Characters Involved

**Takezo, Wandering monk - played by Matthew**
Martial Arts	16
Dodge Value	16
Fu Schticks	Drunken Stance, Crane Stance, Wing of the Crane, Beak of the Crane, Prodigious Leap
Unique Schtick	Chi Strike
Weapons	Cane (not used)

**Rik'EEEE'k'chik Tukkatukka, Nezumi - played by Edmund**
Martial Arts	13
Dodge Value	15
Fu Schticks	Crane Stance, Wing of the Crane
Unique Schticks	Distraction, Hard to Hit
Weapons	Kiseru, iron pot (not used)

**Two Dragon Clan gate guards, controlled by the GM**
Martial Arts	9
Guns	8
Dodge Value	9
Weapons	Naginata (using butt end), daisho (not used)

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A Sample Combat

Narrative Text	Game Mechanics	Comments
Matthew: Takezo just looks at the Nezumi for a few moments. "This is none of your concern, ratling. Stay out of the business of your superiors, or I'll give you a sound thrashing."	Edmund: Rik rolls a "5" on his initiative, for a total of 16. Matthew: I rolled a [total of] 14 for initiative. GM: I rolled for the two guards' Initiative and obtained 11 and 13.	GM: Rik and Takezo have exchanged words, and Edmund announces to me Rik's intention to make an attack. I call for intiative rolls on both sides. I was going to have Takezo and Rik use the Irony Games Dice server for rolls since there's only two PCs involved, but it was down at the time, so I asked the players to roll and send me the results.
Edmund: Without hesitation Rik flings himself at the old man, engaging in a series of lightning fast feints, tail jabs, high-pitched disorienting squeaks, and fantastic acrobatic maneuvers as he dances around his opponent - first on his feet, then on his hands, then bouncing off the aforementioned flag pole with his tail. He follows this up with a quick round of "kung fu patty cake"* with the old man before leaping in the air, landing behind his opponent, and poking him with a finger just under each of his floating ribs (right in the ticklish spot). *"Kung fu patty cake" is my term for the classic kung fu shtick where the two opponents trade a series of blows and blocks - each with that tiny little pause in between - while saying "HA! HOO! YA! HEE! HA! CHA! WA!" while the special effects guy off stage hits two sticks together. Since every blow is blocked and every move countered, I hope that my worthy opponent will forgive me for putting words in his mouth (or in this case actions in his hands).	Edmund announces that he will use his Unique Schtick to distract Takezo. GM: this is an activation of the Scrappy Rodent Kid power "Distraction", using 3 shots, which is resolved using Martial Arts. This "attack" takes Rik to Shot 13 for his next action. Edmund sends Rik's Martials Arts roll, announcing that he is spending a Fortune point on the "attack". He rolls 5 and 6 on the positive side, then rerolls the 6 and gets a 2, then rolls another 2 on his negative die, for a total of +11. Added to his Martial Arts score, that's an Action Value of 24, darn good.	GM: In this combat I decided to keep the rolls "blind", meaning the players send me their rolls privately and I reveal them both at the same time when I resolve the actions.
Matthew: Takezo realizes this is a distraction and as the rat lands behind him, launches himself backwards over his opponent, trying to avoid his "attack".	Matthew: Takezo will activate Crane Stance and avoid (hopefully) Rik's attack. This gives him a dodge of 21. This costs him 1 Shot and 1 Chi. GM: Takezo will act again (simultaneously with Rik) on Shot 13.	GM: Matthew didn't announce his roll, just his total. Normally it's better to give the full detail to avoid confusion. In this case, he has a base Martial Arts score of 16 and gets +5 from using Crane Stance, and rolls a total of 0 on his dice.
GM: But the Nezumi's blindingly quick -- and dishonourable! -- tickle attack pierces through Takezo's whirling defence, triggering a twitching reaction. It's been a long time since anyone has tickled the old master, and the short fit of involuntary giggles leaves him momentarily out of breath.	GM: Rik's Distraction schtick is successful (24 vs. 21), and so Takezo will suffer 3 points of Impairment for (24-21=) 3 shots.	Matthew: How do you resolve the scrappy kid's impairment? The way we resolved it [in another game] was that starting from shot 16 (when Takezo got hit) until 3 shots later (the end of shot 13). GM: No, because the Scrappy Kid would then always lose 3 shots' worth of effect, yet his success would not be applied to the dodging, parrying, etc. that went on during that time. It takes him 3 shots (16-15-14) to complete his distraction, and the effect is applied starting next shot (13-12-11).
