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End of an Era (Naruto AU)

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[X] Search for her team. She has Keen Ears and so hopefully she can find some of them and help them snap out of it.
 
First rule of rescues is to not try when you need rescue herself. Shizue is still confused, lost, and in pretty bad shape. I'm voting for her to go get help so that she can rescue her team more effectively.
 
The Laurent said:
Fun fact: you have survival 0!

Unless we missed a purchase in our count?
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...

You are aware that we didn't know survival was a mechanical skill, right? That's it isn't on our character sheet so we didn't have any idea it existed? It wasn't provided as a skill to train, nor given a modifier?

We specifically trained survival, repeatedly. That was our stated training goal, and we raised stats that looked related to it because you never gave us a survival skill.

Like, normally I don't say things this strongly, but this is literally on you. We anticipated this scenario, expressed interest in Shizue learning survival to expressly counter this scenario, had her train it narratively, talked in the discussion how we thought it was a behind the scenes fluff skill.

If we do poorly, it isn't because we didn't anticipate this obstacle, nor did we not plan for it, or try to prepare for it. It's entirely because you didn't communicate a portion of the mechanics to us.
 
Diomedon said:
...

You are aware that we didn't know survival was a mechanical skill, right? That's it isn't on our character sheet so we didn't have any idea it existed? It wasn't provided as a skill to train, nor given a modifier?

We specifically trained survival, repeatedly. That was our stated training goal, and we raised stats that looked related to it because you never gave us a survival skill.

Like, normally I don't say things this strongly, but this is literally on you. We anticipated this scenario, expressed interest in Shizue learning survival to expressly counter this scenario, had her train it narratively, talked in the discussion how we thought it was a behind the scenes fluff skill.

If we do poorly, it isn't because we didn't anticipate this obstacle, nor did we not plan for it, or try to prepare for it. It's entirely because you didn't communicate a portion of the mechanics to us.
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Sorry about that. I... how did I miss it? Because I've been spending XP for literally every single other character for it, so I assumed it was on the list, or something?
 
Actually, ah! I should have put your Survival at 0 so that you remembered it, that would have helped more.

Because:

The Laurent said:
Character Creation Part 3 (of 4)



Score guide:

1-16: E Rank (Academy student/fresh genin)
17-32: D Rank (Typical genin)
33-48: C Rank (Typical chunin)
49-64: B Rank (Skilled chunin or jonin)
65-80: A Rank (Skilled jonin)
80<: S Rank


Cost Guide:

Up to 10 - 1 XP per point
11 to 20 - 2 XP per point
21 to 35 - 3 XP per point
36 to 55 - 4 XP per point
55 to 80 - 5 XP per point
80 < -10 XP per point


XP Total: 600 (base graduate)+50 (Clan)-30 (Reef)+5 (Guessing the Shomeigan)+3(Vote analysis)+2 (Some creative plans, so why not round it out?)+5 (More analysis, and cause I like you)=635 XP. Now, basically, imagine a generic graduate. 16 in all fields, has no hobbies, no life, and no soul. Has no clan, nor even any interests, likes punching things equally to sneaking past things. An impossible being, that is. Just that alone would cost 504 XP. Thus, the base is designed to give XP to play around with at least some Advanced Options. Civilian-born Ninja have the short end of the stick, with a penalty to their XP, but even this difference can be overcome once missions start. Either way, the average 'spread' for a new Genin is that some scores will be as low as 12, others will be as high as 20, with maybe one stand out above that. Reef Genin, on the other hand, have an average of 12. Some as high as 16, or 18, some as low as 8.

Basic Skills and Stats: You must spend between 8 and 54 XP on each of the following. In a more 'normal' case, you'd have to spend between 10 and 60 XP, but you picked Reef. That means the lowest any one of these will be is 8, the highest is 28, which is to say already at the high end of Genin the moment you walk out of the Academy doors. Though modifiers can bring that slightly higher than that.

