: Gale Force
   1. Attack: Gale Force (4 Dex + 5 Martial Arts + 2 Elemental Essence Maneuvers + 2 stunt) = 13 dice, base damage 24L.
   2. Defense: Parry (4 dex + 5 Martial Arts + 2 fist + 2 Gunzosha targeting = 15) / 2 = 7 DV =1 onslaught + 2 stunt dice, 5,8=7 DV
   3. Attack roll: (1, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10) 6sx
   4. Attack reroll: (1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 9) 5sx
   5. External penalties: 7DV (even if considered 6 due to onslaught from two attacks in one tick) negates the attack
   6. Defense Reroll:
   7. Base damage: 24L + successes
   8. Soak: none
10. Result: Clinch called on account of rain. Gale-Force just a lot of hot air. Cloud's defense stunt is a success.

C: --|-----|----|-|-, wp: 6/8, psnl: 3/0/12, prph: 18/12/32, DV plty: -3, Soak: 10B/9L/7A

H: --|-----|----|-|-, wp: 7/8, psnl: 7/5/12, prph: 10/5/32, DV plty: -2, Soak: 13B/11L/9A

Distance: 0 yards

Tick 4: Cloud

"I didn't come back to be lectured by you, big brother." The enormous pressure of Cloud's anima re-focuses around his body, separating him from the rain and mud, causing him to almost float. The pressure reaches its peak and explodes, sending Cloud hurtling into Hero. Cloud's leap takes him crashing through the bamboo forest, destroying countless trees in the wake of his maelstrom.

Hero stomps his foot, sending a wave of muck up into the air towards Cloud. Powerful servos in his armor whine as lunges to the side, attempting to foul his brother's grasp with the shuddering bamboo trunks.

Cloud will use his Combo, and almost as much Excellency as he can buy (+6 dice for 3m + 1m out of aspect + 1m form surcharge), along with channeling Valor. I'm hoping to be allowed to actually do this because of my stunt. If so, this attack cannot be parried, you must dodge. If you do succeed in dodging it, then Cloud will continue on the path of his leap without Hero. Otherwise they'll be in a different place, but still right next to each other. Cloud can leap (4 str + 3 athletics = 7 x 2 horizontal = 14 x 3 air anima = 42) yards horizontally, so he will leap 20.

Two dice for collateral damage.

Well, I don't have a problem with you moving and using a simple charm to attack, but I don't think your stunt should negate the environmental balance penalty totally. I'm cool with your stunt allowing you to take the flurry even though you're using a simple charm. Heck, I'll be happy if you take a -2 internal penalty as if you flurried to maintain your balance and didn't even bother with the Dex+athletics roll. As for Hero, dodge it is. I'm hoping to nab a smidgen of cover, but we'll see. Some minor questions: Shouldn't this be happening on tick 6? The speed of Lash of Wind is 5. Question the second, why is my DV penatly -2? Shouldn't it be -1?

The miscellaneous action required for balance also inflicts a DV penalty. I'm perfectly happy to make the dex + athletics roll too (though I will claim the difficulty of 1 same as you for my anima's assistance with the leap), as it's more of a chance than zero to make my action happen: (4 dex + 3 athletics + 2 stunt - 2 flurry = 7 dice; 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 8) 1 success, just made it.

Lash of Wind being an attack, I figured the Hearthstone Bracers would affect its Speed. Flurry and external penalties factored in. Gave you 1 point of cover too. And two dice, honestly mostly for the whining servos. That's what put me in the moment.

You just nicked me, but a nick is all you needed.

