- Location
- United States
Minato used NMRStbWCUSS (NtSCBaNTL) on his infant child to seal in Kurama
Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest
- Thread starter eaglejarl
- Start date
-
- Tags
- naruto rationalist romance armageddon is looking better and better damn you kishimoto explosions everywhere explosives solve everyone if in doubt surrender to the mercy of zabuza it seemed like a good idea at the time looks like a really bad case of being a jōnin my god. where does the lore end? precommitting is the winning plan screaming in kagome screw the rules i have explosives something bad might still happen sometimes you gotta sociopath stabby zabby subsection c of paragraph 9 should include we can weaponize this so hard
- Location
- Yes.
- Location
- Book Fort
- Pronouns
- They/Them
@eaglejarl, @Velorien, @Paperclipped
Can we get in-thread confirmation that the stunt applies to biosealing and Minatosealing as well?
Can we get in-thread confirmation that the stunt applies to biosealing and Minatosealing as well?
Yeah, but note that the default case is very tied to the seal master. See Hazou&Kagome talking about special training keep the seal active even when the sealmaster falls asleep, and this quote from the stunt header.
We don't quite know the details, but NMRStbWCUSS (NtSCBaNTL) seems centered around the sealmaster in a way that Graphosealing just isn't.
This restriction also answers the "why didn't Minato just equip every Leaf Jounin with his stuff and win the setting?" question, which is something the QMs keep an eye on.
All in all, I suspect the Jinchuriki Seal is a special case, due to it being probably the most advanced sealchain in existence.(and possibly requiring Minato to sacrifice himself?)
Whatever's going on with it, it's still active despite Minato's alleged death, which implies that something weird is going on with it.
Last edited:
Can we not deliberately try to cause a sealing or rune failure? Reminder that sealing failures can cause the literal removal of entire bloodlines, shifting of universes, ect. It's just not worth the risk.. ever.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Sealing Failure: Turns itself inside out
Runic Failure: Turns the Human Path inside out.
Hazou's Brain (dying of oxygen deprivation): this is cool guys.
- Location
- Liverpool
Losing one less day on research cycles to recovery, and not getting penalties so we can fight or politic in between would be really helpful and add up over time (plus mean a slight difference in FOOM XP on those days).
I agree, knowing if Minato sealing applies too is important, though given QM silence, I'm guessing we'd need the ability to know whether it applies, or uses base sealing and so benefits more from SSA, or neither help it.
But, uh, related to all the "there's even notes of how to keep it going when you sleep" stuff... Do we know what killed Minato in this setting? Because I think the answer to that may impact how right Kagome is about the risk of the ability.
I agree, knowing if Minato sealing applies too is important, though given QM silence, I'm guessing we'd need the ability to know whether it applies, or uses base sealing and so benefits more from SSA, or neither help it.
But, uh, related to all the "there's even notes of how to keep it going when you sleep" stuff... Do we know what killed Minato in this setting? Because I think the answer to that may impact how right Kagome is about the risk of the ability.
MMKII
The Shining One
- Location
- Trapped in an extradimensional rift.
- Pronouns
- She/They
It's possible that the Bijuu Seal research wasn't complete, and/or that Minato hadn't yet determined a way to safely make these kinds of seals inside of another human's chakra network from the outside. So, perhaps like in canon, he did the next best thing and stapled himself onto Naruto too along with the Kyuubi. When the unkillable kaiju gets loose, you use the tools you have on hand I guess.
I like the term Junction sealing. Imo, it seems to be an apt description of joining or fitting two chakra systems together.
It really makes you wonder what happens when the Jinchuurikis usually die. Because Leaf is profoundly unprepared for that to happen right now.
Chapter 664: Trumpets Lifted
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"Your timing is interesting," Cannai mused.
"Oh?"
"Yes. I have a military mission that would be perfect for you. I had in fact been thinking about requiring you to go, but since you are, quote, feeling antsy and wanting to be useful so is there anything I can do on the military side, end quote, I believe I shall indeed send you on this mission."
"Cool," Hazō said with a smile. "What's the mission?"
"A punitive raid against the Leopards. Cross the border, murder twelve of them, urinate on the corpses, and leave them to rot in the sun. Do not kill cubs. Leave one parent alive if you can do so without losing your own people."
The smile fell away. "Oh."
Cannai's jaw dropped slightly open and he panted very slightly in amusement. "You were expecting that I would send you on a lovely trot along the border, looking across rolling vistas in hopes of spotting a stroppy young kitty that you could chase back home with their fuzzy little tail between their legs?"
"I...don't know? I guess I hadn't thought Dog was going across the border."
"This will be the first time. Until now, we have held our borders while the leopards have raided us. We have intercepted many raiders, killed those we could catch and chased the rest off."
"...And? What changed?"
"What changed is that they refuse to take the hint, and they have been stepping up their raids. The leopards have two advantages over dogs: first, they are more powerful fighters on an individual basis. Second, they are vastly better at stealth. They do not come across the border in a massed charge, battle howls leading the way. They began by slinking across in ones or sometimes in twos, hiding in the grass until they find a vulnerable group. They have recently escalated to larger groups, but their tactics remain the same. They kill, they mark, and they leave. They do not respond to diplomatic outreach. I am tired of this."
He looked across the wide grass between where they stood and the border where the nearest leopard might stand. "I am so tired of this," he murmured.
He turned back to Hazō and his voice was firm once more. "I have committed Dog to the defense of Hyena against Pangolin. I cannot afford to have Leopard, in alliance with Pangolin, flanking me on the southeast. More importantly, I am not willing to continue having my people killed.
"A certain amount of raiding can be accepted. It could even be argued to be a good thing—it keeps our skills sharp, and military weakness is a thing that no clan can afford. Unfortunately, they have gone well beyond the acceptable amount of raiding. It is happening along the entire border, multiple times per day in multiple locations, and they are doing more than harassing a few warriors."
"And so we're taking the fight to them," Hazō said.
"No. We are driving Hyōhakken to meet with me so that we may find a way to make peace."
"And if he doesn't want to...?"
"Then Dog will devastate Leopard."
"...Excuse me?"
"They have been raiding across our mutual border and also through the southwestern edge of Hyena. Yesterday, they murdered the Winding River pack to our west—whether by intent or as collateral damage, I neither know nor care. They also killed one hundred and thirteen other dogs across several hundred miles. This is not raiding, this is war. At least, it is about to be unless Hyōhakken is able to see reason."
"And war means...what, extermination?" Long experience with the Pangolin clan made Hazō jump straight to the worst option.
"Not literally. We will not kill cubs and we will try to leave one parent alive from any pairing. Aside from that, we will kill or drive off all potential combatants and claim at least a third of their territory." Canine jaws dropped open, teeth showing. "For a Clan Lord, it is extremely painful to have territory taken. Rather like having part of your body torn away."
"I see." He licked his lips, trying to decide if he should continue. "Okay. Where am I going?"
"You have an objection."
"No sir."
"Hazō."
"I..." He fell silent. "Call it what you want, but what you're talking about is the next best thing to exterminating the Leopard Clan. Leaving aside the moral implications, which I am not, is that even a thing we could do?"
Cannai laughed. "Oh yes. Yes, we could. Hazō, Dog is one of the largest Clans in the world. Leopard is a fraction of a Clan, and they broke off from Feline quite recently. Yes, the average leopard is equally matched to two or perhaps three dogs. I have two or three dogs for every leopard. I have ten dogs for every leopard. If I wanted to empty Leopard and claim every pawspan of it as my own, I could do it. It would cost far more lives than I would wish to sacrifice, but if this raiding were to continue then it would eventually cost even more."
"Wouldn't the other Clans have a major problem with you—with us exterminating the majority of a Clan and claiming their land?"
"Most likely."
"So...would it be a good idea?"
"It is debatable. Is it better to be seen as weak, unable to protect my own against a constant niggling drain, or to be seen as potentially aggressive towards neighbors who have not yet harmed me?" He cocked his head in the canine version of a shrug. "I would like to believe that clear communication with my new neighbors, plus their awareness of their own strength as compared to that of Leopard, would prevent the spread of hostilities. Still, this is why I wish to speak with Hyōhakken. He risks his people being devastated by Dog. I risk my people being warred upon by multiple enemy clans at once."
He snorted in amusement. "Plus, were I to conquer all of Leopard I would suddenly share a border with Pangolin. I have no desire for close connection to imperialist warmongers who apparently justify their ambitions through religious fervor."
"You could hand off some of the land to Hyena, or Rat," Hazō said.
"True, although I doubt either polity would wish to extend their borders with Pangolin. Regardless, the preferred option is for Hyōhakken to pull back his people. The first step in that is to convince him to speak with me. The second step is to convince him that he should either accept the alliance I previously offered, or at the least close the border between us to raids, as doing otherwise risks the death of most of his clan's military force."
"Would it have to involve killing such a large fraction of them? If having land taken from you is so painful, wouldn't it be sufficient to simply do that?"
"Perhaps, but I am not willing to bet my clan's safety on 'perhaps'. With the threat of the Pangolin on the horizon I cannot afford a second front, which means I need Hyōhakken to stand down. Unfortunately, leopards tend to share a few traits, arrogance among them. It is difficult to convince them to back down and, if we are being completely honest, I do not expect this negotiation to work. I fully expect that Hyōhakken will either increase his raids in response to this push or will come to the meeting only to curse and insult me.
"I will give him ten days to meet with me," Cannai said. "If he will meet and suspend hostilities then I will spend as long as necessary negotiating a peace between us. If he refuses to meet within ten days then Dog will begin the destruction of Leopard. If that campaign begins, it will not stop even if the Leopards attempt to yield. Aside from cubs and some parents, they will either flee the portion of their homeland that I claim or they will die."
"That's...extreme."
"Indeed. It is also practical. I am sending a message, and only incidentally does it go to Hyōhakken. The message is primarily for Pantsā and the rest of the clans east of the mountains; Dog is a peaceful neighbor with no interest in conflict. We are slow to rouse and we will negotiate in good faith if given any opportunity, but if you push us too far then the response will be catastrophic. We make far better allies than rivals, and far better rivals than enemies. It is my hope that if I make this demonstration once then I shall never need to make it again."
"And so I kill twelve of them?"
"You and a troop of dogs, yes. Yesterday they killed six dogs in this area, so we shall kill twelve in response. Repeating what I said before: do not kill cubs. If you encounter a mated pair with cubs then, if at all possible, leave one parent alive." He considered Hazō for a moment before continuing. "I am not perfectly clear on human morality and approaches to warfare, so I shall spell this out and hope you will grant pardon if it is obvious: the highest priority is to preserve your own lives while completing the mission. I expect you to fight intelligently, keeping yourself and your troops alive and able. Ambush your enemies, use deceit, stack the odds in your favor. Do not charge in like an idiot. There is no concept of 'fair' when teeth are reddened, and you should put such notions aside if you hold them. If a fight is too difficult, pull back and find an easier one.
