>Just a bad dream

>My past won’t leave me alone. It’s something people like me have to deal with.

>It’s nothing you need concern yourself with

>You don’t look so good yourself

>>4193893
>My past won’t leave me alone. It’s something people in my line of work have to deal with. Or some of them, anyway.

>>4193895
>Just a bad dream, stuff from my past.

>>4193893
[i]Tradition. Dedication. Loyalty. Stability.[/i]
>you for killing her father
[i]Excuse the fuck what[/i]

>>4193895
>As nice as it is working as your guardian, life here is more confusing by the day.

>>4193895
>My past won’t leave me alone. It’s something people like me have to deal with.

Noir said in the previous thread that we should have a concrete plan of actions regarding Akira.
Here's one I composed: >>4191160 (You) (Cross-thread) Tell me what you think, anons.

“My past won’t leave me alone.” You mutter.

“Sorry … pardon me?” Kaguya asks, confused.

“It’s just a problem people in my line of work have to deal with.” You answer vaguely.

Or some of them, anyways. You almost say. You’ve known plenty of enforcers who ran away from their nightmares in brothels, or with alcohol, or even drugs. They almost invariably became stuck in dead-end positions, never becoming anything other than cheap muscle. The worst cases were the ones who chose artificial psychopathy. They were little better than drones. It was the people like you who lasted, people who could simply shove their guilt into a small corner of their minds and ignore it to focus on work. Maybe you were just lucky, having a good division leader like Hao to unload to. Or maybe you were really just fragged up.

“Well, if it makes a difference, I appreciate what you do for me.” Kaguya says, breaking you out of your negative thoughts. She pulls on your sleeve. “Come Kentaro, let’s get going.”

The sensation of Kaguya’s small tug on your sleeve brought a smile to your face. That’s right. No matter what you had done in the past, you were doing some good, weren’t you?
…

Watching Kaguya’s arrows fly through the air, you’re struck by how soft you’ve become living here. You’ve been aware of your growing softness almost ever since you moved in, but until now, you’ve only thought of it in terms of how sharp your combat skills were. But now, you realize that you’ve also grown less hardened. Look at you now, going so far out of your way to help a girl you’ve only known for not much more than a handful of days. And now you were having nightmares … well, this wasn’t the first time you’ve had them. But every time in the past, you’ve had Hao to talk to. You wonder if he’d answer if you messaged him.

Frag, look at you. Having nightmares like a little kid. But with the shit you’ve seen on the streets, it was only natural. It’s been years since you’ve had nightmares though, hasn’t it? You had grown calloused and now you were softening up. You don’t know whether to feel good about it or not.

You’re so lost in thought that you don’t realize when Kaguya sets down the usual tray between the two of you.

“Frag!” You shout. Immediately, you feel guilty about it. You hope you didn’t scare Kaguya. “S-Sorry.” You hurriedly apologize.

Kaguya tilts her head. “Frag?”

“Kaguya-sama, did I scare you?”

“No … but what does frag mean?”

“It’s … an expletive.” You bow your head. “My apologies for using such crude language in front of you, Kaguya-sama.”

“Oh, it’s no bother.” Kaguya reassures you, “Kyune onee-chan is quite crude in speech with me … It’s actually refreshing to hear an expletive she hasn’t used before?”

“Kaguya-sama, that’s hardly something for a refined young lady like you should be saying.” You chasten.

“That’s quite true.” Kaguya agrees, “But speaking of Kyune onee-chan, I received a message from her last night that was quite strange. She told me to tell you extra vigilance around me was no longer required or warranted. Do you have any idea what that’s about?”

You immediately know what Kyune’s doing. She was freeing time for you to join her Uncle’s camp, wasn’t she?

>Yes you do (Confess what Kyune’s planning)

>No you don’t (Lie)

>Yes you do, but you can’t tell her

>>4194289
>I think so? I think she might need help with something.
Part truth and part lie. Kaguya probably understands that it something we probably can't tell her if Kyune hasn't told her already.
Wait actually wasn't Kaguya there when Kyune and her mother told us about the plan? If yes then it's probably fine to tell her.

>>4194310
She never mentioned Kyune telling you to join her uncle. All she mentioned was some vague struggle against her uncle.

>>4194331
Then i guess we keep it vague then

>>4194289
>The corp security has likely been strengthened enough that I can go train and have lunch again

>>4194594
+1

>>4194594
+1

“The security probably got strengthened enough that I can go train and have lunch again.” You quip.

“Hmm … I guess that’s what Kyune onee-chan probably meant.” Kaguya nods, “Her exact words were ‘Give the poor bastard some damn time off’.”

“That … definitely sounds like the Kyune-sama I know.” With how much Kaguya looked up to her rough speaking older cousin, you were surprised her own speech was so refined. Then again, it wasn’t like Kaguya was adverse to using that kind of language. The way Kaguya spoke was just the way Kaguya spoke.

“Kyune onee-chan’s way of speaking is quite distinct.” Kaguya agrees, “It’s quite like her to stand up for a guardsman even if she only knows them to a limited degree. Speaking of that, I apologize for taking up so much of your time, Kentaro-kun.”