A Note: Your final modifier for a skill is (in almost all cases) an average of the relevant stat and skill/skills. Thus, someone with Strength 10 and Taijutsu 80 would only be rolling a 45 for fighting, which is pretty pathetic for supposedly S-rank skills! Relevant stats change depending on the circumstances. Softer forms of martial arts might use Dexterity, or Agility, and watching an enemy to learn their Taijutsu would involved Intelligence and/or Perception. And so on.


STATS:


Strength: Physical strength, fitness, you know the drill!
Dexterity: Covers things like hand-eye coordination, affects accuracy with ranged weapons.
Agility: Covers things like balance, reaction times, overall... well... agility...
Constitution: This affects both how quickly you get physically tired, and how much punishment you are able to take.

HP: Average of Strength+Constitution.

Intelligence: How smart you are, how capable you are of thinking things through and coming up with answers and solutions.
Perception: How much you are able to notice details, whether emotional, mental, or, most commonly, physical. Pretty darn important for a ninja, since this is one of the things that would be rolled to oppose Stealth.
Power: This is social power, the force of personality expressed, and also the mental flexibility, not just intelligence but the ability of one's mind to stretch its limits. For instance, Genjutsu uses Intelligence and Power, Power serving as the intuitive, careful judging of just how to build a good genjutsu, while Intelligence is the workhorse. Perception would also come in, because that's also important for genjutsu.
Willpower: Never give up! Never give in! Used to keep on fighting even though you're in agony, to decide in a sudden moment to buck trends, break rules, and so on! Doesn't grant social power, though, that's the previous stat, so even if you have high willpower, it doesn't help with persuading people to follow you!


Chakra Coil Capacity: -4 penalty, this is less to do with your actual quantity of chakra, more the theoretical capacity of your chakra network. Girls tend to have smaller chakra coils than boys overall, so you start out with a penalty.
Chakra Molding: +4 bonus, represents ability to effectively use chakra, and is often the gate for subtler techniques that require careful use of chakra. Girls start out with a bit of a bonus in this category.


Chakra: After a long discussion and figuring out that averaging two stats, and all sorts of other methods, meant that a Genin had a fifth of a Kage's chakra, we decided to go with NSMS' complicated, but actually exponential, formula. (Chakra Coil Capacity * ((Physical Stats/4)+(Mental Stats/16)))/2.5. That allows a more reasonable spread of power, even if it's a little complex. We'll round up or down as makes sense. It also handily reflects the fact that chakra is made up of a combination of physical and spiritual energy!


BASIC SKILLS:

Awareness (Perception): Uses perception to average with, this is how you notice things! Like the ninja right behind you about to shank you. It's pretty important!
Evasion (Agility): And this is how you dodge said ninja about to kill you!
Short Blades (Strength, usually): This is your skill at stabbing said ninja with a kunai (or other form of knife.)
Movement (Agility): This is your ability to run away, both short-term (out of that room) and long term (perhaps Snow Village is nice this time of year?)
Ninjutsu (+4 bonus, minimum (before bonus, note) 16): This is how you try to use Replacement to escape but he easily predicts it because he's S-class. It both relates to your skill at using ninjutsu (like knowing how to find objects for Replacement...Ninjutsu and Perception averaged) and also how many jutsu you start out knowing. After character creation, jutsu will have to be purchased using XP. This category includes your clan jutsu.
Shurikenjutsu (Dexterity, usually): Your skill at throwing things, whether kunai or shuriken or a number of other common thrown weapons. You contemplate trying to do so against them, but then remember that they could just throw it back at you.
Stealth (Minimum 16, +3 Bonus): You have no stealth skill at all, so you try to hide in a corner, sobbing and weeping before your inevitable death.
Taijutsu (Strength, usually, but all four plus mental stats matter): In your last, feeble moments, you punch them hard on the nose, breaking it. You've at least hurt them before your painful death. This doesn't grant any extra techniques, unless you have a Clan or learned style that has 'special techniques' this just simply means general ability to fight. Special martial arts techniques are of course unlocked by Taijutsu.

