Frozen, Furious Heavens

[X] Tell the full truth, give her name, say that she was exiled from the (legendary) city of Sezakan.
 
[] Tell some of the truth. Give her name but decline to explain or just state that it happened a very long away away.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Iron Skies had not thought through this really, she pauses for a moment, then shrugs, a motion vastly exaggerated by the shift of wings behind her. "I'm Final Iron Skies. Also no, no need to be worried. It was. Um. Probably three hundred miles away?" She glances toward the door then, hoping for an interruption that does not come.

The sergeant examines her, peering closely. "Final Iron Skies. The Winged Spear of Sezakan?" He sounds dubious. "Well you have the wings." He motions with a gauntlet clad hand. "But I heard they looked like iron not slate or something. I'm not seeing you in feathersteel mail or with your husband. Also figured she would be taller." He is looking up a little, Final Iron Skies is pretty tall. "Yeah. Not sure I buy that tale." His tone is warier now but he is interrupted from further questioning as the door opens.

An elderly woman looks out, thin featured, dark haired, greens eyes. She is better dressed than most of the locals and not swathed in thick outdoor garments but instead high quality wool with intricate embroidery. "Yes Nail?" This directed to the sergeant, a blink as she takes in the two other guards, then she outright stares at the winged woman in front of her door.

The sergeant, 'Nail' apparently? Steps forward and motions to Skies. "Leaping Soul.This one claims she is a physician, also claims she is some famous warrior, so not sure what to make of that. Check what she knows. If she ain't lying? You've got a free assistant while she stays here."

The woman, Leaping Soul, looks to Final Iron Skies, looks over her somewhat mangled and bloodied clothing, the wings again, stares, a slight shake of her head, then. "I need an assistant? Well if it is free I cannot complain." She appears quite sceptical of this arrangement albeit and launches into a rapid fire barrage of questions.

"How to treat pneumonia? How would one set a broken arm? The best way to dress a lacerated hand? How to prepare a body to assuage the departed's hungry ghost?"

Final Iron Skies:
Intelligence (3) + Medicine (3) + Excellency (6) = 12 Dice
8 9 5 5 2 5 10 10 10 8 5 1
9 Successes

Intelligence (3) + Occult (2) + Excellency (5) = 10 Dice
10 10 10 3 1 8 3 6 5 2
7 Successes

Leaping Souls:
Intelligence (3) + Medicine (3) = 6 Dice
7 9 4 6 3 10
4 Successes

Intelligence (3) + Occult (3) = 6 Dice
10 4 4 10 7 4
5 Successes

Personal Pool: 2 / 13 Motes

Note the power of excellencies! Even without her having any specific supernatural powers in Medicine or Occult they are sufficient to take Final Iron Skies from being a competent doctor and occultist to at or beyond the peak of possible human ability. Especially useful for skills that are only going to be rolled at fairly sizable intervals due to taking time to carry out. An hour of rest and she will almost completely recover her motes.

Final Iron Skies relaxes as the interrogation turns from questioning her identity and claim to her own name to much safer areas. She rattles off controls, feeling a surge of not so much energy as effortless competence as she focuses herself upon remembering everything she ever learnt and finds herself not just with flawless recollection, but working through the implications of her previous experiences to come to new and sublime conclusions.

Leaping Souls does not just get the answers she wanted to her questions, she receives answers well beyond that, exhaustively detailed explanations that cause her to question her own assumptions in places. A five minute barrage of critical questioning turns to half an hour of asking how Final Iron Skies thinks she should address particular problems, then seeking advise on improvement and...

Finally the increasingly bored looking sergant waves his arms and interrupts. "So she is a doctor! We will leave you to it. Guess that part was no exaggeration." To Skies. "So you help out Leaping Soul, you get to stay in town, but you do it for free. Just food and board. Than okay with you?" This to the now altogether more enthusiastic Leaping Soul who nods and waves him off. Before he departs though the sergeant adds. "Also if you are really her? Head to the training grounds before nightfall. Show us what you can do." He sounds guardedly sceptical though certainly less so than he did earlier, turning with his two minions to tromp off with a clink of mail.

That leaves Final Iron Skies alone with Leaping Soul and the occasional passer by who stares at her, though most do continue on their way after a short while. She bluntly asks her host. "So can I come inside?"

Leaping Soul does smile at that. "Of course! I was not expecting a guest, or an assistant, but it is welcome this time of year. Too much frostbite and there was a Raksha raid only a few weeks ago." She shudders there, dropping quiet, expression grim, then she lightens and continues. "You can teach me so much though! Also. Ahh. Your wings. Do you eat the same kind of thing as other people?"

Final Iron Skies ducks in through the door, tucking in her pinions, careful to avoid scraping them or disrupting furniture as she is lead into an expansive ground floor. There are a half dozen low beds half of which are occupied, along with a slow burning fire, well made wooden furniture, basins and medical supplies.

One of the occupants of the beds simply lays there numb and unresponsive, either drugged or perhaps a victim of the fae. The other two are staring, a young woman with her head and right arm heavily bandaged and a middle aged man who has his feet wrapped along with one hand. Final Iron Skies is introduced by her hostess.

"This is Final Iron Skies. Yes, she has wings, no she is not one of Them. She is a visiting physician from the far north who will be helping me and I can already tell that I will learn a great deal!" Then she considers a moment. "Just how did you learn so much? You cannot be half my age. Is there a great library where you hail from perhaps?" A shake of the winged woman's head then.

"My knowledge? Well there are several god blooded in my family, kin to spirits of the air, also my great grandmother is an Exalted blessed by the elemental dragon of fire. So I was taught well but mostly I have travelled a lot." A flick out of her left wing, extending it into the open area of the room for emphasis. "Also I am quite a lot older than I look. I will be thirty next year."

Final Iron Skies does need to be careful with her wings, mindful not to knock anything over in the relatively confined indoor space, but she picks out one of the empty beds and starts working to assist Leaping Souls in her work. As feared the unresponsive man was caught by the fae and fed upon, it was hoped that some spark of his mind remained but she sees little sign of that. Still, apparently his family is paying to have him looked after in the desperate hope he will recover.