“It’s only been a day.” You gently scoff, “Besides, my time is yours to take.”

“I shall do so sparingly then.” Kaguya says, “But speaking of time, it’s about time to get going …”
…

Passing by your room, you see a steel arms crate sitting in front of your door. Wait, were the weapons here already? You had expected your request to have taken much longer to be processed.

“Kentaro-kun, what is that by your door?” Kaguya asks.

“Some new weapons I ordered.” You reply.

>Move the crate into your room, you don’t want to scare Kaguya with what’s inside

>Open it right here, why not let Kaguya see?

>>4195146
>Open it right here, why not let Kaguya see?

>>4195146
>Open it right here, why not let Kaguya see?
I don't see why we shouldn't.

>>4195146
>>Open it right here, why not let Kaguya see?

>>4195146
>Open it right here, why not let Kaguya see?

“New weapons?” Kaguya walks over, peering at the arms crate.

“After the incident with the assassin drone the other day, I decided my current loadout wasn’t enough.”

“Loadout …” Kaguya repeats, “Oh! You mean the weapons you carry on yourself?”


“That’s right.” You confirm, tapping at the small interface set into the arms crate.

“Please swipe your passcard to confirm your identity.” A synthesized voice says from the small interface. You take the passcard you so rarely use out of your wallet and swipe it.

“User Identity Confirmed: Household Retainer Seido Kentaro.” The arms crate’s synthesized voice says. With a hiss, the crate slides open, revealing its contents. A microauto in a suitcase-concealed shell. A small, matte-black box you assume contains your multitool. Several ammo boxes labelled ‘Standard’, ‘AP’, and ‘HE’. It seemed everything you requested was here. Perfect.

“Hmm … I thought it would be more full.” Kaguya comments, looking inside the arms crate and all the empty space inside.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to scare the Maid’s carrying too many weapons.” You say, carefully inspecting the microauto and cycling the action. Satisfied that the microauto was in working shape, you slot in a magazine before slipping three more into your holster.

“That’s fair.” Kaguya admits. She stares uncomfortably at the weapon in your hand.

“Does it scare you?”

“No,” Kaguya shakes her head, “Kyune onee-chan’s gotten me used to weapons. But her swords and knives are alway very elegant. But this … It’s really quite ugly.”

“You think so?” Well, weaponry wasn’t the kind of thing you expected a girl Kaguya’s age to be interested in. You flick open the multitool and test it’s edge against your arm. It slides cooly through the thin layer of synthtissue, making a short gash, before stopping against your subdermal armour. You’re impressed by its sharpness. It was no monomolecular blade, but it was good for an utility knife. You wipe off the thin patina of blood and slip the multitool into your pocket as well.

“D-doesn’t that hurt?” Kaguya asks.

You laugh. “It barely stings. That’s how everyone tested their cutlery back when I was an enforcer.” Your wound has already stopped bleeding.

“Well, please refrain from testing in that manner in the future.” Kaguya orders, looking slightly queasy.

“Yes, Kaguya-sama.”
…

Nothing out of the ordinary happens during Kaguya’s classes. You’re free on lunch break before long. When you go down to the staff lounge, you glance around the room to see if Akira’s down already. You spot her sitting at a table in the corner. And next to her was a well-dressed enforcer, leaning on the table and saying something to her. Akira seems uncomfortable with his presence.

“So, I heard that you don’t wanna see me anymore. Feel like explaining why, Akira-chan?” He leers. The enforcer’s voice carries over to you even across the room.

Akira looks down and mutters something inaudible. In response, the enforcer leans even closer to her to whisper in her ear.

>Observe for now

>Intervene

>>4196004
>Intervene
I don't really have any idea of what to write in, but Akira left her drugs in our hands, and that's a hell of a lot of trust she's placing in us.

>>4196004
>Intervene
Lets make it out to be less intervening and more exuberant call out for wanting to talk to our fellow enforcer. Maybe pull the guy aside and shoot the shit over a glass of saki or two, talk about how he lost his legs or arms, how he got to work in this place. We could make it out to be an excuse of wanting to know the other people that work here. It'd be cool to hear some of stories from him, and possibly make him a sparing partner. I wonder what happened to the last guy.
Pretty much we'll lure him away and while messaging Akira mentally if she's alright.

>>4195998
Hey Noir? What happened to Kentaro's last sparing partner?

>>4196070
You'll find out when you meet him again.

>>4196004
>>Intervene

>>4196004
>>Intervene

>>4196004
>Intervene as specified here: >>4196070

“Hey!” You exuberantly shout, getting the two of them’s attention. As soon as Akira sees you, she smiles in relief.

“Hey …” You repeat more calmly once you’re closer. “Haven’t seen you down here before. I’m Seido. Kentaro Seido.”

>Roll 3 1d20’s. DC is 10, you will need two successes.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>4196399

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4196399

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>4196399

“Nagamasa.” The enforcer introduces himself, “Haven’t seen you around either. You’re new here, aren’t you?”

You shrug. “Two weeks … is that still new?”

You notice his suit looks much more expensive than yours. And there was a fancy watch on his wrist. He was obviously too well-dressed to be a mere Guardsman. But when you check his rank, it tells you he’s just another Household Guard. Strange.

