That is indeed possible...giving up an action to draw a weapon is seldom a practical choice if it can possibly be avoided. It's not worth it for an attack that doesn't do more damage than attacks you can make without doing that.
I will note that you can already GKB with a lance, so a rote like this is saving a bit of Fervour and maybe getting a knockdown in exchange for having to learn it and using a Capacity. Unless you're talking Finale, of course.
I mean...that's what gets it to GKB damage levels at all. GKB is rather explicitly about as high damage as an attack can be without being a Finale. You can't get past it in raw damage, as a rule.
Is she still the only child? Uncle Leo back in turn 10 mentioned that Audrey´s mother (Lady Eadburg) is just about to hand Audrey a little sibling that year.
So, I just realized that our Web Shape is only 2. I thought it was higher. Prob want to raise it to 4-5 after Refining Web of Blades.
Since Web of Blades hp is Web level X 10, I decided to look through a list of AoE attacks we've seen so far for damage, and some guestimates for area. Generally, I'll use large area for attacks that likely remove Blades, medium for those that remove a portion, and small for those I feel wont work.
Audrey:
Sweeping Slash (8 Fervour): 40 dmg (+20 wep , +10 deadliness), medium area
Horde-Breaking Charge (4 Fervour): 20 dmg (+20 wep , +10 deadliness), small area
Bradamante:
Water Spout - 30 dmg, Small area
Ride Them Down - 60 dmg, medium area
Crowley:
Wind Gust - 10 dmg, Small area
Margh:
100 dmg AoE, large area
Sten:
100? dmg AoE, large area
Tearfall (Ignores Blades due to Skittering Stride):
Acid Spray - 40 dmg, 20 dmg end turn, Small Area
Missile Shot - 40 dmg, Small Area
Looking through this, sufficiently large AoE will likely also have damage to 1 shot Blades at any reasonable level of Web Shape Audrey can get.
The smaller area aoe damage is a lot more reasonable, generally doing between 30-60 damage. I feel that Web Shape 5 (28 training) should be enough to survive a single hit from weaker aoes. Web Shape 7 (124 training) would be enough to deal with all the non-nuke AoE we have seen so far, assuming I have not missed one.
Unarmed Attacks:
-Horde-Breaking Charge (4 Fervour): Charges and body checks one or more people. Provides movement, knocks people prone, deals 30 damage.
Water Spout probably has a similar area to Ride Them Down, both are probably on par with Horde-Breaking Charge, which is likely bigger than Sweeping Slash. That said, charging into it ala HBC or Ride Them Down will not really get rid of the Web. The nature of the AoE is important, as much as the size...poison gas would also do nothing.
Update might be delayed until tomorrow, I'm not up to writing today, just a bit under the weather, should be fine tomorrow, and I'll work on it after I get up.
[X] Plan Skills Psyche and Chats, Plus Diplo
-[X] [Focus Action] Talk with our new retainers to help them get settled and get to know them, make sure the beer guy knows we're probably moving to our more permanent place in a few years, so he doesn't go and buy a farm or whatever
-[X] [Secondary Action] Talk to the local important people, see if we can involve Chad and/or the Martial Style Knight in our Grip of Samson training to see if we can get them far enough into it to finish it on their own, if they want to. Maybe in exchange for getting us started on a dedicated wrestling style over the next few turns if that's possible. Not a requirement in any way though, just if they can.
-[X] [Secondary Action] Burn the favour with the Eldorman to shadow him in the day-to-day running of the local area, so we can get a solid idea of what running a fief will be like before we get dropped in the deep end
-[X] [Chancellery] "Training with Friends?"
