JesseLowe/KaizokuNotes

Notes about Admiral Kaizoku's thoughts, desires and goals

• Past life actions: The Admiral has fleeting flashbacks to the First Age from time to time. He remembers being bored, having no challenges worthy of him. That, the evidence of a connection of his past life dealing with high-level demons and the vison of being killed by Monkey’s past life have convinced him of a few things. First is that dealing with dark powers is very bad, and to be avoided. He will not learn any of the demon summoning spells or related dark arts like Necromancy. Period. Second is that the tales of Solar excess cited in the Ursupation were not made up from whole cloth. Seeing such excesses repeated in the modern age is something that concerns him (Lyta, Moray Darktide), and he checks himself and those around him carefully.

• Charm paths to follow:

• • Sail tree. Hasn't been bought up because we weren't at see at all in the second part of the campaign and Salty Dog was always good enough. 2nd Sail Excellency opens up almost everything, and it's all useful if there's naval action.

• • Athletics tree. 2nd Athletics Excellency for Thunderclap Attack Prana. . Also allows for Thunderclap Attack... even alone or with Melee Essence Flow, it's 20 ping damage on creatures of darkness. No combo flare to bring up perfect defenses either. Moving fast could be useful, and Lightning Speed is on that path. My group lamented the fact that I didn't have Graceful Crane Stance after all this time. As a non-favored, it's so expensive though!

• • Melee Tree. Melee Essence Flow. - Handy for quick combos... Hungry Tiger, Enemy Castigating Solar Judgement, Sandstorm Wind and the like. With 2nd Melee Excellency, DV can be pumped up a point or two when needed, the cost offset by defensive stunts. Fire and Stones Strike and a perfect Melee attack custom charm for the big post-soak combo.

• • The Lore tree. Immanent Solar Glory again. Hard to regenerate the motes, but with 25 committed motes for the two scene-length combat charms, that's not Essence that'd be coming back soon anyway. Taking 2nd Excellency opens up many Wyld shaping charms for the future.

• • Presence Tree. Terrifying Apparition of Glory reflects his confrontational style... no one can merely turn away from the ideas he puts forth. Irresistable Salesman's Spirit shows his persuasive power. Presence Essence Flow bumps up the force of his arguements with those charms and puts evil to shame with Enemy-Castigating Solar Judgement.

• • The Survival Tree. Hardship-Surviving Medicant Spirit isn't that useful for a sea admiral, but Element-Resisting Prana's ability to let you surive at the bottom of the sea or in a volcano is both cool and useful. Eternal Elemental Harmony would cut down on the Essence commitment and prevent knockout-drownings.

• • The Awareness Tree. I have to bite the bullet and pay the non-favored cost to buy some Awareness. Surprise-Anticipation Method syncs up very well with Protection of Celestial Bliss. Comboing it the defensive counterattack combo Eye of the Hurricane would work well too. Would that charm ensure you don't get hit by surprise if five people are attacking you? Or is it a matter of "not being able to do anything about it even if you know?"

• • The Resistance Tree. The path to Adamant Skin Technique. A second Perfect Defense could be useful, especially against surprise attacks, ambushes and unusual charms. Spirit Strengthens the Skin could have some value when in a Warstrider. It wouldn't take many motes to get many attacks down to the Hardness level of a 'strider.

Combo ideas

• • Improving the Transcendent Sword Technique. Adding 2nd Melee Excellency, Solar Counterattack and Heavenly Guardian Defense would make it a good, low-cost basic-level attack combo that could be used for several turns in a row.

• • General multi-attack combo Iron Whirlwind, 1st and 2nd Excellencies, Hungry Tiger Technique, Heavenly Guardian Defense. Invincible Fury of the Dawn to get 8 attacks. 14 motes, 2 WP. Spiral Wave Slash as a name, perhaps.

• • Ultimate darkness killer combo. A massive ping damage attack taking advantage of the Zenith banner doubling against creatures of darkness. Likely a remembered technique from the Primordial War. Not such a good idea now that demons have access to perfect defenses though. Consists of:</b>

• • • Custom Melee perfect attack charm to always hit for ping damage. If there's one for archery, how hard could it be to make a Melee one? Always hits, even crazy high DV demons.

• • • Fire & Stones Strike for adding to the ping... so 13 post-soak damage.

• • • Thunderclap Attack Prana to double that damage to 26 post-soak dice.

• • • Enemy-Castigating Solar Judgement. Naturally, since it's being used against creatures of darkness

• • • Ghost-Eating Technique. Finishes off the likely target for good and helps offset the Essence cost

• • • Iron Raptor/Sandstorm Wind Attack. Because it doesn't look cool to attack the shin of a 50 foot demon.

• • • Peony Blossom Attack. This attack is hugely expensive already, so I'd just pay the 2 motes to attack once... but firing it off two or three times with the Peony would be a surprise desperation move and cheaper than building a second combo with it... it might in theory get past someone using one perfect defense too.

• • • Solar Counterattack. Just in case.

• • • Heavenly Guardian Defense. Also just in case.

Artifact adjustments A Moonsilver (Sun and moon unity!) or Black Jade (the power of the sea would be his sheild!) Daiklave with a Fivefold Harmonic Adaptor would provide an extra parry DV (to 9... otherwise not possible given standard artifacts)) and make for cool dual-wielding. It'd take the place of the Hearthstone Bracers. A pair of Soulsteel Transcendent Phoenix Pinions was taken off a Deathknight. The Soulsteel could be replaced by jade or Orichalcum for a more suitable look. The Pinions would give +2 DV when active... with the dual daiklaves, that's 16 PDV with the 2nd Excellency up.

Hearthstones The 3 dot Air aspect Twice-Striking Lightning Prism adds 2 to your Essence score when you use a charm or spell at the cost of 1 willpower. Used to set up Protection of Celestial Bliss, it would let the Admiral store FIVE Heavenly Guardian Defenses at a cost of 15 motes (time to get another Immanent Solar Glory.) Handy if he got the Mendicant Spirit survival charms... unlimited free survival in hostile elements. Useful for casting spells as well, though the WP cost would start to bite rapidly.

Already Bought Defensive Combo with a cool name - Omniscent Eye of the Hurricane To be used against a multiple-attack or flurry charm, a bunch of Dragon Blooded doing a coordinated attack or a large mass of creatures who all have the same Join Battle score. It assumes Infinite Melee Mastery is in effect... so an 18 die + 5 success counterattack against every single attack at full 13 DV, and the chance to flurry five attacks with the Daiklave. Need to buy Ready in Five Directions.

Notes from elsewhere

As I understand it, the 1st Athletics Excellency might be better-suited to working with Lightning Speed. As the 1st Excellency improves your lift ratings, so too might it work with running speeds? -- GreenLantern, just throwing it out there

Both would work. The first gives you more fine control, but the second gives you more reliability on actual rolls of the ability. - IanPrice

In a recent battle, I was using 1st Melee Ex. to parry a flurry. Nine dice. Two out of the six rolls had just ONE success. This is not atypical. I lack the good fortune to count on even average rolls. -Jetman