The girl was injured in the same raid, one of the town guard who was set upon by hobgoblins with hooked blades of unmelting ice and savagely cut, the hope is to save her arm. The older man simply remained out fishing too long in bad weather and has frostbite, again the goal is to save his toes and one hand, something more hopeful now with Final Iron Skies assistance.

Final Iron Skies asks to eat first though, she is ravenously hungry, then medicates for a while, not just considering the state of the two patients but also allowing the recovery of her essence before she proposes surgery on both of the physically injured patients.

Leaping Souls is cautious but hopeful.

Surgery on Girl:
Leaping Souls – Assisting:
6 Dice
3 9 2 4 8 4
2 Successes

Final Iron Skies:
Intelligence (3) + Medicine (3) + Excellency (6) +Assistance (2)= 14 Dice
2 7 9 8 6 3 1 4 7 3 7 9 5 10
8 Successes

Surgery on Fisherman:
Leaping Souls – Assisting:
6 Dice
10 10 3 6 9 7
6 Successes

Final Iron Skies:
Intelligence (3) + Medicine (3) + Excellency (6) +Assistance (6)= 18 Dice
6 7 7 3 2 8 5 10 6 9 10 8 1 1 7 3 9 1
11 Successes

Both operations were difficulty 5, meaning both were fantastically successful. Normally recovering from incapacitating injuries leaves a permanent debility for a mortal but both will make full recoveries. Eventually, they will still take two months or so to heal completely.

The first operation, on the girl mangled in battle with hobgoblins, goes well. Near invisible shards of unmelting ice that were buried deep in the wound and constantly reopening it are located and picked out. Careful stitching ensures that she will not lose any functionality in her arm, though she will bear a tremendous scar across the side of her head and face for the rest of her life. Application of poltices and careful sterilisation of equipment are combined with appropriations and incantations to ward off roaming spirits of disease.

The unfortunate fisherman could be expected to at best loose several fingers and all of his toes but Leaping Souls seems inspired after the success of the first operation. That earlier interrogation turned lecture and conversation as Final Iron Skies recovered combine and as the winged woman picks away the dressings, she is mixing together a mixture that includes ghost plants from the edge of a nearby shadowland. Dead tissue is then cut away, an unpleasant and stinking job, but they are prompt enough to save everything and whilst the poor man will have truly spectacular scars that will likely rob him of some sensation in his hand, he should eventually make a full recovery.

Eventually though they finish and Final Iron Skies... Does not feel all that tired, though Leaping Souls is exhausted. "I am going to go and meet with that sergeant. Nail? He seemed to want to sparr." The older woman stares at her winged guest before shaking her head and making a dismissive motion. "Then you are mad. But that was truly amazing. I will let the council know you are truly welcome."

On that note Final Iron Skies does manage to briefly smile as she ducks out, receiving directions then once she is clear of the door crouching. She jumps, no need to follow people through the streets this time, a downbeat of her wings blasts snow to each side before she propels herself above the rooftops then dives to alight in the training area across town in less than a minute. Her arrival causing consternation and shock before people remember just who they let in earlier.

The sergeant is present though and he did doubt her claim to her own name earlier. She is going to show that she made no idle boast when she claimed to be a warrior.

[] Do not do anything crazy. Just face one or two people and show that you are formidable.
[] Ask to face a squad of soldiers singlehandedly. A dozen or so.
[] Ask to face the three best fighters in the town by yourself.
[] Offer to fight everyone. There are perhaps thirty or so guards or armed youths of the town training right now. Face all of them at once.


And how careful is Final Iron Skies with her power? She is quite low on personal essence right now, with about six points in her personal pool of thirteen, though she will gain five points per turn of combat.

[] Spend no essence, use only your inherent, mortal skill.
[] Spend personal essence sparingly, maintain a reserve, just augment ability a little to gain an edge.
[] Spend personal and a little peripheral essence, avoid glowing but nobody will notice slight glimmering.
[] Unveil your true power and unstoppable glory. Blaze like a second sun and demonstrate the might of the Swords of Heaven.

Here is a zoomed in map, showing just where in Creation things are currently focused:


Depending on choices, more of Final Iron Skies' four remaining starting charms will be unlocked. She will be getting one more charm regardless but may prompt the manifesting of two or three depending upon how much power she unleashes and how much she tests herself. Of course that might not be wise and she will get the remaining four charms over the next few weeks at most.
 
Last edited:
[X] Ask to face the three best fighters in the town by yourself.
[X] Spend personal and a little peripheral essence, avoid glowing but nobody will notice slight glimmering.
 
[X] Spend no essence, use only your inherent, mortal skill.

that skill was what we had as a mortal and it should be impressive enough
 
Okay for what we might get unlocked:

[] Do not do anything crazy. Just face one or two people and show that you are formidable.

We can do this with our base skill, but its not convincing for our reputation(which admittedly is a little inflated due to rumor).

[] Ask to face a squad of soldiers singlehandedly. A dozen or so.

Mass combat. This is actually pretty easy, because mass combat units basically act at their average skill, plus auto-successes from size and quality.
This village is too small to field more than Size 1 as a squad. We can roll this on our excellencies and passive mote regeneration alone, but they'd be pretty durable to break quickly.

[] Ask to face the three best fighters in the town by yourself.

This is actually difficult even for a Dawn. Three elite mortals is the bane of anyone without onslaught negators or counterattacks breaking their assault, we won't be winning this without getting Bulwark Stance or Solar Counterattack, and we'd either take a hit or spend enough motes that we start glowing a bit.

[] Offer to fight everyone. There are perhaps thirty or so guards or armed youths of the town training right now. Face all of them at once.

This sounds like a Size 2 battlegroup AND a couple of elites. We'd have to start shining.