"If for some bizarre reason it is completely impossible to avoid killing a cub, or if you do it by accident, I will understand. I will understand, but I will be ashamed. It will be a stain on the honor of Dog, one that will never wash away, but I do not expect you to prioritize the life of a leopard over that of yourself and your troops."
"Understood."
"Excellent. Mount and I shall take you to your troop. Along the way I shall brief you on Leopard."
o-o-o-o
"So, what should I expect?" Hazō asked as the team crossed the border, the eight dogs running in a loose cluster with Hazō at the center. "From the leopards, I mean."
"All leopards are cowards!" Cansaku shouted from the left edge of the cluster. The junior dog on the mission, the brown-and-tan Cansaku came up to Hazō's knee but moved with energy and seemed to vibrate even when standing still. Add a green outfit, sprinkle in some homoerotic innuendo, and he would have been a perfect canine model of Rock Lee.
"Shut up, brat!" hissed Cancurunchu, the leader of the troop. "Ignore him," he said to Hazō. "I have no idea how the kid has stayed this naive this long, but somehow he has. The leopards aren't cowards, they just fight differently than us. They tend to be solitary, although it seems like their Boss has been trying to change that lately, forcing them to live in larger groups. More relevantly, he's been forcing them to fight in larger groups. Used to be that they would come across the border alone, or maybe with a mate. Find a dog who was off on their own, kill 'em, retreat. Now we're getting groups of three and four on the regular."
"Get to the important part, boss," Canzappu said. The short-haired ninjutsu specialist was tiny, perhaps six inches at the shoulder and only a few pounds. He had giant ears that seemed too large for his snub-nosed face.
Hazō had been fighting hard not to show how cute he found Canzappu. He had a feeling it would not be appreciated. He had this feeling because upon their first meeting the dog had greeted him with, "I'm Canzappu, long-range ninjutsu specialist, and if you don't take me seriously I'll burn your guts out. Only warning." Hazō had nodded solemnly but had needed to make an extra effort when he was putting Canzappu's combat harness on and it turned out the little dog was ticklish. Watching him dance around, back leg thumping involuntarily at the ground, had nearly broken even the Iron Nerve's ability to keep a straight face.
"What's the important part?" Hazō asked, forcing his face to say sober as he jogged along, rather than grinning at the adorable little piping squeak that was Canzappu's voice.
"They put a heavy emphasis on stealth," Canzappu squeaked. "In combat, at least. They're usually too arrogant to bother when they're just going from A to B. As soon as the fighting starts, they'll disappear and come at you from your blind spot. It's a total pain in the ass." He puffed up his chest. "Fortunately, you've got me along."
"Pttthbt!" Cansaku said, blowing a remarkably good raspberry considering that canine jaws weren't terribly well suited. "You're such a braggart."
"I swear on the soul of the Alpha," Cancurunchu said tiredly, "if you don't keep your voice down, I will end you. How are we supposed to get to grips with the kitties if they know we're coming from six miles away?"
"Oh please," Cansaku said. "Like they won't see us coming with this giant wheatstalk running alongside." He nosed towards Hazō, whose upright build was in fact visible from farther away than the comparatively low-slung dogs.
"...We'll manage," Cancurunchu said, his voice failing to conceal the fact that he clearly felt Cansaku had made a valid point.
"By the same token, I'll see them from farther away too," Hazō said. "Speaking of which. I've got my skywalker seals with me. If you'd like, I can go up a few hundred feet and use a telescope to spot the kitties."
"Nope," Cancurunchu said. "They'd see you too and then we'd either never get close or we'd get jumped by a couple dozen curious kitties all at once. Let's keep it low and take a few at a time, yeah?"
"You're the boss," Hazō said. "Going back to the previous topic for a sec; you said that they tend to attack from stealth. Does that mean melee fights, claws and jaws?"
"Mostly," Cancurunchu said. "Most of them do the shadow thing, then jump out and bite your face off. Some of them use ninjutsu at long range. Mostly to lock you down so they can come in and bite your face off. Still."
Hazō nodded thoughtfully and the conversation petered out.
They had been running for maybe half an hour when they met their first prey.
The meeting was a surprise for both sides. The land had been trending upwards for the last hour, its rocky and sandy nature meaning that there was little undergrowth and most of what was there was low grasses unsuitable for concealment. Hazō and the eight dogs of the raiding troop ("Not a pack," Canfuwumpu had said when Hazō mistakenly used the term. The heavy-jawed bulldog yawned in the middle of the words, then continued, "dogs from two different packs here, we're just working together for this raid because the kitties were"—he yawned again—"raiding on the border between us so we've both got a leg to bite.") had been following a shallow ravine upwards, occasionally ducking up to the skyline to look around before continuing over the next ridge.
Canchō, a six-year-old husky with bright blue eyes, had checked the ridgeline not five minutes ago while the rest of the team waited below. He pronounced it clear and waved the rest of the troop up; no sooner did Hazō crest the ridge then he caught motion below.
"You dimwit!" yorped Canhachi, Canchō's brother. "You said it was clear, so what's that?!" He pointed with his nose.
Dogs are not capable of blushing, but Canchō did the best imitation of which one was capable. "They weren't there, I swear! They must have just come over the ridge!"
"Don't be—" Canhachi started to say, only to cut off with a panicked yorp as the leopards were suddenly on top of them.
They were ridiculously fast, crossing the intervening several dozen yards before Hazō could react. Worse, they had vanished from sight the instant he had noticed them. It was as though shadows rose up from the ground and wrapped around them like cloaks, blending them into their surroundings so well that it was hard to identify even which direction they were in.
The shadows broke for just an instant as a leopard the size of a pony went past Hazō so close he could have reached out and touched it if only his stupid human reflexes could keep up. The cat ignored him in favor of Canrippu, a dog of no particular type who had groused about the harnesses the entire trip until Cancurunchu said what everyone had been thinking: "Shut it!" Canrippu had obeyed...mostly. The griping at least dropped to an ignorable mutter.
"Dog Clan Technique: Strength of the Pack!" Canrippu yelled, panic in the words. A blue aura flickered to life around him and for just an instant Hazō imagined he heard Cannai's voice on the wind, although he could not pick out words. The aura spread outwards with welcoming arms, wrapping itself around the other dogs.
Canrippu dove away from the leopard's attack on chakra-enhanced paws...that weren't fast enough. He managed to twist enough that the teeth missed and he only got hit with a shoulder block, but it was enough to send him skidding across the ground; the road rash from the rocky soil cost him several chunks of fur and left him with seeping scratches.
The cat touched down from its leap and gathered itself to spring, ready to finish its fallen prey—and then it pivoted and vanished into the darkness as Cancurunchu was between them, the strength of the packbond on his lips and its aura blazing brighter around him. The cat's mocking laughter drifted back.
To his left, Hazō caught a brief flicker of motion as another cat appeared at the top of the hill. It allowed its cloak of darkness to fall away just long enough that they could see its gape-jawed mocking smile, and then it was once more shrouded and it had disappeared into the shadows. Presumably to wait for some weakened prey.
"Sun Element: Blinding Aura!" called tiny Canzappu. Light burst forth from the dog, rendering him into a tiny sun come to earth. The effect was to light up the entire area around them, but simultaneously throw the shadows of Hazō and the troop outwards like the long fingers of a giant. The shifting light and darkness caught the cats by surprise, revealing them for just a moment before they shifted into the new areas of darkness, disappearing back into stealth again.
"Dog Clan Technique: Strength of the Pack!" Canzappu cried. More connections sprang forth, binding the dogs together more tightly, their combined power building into something greater than the sum of its parts.
A cat lunged from the darkness to Hazō's left and another from his right. The dogs split, turning to face the threats, but the leopards were only feinting. They vanished back into the darkness before anyone could react.
"Leopard Clan Technique: Fangs from Afar."
The air above them suddenly glowed with yellow mist which collapsed in on itself like a campfire burning out in reverse motion. It condensed into a massive pair of feline jaws, easily the length of Hazō's forearm with fangs the size of his fingers. The massive construct lunged down at Canrippu, snapping at him with sound that Hazō at first feared was the dog's leg breaking.
Amazingly, it was not. Canrippu had seen the construct coming and leaped, chakra empowering canine muscles to let him soar past the attack, low to the ground, muscles rippling as he prepared to leap anew.
He almost made it.
The construct spun in place, faster than anything made of flesh could have done, and lunged forward, teeth slapping together on Canrippu's left rear leg with a bite that should have snipped the limb off. Instead, the blue aura of the packbond solidified, holding the teeth back just enough that Canrippu wriggled free and rolled aside. He was limping and leaving droplets of blood on the ground, but he was still a quadruped so Hazō was calling it a win. Still, Canrippu's chest was heaving as he sucked in great gasps of air, and his aura had diminished to the faintest of flickers, its power expended in the process of protecting him.
"Plant Element: Entangling Vines," came a feline voice.
Chakra boiled up from the earth around Canzappu, solidifying into clutching vines of blasphemous purple and sickly gray-green that squeezed crushingly tight around the tiny dog—
Who casually stepped aside with a dismissve, "Pfft" and continued to scan the darkness for a target.
"Goodbye, foreign meat," came a whisper from the shadows, seeming to come from atop Hazō's shoulder so that he whipped around in surprise and shock. "Soul Element: Crushing Fear."
Ahead, the shadows were pressed back by twin lights that opened, and opened wider. No, not lights. Eyes. Eyes that drank the wan light of the Seventh Path, magnified it, and sent it forth as the yellow of sickness, the promise of rot. The eyes were huge, predator's eyes that whispered of all the things that had kept endless generations of humans awake, huddled around their fires with pointy sticks in hand as they jumped at every tiny noise and waited for death to take them.
Hazō laughed, brushing the effect aside. It was a good try, certainly, but no one who had been trained by the sadistic genjutsu mistress Gōketsu (née Inoue) Mari would be bothered. Leopards were many things, but subtle was not among them.
"Get fucked, cat," he called back as he brushed a finger across the seal on the underside of his left forearm.
The Chakra Adhesion Triggered Enhanced Activation Relay Seal was a masterwork. Most seals would not activate unless the user threaded their chakra into the seal in a specific and delicate pattern, a pattern that took a full second or two to manage, even for the best-trained ninja. Hazō's invention, on the other hand, could detect and respond to the heavy and unfocused pull of chakra adhesion that every ninja used for wallwalking. Chakra adhesion was quick and dirty, something that required no thought whatsoever. You just reached out and pulled, nothing precise or delicate about it. The seal would detect the brush of chakra adhesion and would activate, triggering a second seal that had previously been paired to it.
When Hazō had shown it to her and explained how the seal worked, Kei had been very much of two minds. On the one hand, it was brilliant and incredibly useful and would give the Gōketsu a much-needed combat advantage against the rest of the world. On the other hand, the acronym was CATEARS.