ADVANCED SKILLS: You may spend up to 54 XP on each of the following, but don't have to! Some, however, have a minimum expenditure because of your clan specialties. Please note that bonuses are applied on top of this minimum expenditure.


Athletics (Strength or Constitution): Climbing, swimming and other general forms of physical exertion not covered by Movement.
Chakra Control (Chakra Molding): How good you are at using and managing your chakra. Together with molding, it gates a number of things, and also determines your skill with using chakra subtly (or even whether you can walk on water or climb trees.)
Fuinjutsu (Intelligence and Power): Seals and all! Pretty self-explanatory.
Genjutsu (Intelligence, Power, and Perception): Doesn't feature many set techniques because genjutsu is very flexible, subtle, and often personalized.
Infiltration (+6 (Message+Walk)): Posing as someone they are not, the more visible side of sneaking, as opposed to the 'shadow ninja' routine. Making up and maintaining a fake identity, accent, backstory, hairstyle, etc etc...all of this goes into this skill.
Long Blades (Strength, etc): Swords, etc.
Medicine (Intelligence, Perception): Non-jutsu based medicine, from first aid to weird medical experiments and beyond! Also includes the in-depth anatomical knowledge required to make senbon an effective weapon.
Persuasion (Power, Willpower) (Minimum Rank 16, +6 (3 (Clan)+3 (Walk)): Convincing people to do what you want!
Poison (Intelligence): It makes you good at sewing...what do you think? The art of using, applying, creating and handling poison.
Puppetry ( +5 bonus): The noble and ancient (and yet also modern) art of puppetry.
Socialize (Minimum Rank 16, +6 (3 Clan, 3 Walk) bonus): Getting along with people, fitting into a group, generally mingling!
Survival (Constitution, Perception, Intelligence, etc): Managing to rough it in the wilds, catching game (or in Reef's case fish), making tents, building fires, knowing all sorts of things related to that.
Traps (Intelligence, Perception, Power) (Minimum Rank 16, +3 Bonus): Traps, be they lethal or nonlethal! Can be combined with Wire or Fuinjutsu for extra-special trap fun!
Water Release: Use of Water Release jutsu, pretty self-explanatory. (Maximum of 16 at creation)
Wire Use (Intelligence, Perception): The use of wires both offensively, defensively, and within traps.

A/N: Okay, so! The bonuses and penalties are going to be applied after XP is assigned because it's the only thing that doesn't get confusing and weird. This is definitely a Plan build sort of thing, and I hope it doesn't scare anyone off compared to the earlier, less number-intensive section. This is important though, both for the characterization of what she is and isn't good at that this provides, and also because several of the skills (namely Ninjutsu and Water Release) have to do with what jutsu you know, which will (probably) be the fourth and final round of the voting! I will be checking each vote to make sure that XP is properly allocated.



It's certainly possible! You'll see more once you meet her. Currently finish up her stats, actually.
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The Laurent said:
Actually, ah! I should have put your Survival at 0 so that you remembered it, that would have helped more.

Because:
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And a lot of that post is out of date due to mechanics changes since then (jutsu cost for example). The rule of thumb we've all been using is that the sheet posted in the XP vote update is the authoritative sheet.

We thought you had deliberately decided to abstract it to narrative fiat, since survival in the archipelago is nothing like survival in a desert.
 
As far as it goes, I'm going to be generous then, with any rolls, because it's largely my fuck up. But I was completely sure you were aware that it was an actual skill.

Diomedon said:
And a lot of that post is out of date due to mechanics changes since then (jutsu cost for example). The rule of thumb we've all been using is that the sheet posted in the XP vote update is the authoritative sheet.

We thought you had deliberately decided to abstract it to narrative fiat, since survival in the archipelago is nothing like survival in a desert.
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That would be an interesting idea, but not quite. As far as it went, I just assumed that Shizue had a few points of Survival that she wasn't using. Like, I checked the sheet expecting I'd see, "Survival 3" or whatever because you bought it for cheap early on and then never raised it.
 