[X] Ask to face a squad of soldiers singlehandedly. A dozen or so.
[X] Spend personal essence sparingly, maintain a reserve, just augment ability a little to gain an edge.

Enough to be impressive, not enough to reveal ourselves. This is just to convince them after all.
 
[X] Ask to face the three best fighters in the town by yourself.
[X] Spend personal and a little peripheral essence, avoid glowing but nobody will notice slight glimmering.
 
[X] Ask to face the three best fighters in the town by yourself.
[X] Spend personal and a little peripheral essence, avoid glowing but nobody will notice slight glimmering.


Veekie has a pretty good estimation of the odds above, though Final Iron Skies' Dipping Swallow Defense does allow facing multiple enemies provided one can afford to keep spending essence, the cost rapidly builds up. Bulkwark Stance and Fivefold Bulkwark Stance would make things dramatically easier but she does not yet have either.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Iron Skies nods to the sergeant, considers him a moment, then. "You wanted to test my claim to know how to fight? I am ready now. How about I face you and the two best warriors here at the same time?" She fussily tucks in her pinions as she speaks, stepping across to retrieve a practise spear with a padded tip then tossing it in hand, testing the weight and balance.

The sergeant looks incredulous for a moment then shakes his head slightly, appearing a touch wary now then considering. "Me then. Plus Roaring Brook and Gallant Wind." He indicates two of the others who were sparring nearby before opting to play spectator. Roaring Brook is a towering giant of a man, brown haired and full bearded, wearing a combination of mail and battered plate, his weapon of choice apparently a two handed axe. Gallant Wind by contrast is a slight woman wearing brass chased steel lamellar that looks to be about as expensive as everything else in sight right now, possibly including the buildings. She has a shield and a long bladed sword, a sauntering arrogance to her motions as she looks Final Iron Skies over, though her blue eyes do narrow at the wings.

The sergeant then retrieves a padded practise mace and shield, before the trio face off, the two shield carrying combatants in front and moving to flank as Roaring Brook takes the center with his axe in a high guard.

Join Battle:
Final Iron Skies: Wits (4) + Awareness (4) + Excellency (4) = 12
9 8 3 4 7 5 9 7 9 2 5 8
7 Successes

9/13 Personal Essence

Sergeant: Wits (3) + Awareness (3) = 6 Dice
3 7 8 10 8 3
5 Successes

Roaring Brook: Wits (2) + Awareness (3) = 5 Dice
6 9 5 6 9
2 Successes

Gallant Wind
Wits (4) + Awareness (3) = 7 Dice
10 10 4 4 7 3 8 6
6 Successes

Initiative:
Final Iron Skies: 10
Gallant Wind: 9
Sergeant: 8
Roaring Brook: 5

Final Iron Skies opens with a Withering attack against the Sergeant
Dexterity (5) + Melee (5) + Spear Specialisation (1) + Weapon Accuracy (2) = 13 Dice
Excellent Strike (2 motes)
Fire and Stones Strike (3 motes)
1 9 9 7 3 4 5 3 9 7 8 7 1
Rerolling 1s
10 4
9 Successes, +1 from Excellent Strike

Sergeant has PDV 5, net 5 successes.

4/13 Personal Essence

Damage: Strength (3) + Weapon (9) + Successes (5) + Fire and Stones Strike (3) = 20
Sergeant has a soak of 9 (Stamina 4, +5 Medium Armour). 11 Net damage.
5 9 3 7 1 2 4 2 9 6 10
4 Damage Inflicted

Sergeant now Initiative 4, Final Iron Skies Initiative 15

Gallant Wind makes a Withering attack against Final Iron Skies
Dexterity (4) + Melee (3) + Sword Specialisation (1) + Weapon Accuracy (2) = 10 Dice
3 2 10 1 8 6 10 8 1 5
6 Successes vs Parry DV 7, miss.

Roaring Brook makes a Withering Attack against Final Iron Skies
Dexterity (2) + Melee (4) + Axe Specialisation (1) + Weapon Accuracy (0) = 7 Dice
8 4 3 3 3 5 8
2 Successes vs Parry DV 6 (reduced by 1 due to previous attack), miss.

Sergeant makes a Withering Attack against Final Iron Skies – Dipping Swallow Defence activated for 2 motes.
Dexterity (3) + Melee (4) + Mace Specialisation (1) + Weapon Accuracy (2) = 10 Dice
5 6 3 5 8 10 3 4 5 8
4 Successes vs Parry DV 7 (It would be 5, but Dipping Swallow Defence removes defence penalties), miss. +1 Initiative from successesful parry with Dipping Swallow.

Personal Motes recover to 7/13, Initiative 16.

Final Iron Skies keeps moving, her wings remaining tucked close, spear held in a low guard, her two handed grip low. She circles, applying pressure to the flank held by the sergeant and forcing the trio to keep shifting in their efforts to flank, proving futile as her unhurried motions prove perhaps twice as fast as their own, more lumbering and armoured steps. They are all capable though, their weapons ready, leading with shields or blunted blades.

Then she strikes, a snap out of her wings that propels her in a sudden lunge followed by a crack and thunk as her speartip impacts the center of the sergeant's shield. Whilst build as stockily as the man in question she is probably equal in weight to him and has enourmous momentum behind the impact, sending him staggering back and barely avoided by Gallant Wind. She spins her spear, knocking aside an axe strike, dancing back as she exchanges in a brief and one sided interplay of weapons with the other woman's sword which leaves her off center and Final Iron Skies moving with even greater assurance. She presses then, not a single wasted motion as she fluidly moves from parries to counters to riposte, everything within reach of her weapon constantly threatened.

