Glory of the Emerald Empire (Legend of the 5 Rings Quest)
- Thread starter Winged Knight
- Start date
- Fantasy
EtchedSteel
*mumble mumble*
- Location
- Lima. Peru
Isn't that what we all are voting for? What's the difference?
- Location
- United States
Isn't that what we all are voting for? What's the difference?
First two votes wanted us to void charge the guy. And I like giving a reason for my voting.
Deadly Snark
Tryhard As Fuck
[X] Guard Asako Akio's back. Destroy any of the lesser Shadowspawn that get too close. Try to stay out of the line of fire.
So the time honored tradition of playing tank for the mage. Got it.
So the time honored tradition of playing tank for the mage. Got it.
will408914
(slouching towards bethlehem)
- Location
- California
[X] Guard Asako Akio's back. Destroy any of the lesser Shadowspawn that get too close. Try to stay out of the line of fire.
IonicTiger
Extremely bewildered sailing vessel.
- Location
- Take a left at Albuquerque
[X] Guard Asako Akio's back. Destroy any of the lesser Shadowspawn that get too close. Try to stay out of the line of fire.
Well, here comes the pain.
Well, here comes the pain.
- Location
- Canada
[X] Guard Asako Akio's back. Destroy any of the lesser Shadowspawn that get too close. Try to stay out of the line of fire.
Orion Nexus
The Storm Soul
- Location
- South Carolina
[X] Guard Asako Akio's back. Destroy any of the lesser Shadowspawn that get too close. Try to stay out of the line of fire.
3.125
Winged Knight
Still just a crazy man with a wolf on his head
- Location
- Texas
Wow, this week has been busy. Even more, it has been draining. There's a lot of changes happening at my job, mostly for the better but it's still been hectic. Thankfully things should slow down on that end now, so I'll hopefully return to an actually decent update schedule.
[X] Guard Asako Akio's back. Destroy any of the lesser Shadowspawn that get too close. Try to stay out of the line of fire.
Attack Rolls: 7k3=41, 7k3=21
Damage Rolls: 7k3=32, 7k3=39
Shinichiro launches himself into the air, easily surpassing the height of the trees as his black cloak spreads around him like wings made from the night itself. With a feral grin he looks down on your group, somehow hovering, then shoots forward like an arrow and slams into the ground by Asako Akio. The ground shatters beneath the impact, sending dust and rocks flying and obscuring your vision.
I have to get over there! you think frantically as you run forward, rushing headlong toward where the two legends pit their strength against each other. If Asako Akio falls then we're all dead!
This marks the true start of the battle. Or, perhaps, it had already begun as soon as the enemy arrived and no one was aware yet. Regardless, your group rushes forward to assault the enemy, weapons and fists brought to bear against peasants befouled by a power beyond all understanding and turned into something… else.
The Shadowspawn shriek as they leap upon you, their unnaturally long legs eating up ground faster than anything had a right to. In moments they are among you, their limbs twisting at odd angles as they rip into everything with knives and claws. Their shrieks continue despite lacking mouths and voices, the sound echoing strangely throughout the hills. It is as if it comes from very far away, despite how loud it is.
You've little time to consider such matters, however, a man with only a single eye left comes at you with a kama. You attack him on reflex, only just noting the tears streaming down his cheeks as your tetsubo smashes into his side. His jaws extend over the seamless skin where his mouth should be as he screams in agony, black smoke escaping from the crater you made of his ribs as he's taken off his feet and sent tumbling into the throng.
This is not the organized meeting of armies, nor is it a coordinated rout of a less trained foe. Truthfully, it's little more than barely controlled chaos. There are few Bushi among you, despite that everyone is trained for combat. Each is trained in their own unique ways, however, and it is not the most suited for operating as a single unit.
The monks dance and weave amongst the Shadowspawn, striking at them with hands and joints and feet. Their graceful tattooed forms move like the wind itself, every motion perfect and without waste. That elegance is belied, however, as every slap and punch and kick reverberates with a noise like wood snapping. They are not a gentle breeze, but a storm incarnate as they lay into the enemy.
The Shadowspawn do not drop, however. Where normal men and women would have collapsed under the pain, these abominations merely snap their limbs back into place and keep fighting. Black mist pools around them from their wounds, obscuring the battlefield and separating everyone from each other. Even as they are wounded, even as they die, they hinder your efforts to fight them.