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The Laurent said:
That would be an interesting idea, but not quite. As far as it went, I just assumed that Shizue had a few points of Survival that she wasn't using. Like, I checked the sheet expecting I'd see, "Survival 3" or whatever because you bought it for cheap early on and then never raised it.
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I went back and checked, and after character creation and the first XP vote, survival stopped being listed, so I'm not sure anyone remembered it existed since 2015 or early 2016.
 
Diomedon said:
I went back and checked, and after character creation and the first XP vote, survival stopped being listed, so I'm not sure anyone remembered it existed since 2015 or early 2016.
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It's fine, we'll just learn from here. And as far as it goes, Survival is a skill that's very specific to location, but a high Survival would probably include the ability to be very quick to adapt to new circumstances, or translate them into a new environment.

So I'm just going to be generous for this round of rolling once the vote closes, and we can all figure it out later.
 
Wow, that is really annoying. That means we picked survival training and didn't even get a chance to use its discounts.

Are there any other skills missing from the front page?

Because this means we might have some skills that are badly in need of training.
 
Sivantic said:
Wow, that is really annoying. That means we picked survival training and didn't even get a chance to use its discounts.

Are there any other skills missing from the front page?

Because this means we might have some skills that are badly in need of training.
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Well, actually, didn't you vote for survival training this month? And you haven't gotten the XP yet for that.

You get XP at the end of a month, and the survival training with Chuichi is this month.
 
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@The Laurent How much time has passed since the team was together, based on Shizue's best guess? Outside of the update, you just mentioned that it's still early morning.

Also, based on the footprints, can she tell the speed at which she moved?

[x] Search for her team. She has Keen Ears and so hopefully she can find some of them and help them snap out of it.

I'll presume they're either all still close enough to be found. Or, enemies are attacking her team one by one already.

We obviously don't know any of the actual distances involved. But it seems obvious that Oshii's, Shinriki's, and Dosu are all at least a magnitude further away than her teammates could possibly be.
 
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Act 4, Scene 16 (Fin)
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    • Act 4, Scene 16 (Cont)

    The desert was hot and miserable, and Shizue, though she had learned a decent bit about surviving in it, certainly wasn't an expert. But today was not worse than previous days, and she'd been learning quite a lot.

    She knew to keep hydrated, and she knew to watch and listen for the sound of blowing storms. She knew how to navigate if she was still searching when night fell, and she knew to keep covered to make sure that her skin wouldn't burn with the sun.

    Shizue hadn't practiced any of this while she was as exhausted and sick as she was now, while there were vague remnants of genjutsu popping up every so often.

    Twice she paused, because she saw what looked like a well in the distance, and yet when she walked closer, it was clear that it was only a part of a well, like a fragment of a painted over picture. Her hearing was more clear, and she only occasionally heard the start of a sandstorm without seeing it.

    Still, she could not even begin to imagine how it was done. Genjutsu in a bottle was impossible, a fantasy, a myth and more than that, absurd even by the standards of what ninja could do. A genjutsu needed intelligence behind it, or perhaps a seal that manipulated chakra in the same way intelligence did. Even the 'fire and forget' genjutsu weren't really fire and forget.

    But a poison that could confer a genjutsu, and not a simple one?

    Shizue was terrified of the implications, and she had no idea what it meant that this was out and about. Anyone could use it, if it didn't require being able to use chakra to apply it. That was revolutionary, if it was possible to produce in any real numbers.

    It was the work of a genius. Could Emiko do it? Shizue wasn't sure at all, and in the hot sun, she wasn't up to much thinking.

    She was sweating, but she followed her own tracks, first. She almost got lost at the start, but once she started, she was halfway back before she saw a few footprints that hadn't been swept away by the wind.

    On she went, until she found a small pool, sheltered by rocks. Just a little bit of water, but enough that there were muddy sandal-prints.