Cloud's Attack

1. Mela Scorns the Unrighteous (4 Dex + 5 Martial Arts + 2 Elemental Essence Maneuvers + 6 excellency + 4 Valor + 2 stunt - 3 flurry) = 20 dice, base damage 24L.
2. Defense declaration: Dodge (4 dex + 5 Dodge + 2 in armor + 4 Essence - 1 mobility = 14) / 2 = 7 DV - 2 last action + 1 cover = 6 DV + 2 stunt dice, 2,8=7 DV
3. Attack roll: 20 dice, (1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10) 10 successes.
4. Attack reroll: none
5. External penalties: 7 DV, 2 external penalty for mud and rain. 1 success remains.
6. Defense reroll: none
7. Base damage: (24L + 1 successes) x2 = 50L
8. Soak: 50L - 11L = 39L
9. Counterattacks
10. Result: rolling 39 damage dice: (1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10) 16 lethal damage. If Airborne Assault is modified to double post soak damage, I would roll 28 dice: (1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10) 12 lethal damage. In the latter case, you would become inactive for five ticks, then resume your action count.

C: --|-----|----|-|-, wp: 3/8 (Valor 3/4), psnl: 0/0/12, prph: 7/12/32, DV plty: -3, Soak: 10B/9L/7A

H: XX|XXXXX|XXXX|X|-, wp: 7/8, psnl: 7/5/12, prph: 10/5/32, DV plty: -2, Soak: 13B/11L/9A

Distance: 0 yards

Tick 9: Cloud

Standing over the fallen body of his brother, Magnificent Cloud gives the stunned and gasping Gunzosha a final kick. He waits a moment for the swirling mess of their animas to subside, then lifts his sibling's body. As Cloud carries Hero, he declares his point once again, "Power comes from the elements, not time. You should have embraced Danaa'd instead of tradition."

Even using the re-balanced version (which I am definitely implementing), I would knock you out here due to your inactivity. Full dice pool vs 0 dv, even with -2 for the elements and -1 for pulling my blow, dice pool is 9 since I'm not moving. First roll produced only 1 success, but I drop the form, spend 4m to reroll: (2, 3, 3, 3, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10) 8 - 3 = 5 successes. 12B with the kick, reduced to the minimum of 4B by your armor. (3, 4, 5, 10) 1 damage success, poof you're unconscious.

Conclusions

A section for what was learned

Home player (IanPrice)

Pre-match predictions:

• Shield of Wind + Gale Force is a brutally effective combination I built into the style on purpose. It may be too brutally effective, but that remains to be seen.
• If I get clinched, I get dead. My back will be broken (literally) faster than you can say "Bob's yourOHGODMYBACK!" I might get one - severely penalized - attack off after that, but if that doesn't do it... well, my parry DV is applicable, at severe penalties...
• The Artifact selection for this fight turned out way nastier than in the Ascending Air battle, with fewer dots. The choices really complement the styles well, and scarily.

Ultimate conclusions:

• Tornado-Force needs to end Hurricane-Force just like Maelstrom Attack does.
• Airborne Assault needs to double post-soak damage.
• Gale-Force needs to give a base of 1L per mote spent on Shield of Wind.

Away player Ambisinister

So, Having looked over Ian's style a few times now in preparation for the fight, three things worry me: The first is the massive defensive advantage granted by Shield of Wind. The ability to boost his DV by 5 for only 5 motes is incredible, and means that I could potentially be looking at low double digit DVs. The second thing that worries me is the ludicrous amount of damage he can do. Lash of Wind combined with Airborne Assault will get him an attack with 40 dice of raw damage. (possibly 50 if strength factors into Lash of WInd's damage as well). Combine that with Hurricane Force, to bring that damage up to 48-53 (depending on the level of his character's anima), and that's assuming the bonus damage from Hurricane force is not double by Airbrone Assault. On the subject of Hurrican-Force, that will generate some nasty counter-attacks when used in conjunction with Gale-Force. (By the way, I notice Gale-Force lacks the Counterattack key word. Is that intentional?) The third is the effectiveness of his form. With the Form up he effectively adds +1 to his DV, gets a free counterattack, and can buy an extra attack from Tornado Force for free. All in all, Ian's style appears to be, at first glance, brutally effective against Terrestrial level opponents. We will see how its mote economy will effect its balance throughout the fight.

Seeing that elemental lens in Ian's list made me cry. Poor Hero.

