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Marked for Death: A Rational Naruto Quest

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Roomba said:
I think part of the misunderstanding is that I'm definitely not speaking in the context of any kind of public image. What I outlined was a background for what we can imply in private meetings behind closed doors. Obviously, we're not going to publically state our loyalty to Mist, we're not going to even say that in private, to anyone. The idea is to, in private, point out how our position, right now, can be used to Mist's benefit, and subtly imply this was the intent of our actions.
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You're assuming an awful lot about the privacy of our conversations. Assume anything that Hazou, Nonuri, or Keiko says *will* be overheard by a Leaf jounin responsible for keeping an eye on all Leaf exam participants for our own safety. In fact, Jiraiya specifically promised that in the context of assuring Kagome of how safe we will be. Now I think that was at least partially J bullshitting, but still.

See, it's the part of "subtly imply this was the intent of our actions" that's troubling. So that means that you want to imply that becoming missing-nin and defecting from Mist was all an elaborate ploy to act for the benefit of Mist? I don't care if you outright say or imply it, that is nothing that Hazou should ever imply to anyone, under any circumstances, public or private.

I guess it was my failure to not make this obvious, but if you take the position that any friendly gesture towards the clans can be interpreted as betrayal of Leaf, then we may as well call the whole thing off as too risky. Maybe we should just ask Jiraiya how friendly we can be behind closed doors given our situation?
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That is misstating my position. There's nothing wrong with being friendly, talking about hopes for peace, looking for the spirit of cooperation and alliance, or any of that. But you keep wanting to swing back to the idea that actually, Hazou is a loyal ninja of Mist who is looking out for Mist's interests. That is just poison, even "implied".

faflec said:
It's 6PM right now, and I think we already had dinner (we were eating at the beginning of the last story update). I don't think 6hr of ganking teams is going to cut it, which is my worry; I feel that we should spend 9-12 hours, then sleep for however many hours is appropriate...but then again I don't know how long it's going to take to get word-halves. Maybe adjust the plan so that instead of shooting for 3 word-halves specifically we see how many we get in 3-6 hours, then decide if it's worth it or not to continue?
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Truthfully, if it's that late we may simply not find any targets at all. We can't go after other teams in their bungalows... that's where their jounin-sensei wait to watch the little ducklings sleep in safety. And why would they be walking around the streets in the middle of the night?

I had an idea to go stake out some of the ninja supply stores and hope to catch a team going on a seupply, or maybe even if they're especially dumb and feeling safe going out to try the pleasures of Mist cuisine at a restaurant. But I expect most everyone will be off the streets within a couple of hours of sunset.

EDIT: By the way, when you say you don't think that 6 hours is going to "cut it"... cut it for what? Technically this is all pure profit and we don't have a particular quota in mind.

We should also ask Keiko about using Panashe to track a proctor/Rookie to the event. We wouldn't have to worry about dropping seals since Panashe would be displacing the earth which would make for easy tracking, and she can always just come back to the rendezvous.
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That is in the plan. Did you not see it in the plan?

I'm pretty sure Hazou's Social can still be targeted by the "Tired" Aspect he has.
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Well, what can you do? The other teams will have it as well, so hopefully it'll balance out. Or we'll fail... and note that a failure isn't likely to have too bad of a consequence.

Oh that reminds me. Make sure Noburi gets refills since he can't regen chakra. And set some watches for when we sleep, since we can't possibly be the only people with the "gank enemy teams" idea.
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I am sure that Noburi is perfectly capable of managing his own chakra and does not need Hazou telling him what to do. And again, our sleeping quarters ought to be perfectly secure.
 
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In fact, how about this: For the time being we formulate a simple strategy designed to leave our options open and keep idiots from targeting us. Then, when we're waiting for the tournament, Jiraiya has a bit more time, and we expect to be invited by our clans, we can ask him if we can do anything to help him, and go from there.

What do when talking to clan members:
  • Be polite, don't trade insults, don't respond to provocation. If it doesn't look like the conversation is going anywhere, leave. Remember what Neira taught us.
  • Be evasive on the topic of our defection and what motivated it. Can flatly declare that we found the Will of Fire in our hearts if someone's being pushy about it.
  • Steer the conversation away from any sensitive topic. Use the opsec rules we established for the conversation with Hana here.
  • Look for an opportunity to point out how interesting and unusual it is for the Hokage's adopted son to also be the Mizukage's nephew. Something to really think about.
  • Use Deceit to appear self-confident and in control. Resist the urge to justify our actions.
Only question is whether to talk about this with Keiko and Noburi, or if we're fine with controlling Hazou's attitude.
 