The Ronin, meanwhile, are charging through with spears and swords atop their horses. They cry out and as they run rampant, breaking through the chaos and avoiding allies as best they can. Their spears gore the enemy even as their blood flows from the numerous cuts forming along their bodies and those of their horses, and the hooves of their steeds smash down on any of the fallen abominations as they punch through the terrible mass.
You curse and push forward as much as you can, attempting to avoid any unnecessary confrontations as you make your way toward where Asako Akio and Moto Shinichiro are fighting. You've lost sight of your comrades in the bedlam, unable to see more than a few step in front of you thank to the gathering shade and all the bodies tussling around each other. But you can still see where you need to go, a bright spot illuminated against the terrible murk taking over the battlefield.
Another Shadowspawn rushes for you, a woman with long black hair that whirls about as if in the wind. That is all you can tell of her, though. Her face is completely subsumed in pale flesh. Gangly limbs reach out for you at distances no normal person could manage, but you twist with the attack such that it slides harmlessly off your armor.
Then you turn back, stepping forward and putting all the strength of your hips into a swing that makes a crater of the woman's chest. Dark mist explodes out from her as she flies back, and before she even hits the ground Hanabi takes both her blades and plunges them into the Shadowspawn's back. The creature writhes for a moment, and then explodes into pitch-black vapors that join the ever-gathering gloom of the battlefield.
There's very little left standing in your way now. Roaring, you push through and reach a clear space surrounding Asako Akio and Moto Shinichiro as they come to grips with each other.
The two former comrades are so close they must be able to smell each other's breath. Asako Akio has his burning hands around Shinichiro's own, stopping the man's tetsubo just scant inches from connecting with his face. The smaller man's robes have fallen back to reveal whipcord muscle, like tightly bound rope, straining against the bulging mass of Shinichiro's arms. He is leaning back as the man he once called friend pushes forward, inching ever closer to Asako Akio even as his flesh chars and peels away.
New flesh, you see. Your eyes widen with alarm as you notice that the Great Traitor's arm, while still terribly burned, has regained functionality. Could he truly heal himself so swiftly? If he is so tough, and so strong, how on earth will you slay him if he can heal his flesh like this?
"I will not be denied!" a woman shouts from behind you. You look briefly over your shoulder to see Shinjo Wanli running forward, spear in one hand and sword in the other. Shadowspawn are swarming around her, trying to pull her down where they can rip her apart. The Unicorn Samurai keeps pushing forward despite the horrific weight grasping her, marching ever toward the battle.
"Moto Shinichiro!" Wanli cries, tearing through the Shadowspawn as they pile on top of her in waves. Her spear darts out, skewering one while she slices through another at the belly with her sword. Blood is pouring down her face, but she doesn't seem to care. She has eyes only for the man grappling with Asako Akio. "SHINICHIRO!"
Your first instinct is to help her, but as you move you notice something odd. Moto Shinichiro's cloak… It's moving across the ground! The tips have sunk onto the rocky soil like a shadow, stretching and moving around to come at the Elemental Master to strike at his back!
"Asako-sama!" you call out. "Behind you!"
Fire erupts around Asako Akio, casting back some of the darkness and burning the shadowy spears crawling across the ground to cinders. Shinichiro bellows in pain and tries to pull back as more of his skin peels away, but the sudden push away leaves him off balance and Asako Akio tightens his grasp. He holds the Great Traitor firm.
And then Asako Akio inhales. The inferno swirls around him in a tornado of blazing energy being drawn into his mouth. All that fire, all that power, condenses down to a single point between his teeth. It is smaller than a cherry blossom, glowing as bright as the sun at noonday…
There is a boom like thunder as the Elemental Master of Fire unleashes that power he has drawn forth, breathing a cone of flame right into Moto Shinichiro's face. The abomination screams as his flesh ignites and flakes away to ash, his fine black hair burning up in an instant. It is so hot you have to raise a hand up to guard your eyes, and even then you feel yourself break out into a sweat as the northern chill is so suddenly banished by the power Asako Akio has brought to bear.
Shinichiro is still screaming as he is thrown back, the cone of fire pushing him away and through a teeming mass of Shadowspawn running toward their Master's distress. They fall apart beneath the terrible heat, bursting into blooms of shadow that mixes with dust as Shinichiro tears across the ground like a comet striking the earth.