“Hey, that’s pretty fragging new.” Nagamasa laughs, “So, have you met Akira-chan here yet? She seems to know you.”

“I have.” You nod.

“Yeah, I bet she gave you a fun time.” Nagamasa leers, “Isn’t that right, Akira-chan?”

“I’m sorry, you’re mistaken, Nagamasa-san.” You say.

“Huh?” Nagamasa frowns in disbelief. “But … she knows you?”

“Kentaro-kun isn’t that kind of person.” Akira interrupts quietly.

“Is that so?” Nagamasa shrugs, “Well, to each his own, or however that goes … Still, to know such a cute girl and not take advantage of it ... What a waste ...”

“So. Why haven’t I ever seen you down here?” You ask, doing your best to change the subject.

Nagamasa casually shrugs. “Oh, I usually spend most of my time in the private Guardsman Lounges …”

“Guardsman lounges?” Wait, those existed?

“Yeah, Guardsman Lounges.” Nagamasa repeats. “I could hardly believe they’d give staff like us something so luxurious … but well, it’s just one of the perks of working for The Boss, y’know?”

“The Boss?”

“The Branch Second Lieutenant. Muramoto Hideyori.” Nagamasa explains, “He sponsored my entire unit for some reason … maybe we were just the best someone else didn’t already have their hands on, who knows? Not gonna question it. Anyways, he fragging gave us an entire club room. Converted it from one of the household’s lounges. It’s pretty damn sweet, I’d be there right now if someone didn’t show up last night and make me have to go looking for them …”

You clench your fists as you watch Nagamasa wraps his arm around Akira’s shoulder. It made your blood boil seeing how uncomfortable she looked …

Akira gives you a pleading, desperate look.

>Aw come on, she’s obviously uncomfortable

>I have a few things I want to talk to you about. Akira, shoo.

>I was wondering where to find something ...

>>4196512
>I have a few things I want to talk to you about. Akira, shoo.
This helps Akira to retreat AND gives us an opportunity to establish a plausible motive for joining Hideyori's faction.

>>4196517
>>I have a few things I want to talk to you about. Akira, shoo.
+1

>>4196512
>I have a few things I want to talk to you about. Akira, shoo.

“Really? The Branch Second Lieutenant himself? You’ll have to tell me more about this sponsoring.” You say, before turning to Akira. “Akira, shoo.”

“O-okay.” Akira says. But before she leaves, Nagamasa grabs her hand, stopping her.

“See you tonight, okay sweetie?” He says. He doesn’t let go until Akira nods. As soon as he does, Akira hurriedly runs away. You don’t blame her. If she was risking upsetting an enforcer, her only choice was to quickly agree, then run away. Nagamasa turns back to you. “So, what sorta questions do you have that are so important you had to send away the pretty lady?”

“Yeah. I wanted to know more about how your entire unit got sponsored by the Branch Second Lieutenant himself.” You say.

“Eh? Interested?” Nagamasa cocks his eyebrow. “Can’t blame you … Although, you have to have it pretty good yourself, Seido-san. Aren’t you a bodyguard for some important member of the household? That’s what your ID says at least …”

“You could say that.” You noncommittally say. At first, you had been prepared to find Nagamasa disgusting, if only because of how he was treating one of your friends. But now, you realize you were only mildly annoyed by him. He acted just like a rookie fresh out of the Vocational School, full of bravado and hot air. You had acted just like him once.

>So the suit and expensive watch … That’s all from this sponsorship too?

>What should I expect if I were to drop by the Guardsmen’s Lounge?

>What combat experience did you get before being reassigned to household?

>You seem to know Akira pretty well yourself

>>4197466
>What combat experience did you get before being reassigned to household?
>desire to fight increasing.
I still question this systems use of dice.

>>4197488
Elaborate and I might just make it better

>>4197466
>>So the suit and expensive watch … That’s all from this sponsorship too?

>>4197488
>what combat experience did you get before being reassigned to household?
support

>>4197466
>So the suit and expensive watch … That’s all from this sponsorship too?

“Nah,” Nagamasa shakes his head, “But, I gotta use my paycheck on something besides women and booze, don’t I?”

How about using them for your savings? You think to yourself. But you keep that thought to yourself. It sounded like guardsmen sponsored by the Branch Second Lieutenant had a larger salary than you did. With all that money at such a young age … who would waste it on savings?

“I’m surprised you’re so modestly dressed yourself, Seido-san.” Nagamasa continues, “Being a bodyguard of some Tier-0 …”

You shrug. “I’m mostly paid in benefits.”

“You’re working Household and you’re still paid in benefits?” Nagamasa laughs, “Is your boss really fragging stingy or something? I guess you can’t really bargain with Tier-0’s for a better paycheck, can you?”

Nagamasa was starting to grate on your nerves. Here was some rookie speaking to you, a 10 year veteran, like an equal.

“What was your combat experience before being assigned here anyways?” You ask.

“You wanna hear about my combat experience?” Nagamasa smirks, “240 missions, all of them successful.”

