Welcome to Stormfall, an AU Naruto-verse quest set during the Second World War, where you play as various ninja who get into all sorts of exciting adventures. See the infopost for more info.
Stormfall (An AU Naruto Quest)
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Chapter 0: Prologue
New
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Prologue
"A pre-emptive strike? No. I refuse. A direct provocation, an act of war, at the height of our prosperity - this would be the behavior of warmongers, not peacekeepers. This is not the world the First and Second wished us to create." Sarutobi Hiruzen, gazing out upon his beloved village, slowly turned to face a small council of military advisors. The Third Hokage glowered with disapproval.
The head of the Nara Clan, a young and brilliant mind recently promoted to the elite rank of jōnin, continued his pitch. "My own father perished in the first World War. Don't think for a second that I relish the idea of bringing about another. It is the very height of our prosperity that drives the malice of our foes. We're not stronger than all our enemies combined. But we could be, if we take the initiative."
"A temporary advantage in exchange for an eternal grudge. And countless lost lives."
The head of the Uchiha Clan spoke next. "What is life but buying time for the next generation to fix the mistakes of the ones who came before them? The bloodshed of another all out war would be even greater. You see the way the winds are blowing. Already, day by day, loyal Leaf shinobi are struck down by hidden foes, as they bleed themselves for the rest of us to live in comfort." Uchiha Fugaku inclined his head to his fellow Clan Head and continued. "Lord Nara has shown us the numbers. The deaths, the disappearances… they're intensifying, not calming. Organized conflict will come, despite your diplomatic efforts abroad. If they won't listen to reason, then a decapitation strike is our best hope for forestalling another war spanning the Elemental Nations."
The Third Hokage shook his head disapprovingly. "And what makes you so sure-"
A voice from the corner of the room cut him off. "Mito."
A few of the others in the room flinched. Hiruzen merely withheld a strong urge to sigh loudly. Shimura Danzō's eyes regarded him coolly. Hiruzen responded, "The Lady is getting on in her years, I'll admit. But one bad fall doesn't mean-"
"Hiruzen, spare us the political theater, please."
The room's temperature felt like it spiked twenty degrees in an instant, but Hiruzen maintained his calm tone nonetheless. "Ever the diplomat you are, Danzō."
Danzō raised his arms minutely, shrugging ever so slightly. "Sensei picked you for the Hat over me for a reason." A statement he would never tolerate anyone else making.
"If you insist on dehumanizing the whole endeavor, know that we have already procured a viable vessel from Whirlpool, when Lady Mito's time comes."
Lord Nara cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Therein lies the problem, sir. Leaf may have the God of the Shinobi, and the White Fang, and the Silent Crow, and countless other powerful jōnin… but the stability of the Elemental Nations has always depended on its Jinchūriki. The First knew this when he distributed the Tailed Beasts amongst the many nations."
Danzō muttered, "An idiotic decision for which we are still paying the consequences."
Lord Nara tactfully avoided the borderline heresy, and concluded, "A reality we all must live with, at any rate."
Hiruzen hummed thoughtfully, producing a pipe and taking a deep toke. "Hence the desire to buy time."
Lord Nara nodded solemnly. "The weakest Leaf will be for the next several decades… is while the next host of the Demon Fox is adjusting to using its vast power. Our enemies are waiting for news of Mito's passing. For news that the Nine-Tailed Fox has been sealed in a new host. Uzumaki Kushina won't be ready to fully wield that power to defend Leaf for a decade at least."
The Third Hokage turned away from his counsel, gazing back over the Village Hidden in the Leaves once more. To the urban sprawl, bustling with life. To young ninja dancing across the shingled roofs, much to the chagrin of their instructors. To the legacy that the First and Second entrusted to him. To everything and everyone who had ever mattered to him. For the briefest of moments, he saw it wreathed in flame and carnage.
There was no harm in at least mulling the possibilities over, was there? It was Hiruzen's duty to stand between the people of Leaf and whatever horrors the world may hold. And sometimes that duty stood in the way of his own personal interests and dreams. Even those that he inherited from his mentors.
"...continue with your report, Lord Nara."
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Satoru was smirking as he placed his latest stone. Jin sighed. That was never a good sign. As he mulled his defeat, Jin ran a finger over one of the stones in his hand, emblazoned with the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Rocks. One of the only pieces of home he had with him. How long had they been here now?
"You've penned yourself in again, you know." Clack.
"Hey now. Fighting from the corner ain't the same as penning myself in." Clack.
"Easy enough to say for someone who's penned himself in." Clack.
"Hmph. I know your tricks now, boy." Clack.
"I suppose that's bound to happen after one thousand, two hundred and seven games. Not that it's helped you prevent them from working." Clack.
"Too fuckin' right." Over a thousand games and he'd won thirty six of them. Thirty six. Jin would've quit playing this Tama brat ages ago if there wasn't shit else to do in this backwater encampment. The Land of Grass held true to its name, with naught to see but prairies and valuable, yet boring, farmland. He couldn't spend too much time or energy training (or get drunk for that matter), in case he needed to fend off any more raids from Hidden Grass nin, though they'd been quiet the past few months. So he played this bullshit game with a certified genius instead. Clack.
Satoru's eyes narrowed a fraction, and like many times before, Jin tried to see things how a logistical genius would. An eye there, a wall there, free space there but with obvious reprisal should either attempt to claim… there.
Clack.
Satoru grew yet more determined to squeeze the cornered rat, claiming more ground, but Jin began dancing his way around, ensnaring the invaders before they knew what hit them. Clack. Clack. Clack.
The muted excitement began to grow as a way out presented itself from his opponent's earlier play, insufficient to snuff out his enemy. Clack.
The conflict grew fierce, islands encircling one another before falling to a larger formation, shielding each other with stalwart eyes. Their play spanned the whole board now, clamoring for any advantage they could manage.
But the longer the conflict stretched out, the more his momentum began to slow to a crawl, and then reverse. Satoru, brow sweating with focus, played the long game, whittling down on Jin's gains until over half the board was his. Left with no hope yet again, Jin was forced to resign.
"Dammit. Closest I've been in a hundred games."
Satoru looked weary but he was grinning. "Closest you'll be in the next hundred, too."
"Now you listen here you little shit-" Jin paused his rant, eyes scanning the hills around them, ears twitching at a soft crunch that he had almost mistaken for small rocks tumbling in the wind. But he was all too familiar with that sound, and it didn't belong here.
"Earth Release: Mountain Flowing Spirit." Jin blitzed through hand signs and the ground answered his whims, awareness pulsing out from him in a wide radius. An entire battalion of bodies crouched in the grass near their encampment. Hidden Grass nin were notorious for their stealth capabilities, but even they couldn't hide themselves from the Earth itself. That being said, he'd more or less just announced that he had noticed them, and they were already twitching in response, itching to kill.
"We're under attack! Ready yourselves!" he called out, cursing under his breath. What the hell were the lookouts doing? He launched a small landslide in the vicinity of the largest group he'd sensed before tackling Satoru to the ground as senbon whizzed by. When the senbon struck the ground behind him, the grass began to blacken and sizzle.
"What the hell…?"
"Doesn't make sense," Satoru mumbled beside him. "Our forces aren't concentrated enough to pay off a costly ambush, we outnumber Hidden Grass three to one, we'll just recapture with interest… unless…"
"Now's not the time for games, boy. Rise and fight!" He launched a volley of violet flame, obliterating the grass stretching for wide swathes in front of him, along with anyone unfortunate enough to be hiding in it. Jin rapidly raised a wall of earth to reflect the latest wave of energy blasts and projectiles.