-[X] Training and Zeal (61 Training, 141 Zeal)
--[X] Spend 120 Zeal, Reserve 21
---[X] Spend 64 Zeal on Psyche 6 -> 7
---[X] Spend 40 Zeal on Athleticism + Administration + Scholarship + Scouting + Precision Rank 3 -> 4
---[X] Spend 16 Zeal on Diplomacy 4 -> 5
---[X] Reserve 21 for combat reserve/future stuff
–[X] Spend 61 Training
---[X] Spend 20 Training on Grip of Samson 0/30 -> 20/30
---[X] Spend 16 Training on Hordebreaker Rank 4 -> 5
---[X] Spend 13 Training on Light Rank 4 -> 5
---[X] Spend 9 Training and some of Reinald's Zeal on Severing Stroke Not Existing -> Refined
---[X] Spend 3 Training on Web of Blades (Web Shape field effect that deals damage every [time unit]) Not Existing -> Rough
Though Audrey Eotenslaga was a Knight at heart (And likely in the rolls where nobody tended to look), she was still considered a Squire for one more year at least–and she had every intention of taking full advantage of this to reach her utmost peak as a heroine! Of course, this largely involved catching up on her classwork and numbers more than anything else, but even this threshold was one that would fall before Audrey Eotenslaga in time!
A crack of a switch against the desk jolted Audrey out of her thoughts, Aalis standing ominously at the front of the room, spectacles doing the scary opaque thing again! "Take care not to let your mind wander over much, Lady Audrey" She advised, gesturing at Audrey's diptych, and the mathematical problems held within that had gone unfinished. "An active mind is a healthy one, but a focused one is a stronger one."
"Why do we have to do all these numbers!" Alvis threw up his hands at Audrey's side–the Norseman had a decent head for figures at least, but between having to study English if he was going to be able to interact with anyone without Aalis or Audrey acting as an interpreter. "When am I ever going to need to know any of this nonsense! I make beer and lagers! Not paperwork!"
Aalis adjusted her gaze–and Audrey sensed the menace in the area dialing up a notch or two–a fine use of Light if she wasn't mistaken! Certainly, Alvis seemed to quail in her presence. "To exercise the mind is to exercise the soul." She speaks. "Though you may have no need for mathematics on this level–they still underpin much of God's Creation–by grappling with the great equations like the philosophers of old, you refine your own understanding of the world."
She gestures with her wrist, drawing a line of characters before her–using an element of Light as a stylus and the empty air as her canvas–an act of shocking precision honestly–Audrey definitely would not have been able to do the same without a tremendous amount of practice. "No doubt once you step away and have a chance to digest these activities, you will find your mind racing on a new level–I think you can understand the benefits of a well exercised mind, at the very least."
Alvis narrowed his eyes–and Audrey could practically sense his hackles going up–but he seemed unable to find an appropriate retort.
Audrey couldn't disagree either–she had always struggled with refining her Psyche compared to her Soma, and while she had managed to puzzle her way through training her Hama as well–she had no similar benefits with the third–and arguably most important–pillar of the Christian Soul. She had been making tremendous gains! Enough so that even with her hard work attempting to refine the Grip of Samson to a level she could use as easily as breathing, she had finally managed to meet Master Reinald's standards!
She would not shame herself in the days to come!
The switch cracked again on the desk, and this time, Audrey felt the menace descend on her. "Don't get me started on you Lady Eotenslaga–for all you can show shocking cleverness in battle, you do not apply those same God-Given talents of yours into the rest of your life. You drift from topic to topic, seeking the most direct way to your goal–and so you inevitably founder when it comes to abstract thinking. Have you developed a single prayer or meditation that doesn't relate to battle, or getting to battle?"
Audrey opened her mouth in protest–only for Aalis to silence her with a raised index finger. "And no, the Gift of Tongues does not count, everyone is taught that particular prayer as soon as they can."
"I didn't learn it!" Alvis chimes in–the traitor! The bully!
"Norsemen don't count–your Ordstirr is too viscous to avoid some manner of waste even in a perfectly functional cycle." Aalis pushes back on his attempt to corner Audrey rhetorically. "There's little point in teaching you a Prayer like that because you'd need to develop it to such an outrageous level that it's just much easier to master the language without the blessing." She turns her gaze on Audrey, and taps the front of her desk–softly this time–with the switch she cut at the start of this lesson. "Have you developed Meditations to sift through tabled ideas with spare thoughtforms? Have you discerned how to take in a missive with a touch instead of reading it? All of these may seem like trivialities–but you are a Knight–and one of the pre-eminent examples of your generation."
