Scheduled vote count started by Alectai on Aug 28, 2024 at 8:56 PM, finished with 26 posts and 13 votes.
[X] Plan: Keep It Simple
-[X] Stance: Prayer For Perseverance, Clever Deflection, Darting Strike, Perfect Footing, Faulty Ground, Giant-Killing Blow
-[X] Tactics: Open the fight with Darting Strike to take the fight to him at the top of the hill. From there fight conservatively with normal attacks, Audrey can fight all day and he can't, let him try to feel her out as long as he wants, throw in a Darting Strike once per a turn to try and bait him into spending his shield. When he starts spending big enough amounts of Ealdor to be threatening stop spending Fervor on Darting Strike and fight defensively. Use Clever Deflection on threatening attacks and if his shield is gone or he cannot defend himself with it then follow up the opening provided by Clever Deflection with Giant-Killing Blow. Repeat that combo as opportunity arises whenever he commits to a big strike with Ealdor and the Fervor to spend on it is available, keeping Prayer for Perseverence in mind. If he realizes he's being attritioned and flees then either run him down with Darting Strike or trip him with Faulty Ground. If Audrey is ever overwhelmed by the bandit's offence then use Faulty Ground to disrupt him and regain control, follow up with Giant-Killing Blow if his shield is gone or he can't defend himself with it. If Audrey is completely overwhelmed and in serious danger then instead use Faulty Ground to disrupt his offence and retreat.
[X] Plan: Being Tricksy
-[X] Stance: Prayer For Perseverance, Clever Deflection, Darting Strike, Perfect Footing, Faulty Ground, Giant-Killing Blow
-[X] Tactics: Use Perfect Footing to keep steady over the course of the fight. Initially lure the bandit into becoming less cautious by pretending to be a worse combatant than she is. While doing so, use Perfect Footing to pretend to actually have bad footing. Catch him with Clever Deflection when he commits to an attack. Over the course of the fight, focus on creating openings. Mainly with Clever Deflection but if he catches on to that use Faulty Ground. Follow up openings primarily with Darting Strike. Giant-Killing Blow only if the opening is a significant one. Just use basic attacks if low on Fervour. Prayer For Perseverance if needed.
[X] Plan: Rushing is Always a Good Idea
-[X] Stance: Clever Deflection, Giant Killing-Blow, Perfect Footing, Faulty Ground, Prayer For Perseverance, Darting Strike
-[X] Tactics: Make use of Audrey's higher physical stats to quickly overwhelm him before he realizes Audrey is a squire and draws more power out. Start with Darting Strike and use Perfect Footing to maintain a solid stance. While he is on the back foot from Darting Strike, catch him off guard with Faulty Ground and then hit him with Giant-Killing Blow when an Audrey see's an opening. If this doesn't finish him off, then use Prayer For Perseverance and Perfect Footing to hold out until Audrey can recover her fervor and uses Clever Deflection to create an opening for Giant-Killing Blow.
[X] Plan: Battle of Attrition
-[X] Stance: Prayer For Perseverance, Clever Deflection, Darting Strike, Perfect Footing, Faulty Ground, Limb Breaking Hold
-[X] Tactics: Use Perfect Footing to keep steady over the course of the fight. Initially lure the bandit into becoming less cautious by pretending to be a worse combatant than she is. While doing so, use Perfect Footing to pretend to actually have bad footing. Catch him with Clever Deflection when he commits to an attack. follow up with Limb Breaking Hold targeting his weapon arm. After that focus on fighting sustainably, with a focus on defense, trying to reserve enough Fervor that we can use Faulty Ground and break his leg with Limb Breaking Hold if he tries to run. activate Prayer for Perserverence if we are about to run out of stamina.
Yes, some varieties anyway. Knights and other Carolingian Cultivators live about 10 times as long as a mortal, aging at 1/10 the normal rate or a bit slower once they hit adulthood. Anglo-Saxon cultivators, it depends on how quickly they expend their Maegen, but Alfred has lived for centuries and is not unique in that...nobles who have people to do maegen intensive activities like farming for them can just about equal Carolingian lifespan.
Norsemen, in contrast, are mostly dead before the age of 50, and age rapidly once they hit their middle years. There are exceptions, but they involve weirdness.
And there are ways to be actually immortal as well, though they require more than simple cultivation.
Yes, some varieties anyway. Knights and other Carolingian Cultivators live about 10 times as long as a mortal, aging at 1/10 the normal rate or a bit slower once they hit adulthood.
I was referring to ways to influence life expectancy for which you need to make purposeful efforts and not just cultivate.
For example, Revelations that further slow down aging or a holy relic that restores youth.
I was referring to ways to influence life expectancy for which you need to make purposeful efforts and not just cultivate.
For example, Revelations that further slow down aging or a holy relic that restores youth.
I did not say that Audrey would try to get eternal life as an end in itself.