Satoru glanced at the senbon burning a hole in the ground. "Third party… Salamander venom…"
"Satoru, what-"
His eyes snapped back into focus. "Jin, you have to get out of here. This isn't Hidden Grass, it's Hidden Rain. Maybe they're working together, if they set aside their grudge…? Doesn't matter. You have to warn the Tower. You're strong enough and fast enough that you might break through their forces. We'll hold them off."
Jin allowed himself only a moment to wrestle with the information and his own feelings of abandoning his comrades. But Satoru was making a lot of sense, and even though he technically outranked Satoru as a jōnin, if a genius presented you with a tactic, you damn well considered it. Doubly so for a Tama genius.
Satoru seemed to see the resolve in Jin's eyes, and nodded, smiling. "Thank you for the games, brother."
Jin smiled back. "Thanks for letting me win a few times." And he was gone, Substituted with a boulder. There weren't many Substitution targets on grassland, so once he was clear of the encampment, he relied only on his raw speed, boosted by the chakra pumping through his veins. He leapt over a spray of caltrops and launched a crescent of water ahead of himself, splitting a ninja drawing her sword right down the middle.
As he wove through the sea of violence, he saved his chakra where he could. It would be a long sprint home. The average ninja of Hidden Rain couldn't pin down someone of his caliber, and it wasn't long before he put the battlefield behind him. He offered a silent prayer to his comrades who would soon rejoin the Earth.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a distant man walking- walking? - toward him, so Jin adjusted his course to prevent any interception.
And then a veritable mountain appeared in front of him in a puff of smoke. A tongue lashed out at Jin, cracking the ground below his feet as he barely slipped out of the way. He immediately began to cough from the pungent aroma of the massive beast, course correcting and running in a dead sprint in the opposite direction. The man from before was already standing in his way, kusarigama sheathed at his side. Jin realized who it must be, just as the man pulled his mask down.
Hanzō of the Salamander.
Even holding his breath did Jin little good, as a demonic cloud of tar poured forth from Hanzō's mouth. The poison felt as though being stung repeatedly, constantly, over his entire body, with the pain doubling with every passing moment. Hanzō didn't even bother to draw his weapon, reattaching his mask as Jin tipped over, barely even clinging to consciousness.
What kind of beast could unleash such horror? And what kind of beast could survive keeping it in their body every hour of every day, without so much as a hint of pain or weakness? Jin found his mind swimming around these thoughts as his limbs ceased functioning, his eyes hazily watching Hanzō casually walk towards their encampment, arms clasped behind the back.
A Hidden Rain ninja appeared before Hanzō, bearing a message scroll, before running off to join the slaughter. As Hanzō's eyes frantically crossed over the scroll and his composure slipped, Jin's last thoughts were that the sky itself was blotting out with that same midnight smog burrowing into his skin.
They came in the dead of night. It didn't take long to discern the attackers - incredible displays of Fire Release on this scale could only mean Leaf, and more concerningly, it indicated that they did not care if they were identified, even in the Land of Rivers. How they knew the Puppet Brigade was lying in wait here, Chiyo did not know. She wondered if her brother's contingent in Rain was faring any better or if Leaf cottoned on to their hidden encampment there as well. Those damned cheating Hyūga eyes, those damned Inuzuka tracker beasts… Leaf's privilege being flaunted as usual.
But Hidden Leaf's arrogance would come with a toll on this night, for Chiyo brought with her Chikamatsu's very own personal collection, and a dozen of their shinobi already lay dead at her feet as she quickly secured her portion of the campground with their immense power. Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets fell into formation in front of her nearly automatically as she gazed down from the ridge she stood upon, soaking in the chaos below and determining where she was needed most. Below, chūnin and jōnin tore the earth asunder with powerful elemental techniques, sparks flew from clashing blades and puppets, and combatants fell as flying knives sunk into their backs. Leaf's affinity for Fire Release was a distinct advantage over Sand's bias for Wind Release, but the Puppet Brigade at least wasn't so dependent on ninjutsu.
Chiyo spotted a pair of red dots, barely, as they wove through Sand's forces and slashed their throats one by one. That could only be the Silent Crow of the Uchiha, whose illusion genjutsu were so potent as to make them nearly invisible to the weak minded (and even more concerningly, they could apparently use these illusions on multiple people at once). Even Chiyo had to admit she had trouble tracking them, nor could Chiyo even fully determine their appearance. She reasoned that precise aiming mattered less when you had ten puppets working in tandem to make the entire immediate area an active hellscape, and leapt into the fray.
The Silent Crow targeted the biggest threat immediately, though they did not opt for a stronger mind-controlling genjutsu. Chiyo figured that doing so would mean dropping their pseudo-invisibility and opening them up to attacks from Chiyo's allies. They opted instead for swift and deadly sword strikes, challenging to track but trivial to intercept with no less than three puppets wielding spikes, swords, and cables, launching several swift counterattacks with the others. Powerful wind blasts shredded the place the Crow had just been standing, as sonic blasts rang out in several directions, and explosive projectiles caused the Crow to stumble before substituting towards the nearby river.
Chiyo stepped up her assault, not wanting to let such a powerful enemy of Sand retreat and live to inconvenience them another day. It seemed that while formidable, without their primary advantage of remaining unseen, they were just another jōnin. Even reserving four of her puppets for dealing with the riffraff that sought to creep in on the battle, she was already handily wearing down her Uchiha foe.
She finally managed to clip the Crow with one of her puppets' chakra metal blades, and even the minor contact was enough to send them spinning and spraying blood, bouncing across the river. That wouldn't be enough to be lethal, but it wouldn't be much longer-
Chiyo flinched as a cry rang out. She'd mostly drowned out the screaming and wails of pain, but this one stood out to her. If she turned to help, the Silent Crow might escape, but if she took the time to finish them off, it could be too late… She shook her head once and sprinted away, hoping an ally was around to finish the job. She wouldn't leave her grandson without his mother.
No fewer than seven elite puppeteers stood against another Leaf shinobi nearly impossible to make out in the gloom, and not for some fancy genjutsu, but for his raw speed. He wasn't simply avoiding the storm of puppets, he was surgically dismantling them. Chiyo could only manage to spot afterimages of him and his glowing blade. The White Fang.
At his feet, among the many corpses, were Sasori's parents. She was too late.
She mustered Chikamatsu's relics and prepared to unleash her full fury, but the White Fang had already disappeared, apparently satisfied with the destruction he'd wrought and uninterested in testing himself against her while low on chakra. Chiyo knew already that she would never catch up to him, but his compatriots were not so lucky.
The screams of Leaf shinobi continued until the dawn came.
Hanzō couldn't help but be impressed, despite his fury at the trespassers in Rain. After being tipped off about Sand's encampment on his domain and rushing to punish their arrogance, he found himself embroiled in battle with Leaf instead, who had somehow managed to beat him to the punch. He relished a battle with the God of the Shinobi, to take Leaf's greatest down a peg, but the man hadn't appeared, presumably to safeguard his village. Hanzō could only attribute that to good intentions leading to poor actions. To ask your countrymen to die on your behalf on the off chance someone directly assaulted one of the most well-fortified locations in the Elemental Nations during a supposed peacetime… Hanzō didn't fully understand it nor did he care to at the moment. His tacticians and advisors would do well to update him on that front. For today, the heat of battle was the only thing that had occupied his focus.