240 missions, huh? That was about two years worth of them. You had personally gone on 1680 missions in your ten-year career, with a 78% success rate, and you still hadn’t been experienced enough to justify being personally reassigned to Household. 240 missions … that was nothing. You weren’t assigned anything except microcorp intimidation and at the most, warehouse raiding until at least after 300 missions.

>Did something happen on these missions to get you reassigned here?

>That’s an impressive success rate. What division were you assigned to?

>Only 240 missions and they already gave you a shirasaya?

>With such a high success rate, you must be pretty skilled. (Challenge to friendly sparring)

>>4198685
>Did something happen on these missions to get you reassigned here?

>That’s an impressive success rate. What division were you assigned to?

>sparing soon

>>4198705
SUPPORT

>>4198685
>That’s an impressive success rate. What division were you assigned to?
>DON'T challenge him to sparring. If we kick his ass we'll likely make an enemy out of him, and we don't need that now.

>>4198718
>make an enemy out of him
I don't see the problem here

>>4198685
sparring would be fun, it's sounding like this guy's success is due to being a tagalong in a group of specops guys

>>4198734
We're going to infiltrate a group he's a member of, and you want to antagonize him?

>>4198718
+1

>>4198767
Is that a vote?

>>4199179
ye, +1 to this guy >>4198705

“Only 240 missions, and you’re already assigned to household?” You can feel your image of the aloof eliteness of the Household Guard disintegrating as you say those words. Still, maybe there was a reason beyond sponsorship behind it. “Did your division pull off something incredible on one of those missions or something?”

“Besides a 100% success rate?” Nagamasa shrugs, “We just went in and fragged who needed fragging, if you know what I mean. There was one time we got sent after some jumped-up Blank embezzler. Turned out his sexbot was illegally modded to be a combat unit. It was a shitty one though. My division laughed about that one for a while … But why do we have to prove ourselves? It’s already obvious we’re fragging good.”

“Well, not every division has a 100% success rate.” You admit, “That’s damn impressive. So, what division were you assigned to?”

“Division 101-B.” Nagamasa answers.

“101-B?” That made no sense. Muramoto Corporations has had 90 divisions of Enforcers since forever.

“It’s a special division.” Nagamasa explains, “Part of the 100 series experimental program.”

“I’ve never heard of this ‘experimental program’.” You say.

“Well, it’s not classified or anything.” Nagamasa says “Early on in training, we were moved to a separate camp. The whole division’s only four years old.”

“F-four years old?” You gasp in incredulity. Where did they get their veterans from? There’s no way you wouldn’t hear about HR reassigning enough veterans to start a whole new division.

“Yeah, four years old.” Nagamasa says breezily, “The entire division all got promoted to Household at once a year ago … although, we’ve all been a bit bored since then. There’s been nothing to do except drink and chase after the maids.”

“Nothing to do except drink and chase after the maids, eh?” You smile. Finally, Nagamasa says something that you can sympathize with. “It’s hard to find things to do to get your blood pumping here, isn’t it?”

“Besides the maids?” Nagamasa jokes. You laugh politely.

“Nagamasa-kun, you’re already wearing a shirasaya. You still remember how to use edged weapons from the academy, don’t you?”

“Don’t sell me short.” Nagamasa says, “It’s only been two years.”

“Right.” You nod, “I’ll be honest, hearing how quickly you got promoted to Household made me a little curious … so if you’re looking for something to get your blood pumping, why not go for a few friendly bouts in the Kendo hall? My lunch break still has plenty of time left, so if you aren’t busy …”

“I always have time for sparring.” Nagamasa boasts.
…

It doesn’t take long for the two of you to get to the Kendo Hall and arm yourselves with bokken. Nagamasa gives his a fancy flourish. At least he seems familiar with one. As for yourself, you don’t bother with such theatrics. For the Noir-Muramoto school, the sword was an instrument of intent and nothing else.

“Are you ready?” You ask.

“Wait.” Nagamasa says, “We’re just going to start? It’s no fun if we don’t bet something ...”

>No betting

>Whoever loses buys lunch (not that there’s much to buy)

>Whoever loses buys a round of drinks

>Betting money is simplest

>>4199807
>>Whoever loses buys a round of drinks

>>4199807
>Whoever loses buys a round of drinks

>>4199806
By the way:
>240 missions, 100% success rate.
>1680 missions, 78% success rate.
>Who is more skilled?
100% success rate looks impressive, but what if this guy has never seen an actually difficult mission in his limited experience?
Assuming that a given mission has a random difficulty, who has better chances to finish a mission successfully?

Here's a little math trick: to each record, add one successful and one unsuccessful mission, then calculate the probabilities from that (A Bayesian view of Amazon resellers, Cook, 2011).
So, 241/242 = 0,996%
1311/1682 = 0,779%
So, this upstart is actually better than us.
>Commit seppuku

>>4199818
That would suck go get our ass kicked by someone our junior. I wonder if this is going to be one of those tropes where "I'm s young up and come sword genius! I'm just naturally better than everyone" kind of thing.

>>4199807
>Whoever loses buys a round of drinks

>>4199807
>Whoever loses buys a round of drinks

“How about whoever loses buys a round of drinks?” You suggest.

