The Mask and the Rattle [Claymore/Bleach Inspired Original Quest]
- Thread starter Gargulec
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
-
- Tags
- original ominous beanpole
- Location
- Chicago
[X] Brilliance.
Authority is terrible for somebody who has a sword focus. You have to be able to put some strength behind those strikes.
Authority is terrible for somebody who has a sword focus. You have to be able to put some strength behind those strikes.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
There's a lot more to this job than swinging a sword hard. And any swordsman will tell you, accuracy is at least as important as power. Probably more.
Isn't that what Analytical gives us? Don't see how authority lends to that.
- Location
- Who Knows
[X] Authority.
- Location
- Chicago
That may well be true, but power doesn't hurt. Just because skill is important doesn't mean that physical capacity is somehow irrelevant. I am afraid your sage advice falls flat. Actually I wonder, how many veteran swordsmen do you know in this modern era?
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Three on SV alone (Ok, technically one is a swordswoman. Hi, @Pale Wolf!). And my university offered entertaining courses for fitness, so my personal art is Iaido.
- Location
- in the trash
Eh, all of these penalties are going to hurt. Combat Art is largely swordfighting technique and skill from the description; disfavouring Physique is going to hurt our stamina and agility, and that's probably going to tell if we get stuck into a prolonged fight without any backup and make us a bit of a glass cannon since we don't really have the endurance to tank hits; we'd have to rely more on ordering allies around and buffing with magic. There's also the issue that well, most of the things we're going to be fighting probably aren't going to listen no matter what, and... uh... we're a Masked Woman. That automatically makes us shunned by everyone still living.
So the perk is kind of dead weight unless we're operating in a group with other Masked, which is not guaranteed. Keep in mind that there can effectively only be 108 Masked at any one time.
Brilliance is probably the path that lends most to becoming a master of the sword, with skill and strength and the eye to read opponents. That said, Lifesense seems to be the magic/mana stat of sorts so that's going to hurt our more esoteric capabilities. Less magic powerups to buff our combat abilities and heal and whatevers.
Determination is the raw power build, it seems. We can tank more than our stats would otherwise imply and have no penalties to physique or use of Lifesense and the Fourfold Arts. Downside is that we're more reckless and vulnerable to mental subversion and trickery, but is that really such a dealbreaker? Because I haven't actually seen any reasoning for why disfavouring Focus is such a bad idea.
Welp, Determination it is, I guess.
[X] Determination
So the perk is kind of dead weight unless we're operating in a group with other Masked, which is not guaranteed. Keep in mind that there can effectively only be 108 Masked at any one time.
Brilliance is probably the path that lends most to becoming a master of the sword, with skill and strength and the eye to read opponents. That said, Lifesense seems to be the magic/mana stat of sorts so that's going to hurt our more esoteric capabilities. Less magic powerups to buff our combat abilities and heal and whatevers.
Determination is the raw power build, it seems. We can tank more than our stats would otherwise imply and have no penalties to physique or use of Lifesense and the Fourfold Arts. Downside is that we're more reckless and vulnerable to mental subversion and trickery, but is that really such a dealbreaker? Because I haven't actually seen any reasoning for why disfavouring Focus is such a bad idea.
Welp, Determination it is, I guess.
[X] Determination
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[X] Authority.
[X] Authority.
This is a narrative quest, and what's more it's the tutorial section that allows the voters to decine the character backstory. Making choices out of desire for mechanical supremacy or fear that the QM will fuck the character over because of bad choices during character generation is kinda weird? Choose what you think will make the most interesting narrative.
I choose Authority because forcing the PC to rely on the magic system in order to compensate her lacking Physique is more interesting to me. Having the PC be charismatic and be the driving force behind conversations is a bonus (I also have shit visualising skills so hopefully the Voice trait means more elaborate social encounters).
This is a narrative quest, and what's more it's the tutorial section that allows the voters to decine the character backstory. Making choices out of desire for mechanical supremacy or fear that the QM will fuck the character over because of bad choices during character generation is kinda weird? Choose what you think will make the most interesting narrative.
I choose Authority because forcing the PC to rely on the magic system in order to compensate her lacking Physique is more interesting to me. Having the PC be charismatic and be the driving force behind conversations is a bonus (I also have shit visualising skills so hopefully the Voice trait means more elaborate social encounters).
[X] Determination
- Location
- HELL
- Pronouns
- They/It
[X] Brilliance
I'd choose determination since I am a sucker for that trope of someone being at the edge of defeat before they just blast back with a heroic second wind but I'll take Brilliance since that's like actually got a chance of winning.
I'd choose determination since I am a sucker for that trope of someone being at the edge of defeat before they just blast back with a heroic second wind but I'll take Brilliance since that's like actually got a chance of winning.
- Location
- in the trash
I'm just going to point out that Determination is the choice that has the most thematic resonance with our motivation. Griet has cast off her fears and in their place she's filled her heart with a burning resolve.