    But only for two people. She followed them into the sands, where they disappeared, having long since been blown away. But she was on the right track, and she kept her movements careful, not using her sonar burst yet, because right now it'd show nothing.

    It was almost an hour of searching before she saw the first sign. A sentinel in the distance.

    Yuichi, slouching where he stood, wobbling a little back and forth. She hurried forward, and he began to move away from her.

    Trying to escape whatever he saw in his vision. But while she wasn't faster than him, she was faster than him when he was dehydrated, exhausted, and hallucinating. The young boy froze when she got closer, blinking. "Shizue-chan?"

    "Yuichi-kun, where is Chuichi-san?" Shizue asked, her voice soft, even delicate. He wasn't weak, but now wasn't the time to push him hard.

    He swayed in the breeze, almost literally, as he looked over at her, eyes narrowed, looking a little confused and a lot out of it.

    "Over…" Yuichi gestured randomly. "He told me to keep watch."

    "Keep watch? In your state?" Shizue asked, her eyes narrowing.

    "Well, I'm near these rocks, and so I was sorta sheltering…" Yuichi said, leaning against empty air.

    "There are no rocks."

    "Oh." Yuichi blinked. "But it can't be genjutsu, there's nobody around here or they would have attacked."

    "What if it was a genjutsu poison?" Shizue asked, reaching out to hold him tight to keep him from slumping.

    "That's… impossible," Yuichi said, weakly, sounding confused as his eyes crossed. "It's hot, Shizue-chan."

    "I know," Shizue said, aware that he was in even worse shape than he was. "What about Akachi-kun?"

    "Someone… we heard something? A horse or something. And then we ran, but Akachi-kun was falling behind, but when we turned to go after him, the sandstorms picked up," Yuichi mumbled, stumbling through the words.

    "Can you take me to Chuichi-kun?"

    *******

    Chuichi was in the shelter of actual rocks. There was an outcropping like a jagged tooth reaching upwards and then ending like, well. Like a tooth that had been chipped off by something too hard.

    It stood out, in other words, and in the shade, Chuichi was there with a kunai in his hand.

    The somewhat large man had cuts on his hand, several of them rather deep. "Shizue...chan? Are you real?"

    "Yes. Chuichi-sama, it's a poison."

    "It can't be. Genjutsu are supposed to be able to be dispelled like this, and this is pure genjutsu," Chuichi said, firmly, as he tried to lever himself up. It took two tries before he finally stumbled to his feet, sand flowing off of him.

    "It's some sort of genjutsu poison," Yuichi said.

    "That makes no--"

    "Yes. Yes, I know," Shizue said, somewhat louder than she expected. She knew rather little about genjutsu, all things considered, and she was pretty sure that Yuichi could have told her a dozen reasons why it was impossible.

    She was also pretty sure that none of them would stop it from having happened. Her own lack of expertise might have even helped her to accept that there were things she didn't understand, since she knew only enough about Genjutsu to realize it was complicated and difficult, if not as fascinating as puppets.

    "Okay, so, what do we do?" Yuichi asked, as he half-collapsed into the shade himself.

    "I made myself throw up, and it got better," Shizue said, holding out some fingers. "You just have to put your fingers down your throat."

    "Really?" Yuichi said. "I never would have thought of that. I would have probably… punched myself in the stomach?"

    "So, what was it you were talking about? You were saying you didn't have to worry about going to that BBQ beef place," a girl said. She was eleven, with pigtails and bright, wide eyes, and she'd die before Emiko even arrived, back when someone like her was a big deal, when it meant something.

    "Yeah. I found a special kunoichi trick," a girl who would survive all of it said. She was short, and pretty, though not as pretty as Saya, someone that Saya somethings hung out with. "I haven't asked him, but I bet Ichiman-kun doesn't like fat girls, because who does? So, if you just stick your fingers down your throat like this, then you can get rid of too much food, and then…"

    Shizue winced. A… kunoichi trick? It didn't sound like one at all. It sounded like a bad idea.

    "Are you going to ask him soon, then?" the first girl, Eri, asked.