Initiative:
Final Iron Skies: 16
Gallant Wind: 9
Roaring Brook: 5
Sergeant: 4

Final Iron Skies makes a Withering Attack against the Sergeant
Final Iron Skies opens with a Withering attack against the Sergeant
Dexterity (5) + Melee (5) + Spear Specialisation (1) + Weapon Accuracy (2) = 13 Dice
Excellent Strike (2 motes)
Fire and Stones Strike (3 motes)
7 7 9 2 5 4 9 6 8 8 1 1 3
Rerolling 1's
4 4
7, +1 from Excellent Strike, 8 successes vs PDV 5.
Damage: Strength (3) + Weapon (9) + Successes (3) + Fire and Stones Strike (3) = 18
Sergeant has a soak of 9 (Stamina 4, +5 Medium Armour). 11 Net damage.
9 2 10 8 4 2 2 3 1 2 8 9 4 10 5 6 10 8
8 Successes. Sergeant is reduced to Initiative -3 and Crashed. Final Iron Skies is now at 29 Initiative.

Personal Motes reduced to 2/13

Gallant Wind makes a Withering attack against Final Iron Skies
Dexterity (4) + Melee (3) + Sword Specialisation (1) + Weapon Accuracy (2) = 10 Dice
2 10 6 8 10 9 10 3 5 1
8 Successes vs PDV 7, a hit!
Damage: Strength (2) + Weapon (9) + Successes (1) = 12
Soak 4, 8 net damage. Final Iron Skies already has stupid initiative and so does not spend motes on soak boosting Resistance Charms.
3 6 2 7 8 2 5 9
3 Successes
Final Iron Skies reduced to 26 Initiative, Gallant Wind increased to 13.

Roaring Brook makes a Withering Attack against Final Iron Skies
Dexterity (2) + Melee (4) + Axe Specialisation (1) + Weapon Accuracy (0) = 7 Dice
2 4 1 1 9 4 10
3 Successes vs Parry DV 6, Miss.

Sergeant makes a Withering Attack against Final Iron Skies – Dipping Swallow Defence activated for 2 motes.
Dexterity (3) + Melee (4) + Mace Specialisation (1) + Weapon Accuracy (2) = 10 Dice
5 2 8 6 7 3 8 1 1 3
3 Successes vs Parry DV 7, Miss, Final Iron Skies now Initiative 27.

End of round, Personal Essence pool recovers to 5/13

Final Iron Skies presses her advantage, hammering against the sergeant's defenses as he seeks to fall back and let his two companions move in to flank. A jab knocks his shield out of line, a hammering blow of her spear haft almost jars his mace from numbed fingers, he is sweating now, eyes wide, realisation dawning even as Roaring Brook finds himself warded off by a sweep of the winged woman's spear that almost finds his face. Spinning the weapon back into a guard, Final Iron Skies is caught out by Galland Brook's own speed though, turning, forced back a step as she checks a flurry of blows, her own relentless assault faltering and giving the sergeant a moment of respite. Only a moment though, the trio are scattered and winded as Final Iron Skies dances between her foes.

Initiative:
Final Iron Skies: 27
Gallant Wind: 13
Roaring Brook: 5
Sergeant: -3

Final Iron Skies launches a Decisive Attack against Gallant Wind
Dexterity (5) + Melee (5) + Spear Specialisation (1) + First Excellency (3) = 14 Dice
Excellent Strike (2 motes)
Melee Excellency (3 motes), Personal Pool expended.
4 3 2 2 7 4 6 8 2 6 4 7 6 10

5 Successes, +1 from Excellent Strike, 6 vs Parry DV 5, hit!

Damage: 27
2 2 8 6 8 1 3 5 5 10 3 4 1 10 6 9 7 6 1 8 5 4 3 7 4 5 10
9 Successes! Gallant Wind only has 7 health levels, she is incapacitated, fortunately this is Bashing damage but two do roll over to inflict two levels of Lethal on her.
Final Iron Skies resets to Initiative 3.

Gallant Wind does not get to act.
Roaring Brook opts to surrender.
Sergeant opts to surrender.

Personal Motes restored to 5/13

Final Iron Skies keeps pressing at the sergeant, making her intent obvious, her focus obviously the leader of this group, an endless flurry of lightning fast blows that has her practise spear and his shield splintering, his mace simply trying to keep her weapon away as she hammers upon his armour and guard to leave him stumbling. The others do try to take advantage of this, pressing at her flanks, then a single abrupt motion.

She immediately reverses from a thrust, wings to each side and catching in the air to inform an impossible for a normal human maneuver, suddenly her entire body weight behind a backward jab with the haft of her spear that catches Gallant Wind's shield and blade out of line. She connects cleanly and steel buckles as the hammers her spear into the young woman's chest, pieces of lamellar armour breaking free as the piston like blow throws her clear across the training area to impact a fencepost then slide to the ground, not even able to emit sounds of pain, a crack of ribs as she is left gasping for air and with weapons fallen from her hands.

Final Iron Skies rounds on the other two, the untouched Roaring Brook and the barely standing sergeant, pivoting her spear in hand as the blunt 'blade' angles out to her right and wings poise.

Apparently they have had enough with first Roaring Brook and then the sergeant casting down the weapons.

"We yield! We yield." People are staring rather incredulously and are in shock for long moments before anyone thinks to rush to the fallen woman. For her part Final Iron Skies takes a few deep breaths, closes her eyes, then lets the battered training spear fall to the frozen mud. "Well fought. She almost had me for a moment when you flanked like that, but I think she needs my medication attention now, I had hoped her armour would fair better than that." A wince as the winged woman looks back to her fallen opponent then she rushes over to offer assistance.

The sergeant is winded, panting, limping over to set down his weapons before shaking his head. "Gallant Wind is the ealdorwoman's eldest daughter. Not sure if you will be in trouble for injuring her or praised for showing the girl she is not invincible, but I am sorry for doubting you were whom you claimed. I've never seen anyone fight like that, not anyone human at least." Again, the wings. "Was one of your parents a god perhaps?"

A shake of Final Iron Skies' head at that whilst she crouches by the fallen girl, unlacing her armour, carefully rolling her onto her side then checking her ribs. Three cracked but her lungs are not punctured. She should be fine, in a while.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am not going to roll for the Medicine check, Final Iron Skies can hit Difficulty 1 essentially a hundred percent of the time if she spends a little essence on things. Glowing turned out to be unnecessary but facing three elite warriors single handedly is still a test of her skills. She now unlocks two new Melee charms.