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Briefvoice said:
Truthfully, if it's that late we may simply not find any targets at all. We can't go after other teams in their bungalows... that's where their jounin-sensei wait to watch the little ducklings sleep in safety. And why would they be walking around the streets in the middle of the night?
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Wouldn't Jonin-sensei getting involved in the Events be a violation of the Exam rules?
Briefvoice said:
That is in the plan. Did you not see it in the plan?
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I did not. You have "Suggest that Keiko send Panashe out to monitor proctor building and start following proctors who look like they're headed places to see if they go anywhere interesting, like an exam site", which sounds to me like we're just having Panashe follow a random proctor, instead of a specific proctor we got to move to the exam site (with a word-half).
Briefvoice said:
I am sure that Noburi is perfectly capable of managing his own chakra and does not need Hazou telling him what to do. And again, our sleeping quarters ought to be perfectly secure.
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Perfectly secure. Hah
 
faflec said:
Wouldn't Jonin-sensei getting involved in the Events be a violation of the Exam rules?
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You break into a building where a jounin is sleeping, she's under no obligation to assume that you're there for someone else.

I did not. You have "Suggest that Keiko send Panashe out to monitor proctor building and start following proctors who look like they're headed places to see if they go anywhere interesting, like an exam site", which sounds to me like we're just having Panashe follow a random proctor, instead of a specific proctor we got to move to the exam site (with a word-half).
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Oh yeah, following a random proctor was what I meant.
 
I would also expect that our sleeping quarters are relatively secure after the initial anti-surveillance sweep we did. What would be the benefit of trying to break in, as opposed to hunting teams outside?
 
Updated the plan with a few things:

1. An "if this fails" contingency.
2. Acknowledge we'll have to stop after the streets clear for the night.
3. Adding a few things to next morning, like proposing a Yakuza visit and making sure to coordinate with Shika on the seal-tracking to Event site plan.
 
Briefvoice said:
That is misstating my position. There's nothing wrong with being friendly, talking about hopes for peace, looking for the spirit of cooperation and alliance, or any of that. But you keep wanting to swing back to the idea that actually, Hazou is a loyal ninja of Mist who is looking out for Mist's interests. That is just poison, even "implied".
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I don't like the idea of talking about "peace", because in the current situation, it's going to be interpreted as "Leaf winning". And not incorrectly either, making Leaf win is broadly what we're trying to make happen here.

How about we try to frame the problem as that of policy, along the lines of:
  1. Yagura bad, paranoid, betrayed us for no reason, got himself killed trying to start a pointless war.
  2. Ren good, smart and diplomatic, secured Hot Springs, and will take Mist in a better direction.
  3. We're here, able to bridge Mist and Leaf, and enterprising clans could use this connection to benefit themselves greatly under the new regime.
I'm resigned to the fact that a not insignificant number of jokers will look at this and do the Shikaku, deciding that our defection was part of Ren's gambit to become Mizukage, but we're not implying anything and have perfect deniability. What say you?
 
@Velorien @OliWhail @eaglejarl

A collection of stunts/jutsu I worked on while you were working on the rules, held until now when you are, hopefully, less busy on them. :p

Blood in the Water

Element: Water, Medical Ninjutsu
Effect: Tunable to max of Medical Ninjutsu Aspect Bonus + 1
Duration: An instant
Durability: n/a
Range: -1 [+20]
Casting Speed: Instant [+20]
AoE: 1 target
Permanent Effect: +30
Disadvantage: Element Required (Chakra Water, -25), Wakahisa Bloodline [-10], Medical Ninjutsu [-10], Ad Hoc (+75)
Total Strain: 100 + Effect
Total Chakra Cost: 25 + Effect

This technique converts the Wakahisa's chakra water into the target's blood, slowing shock and saving lives. This reduces stress overflow past Severe Consequences: If it is reduced to within the target's Stress Track, then, while in terrible condition, they are kept alive. Depending on the type of injury, this technique may not be sufficient on its own, and may require an additional Medical Knowledge and/or Medical Ninjutsu check.