Hazō pushed amusing memories of his sister aside to focus on the current moment. This particular CATEARS seal was paired to the first in a chain of Multiple Activation Relay Seals that activated Banshee Slayer sound protection on Hazō and all the dogs, then triggered a frankly ridiculous number of Hazō's new Force Claw seals, then fired off a Rocket Boot seal.
The Rocket Boot seal was in a pocket at the center of Hazō's back. Also in the pocket, in front of the seal, was a palm-sized steel plate with a second seal on the outside. When the Rocket Boot activated it blasted the plate out and sent it bouncing to the ground several yards away. It tore a massive hole in his shirt in the process, but that was a problem for future Hazō and his sewing kit to deal with. Probably a shadow clone of future Hazō, actually; Shadow Clones had no problem doing tedious and boring stuff when so ordered.
Back on topic: the ejection of the steel plate was important, because the final thing that the MARS chain did was to trigger the seal on that steel plate: a Banshee Fucker.
The Banshee Fucker seal emitted a sound so loud that it was only barely a sound instead of an explosive shockwave. The first time Hazō had tried it he had set it off in contact with his body; fortunately, Tsunade had been in attendance. She had examined him and then been reassuring and gentle. Which was a really bad sign, actually. If you had a problem with your leg it was much better to have Tsunade say, "Walk it off, you slacker!" instead of "That looks a little uncomfortable. Let me get you some willowbark tea." The former meant that your leg was broken but it was a clean break and you probably wouldn't even have a limp as long as you did your physical therapy. The latter meant that your leg was gangrenous and you should start deciding who you wanted to give your eulogy.
The Banshee Fucker went off and even the protection of the Banshee Slayer sound-muffling seals on Hazō's collar were not sufficient to completely block the effects. He could hear it, very vaguely, but more importantly he could feel it in his chest, great slamming waves that made him feel like he was getting punched at half strength, over and over again.
The cats, lacking hearing protection and possessing a far better sense of hearing to start with, screamed and staggered. Their protective shadows flickered in and out, showing the leopards in freeze-frame images that made them look like a flipbook being turned too slowly, rendering them into disparate images instead of a smooth flow. They staggered drunkenly, screaming and whimpering at the sheer sonic impact.
Cankamu, the heavy-jawed bulldog who somehow managed to keep up with Hazō and the others despite having legs that barely reached the ground, raced forward to where the largest of the leopards stutter-stepped near the top of the ridge. It saw him coming and gathered itself, jaws gaping wide in a feline scream of threat and pain mixed together. It raised a paw, claws the size of Hazō's thumbs suddenly appearing as it slashed at—
Cankamu dropped and slid under the paw smash, barely evading the clashing jaws in the process. He got his jaws into the leopard's front leg and chomped. The cat screamed in pain and jumped back but Cankamu lunged to his feet, coming up under the cat and biting into its underbelly.
Cankamu's jaws would have been dangerous enough were he fighting alone. He wasn't. The strength of his pack surged through him, the blue aura strengthening and speeding him to make his blows more dangerous, to let him slide barely past blows that should have clipped him. Perhaps more importantly, however, Cankamu had a sealmaster on his side.
The Force Wall seal used two elements to generate a 4-meter by 4-meter wall of insanely sharp and completely transparent force. The Force Claw seal was Hazō's turn on it; it used only one element and it generated a blade of transparent force four inches long. A blade that was so sharp it could carve sunlight.
Every single one of the dogs had a Force Claw seal attached to a pad on their heads, the blade projecting forward in parallel to their eyeline. They also had a variety of other Force Claw seals at various angles on their backs and sides, but that wasn't relevant at the moment.
The blade sank into the leopard's guts and carved its way back out without slowing down. Blood and bile poured from the wound and the cat gasped as one of its lungs was punctured. It leaped, off-balance and graceless, and vanished into the shadows of a nearby rock. It left a trail of blood behind that would have made it easy to locate had there not been more pressing issues at hand.
"Life Element Technique: Dance of the Butterflies!" Canchō called from behind Hazō.
Chakra swirled forth from the dog, condensing into colorful butterflies that glimmered and gleamed in shades of blue and green and gold. They fluttered and danced, diving into every shadow within a dozen yards of Canchō. Where those shadows contained leopards, the butterflies collected around them, their faint lights outlining the cats and obscuring their vision.
"Soul Element: Chakra's Bite!" Canchō said, continuing his signature one-two punch.
Across the battlefield, every chakra construct began to heat up and throw sparks. The sparks were small to start, painful but not dangerous, but their power increased rapidly. Most importantly, the sparks were bright and 'every chakra construct' included the butterflies that were faintly outlining each of the leopards. The animals were now covered in coruscating sheets of lightning, their chakra-created protective darkness struggling to expand outwards in order to encompass and conceal the betraying pseudo-insects.
Canrippu, eager to get his own back after being slapped around earlier, raced towards the nearest of the now-revealed leopards. The animal was still trying to get its feet under it from the sonic assault of the Banshee Fucker; it was off-balance and foggy, but it was also an experienced warrior. It went to meet Canrippu, jaws wide. It moved with almost all the characteristic speed of its kind, closing the distance faster than Hazō could blink.
At the last instant, Canrippu juked aside. He ran down the length of the animal, so close that their fur almost touched.
Their fur might not have touched, but the five Force Claw seals sticking sideways off of Canrippu's harness sure did.
Canrippu passed the leopard and kept going to a safe distance while his enemy stumbled to its knees, blood leaking from long gashes along its sides. It turned its head, snapping at Canrippu's heels and catching only air.
The Claws are too sharp, Hazō thought. They don't tear the wounds open the way a kunai would.
Dogs were pack animals, accustomed to fighting as a team, and this group knew their business. When Canrippu charged, Canhachi had followed, keeping the larger dog positioned between himself and the leopard so as to remain unseen. When the leopard turned to attack the already-passed Canrippu it left its neck wide open to Canhachi.
Canhachi, a muscular husky with a bright pink splotch on his nose and a cheery attitude when he wasn't mocking his brother, bit down on the leopard's neck and ripped its throat out halfway to the spine. The monster flopped to the ground like dropped meat, blood spraying out in a fountain that instantly drenched its killer.
"Life Element: Eye Spy," Canafuwumpu said with a yawn. White light condensed around the dog's head and was sucked into his eyes, causing them to shine faintly. "Hey, kitties, come nap with me! Dog Clan Technique: Baddies Go Fwump."
A ring of chakra pulsed out of Canafuwumpu, spilling across the battlefield in a lightning flash. Canafuwumpu yawned widely and looked around. Hazō followed his gaze, surprised to see that the leopards' darkness was once more flickering, the leopards once more staggering, except this time their eyes were drooping in exhaustion. The view lasted only an instant, the cats stumbling away from where they stood, struggling to pull their protective darkness back around themselves once more.
"Pangolin Earth Armor," Hazō said, twisting his chakra through the patterns of a jutsu that he had obtained years ago, practiced assiduously for weeks, and then never actually used. Chakra boiled out of him and crystallized, encasing his body in protective chakra-construct stone which promptly started to spark and crackle under the effects of Canchō's still-running Chakra's Bite jutsu. The blue-gray construct flowed and bent with his every motion, slowing him only slightly even as it protected and strengthened him. He shifted, allowing his newly increased mass to pull him forward into a run towards the nearest of the cats even as he slipped on his pangolin-gifted metal gauntlets. Time to show them what a Gōketsu could do!
Cancurunchu was faster, flashing past him to slam into the leopard Hazō had been heading for. The dog-team leader's massive jaws bit and tore, the Force Claw on his head gouging out slabs of meat, his weight smashing into the leopard and sending it flying into a nearby rock. It hit with a pained yelp, bounced, and rolled back to its feet.
That was enough for the leopards. As one, they turned and fled for their lives, running like a demon army was nipping at their tails. Their darkness melted away as they ran, either because they were too distracted to maintain it or because they needed the chakra for greater speed.
"Oh no you don't," Canzappu muttered. "Sun Element: Focus Blast."
The world went dark for an instant as all the light in the region collapsed into a beam that lanced through one of the fleeing leopards. It went in just behind the leopard's hip, burned through a rib, came out through the side of the belly, and converted a handspan of short grass and sandy dirt into glass and ash. Fortunately for the victim, the beam somehow managed not to be fatal. The leopard collapsed, pitch-poled helplessly, came back to its feet, and ran on three legs into the distance.
"Let 'em go," Cancurunchu said. "We got two and that lot will notify the rest. Some of them will run but some will come looking for us. Saves us the hunting."
"Didn't you say before that you didn't want dozens of them jumping us?" Hazō asked.
"Ssshh," Canfuwumpu said, yawning yet again. "Don't argue with him or he might change his mind and make us run after them. Wake me up when they get here." He turned in a circle three times, lay down, and put his tail over his eyes. Within moments he was asleep and snoring little doggy snores.
Cancurunchu sighed. "He's right," he groused. "We should catch them. Split up, two teams, let's go. Summoner, you're with me."
Dogs are social animals, leopards are not. Ordinarily members of Leopard live alone, coming together only to mate and raise cubs. This doesn't work well when you are surrounded by clans of social animals who can't overpower you one-on-one but who travel in groups that can. As a result, Hyōhakken is attempting to shape his people into more social creatures. He is requiring them to live in groups of up to several dozen and work together. There is a problematic degree of infighting and even the occasional intra-Clan murder but it hasn't broken down completely.
Yet.
Hazō has been placed in technical command of a combat troop of eight dogs, although in practice Cancurunchu is still the actual boss. These dogs were drawn from the border they are assaulting across, as they wish to have vengeance for their murdered kin. Being drawn from a local area means that they are drawn from a fairly small pool; this group is competent but not the best that Dog can put forward, and Hazō is expected to make up the missing combat power. (Cannai's original plan had been to hold this particular part of the raid for a day or two until he could get some stronger fighters in.)
They are assaulting an area of hilly prairie, similar to what Hazō faced when he went through Hyena but not as steep or barren.
They have encountered a raider group of leopards consisting of 1d6+1 members, on their way to the border of Dog. How many leopards are there?
*the dice, they are rolled*: There are 6 leopards.
Okey-dokey. Six leopards on eight dogs and Hazō isn't a great match; Hazō is really hoping for an easy win on his first combat so he'll try to let them go past. No one is willing to burn Fate Points on it.
Dogs, worst Stealth - 6 (dice): ouch
Kitty, best Alertness: yeah, never mind.
They have spotted you!
Hazō doesn't know leopards well enough to read their age and experience except in the grossest sense, but we can from our extradimensional viewpoint. In any group, some raiders will be experienced fighters and some will be newbies being trained up. What do we have here? 1 = newbie, 2-4 = experienced young adult, 5-6 = grizzled veteran. Sorting the results:
The team is currently in a hilly area with low brush and not a lot of ground cover. We'll use a 3x3 grid of zones with:
Unless stated otherwise, zones are always assumed to have sufficient terrain features that it's possible to dive for cover from an explosion. (And yes, this refers only to land-based zones, not air or water zones, since that is in fact a question that came up in thread! 