GM: The less surly of the two guards at the gate reverses his naginata to bring the butt end to bear and takes a step backward. But the two combattants are too closely entangled and moving too quickly for him to pick one from the other, so he opts for a global solution. Poking his weapon's end through the tangle of legs, he tries to trip the closest to cause a general fall.	GM: It's now Shot 13, and Rik, Takezo, and the less surly guard all act simultaneously. And now I roll... (+6+3, -4), hurray for my Dragon! That's a total of 14 (he's got a 9 Martial Arts).	GM: Having the lowest current Fortune (0 vs. 4), Takezo is the target. If the guard trips him successfully in Rik's legs, the Nezumi will also have to dodge (active or passive).
Matthew: Takezo ignores the guard and, between chuckles, reaches out to pull the Nezumi's whiskers.	Matthew: Takezo won't bother trying to dodge the guard. He's got a base of 13 (after impairment) and rolled a +9 on the positive, and a -5 on the negative for a total of 17 to hit Rik. GM: Takezo relies on his Passive Dodge value, which is base 16 -3 for impairment = 13. The guard's attack will thus hit. Takezo will act again on Shot 10, and the guard on Shot 10.	Matthew: Takezo does not want to use his unique schtick, actually if it's possible he wishes to do no damage to the Nezumi. GM: This combat had been agreed to by the players in advance, as a non-lethal exercise in classic movie fu.
Edmund: Rik does a standing back flip away from the drunken old coot attacking him, landing with rodent-like agility several feet away. Feeling (rightly) that a moving target is a difficult target, he follows it up with several "Star Trek" style shoulder rolls - left shoulder, right shoulder, left shoulder, right shoulder - before kipping up to his feet again, ready to continue the action. GM: The guard narrowly manages to slip his naginata past Takezo's distracted defence, tripping him into a comical cartwheel that still looks almost graceful in the ease and speed with which the old man recovers. Takezo's spin sends him towards Rik, but the ratling dances away.	Edmund: I will actively dodge the nasty attempt at dewhiskering! +6, +2, -4 on the dodge. Rik's next action will be on Shot 12. GM: With Rik's Active defence (+3) and unique schtick (+2), that's a total of 22, so both Takezo's and the guard's attack fail.	GM: I wish there weren't "out of context" Star Trek references in the flavour text, but there it is.
Edmund: Rik sprints over to the two guards, swarming up onto their shoulders before they can react. Using the helmet of the one on the right, he executes a hand stand and a half spin before vaulting off, spinning like a high diver. He lands behind the startled monk and plants a ratty foot in the seat of his pants (well, where the seat of his pants would be if he weren't wearing monk robes anyway).	Edmund: On Shot 12, Martial Arts strike against the monk, spending a Fortune Point: (+5, +5, -2), for a total of 21. He will act next on Shot 9. Matthew: Takezo will actively dodge using Crane Stance for a 16 -3 impairment, +5 Crane Stance, +4 (positive die), -3 (negative die) for a total of 19 dodge. His next action thus goes on 9.
GM: Takezo's behind receives Rik's ignominious seal. The second guard, who has been Takezo's victim earlier, sees his chance. As the monk stumbles, he too swings the haft of his naginata to add insult to injury. But overreaching in his eagerness, he ends up tripping over the old man instead, goes tumbling past the combattants, and sprawls on the flagstones. The first guard tries another attack, lashing out with a swing of his naginata, bouncing the haft off the palm of his hand as it it was a jo stick. But his strike falls short of the mark, barely noticed by the tussling monk and Nezumi, and hits the pavement with and audible clap.	GM: The second guard acts on Shot 11 and rolls (+5, -11), whiffing mightily with a total of 3. He will act next on Shot 8. The first guard acts on Shot 10, with an attack against Takezo at (+1, -2), for a total of 8. Attack fails, next action on Shot 7.