“Sure.” Nagamasa agrees heartily, “There isn’t anything else to treat someone to in the Manor anyways.”

“There isn’t really …” You agree.

“Great. It’s settled then.” Nagamasa says. The two of you square off.

Nagamasa settles into a crouched stance, holding his bokken diagonal to his body with one hand with his free hand on his hip. It was a strange stance, one you had never seen before. “Nagamasa Eiji, Imaryu-Valera Guard-Retainer school.”

“Seido Kentaro, Noir-Muramoto Guard-Retainer school.” You respond in kind.

>Overwhelm him with powerful blows

>Strike him before he can strike back

>Test his defence, look for an opening

>>4200416
>Test his defence, look for an opening

>>4200416
>Test his defence, look for an opening

>>4200416
It looks like he's using a saber stance, hm.
>Test his defence, look for an opening

You settle into your usual guarded and restrained stance and circle Nagamasa cautiously. Nagamasa attacks first, giving a light, playful cut which you parry easily.

“Why so cautious?” Nagamasa taunts. You ignore him, focusing on quietly studying his stance and guard.

>Roll 3 1d20’s. You will need one success.

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4200465
only one success? lol

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>4200465

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>4200465

>>4200505
Oh for fucks sake

Rolled 12 (1d20)

Rolling for Nagamasa

You exchange a couple of blows with Nagamasa. At first, you’re unsure of how to approach his unorthodox stance. But when his first handful of light cuts are easily deflected, you grow confident. Too confident.

Pressing your apparent advantage, you lean in too far. You thought you were safe since Nagamasa’s one-handed stance cost him strength and dexterity. You had the advantage if you could force him into a bind while parrying his own weak slashes. But even while retreating from your attack, Nagamasa takes advantage of the extra reach his one-handed grip grants him. He suddenly attacks from outside your range, catching you in the thigh. As soon as he’s in contact, he commits, leaning in and drawing his bokken up across your abdomen all the way to your collarbone.

You gulp nervously. With a real blade, that would have killed you. Your insides would be tumbling out. More than that, your pride was a little hurt. Even against peers, the blows exchanged in a swordfight were very rarely instantly lethal due to the lack of vitals in your bodies. But this jumped-up rookie had just landed a fight-ending blow on you. And now you had to somehow accept this with a degree of grace. Frag it!

“Dammit. I guess drinks are on me then.”

“Huh? I thought we were going best out of three ...” Nagamasa says, retreating a bit and crouching back into his strange stance. “This isn’t all a Tier-0’s bodyguard has to offer, right?”

>Overwhelm him with powerful blows

>Strike him before he can strike back

>Test his defence, look for an opening

>>4200744
>Overwhelm him with powerful blows

>>4200744
So where did you come up with this dice system again, and why this one?

>>4200856
I homebrewed it, then implemented suggestions from the first few threads. I'm still open to suggestions, if you have any.

>>4200859
Beyond doing Bo3 and setting up a DC, not much.

>>4200870
These are already features of the system. I don't get what you're trying to suggest.

>>4200744
>Strike him before he can strike back

>>4200744
>Overwhelm him with powerful blows
IDK how it would work in this system mechanically, but logically his greater reach won't let us strike him first.

By the way, the probability of rolling at least one 1 on 3d20 is 14.26%. Pretty high for a critfail.

>>4201523
If it's that disliked by players, I'm willing to accept suggestions to tweak it.

That being said, I wouldn't write critfails to be immediately lethal in real combat encounters.

Please roll 3 1d20's. You will need one success.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>4201595
>I wouldn't write critfails to be immediately lethal in real combat encounters.
That would mean mock combat isn't representative of real combat at all, which is just strange.
Anyway, even if not an instakill, you'll probably want critfails to do something really bad, right? Like losing a limb, or taking a heavy injury, or, for non-combat encounters, angering the Branch Director or falling off a bike at 200 km/h? Well, right now about every 7th roll will be a critfail.

As for suggestions to tweak the system, I think you should first decide for yourself what you want critfails for. There is two different functions they can play:
>Provide a chance to fail even if you have a ton of bonuses.
This is the role they play in D&D and wargames. This kind has relatively mild effects (like an auto-miss)
>Make a failure especially bad.
This is what the popular perception of critfails is. This kind shouldn't have a high probability of happening or the game would be unplayable.

>>4201647
Rolling

>>4201657
*sigh*

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>4201647

>>4201658
lol. And agreed with you on critfails

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>4201647

I have decided that only one critfail will be counted every combat encounter. Is that satisfactory for everyone?

Rolled 10 (1d20)

Rolling for Nagamasa

>>4202767
I don't think this would work if everything else remains as is, because even a single critfail could be crippling.

>>4202793
I see. I have one final offer, a critfail meter which will build up with nat ones and result in a critfail after three nat ones. Let's put it to player vote, see how it works, and then go from there.

>One critfail limit per combat encounter
>Critfail buildup over time /w meter
>The system is fine as is

>>4202835
I'm afraid a buildup will lead to the players trying to game the rolls, so, if there are no other options, I'll vote for
>One critfail limit per combat encounter

>>4202835
>>One critfail limit per combat encounter

>>4202889
Regardless, thank you for your input.