) People can reposition freely within the zone on their initiative so it's usually not possible to take cover from a single-target attack if someone wants to get you. This is the default unless stated otherwise.
'Grassland' means essentially flat and little ground cover. Everyone is in sight of everyone in the zone at all times unless they have some specific ninjutsu or etc to change that.
'Especially flat grassland' means that there isn't even enough cover to avoid an explosion.
'Mildly hilly' means that there is sufficient up-and-down to the terrain that it's possible to break LOS to someone in another zone. Someone in your zone can, during their initiative, reposition within the zone to see you if they desire but it's possible to be out of sight of at least some combatants for at least a moment.
'Rocky' means that there are boulders ranging from 'pebble' to 'small hut' lying around, probably deposited here by an earlier ice age, or perhaps . Anyone in this zone is assumed to have concealment from all other combatants unless one of them is explicitly making an effort to locate the other or is choosing to forego concealment. Either of those can be done trivially, simply by running along the tops of the boulders. If someone is explicitly trying to hide then the rocky zone will give them a +AB tag on their Stealth. I don't know enough about explosive propagation to decide exactly how the effects would be reduced or channeled/concentrated, so I'm going to say that it gives a free +AB to dodge but does not reduce the attack strength on a hit.
Initiative!
The Leopard Clan has a racial stunt, "Leopard's Strength". It's completely bullshit, giving the owner +AB to all physical skills, +1/2 Alertness AB to initiative, and 2 shifts for a Supplemental move instead of the usual 1. It's been factored into all the numbers below.
The teams are two zones apart when they spot each other.
Round 1:
Hyōtsume:
Who gets attacked? I'm numbering it by initiative order so Cancurunchu is 1 and Hazō is 9.
1d9 says: 5. Canrippu takes the hit.
Unfortunately, the good guys have not had a chance to get themselves up and running. This is where Reflexive actions come into play, and I'm going to take a quick sec to refresh everyone on those because I'm a didactic jerk who wants to keep you from getting to the exciting stuff.
Combat starts on round 1 and every round you get one Standard and two Supplemental actions. Normally actions are taken only on your initiative, but 'Reflexive' actions are an exception. Reflexive actions are taken off-turn, on any initiative, in response to some action. In order to use a Reflexive Supplemental action you must have left one of your Supplementals unused on your previous initiative. (There is a notional 'round 0' which represents the time before combat started; you are generally assumed to have both Supplementals available from round 0.)
Of course, you can't use them willy-nilly. You know how us QMs feel about willy-nilly. (Us QMs? We QMs? Your brilliant and much-admired QMs? Grammar is hard, let's eat Wildberry Skittles.) No, Reflexive actions are only usable in response to a threat against yourself. Usually a single target attack like a leopard trying to eat your face, but it could also be an AOE attack like a mage throwing a Twinned Quickened up-casted Fireball into your zone. (Wait, sorry, wrong system.)
Point is, Canrippu is being attacked so he can Reflexively use his two round-0 Supplemental actions and when his initiative comes up he'll have his full actions. The other dogs can't act Reflexively because they aren't being attacked. Unfortunately, the same thing applies to Hazō; his CATEARS seal will allow him to trigger another seal reflexively, but he can't do that unless he is the one being threatened. This is a tentative interpretation of how to handle chakra-adhesion-activated seals. CA is normally a free action but the idea of activating infinite seals as a free action is problematic, especially since Konan and Sasori would undoubtedly have figured out the trick and neither QMs nor players want those guys activating an unlimited number of legendary-tier seals the instant the fight starts.
Anyway, the 'you must be the one targeted' is basically saying that seeing your friends get their faces nommed doesn't punch the ol' lizard brain quite as hard as seeing yourself about to get your face nommed.
Also, point of information: the Leopard Clan's version of Taijutsu is called 'Face-Nomming'. Don't blame me, they chose it. Dogs use the much nicer 'Jaw and Claw'.
Also also, a reminder: everyone does chakra boost at the top of the round before anyone starts moving. I'm listing it on each person's entry for convenience but for everyone except the first person it actually happened earlier.
On with the show!
Canrippu: Holy shit, dude! There's a leopard about to eat my face and I never voted for him! Gimme some of that go-juice!
Canrippu: chakra boost 6
Canrippu, Reflexive Supplemental #1. Dog Clan Technique: Strength of the Pack, Effect 5. Keep 2 tags, give 2 to Cancurunchu, give 1 to Canfuwumpu.
Canrippu, Reflexive Supplemental #2. Dog Clan Technique: Strength of the Pack, Effect 5. self:2, Cancurunchu:2, Cansaku:1
Hyōtsume, Face-Nomming (76) + 5 (AB of Shadow Blend) + 7 (chakra boost) - 3 (dice): 85
Canrippu, Jaw and Claw (54) + 18 (3 Strength of the Pack tags) + 6 (chakra boost) + 3 (dice) = 81
Canrippu takes 2 stress. He fills the first two boxes on his stress track.
Cancurunchu:
Hyōsupotto:
This little kitty figures that why should he put his skin on the line when Hyōtsume is so gung-ho? Best not to get in his way, right?
Canzappu:
Little brother of Hyōtsume, Hyōkamumono has basically the same build as his older brother but isn't as good at it. As such, he's going to wait until there's some wounded prey to pick off.
Hyōrōbā:
Hyōrōbā, Fangs from Afar (61) + 5 (bonus based on Effect) + 3 (dice): 69
Canrippu the unlucky, Athletics 52 + 18 (3 tags on SotP) - 3 (Mild Consequence) - 3: 64
Canrippu takes two stress. It won't fit on his stress track so he soaks it with a Mild Consequence ("Limping"). His third stress box is still available.
The jaws remain and will attack Canrippu again on the next two rounds as long as Hyōrōbā is in the vicinity and alive.
I rolled to see who Hyōrōbā would attack and got Canrippu again. I guess there's something bitable about him.
Hyōfajī:
Who does mah dude target? [rolls] Canzappu. Makes sense since he's the smallest.
Hyōfajī, Entangling Vines (56) - 3 (dice) = 53
Canzappu, Athletics (61) - 3 (dice) = 58.
Ghostly plants manifest and try to grab Canzappu, who casually skips aside without even needing to use his SotP tags.
Hyōtsumaranai:
"Soul Element: Crushing Fear" is a nasty Block-type jutsu. It hits the user with debilitating fear which acts as a Block against that person doing anything, with the Block having the same strength as the initial roll. It is defended with Resolve. If it lands then the user needs to roll their Resolve against the Block again every time they want to perform any voluntary action—attack someone, run away, etc. It must be sustained and can be broken by injuring or sufficiently distracting the caster.
Hyōtsumaranai, Crushing Fear (47) - 12 (dice) 1 FP to reroll!
Hyōtsumaranai, Crushing Fear (47) - 3 (dice) : 44
Hazō, Resolve (63) + 0 (dice) = 63
Hazō brushes the jutsu aside almost without noticing it. It's amazing that the dice had Hyōtsumaranai target Hazō for this; the dogs all have Resolve:20 like normal people who don't need to worry about genjutsu and they would have been taken down instantly. Without intending to, the cats done did a dumb.
More importantly, the leopards did a super-duper dumb! Because Hazō was attacked, he gets to use his two round-0 Reflexive Supplemental actions. That means he gets to use his CATEARS seal to activate a MARS chain that includes:
Force Claws: These are a 4"-long, one-seal variant of the larger Force Wall seal, intended to be attached to something like a gauntlet or a sword. The fact that the blade is invisible provides an excellent surprise advantage. If a target does not know that you have them, Force Claws add +6 to Taijutsu or equivalent close-combat skill, or +3 if the target is aware of them. They are Weapon:4.
We don't have explicit mechanics set up for Banshee Fuckers yet. I'm going to say that if you are in the zone with the BF or any adjacent zone and you don't have Banshee Slayer protection then:
We might do it differently next time.
Rolls: Not necessary. None of the cats have Resolve high enough to even potentially beat a 40. There isn't much need for it since genjutsu and other mind-affecting jutsu are rare among them and their neighbors.
All cats FAIL their Resolve rolls. They are staggered and take -5 to Athletics, physical combat skills, and Stealth until their next initiative.
Cankamu:
Can he spot the kitties? Answer: no to everyone except probably Hyōtsumaranai.
Cankamu, Alertness (49) - 9 (dice): 40.
Hyōtsumaranai, Stealth (44 after modifiers) - 9 (dice): 34. Wow. Okay, here we go.
Cankamu, Jaw and Claw (59) + 18 (SotP tags x3) + 6 (bonus from Force Claw when the opponent doesn't know you have it) + 6 (dice) = 89
Hyōtsumaranai, Athletics (57) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 11 (Bounding Evasion) - 3 (dice) = 63
Wow. Poor old 'tsuma is having a bad day. That's 12 shifts of damage (8 from the hit, 4 from the Force Claws). 'Tsuma soaks 9 of it with a Severe ("Gutted"), Medium ("Concussion"), and a Mild ("Cracked Shin"), then fills his stress track with the remaining 3. He's alive, technically.
I'm ruling that his Stealth is now 0.
Canchō
Dance of the Butterflies attacks every hostile in the zone, regardless of whether the caster can see them.
Canchō, Life Element: Dance of the Butterflies (56) + 6 (attack advantage innate to the jutsu) + 6 (invoke "Veteran Borderdog") + 6 (invoke "Specialist First Class") + 6 (invoke "Succeed or Die") + 0 (dice) = 80. Canchō is out of Fate Points.
Hyōtsume: Athletics (65) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 60.
Hyōsupotto: Athletics (65) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 57.
Hyōkamumono: Athletics (54) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 46
Hyōrōbā: Athletics (54) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 6 (dice) = 43
Hyōfajī: Athletics (65) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 60
Hyōtsumaranai: Athletics (57) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 21 (wounds) + 0 (dice) = 31
Canchō comes in clutch! The leopards are all surrounded in a cloud of glittering butterflies that makes them easier to target, applies the Aspect "Distracted and Partially Blinded", and gives Canchō two tags on the Aspect. (That's two total, not two per target.)
Canchō passes both tags to Canrippu, who is up next.
"Soul Element: Chakra's Bite" causes all chakra constructs in the zone to start heating up and throwing off sparks. They have a Power of (Effect), which increases by Effect every turn. The way it works is:
The sparks are very bright and therefore stealth-defeating. The cats are all surrounded by the butterfly constructs from Dance of the Butterflies. The sparks from the butterflies reduce their Stealth by Power/2.
Canrippu:
Even with all the debuffs in play, it's very unlikely that Canrippu can beat the stealth on anyone except Hyōtsumaranai (whose stealth is currently 0) but let's check. All normal modifiers are factored in for the stealth numbers. Also, Canrippu has a Mild Consequence right now. I'm not sure whether or not the penalty should apply to a passive Alertness check so for now I'm choosing to say that it does not.