While created to save lethally wounded comrades, this technique is also quite useful in the surgical theater, allowing significantly more invasive surgeries to be performed.
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Forged in Fire
Cost: ???
Prerequisites: Aspect with the word "Idealist", "Idealistic", et. al in it; at least 3 Thousand Yard Stare points
Effect: The user has seen some of the worst humanity has to offer and come out with a drive to make things better.

Instead of applying to Intimidation, Thousand Yard Stare applies to Rapport and Empathy.

If the user loses the aspect with "Idealistic" in it, it is QM fiat as to whether they keep this stunt or not.
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And, from a while ago:
Stunt: Doesn't Stay Down
XP Cost: 50-100-ish?
Prereqs: The appropriate personality type (Akane, Lee, Naruto).
Allows one to ignore penalties from Mild and Moderate Consequences during the engagement they are acquired in. Mild ones do not give opponents a free tag, though the injury is still able to be exploited via fate point expenditure.
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Iron Nerve stunts that Cari and I discussed in PMs during system change:

File Save
Cost: ???XP
Prerequisites: Iron Nerve
The user can perfectly memorize and recall long documents by encoding them into sign language and signing them out so that the movements are saved into the iron nerve library. By beginning each document with a unique identifier string, the user can find any document they've saved by signing out the identifier and then continuing the movement-path that follows. By amassing a directory of helpful sign-language documents, the user can gain a freely taggable aspect bonus for "lore" heavy skills such as Sealing and MedKnow.
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Body Language Control
Cost: ???XP
Prerequisites: Iron Nerve
The user can deliberately manipulate their own body language, puppeteering their social cues as much as they might their fighting style. The user gains a freely taggable aspect bonus to social skills.
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Man, being able to see active seals with the byakugan is such BS. Can we have a pet Hyuuga?
 
faflec said:
The implication was that Hiashi activated the pain part of the Cursed Seal, and thus forced Neji's obedience.

Of course, the alternative...
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Hazou Kurosawa-Kagome-Goketsu And The Methods of Sealcrafting said:
…it had developed that Hazou had not made an original sealcrafting discovery, but rediscovered a law so ancient that nobody knew who had first formulated it:

A seal spends that which is invested in the chakra of its brush-strokes.

…the fundamental principle of sealcrafting had no name and no standard phrasing, since then you might be tempted to write it down.

And someone who wasn't wise enough to figure out the principle themselves might read it.

And they would start having all sorts of bright ideas for inventing new seals.

And then they would be turned into catboys.
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Radvic said:
Make it in Ren's interest for her to be able to ally with Jiraiya rather than undermining his influence. Likely by offering a way of uniting Leaf and Mist, and aligning our incentives.
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So we would need to take a proactive position instead of just trusting Jiraiya to handle everything. Would require us to actually act as political players. Try to generally live up to Shikaku's belief that we are a mastermind
 
We have no way of knowing what Ren's exact circumstances are, but we do know that one of her options is to use Hazou's relationship with his mother, which implies some kind of cooperation with Leaf. I don't for a second believe this is her only play, but us making this path easier for her could indeed encourage her take it and not prolong the exams. Plus, a Mist/Leaf alliance is good for us in a lot of ways, both short and long term.
 
I'm generally against the "mastermind" approach due to our lowish Social skills, which means we'd get bamboozled easily by any of the real shakers and movers (clan heads, Kage, important clanless ninjas...) but we could try and influence some of the weaker rabble who have lower Social abilities. It's just a matter of deciding on an approach, and ensuring that our plans don't fuck with Jiraiya's (read: we talk with him).

Also need to make sure this doesn't mess with our Exam performance, which means anything we do ought to have a direct benefit wrt the Exams.
 
faflec said:
due to our lowish Social skills, which means we'd get bamboozled easily by any of the real shakers and movers (clan heads, Kage, important clanless ninjas...)
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It should be noted that when we explicitly put good-faith arguments in Hazou's mouth (eg. the speeches he's so infamous for) the QM's tend to not use rolls. Otherwise we would never have convinced Jiraiya that "you know something kid, I think we could be friends someday", for example.
 
MadScientist said:
It should be noted that when we explicitly put good-faith arguments in Hazou's mouth (eg. the speeches he's so infamous for) the QM's tend to not use rolls. Otherwise we would never have convinced Jiraiya that "you know something kid, I think we could be friends someday", for example.
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I feel that's more our alignments being very clearly with Jiraiya's. Which will almost certainly not be the case with Mist bigwigs, since half their shtick is wanting to kill/humiliate Leaf and us specifically.
 
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