D4 preparation

[The sweeping monk]

On Day 4, players will have to pick between three mutually exclusive events.

The first one, Preparing the procession, will be quite similar in style to the events of the previous days.

The other two however are Conflict Events, in Structured Time, with no more restrictions on which techniques can be used, how opportunities can be assigned, etc.

Both however are designed for, and, limited to 3 players. The goal of this thread is thus to offer players the opportunity to come to a satisfying agreement about who should go. If no compromise can be achieved, it'll be first come, first served as soon as Day 4 starts.

An impossible question will be an Intrigue i.e. a social melee. It'll be semi-cooperative, relying on a system of hidden objectives, and a structure preventing direct PvP and alleviating work on the GM's side. Its plot will be in relation with the story of Haruhi, Hiro, Tokiko.

An unexpected opponent will be a Skirmish i.e. a fight. Fully cooperative, fully equipped, against a very low level of danger. The plot this time will be more about Wu, Seinin, and not Wu.

As for this one, bruises are expected, maybe a few unpleasant wounds, but nothing permanent and certainly not death. You'll even be authorized to freely post in threads later in the day while the fight is ongoing. Just keep vague about how many band-aids are on your face.

However, it'll also be the less straightforward event by far, with critical new elements showing up during it instead of everything being setup right from the beginning, and NPCs having their own custom techniques not bound by the players' character options.

Complexity of both Conflict events is a bit hard to estimate, but might be actually less or equivalent to the events so far by virtue of playing strictly by the book and having less of an infodump at the start.

Note that, since you're all low level characters, the difference between your character sheets is just not big enough to lock you in or out of any event. You should be able to do okay in the fight with a character who's not hyperspecialized in fighting, and same for intrigue. Also, events aren't designed in a way that would punish the whole group for one character being "underoptimized", or their player simply unlucky with the dice.

That being said, having skills (Martial, Social), techniques (kata, shūji), derived stats (Endurance, Composure), etc, matching the event you're attempting is likely to be a less stressful experience, by reducing the dependency on good dice rolls for feeling like you achieve things.

[Kitsuki Ketsudan]

Well, I'm the fighty Kitsuki rather than the thinky one (Endurance 10; every Martial skill but MA Ranged; Quick Reflexes, Ambidextrous), so I'd probably be better placed in the combat than the other events.

If there are 3+ players who want in on the combat, though, I'm willing to dice for it.

[Doji Riri]

Riri is... fighty for a courtier, but squishy for a fighter, I suppose.

She has been interested in Haruhi's storyline, and Hiro's to a degree. Could go for the Skirmish instead, but I think we'll have more takers for that one than the Intrigue, so with that plus the monk s... er, companions, I suppose I'll take the Intrigue as the first pick for her. In the unlikely event we get too many takers foe the Intrigue and not enough for the Skirmish she could go with that instead. One way or another I'd like to join one of them if possible

[Kaito Maya]

Maya has the social acumen of a particularly graceless brick.

She's not a particularly great fighter either, but would probably fare better there.

[Seppun Hibiki]

Combat is probably a bad idea for this Imperial. I'm up for intrigue, though.

[Soshi Naoko]

Not great at either one, but willing to try shootin things...or to see if talking with animals is handy in either instance. XD

[Moto Taka]

Taka is going to beeline for the fight. Fortunately I don't see a ton of people beating down the door for it.

[Doji Riri]

So... I think what we have so far as 'first options' for each character is:

Skirmish candidates

• Kitsuki Ketsudan
• Kaito Maya
• Moto Taka

Intrigue candidates

• Doji Riri
• Seppun Hibiki

Soshi Naoko said she's willing to try talking to animals in either one, or shoot things. So... possibly more interested in Skirmish? If so we'd have 4 candidates there

[Kitsuki Ketsudan]

Well, I said I'd dice for it, and, well...

https://sakkaku.org/dnd-rolls/6918

1.

So I'll bow out if there're three others as want in.

[Soshi Naoko]

Definitely count my shooting skills way down the list XD. Seriously, unless the event specifically has a talking to animals or spiritual component, Naoko is not really a combat shugenja. It's more that there's few people and I technically *can* shoot things if needed. But it doesn't look like there's a shortage for the fighty combat.

[Doji Riri]

Definitely count my shooting skills way down the list XD. Seriously, unless the event specifically has a talking to animals or spiritual component, Naoko is not really a combat shugenja. It's more that there's few people and I technically *can* shoot things if needed. But it doesn't look like there's a shortage for the fighty combat.

Apparently we could use one more for the Intrigue, then? Maybe one of the objectives involves convincing a bird of something? XD

[Soshi Naoko]

Yep.

Also, I somehow missed the first post when clicking through to this initially. And the intrigue probably fits a bit better with some of the plot I've poked at. Maybe.

Otherwise, I've got a very middle of the road set of derived stats and a few social skills to work with, so setting my sights on the intrigue makes sense (otherwise, there's always option 3)

[Seppun Akimitsu]

I haven't been real active lately basically built for fighting but seems there's enough interest to let others go

[Soshi Naoko]

lol...and the procession looks a good deal more shugenja-themed. I won't get a post in until after work sometime in any case, so definitely run with things without factoring Naoko in as a reason to delay.

Ironically, Maya and Naoko were talking about trying to commune with the shrine kami. But doing that while it's on holiday seems rude. Like calling your coworker while they're on vacation. XD

[The sweeping monk]

Damn. I was certain I had mentioned the D4 festival in the game premise, but apparently it got cut off at some point.

Well, if anyone asks, everyone was so busy they all forgot about that once a year event IC. Totally.

Ironically, Maya and Naoko were talking about trying to commune with the shrine kami. But doing that while it's on holiday seems rude. Like calling your coworker while they're on vacation. XD

As suggested by the special rule about importuning of the procession prep event, it is also the day of the year where their presence is the most easily felt.

[The sweeping monk]

Also, make the best of it because it's not something I say every day, but, to speed things up a bit, I'll allow questions directly on Discord regarding the many technicalities of Conflict scenes that could block an action ("What can I do with my opportunities?" comes to mind).

Because, for some reasons, people are afraid to ask "small" questions in the GM questions thread.

[The sweeping monk]

Also, a quick reminder of what stances do:

[Doji Riri]

Not sure if everyone saw, but the Skirmish event needs one more participant to take off or it will be cancelled!

[Doji Riri]

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If you're still interested

[Soshi Naoko]

Damn. I was certain I had mentioned the D4 festival in the game premise, but apparently it got cut off at some point.

Well, if anyone asks, everyone was so busy they all forgot about that once a year event IC. Totally.

Ironically, Maya and Naoko were talking about trying to commune with the shrine kami. But doing that while it's on holiday seems rude. Like calling your coworker while they're on vacation. XD

As suggested by the special rule about importuning of the procession prep event, it is also the day of the year where their presence is the most easily felt.

You may have mentioned it at some point, but I'm not on FA Discord, and my brain's a bit of a sieve lately. XD There are some things the timing just won't work on in a 5 day game.