Matthew: Takezo shakes his head to clear it. This creature is fast, very fast and he needs his wits about him to defeat him. He fakes a run at the guards, runs at the castle wall, takes a few steps up the wall and then leaps off the wall clearing the combat.	Matthew: On Shot 9, Takezo will use Prodigious Leap to try to get some space to clear his head. He rolls a +4, -6, -1 for a total of 13 on his martial arts check on the jump (assuming you want a roll for that). GM: The roll is not strictly needed but tells us how well Takezo does. It's a showy use of Martial Arts for the heck of it, which tends to attract bonuses to the next actions. In this particular case, I'll give his next action a +1 Action Value. Takezo will act next on Shot 8. Right now it's still Shot 9 and Rik is up.	GM: I resolved Takezo's jump because it had no effect on Rik, and actions Rik takes simultaneously will not affect this one; e.g., if Rik attacked and succeeded, his success would take effect at the end of his 3-shot action.
Edmund: Rik does a series of back flips to further open the distance between himself and the old man. "What-what is wrong old man? Not so rude-rude now, eh?" he says, chittering with laughter. "Come down! We are not finished yet! Try not to fall-fall, you might break your old bones!"	Edmund: +1, -5 (uh oh) for a total of 9.
Matthew: Takezo ignores his opponent's words as he centers himself preparing for further action.	Matthew: Takezo will actively dodge using Crane Stance. I roll +2, -4 so my total is only 19 (16 MA, +5 Crane Stance).
GM: The old monk's concentration is unshakable this time, and he sees through the Nezumi's attempts at distraction like the morning sun piercing the night's mists. Surly Guard picks himself up from his humiliating fall and resumes a martial stance on the far side of the scuffle. His companion watches with narrowed eyes, and at the first opening swings the butt end of his naginata again to strike Takezo, a sharp rap such as one inflicts to an unruly peasant.	GM: Distraction attack fails miserably. Rik's next action is on Shot 6. Takezo just used up one shot on Crane Stance, so he goes next on Shot 7. The grumpy guard goes on Shot 8, picks himself up and goes next on Shot 5. The less grumpy guard goes on Shot 7, simultaneous with Takezo. To doge or not to dodge? After that, the guard's next action will be on Shot 4. Matthew: No dodge, I roll a +4, -4 for a total of 16. GM: The guard rolls a (+5, -1) for his attack for a total of 13. Attack fails.	GM: The grumpy guard had taken a pretty pathetic fall, so I docked him three shots to pick himself up.
Matthew: Takezo takes his attention off the creature for a moment. These bumbling guards are getting in his way. He looks around for a moment and sees the banners that the creature used on the way down. He collects himself and leaps up, snagging a banner. As he falls, he snaps one end of the banner at the surly guard, the other end at the other guard. When Takezo hits the ground, he yanks on the middle of the banner, causing the guards to become completely entangled within it.	Matthew: Takezo will use Prodigious Leap to get up to the banners. I don't know if this would count as a seperate action or as part of a continuous action with his attack. Either way I rolled a +5, -3 with a base AV of 16 with a +1 bonus (for my previous showy leap :-) for a total of 19.	GM: I figure the Prodigious Leap is a continuous action in this case, adding 1 to the shot cost of the attack for a total of 4.
GM: The two guards are taken by surprise by the ferocity and swiftness of Takezo's manoeuvre. They move to fend him off using their weapons, but this time the length of the polearms is a nuisance rather than a boon, making them more difficult to free from the lengths of flapping fabric. The guards become hopelessly entangled.	GM: This is an attack against multiple opponents, so it encurs a -2 AV, for a final total of 17. Takezo needs an Outcome of 5 or more to put down the two unnamed guards. I roll (+1, -5) for their active defence, for an inadequate total of 10 (no, I'm not fudging the dice.) Two Dragon guards may have to commit seppuku in the morning. Takezo acts next on Shot 3. It is now Shot 6, and Rik is up.	GM: I was zoning out, Active Defence gives a flat +3 to Dodge, but that's what I wrote in the course of the game so I left it here. Dumb.
Edmund: Rik fairly chitters with mockery (well, he fairly chitters no matter what, but it's mockery this time, I tell you!) "Hey old man! Your fight-fight is with me, not with them!" he says, pointing at the sprawled guards. As if to bolster his words he goes through the twenty eight kata of Nezumi-do (AKA "That Psycho Ratling Shit") at lightning speed, shifting from one to the next almost faster than the eye can see (accompanied by the appropriate "WHOOSH!" "WHOOSH!" "WHOOSH!" sounds) before uttering an earsplittingly shrill kiai and vaulting in Tazeko's direction. Scooping up the naginata of one of the entangled guards he uses the weapon to make a miniature pole vault past both Tazeko and the guards, hacking downward in mid-air at the banner with the intent of severing it just at the perfect moment to allow both of the struggling guards to crash into the drunken monk.	Edmund: I am using my distraction attack again, and spending a Fortune Point, which brings me down to 2. My die rolls are +3, -3, +6, +4, for a total of 22.