Sand's forces were scattered to the wind. (To the Wind? he mused to himself.) What remained of Leaf's shinobi were in full retreat, but for three ninja who had stubbornly refused to die until their allies had escaped Hanzō's wrath. The three of them stared defiantly at him as they huffed for air, bearing varying levels of injury and visible exhaustion. These three had not only slain his entourage, but had taken down the Boss Salamander Ibuse himself, in no small part due to fielding three Boss Summons of their own. The voracious Manda, the mysterious Katsuyu, and the stalwart Gamabunta. Ah, but what a glorious battle! Hanzō could only imagine how much greater the glory would've been if the Summons could have been fully present in the human realm, rather than mere shells pulled from their respective demiplanes.
Hanzō hadn't even felt so much as tired after a battle in ages. And here were three full-blown elite ninja and Summoners in their own right that Leaf had hidden right under his nose. The rate at which that place produced legendarily powerful ninja would be awe inspiring if it weren't so concerning.
Besides Hanzō and these three, not a soul remained on the battlefield. He called out to his foes.
"You three. Tell me your names." A commanding tone, but one of respect.
Tsunade, the Slug Summoner, and a master of the art of medicine. Her skill over biology and medical ninjutsu seemed well suited for supporting her allies on the surface, but Hanzō found himself astonished that her Taijutsu was among the most powerful he'd ever seen, and he found quickly that letting her touch him, even briefly, was a nightmare. Not only that, but she'd whipped up an answer to his Black Salamander venom on the fly, when many medics failed that same task with months or years of preparation and the safety of a hospital.
Jiraiya, the Toad Summoner, and a master of the art of Sealing. His array of seals brought an astonishing variety of utility, distraction, and redirection. More than this, he brought forth a truly impressive display of ninjutsu that paired excellently with the Summons he employed in battle. The reserve of chakra Jiraiya drew upon was difficult to believe.
And finally, Orochimaru, the Snake Summoner, and a master of the art of Biosealing, the fusion of his teammates' domains. The modifications to his body were extensive and left him incredibly hard to damage in a way that mattered, as well as enabling truly tricky attack maneuvers. More than that, he proved himself a capable wielder of a blade, with his inhuman physiology enabling ordinarily impossible swordplay.
Their teamwork was beyond any he had seen in his entire career, with incredibly synergistic capabilities. Hanzō found it increasingly challenging to think of them as separate individuals, and had begun seeing them more and more as one entity: the Three.
It seemed that the Professor of Leaf had been keeping his best students hidden as a trump card. He wondered if the Three would have been able to defeat him had they not already expended some of their energy thrashing Sand's forces, for as incredible as Leaf's intel had been to ambush Sand, it seemed that they hadn't expected Rain's forces to appear, in their own territory… Leaf's arrogance once again quelled some of the elation he'd felt from an incredible battle. And then grew into anger. How dare the Major Powers come to Rain again, and again, and expect them to roll over while pillaging their lands and tearing each other to shreds, leaving only ruin?
There was a part of him that wanted to reward the Three for giving him the joy of a great battle, by sparing their lives… but Hanzō had to put the needs of his village first. A message needed to be sent, and claiming three Summon Scrolls from Leaf along with the heads of three of its elite shinobi would be a potent one.
Hanzō had great plans for Rain, and it would not do to leave three strong foes standing in its way down the line.
"My honor requires me to admit that I greatly admire the strength of you, Leaf Shinobi. To survive in a place such as this, against a foe such as myself, is a feat worthy of the most legendary of shinobi. I hereby christen you three the Hidden Leaf's Sannin. From this day forth, you will be remembered by this name. It is one of the only mercies I can offer you today. Tell me your last words, and I swear to pass them on to any party you wish. Then, I will claim your life."
Hanzō gave them a deep bow. "Thank you for an incredible battle, Legendary Sannin. I pray for you to find the honors you deserve in the Pure Lands."
Hiruzen's advisory council sat stock still as the intelligence report of the past few weeks of conflict was read aloud. Hiruzen said nothing as he was informed his favorite students were dead. Calmly, he reached into his desk and pulled forth his favorite pipe, placing it in his mouth. He steepled his fingers. The Third Hokage's voice was even and respectful, as he said, "Get out."
Lord Nara, guilt written all across his face, started, "Sir, I…"
Hiruzen made no handsigns, or indeed any motion at all, but the tobacco in his pipe began smoking profusely. The temperature of the room suddenly felt as though it was baking them alive. The God of the Shinobi's advisors swiftly made their exit, with one last forlorn look from Nara Shikaku. As the door closed, the room burst into flames.
In the light rainfall of the northeastern forests in the Land of Rain, Kobayashi Jun stood by the cliffside, staring west expectantly. Staring towards Home.
Kenzō paused his kata, looking toward his teacher. In the same vein, Momoka looked up from sharpening her kunai, and Shion dismissed the ninjutsu she had been practicing. They glanced at each other, before Kenzō spoke up.
"What is it, sensei?"
Jun seemed to come out of his reverie, though he kept his eyes on the horizon, with dark clouds rumbling angrily in the distance. "A storm's coming."
Welcome Post
New
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to Stormfall, an AU Naruto-verse quest!
You will follow the adventures of various characters as they embark on daring adventures fraught with peril, subterfuge, and much ninja-ing. You will vote in action plans to control the Player Characters, who will enact them to the best of their abilities. Sometimes, they may choose not to follow the plans to the letter, if they consider them unreasonable in part or in whole, in which case they'll either exercise character agency to do something else, or will follow the spirit of the plan and adjust things accordingly. The intent is to do this for player benefit as the characters will typically have a better understanding of the setting and circumstance than players will.
It's to your benefit not to worry too much about the specific details of any given plan, though if you have a particularly clever idea or a particularly funny and/or daring method of executing some brilliant scheme, feel free to put those in too. This is supposed to be fun, after all!
The "winning plan" may not always be the one implemented - thread discussion will be taken into account, meme votes will be cast aside, and things will pass through the character-filter for editing. Please try to keep the plans down to small lists of a few bulletpoints and subbulletpoints, and include actionable instructions. Keeping things relatively simple and straightforward (as much as can be done in a universe with ninja, action, and intrigue!) is important to make sure that everyone can participate. If nothing else, plan bloat may cause the author to miss important details.
A word of caution: This AU has truly significant changes from canon, so be careful relying on OOC knowledge in any way. Worldbuilding details will arise organically through the story updates, via Q&A in thread, or via interludes (which are not always necessarily going to be actionable information to the player characters!).
Beyond telling a story, the intent of this quest is to introduce you to a wonderful tabletop system devised by @eaglejarl and @Velorien for their quest Marked for Death, with streamlining and edits to the documentation performed by @Paperclipped and @Emstar for the quest Lost on the Road of Life. I intend to provide resources to help you run this game yourself with friends, and the quest will contain GM tidbits to help with your own games.
The original system @eaglejarl and @Velorien created is a somewhat modified version of the Dresden Files / FATE rules. This quest uses slight variations to the original. Here is a link to Stormfall's quest rules, at the bottom of which there are links to other player-facing resources such as the List of Ninjutsu known to players:
FtD Rules (Shrooms)
Some of the tools, such as the "How to Create a New Character" guide are still Work in Progress, so please be patient.