Crushing Glacier Prana looks a lot nicer on paper then it does when dropped into a combat situation. Using it on tick 1 was a huge mistake as I feel the 10 motes I wasted on it would have been far more useful in my pool. Say nothing about the other charms I could have taken in its place.

Didn't really learn anything new about THS, save for what I already said about CGP. Now that it's over, I can say my strategy for the fight was to nail Cloud in a clinch modified by CGC or its predecessor, squeeze him for two rounds, hit him Trireme on the third round, then pummel the crap outta him on the fourth round while he's still being held inactive by CGC. It's a powerful attack string, but that initial clinch needs to hit for it to work.

Initial Negotiations

I'm thinking the same conditions as over inTrialBySchmendrick/ResplendentAirVsTerrestrialHero/AscendingAirVsFiveDragon - IanPrice

No objections here. I can give or take anima effects, likewise I can give or take non-MA charms. I'll run with whatever you feel will give you a better handle on the power level of your style. I do have a question: Are we considering TH to consist of just the charms listed in the MA section of the DB book, or does it also include the 4 charms (Blade defelcting Palm, etc) listed in the main charms section?-Ambisinister

I'd count them as part of the main style, along with the additional charms in Scroll of the Monk. As for the aspects and Terrestrial charms, as I said over there, I want them for the comparison of how actual Terrestrials would do using these styles. - IanPrice

I'd like to avoid the Mast if possible. In a similar vein, I don't really see the Spear as being neccessary since neither of these styles can be used armed. I'm not a big fan of hearthstones in these types of compeitions. Finally, how would you like to address the fact that counting all sources, I have access to 17 charms (though some of those charms serve no purpose in a one-on-one fight) whereas your style only has 8. If we go with the suggestion that you get a surplus of additional charms to make up the difference, that would give you 9 additional charms, which may skew the results of the match as it pertains to the effectivness of your style.-Ambisinister

I didn't realize exactly how many charms there really were in THS. Let's go back to the base tree for the style (as Hapushet suggested below), then let you choose one of the extras to even out the number of charms in the styles. Any other extras from the 5 DB charms. You're quite right about the spear, so let's drop it down to 4 dots of stuff. I like having equipment options (including hearthstones) in there, because I find more meaning in the combination of factors. The "messy" data, if you will. I do find a lot of value in TrialBySchmendrick for its limitations, though, and the explicitly even playing field. - IanPrice

I am amenable to that charm solution. Regarding hearthstones, if you want em, then by all means lets inlcude them. I will respectfully request that you do not take a Freedom Stone, lest the entire exercise become pointless. Likewise, I'll avoid taking a Wind Hands Stone.-Ambisinister

That certainly would defeat the point. - IanPrice

As for location, how about a bamboo forest in a rainstorm? - IanPrice

I don't have a problem with that, but won't rain and forest put you at a disadvantage for ranged attacks? I have another question for you: Did you intentionally omit the counterattack key word from Gale-Force's description?- Ambisinister

No, that was simply an oversight, as I forgot there was such a keyword when I made the charm. As for the disadvantage to ranged attacks, yeah, I suppose it does. It also would prove troublesome for grappling since both parties would be slick with the rain and mud. Overall, it's cool to have fights that make everybody's life more interesting - that is, difficult. Though the penalties besides unstable footing would probably go away once our animas flare to the iconic level; the raw elemental energy both makes us brightly visible at the range we're talking about, and blows the slickness off us. - IanPrice

Alright, my blood lust is getting riled watching your combat with Five Dragon. Let's do this and rain be damned! We water guys like it wet anyhow. I'll leave it to you to set the scene since you are technically challenging me to prove the supremacy of your style. -Ambisinister

Player Chat

On the topic of rulings for my style:

• Shield of Wind can't exceed dice pool limits on the DV. The in-charm limit doesn't supercede the Dragon-Blooded limit.
• Several charms of this style should benefit from the Elemental Lens: Lash of Wind, Shield of Wind, Gale Force, Hurricane Force.
• Just as the form's cost reduction applies to each charm, the form's surcharge is applied per charm. This makes using excellencies problematic.