Matthew: Takezo jumps up with a spinning kick to deflect the naginata as the Nezumi leaps over. "They were getting in the way, they're safe where they are now."	Matthew: Active, using Crane Stance. I roll a +2, -5 for a total of 18.
GM: The enfeebled but erratic thrashing of the parcel-wrapped guards sends them bungling between Rik and Takezo. The ratling, seizing the opportunity, snaps the butt of the naginata in an upward slam under what is likely a guard's chin. The impact sends the bannered shape rolling to the ground, dragging the other guard along, and colliding with Takezo. The old man quickly jumps away to free himself from the tangle -- backing into Rik just in time to receive an earful of Nezumi kiai from a distance of roughly one handspan. Nezumi kiai does not kill or main (most non-Nezumi refer to it as "shrieking"), but it does make one's ears ring painfully.	GM: Attack succeeds, Takezo suffers 3 Impairement points again for 4 shots. Rik takes his action on Shots 6-5-4, which means his distraction works on Shots 3-2-1 and there is one shot leftover.	GM: Here comes an interesting technical question: do the shots of impairment carry over to the next sequence? I believe the two participants agreed to keep this a one-sequence battle. However, in an ordinary battle, this may become important. On the one hand characters can take up to 3-shot actions on the very last shot of the sequence, so the change of sequence acts a bit like a "shot sink". In addition, it is probable, due to his high Speed, that Rik will go first in most sequences, so say he gets a 17 Initiative and his opponent gets a 15, would the leftover Impairment, if carried over, start on Shot 17 or Shot 15? After some discussion with the players, the final resulution was to have the Impairment carry over to the next sequence and begin with the very first shot of the sequence (in the above example, Shot 17).
Edmund: Rik throws himself into an acrobatics display worthy of a prepubescent gymnast - rolls, kips, handstands, somersaults, springs, tucks, you name it. Like an insane pinball he ricochets across the battlefield from guards to flag poles to monk to guardhouse to wall and back again. He scrambles back up the wall to the locale from which he originally leaped into the fray, seemingly for the sole purpose of leaping into the fray again. But this time in lieu of swinging from the flag pole he simply bounces off it, using it as a springboard for a leap of heroic proportions. He makes a perfect landing in front of Tazeko. "Well old man, you're pretty good." he chitters. "Not your fault that I'm better-better. Ready to give in?" Matthew: "Well you do know how to fight." Takezo grudgingly admits. "But I'm not done yet."	Edmund: I am just making a showy use of kung fu in order to get a +1 on my next action.	GM: Rik spends takes his action one Shot 3 as 3-shot stunt to impress Takezo -- and gain a bonus for showiness to his next action. It is now Shot 2 and it's Takezo/Matthew's turn.
Matthew: The old man reaches out and tries to immobilize his opponent. He wraps up the Nezumi's arms in an odd position, rendering him helpless.	Matthew: Takezo uses Beak of the Crane to try to immobilize Rik. I roll a +4, -2 for a total of 16-3+4-2= 15. Edmund: Passive dodge.
GM: The ratling cockily jumps just a hair's breadth past Takezo's reach, chittering mocking laughter -- -- and suddenly finds Takezo's reach goes just a little further than he had thought when the old man's hand snags him! With a deft spin, Takezo makes Nezumi origami.	GM: Rik decided to opt for a Passive Defence, for a total of 12 (Martial Arts) +2 (Unique Schtick) = 14. Attack succeeds. Rik is now pinned, immobilized; every 3 shots he may make a Strength check to break free, with Takezo's Martial Arts Action Value as the Difficulty. Takezo cannot do anything but passively dodge while he pins his opponent.	GM: We have now reached the end of the first sequence (!) with two Dragon guards wrapped in their master's banners, one severaly taunted Old Master, and one immobilized Ratling who deserves a good spanking. Thus, I am moving on to the next scene since this was agreed to as a one-sequence combat.

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