Character sheets:
Hayashi Kenzō
Shion
Yamada Momoka
Additional resources:
Timeline (TBD)
FtD: List of Ninjutsu
List of Backgrounds (WIP)
FtD: List of Stunts
FtD: Known Seals
Jutsu Pricing Reference
Map of the Human Path
Map of the 7th Path
TH Research Examples
FtD: How to Build a Character (WIP)
The quest discord server is here, we will be using the #stormfall channel. Come chitchat.
The QMs for this quest will be:
Me (Shrooms)
Special thanks to:
Everyone in the Marked for Death thread! I suspect we will be seeing some of them popping up here :^)
Updated are released on Mondays, and voting closes on Fridays at 5PM, CST.
You will follow the adventures of various characters as they embark on daring adventures fraught with peril, subterfuge, and much ninja-ing. You will vote in action plans to control the Player Characters, who will enact them to the best of their abilities. Sometimes, they may choose not to follow the plans to the letter, if they consider them unreasonable in part or in whole, in which case they'll either exercise character agency to do something else, or will follow the spirit of the plan and adjust things accordingly. The intent is to do this for player benefit as the characters will typically have a better understanding of the setting and circumstance than players will.
It's to your benefit not to worry too much about the specific details of any given plan, though if you have a particularly clever idea or a particularly funny and/or daring method of executing some brilliant scheme, feel free to put those in too. This is supposed to be fun, after all!
The "winning plan" may not always be the one implemented - thread discussion will be taken into account, meme votes will be cast aside, and things will pass through the character-filter for editing. Please try to keep the plans down to small lists of a few bulletpoints and subbulletpoints, and include actionable instructions. Keeping things relatively simple and straightforward (as much as can be done in a universe with ninja, action, and intrigue!) is important to make sure that everyone can participate. If nothing else, plan bloat may cause the author to miss important details.
A word of caution: This AU has truly significant changes from canon, so be careful relying on OOC knowledge in any way. Worldbuilding details will arise organically through the story updates, via Q&A in thread, or via interludes (which are not always necessarily going to be actionable information to the player characters!).
Beyond telling a story, the intent of this quest is to introduce you to a wonderful tabletop system devised by @eaglejarl and @Velorien for their quest Marked for Death, with streamlining and edits to the documentation performed by @Paperclipped and @Emstar for the quest Lost on the Road of Life. I intend to provide resources to help you run this game yourself with friends, and the quest will contain GM tidbits to help with your own games.
The original system @eaglejarl and @Velorien created is a somewhat modified version of the Dresden Files / FATE rules. This quest uses slight variations to the original. Here is a link to Stormfall's quest rules, at the bottom of which there are links to other player-facing resources such as the List of Ninjutsu known to players:
FtD Rules (Shrooms)
Some of the tools, such as the "How to Create a New Character" guide are still Work in Progress, so please be patient.
Character sheets:
Hayashi Kenzō
Shion
Yamada Momoka
Additional resources:
Timeline (TBD)
FtD: List of Ninjutsu
List of Backgrounds (WIP)
FtD: List of Stunts
FtD: Known Seals
Jutsu Pricing Reference
Map of the Human Path
Map of the 7th Path
TH Research Examples
FtD: How to Build a Character (WIP)
The quest discord server is here, we will be using the #stormfall channel. Come chitchat.
The QMs for this quest will be:
Me (Shrooms)
Special thanks to:
Everyone in the Marked for Death thread! I suspect we will be seeing some of them popping up here :^)
Updated are released on Mondays, and voting closes on Fridays at 5PM, CST.
Last edited:
Chapter 1: Stormfall
New
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Chapter 1: Stormfall
Kenzō's fingers traced the grip of his father's swords hanging at his hips, unconsciously tracing their familiar grooves as his mind raced in anticipation. He controlled his breathing as Kobayashi-sensei instructed, keeping his head level. Across the river ahead of him stood his teammate and sparring partner, Shion. He could see her pushing aside a jet black lock, one of her most obvious nervous tells, but there was some grit in her stance. She had yet to beat him in a spar and was determined to make it happen. Kenzō highly doubted today would be that day.
Kenzō's eyes flickered over to his teacher, standing on the water of the river, imposing in size even from this distance. Kobayashi-sensei eyed them both, making sure they were ready. He nodded, raised his arm, and swung down, shouting, "Begin!"
Kenzō was already sprinting across the field he was in, flipping through two quick hand seals, Boar, Bird, as he enunciated, "Wind Release: Vacuum Step." His hair began to whip his scalp as he massively increased his speed, flying straight across the river into the field where Shion was waiting for him.
Shion performed her own technique a smidge faster than him, with two water clones forming as he reached her. Not wanting to give her much time to pull any tricks, he carefully but quickly unclasped his twin hook swords, taking just an instant to size up his quarry, and lunged in to strike.
As he expected, she used the Substitution Technique to trade places with one of her clones an instant before he struck the real Shion. Knowing what was coming, Kenzō reflexively squinted his eyes for an instant as water splashed harmlessly over them. His eyes jolted open again and he readied another strike, only to be caught off guard as Shion immediately switched with the other clone before he even swung, less than a meter from where he stood.
"Water Release: Water Whip!" she cried, water streaming into her hand from the river in an instant and lashing towards Kenzō. He allowed only a tiny instant of panic in his mind before reassessing. In that fraction of a second, his instincts and training took hold once more. Her gambit brought her in too close. Normally, Water Whip had a greater reach than his own hook swords did…
He flicked his right hand forward, barely clipping her hand, but deflecting the whip just enough to slice the ground beside him. His left hand followed through in the same motion, thwacking into her shoulder. Even though the edges of the sword were wrapped up to avoid seriously injuring his opponent, that would leave a gnarly bruise.
Kenzō internally voiced a very quick sigh of relief. If he was any slower… He hadn't seen her use that tactic before but it was nearly enough to knock him on his ass. He wouldn't give Shion the satisfaction.
Now that Shion was on the back foot, Kenzō had regained control of their clash, and he pressed forward, weaving around her increasingly frantic whip strikes. He ducked under one more swing and blurred forward, catching her wrist in a hook just before she could Substitute with her remaining clone. He pulled, hard, and Shion yelpled, tumbling forward as the Water Whip fell from her hand and splashed into a pool on the ground.
"Enough," came the gruff voice of their instructor, still standing on the river as he gazed at them. "Kenzō is victorious. Impressive stuff, both of you. Take a moment to recover, and let's go over your bout."
Kenzō offered a hand out to Shion, but she kept her head down, staring at the dirt.
She couldn't just suck it up for a handshake? "Hmph, pathetic. Suit yourself, then." He turned away from her, and the minute he did, he heard the telltale sound of a sore loser making hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!" Kenzō stared back at Shion, unimpressed, as water droplets swarmed her chaotically, then melted back into a useless puddle on the ground.
Their sensei groaned and started walking over. "Spar's over. Knock it off."
Kenzō thought about stepping away, but he didn't let her off so easy. "Seriously? Would you get a grip? Stop wasting your time on training ninjutsu you can't even use. You might've actually beaten me if you just put in the time to work on your basics." Kenzō rubbed under his nose. "And for the record, no one likes a sore loser. You should be used to it by now, anyways." With that, he finally turned his back to walk away.