This may be a great God-pleasing goal that will take many hundreds of years and Audrey does not feel that she has the right to die until the goal is achieved.
I was referring to ways to influence life expectancy for which you need to make purposeful efforts and not just cultivate.
For example, Revelations that further slow down aging or a holy relic that restores youth.
Half a breath crosses clenching teeth as hot blood warms cold veins. Hammers like thunder make drums of ears as fingers twist tight into battle-grips.
Violence reigns supreme as Audrey cracks the earth beneath her feet. A spray of dirt and tossed-up grass follows her advance as her sword slides through the air. White-hot fervour wraps about her body, her foe drawing close in her eye.
He jostles on the spot, jerking his shield into position as Audrey closes the gap in the blink of an eye. Sword-iron meets shield-wood as splinters fly and the Bandit staggers, yet remains on his feet; Audrey's sword nearly tickles his stomach from where it sprouts through the shield.
A snarl nearly leaps free of Audrey's throat before a clench of teeth cuts it off. That Darting Strike would have run him clean through if not for that damned shield. Bloody shields, their users cowards one and all!
The Bandit pivots on the spot in a burst of clever activity—his speed easily Audrey's equal. Bodily bracing shield, his weight lends needed leverage as wood snaps and shield shatters, wrenching Audrey's sword from her hands in the process.
Audrey's eyes snap wide, mouth slipping open in shock as her sword spirals . It's then that the lessons of the past, ignored with the certainty of her superiority, slam into her head like a sling-spun stone. Powerful warriors often take the form of their lessers, using the anonymity to catch their peer-foes off guard. Of course! How could she have been so foolish?
Her hama lashes out the moment her sword leaves her grasp, slithering across the earth as a shallow trench carves itself beneath his feet. Ground now gone, the Bandit's own hama attempts a platform only to find the lack of anchor points sends him straight to the ground. His back, though padded with cloth, strikes hard against the grass as the wind flees his lungs.
Darting up and over the bandit's fallen form, Audrey spins mid-air as she passes over her sword's resting place. Stealing her sword back as she hurtles along, a tree-trunk her target from which she kicks-off back at her foe—just as he staggers back to his feet.
Fervour screams across her body as her sword shines high overhead, the Giant-Killing Blow a blade of brilliant light. The Bandit's eyes snap wide; his breath, just returned, catches in his throat as hama-shield shimmers to life before his body.
Sword alight with fervorous fury, a roar slips Audrey's lips as she throws herself bodily into the blow. Hama fails before her might, shredding to the winds like a knife through a spider's web; yet the momentary pause is just enough for the Bandit to skip beyond her sword's reach.
Iron strikes earth as fury fills her heart, the crater digging deep into dirt as the explosion showers smoke and grass all across the hillside. How dare he dodge her attack! He'll pay for his insolence, that much is fated.
Gathering her hama up to banish the smoke, Audrey's teeth grind together as she rounds on the sound of breath. He's close, too clo–
An axe cuts through the smoke as Audrey jerks back. The cutting edge scrapes across her gathered hama as the spectre of a misshapen axe swiftly follows the slipstream. The poorly-mounted edge digs deep into her hama, the smell of stripped bark filling the air as most of her hama dissipates into the wind.
A quick swing serves little purpose as Audrey backs away, eyes darting as the smoke billows around her. That axe, hoe, whatever it was, that was a hama shape! Clearly, this is as she expected, her foe disguising his strength to catch her off-guard. But now, his might revealed, she'll be able to beat him with her own hidden stre–
A second axe-blow carves through the finally fading smoke, the ghostly spectre hot behind. Audrey lifts her sword in defence, blocking the last path the Bandit took, but the blade slips beneath her guard and sends the last of her protective hama spinning into the wind. The ghost-weapon follows suit, stripping away the cross-stitched cloth protecting her thigh.
Her… Her clothes! This bastard bandit had the nerve to damage her clothes!
He. Will. Pay.
Audrey's rage overflows as the force of her scream banishes the last of the smoke. Across the way, her enemy pales as sweat flows down his face like water off a great falls. His breathing heavier than a portcullis, he must have realised the depths of pain that now await him.
Audrey takes a single step forward, her foot crashing down like a portcullis as he stumbles back. From her stomp comes a wave of hama, her might carving deep furrows through the earth as a second roar of wrath fills the air.
His feet find nothing as he steps back, the fall a certainty if not for the last scraps of his hama surging to his aid. Grabbing the ground-yet-sturdy, his hama fades as it carries him upright and away from the shattered, broken earth.
Eyes cloudy with fear, he only snaps into focus as Audrey begins her advance. A heavy swallow clears his throat as he takes a single glance over his shoulder, obviously considering bailing on the whole thing.
Not on Audrey's watch.
Dirt sprays in her wake as she crosses the gap in an instant, her sword biting through padded cloth and finding a feast of flesh below. Blood splashes across iron as shock turns to anger in the Bandit's gaze.