Canrippu, Alertness (49) + 6: 55. Huh, maybe I'm wrong and he can do this.
Hyōtsume, Stealth (58) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 50
Hyōsupotto, Stealth (58) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 9 (dice) = 62 Hyōkamumono, Stealth (54) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 49 Hyōrōbā, Stealth (69) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 3 (dice) = 67 Hyōfajī, Stealth (67) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 6 (dice) = 56
Ohhhkay then. Canrippu can tell generally where a couple of the cats are, at least well enough that he can move to attack them. He'll pick Hyōtsume as the most dangerous enemy. He runs over to him and makes another Stealth check to localize the cat well enough to actually bite him. This is a much easier roll than the previous one.
Canrippu, Alertness (49) + 0: 49
Hyōtsume, Stealth (15). Yeah, never mind.
Time to get chompin'!
Canrippu, Jaw and Claw (54) - 3 (Mild Consequence) + 18 (SotP tags x3) + 6 (surprise Force Wall seal) + 12 (Dance of the Butterflies tags x2) + 0 (dice) = 87
Hyōtsume, Face-Nomming (76) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 6 (dice) = 77
Total of 7 shifts (3 base + 4 from Force Claws). Hyōtsume soaks 2 with a Mild Consequence ("Lacerations"), 3 with a Medium ("Carved Up"), and fills his first two stress boxes.
Canrippu gets a tag on each of those Consequences. He passes the both tags to Cansaku who is coming up next.
Cansaku:
Alertness to successfully target a cat: 46 + 5 (someone else just now successfully attacked the cat) - 3 (dice) = 48
Hyōtsume, Stealth (51) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 46
Hyōsupotto, Stealth (58) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 50
Hyōkamumono, Stealth (54) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 3 (dice) = 52
Hyōrōbā, Stealth (69) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 61
Hyōfajī, Stealth (67) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 3 (dice) = 65
Hyōtsumaranai, Stealth (0) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 6 (dice) = 1
Got the general location, can he get it exact enough for melee? Answer: yes. No need to roll.
Cansaku, Jaw and Claw (56) + 6 (chakra boost) + 18 (SotP tags x3) + 12 (Canrippu's tags x2) + 6 (Force Claws) + 9 (completely gratuitous dice) = 107 (holy heck!!!)
Hyōtsume, Face-Nomming (66 after normal modifiers) + 7 (chakra boost) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 68
Wow. This cat isn't just dead, he's DRTTT. (Dead Right There and There and There...)
Canhachi:
Can he spot a target?
Canhachi, Alertness (41) + 3 (dice) = 44. Nope, can't see anyone except the guy with Stealth 0.
Hyōtsumaranai, Stealth (0) + dice that I'm not bothering to roll.
Okay, let's finish this one off.
Canhachi, Rage of the Hive (58) + 6 (chakra boost) + 6 (Effect; innate bonus of the jutsu) + 4 ("Chakra's Bite" Power) - 6 = 68
Hyōtsumaranai Athletics (51 after everything) + 11 (Bounding Evasion) + 6 (invoke "Feline Predator") = 68
Hyōtsumaranai takes 1 stress. He dies.
Canfuwumpu:
Life Element: Eye Spy gives the caster the Aspect "Omni-Aware", an Alertness bonus of (Effect x 2), and (Effect) tags. It extends a web of invisible chakra that connects the caster to up to (Effect / 2) willing targets in the zone. The tags can be passed to anyone who is connected and used on Alertness rolls. Up to 2 tags may be used on a given roll. Canfuwumpu connects to Cancurunchu, Canzappu, and Cankamu since they are at the top of canine initiative. He keeps two tags for himself and passes 2 to Cancurunchu and 1 to Canzappu.
Dog Clan Technique: Baddies Go Fwump causes all hostiles in the zone that the caster can see to get very tired, along with the caster. Who can Canfuwumpu see?
Factoring in the BF penalty and all other modifiers from now on because I'm tired of writing it over and over.
Canfuwumpu, Alertness (40) + 10 (Eye Spy flat bonus) + 10 (two Eye Spy tags) + 3 (dice) = 63
Hyōtsume. Not bothering. FAIL
Hyōsupotto. Not bothering. FAIL
Hyōkamumono. Not bothering. FAIL
Hyōrōbā, Stealth(65) - 6 (dice): 59. FAIL
Hyōfajī, Stealth(62) + 6 (dice): 68. SUCCESS
Hyōtsumaranai: is dead.
Wow. Canfuwumpu is rockin' it.
Baddies Go Fwump (51) targets Resolve and the kitties all have the normal 20 resolve that sensible people buy in order to get their mental stress track to 3 boxes but don't bother increasing because dogs don't really use genjutsu so there's no need for me to roll.
Hyōtsume, Hyōsupotto, Hyōkamumono, and Hyōrōbā all get the Aspect "Sleepy" and an (Effect x 2) penalty to Athletics and physical skills. In this case that means -10.
Canfuwumpu also gets the "Sleepy" Aspect but as the caster the penalty is only half as bad, so just a -5.
Hazō!
Hazō gains the following effects from PEA: Armor:2, non-ablative. Physique + 6, making it 43. Athletics - 3, making it 37.
Round 2
The Power of the Chakra's Bite jutsu increases to 8, giving a stealth penalty of 4.
All tags expire.
Yeah, the kitties ain't having it. They are bailing out as soon as they can. Sadly, Cancurunchu goes before anyone else.
Cancurunchu:
Cancurunchu still has two SotP instances running from last turn, both at Effect:6, meaning he has four sets of 6 tags to distribute. He does so:
Now he wants to spot a kitty to eat. Unfortunately, he can't get the tags for Eye Spy until Canfuwumpu's initiative, which is last except for Hazō's. If he waits that long then the kitties will have run for it. Stealth rolls include the BF staggering penalty which expires on the victim's initiative.
Cancurunchu, Alertness (61) + 6 (dice) = 67
Hyōsupotto, Stealth (51) - 3 (dice) = 48
Hyōkamumono, Stealth (47) + 6 (dice) = 53
Hyōrōbā, Stealth (62) + 6 (dice) = 68
Hyōfajī, Stealth (60) - 6 (dice) = 54
Cancurunchu has his choice of targets. He randomly picks Hyōfajī.
Cancurunchu, Jaws and Claws (64) + 7 (chakra boost) + 21 (SotP tags x3) + 3 (Force Claws now that the bad guys know about them) + 0 (dice) = 95
Hyōfajī, Athletics (54) + 6 (chakra boost) + 14 (Bounding Evasion) + 6 (dice) = 80
Like his fellows before him, Hyōfajī is having a bad day. That's 9 shifts of damage (5 base, 4 from the Weapons Rating of the Force Claws).
Poor 'fajī sinks 2 into a Mild Consequence ("Slashed Paw"), 3 into a Medium ("Gashes in my Sides"), and 4 into a Severe ("Butchered"). His stress track is untouched.
Hyōspotto:
Spot is now 10 zones away and not an issue.
Canzappu:
Canzappu: Alertness (57) + 3 (dice) = 60
Hyōkamumono, Stealth (47) + 6 (dice) = 53
Hyōrōbā, Stealth (62) - 3 (dice) = 59
Hyōfajī, Stealth (44). You're screwed.
Canzappu, "Sun Element: Focus Blast" (62) + 7 (chakra boost) + 7 (innate bonus of +AB) + 3 (dice) = 79 (save those FP!)
Hyōrōbā, Athletics (49) + 7 (chakra boost) - 3 = 53
Yowch. It's a total of 11 shifts of damage—8 from the roll, plus it was cast at Effect 4 so it's got Weapon:3. BadKitty soaks 2 into a Mild ("Scorched"), 3 into a Medium ("Sun Poisoning"), 4 into a Severe ("Burned like Tater Tots You Forgot Were in the Oven"), then marks off his first two stress boxes.
The cats have the next 3 slots in the initiative. They all run for it, scattering in all directions.
I'm very disappointed. Hazō had put harnesses on all the dogs when they set off on the journey, with Force Claw seals affixed to the harnesses in various positions such that anyone attempting to bite the wearer had a chance of carving themselves up on the invisible blades. I never got a chance to show that off! He activated them with his CATEARS+MARS chain but the combat was over before any of the cats landed a melee attack. He also didn't get to use his new Reusable Rocket Boots seals. Oh well.
Yet.
Hazō has been placed in technical command of a combat troop of eight dogs, although in practice Cancurunchu is still the actual boss. These dogs were drawn from the border they are assaulting across, as they wish to have vengeance for their murdered kin. Being drawn from a local area means that they are drawn from a fairly small pool; this group is competent but not the best that Dog can put forward, and Hazō is expected to make up the missing combat power. (Cannai's original plan had been to hold this particular part of the raid for a day or two until he could get some stronger fighters in.)
They are assaulting an area of hilly prairie, similar to what Hazō faced when he went through Hyena but not as steep or barren.
They have encountered a raider group of leopards consisting of 1d6+1 members, on their way to the border of Dog. How many leopards are there?
*the dice, they are rolled*: There are 6 leopards.
Okey-dokey. Six leopards on eight dogs and Hazō isn't a great match; Hazō is really hoping for an easy win on his first combat so he'll try to let them go past. No one is willing to burn Fate Points on it.
Dogs, worst Stealth - 6 (dice): ouch
Kitty, best Alertness: yeah, never mind.
They have spotted you!
Hazō doesn't know leopards well enough to read their age and experience except in the grossest sense, but we can from our extradimensional viewpoint. In any group, some raiders will be experienced fighters and some will be newbies being trained up. What do we have here? 1 = newbie, 2-4 = experienced young adult, 5-6 = grizzled veteran. Sorting the results:
- 5: Hyōtsume
- 4: Hyōsupotto
- 4: Hyōrōbā
- 3: Hyōfajī
- 2: Hyōtsumaranai
- 1: Hyōkamumono
The team is currently in a hilly area with low brush and not a lot of ground cover. We'll use a 3x3 grid of zones with:
| small copse of trees | grassland | especially flat grassland |
| grassland | mildly hilly, rocky | mildly hilly, rocky |
| mildly hilly | mildly hillyy | grassland |
) People can reposition freely within the zone on their initiative so it's usually not possible to take cover from a single-target attack if someone wants to get you. This is the default unless stated otherwise.'Grassland' means essentially flat and little ground cover. Everyone is in sight of everyone in the zone at all times unless they have some specific ninjutsu or etc to change that.
'Especially flat grassland' means that there isn't even enough cover to avoid an explosion.
'Mildly hilly' means that there is sufficient up-and-down to the terrain that it's possible to break LOS to someone in another zone. Someone in your zone can, during their initiative, reposition within the zone to see you if they desire but it's possible to be out of sight of at least some combatants for at least a moment.