[]Peony Blossom Technique – When Final Iron Skies has a fully manifested anima, burning at the bonfire level, she can spend 1 mote, 1 willpower and snuff out her anima in order to immediately make an attack even she has already attacked this turn. - This will lead to further multiple attack powers.
[]Bulwark Stance – By spending 5 motes, Final Iron Skies can ignore all penalties to her parry defence until her next turn, additionally any damage rolls against her suffer a -1 penalty for each 1 on the attack roll (capped at 1 until her essence increases). - This will lead to more powerful defensive abilities.
[]Solar Counterattack – This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 3 motes as she attempts to parry an attack, striking before damage is rolled against her in an immediate Decisive attack of her own that does not count as her combat action. This will reduce her Initiative as with any other decisive attack. - This leads to further counter attack oriented powers.
[]Call The Blade – This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 1 mote then roll Wits+Melee with a difficulty of 4, on success she teleports her weapon to hand without needing to ready it and regardless of intervening objects or obstacles. On a failure it still flies to her hand but can be thwarted by doors or chains and does not arrive until her next turn. This does not allow her to steal weapons! - This does lead to further weapon shenanigans or even ranged melee attacks.
[]Rising Sun Slash – Only useable when Final Iron Skies attacks using a full melee excellency, this costs only a single mote to use and is applied after an attack roll has already been made. If the attack die results include at least one 7, 8, 9 and 10, then an extra success is added, ignoring usual limits. Additionally Essence (currently 1) additional dice are rolled. This leads to more powerful attack boosting charmns.

Alternatively, instead of choosing two of the above, Final Iron Skies can specialise down a single path:

[]Peony Blossom Technique – Leads to Iron Whirlwind Attack. This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 5 motes, 1 willpower, to then launch three Decisive attacks that can be directed against one or multiple opponents. Initiative is split between the attacks however damage boosting charms (Such as Fire and Stones Strike) only need to be activated once to augment all attacks. This power can also be reflexively activated after using Peony Blossom Technique.
[]Bulwark Stance - Leads to Fivefold Bulwark Stance. This allows Final Iron Skies to spend her combat action for a turn along with 5 motes and 1 willpower to active various defensive bonuses for the entire combat. She then ignores most penalties to her parry defence (such as from multiple attackers), also Bulwark Stance has it's cost reduced by 2 motes and Dipping Swallow Defence by 1 mote, making it cost a single point to activate. If she uses Dipping Swallow Defence it also boosts her Parry by one point.
[]Alternatively it can lead to Heavenly Guardian Defence. This allows Final Iron Skies to block Decisive attacks provided she has not had her Initiative crashed. This costs 4 motes plus one initiative per point of damage ignored. She also gains the option to spend 4 motes to parry things that cannot be parried, such as curses, poisoned wind or surprise attacks she did not see coming. For 4 motes and 1 willpower, she would be able to parry any attack that inflicts infinite damage such a thrown mountain or a magical strike from a War Manse of the Imperial Defence Grid.
[]Solar Counterattack -Leads to Ready in Eight Direction's Stance. This allows Final Iron Skies to use her combat action and spend 5 motes, then she can counter all incoming attacks as if she was using Solar Counterattack, for the rest of her turn. However her Initiative does not reset until the next round begins meaning she can potentially launch any number of Decisive counter-attacks if people are stupid enough to keep attacking her.
[]Call The Blade - Leads to Iron Raptor Technique. This allows Final Iron Skies to hurl her melee weapon and make attacks out to medium range even without aiming, for a cost of seven motes. If used to push an enemy into Initiative Crash this charm restores a willpower, but a botched attack does mean her weapon becomes stuck instead of returning to her hand.
[]Rising Sun Slash - Leads to Hungry Tiger Technique. This costs 3 motes and two initiative and augments a single attack. On a Withering attack, it doubles net attack successes for the purpose of increasing damage. On a Decisive attack, it means that attack roll successes are added to damage. If used in conjunction with Fire and Stones Strike it will duplicate up to three extra successes when paying for damage dice.

Do not worry. Things are going to become a little more hectic soon and these new charms are very much going to be needed, though there are still two more to come before Final Iron Skies has her full 'starting Solar' compliment of powers.
 
Last edited:
[X]Solar Counterattack -Leads to Ready in Eight Direction's Stance. This allows Final Iron Skies to use her combat action and spend 5 motes, then she can counter all incoming attacks as if she was using Solar Counterattack, for the rest of her turn. However her Initiative does not reset until the next round begins meaning she can potentially launch any number of Decisive counter-attacks if people are stupid enough to keep attacking her.
 
[]Peony Blossom Technique – Leads to Iron Whirlwind Attack. This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 5 motes, 1 willpower, to then launch three Decisive attacks that can be directed against one or multiple opponents. Initiative is split between the attacks however damage boosting charms (Such as Fire and Stones Strike) only need to be activated once to augment all attacks. This power can also be reflexively activated after using Peony Blossom Technique.

This is the aggressive option, which is great at taking down lesser opponents, and against anyone without onslaught negators, this is how you batter down defenses by yourself.

[]Bulwark Stance - Leads to Fivefold Bulwark Stance. This allows Final Iron Skies to spend her combat action for a turn along with 5 motes and 1 willpower to active various defensive bonuses for the entire combat. She then ignores most penalties to her parry defence (such as from multiple attackers), also Bulwark Stance has it's cost reduced by 2 motes and Dipping Swallow Defence by 1 mote, making it cost a single point to activate. If she uses Dipping Swallow Defence it also boosts her Parry by one point.

This is THE counter to hordes. Pick this if you're facing teams of adventurers...or anyone with multi-attack spam. The fifth attack is just as easy as the first to block.