I was already halfway through writing the combat update, so we'll stick with one critfall per combat encounter for this update and continue in the future with whatever players decide.

>+2 An overwhelming offense will overpower even the most perfect defense
>-1 A one-handed grip gives a slight reach advantage

You begin with a flurry of powerful blows. You have to give Nagamasa credit. Despite his less stable one-handed guard, he meets your attack head on, dispersing the force of your hefty, sweeping blows by catching them at the base of his bokken. Nagamasa focuses on defence to survive as long as possible. You can’t tell if it’s courage or a youthful foolhardiness.

But Nagamasa can’t survive forever against your rain of blows. He tries to change to a two-handed guard to keep up, but you barely give him the room to. Even when he does, it’s obvious he’s much less familiar with a two handed guard. And in a moment of hesitation, you smash through his guard and catch him on the wrist.

Nagamasa winces in pain, flapping his wrist. “All right. You got me.”

“What do you think about Tier-0 bodyguards now?” You ask.

“They’re definitely not bad.” Nagamasa admits, “But we’re still 1-1. It’s still a contest, isn’t it? Just to let you know, I don’t count the cheap vending machine beer as alcoholic.”

“I don’t either.” You shoot back, settling back into a fighting stance. But instead of doing the same, Nagamasa rummages around a weapon rack by the wall. He returns with a wooden tanto bo, the kind you would use for knife drills.

“Two weapons?” You raise an eyebrow. “One not enough for you?”

“Scared you’ll lose?” Nagamasa asks, adopting a new fighting stance with both of his weapons pointed at you.

You harrumph. The kid was pretty pushy, wasn’t he? Very well, you would play along.

>Overwhelm him with powerful blows

>Strike him before he can strike back

>Test his defence, look for an opening

>>4202899
>Strike him before he can strike back

>>4202899
>Strike him before he can strike back

>>4202899
>Test his defence, look for an opening
He's probably going for bind-and-strike

The stance you take is one you rarely use. You crouch down, rotating your hips and holding your bokken behind you, turning your entire body into a spring. As soon as the fight began, you would release the tenseness in your body and strike Nagamasa before he could strike you. You would end this bout in one blow.

>Roll 3 1d20’s. You will need one success.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>4203205

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>4203205

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>4203205

Rolled 14 (1d20)

Rolling for Nagamasa

+3 A Knife does not have enough reach to attack
>-2 A solid defence easily absorbs a fast, imprecise attack
>-1 A one-handed grip gives a slight reach advantage
>-1 Dual-wielding allows a balance of offence and defence

>Tie

You do your best to strike Nagamasa as soon as the fight begins. You abandon any consideration about proper kinematics, not even wasting time mapping out where your sword will go. You simply swing your sword forwards as fast as possible. But Nagamasa’s guard is too solid. You were faster than him, but not by much. And to intercept your wild attack, he had to move his bokken a much shorter distance than you had to move your sword.

However, using a tanto bo to stop a two-handed attack would only result in the disarmament of the tanto. Nagamasa is forced to use his bokken instead. He tries to lean forwards and catch your arm with his tanto, but he simply doesn’t have enough reach.

The two of you are at an impasse.

>Bind his blade and force an opening

>Feint and exploit an opening

>Disengage and reassess

>>4204239
>>Feint and exploit an opening

>>4204239
>Feint and exploit an opening

>>4204239
>Bind his blade and force an opening
With two blades he can defend and attack in one tempo. It doesn't matter if he defends from the fake attack, because he has another blade to counterattack with.
If we bind his katana, we can at least exploit our reach to protect against his tanto and our two-handed grip to overpower him in the bind.

Throughout your bout, you had learned several things about your opponent, Nagamasa. First, whatever augmentations he had weren’t specced towards any specialization. Second, he was accustomed to dual-wielding, despite it being an exotic technique that was very rare. And because of the exoticness of his fighting style, he was unpredictable and dangerous even with such a vast difference in experience between the two of you. And third, that he was a highly talented duelist. Any more talent and he would probably have been snatched up by one of the spec ops divisions and have been beyond the reach of the Branch Second Lieutenant’s pet project, whatever it was.

But this wasn’t your first time fighting a dual wielder. This wasn’t your first time fighting a talented hotshot. In your decade of combat experience, there weren’t many things you hadn’t crossed blades with, from illegally modded murder-drones, to drug-hyped cartel knife-fighters, to American corpoparamilitary operators.

Nagamasa had been relying on the protection of his dual-wielding technique’s unfamiliarity, hadn’t he? But you’ve been reading and learning small clues to weaknesses in his technique with every clash of your blade. If Nagamasa thought the unfamiliarity of his dual-wielding technique would be enough to trick you, he was about to be disappointed.

>Roll 3 1d20’s. You will need one success.

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>4204408

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4204408

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>4204408

Rolled 8 (1d20)

Rolling for Nagamasa

>+2 You play to your strengths of dexterity and precision
>+3 A knife lacks the reach to attack
>+1 Dual-wielding demands attention and decreases responsiveness
>-1 A one-handed grip gives a slight reach advantage

Even though you and and Nagamasa have come to an impasse, you continue exchanging blows. You couldn’t press forwards without having to worry about his tanto bo. And if you retreated and broke your impasse, the fight grew unpredictable again.