Strength fills his limbs as he lifts his axe for a final blow…
Only for the swipe of Audrey's sword to relieve him of his arm.
He blinks as the arm falls to the ground, his hand still gripping his axe.
"Well," he says as he sways, eyes dulling with every letter leaving his lips, "shit."
He falls back, dead.
0~0~0
"You did well," Reinald says as Knight and Squire proceed onwards, the thankful voices of rescued pilgrims fade into the background as the monastery-forge draws ever-nearer, "but you've got some room for improving."
"But I sent him running!" Audrey protests with a scowl twisting her lips, her sword—cleaned of the blood—dangles at her side as her horse moves ever-onwards.
A side-eye sees her mouth snap shut. "You're sure it was that and not," Reinald wiggles a finger at his person, "seeing all his friends die?"
Audrey opens her mouth, waits a second, then closes it with a huff. "I still beat him…" She grumbles, lips pulling into a pout that she quickly wipes away. She's gotta get better at not pouting, she won't be called 'Miss Pouts-a-lot' again!
"You did," Reinald repeats with a nod, "and you did it without digging into your zeal reserves, too, which is more than I can say for my first fight."
Audrey is silent as she considers her mentor's words, though the praise still lifts her chin in glowing pride.
"Still, you've got some room to grow," Reinald says as he leads the way on. "We'll go over this in more detail later, once we're safer, but I'll leave you to consider how else you might have acted in the fight while we travel, what you might do differently in your next battle."
Audrey nods, lips pressing firm, only for Reinald's follow-up to catch her flat-footed.
"Anyways, you should bear in mind for the future that the average bandit is one that survived their first few scraps, so it's no surprise your foe gave you such trouble."
…Average?
This time, Audrey doesn't bother hiding the pout as it forms.
0~0~0
The monastery-forge of Juleswain sits on a bluff overlooking a small collection of buildings housing the various villagers gathered in the monastery's shadow. Reinald has some business to attend to with the village's Thanes before Audrey can collect her armour, so she has the afternoon to herself.
How does she spend it?
[ ] With Reinald, listening in on his talk with the Thanes
[ ] At the monastery, observing the monks at work
[ ] By herself, reviewing the fight and considering how else she might have handled it
[ ] Write in
0~0~0
Darting Strike from Audrey: 30
Bandit Defense: 16 (Bandit shields, uses shield to attempt Disarm)
Bandit Disarm: 24
Audrey Disarm Defense: 20 (Gets Disarmed)
Audrey Faulty Ground: 19
Bandit Defense: 16 (Takes 10 damage direct to Fortitude, falls prone, Audrey recovers her sword)
Bandit stands up.
Audrey Giant-Killing Blow: 24
Bandit Defense: 26
Bandit Powerful Blow + Follow-Up: 30
Audrey Clever Deflection: 24 (Hits, does 30 then 10 to Hama, reducing it by 20 total)
Audrey Basic Attack: 25
Bandit Defense: 27
Bandit Powerful Blow + Follow-Up: 34
Audrey Clever Deflection: 23 (Hits, does 30, doing 10 each to Hama and Armour, then follow-up breaks Hama)
Audrey Faulty Ground: 21
Bandit Defense: 27 (burns the last of his Hama Maegen, Hama field drops)
Bandit attempts fighting retreat.
Audrey Darting Strike to catch up: 30 (Including Valour bonus)
Bandit Defense: 28 (gets hit, 10 Armour and 10 Fortitude Damage net result).
Bandit's Last Gasp: 24
Audrey's Clever Deflection: 28
Bandit Passes Out From Maegen Exhaustion!
Bandit Dies from Ealdor Exhaustion!
AN: And there we go, the violence has finished and you're still standing! Good job.
[X] By herself, reviewing the fight and considering how else she might have handled it
Personally, I feel like this is the one we should take, as it feels like the "poke to get DM advice" button and we currently have no real clue what the typical Knightly method would be for this, and not just "be better, hit harder". Also, watching the monks doesn't seem like it will have much we can directly use, and I personally aren't that interested in the diplo side of stuff that Reinald is off to do
Edit, apparently this isn't a "poke DM" button. Still my vote right now tho
[ ] By herself, reviewing the fight and considering how else she might have handled it
Personally, I feel like this is the one we should take, as it feels like the "poke to get DM advice" button and we currently have no real clue what the typical Knightly method would be for this, and not just "be better, hit harder"
[X] By herself, reviewing the fight and considering how else she might have handled it
yeah our mc has serious attitude issues, either this is her start to learning to control herself, or we get an amusing "i did absolutely nothing wrong ohohohoho!" scene. win-win imo.
yeah our mc has serious attitude issues, either this is her start to learning to control herself, or we get an amusing "i did absolutely nothing wrong ohohohoho!" scene. win-win imo.