Then, finally, Asako Akio closes his mouth and the fire dies. He breathes harshly and rubs his trembling arms, as if trying to work feeling back into them. The Shugenja's eyes, however, never move from the spot where Shinichiro ceased his chaotic tumble across the ground.
For a moment, all is still. The battle does not so much pause as… lessen, as the dust begins to settle where Moto Shinichiro has fallen. It is as if the world itself is holding its breath, waiting to see what happens now that the fire and fury of Asako Akio's assault as ended.
The dust breaks apart as a clawed hand holding a tetsubo stretches out across the distance and crashes into the Elemental Master's side. Asako Akio has but the barest of instants to brace his arms against the blow before he falls hard to the ground, crying out as bone audibly cracks. He rolls four times before he stops, gritting his teeth against the pain as blood soaks into his robes.
And from the settling debris, Moto Shinichiro stands. His once handsome face is a ruin, and of his hair nothing left but charred tips coming out from his skull. All the skin around his face is blackened and burned… And where the fire removed his flesh entirely there is only darkness where there should be muscle and bone. Even this terrible damage, you see, is slowly healing as rises to his full height.
He grins, a horrific sight on his broken features, and walks forward on unsteady feet.
[] Aid Shinjo Wanli.
[] Aid Asako Akio.
[] Seek out your other companions.
[] Write in.
[X] Guard Asako Akio's back. Destroy any of the lesser Shadowspawn that get too close. Try to stay out of the line of fire.
Attack Rolls: 7k3=41, 7k3=21
Damage Rolls: 7k3=32, 7k3=39
Shinichiro launches himself into the air, easily surpassing the height of the trees as his black cloak spreads around him like wings made from the night itself. With a feral grin he looks down on your group, somehow hovering, then shoots forward like an arrow and slams into the ground by Asako Akio. The ground shatters beneath the impact, sending dust and rocks flying and obscuring your vision.
I have to get over there! you think frantically as you run forward, rushing headlong toward where the two legends pit their strength against each other. If Asako Akio falls then we're all dead!
This marks the true start of the battle. Or, perhaps, it had already begun as soon as the enemy arrived and no one was aware yet. Regardless, your group rushes forward to assault the enemy, weapons and fists brought to bear against peasants befouled by a power beyond all understanding and turned into something… else.
The Shadowspawn shriek as they leap upon you, their unnaturally long legs eating up ground faster than anything had a right to. In moments they are among you, their limbs twisting at odd angles as they rip into everything with knives and claws. Their shrieks continue despite lacking mouths and voices, the sound echoing strangely throughout the hills. It is as if it comes from very far away, despite how loud it is.
You've little time to consider such matters, however, a man with only a single eye left comes at you with a kama. You attack him on reflex, only just noting the tears streaming down his cheeks as your tetsubo smashes into his side. His jaws extend over the seamless skin where his mouth should be as he screams in agony, black smoke escaping from the crater you made of his ribs as he's taken off his feet and sent tumbling into the throng.
This is not the organized meeting of armies, nor is it a coordinated rout of a less trained foe. Truthfully, it's little more than barely controlled chaos. There are few Bushi among you, despite that everyone is trained for combat. Each is trained in their own unique ways, however, and it is not the most suited for operating as a single unit.
The monks dance and weave amongst the Shadowspawn, striking at them with hands and joints and feet. Their graceful tattooed forms move like the wind itself, every motion perfect and without waste. That elegance is belied, however, as every slap and punch and kick reverberates with a noise like wood snapping. They are not a gentle breeze, but a storm incarnate as they lay into the enemy.
The Shadowspawn do not drop, however. Where normal men and women would have collapsed under the pain, these abominations merely snap their limbs back into place and keep fighting. Black mist pools around them from their wounds, obscuring the battlefield and separating everyone from each other. Even as they are wounded, even as they die, they hinder your efforts to fight them.
The Ronin, meanwhile, are charging through with spears and swords atop their horses. They cry out and as they run rampant, breaking through the chaos and avoiding allies as best they can. Their spears gore the enemy even as their blood flows from the numerous cuts forming along their bodies and those of their horses, and the hooves of their steeds smash down on any of the fallen abominations as they punch through the terrible mass.