She allows her aura of menace to decline, and lowers her gaze to meet her silvery eyes. "It is not enough for you to simply meet standards, you must seek to exceed them in time–and you will be very busy in the years ahead no doubt. If you can organize your mind appropriately, even the few days in a year you can afford to spend at your estate will be sufficient to complete business. But if you simply brute force the matter, you'll find yourself hating it before long." She softly poked Audrey's forehead with the switch, and tilted it up. "Work smarter, not harder, and you'll go very far in life."
Audrey's cheeks flushed at that–these displays of praise for her ability always disarmed her entirely–but it was fine! She was with… Friends? Companions?
…
Friends works, these were the folks sworn to her side–either through obligation or genuine affection–and what can you call those but friends? Those who did not follow her because the King and Kingdom decreed it, but for her own deeds and actions.
She'd eventually be assigned other people–those who sought to curry favor, or those who fulfilled a purpose. The Church would need to assign a dedicated priest to take care of the spiritual needs of her people in time–she had thought Aalis could do it for a while, but the young nun immediately deferred the problem. 'It's one thing to be the chaplain of a female knight, but I think performing the role for the community will be more trouble than it's worth.' She described it as. 'Besides, I wouldn't want to irritate whoever ends up being assigned to your holding by taking over their duties, that rarely ends happily.'
Which, you know, is fair enough.
At any rate, the months of her training had been going exceptionally well–despite Aalis' concerns about her lacking specialized Prayers to use in the more administrative parts of her future career, she had made all of the standards expected of a young Knight and then some. Alvis was acclimating well enough despite some initial worries, and Aalis had made herself well at home in Warwick's libraries, devouring all of the scrolls and tomes it contained–to make of herself a fount of knowledge with few equals.
Sure, they weren't necessarily going to be breaking Norsemen over their knees personally–but that was fine! That was all Audrey's job! She'd perform her duties splendidly in time after all, with just a little scuff here and there.
More importantly–she had recently gotten some offers for the spoils she had acquired! Apparently her fourth round performance in the North-Seas Tournament and her vivid recollections of it in her missives caught no small amount of attention–and the tale of the Misty Beach Battle captivated hearts and minds. She had no small number of offers to go with!
The real question was–what specifically did she need from this sale? Liquid currency as soon as possible? A useful investment? Or maybe use it to acquire a favor here and there…
There were plenty of offers at least, so she could pick from the best of them at least—she just needed to decide on her priorities first…
0~0~0
[ ] You need liquid capital, and you need it as soon as possible. Take one of the offers that was offering a great deal of coin right away and be done with it. (+4 Wealth right now)
[ ] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
[ ] Maybe you should be willing to take a bit of a loss today, to earn some favor here and there. Goodwill is difficult to buy, but potent armaments are a mighty offer indeed. (+2 Wealth and a Favor from a well placed buyer)
0~0~0
AN: Still not at 100%, but here's the first choice for you and some character interactions. Normal update tomorrow as planned, hopefully I should be back to my full faculties by then.
[X] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
[X] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
Nothing is coming to mind that we need to buy immediately, and the favor could be good but without knowing the exact limits of the favor it is a bit of a gamble, while money is pretty universal.
This sounds like a Prayer to boost our Chancellery progression rate, if I understant correctly?
[X] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
This sounds like a Prayer to boost our Chancellery progression rate, if I understant correctly?
[X] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
[X] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
[X] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
This is good, we haven't completed the mortal helping idea so I doubt making our own investments with the windfall option would be more effective
[X] Maybe you should be willing to take a bit of a loss today, to earn some favor here and there. Goodwill is difficult to buy, but potent armaments are a mighty offer indeed. (+2 Wealth and a Favor from a well placed buyer)
[X] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
[X] Maybe you should be willing to take a bit of a loss today, to earn some favor here and there. Goodwill is difficult to buy, but potent armaments are a mighty offer indeed. (+2 Wealth and a Favor from a well placed buyer)
[X] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
[X] It would be better if you focused on making a useful investment first–it's often much easier to bear a small hit to your profits over time than a single large investment of coin right away. You can leverage that into further profits. (+1 Wealth per turn for 6 Turns)