Kobayashi-sensei growled, but before he could speak up…
"Water Release: Surging Seas!" Kenzō rolled his eyes again. Another ninjutsu Shion had yet to use effectively in a fight. She could occasionally activate it, but controlling it was another matter. Hey, wait a minute-
Kenzō was bowled over as Shion unceremoniously slammed herself into him while riding a large, unstable wave, leaving them both in a nice pile of mud. They scrabbled to stand up, gripping each other's clothing in frustration and shouting obscenities.
"I said enough." A massive explosion of water landed just far enough from the bickering duo that they were merely knocked over again rather than pulverized in an instant. "Both of you, get cleaned up, now. We can discuss your combat tactics after we discuss your attitude issues."
Shion cursed Kenzō again under her breath and sauntered off downstream, trying not to break into tears. He turned away from her and went upstream, to a small alcove where he'd stashed some spare clothes. By the time he'd scrubbed himself clean and donned them, Kobayashi-sensei was already looming nearby, leaning against a boulder, trying not to look too intimidating, which was challenging for a man his size.
"What am I to do with the lot of you?" he mused.
"I don't know what you mean, sensei," Kenzō replied neutrally, waiting for the inevitable lecture and/or sermon.
"You were getting on so well, for a time. Or at least, you weren't at each other's throats." Pretty good by ninja standards, all things considered. "But now you can hardly stand to be around each other. When Shion isn't simmering with anger, she's in tears. Poor Momoka hasn't said a word in three days. And you, boy, where's all this disdain for your teammates coming from?"
"Our behavior is our own responsibility, sensei."
His teacher chuckled. "How wise of you to say. Trying to be wise, that is. But don't think for a second that it reflects positively on you, telling me you know full well you've been an idiot by choice, rather than by accident." Kenzō blanched in embarrassment. "Besides, I'll always share responsibility for your behavior. It's ultimately your choice to make, but it's my job to teach you how to not be an idiot."
"We've never been in the field so long before, Sensei. Tensions are high."
"Aye, that's part of it, I'm sure. And that is part of why I wanted to take this beast hunting mission. I know you're hungry to advance your career. But when you get into the big leagues, you won't always have the luxury of a quick mission. Sometimes you have to stay in the field for quite some time, not knowing the comfort of home."
"I'll at least have the luxury of performing the missions on my own," Kenzō muttered.
"Is that what you think?" his teacher asked, smirking. The smirk faded into a frown. "I think you'll come to sorely regret that mindset. Part of proving your worth for the chūnin promotion is to prove you can work on a team."
"But the main part of proving your worth as a jōnin is to show you can work on your own, right?"
"Note which step comes before the other, Kenzō. And there's much more to being jōnin than that."
"Any idiot can make chūnin eventually," Kenzō spat out. "...sir," he appended after a pause.
Kobayashi took a deep breath. "Why don't you tell me what's really going on, Kenzō? Speak plainly." As if he hadn't already figured it out. He just wanted Kenzō to debase himself by spelling it out.
"I feel like I'm wasting my time, sensei. I feel like you're wasting my time. We're out here in the foothills of Rain hunting down chakra squirrels and beating each other with sticks, when I could've made chūnin already if you didn't have me training random skills!"
"I see. Needless to say, you don't take the exam alone."
"It's not like they're making the best use of their time either. Momoka spends most of her time wandering around looking at trees, and Shion is practicing ninjutsu she still can't even use correctly."
Kobayashi grimaced at that. "I'll admit that was my mistake. I thought showing her higher level ninjutsu would encourage her to work on her basics…" He sighed, looking out over the rushing waters of the river. "I'll talk to her about it again." He looked back over to Kenzō. "But let me tell you a thing or two about 'random' skills."
"Sensei, I know, alright? It helps build character to face new kinds of challenges-"
"Nah, that's crap. The academy likes their nice and neat answers with a healthy side of patriotism and heroism. And I'm not saying those things aren't important in their own way, but they bely something more that you learn from experience." Kobayashi-sensei stroked his chin and grinned. "Remember when I told you three I could beat all of you at once in rock-paper-scissors?"
"Yeah… by cheating and playing 'explosive,' I remember," he grumbled. Kobayashi-sensei waved for him to go on. "Which is to say… you can't expect your enemy to do things on your terms. You never know when they'll introduce some outside variable."
His teacher nodded. "There is a weighty choice every ninja has to make, every day. 'Do I prioritize becoming stronger? Or do I diversify my toolset to cover more potential situations?' Sometimes, the two go hand in hand and the choice is easy, but not always. You might be right that if you'd focused solely on your swordsmanship, you'd be chūnin level already. Not long after, you'd run your first B-Rank mission that can't be solved by the sword. If you're lucky, you 'just' fail the mission and get reprimanded. If you're unlucky, AKA the more likely scenario, you die instead. And then you can't get that apartment you want for yourself and Makiko." He chuckled again when Kenzō blushed. How did he know about that-
His tone grew somber. "When I was training for my own promotion to Chūnin, I opted to hone my own Taijutsu skills as fast as possible, in lieu of my ninjutsu and other skills. I became the best fighter in my genin squad, I made my sensei proud, I awed my teammates. And then, one mission, Hana was trapped in a massive blaze left behind by a Leaf shinobi. I rushed toward her with Surging Seas… and I fell short." He shuddered, and his eyes were distant. "I can still smell the burnt flesh. I was field promoted to chūnin not long after, for my valor and combat prowess. What good did my Taijutsu do Hana, in that moment? How did my promotion help her? Maybe she would have died before that, if I wasn't powerful enough to defend our team from some other threat with my Taijutsu. It's impossible to know, and you'll drive yourself mad just thinking about it. Still, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't tease your teammate for working on a ninjutsu that could one day be the only thing between your ass and an early grave. Sometimes, you're all each other's got."
Is that why you're still a chūnin, sensei? Because you spend your training time for us, instead of yourself? Kenzō couldn't ask it, but he suspected he already knew the answer. Kobayashi-sensei often joked with them about who would get their promotion first - him to jōninhood, or them to chūninhood. Through the occasional glimpse in conversation, he got the feeling his teacher wanted that promotion even more than Kenzō did. And yet - he held them all back, even himself. Why?
His teacher nodded to him and turned to find Shion. The crunching of gravel stopped for a moment as he looked over his shoulder. "It may be hard to believe, Kenzō, but your teammates look up to you, in their own way. Be worthy of that."
Kenzō swallowed hard as the footsteps faded into the distance, leaving only the sound of rushing water and light rainfall.
Kenzō trudged back into their hidden camp in a weird mood. It would be pure foolishness to dismiss what his sensei had told him out of hand. It would be all too easy to fall into the cliche of thinking he knew better than his elder. You didn't live to be a middle-aged ninja by being an idiot, chūnin or not.
At the same time, experience was not a one size fits all, and it wasn't a ticket to Always Being Correct. A young promotion to chūnin would do him credit in the eyes of Rain's leadership down the line. Promotion now could mean better support from the Tower later. It wasn't just about having the benefits of the rank now, it was about what it would mean for his career going forwards. He certainly didn't intend to get stuck as a chūnin as his hair turned gray.
And… yes, there was the allure of B-Rank pay. A genin could easily support themselves with C-Ranks, but only enough to get by, not prosper. Certainly not enough to… to support a family someday. It was only fair to resent the others for holding him back from that, at least a little bit, right? They were making their problems his problems. It was one thing for sensei to have to deal with their immaturity, but Kenzō should be above that. So why was he feeling so ambivalent?