'Rocky' means that there are boulders ranging from 'pebble' to 'small hut' lying around, probably deposited here by an earlier ice age, or perhaps . Anyone in this zone is assumed to have concealment from all other combatants unless one of them is explicitly making an effort to locate the other or is choosing to forego concealment. Either of those can be done trivially, simply by running along the tops of the boulders. If someone is explicitly trying to hide then the rocky zone will give them a +AB tag on their Stealth. I don't know enough about explosive propagation to decide exactly how the effects would be reduced or channeled/concentrated, so I'm going to say that it gives a free +AB to dodge but does not reduce the attack strength on a hit.
Initiative!
The Leopard Clan has a racial stunt, "Leopard's Strength". It's completely bullshit, giving the owner +AB to all physical skills, +1/2 Alertness AB to initiative, and 2 shifts for a Supplemental move instead of the usual 1. It's been factored into all the numbers below.
- 63: Hyōtsume, Leopard raid leader
- 61: Cancurunchu, Dog troop leader
- 58: Hyōsupotto
- 57: Canzappu
- 51: Hyōkamumono
- 49: Cankamu
- 49: Hyōrōbā
- 49: Cancho
- 49: Canrippu
- 48: Hyōfajī
- 47: Hyōtsumaranai
- 46: Cansaku
- 41: Canhachi
- 40: Canfuwumpu
- 36: Hazō
The teams are two zones apart when they spot each other.
Round 1:
Hyōtsume:
- Chakra boost: 7
- Supplemental (actually Reflexive, but that doesn't matter here) "Shadow Element: Shadow Blend" at Effect:5
- Supplemental: move to the zone with the dogs
- Standard: Attack! Time for some face-eating!
Who gets attacked? I'm numbering it by initiative order so Cancurunchu is 1 and Hazō is 9.
1d9 says: 5. Canrippu takes the hit.
Unfortunately, the good guys have not had a chance to get themselves up and running. This is where Reflexive actions come into play, and I'm going to take a quick sec to refresh everyone on those because I'm a didactic jerk who wants to keep you from getting to the exciting stuff.
Combat starts on round 1 and every round you get one Standard and two Supplemental actions. Normally actions are taken only on your initiative, but 'Reflexive' actions are an exception. Reflexive actions are taken off-turn, on any initiative, in response to some action. In order to use a Reflexive Supplemental action you must have left one of your Supplementals unused on your previous initiative. (There is a notional 'round 0' which represents the time before combat started; you are generally assumed to have both Supplementals available from round 0.)
Of course, you can't use them willy-nilly. You know how us QMs feel about willy-nilly. (Us QMs? We QMs? Your brilliant and much-admired QMs? Grammar is hard, let's eat Wildberry Skittles.) No, Reflexive actions are only usable in response to a threat against yourself. Usually a single target attack like a leopard trying to eat your face, but it could also be an AOE attack like a mage throwing a Twinned Quickened up-casted Fireball into your zone. (Wait, sorry, wrong system.)
Point is, Canrippu is being attacked so he can Reflexively use his two round-0 Supplemental actions and when his initiative comes up he'll have his full actions. The other dogs can't act Reflexively because they aren't being attacked. Unfortunately, the same thing applies to Hazō; his CATEARS seal will allow him to trigger another seal reflexively, but he can't do that unless he is the one being threatened. This is a tentative interpretation of how to handle chakra-adhesion-activated seals. CA is normally a free action but the idea of activating infinite seals as a free action is problematic, especially since Konan and Sasori would undoubtedly have figured out the trick and neither QMs nor players want those guys activating an unlimited number of legendary-tier seals the instant the fight starts.
Anyway, the 'you must be the one targeted' is basically saying that seeing your friends get their faces nommed doesn't punch the ol' lizard brain quite as hard as seeing yourself about to get your face nommed.
Also, point of information: the Leopard Clan's version of Taijutsu is called 'Face-Nomming'. Don't blame me, they chose it. Dogs use the much nicer 'Jaw and Claw'.
Also also, a reminder: everyone does chakra boost at the top of the round before anyone starts moving. I'm listing it on each person's entry for convenience but for everyone except the first person it actually happened earlier.
On with the show!
Canrippu: Holy shit, dude! There's a leopard about to eat my face and I never voted for him! Gimme some of that go-juice!
Canrippu: chakra boost 6
Canrippu, Reflexive Supplemental #1. Dog Clan Technique: Strength of the Pack, Effect 5. Keep 2 tags, give 2 to Cancurunchu, give 1 to Canfuwumpu.
Canrippu, Reflexive Supplemental #2. Dog Clan Technique: Strength of the Pack, Effect 5. self:2, Cancurunchu:2, Cansaku:1
Dog Clan Technique: Strength of the Pack
Every dog in the zone gains the Aspect "Packbonded" if they don't already have it. The jutsu lasts for 30 seconds and while it's active you get (Effect) tags on this Aspect each round; the tags can be used for anything that involves physical rolls or resisting negative emotions. ('Protecting the safety and unity of the pack' is the theme.) Upon casting and at the start of each round (i.e. before anyone acts) you may distribute these tags as you like among the dogs in your zone. If you keep X tags for yourself then you must give at least X tags to at least one other dog.
At most 3 of these tags can be used on any given roll.
The jutsu will stack but no one can hold more tags than the number of dogs in the zone.
If a dog leaves the zone or dies after the jutsu is cast, they lose all tags from the jutsu and every dog still in the zone loses one tag.
Every dog in the zone gains the Aspect "Packbonded" if they don't already have it. The jutsu lasts for 30 seconds and while it's active you get (Effect) tags on this Aspect each round; the tags can be used for anything that involves physical rolls or resisting negative emotions. ('Protecting the safety and unity of the pack' is the theme.) Upon casting and at the start of each round (i.e. before anyone acts) you may distribute these tags as you like among the dogs in your zone. If you keep X tags for yourself then you must give at least X tags to at least one other dog.
At most 3 of these tags can be used on any given roll.
The jutsu will stack but no one can hold more tags than the number of dogs in the zone.
If a dog leaves the zone or dies after the jutsu is cast, they lose all tags from the jutsu and every dog still in the zone loses one tag.
Hyōtsume, Face-Nomming (76) + 5 (AB of Shadow Blend) + 7 (chakra boost) - 3 (dice): 85
Canrippu, Jaw and Claw (54) + 18 (3 Strength of the Pack tags) + 6 (chakra boost) + 3 (dice) = 81
Canrippu takes 2 stress. He fills the first two boxes on his stress track.
- Chakra boost: 7
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack at Effect: 6. Six tags, distribution is self:1, Canzappu:2, Canhachi:1, Canrippu:1, Cansaku:1. The goal is to protect the weaker members of the troop while keeping a little boost for himself
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack at Effect: 6. Six tags, distribution is Cankamu:2, Canrippu:2, Cansaku:2. Give the taijutsu fighters a boost
- Standard: establish a Taijutsu Block "intercept anyone melee-attacking my troop"
- Chakra boost: 7
- Supplemental (actually Reflexive, but that doesn't matter here) "Shadow Element: Shadow Blend" at Effect:5
- Supplemental: hold for Bounding Evasion
- Standard: move to the top of the ridge
This little kitty figures that why should he put his skin on the line when Hyōtsume is so gung-ho? Best not to get in his way, right?
Canzappu would very much like to shove a face full of focused solar death ray through the face of the bad kitty that just now tried to kill his friend. Sadly, he can't do that unless he can spot the beasty where it's lurking in the shadows. First he'll throw a little light on the subject, then he'll take his best shot.
Canzappu's Blinding Aura makes him glow like the sun. This lights up the zone but also casts shadows everywhere; on balance I'll say that it reduces the benefit of the leopards' Shadow Blend jutsu by 5 if they are lurking in the shadows and completely negates their stealth if they are making a melee attack. It does not negate their stealth when someone else is trying to make a melee attack on them.
Canzappu, notice kitties: Alertness (57) + 3 (dice): 60
Hyōtsume, don't be noticed: Stealth (59) + 23 (Shadow Blend) - 5 (Blazing Aura) + 6 (dice) = 73
Canzappu does not notice the leopard raid leader
Hyōsupotto, don't be noticed: Stealth (59) + 23 (Shadow Blend) - 5 (Blazing Aura) + 6 (dice) = 73
Canzappu does not notice the leopard second in command. Also, what is with the leopards' dice?!
There are no other kitties around to be noticed as they have not yet had their initiative to move to the zone.
Hyōkamumono:- Chakra boost: 7
- Supplemental: Sun Element: Blinding Aura
- Free action: try to spot the cats who have entered the zone: FAIL (see below)
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack, Effect 5. Five tags, distributed: self:1, Cancurunchu:4. The goal is to let the most powerful dog perform an alpha strike that will eliminate one enemy instantly, while keeping a little protection for himself
- Can't target the leopards, so use a Standard in place of a Supplemental: Strength of the Pack, Effect 5. Five tags: self(1), Canchō(4). Same as above but different dog
Canzappu's Blinding Aura makes him glow like the sun. This lights up the zone but also casts shadows everywhere; on balance I'll say that it reduces the benefit of the leopards' Shadow Blend jutsu by 5 if they are lurking in the shadows and completely negates their stealth if they are making a melee attack. It does not negate their stealth when someone else is trying to make a melee attack on them.
Canzappu, notice kitties: Alertness (57) + 3 (dice): 60
Hyōtsume, don't be noticed: Stealth (59) + 23 (Shadow Blend) - 5 (Blazing Aura) + 6 (dice) = 73
Canzappu does not notice the leopard raid leader
Hyōsupotto, don't be noticed: Stealth (59) + 23 (Shadow Blend) - 5 (Blazing Aura) + 6 (dice) = 73
Canzappu does not notice the leopard second in command. Also, what is with the leopards' dice?!
There are no other kitties around to be noticed as they have not yet had their initiative to move to the zone.
- Chakra boost: 0
- Supplemental: Shadow Blend, Effect 5
- Supplemental: hold for Bounding Evasion
- Standard: move to the zone
Little brother of Hyōtsume, Hyōkamumono has basically the same build as his older brother but isn't as good at it. As such, he's going to wait until there's some wounded prey to pick off.
- Chakra boost: 7
- Supplemental: Shadow Blend, Effect 5
- Supplemental: move to the zone
- Standard: "Leopard Clan Technique: Fangs From Afar" at Effect:3
Hyōrōbā, Fangs from Afar (61) + 5 (bonus based on Effect) + 3 (dice): 69
Canrippu the unlucky, Athletics 52 + 18 (3 tags on SotP) - 3 (Mild Consequence) - 3: 64
Canrippu takes two stress. It won't fit on his stress track so he soaks it with a Mild Consequence ("Limping"). His third stress box is still available.
The jaws remain and will attack Canrippu again on the next two rounds as long as Hyōrōbā is in the vicinity and alive.
I rolled to see who Hyōrōbā would attack and got Canrippu again. I guess there's something bitable about him.