    "I-I'm not sure. He seems so cool and aloof. What if he just opens his mouth and says something so cool my head explodes. Or what if he thinks we're all too lame to talk to. I mean, you've seen him watching people sometimes, and yet not saying anything."

    "You think he's arrogant?" Eri asked, confused.

    "No! It's not arrogance when you really are better than everyone. Have you seen what a good shinobi he is? But anyways, when I do approach him, I'll have the perfect body for it, and I don't even need to not eat beef."

    Shizue was listening, reading a book.

    Ami turned to look at Shizue, "Oh, and don't worry, Ichiman-kun doesn't like beanpoles either, so no need to starve yourself even more than you already are."

    Shizue hadn't had a word to say back. She'd just sunk into her chair, her heart hardening. It would be sadder if it wasn't so usual, so normal. It wasn't as if it was going to change, so she might as well just get used to it.

    "Oh, well, maybe it's just something I know," Shizue said, her face flushing a little as she remembered when she'd learned it, and how. She was pretty sure it was a bad idea, and unhealthy for you, and in the face of what Ichiman-kun had turned out to be like, it was even worse.

    But she had no idea how she'd explain it to Yuichi, though Chuichi might well know, considering he was already walking over to the other side, to throw up away from their shelter.

    Honestly, it was something Shizue thought that everyone knew how to do, even if they didn't do it because of how obviously bad it was. She supposed she'd just assumed wrong.

    ******

    They looked a little bit better now, and the vomit was gone and buried, and so Chuichi spoke authoritatively. "If at all possible, we should capture a sample or two of the poisons for future study. Emiko-san would want that. But we need to focus on the mission at hand, and that means we need to find Akachi-kun. I believe he was stolen away by the thief, and if it's a poison, than the only source would be the ranch. If we go there, then that's our problem solved, more or less. But we might need a little help…"

    "Couldn't Dosu-san also help us track down where the thief is? He knows the desert, right?" Yuichi asked, gulping down water like it was going out of style.

    "He does. Though there are others we could also ask, actually…"

    [End Credits]

    Another choice!

    [] Did someone say Lynch?: The Shinriki farm needs to know who is behind this. And then they need to go with the shinobi to Oshii's, perhaps with some friends from the tribes at their back, and see just what he says to that. And if they aren't willing to talk, then they can hang. It's Suna style justice, baby!
    [] It's almost noon: Find Dosu, and have him come with you to the ranch to clear the place out and find clues about where Akachi could be.
    [] Hunt!: Or you could hope that Dosu and you could find out where the thief was hiding together, now that he has a reason to really look. It would be faster if you find it immediately, but slower if you don't.

    ******

    A/N: I'm sorry these are all so short. It feels like there are so many choices to make that we keep on cutting out. But we're getting closer to the end, hopefully!

    And you managed to roll pretty well, and there was some decent luck involved.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] It's almost noon: Find Dosu, and have him come with you to the ranch to clear the place out and find clues about where Akachi could be.

    The Man with No Name has to be there to confront the villainous ranchers!
     
    [X] It's almost noon: Find Dosu, and have him come with you to the ranch to clear the place out and find clues about where Akachi could be.
     
    [X] It's almost noon: Find Dosu, and have him come with you to the ranch to clear the place out and find clues about where Akachi could be.
    Inb4 we get to Dosu and Akachi is already there nerding out about throwing weapons.
     
    [X] It's almost noon: Find Dosu, and have him come with you to the ranch to clear the place out and find clues about where Akachi could be.

    So this is the High Noon shootout?
     
    [X] It's almost noon: Find Dosu, and have him come with you to the ranch to clear the place out and find clues about where Akachi could be.
     
    [X] It's almost noon: Find Dosu, and have him come with you to the ranch to clear the place out and find clues about where Akachi could be.
     
    [X] Hunt!: Or you could hope that Dosu and you could find out where the thief was hiding together, now that he has a reason to really look. It would be faster if you find it immediately, but slower if you don't.
     
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