[]Alternatively it can lead to Heavenly Guardian Defence. This allows Final Iron Skies to block Decisive attacks provided she has not had her Initiative crashed. This costs 4 motes plus one initiative per point of damage ignored. She also gains the option to spend 4 motes to parry things that cannot be parried, such as curses, poisoned wind or surprise attacks she did not see coming. For 4 motes and 1 willpower, she would be able to parry any attack that inflicts infinite damage such a thrown mountain or a magical strike from a War Manse of the Imperial Defence Grid.

This is generally useful because damage kicks you into a death spiral, so being able to pay off damage with initiative is good, but harder to use without a team to screen you, because you'd still be crashed if you blocked a serious attack.
Its out of combat use however, is so immense that you want this eventually.

[]Solar Counterattack -Leads to Ready in Eight Direction's Stance. This allows Final Iron Skies to use her combat action and spend 5 motes, then she can counter all incoming attacks as if she was using Solar Counterattack, for the rest of her turn. However her Initiative does not reset until the next round begins meaning she can potentially launch any number of Decisive counter-attacks if people are stupid enough to keep attacking her.

This is great in general. Counterattacks punishes the heck out of attackers, AND if your damage is high enough, you can debuff their attack with injuries, or negate it entirely if you kill them. Where Bulwark Stance eventually falls to RNG rolling high enough, Ready in Eight Directions Stance is how you make them stop trying to hit you for fear of dying.

[]Call The Blade - Leads to Iron Raptor Technique. This allows Final Iron Skies to hurl her melee weapon and make attacks out to medium range even without aiming, for a cost of seven motes. If used to push an enemy into Initiative Crash this charm restores a willpower, but a botched attack does mean her weapon becomes stuck instead of returning to her hand.

Ranged option. Not quite so critical for us because we can fly and reach most things anyways. But it does lead to the Summon Lightsaber charm.

[]Rising Sun Slash - Leads to Hungry Tiger Technique. This costs 3 motes and two initiative and augments a single attack. One a Withering attack, it doubles net attack successes for the purpose of increasing damage. On a Decisive attack, it means that attack roll successes are added to damage. If used in conjunction with Fire and Stones Strike it will duplicate up to three extra successes when paying for damage dice.

And this is the duel option. Pick this if you expect to fight rakshas, spirits or other exalted. Its brutally damaging.

[X]Solar Counterattack -Leads to Ready in Eight Direction's Stance. This allows Final Iron Skies to use her combat action and spend 5 motes, then she can counter all incoming attacks as if she was using Solar Counterattack, for the rest of her turn. However her Initiative does not reset until the next round begins meaning she can potentially launch any number of Decisive counter-attacks if people are stupid enough to keep attacking her.

Personally, counterattacks is a very interesting mode of play if you don't intend to seek out battle.
 
As my own quick observation, the ranged option does also suffer in that Final Iron Skies not only flies but also has Thrown and is ambidextrous, she can chuck offhand knives or darts or similar anyway, though she is not as good as she is in melee of course.

Not really a primary method of combat but it means she can fly over pure melee combatants and chuck sharp things to wear them down, or without swapping weapon, launch ranged Decisive strikes against sorcerers or archers or similar who expose themselves whilst she is riding high on initiative.
 
Last edited:
Snuffing the anima is valuable by itself because of how using the anima means that you can be tracked. Having a way to snuff the anima would be worth a charm even without the extra attack. For the other I guess defensive charms can work well.

[X]Peony Blossom Technique

– When Final Iron Skies has a fully manifested anima, burning at the bonfire level, she can spend 1 mote, 1 willpower and snuff out her anima in order to immediately make an attack even she has already attacked this turn. - This will lead to further multiple attack powers.

[X]
Bulwark Stance
– By spending 5 motes, Final Iron Skies can ignore all penalties to her parry defence until her next turn, additionally any damage rolls against her suffer a -1 penalty for each 1 on the attack roll (capped at 1 until her essence increases). - This will lead to more powerful defensive abilities.​
 
Last edited:
Currently two votes for Solar Counterattack and Ready in Eight Directions Stance. One for the less specialised mix of Peony Blossom Technique and Bulwark Stance. I am about to sleep here so I will see if we get further votes 'overnight' (for my timezone) then write up tomorrow - the benefits of being off work all this week and so free to write.
 
[X]Rising Sun Slash - Leads to Hungry Tiger Technique. This costs 3 motes and two initiative and augments a single attack. One a Withering attack, it doubles net attack successes for the purpose of increasing damage. On a Decisive attack, it means that attack roll successes are added to damage. If used in conjunction with Fire and Stones Strike it will duplicate up to three extra successes when paying for damage dice.
 
[X]Solar Counterattack -Leads to Ready in Eight Direction's Stance. This allows Final Iron Skies to use her combat action and spend 5 motes, then she can counter all incoming attacks as if she was using Solar Counterattack, for the rest of her turn. However her Initiative does not reset until the next round begins meaning she can potentially launch any number of Decisive counter-attacks if people are stupid enough to keep attacking her.

Character sheet has been updated with the new abilities.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Iron Skies:
Perception (2) + Awareness (4) = 6 Dice
6 3 4 5 4 10
2 Successes

In the aftermath of the sparring match and giving of emergency medical assistance that follows, Final Iron Skies sleeps heavily, the first time she has had a bed or even a bedroll for weeks. The cots in the healer's home are not designed for her kind but she is used to travelling, curling up on her side with one wing drawn against the back and the other pressing atop the sheets as a second, feathery and immensely warm blanket. She she is not used to is sleeping alone and there is something terribly wrong as her fitful dreams verge on nightmare.

This makes it not immediately obvious as she stirs into consciousness. There is a smell of smoke along with the muffled and distant sound of screams. Her dream merges with reality, she shifts her wing up over her head, trying to muffle it's intrusion, then realization sets in. She starts, moving abruptly to jerk off the bed and to her feet in a singular sharp motion, her additional limbs catching against the air and adding impetus to her shift of posture in the manner one might use one's hands to stabilise in shoulder deep water.