You curse and push forward as much as you can, attempting to avoid any unnecessary confrontations as you make your way toward where Asako Akio and Moto Shinichiro are fighting. You've lost sight of your comrades in the bedlam, unable to see more than a few step in front of you thank to the gathering shade and all the bodies tussling around each other. But you can still see where you need to go, a bright spot illuminated against the terrible murk taking over the battlefield.
Another Shadowspawn rushes for you, a woman with long black hair that whirls about as if in the wind. That is all you can tell of her, though. Her face is completely subsumed in pale flesh. Gangly limbs reach out for you at distances no normal person could manage, but you twist with the attack such that it slides harmlessly off your armor.
Then you turn back, stepping forward and putting all the strength of your hips into a swing that makes a crater of the woman's chest. Dark mist explodes out from her as she flies back, and before she even hits the ground Hanabi takes both her blades and plunges them into the Shadowspawn's back. The creature writhes for a moment, and then explodes into pitch-black vapors that join the ever-gathering gloom of the battlefield.
There's very little left standing in your way now. Roaring, you push through and reach a clear space surrounding Asako Akio and Moto Shinichiro as they come to grips with each other.
The two former comrades are so close they must be able to smell each other's breath. Asako Akio has his burning hands around Shinichiro's own, stopping the man's tetsubo just scant inches from connecting with his face. The smaller man's robes have fallen back to reveal whipcord muscle, like tightly bound rope, straining against the bulging mass of Shinichiro's arms. He is leaning back as the man he once called friend pushes forward, inching ever closer to Asako Akio even as his flesh chars and peels away.
New flesh, you see. Your eyes widen with alarm as you notice that the Great Traitor's arm, while still terribly burned, has regained functionality. Could he truly heal himself so swiftly? If he is so tough, and so strong, how on earth will you slay him if he can heal his flesh like this?
"I will not be denied!" a woman shouts from behind you. You look briefly over your shoulder to see Shinjo Wanli running forward, spear in one hand and sword in the other. Shadowspawn are swarming around her, trying to pull her down where they can rip her apart. The Unicorn Samurai keeps pushing forward despite the horrific weight grasping her, marching ever toward the battle.
"Moto Shinichiro!" Wanli cries, tearing through the Shadowspawn as they pile on top of her in waves. Her spear darts out, skewering one while she slices through another at the belly with her sword. Blood is pouring down her face, but she doesn't seem to care. She has eyes only for the man grappling with Asako Akio. "SHINICHIRO!"
Your first instinct is to help her, but as you move you notice something odd. Moto Shinichiro's cloak… It's moving across the ground! The tips have sunk onto the rocky soil like a shadow, stretching and moving around to come at the Elemental Master to strike at his back!
"Asako-sama!" you call out. "Behind you!"
Fire erupts around Asako Akio, casting back some of the darkness and burning the shadowy spears crawling across the ground to cinders. Shinichiro bellows in pain and tries to pull back as more of his skin peels away, but the sudden push away leaves him off balance and Asako Akio tightens his grasp. He holds the Great Traitor firm.
And then Asako Akio inhales. The inferno swirls around him in a tornado of blazing energy being drawn into his mouth. All that fire, all that power, condenses down to a single point between his teeth. It is smaller than a cherry blossom, glowing as bright as the sun at noonday…
There is a boom like thunder as the Elemental Master of Fire unleashes that power he has drawn forth, breathing a cone of flame right into Moto Shinichiro's face. The abomination screams as his flesh ignites and flakes away to ash, his fine black hair burning up in an instant. It is so hot you have to raise a hand up to guard your eyes, and even then you feel yourself break out into a sweat as the northern chill is so suddenly banished by the power Asako Akio has brought to bear.
Shinichiro is still screaming as he is thrown back, the cone of fire pushing him away and through a teeming mass of Shadowspawn running toward their Master's distress. They fall apart beneath the terrible heat, bursting into blooms of shadow that mixes with dust as Shinichiro tears across the ground like a comet striking the earth.
Then, finally, Asako Akio closes his mouth and the fire dies. He breathes harshly and rubs his trembling arms, as if trying to work feeling back into them. The Shugenja's eyes, however, never move from the spot where Shinichiro ceased his chaotic tumble across the ground.
