TrialBySchmendrick/FlashGodVsCelestialMonkey

Trial started: 2/20/07
Trial completed: Not yet

Home: Flash God Style, "Tamaki"

Tamaki (Yes, I am obsessed with OHSHC) is a master swordsman, sleek and stylish. Dressing in loose clothing, he seems foolish and carefree, until provoked into a fight. Although he is usually quite passive, when forced, he will do anything to defend what he loves. On his back he carries a orichalcum reaper daiklave named The Blade that Moves Like the Wind, swift as it's namesake and infinitely more deadly. He wears Orichalcum Hearthstone Bracers on his arms.

He specializes in Quick Blows (MA +2) and Avoiding Hand to Hand (Dodge +2).

Out of MA charms -

First Dodge Excellency
Shadow Over Water
Seven Shadow Evasion
First MA Excellency
Infinite MA Mastery

Combo - Thousandfold Blows of Mastery

Seven Shadow Evasion
First MA Excellency
Inertial Defense
Dance of Flashing Blades

Played by Overshee

Away: Celestial Monkey "Nero"

Nero (yes, named after that Roman Emperor) is a gleeful absurdist and the sort of hyperactive navel-gazer that would be expected of a Celestial Monkey practitioner. Having attained Celestial Godbody Mastery, he fights well-armored and well-armed, and collects absurd weapons to use with his style. For this battle, he has brought to bear an orichalcum Chain Daiklave and an orichalcum Daikalbar, twirling them each one-handed with monkey-like agility. He's also wearing exceptional Articulated Plate (Soak 10B/10L, Mobility Penalty -2, other stats as normal). And still manages to look as carefree as a monkey as he hops aroud and... sniffs himself.

He specializes in Clinch Attacks (MA +2), Reach Attacks (MA +1), and Moving in Armor (Dodge +1)

Out of MA charms -

Second Resistance Excellency
Resistance Essence Flow
Durability of Oak Meditation
Iron Skin Concentration
First MA Excellency

Combo: Monkey Takes the Low Road

Four Halo Golden Monkey Strike
Iron Skin Concentration
Durability of Oak Meditation
First MA Excellency

Played by Squidheadjax

Signs

The Musician: 2nd Edition Rules.
The Ship's Wheel: Schmendricks are Solars (without castes).
The Spear: 4 Dots of Artifacts and Hearthstones.
The Sorcerer: One combo per Schmendrick.
The Mast: Rolls are half the dice pool, rounded up.
The Banner: The field is the Cult of the Illuminated main training grounds. A dusty 30 yard circle, surrounded by brown canvas tents. In the distance shouts can be heard.

Transcript

Setup

The fighting ring. Desolate. Serene. Dignified. *hack* *ptooey* Nero spits out some chewing tobacco as he steps into the dusty ring and looks around. "Alright, c'mon, where are ya?" he demands while looking around and twirling both an orichalcum daikalbar and extended chain daiklaive one-handed. Light glints off his articulated plate as he looks around and starts hopping agitatedly. Hesitantly, a Cult initiate scurries out into the ring. "Thirty minutes!? Whaddya mean I'm early?" Nero exclaims, rolling his eyes. He then sits and awaits his opponent, assuming a limber meditative posture. His anima quickly flares out, eventually forming into a lazy monkey that looks around boredly and scratch and-sniffs various body parts while Nero meditates. By the time Tamaki arrives, he's so limber as to be floppy.

Tamaki appears as suddenly as the summer breeze, one minute absent, the next simply there. A puff of dirt rises at his feet, and then is pushed away by the wind. Looking disdainfully at Nero, he yells across the field "Those were my best crop of bananas, you primate! Just because you practice a style named after a monkey it doesn't mean you have to steal my bananas." Throwing aside his black cloak a clean white shirt and baggy white pants are revealed. With a barely perceptable flick of his wrist a graceful sword made of the metal of his shard seemingly appears. On his wrists are matching bracers, devoid of a hearthstone.

He performs a kata, swinging his sword faster and faster, until it is just a blur. Stepping down hard, he points his sword at Nero. "Prepare to face my blade."

Body of War Meditation, committing 30 peripheral motes to increase Dex to 9. Total commitment now 39; pools are 23/18 remaining ~squidheadjax

Activating Flash God Form, 5m.

Format

Flavor text describing the events, stunts, etc.

Mechanics of one fighter

Mechanics of another fighter. If a fighter makes an attack, use the attack steps. Second Edition, for example, would be:

Attack specifics, including charm use.
1. Additional details, like countercharms
2. Or other responses to the attack made during this step
Defense declaration
Attack roll
Attack reroll
External penalties
Defense reroll
Base damage
Soak
Counterattacks
Result

Round 1

Flavor text describing the events, stunts, etc.

Mechanics of one fighter

Mechanics of another fighter. If a fighter makes an attack, use the attack steps. Second Edition, for example, would be:

Attack specifics, including charm use.
1. Additional details, like countercharms
2. Or other responses to the attack made during this step
Defense declaration
Attack roll
Attack reroll
External penalties
Defense reroll
Base damage
Soak
Counterattacks
Result

Round 2

Round n

Conclusions

A section for what was learned

Home player

I'm afraid that my style may be a bit too powerful. If I win, I think it will come from the upper tier charms, which I may have been carried away with. ~Overshee

Motes will also have a huge part to do with this battle. If I run out I'm totally screwed. ~Overshee

Away player

Hypothesis - Celestial Monkey is a bit too all-around to be effective on its own against a more specialized martial art and is better used for buffing other martial arts. We'll see. ~squidheadjax

I should be pretty efficient, mostly relying on Essence Flow to ensure that ISC works. I'm relying on the soak almost-perfect's timing in the attack chain such that it doesn't need to be anticipated to be invoked. Relying in great measure. ~squidheadjax

Observers

Initial Negotiations

TrialBySchmendrick/Negotiations - Archived for space.

Player Chat

Can't wait to fight. -Overshee
Bring it ;) -squidheadjax

Observer Comments

You know, you're gonna be spending 36m and 2w every time you activate that, and you don't even have any defensive charms or excellencies in that Combo. - IanPrice

I forgot about other charms, are we gonna use extra ones? And basically it's a finishing move. Hey, could I put inertial defense and flash of dancing blades in a combo? I was thinking about it last night in bed, but I wasn't sure.~Overshee

You could indeed do that. Read the section on Combos in the 2e core book, it provides a good set of advice. Most importantly, I'd just point out that your Celestial Monkey opponent can boost his DV to insane levels easily (add Essence to dexterity, and set his parry DV to his full Dex + MA, not divided by 2 - that'll be DV 14 with these schmendricks). That means one application of this finishing move won't finish him off, and you need to have some way to avoid the deadly Four Halo Golden Monkey Palm he'll respond with. - IanPrice

Scroll of The Monk clarified the Body of War Meditation. It's a charm with 20 minutes prep-time and lasts one scene. This isn't actually a problem, since you can simply negotiate to have it already active (assume that you are meditating prior to the appointed duel), but it's not something you can pull in the middle of battle. So it's either already active, and you've committed your motes to it, or you won't be able to use it at all. - TonyC

How does this combo look? The fact that I can perfect dodge, then perform a throw that doesn't allow him to make actions except reflexive charms until six ticks later, then attack viciously is quite devastating. ~Overshee

Now that's a combo I'd be scared of. - IanPrice

I'm curious about how Nero has 4 dots in specialties. - Hapushet

D'oh. Fixified. - Squidheadjax