- Chakra boost: 6
- Supplemental: Shadow Blend, Effect 5
- Standard: move to the zone
- Supplemental: Plant Element: Entangling Vines
Who does mah dude target? [rolls] Canzappu. Makes sense since he's the smallest.
Hyōfajī, Entangling Vines (56) - 3 (dice) = 53
Canzappu, Athletics (61) - 3 (dice) = 58.
Ghostly plants manifest and try to grab Canzappu, who casually skips aside without even needing to use his SotP tags.
- Chakra boost: 6
- Supplemental: Shadow Blend, Effect 5
- Standard: move to the zone
- Supplemental: Crushing Fear on (rolls for it...) Hazō. That's hilarious.
"Soul Element: Crushing Fear" is a nasty Block-type jutsu. It hits the user with debilitating fear which acts as a Block against that person doing anything, with the Block having the same strength as the initial roll. It is defended with Resolve. If it lands then the user needs to roll their Resolve against the Block again every time they want to perform any voluntary action—attack someone, run away, etc. It must be sustained and can be broken by injuring or sufficiently distracting the caster.
Hyōtsumaranai, Crushing Fear (47) - 3 (dice) : 44
Hazō, Resolve (63) + 0 (dice) = 63
Hazō brushes the jutsu aside almost without noticing it. It's amazing that the dice had Hyōtsumaranai target Hazō for this; the dogs all have Resolve:20 like normal people who don't need to worry about genjutsu and they would have been taken down instantly. Without intending to, the cats done did a dumb.
More importantly, the leopards did a super-duper dumb! Because Hazō was attacked, he gets to use his two round-0 Reflexive Supplemental actions. That means he gets to use his CATEARS seal to activate a MARS chain that includes:
- Banshee Slayer sound protection on himself and all the dogs
- A stupid number of Force Claws seals. Among other things, the dogs all have a frickin' Force Claw on their heads. Mechanics of the Force Claws seal listed below
- A Rocket Boots seal in a pocket on the center of his back with a thin steel plate in the pocket and in front of the Rocket Boots. Attached to said plate is a Banshee Fucker (BF) seal. The Rocket Boots seal triggers, flinging the plate (and the BF) away from Hazō. His shirt gets ripped in the process but eh
- Remember that Banshee Fucker seal? It gets triggered and makes a noise so shatteringly loud that it causes damage if set off in contact with your body, hence the trick with the Rocket Boots launcher
Force Claws: These are a 4"-long, one-seal variant of the larger Force Wall seal, intended to be attached to something like a gauntlet or a sword. The fact that the blade is invisible provides an excellent surprise advantage. If a target does not know that you have them, Force Claws add +6 to Taijutsu or equivalent close-combat skill, or +3 if the target is aware of them. They are Weapon:4.
We don't have explicit mechanics set up for Banshee Fuckers yet. I'm going to say that if you are in the zone with the BF or any adjacent zone and you don't have Banshee Slayer protection then:
- Your Alertness is cut by 1/3 because you can't hear a damn thing
- You gain the Aspect "Deaf", which expires 10 minutes after you leave the AOE. Note that this does not prevent Seventh-Path natives from communicating, since their 'speech' is actually mind-to-mind
- You must roll Resolve vs TN 40 or
- You lose your balance and stagger. Your Athletics is reduced by 5 until your next initiative. So is any other skill the QM determines to be appropriate
- You lose track of what you are currently doing, causing you to drop any jutsu you were sustaining or botch any process that you were working on
- On the second round after the BF was triggered (i.e., not the next round but the one after that) and every round thereafter you take 1 shift of sonic damage while you remain in the AOE. The damage is applied immediately after your initiative, giving you the chance to flee before it hits
We might do it differently next time.
Rolls: Not necessary. None of the cats have Resolve high enough to even potentially beat a 40. There isn't much need for it since genjutsu and other mind-affecting jutsu are rare among them and their neighbors.
All cats FAIL their Resolve rolls. They are staggered and take -5 to Athletics, physical combat skills, and Stealth until their next initiative.
- Chakra boost: 6
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack, Effect 6. Distribution: self:2, Canzappu:2, Canfuwumpu:2
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack, Effect 6. Distribution: self:2, Canhachi:2, Canchō:2
- Free action: attempt to localize the kitties enough to make a melee attack
- Standard: Bite Hyōtsumaranai in half
Can he spot the kitties? Answer: no to everyone except probably Hyōtsumaranai.
Cankamu, Alertness (49) - 9 (dice): 40.
Hyōtsumaranai, Stealth (44 after modifiers) - 9 (dice): 34. Wow. Okay, here we go.
Cankamu, Jaw and Claw (59) + 18 (SotP tags x3) + 6 (bonus from Force Claw when the opponent doesn't know you have it) + 6 (dice) = 89
Hyōtsumaranai, Athletics (57) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 11 (Bounding Evasion) - 3 (dice) = 63
Wow. Poor old 'tsuma is having a bad day. That's 12 shifts of damage (8 from the hit, 4 from the Force Claws). 'Tsuma soaks 9 of it with a Severe ("Gutted"), Medium ("Concussion"), and a Mild ("Cracked Shin"), then fills his stress track with the remaining 3. He's alive, technically.
I'm ruling that his Stealth is now 0.
- Chakra boost: 6
- Supplemental: Dance of the Butterflies
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack at Effect 5. Distribution is Canhachi:3, Canrippu:2. Canhachi is Canchō's brother and Canrippu seems to be drawing aggro a bunch
- Standard: Chakra's Bite at Effect 4
Dance of the Butterflies attacks every hostile in the zone, regardless of whether the caster can see them.
Canchō, Life Element: Dance of the Butterflies (56) + 6 (attack advantage innate to the jutsu) + 6 (invoke "Veteran Borderdog") + 6 (invoke "Specialist First Class") + 6 (invoke "Succeed or Die") + 0 (dice) = 80. Canchō is out of Fate Points.
Hyōtsume: Athletics (65) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 60.
Hyōsupotto: Athletics (65) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 57.
Hyōkamumono: Athletics (54) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 46
Hyōrōbā: Athletics (54) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 6 (dice) = 43
Hyōfajī: Athletics (65) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 60
Hyōtsumaranai: Athletics (57) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 21 (wounds) + 0 (dice) = 31
Canchō comes in clutch! The leopards are all surrounded in a cloud of glittering butterflies that makes them easier to target, applies the Aspect "Distracted and Partially Blinded", and gives Canchō two tags on the Aspect. (That's two total, not two per target.)
Canchō passes both tags to Canrippu, who is up next.
"Soul Element: Chakra's Bite" causes all chakra constructs in the zone to start heating up and throwing off sparks. They have a Power of (Effect), which increases by Effect every turn. The way it works is:
- Construct-based attack jutsu (e.g. Fangs from Afar or Water Whip) have their level increased by Power
- Construct-based non-attack jutsu (e.g. a MEW that was created out of something other than the ground) will start throwing off sparks that attack everyone in Melee range with Power vs Athletics or a variety of other options.
The sparks are very bright and therefore stealth-defeating. The cats are all surrounded by the butterfly constructs from Dance of the Butterflies. The sparks from the butterflies reduce their Stealth by Power/2.
- Chakra boost: 6
- Supplemental: do nothing and conserve chakra
- Supplemental: do nothing and conserve chakra
- Free action: can he spot the cats through their stealth?
- Standard: bite a kitty
Even with all the debuffs in play, it's very unlikely that Canrippu can beat the stealth on anyone except Hyōtsumaranai (whose stealth is currently 0) but let's check. All normal modifiers are factored in for the stealth numbers. Also, Canrippu has a Mild Consequence right now. I'm not sure whether or not the penalty should apply to a passive Alertness check so for now I'm choosing to say that it does not.
Canrippu, Alertness (49) + 6: 55. Huh, maybe I'm wrong and he can do this.
Hyōtsume, Stealth (58) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 50
Hyōsupotto, Stealth (58) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 9 (dice) = 62 Hyōkamumono, Stealth (54) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 49 Hyōrōbā, Stealth (69) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 3 (dice) = 67 Hyōfajī, Stealth (67) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 6 (dice) = 56
Ohhhkay then. Canrippu can tell generally where a couple of the cats are, at least well enough that he can move to attack them. He'll pick Hyōtsume as the most dangerous enemy. He runs over to him and makes another Stealth check to localize the cat well enough to actually bite him. This is a much easier roll than the previous one.
Canrippu, Alertness (49) + 0: 49
Hyōtsume, Stealth (15). Yeah, never mind.
Time to get chompin'!
Canrippu, Jaw and Claw (54) - 3 (Mild Consequence) + 18 (SotP tags x3) + 6 (surprise Force Wall seal) + 12 (Dance of the Butterflies tags x2) + 0 (dice) = 87
Hyōtsume, Face-Nomming (76) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 6 (dice) = 77
Total of 7 shifts (3 base + 4 from Force Claws). Hyōtsume soaks 2 with a Mild Consequence ("Lacerations"), 3 with a Medium ("Carved Up"), and fills his first two stress boxes.
Canrippu gets a tag on each of those Consequences. He passes the both tags to Cansaku who is coming up next.
- Chakra boost: 6
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack, Effect 5. self:2, Cankamu:2, Cancurunchu:1
- Supplemental: do nothing
- Standard: bite a cat's face off
Alertness to successfully target a cat: 46 + 5 (someone else just now successfully attacked the cat) - 3 (dice) = 48
Hyōtsume, Stealth (51) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 46
Hyōsupotto, Stealth (58) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 50
Hyōkamumono, Stealth (54) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 3 (dice) = 52
Hyōrōbā, Stealth (69) - 5 (staggered by BF) - 3 (dice) = 61
Hyōfajī, Stealth (67) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 3 (dice) = 65
Hyōtsumaranai, Stealth (0) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 6 (dice) = 1
Got the general location, can he get it exact enough for melee? Answer: yes. No need to roll.
Cansaku, Jaw and Claw (56) + 6 (chakra boost) + 18 (SotP tags x3) + 12 (Canrippu's tags x2) + 6 (Force Claws) + 9 (completely gratuitous dice) = 107 (holy heck!!!)
Hyōtsume, Face-Nomming (66 after normal modifiers) + 7 (chakra boost) - 5 (staggered by BF) + 0 (dice) = 68
Wow. This cat isn't just dead, he's DRTTT. (Dead Right There and There and There...)
- Chakra boost: 6
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack, Effect 5. Five tags, self:1, Canchō:2, Canrippu:2
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack, Effect 5. Five tags, self:1, Cansaku:2, Canrippu:1
- Standard: Hit a kitty with Effect:6 of bee stings
Can he spot a target?
Canhachi, Alertness (41) + 3 (dice) = 44. Nope, can't see anyone except the guy with Stealth 0.
Hyōtsumaranai, Stealth (0) + dice that I'm not bothering to roll.