At the same time, Nagamasa was perfectly fine to continue your exchange of blows. That was the way with rash, young, talents. They didn’t know any way except forwards. What he didn’t realize was that the longer the exchange of blows continued, the more advantageous your position became. You could dictate the pace and flow of the blows with your superior experience.

But there was another thing about rash, young talents. Impatience. Nagamasa steps back, holding his bokken just above his shoulder. You could tell he was planning a wild, desperate swing, an all-or-nothing attempt to force the fight to a close. You smile. As soon as he begins swinging, you raise your sword to a high guard. There was no way such a wild attack would ever reach you.

Except ... Nagamasa’s smiling. His all-or-nothing attack had been read and countered before he failed, and he was smiling.

You snort and flick your wrist, sending the tip of your bokken into his ascending knife-bearing hand. Did he really think you had really been wide open? Did he really think you’d straightforwardly adopt a high guard and completely forget about his tanto bo? No, you had intended to go for the amputation cut from the beginning.

“Damn, I really thought that would work.” Nagamasa gripes, “Wishful thinking, I guess …”

Pick one

>Admit he’s good for his age

>Give him pointers on how to do better

>Ask him where he learned to fight like that

>Ask him when he’ll be treating you

>>4205111
>>Admit he’s good for his age

>>4205125
this

>>4205125
>>4205130
It says pick one though

>>4205140
oops

>>4205111
>Ask him where he learned to fight like that

>>4205111
>Ask him where he learned to fight like that

>>4205111
>Ask him where he learned to fight like that

“So, where did you learn how to fight like that?” You ask, “Dual-wielding is pretty rare.”

“Impressed?” Nagamasa raises an eyebrow, “It was the way they trained us all in Vocational School.”

“Usually, they train enforcers in the Noir-Muramoto style, right?” You muse, “You said your style was the Imaryu-Valera school, right?”

“That’s right.” Nagamasa nods, “It’s a fusion of kenjutsu and western swordsmanship.”

“Western swordsmanship, huh?” You consider this, “I didn’t know dual-wielding was part of the core curriculum of western swordsmanship.”

“It isn’t.” Nagamasa admits, “But that’s what makes the Imaryu-Valera school unique.”

“And all the members of your unit are skilled in dual-wielding?”

“Nah, I’m one of the better ones.” Nagamasa laughs, “Still … it’s supposed to be done with a parrying dagger or swordcatcher, not a tanto, so I didn’t really give you a good example of the technique.”

“A parrying dagger or swordcatcher combined with a shirasaya?” You consider that. “It sounds interesting.”

“Well, I never managed to test it in combat.” Nagamasa admits, “Usually, my missions were settled completely with guns.”

“Well, that’s how it usually is.” You say, “But you’ll need it more when you get more skilled.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Nagamasa nods.
…

Interlude

>Facility Noir-00, security check report
>Stockpile Raid, Inner-City Noir

>>4205663
>Stockpile Raid, Inner-City Noir

>>4205663
>Stockpile Raid, Inner-City Noir

>>4205663
>>Stockpile Raid, Inner-City Noir

>>4205663
>Stockpile Raid, Inner-City Noir

At the very heart of the bustling, vibrant city of Noir was a growing cancer. A region of dilapidated housing complexes, abandoned malls, and decaying industrial yards only a mere handful of kilometers away from the urbane business district. This was the abandoned Inner City. Fifty decades ago, the Inner City had been a reputable district, as much as a district of Noir could be reputable. A cluster of new factory-building upwind later, and suddenly the district had been flooded by pollution levels unacceptable by even Noir’s standards. The factories had long since been dismantled, their work outsourced, but the Inner City never recovered. Instead, it slowly grew into the other districts in a self-perpetuating cycle of depreciating real-estate prices.

No monorails traced the sky above the Inner City. The subway tunnels beneath hadn’t seen traffic in decades. Normally, no vehicles traveled down it’s potholed roads. But today, a black, armored vehicle tore down the empty streets, splashing through the puddles of acidic rain.

Even though the Inner City was seemingly abandoned, for the various groups battling for control of Noir, it was an invaluable strategic position at once empty of civilian activity and extremely close to the financial and business centers of Noir. In other words, it was the perfect position for hidden rapid-response units as well as the stockpiles required to arm for any situation

The black armored vehicle stopped in a shadowed alleyway. Immediately, it disgorged a squad of black-armored enforcers armed to the teeth. Hanging at each and every one of their sides were matte-black shirasaya. Every single enforcer here was middling-to-high level.

Yoji Takahashi checked his microauto one last time. Any mission where the Household Guard was deployed in the city was an important one, and he couldn’t have it fail on him.

Let’s move out. Yoji’s squad leader, Nha, ordered over the squad’s private communications network. Completely in unison, the enforcers of Division 8 moved into the building right next to them.