- IanPrice

Points the first and the third I'm down with. Point the second I'm a little confused over. I do not doubt that the elemental lens will work with Lash of Wind (which I anticipated) and with Shield of Wind (Which I didn't anticpate, and which I really wish I could refute, because 1m for +2DV is absolutely heinous.) I am curious about how Gale Force (Which I also didn't anticipate, and which is also scary because it allows for base 20 damage counter attacks.) actually works. As it's written, you can spend, say 10 motes on Shield of Wind with the explicit purpose of amping up the damage of a Gale Force counter attack. I don't think that's your intent, and you may wish to alter Shield of Wind to read "Cannot spend more motes powering this charm than MA." On the subject of Hurricane Force, this again has less to do with the elemental lens and more to do with the charm itself. Does the bonus damage granted by anima level count against the essence x2 cap or is it in addition to? Also, do you have to pay for the extra damage or is it free? As far as the elemental lens goes, once again the mote efficiency terrifies me (with the form up, that's a mere 1m for +8 damage), but my question pertains again to the bonus damage. Is that also effected by the elemental lens? If so, then at full anima (which i believe is 5 steps) then Hurricane Force will be generating an extra 18 bonus damage. While I'm on the subject, what was your intent for the interaction between Hurricane Force and Airborne Assault?- Ambisinister

• Shield of Wind: It already says "up to Martial Arts in motes." I'm not sure more words would make it any clearer that this is the maximum number of motes which may be spent on it.
• Gale-Force: Terrestrials could still spend their full MA in motes on Shield of Wind to get more damage out of this, even though their DV cap would limit how much defense they got from Shield of Wind.
• On both of the above: I do not intend for the amount to be doubled twice; if I spent 1m on Shield of Wind (not including any freebies from the form), I would get +2 DV. Then upon activating Gale-Force, I would get a counterattack with base 4L (+ Hurricane-Force) damage.
• Hurricane-Force: The anima bonus dice count against the cap, effectively giving the charm a discount. All 5 levels of anima banner add, so +5 dice is the maximum free bonus from anima flux level. The Elemental Lens does not count against the cap, just as it doesn't with an Elemental Bolt Technique. This means I will be able to generate 16 bonus damage with this charm due to the elemental lens, if I spend to the limit.
• Airborne Assault: It doubles damage that doesn't come in the form of automatic health levels. That includes Hurricane-Force's effects. (I am considering lowering the cost and making it double base, not raw, damage - but that's a decision for after this fight, and even then it would include Hurricane-Force.)
• For the record, Lash of Wind is like a short range Elemental Bolt Technique (with more power if you also know an air-aspect Elemental Bolt Technique). Strength doesn't factor in.
• All these charms should probably have the Elemental keyword, but I didn't know it existed when I wrote the style.

- IanPrice

• My fault, i miremembered the charm text. Your present wording is lucid.
• Not as big an issue now because they're capped at MA motes, which I thought wasn't the case when I made the comment.
• Ok, that's how I thought it worked. I apologize if my question was ambiguous.
• The charm as written reads:"...the Resplendent Air practitioner can buy up to (Essence x 2) bonus damage for the scene." My reading of this is that the bonus damage caps at essence x2. The way the elemental lens would work in this situation would be that you can get 4 dice of bonus damage per mote spent powering the charm, just like you can get 4 dice of damage for each mote spent powering an elemental bolt.

• And for an entirely new point, I just want to run some math by you and see if I'm calculating these values correctly:
  • I spend 9 motes and get an 18 damage lash of wind. With an elemental lens, I spend nine motes and get 36 dice of damage. Factor in airborne assault and the damage is now 54 dice. Throwing Hurricane force into the mix (using Ian's ruling that its end damage output will double) puts an unmodified bolt at 26 damage, an elemental lens amplified bolt at 52 damage, and a elemental lens and airborne assault damage at a whopping 78 dice. Does that sound right?