He had just finished putting away his clothes when he heard light footsteps on the other side of camp. Momoka was carrying a huge bundle of branches and underbrush, scattering it about to help disguise that anyone had been camping here, as they were moving on soon. She spared him a glance but did not say anything, which was pretty typical for her. It had taken some getting used to, and he had to admit he still sometimes found it creepy how often she would simply stare silently.
He went back to taking down his tent, rolling it up and strapping it to his backpack before setting the pack off to the side, to avoid getting in her way. He cracked his neck and mulled over returning to their temporary training grounds for a bit more practice before they moved on, but he stopped himself, walking back over on a whim.
"Hey, Momoka. Need any help?"
She looked up, seemingly surprised he was talking to her on purpose. She smiled at him briefly and nodded. She reached into her pouch and reached out her hand. "Want some mushrooms?"
"Er… what?"
"They're lowland redcaps." She popped one in her mouth. "I think." She ate another one. "Don't worry, they only become poisonous when the sun is out. It's been drizzling for days."
"I'm good. Um, thank you though."
She nodded and stuffed a pile of brush in his hands to scatter around.
She anxiously fidgeted a bit after putting down the last of the brush. "Did you win your spar?"
"Yeah."
She shrugged. "Not too surprising."
Huh. He wasn't expecting her to say that. Not that he often asked his teammates what they thought of him. Was sensei onto something…?
"Did you learn anything?" she asked.
He considered his conversation with Kobayashi-sensei. "Hmm. Actually, I think I did."
"Wow. That is surprising," she said, walking over to her own pack and humming to herself.
Was that… a joke?
They looked over at the crunching of leaves as Shion and Kobayashi-sensei made their way into camp. Shion's eyes were red, and she wouldn't look his way. Whatever.
Kobayashi-sensei did not let it lie. "Do you have something to say, Shion?"
She sniffed. "S-sorry. For being a sore loser. Even when you were being jerk."
Kobayashi-sensei sighed silently behind her but looked toward him with a stern expression. Fine, he could suck it up.
"Sorry for being a jerk. Even when you were being a sore loser." She finally looked over, glaring for a second, but she dropped it.
Kobayashi-sensei kept staring, and Kenzō felt an uncomfortable pressure around him. Seriously?
"You know, that trick with the clones was pretty good. It nearly got me, if I'd been any slower."
Her eyes widened a fraction. "You think so?" Sure, even if he wouldn't admit it except under duress.
He went for a diplomatic smile. "Just don't expect it to work a second time."
She grinned back with a look of determination. "Oh, don't you worry. I'll have a whole arsenal of tricks for our next spar! I'll go work on them right now!"
Kobayashi-sensei put a hand on her shoulder, but he was smiling too. "Not so fast. We're out here for a reason. We should get back to pursuing our next quarry. Momoka?"
Momoka was still fiddling with her pack, but she stood up at her name. "Our next target is a herd of Lava Deer. They have an ability akin to Hidden Rock's Lava Release. Generally classified between genin and chuunin level threat profile, aside from the pack leader. They usually travel in herds of half a dozen or so, but sometimes more."
"Good. Shion?"
"Umm… we passed Hashibetsu two days ago. We should be only a few dozen clicks west of where they claim the deer were spotted."
Kenzō mentally rolled his eyes. Yep, wasn't even an actual mission from the Tower. They'd bagged their actual target over three weeks ago. But instead of going back and collecting the mission pay, now they were out here doing the bidding of farmers. Thanks, sensei…
"Correct. Kenzō?"
"They're close range combatants, tend to ignite or heat up their immediate surroundings, eating the charred plant matter. They use Lava Release, so they don't have an Elemental weakness amongst the five basic natures. Damaging to touch with Taijutsu, stick to ranged options or a reach weapon."
"Good. Glad to see you don't totally tune out my tutelage. Finish cleaning up camp. We roll out in an hour."
Rolls:
Let's say they each get 3 FPs for this spar that does not add or subtract to their 'true' FP total.
Initiative:
Shion, Alertness: 31
Kenzo, Alertness: 31
Two options here, either add fudge dice to their Alertness, or choose the higher of two Athletics.
Shion, Athletics: 41
Kenzo, Athletics: 34
Shion goes first.
ROUND 1:
Shion can't reach Kenzo to attack without using both supplementals, leaving none to dodge with, so she will use her first action to summon two water clones to Substitute with.
Water Clone, Effect 2: 40 CP
Shion: -40 CP (220 remaining)
Kenzo could buff up his weapons to make them sharper and more effective, but this is just a spar (and, in his mind, he doesn't need to do that to win anyways.) Instead, he will close the distance immediately and attack.
Vacuum Step, Effect 2: 23 CP
Kenzo: - 23 CP (197 remaining)
Kenzo crosses over the water and into the same zone as Shion immediately, not wanting to stay in a zone that favors his opponent's element. He will now draw his weapons and attack.
Against another opponent, he would probably opt to use Quick Draw and save a supplemental for Substitution, but he is overconfident against Shion's attacking capabilities, so he will use the supplemental to draw and Standard to attack.
Shion could use a reflexive supplemental to summon her Water Whip and intercept the attack, but it will be easier for her to dodge it than to try and beat Kenzo's superior melee skills head on. She'll go ahead and substitute with a clone to guarantee a dodge this round at the cost of a bit more chakra. If she did not have clones up, she would instead need to make a Substitution check against a TN decided by the GM to see if there is a target she's skilled enough to swap with, but the clones guarantee a valid target if they're within range.
Substitution: 14 CP
Shion: -14 CP (206 remaining)
Kenzo and Shion will use chakra boost (5).
Kenzo: -25 CP (172 remaining)
Shion: -25 CP (181 remaining)
Neither will be spending FP just yet. Shion is confident she can dodge and Kenzo wants to wear her down a bit first.
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) + 3 (dice) = 49
Shion, Athletics: 41 + 5 (boost) + 6 (Sub) + 0 (dice) = 52
Kenzo's hook swords cleave straight through a water clone, leaving one more in the zone.
Shion's Water Clone 1 (SWC1) also gets a Standard and two Supplementals, but with only 20 chakra and horrible stats compared to Shion herself, attacking would be a waste of time.
GM DISCRETION RULING: Instead, the water clone will Substitute Shion back into melee range with Kenzo, creating a fragile tag on the aspect "Juked" that it passes to Shion. This tag will only apply if she immediately attacks after swapping with the clone. This is a tag/aspect created at GM discretion, it may not always work.
Substitution: 14 CP
SWC1: -14 (6 CP remaining)
ROUND 2:
With Kenzo now in melee range, Shion will use a Supplemental to draw a Water Whip from the river, and her Standard to attack Kenzo. She will invoke on her Aspect "Something to Prove," wanting to one-up Kenzo in a spar for once.
Ordinarily, she can use Water Whip just outside of melee range to prevent counterattacks. In this case, however, if she wants to benefit from the tag created by the water clone, she will need to be in true melee range. Additionally, this plays into wanting to one-up Kenzo by beating him at his own game.
Aspect: Something to Prove
Shion: - 1 FP (2 remaining)
Water Whip: 28 CP
Shion: -28 CP, (153 CP remaining)
Kenzo will just try beating her melee roll with Melee Weapons. He's confident in his superior melee skills (perhaps a little too confident) so he will not invoke any aspects to defend.