A glance to the room, which is utterly dark, the injured guardswoman, Vibrant Mountain, apparently also awake and alerted by the sound of shifting feathers. "Is that you? Final Iron Skies?" She sounds weak after yesterday's surgery, though no longer cautious of the winged woman. "It is. There is something happening outside, perhaps a fire? I am going to investigate. Tell Leaping Soul to stay inside if she comes downstairs."

Final Iron Skies then smoothly draws her belt knife before slipping into her boots, fastening them, then striding for the door. Cracking it open reveals yes, smoke, shouts, screams, metal upon metal. She slips outside and paces briskly from the building into the center of the street, crouches, jumps, launches herself skyward.

From the air everything is clearer, the mess of the town sinking away below, mostly dark, but coming to life as lanterns are lit. The seaward side of the town is already bright though as it is illuminated with the light of torches and crackle of burning buildings, the gate breached, armoured figures glinting with metal as they rush inward.

No. She is not going to let this happen. She lofts, soaring in the thermals, then tucks in grey feathered wings, furling them each side of her body before dropping like an arrow into the breach.

Join Battle
Final Iron Skies - Wits (4) + Awareness (4) + Excellency (8) = 16 Dice
6 9 2 9 1 5 10 7 8 5 6 1 10 7 9 10
12 Successes

Raiders - 6 Dice
1 1 1 2 10 2
2 Successes

Final Iron Skies Initiative: 15
Raiders Initiative: 5
Personal Pool: 5/13

Final Iron Skies - Attempting Ambush
Dexterity (5) + Stealth (0) = 5 Dice
6 9 8 4 8
3 Successes

Raiders 4 dice, -3 from Unexpected Night-time Aerial Assault = 1 dice
8
1 Success

Final Iron Skies succeeds in Ambush – defense value of the raiders set to 0 for the first attack.

Melee Attack
Dexterity (5) + Melee (5) + Weapon Accuracy (4) = 14 Dice
Using Excellent Strike for +1 successes and reroll of 1's (2 motes)
Fire and Stones Strike for +3 post soak damage (3 motes)
10 3 5 10 4 2 10 4 1 1 7 6 1 9
Reroll 1's
6 5 8
9 Successes, +1 from Excellent Strike
Damage is 3 (strength) +7 (knife, light weapon), +10 (attack successes), +3 (Fire and Stones Strike). 23 Damage.

The Raiders form a Magnitude 3 unit with a base Soak of 8, taking this to 11. Net damage is 15.
8 6 5 9 5 7 5 2 7 8 9 3 6 10 6
7 damage inflicted, 3 remaining on damage track. Final Iron Skies gains +1 initiative for a successful hit, taking her to 16.

Raiders attack back. A magnitude 3 unit means Final Iron Skies has just engaged well over a hundred soldiers using a knife.

Attack Pool: 7, +3 from Magnitude, 10 dice
10 1 9 10 3 6 9 4 4 4
6 Successes

Final Iron Skies has Parry DV – 5, one net success. Damage is 15, Final Iron Skies has Soak 4.
Final Iron Skies spends 3 Peripheral motes to activate Durability of Oak Meditation, dropping damage by 2 and 4 Peripheral motes to activate Spirit Strengthens the Skin to increase her soak by 4. 7 Motes spend, net damage reduced from 11 to 5.
10 4 8 9 5
3 Damage.

Final Iron Skies initiative reduced to 13.
Round ends, 5 personal motes recovered, 5/13, Peripheral motes 26/33. Anima Banner now at Glowing level.

A hundred and fifty mail clad raiders, with spears, axes, swords, torches and hammers, they are charging through the breached gate, the guards slaughtered, casting fire onto buildings, smashing through doors, fanning out to begin looting. Then death lands amidst them. Huge wings snap out and sweep down before she impacts the ground, the force of wind in her landing knocking warriors from their feet and snuffing out light. Then she whirls with terrifying precision and speed as the iron knife in her hand is wielded with consummate precision. Throats are cut, arms are shattered by precisely aimed blows of flight capable wings, before anyone even realizes that they are under attack half a dozen armoured men and women are dead or screaming on the ground.

These are no cowards though, all practised fighters. They rally and rush her, trying to surround the winged monster who assaults them. She is unarmoured, alone, armed only with an iron dagger. But reach is irrelevant, bravery is a jape, she simply does not make mistakes and moves in a manner impossible to predict, her braided hair flowing behind her as she stabs through metal with her blade or shatters bones with strikes of her feet or wings. Twelve are down now. Fifteen, but the rest are closing in. A spear cast from behind hammers at her side as she slaughters a forty year old veteran of a dozen battles with his sword in hand as if he a baby in a crib. Cloth is sliced, steel scrapes across skin, she staggers with the impact but the weapon fails to mark her flesh.

Now she is pulsing, outlined by a glimmer of sunlight as a dawning sunburst blazes from her brow and she snatches the spear from the air. In the same motion she sheaths her dagger and it is with utter trepidation that the surrounding warriors regard the newfound assurance she has with this more substantial weapon. She smiles, a grim, tight smile.

I am not giving Final Iron Skies stunt dice because that would be rather unfair, instead I am letting her steal a weapon and ready it in one action because this appeals to me.

Final Iron Skies Attacks
Dexterity (5) + Melee (5) + Specialisation Spears (1) + Weapon Accuracy (2) = 13 Dice
Using Excellent Strike for +1 successes and reroll of 1's (2 motes)
Fire and Stones Strike for +3 post soak damage (3 motes)
10 6 8 7 5 8 2 1 8 6 6 7 5
Rerolling 1's
2
7 Successes, +1 from Excellent Strike

Raiders have Parry DV 4, +1 from Average Drill, 3 net attack successes.
Damage is Strength (3) + Weapon (9) + Net Successes (3) + Fire and Stones Strike (3) = 17
Soak = 11
Net Damage 6
10 10 8 7 6 6
3 Damage, mass combat unit reduced to Magnitude 2. Route Check required, Willpower 4.