During the course of writing my opening setup I came up with two questions:

• How did you calculate those soak values? By my math my soak should be 13B/11L/9A and yours should be 4B/2L/0A (unless you're wearing mundane armor, although you didn't indicate that you were in your gear write up).
• Second question, I have a non-agressive miscellaneous action, does that instigate a join battle roll? And that's assuming I have time to perform it without you joining battle yourself.

-Ambisinister

• Haha, I'm dumb and forgot to alter them from what I copied the statline from. But I should have added some exceptional mundane armor to myself, since I'm allowed to wear it.
• What TonyC said. Battle time starts when someone forces it to. Since I activated my Form, I figure it's fair to let you react by activating yours.

-IanPrice

I think we need a ruling. A number of my charms (Bonds of Unbreakable Ice, Crushing Glacier Prana, Drowning Embrace) claim they work when "initiating a clinch." They say nothing about whether or not I can use them if I'm controlling a clinch. Thoughts? In addition, if I can't use Drowning Embrace while already in a clinch then I don't think I'll be able to use it in the fight (need to flurry a balance check to move and attack, can't flurry and activate a simple charm).-Ambisinister

I've always read it that when you gain control of a clinch through the roll each action, you effectively re-initiate it each time. - IanPrice

Ha! On tick 1 I gave both actions of my two action flurry a -3 penalty.-A

Well, no need to re-roll that since you succeeded on the one which ought to have had the smaller penalty anyway. - I

Observer Comments

I'd recommend limiting the THS practitioner to a smaller quantity of necessary Charms - Blade-Deflecting Palm and Become the Hammer, along with an Excellency or two - and giving the same Charms to Magnificent Cloud as well. Alternatively, you could allow Cloud all three Excellencies, and limit Hero (or whatever his name will be) to one Excellency and the two I mentioned above. Both of those seem like stronger options than just throwing Charms at the problem. - Hapushet

I have to agree with Ambisinister. At first glance, Resplendent Air really pushes the boundaries of what a Terrestrial style is capable of, and is strictly superior to other Terrestrial Styles in a couple places (I'm looking specifically at Tornado-Force). This is not going to be an even fight, I fear. - Hapushet

Tornado Force isn't much different from Five Dragon Wrath. I'm probably going to edit it after this fight to have it use up Hurricane Force just like Maelstrom Attack does, though. Anyway, don't count Terrestrial Hero Style out yet - remember how well we've seen it do against Five Dragon Style itself, which has everything you could want in a terrestrial martial art. - IanPrice

I do remember quite well, and if Hero can get his hands on you, there will be some pain, no argument. (I wish I'd thought to give my Hero gunzosha armor.) The differences between Tornado-Force and 5DW that concern me are threefold: the lack of a HL cost to activate it, the ability to hit multiple opponents, and the ability to apply an onslaught penalty. All of these are improvements over 5DW, and the combination of the 3 is significant indeed. - Hapushet

Re: regarding whether an action necessitates a Join Battle roll. In my opinion, when in doubt, ask the other party. It takes only one party to initiate a Join Battle roll and there is no difference whether it's because A is actively doing something, or because B takes exception to it. For example: Suppose the Green Lady starts playing her flute. Everyone rolls Join Battle. But as far as the system's concerned, there is no difference whether the Join Battle roll is initiated by the Green Lady, whose flute playing signifies the Form Charm of the SMA The Piper of The Darkness Beyond The Wyld, or if it's initiated by Broken Dreams of False Jewels, who recognized the impending danger to her Deathlord liege. Or even by Thrice-Extra, who mistakenly thought she was making a rude gesture. If the other party isn't sure of the intention behind it, maybe a roll-off between Manipulation + Performance/Socialize vs. Wits/Perception + Awareness or some similar attributes would give a hint on how to proceed. - TonyC

Thanks TonyC, as always you provide an insightful perspective. - IanPrice

Excellent example.-Ambisinister