Tom and Daiyu are in the dojo. It was the morning hours. No one else was awake.

"We are going to duel," she said. "As if this was for real. You need to be able to take care of yourself. And you are still young. Many will be more experienced than you are. Many will try to take your head early. Ready yourself."

She brought out her sword into a defensive stance.

Tom nods, bringing out his sword as well and adopting a defensive posture. The thought of other Immortals hunting him is not a pleasant one. "I'm ready, Daiyu. Or as ready as I'll ever be."

"Then begin," Daiyu said.



[OOC: I was thinking this would give us some opportunity for GURPS combat and give us the opportunity to try out various moves that it has in melee combat. So we are now considered to be in combat turn sequence. And she lets you go first.]

Nodding, Tom steps forward. "I'll give it my best shot!" He lunges forward with the Viking broadsword, straight for Daiyu's chest.

OOC: Move and Attack. Aim for Daiyu's torso.

Daiyu parried Tom's thrust and sliced at his left arm, which Tom tried to avoid, but he ended up with a cut on his arm.


[Tom lost 1hp.]

[OOC: As Sideslip is a Retreat option and Move and Attack doesn't allow you to Retreat, you, unfortunately, cannot Sideslip. So it would be a normal Dodge. So he failed the dodge, which he wouldn't have done if he could have Sideslipped.]

[Daiyu's attack: Attack. Hit Location Left Arm -2. Choosing to do minimal damage.]

Tom grunted as Daiyu slices his arm. He knew that he could heal the cut, but the pain was still real, and enough cuts would bring him down eventually.

Next, he tried a feint. Daiyu's skill was much greater than his own, but perhaps he could catch her off-guard.

OOC: Feint, and then -2/-1 Deceptive Attack.

[OOC: Defenses: This time, Parry + Give Ground, followed by Dodge + Give Ground.]

Tom feinted, but his Shifu seemed to have expected that.

Daiyu made a low slash, but Tom parried and stepped back.

He then stepped forward and made a sneaky attack, which she again parried. "Good."

She then sliced low again and as he stepped back to try to avoid being hit, his right leg was sliced.

"Do you play chess?"


[Tom lost 1hp. For a total 2hp loss.]


[OOC: She made her roll in the Feint by exactly as much as you did, so that was close.]

[Daiyu's attack: Attack. Hit Location Left Leg -2. Choosing to do minimal damage.]
[Daiyu's attack: Attack. Hit Location Right Leg -2. Choosing to do minimal damage.]

Tom grimaced again as Daiyu struck him two more times. Lucky for him, she was pulling her punches. He appreciated that she wasn't trying to take his head off (figuratively and literally). "Chess? No," Tom said, shaking his head. "Video games, yes. You ever play Dark Souls?"

This time, he tried two attacks, a thrust followed by a sweeping slice.

OOC: Rapid Strike - two attacks. Thrust, then swing. Use Flurry of Blows (-2 FPs).

"In chess, you would be considered skilled, but not yet a master. While I would be one of the best grandmasters ever. Let's make things a little fairer." Sparrow then pulled down a hairband and blindfolded herself.

"I've heard of it, but never played it."

Daiyu almost parried the thrust, but instead, there was a small puncture wound in her abdomen. And in his haste to strike again, the swing missed completely.

Daiyu swung her sword and it was perfect. A thing of dreams and Tom didn't get the chance to step back before it struck him.




[Tom lost 1hp for a total 3hp loss.
He has spent 2 FP

Inflicting 1hp damage on Daiyu.]

[OOC: Apparently I have been misremembering how to calculate her parry. The timing to discover that was perfect as that means that she just barely failed to do so. But on the other hand she also made a critical hit, though it had no other effect than bypassing defense.]

[Daiyu's attack: Attack. Deceptive -2/+1. ]

"I think you'd like it. Swordplay, crazy tough bosses. It's basically the chess of video games." Tom had no illusions that he is no master of swordplay. Prior to meeting Daiyu, he had never even picked up a blade before, though he did have some training in hand-to-hand combat. Daiyu, on the other hand, had centuries to hone her technique.

He waited as she pulled down her hairband. Likely she could beat him blindfolded and one hand tied behind her back. With her handicap, he was able to strike her once, but her counterstrike was perfect, and he flinched again from the cut.

"How many of us have you fought against?" he asked. "Or have your opponents been mostly normal humans?"

He slashed again with his blade.

OOC: Sorry if I use present tense sometimes. Force of habit.

Round 1: Attack. For defense, Riposte, with a -2 to Parry. Round 2: Deceptive Attack -2/-1.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:08, Thu 30 Sept 2021.