Willpower 4
4 5 9 2
1 Success, route check passed!

Final Iron Skies initiative increased to 14.

Raiders attack back! 7 dice, +2 from reduced magnitude, 9 dice.
4 8 7 8 3 9 10 4 8
7 Successes!
Final Iron Skies now has a parry DV of 7 with a spear in hand, she is fine.
Round ends, 5 personal motes recovered, 5/13, Peripheral motes 26/33. Anima Banner still at Glowing level.

Wings extend then snap, Final Iron Skies pivots under the impetus, an impossible motion combined with her spear extending out, subtle adjustments, horrific choked screams as two men and one woman fall back with their faces or throats sliced apart. A half dozen heartfelt attempts to murder her are fended off simultaneously then she vaults over her immediate opponents, the most eager and optimistic of her foes, to land amidst those holding back. One burly warrior is simply impaled through the lower spine before she takes his sword as it falls from his hand, casting it straight armed into the unarmoured face of charging, axe wielding woman to her side. She tugs the spear free only to engage in an expansive sweep that separates hand from arm and leaves a screaming youth in her wake.

She is drenched with blood now as she dances through her foes. Professional fighters, hardened, conditioned warriors with years of experience, not a mark on her as she leaves forty dead or screaming, mutilated and dying on the ground. Twice as many more are injured or completely robbed of any will to fight in the face of the murderous winged figure cutting through their braver fellows, only maybe three dozen out of a hundred and fifty retaining the will to face her. They lock shields, ready weapons in sweat slicked hands, try to overwhelm her with sheer numbers but find every effort foiled by her whirling spear.

But now the vanguard of their assault has reacted to the massacre happening behind them. A dozen hulking figure lupine figures wearing steel masks and elaborate mail, clawed feet and furred tails confirming that they are beastmen even if the huge bloodied axes they carry did not give away their inhuman strength. They are lead by a similarly wolfish figure who towers over the rest, unarmoured but wrapped with intricate silver patterns. one clawed hand carries terrible a seven foot spear of bone ringed with grips of coarse white fur and bearing a gleaming foot long moonsilver blade that drips with fresh blood.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Iron Skies knows what this means, this raid is lead by one of the Lunar Exalted bearing a dire spear. She is faced by a shape shifting barbarian warlord blessed by the incarnae of the moon and wielding a god-weapon, a foe to make the lords of chaos falter in terror.

[] Leave, now. She is not ready to face such a foe. She is fresh to her strength, unarmoured, wielding a mortal blade against an enemy of unknown potency and wielding a weapon that might be able to shatter mountains. Also she can fly.
[] Try to negotiate. She has demonstrated her prowess by shattering the bulk of this wolf like individual's force. Surely he will not want to risk confronting her in a fight to the death?
[] Withdraw from direct conflict and start to harass the raid. Throw spears and knives at the raiders, perhaps try to burn their ship, seek to force them to withdraw even if she does not continue trying to face them hand to hand
[] Face him, defeat him. Drive these murderous monsters back into the sea. If they would bring death to this peaceful town then let them instead burn in the fury of the ascending sun.
 
[X] Face him, defeat him. Drive these murderous monsters back into the sea. If they would bring death to this peaceful town then let them instead burn in the fury of the ascending sun.
 
[] Leave, now. She is not ready to face such a foe. She is fresh to her strength, unarmoured, wielding a mortal blade against an enemy of unknown potency and wielding a weapon that might be able to shatter mountains. Also she can fly.

This is broadly correct.
We have a young Solar here facing an at least somewhat experienced Lunar with only a spear. We have spent half our motes as it is, and they have a daiklave, which means they have something like a 4 dice advantage(reduced to 0 dice advantage after considering the charm quality/dice cap gaps between Solar and Lunar while motes last) on most things, as well as an elite squad of beastmen.

However we're probably going to take Limit if we abandon our charges.

[] Try to negotiate. She has demonstrated her prowess by shattering the bulk of this wolf like individual's force. Surely he will not want to risk confronting her in a fight to the death?

Presence: 0
Socialize: 0
Performance: 0
Charisma: 2

Yeah, not happenin.

[] Withdraw from direct conflict and start to harass the raid. Throw spears and knives at the raiders, perhaps try to burn their ship, seek to force them to withdraw even if she does not continue trying to face them hand to hand

Skirmishing...we don't have much of a thrown damage, but in turn we won't take as much damage. Burning their ships is a bit of a lost cause though, if we fire it then they'd HAVE to take over the village anyway.

[] Face him, defeat him. Drive these murderous monsters back into the sea. If they would bring death to this peaceful town then let them instead burn in the fury of the ascending sun.

So, things in our favor:
-We have Ready in Eight Directions Stance and we have 14 initiative banked. This means their numbers don't help as much, everyone that takes a swing at us in a turn will eat a nasty hit, 14 dice of damage likely won't kill an exalt, but it can get pretty close if we stack it with Fire and Stones Strike.
-One Weapon Two Blows follows that up, after we discharge the counterattack into them, we go for a double strike reloading of initiative.

[X] Face him, defeat him. Drive these murderous monsters back into the sea. If they would bring death to this peaceful town then let them instead burn in the fury of the ascending sun.

Risky, but we DO have a chance. We either win in the next 3 rounds or we lose over the next 6 rounds after we burn through our motes in a flash.
We're going Totemic.
 
[X] Face him, defeat him. Drive these murderous monsters back into the sea. If they would bring death to this peaceful town then let them instead burn in the fury of the ascending sun.
 
[x] Withdraw from direct conflict and start to harass the raid. Throw spears and knives at the raiders, perhaps try to burn their ship, seek to force them to withdraw even if she does not continue trying to face them hand to hand

Curious quest you have there...
Could you maybe threadmark your updates? Makes navigation so much more convenient.
 
[X] Try to negotiate. She has demonstrated her prowess by shattering the bulk of this wolf like individual's force. Surely he will not want to risk confronting her in a fight to the death?
 
Back
Top