Okay, let's finish this one off.
Canhachi, Rage of the Hive (58) + 6 (chakra boost) + 6 (Effect; innate bonus of the jutsu) + 4 ("Chakra's Bite" Power) - 6 = 68
Hyōtsumaranai Athletics (51 after everything) + 11 (Bounding Evasion) + 6 (invoke "Feline Predator") = 68
Hyōtsumaranai takes 1 stress. He dies.
- Chakra boost: 6
- Supplemental: Eye Spy, Effect 5
- Supplemental: hold for Instant Den
- Standard: Baddies Go Fwump
Life Element: Eye Spy gives the caster the Aspect "Omni-Aware", an Alertness bonus of (Effect x 2), and (Effect) tags. It extends a web of invisible chakra that connects the caster to up to (Effect / 2) willing targets in the zone. The tags can be passed to anyone who is connected and used on Alertness rolls. Up to 2 tags may be used on a given roll. Canfuwumpu connects to Cancurunchu, Canzappu, and Cankamu since they are at the top of canine initiative. He keeps two tags for himself and passes 2 to Cancurunchu and 1 to Canzappu.
Dog Clan Technique: Baddies Go Fwump causes all hostiles in the zone that the caster can see to get very tired, along with the caster. Who can Canfuwumpu see?
Factoring in the BF penalty and all other modifiers from now on because I'm tired of writing it over and over.
Canfuwumpu, Alertness (40) + 10 (Eye Spy flat bonus) + 10 (two Eye Spy tags) + 3 (dice) = 63
Hyōtsume. Not bothering. FAIL
Hyōsupotto. Not bothering. FAIL
Hyōkamumono. Not bothering. FAIL
Hyōrōbā, Stealth(65) - 6 (dice): 59. FAIL
Hyōfajī, Stealth(62) + 6 (dice): 68. SUCCESS
Hyōtsumaranai: is dead.
Wow. Canfuwumpu is rockin' it.
Baddies Go Fwump (51) targets Resolve and the kitties all have the normal 20 resolve that sensible people buy in order to get their mental stress track to 3 boxes but don't bother increasing because dogs don't really use genjutsu so there's no need for me to roll.
Hyōtsume, Hyōsupotto, Hyōkamumono, and Hyōrōbā all get the Aspect "Sleepy" and an (Effect x 2) penalty to Athletics and physical skills. In this case that means -10.
Canfuwumpu also gets the "Sleepy" Aspect but as the caster the penalty is only half as bad, so just a -5.
- Chakra boost: 5
- Supplemental: hold for Substitution
- Supplemental: hold for Substitution
- Standard: Pangolin Earth Armor, Effect 2
Hazō gains the following effects from PEA: Armor:2, non-ablative. Physique + 6, making it 43. Athletics - 3, making it 37.
The Power of the Chakra's Bite jutsu increases to 8, giving a stealth penalty of 4.
All tags expire.
Yeah, the kitties ain't having it. They are bailing out as soon as they can. Sadly, Cancurunchu goes before anyone else.
Cancurunchu:
- Chakra boost: 7
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack, Effect 6
- Supplemental: Strength of the Pack, Effect 6
- Standard: munch on a kitty
Cancurunchu still has two SotP instances running from last turn, both at Effect:6, meaning he has four sets of 6 tags to distribute. He does so:
- self: 3, Cankamu:3
- self: 1, Canfuwumpu:5
- Canzappu: 2, Canchō: 2, Canrippu: 2
- Cansaku: 2, Canhachi: 2, Canzappu: 1, Canchō: 1
Now he wants to spot a kitty to eat. Unfortunately, he can't get the tags for Eye Spy until Canfuwumpu's initiative, which is last except for Hazō's. If he waits that long then the kitties will have run for it. Stealth rolls include the BF staggering penalty which expires on the victim's initiative.
Cancurunchu, Alertness (61) + 6 (dice) = 67
Hyōsupotto, Stealth (51) - 3 (dice) = 48
Hyōkamumono, Stealth (47) + 6 (dice) = 53
Hyōrōbā, Stealth (62) + 6 (dice) = 68
Hyōfajī, Stealth (60) - 6 (dice) = 54
Cancurunchu has his choice of targets. He randomly picks Hyōfajī.
Cancurunchu, Jaws and Claws (64) + 7 (chakra boost) + 21 (SotP tags x3) + 3 (Force Claws now that the bad guys know about them) + 0 (dice) = 95
Hyōfajī, Athletics (54) + 6 (chakra boost) + 14 (Bounding Evasion) + 6 (dice) = 80
Like his fellows before him, Hyōfajī is having a bad day. That's 9 shifts of damage (5 base, 4 from the Weapons Rating of the Force Claws).
Poor 'fajī sinks 2 into a Mild Consequence ("Slashed Paw"), 3 into a Medium ("Gashes in my Sides"), and 4 into a Severe ("Butchered"). His stress track is untouched.
- Chakra boost: 7
- Supplemental: run! (2 shifts of movement)
- Supplemental: run! (2 shifts of movement)
- Standard: Sprint! He gets 6 shifts
Spot is now 10 zones away and not an issue.
- Chakra boost: 7
- Free actions: try to spot the kitties so he can blast them
- Supplemental: hold to save chakra
- Supplemental: hold to save chakra
- Standard: Burn a kitty's face off with Sun Element: Focus Blast at Effect:4
Canzappu: Alertness (57) + 3 (dice) = 60
Hyōkamumono, Stealth (47) + 6 (dice) = 53
Hyōrōbā, Stealth (62) - 3 (dice) = 59
Hyōfajī, Stealth (44). You're screwed.
Canzappu, "Sun Element: Focus Blast" (62) + 7 (chakra boost) + 7 (innate bonus of +AB) + 3 (dice) = 79 (save those FP!)
Hyōrōbā, Athletics (49) + 7 (chakra boost) - 3 = 53
Yowch. It's a total of 11 shifts of damage—8 from the roll, plus it was cast at Effect 4 so it's got Weapon:3. BadKitty soaks 2 into a Mild ("Scorched"), 3 into a Medium ("Sun Poisoning"), 4 into a Severe ("Burned like Tater Tots You Forgot Were in the Oven"), then marks off his first two stress boxes.
I'm very disappointed. Hazō had put harnesses on all the dogs when they set off on the journey, with Force Claw seals affixed to the harnesses in various positions such that anyone attempting to bite the wearer had a chance of carving themselves up on the invisible blades. I never got a chance to show that off! He activated them with his CATEARS+MARS chain but the combat was over before any of the cats landed a melee attack. He also didn't get to use his new Reusable Rocket Boots seals. Oh well.
Just so that it's clear to everyone:
- Cannai very much wants to avoid war
- The only reason he is considering war is because:
- Cannai is allied with Hyena to help defend them against imperialist Pangolin, who have already shown their willingness to commit cultural and/or literal genocide. It is more than reasonable to believe that if Pangolin takes over Hyena then they will continue on to attack Dog.
- Leopard is allied with Pangolin and is attacking Dog's flank while Dog is busy in Hyena
- Leopard has shown their willingness to wipe out entire packs instead of confining themselves to primary combatants. Neither Cannai nor Hazō know if it was an intentional wipe or collateral damage from a battle, so they don't know if the Leopards are actually going scorched-earth or maintaining some level of decency.
- If there is a war, Cannai is hoping that making a statement by devastating Leopard will prevent the need for future bloodshed against Pangolin and/or their allies, much the way (NB: fraught real-world comparison coming) America (supposedly, and yes there is debate) thought that using nuclear bombs on Japan would ultimately save lives by ending the war sooner
- If there is a war then Cannai will not kill cubs, will try to leave at least one parent of every litter alive, and will happily let combatant-aged Leopards abandon their homeland instead of being killed, as either outcome will make a sufficient demonstration of his willingness to go hard
- He is actively doing everything he can to prevent the need for war
- If an option comes along to achieve peace or secure an equivalent degree of safety for his people then he will take it
Author's Note: After Cancurunchu said 'let them go' it turned out that the two leopards with Severe wounds weren't making particularly good time, so the team captured them. You killed two leopards, captured (and will soon execute) two, and two got away. Cancurunchu was angry and battle-jazzed at the end there and there's a good chance that he will change his mind on the 'let them come' position pretty soon.
XP AWARD: 16 This update covered 4 days.
Brevity XP: 4
"GM had fun" XP: 1
- Cannai rules, so 1 for that
- It was fun to write punching again but holy god that was exhausting. There's so much more to keep track of than there used to be and 15 combatants is a lot
It is now about 4pm.
Vote time! What to do now?
Note: I'm going to be at a games day on Sunday, so my current plan is to post an interlude. I'll leave voting open until next Wednesday. If either @Paperclipped or @Velorien are excited about writing for Sunday then I can edit this to close voting Saturday as usual, but I doubt very much that will happen as both of them are super busy.
Voting ends on Wednesday, .
Last edited:
- Location
- United States
Not murder if it's done at the behest of a sovereign entity during war.
Sad, but I understand. We still support you Dog Dad!
Last edited:
What exactly are you insinuating with that threadmark, EJ?
Well, let's try to live up to it, but smarter this time.
EDIT:
This was briefly set to be before ch28 "let the bodies hit the floor" where Hazou Leeroy Jenkins'd himself at three on-level combatants and somehow miraculously won.
This threadmark location turned out to be an error, not foreshadowing.
Well, let's try to live up to it, but smarter this time.
EDIT:
This was briefly set to be before ch28 "let the bodies hit the floor" where Hazou Leeroy Jenkins'd himself at three on-level combatants and somehow miraculously won.
This threadmark location turned out to be an error, not foreshadowing.
Last edited:
Uh, thanks Cannai/EJ for making that convenient.
Don't be a pussy, Hazō, you have to unstagnate.
- Location
- United States
By the way @eaglejarl (and @Velorien and @Paperclipped), in the event that Hazō deploys his signature sonic weapons this may be useful to know:
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
For the purpose of Velorien updates, Google's AI overviews will be treated as filler. Boruto filler.By the way @eaglejarl (and @Velorien and @Paperclipped), in the event that Hazō deploys his signature sonic weapons this may be useful to know:
- Location
- United States
Zampano
🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
- Location
- Simping for DSB
The fear of Stagnancy has led to this very strange detour from our Lighthousing arc. I hope we don't die.
Has Hazo given any seals to the Dogs? Would skywalkers allow them to disengage from a lost fight, or swing the result to a victory?
Has Hazo given any seals to the Dogs? Would skywalkers allow them to disengage from a lost fight, or swing the result to a victory?
Hey EJ I think this count is wrong, you have 7 Leopards listed and there should be 6. Looks like you're double counting the experienced chunin. There should only be two.
Also pinging also @Paperclipped @Velorien what does Hazou's team composition look like, can we count on it being rolled the same way? Hazou's about as strong as one of those 4's (I hope) so unless we have 1 or 2 jounin with us, we're fucking dead.