"I haven't really counted," Daiyu said. "And though death usually is the goal when we duel, some like to play and some duels end prematurely. Usually because of interference or separation. And I only fight humans when I have to."

Tom attacked and Daiyu parried.

Daiyu slashed and Tom parried as he stepped away only to immediately launch forward in a counterattack, which she hurriedly moved out of the way of.

"Clever."

She slashed again and Tom sidestepped her blade.



[Tom has lost a total of 4hp.
He has spent 2 FP

Daiyu has lost a total of 1hp.]


[OOC: Don't worry about it.

Having reread Riposte, many times now, I've come to the conclusion that it is more complicated than I expected and that you can actually Retreat and Riposte on the same defense. Which means that your parry precisely succeeded. And I had picked Dodge as her defense when I thought that the parry had failed and that there wouldn't be a riposte.
]

[Daiyu parried and attacked
Daiyu dodged and attacked]

"Even blindfolded, you're more than a match for me," Tom said, grinning. He lunged forward again, swinging his sword twice in rapid succession.

OOC: Rapid Strike!

"I have a few hundred years of experience on you," Daiyu said. "And it's been pretty even since I put it on."

She parried Tom's first quick attack and dodged the other.

She sliced, but Tom employed a two handed parry with his sword that deflected her blade. And she then thrusted and a minimal puncture wound in his abdomen.




[Tom lost 1hp for a total of 5hp.
He spent 1 FP for a total of 3 FP.

Daiyu has lost a total of 1hp.]

[Daiyu parried/dodged and 2 attacks for minimal damage.]

"Your defenses are really good, Daiyu," Tom observed. Up til now, he had been aiming for her torso, but now he decided to see if he could hit different parts of her body. First, he aimed for a leg, and then an arm.

: Attack!

Tom swung at her leg and Daiyu lifted it out of the way and kicked, but missed him.

He attacked her arm and she deflected his blade with her own. And made two swifts swings with her own blade. He parried the first with two hands on his sword, but he was not quick enough to get out of the way of the second.


[Tom lost 1hp for a total of 6hp.
He spent 1 FP for a total of 3 FP.

Daiyu has lost a total of 1hp.]

[Daiyu dodged and kicked.
Parried and Rapid Strike.
Using minimal damage.]

Surprised again, Tom said, "Oh, kicks are okay, too?" Though he only had minimal training in hand-to-hand combat, and just in judo, he aimed a kick at Daiyu's midsection. No time like the present to learn.

OOC: Kick!

The kick went wide.

And Daiyu took advantage of his attempt and swung at his leg, nicking it before he could withdraw it.


[Tom lost 1hp for a total of 7hp.
He has spent a total of 3 FP.

Daiyu has lost a total of 1hp.]

[Daiyu attacked.
Using minimal damage.]

Daiyu landed yet another blow. If this were a real battle, Tom would have been dead at the very start. "Let's try this!" Tom lunged out, this time attempting to disarm Daiyu.

OOC: Use Disarm instead of Attack.

Tom targeted his Shifu's sword, but she twisted it and Tom's blade slide along hers creating sparks as it went.

And she then returned with a deceptive slash, leaving another nick on his chest.


[Tom lost 1hp for a total of 8hp.
He has spent a total of 3 FP.

Daiyu has lost a total of 1hp.]

[Daiyu
Parry
Deceptive Attack -2/-1
Using minimal damage.]

Hm. Tom decided to try spinning. That was a good trick. "Here comes the pain! Don't laugh, Daiyu!" he said, whirling around into his next attack.

OOC: Spinning Strike (Broadsword) - Committed Attack.

Tom spun before attacking, but Daiyu defended more easily than ever before.

Instead of attacking, she stepped away from him, lowered her sword, and removed the blind fold.

"That is fine for now. You vary your attacks and your tactics. You are not predictable. So you are doing well. There are some things that need to be better. Your defense in particular. And though we will continue to train and prepare, we will have a special focus on defense.

Nodding, Tom lowered his sword as well and placed it behind his back. It went... somewhere, and Tom made a fist with his right hand and placed it against his left open palm. "Thank you, Shifu," he says.

His body ached with all the hits Daiyu had scored. "Death of a thousand cuts, huh?" he said, smiling sheepishly. "I agree. My defense needs a lot of work, especially since anyone who comes looking for my head is going to be a much better swordsman than I am."

"Then let's continue," Daiyu said. "There is much to cover. Much for you to learn."

Nodding his head, Tom said, "Sounds good to me, Daiyu." For Tom, this isn't just another class, another set of skills to learn. This is a matter of life and death. When others come for his head, there will be only two options: Live or die.