For a moment, all is still. The battle does not so much pause as… lessen, as the dust begins to settle where Moto Shinichiro has fallen. It is as if the world itself is holding its breath, waiting to see what happens now that the fire and fury of Asako Akio's assault as ended.
The dust breaks apart as a clawed hand holding a tetsubo stretches out across the distance and crashes into the Elemental Master's side. Asako Akio has but the barest of instants to brace his arms against the blow before he falls hard to the ground, crying out as bone audibly cracks. He rolls four times before he stops, gritting his teeth against the pain as blood soaks into his robes.
And from the settling debris, Moto Shinichiro stands. His once handsome face is a ruin, and of his hair nothing left but charred tips coming out from his skull. All the skin around his face is blackened and burned… And where the fire removed his flesh entirely there is only darkness where there should be muscle and bone. Even this terrible damage, you see, is slowly healing as rises to his full height.
He grins, a horrific sight on his broken features, and walks forward on unsteady feet.
[] Aid Shinjo Wanli.
[] Aid Asako Akio.
[] Seek out your other companions.
[] Write in.
Last edited:
- Location
- Canada
[X] Aid Asako Akio.
As before, if he dies we lose. Everything else is secondary.
As before, if he dies we lose. Everything else is secondary.
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Aid Asako Akio.
- [X] Take the Defense Stance
- [X] Take the Guard Action as a simple action to Guard Asako Akio
- [X] Spend Void to buff Defense if we still have any left.
- [X] Save Void for resisting spiritual corruption.
- [X] Shout a rallying cry to have anyone who can hear you assist you.
- [X] Take the Defense Stance
- [X] Take the Guard Action as a simple action to Guard Asako Akio
- [X] Save Void for resisting spiritual corruption.
- [X] Shout a rallying cry to have anyone who can hear you assist you.
Last edited:
Sosuke seems to favour the body shot a lot. There are many smashed sides and crushed ribs when he fights, not so many crushed skulls, broken necks and pulverised shoulders. He's a tall lad with a great big club - I'd expect many more downward strokes.
[X] Aid Asako Akio.
- [X] Take the Defense Stance
- [X] Take the Guard Action as a simple action to Guard Asako Akio
- [X] Spend Void to buff Defense if we still have any left.
- [X] Shout a rallying cry to have anyone who can hear you assist you.
Unless Wanli's spear is tipped with crystal Akio is our best bet.
[X] Aid Asako Akio.
- [X] Take the Defense Stance
- [X] Take the Guard Action as a simple action to Guard Asako Akio
- [X] Spend Void to buff Defense if we still have any left.
- [X] Shout a rallying cry to have anyone who can hear you assist you.
Unless Wanli's spear is tipped with crystal Akio is our best bet.
- Location
- Connecticut
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yeah, but he's moving through a melee - I imagine that downward strokes work better when you have a stable position, whereas when you're moving you want to use your forward momentum to swing.
I edited my plan a bit - we can recover from broken bones faster than we can recover from the Taint.
aledeth
The Flesh is Weak
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I feel like if we knew Wanli better we might know if she's got something specially suited to defeating Shinichiro. As is, gotta defend the boss-man.
[X] Aid Asako Akio.
- [X] Take the Defense Stance
- [X] Take the Guard Action as a simple action to Guard Asako Akio
- [X] Spend Void to buff Defense if we still have any left.
- [X] Shout a rallying cry to have anyone who can hear you assist you.
[X] Aid Asako Akio.
- [X] Take the Defense Stance
- [X] Take the Guard Action as a simple action to Guard Asako Akio
- [X] Spend Void to buff Defense if we still have any left.
- [X] Shout a rallying cry to have anyone who can hear you assist you.
God damn is Sosuke setting himself up to be the fall guy so that Asaka Akio, Hero of Rokugan, can put down the evil that Sosuke gave his life to slow.
Only magical flame powers can save us now!
- [X] Take the Defense Stance
- [X] Take the Guard Action as a simple action to Guard Asako Akio
- [X] Spend Void to buff Defense if we still have any left.
- [X] Shout a rallying cry to have anyone who can hear you assist you.
God damn is Sosuke setting himself up to be the fall guy so that Asaka Akio, Hero of Rokugan, can put down the evil that Sosuke gave his life to slow.
Only magical flame powers can save us now!