Dude, the Masked Men are outcasts. They're effectively treated like dead people. They fight against undead abominations. This is not exactly a recipe that allows for a wealth of social interactions outside of their very exclusive club.
Vote for it if you enjoy irony, I guess.
Dude, the Masked Men are outcasts. They're effectively treated like dead people. They fight against undead abominations. This is not exactly a recipe that allows for a wealth of social interactions outside of their very exclusive club.
Vote for it if you enjoy irony, I guess.
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- Location
- Chicago
I like determination, but it has no chance of winning the vote and I am determined to avoid authority. Kinda wish we could do a preference vote, but things are what they are.
We are fundamentally making a mechanical choice about the character's strengths and weaknesses. I think it is quite reasonable thus to consider the mechanical implications of our choices. As for your second point, if we make bad character build choices I do not expect the QM to "fuck us over". I do think it is reasonable to expect consequences. A swordswoman with poor physique is more limited than one without that disability and there should be times when that haunts us. It would be poor writing if there is never any impact to our choices. Choosing authority is making a trade off and you can't ignore that. If you want to argue that the trade off is worth it, that is right and proper. I obviously disagree, but don't just brush aside the mechanical consequences.
I suppose I should of been more clear in my question, rhetorical as it was. Do you know anyone who has fought for their life with a sword or has extensive academic knowledge of historical sword-fighting techniques? Your university's course sounds fun and fencing is well and good, but I am not convinced it gives you any special authority on the topic. I like to shoot, but I don't think that qualifies me to lecture on modern small arms doctrine.
To bring things back to your initial point, skill may be more important than raw strength. I honestly don't know enough to contest that point, nor am I interested in doing so. My argument is that given that you have skill, which we do, physical capacity is still an important component of our fighting effectiveness. Therefore, forgoing it would cripple us as a melee combatant and make our first specialization far less useful. Engaging in extended melee combat with a full weight weapon, while possibly wearing armor, is exhausting and we must have the stamina to do so if we want to win anything other than show matches. Given that I have harped on your authority to make claims and have claimed none for myself it is only fair that I make you the following offer. If you do seriously doubt my claim that serious melee combat is extremely physically demanding then I will present sources with authority on the subject within 24 hours of your request.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Yes. Pale Wolf in particular is a skilled and veteran HEMA fighter. I mentioned my own art not because I've had to fight for my life with a sword (PW is far more skilled than I am), but to establish that I do have at least some idea of 'pointy end goes in the other guy'.
No need to. I'm familiar. As in, I've done extended fighting in armor.
This would be me, in 2005, Ramadi, Iraq. I'm wearing about 50lbs of armor, ammo, water, and weapons. It was somewhere north of 120F out.
Since I have terrible habits, I am in fact still in Iraq at the moment, stationed in Baghdad, though no longer as active duty Army. Greetings from FOB Union III.
Though to explain a bit more, even more tiring than running and fighting in armor was carrying a fifth person on a stretcher. That drained strength faster than anything else I experienced.
So yes, I'm slightly familiar with combat, endurance, and the use of weapons. (Though usually rifles and missiles more than swords, these days.)
And overall, given how Lifesense is not just a key part of our vocation, but a unique skill to being a Masked Woman, I find penalizing Lifesense to be a far less optimal choice than Physique. We can hire swordswomen, or train our bodies. We cannot so easily hire out for Lifesense, since that would be us looking for... a Masked Woman.
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Authority.
- Location
- in the trash
It has no chance to win because everyone thinks it has no chance to win and so no one is voting for it.
Yes. Pale Wolf in particular is a skilled and veteran HEMA fighter. I mentioned my own art not because I've had to fight for my life with a sword (PW is far more skilled than I am), but to establish that I do have at least some idea of 'pointy end goes in the other guy'.
No need to. I'm familiar. As in, I've done extended fighting in armor.
This would be me, in 2005, Ramadi, Iraq. I'm wearing about 50lbs of armor, ammo, water, and weapons. It was somewhere north of 120F out.
Since I have terrible habits, I am in fact still in Iraq at the moment, stationed in Baghdad, though no longer as active duty Army. Greetings from FOB Union III.
Though to explain a bit more, even more tiring than running and fighting in armor was carrying a fifth person on a stretcher. That drained strength faster than anything else I experienced.
So yes, I'm slightly familiar with combat, endurance, and the use of weapons. (Though usually rifles and missiles more than swords, these days.)
And overall, given how Lifesense is not just a key part of our vocation, but a unique skill to being a Masked Woman, I find penalizing Lifesense to be a far less optimal choice than Physique. We can hire swordswomen, or train our bodies. We cannot so easily hire out for Lifesense, since that would be us looking for... a Masked Woman.
I get the Lifesense bit, but I'm still not seeing why disfavouring Focus is worse than disfavouring Physique.
- Location
- United States
[X] Brilliance