Both will be boosting (5).
Shion: -25 (128 remaining)
Kenzo: -25 (147 remaining)
Shion, Water Whip: 37 + 4 (tag "Juked") + 5 (boost) + 4 (invoke "Something to Prove") + 3 (dice) = 53
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) - 6 (dice) = 40
This would be 5 stress. They're not trying to inflict more than a Mild Consequence on one another, so he will instantly lose the fight if he takes this much stress.
Reroll! (-1 FP, 2 remaining)
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) -3 (dice) = 43
This would inflict 4 shifts of stress, giving him a Mild, as his stress track is only 3 boxes. Might as well reroll again.
Reroll! (-1 FP, 1 remaining)
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) +12 (!!!dice!!!) = 58
Kenzo wins by 2 shifts. Ordinarily his swords would be Weapons: 2, meaning they deal an additional 2 stress for a total of 4, dealing Shion a Mild and winning him the spar. However, he's wrapped the edges with a cord to avoid cutting up his teammate too badly, so they are currently Weapons: 0.
Shion's stress track is now full. If she takes any more damage, she will be forced to concede the spar, and it is now Kenzo's turn.
As previously mentioned, ordinarily, if Shion uses Water Whip, she can attack just outside of melee to prevent counterattacking, but as she chose to enter melee range in this case, Kenzo will start his turn within melee range of Shion. Because of this, his fighting style "Forest Python Style" will trigger when he opts for a disarming attack on her Water Whip.
Shion will try substituting with her other clone instead of counterattacking.
Substitution, 14 CP
Shion: -14 CP (114 remaining)
Both are still boosting from the previous roll, as the round hasn't ended yet.
Kenzo will save his last FP for a reroll instead of invoking.
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) + 10 (Forest Python Style) + 6 (dice) = 62
Shion, Athletics: 41 + 5 (boost) + 6 (Substitution) + 0 = 52
Reroll! (Might as well as she will lose otherwise.) (-1 FP, 1 remaining)
Shion, Athletics: 41 + 5 (boost) + 6 (Substitution) -3 = 49
Reroll! (-1 FP, 0 remaining)
Shion, Athletics: 41 + 5 (boost) + 6 (Substitution) + 3 = 55
Valiant effort, but insufficient. Kenzo uses a disarming strike to break her grip on the water whip, dissolving it. Forest Python Style allows him to inflict up to 2 stress making a disarming attack. Taking another 2 stress, Shion's stress track overflows and would be forced to take a Mild. Instead, she opts to be Taken Out, losing the encounter. Kenzo opts not to further harm her.
Kenzo wins!
Shion is a bit butthurt about losing again. For fun, let's see if she can pull off a salty Surging Seas. She lacks the Apprentice Wavecharmer stunt and therefore has issues reliably using the technique. She has a 34% chance of successfully performing the technique. D100, if she rolls a 34 or lower she will succeed. Otherwise it will fail.
4
Lol
Let's say they each get 3 FPs for this spar that does not add or subtract to their 'true' FP total.
Initiative:
Shion, Alertness: 31
Kenzo, Alertness: 31
Two options here, either add fudge dice to their Alertness, or choose the higher of two Athletics.
Shion, Athletics: 41
Kenzo, Athletics: 34
Shion goes first.
ROUND 1:
Shion can't reach Kenzo to attack without using both supplementals, leaving none to dodge with, so she will use her first action to summon two water clones to Substitute with.
Water Clone, Effect 2: 40 CP
Shion: -40 CP (220 remaining)
Kenzo could buff up his weapons to make them sharper and more effective, but this is just a spar (and, in his mind, he doesn't need to do that to win anyways.) Instead, he will close the distance immediately and attack.
Vacuum Step, Effect 2: 23 CP
Kenzo: - 23 CP (197 remaining)
Kenzo crosses over the water and into the same zone as Shion immediately, not wanting to stay in a zone that favors his opponent's element. He will now draw his weapons and attack.
Against another opponent, he would probably opt to use Quick Draw and save a supplemental for Substitution, but he is overconfident against Shion's attacking capabilities, so he will use the supplemental to draw and Standard to attack.
Shion could use a reflexive supplemental to summon her Water Whip and intercept the attack, but it will be easier for her to dodge it than to try and beat Kenzo's superior melee skills head on. She'll go ahead and substitute with a clone to guarantee a dodge this round at the cost of a bit more chakra. If she did not have clones up, she would instead need to make a Substitution check against a TN decided by the GM to see if there is a target she's skilled enough to swap with, but the clones guarantee a valid target if they're within range.
Substitution: 14 CP
Shion: -14 CP (206 remaining)
Kenzo and Shion will use chakra boost (5).
Kenzo: -25 CP (172 remaining)
Shion: -25 CP (181 remaining)
Neither will be spending FP just yet. Shion is confident she can dodge and Kenzo wants to wear her down a bit first.
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) + 3 (dice) = 49
Shion, Athletics: 41 + 5 (boost) + 6 (Sub) + 0 (dice) = 52
Kenzo's hook swords cleave straight through a water clone, leaving one more in the zone.
Shion's Water Clone 1 (SWC1) also gets a Standard and two Supplementals, but with only 20 chakra and horrible stats compared to Shion herself, attacking would be a waste of time.
GM DISCRETION RULING: Instead, the water clone will Substitute Shion back into melee range with Kenzo, creating a fragile tag on the aspect "Juked" that it passes to Shion. This tag will only apply if she immediately attacks after swapping with the clone. This is a tag/aspect created at GM discretion, it may not always work.
Substitution: 14 CP
SWC1: -14 (6 CP remaining)
ROUND 2:
With Kenzo now in melee range, Shion will use a Supplemental to draw a Water Whip from the river, and her Standard to attack Kenzo. She will invoke on her Aspect "Something to Prove," wanting to one-up Kenzo in a spar for once.
Ordinarily, she can use Water Whip just outside of melee range to prevent counterattacks. In this case, however, if she wants to benefit from the tag created by the water clone, she will need to be in true melee range. Additionally, this plays into wanting to one-up Kenzo by beating him at his own game.
Aspect: Something to Prove
Shion: - 1 FP (2 remaining)
Water Whip: 28 CP
Shion: -28 CP, (153 CP remaining)
Kenzo will just try beating her melee roll with Melee Weapons. He's confident in his superior melee skills (perhaps a little too confident) so he will not invoke any aspects to defend.
Both will be boosting (5).
Shion: -25 (128 remaining)
Kenzo: -25 (147 remaining)
Shion, Water Whip: 37 + 4 (tag "Juked") + 5 (boost) + 4 (invoke "Something to Prove") + 3 (dice) = 53
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) - 6 (dice) = 40
This would be 5 stress. They're not trying to inflict more than a Mild Consequence on one another, so he will instantly lose the fight if he takes this much stress.
Reroll! (-1 FP, 2 remaining)
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) -3 (dice) = 43
This would inflict 4 shifts of stress, giving him a Mild, as his stress track is only 3 boxes. Might as well reroll again.
Reroll! (-1 FP, 1 remaining)
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) +12 (!!!dice!!!) = 58
Kenzo wins by 2 shifts. Ordinarily his swords would be Weapons: 2, meaning they deal an additional 2 stress for a total of 4, dealing Shion a Mild and winning him the spar. However, he's wrapped the edges with a cord to avoid cutting up his teammate too badly, so they are currently Weapons: 0.
Shion's stress track is now full. If she takes any more damage, she will be forced to concede the spar, and it is now Kenzo's turn.
As previously mentioned, ordinarily, if Shion uses Water Whip, she can attack just outside of melee to prevent counterattacking, but as she chose to enter melee range in this case, Kenzo will start his turn within melee range of Shion. Because of this, his fighting style "Forest Python Style" will trigger when he opts for a disarming attack on her Water Whip.
Shion will try substituting with her other clone instead of counterattacking.
Substitution, 14 CP
Shion: -14 CP (114 remaining)
Both are still boosting from the previous roll, as the round hasn't ended yet.
Kenzo will save his last FP for a reroll instead of invoking.
Kenzo, Melee Weapons: 41 + 5 (boost) + 10 (Forest Python Style) + 6 (dice) = 62
Shion, Athletics: 41 + 5 (boost) + 6 (Substitution) + 0 = 52
Reroll! (Might as well as she will lose otherwise.) (-1 FP, 1 remaining)
Shion, Athletics: 41 + 5 (boost) + 6 (Substitution) -3 = 49
Reroll! (-1 FP, 0 remaining)
Shion, Athletics: 41 + 5 (boost) + 6 (Substitution) + 3 = 55
Valiant effort, but insufficient. Kenzo uses a disarming strike to break her grip on the water whip, dissolving it. Forest Python Style allows him to inflict up to 2 stress making a disarming attack. Taking another 2 stress, Shion's stress track overflows and would be forced to take a Mild. Instead, she opts to be Taken Out, losing the encounter. Kenzo opts not to further harm her.
Kenzo wins!
Shion is a bit butthurt about losing again. For fun, let's see if she can pull off a salty Surging Seas. She lacks the Apprentice Wavecharmer stunt and therefore has issues reliably using the technique. She has a 34% chance of successfully performing the technique. D100, if she rolls a 34 or lower she will succeed. Otherwise it will fail.
4
Lol
Hi there! I'll be putting the occasional GM note at the bottom of chapters as random thoughts come to me for running the game. This may come with meta info you normally wouldn't share with players, but that's alright. I think getting that kind of insight is very helpful for becoming a GM yourself.
For this chapter's GM note, I would suggest you make sparring your 'session 0' if you are running a game of FtD at home. The system is ultimately PvP-based. Most enemies will have character sheets that follow the same rules as PCs, even if they're not quite as fleshed out as a PC sheet. Sparring between player characters helps them learn how to use their character, and it helps you learn how to mediate the game as GM.
One thing you will quickly realize about this system is that combat is highly lethal and doesn't tend to last more than a couple of rounds most of the time (though there will be exceptions.) Often, the first person to get injured will quickly death spiral. Similarly, running out of chakra tends to be a quick death sentence, as you will likely see.
For this chapter's GM note, I would suggest you make sparring your 'session 0' if you are running a game of FtD at home. The system is ultimately PvP-based. Most enemies will have character sheets that follow the same rules as PCs, even if they're not quite as fleshed out as a PC sheet. Sparring between player characters helps them learn how to use their character, and it helps you learn how to mediate the game as GM.
One thing you will quickly realize about this system is that combat is highly lethal and doesn't tend to last more than a couple of rounds most of the time (though there will be exceptions.) Often, the first person to get injured will quickly death spiral. Similarly, running out of chakra tends to be a quick death sentence, as you will likely see.
It is currently late morning, and the weather is a light drizzle (as it usually is in the Land of Rain). Kobayashi estimates it will around another two hours to locate the Lava Deer.
What should the characters do next? Here are some options to get you started:
[X] Track the Lava Deer and sneak attack before they realize what's happening.
[X] Track the Lava Deer, but keep your distance, and try to figure out how many there are without getting spotted.
[X] Track the Lava Deer and have someone draw their attention, leading them into an ambush.
Write-ins are accepted.
Voting will close Friday, December 20th, at 5:00 PM CST.
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- Location
- Texas
[X] Make a summoning contract with the Lava Deer
[X] Bioseal the Lava element from the Lava Deer into yourself.
[X] Bioseal the Lava element from the Lava Deer into yourself.
I don't think our Stealth is good enough for this. Momoko only has 11
But Momoko's Survival is probably good enough to track the deer although I continue to worry about Stealth
This seems pretty good, Kenzo has a movement jutsu he can actually use (sorry Shion) so baiting the deer with VS seems doable.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Kenzo can get closer by himself as well once he knows where they are, FWIW
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The Buck(s) can be aggressive and territorial. Doe(s) are usually not as aggressive unless you get close - except when they have fawns with them, in which case they become even more aggressive than the males.
They are observant by civilian standards, but your sensei does not think they're any more observant than your average genin-chuunin tier beast
[X] Action Plan: War Crimes
- Track the Lava Deer
- Suggest going to high ground and looking for steam/smoke from their Lava release.
- The team sets up a good ambush site, use Kenzou's Trapmaking to set up some logfalls/pit traps
- Kenzou makes the final approach to the deer
- Go slow and careful for the timeladder bonus
- Get their attention by either killing a fawn (to enrage the does) or by throwing an explosive tag at the deer (if a good concentration of them are in the same Zone)
- Use Vacuum Step to get away, if necessary. Lead the enraged deer into the ambush with the rest of the team.
- Don't hesitate to keep using VS to stay ahead of the deer.
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- Location
- Texas
Kenzo has 10 Trapmaking, maybe we can make some pitfalls with spikes, or set up some logs to fall on the deer.
Anybody else have any trapmaking or Stealth stunts I may have missed?
- Location
- Yes.
Some thoughts:
- Sanity-check/optimize with the team. Yes, I am that paranoid.
- Shion has Water Clones; if we are trying to bait them, using them would be safer than having Kenzou run in. Have Kenzou stay in the back where it's safer (relatively).
Do the mushrooms become poisonous due to heat or some other aspect of sunlight? Could we use them to poison the deer if the deer think they're safe, but the poison has actually been activated by a campfire or somesuch?
(This is overthinking something that was almost certainly supposed to be flavor, but it's not even the third craziest thing suggested so far
)
(This is overthinking something that was almost certainly supposed to be flavor, but it's not even the third craziest thing suggested so far
)
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'll just go ahead and say it now, but you can assume the characters will double check things with each other when it makes sense to do so
- Location
- Yes.
Yes it would be safer, but I don't think it would be more effective. The deer will immediately notice her Water Clones (because they have awful Stealth).
So I doubt they'll get an ambush round and would likely be annihilated by the buck without attacking the fawns or enraging the does.
Kenzou has the best chance of doing that. Also it's baller
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- Location
- Yes.
That is fair, I had assumed Kenzou was acting as bait to lure people over.
Yeah, but we also have to bloodlust them so they don't scatter. Also it's baller and we get bonus XP for being baller.
WE BALL
- Pronouns
- He/Him
This is a clever idea so kudos for that. Probably wouldn't work on the Lava Deer in particular as they tend to char things nearly to ash before eating them. And you're right, it was supposed to be flavor, but never let that stop you :^)Do the mushrooms become poisonous due to heat or some other aspect of sunlight? Could we use them to poison the deer if the deer think they're safe, but the poison has actually been activated by a campfire or somesuch?
(This is overthinking something that was almost certainly supposed to be flavor, but it's not even the third craziest thing suggested so far