The squad moved completely silently through the building’s guts, down a stairwell, and deep into the building’s basements. Three levels downwards, they were wading through murky brown water. There was a broken sewage pipe on this level. Yoji took a long sniff through his mask, filling his nostrils with the odor. As soon as he had a good grasp of how it smelled, he set his olfactory centers to filter out the smell of sewage. Now, as far as he was concerned, the room around him smelled as clean as mountain air.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>4206236

The squad pushed on, to a hole in a wall made a few days ago. A short tunnel led to the sewer main. A slow trickle of sewage trickled down the tunnel into the basement. The tunnel had been made to allow drones to map out their intended path. Hopefully, nothing had collapsed since then.

The tunnel was large enough for for the enforcers to move through hunched. However, it was by no means comfortable. Yoji suppressed his sense of claustrophobia. He’d have to suppress it for nearly two hours, but he wasn’t unused to these kinds of operations.

The Squad traveled through the maze of sewage tunnels, following the map both on their HUD, downloaded into their cyberbrains, and memorized by their organic brains. Sometimes the tunnels had catwalks to keep them above the sewage. Sometimes, they had to crawl. Even with his olfactory sensitivity turned off, Yoji still gagged. He couldn’t smell the sewage, but he remembered how it smelled from prior experience.

Eventually, the enforcers stopped at their destination, an unassuming brick wall indistinguishable from any other stretch of the tunnels. Beyond this wall was unknown territory. But more importantly, beyond this wall was their target, the largest confirmed hidden stockpile the Ishii had in all of the inner city.

Hisashi, get ready. Nha signalled. An enforcer nodded in acknowledgement and moved to the back of the group. Get in position and plant the charges.

The squad members drew shaped charges out of their satchels, and planted them on the wall. Then, they organized themselves in position, crouching so that they’d be able explode into action as soon as the charges went off.

Alright. 3 … 2 … 1 … Blow ‘em.”

>Roll 3 1d20’s for stealth. Degree of success depends on the number successes. DC is 10.

>>4206239
Keep this roll? >>4206238

>>4206238
Don't worry, the roll still counts

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>4206239

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>4206239

>>4206238
>>4206245
>>4206263
Damn, Yoji's a lucky bastard. I'll update in the morning.

>Three successes
>Breech made, security cam hacked, response drones neutralized

With a dull thud, the shaped charges went off. The brick wall disintegrated. Almost immediately, as if synced to the detonators, the enforcers exploded forwards themselves, virtually charging through the explosion. Shards of superheated rubble bounced off Yoji’s body armour. Burning hot air filled his mask. A piece of shrapnel found it’s way into a chink of his armour, burning against his skin. There was sharp pain, like being poked by a needle, which immediately faded as the nerves in the affected patch of synthskin shut themselves off.

A security camera mounted on the ceiling immediately swiveled around, it’s lens focusing on the breech in the wall. It emanated a low beep as it registers the intruders. At the same time, it tried to send a warning to the rest of the facility. But the warning signal hits an unexpected firewall. The camera had already been isolated from the facility’s rudimentary cyberscape. It had been hacked by Hisashi only a fraction of a second after the wall went down.

The enforcers fanned out in the room, securing their beachhead. The squad specialists clutched their respective weapons. Hide, the squad’s designated heavy weapons expert swung his Portauto to face the doorway. Akio, their squad’s designated melee expert, hid in the corner, drawing his katana. Hisashi made himself scarce. The rest of the squad crouched in their positions, securing the optimal firing angles. Then, they waited.

Before long, a trio of roving helidrones floated into the hallway outside. They had barely peeked out before being shot out of the air. One simply deactivated and fell to the floor.

Hide … Hisashi began.

Gotcha … Hide messaged back. Hisashi didn’t need to say anything else. Hide stood up, grabbed the security camera, and wrenched it from it’s mounting. Another enforcer set down a gunmetal briefcase. Hisashi tapped the briefcase and it stood up on a tripod, small panels opening and revealing cyberjacks. A display screen popped up. As soon as Hisashi jacked into the suitcase, the display filled with incomprehensible graphs, meters, and multidimensional models.

Beginning hacking Hisashi messaged. A robotic arm extended up to the cluster of wires left where the camera had been. Splicing … accessing cyberscape …. The deactivated drone reactivated and flew over to Hisashi. Hisashi pulled out another cable and plugged it into the drone. Reading security credentials … simulating drone signatures … You are good to go.

We are good to go … Nha acknowledged. His gaze swept over the squad …

>Leave 2/6 standard enforcers to guard Hisashi

>Leave 4/6 standard enforcers to guard Hisashi

>Leave a specialist enforcer to guard Hisashi (who?)

>Hisashi won’t need guards if everything ahead is completely cleared

>>4207002
>Leave 4/6 standard enforcers to guard Hisashi

>>4207004
>>Leave 4/6 standard enforcers to guard Hisashi

>>4207004
>Leave 2/6 standard enforcers to guard Hisashi

>>4207004
>Leave 2/6 standard enforcers to guard Hisashi

>>4207004
>Leave 2/6 standard enforcers to guard Hisashi

You two, stay behind and guard Hisashi. Nha ordered, pointing at two enforcers at the back. They nodded in acknowledgement. The rest of you with me.

The eight remaining members of the squad proceeded slowly throughout the facility. The stockpile had been built in the basement of an abandoned building, it’s original purpose long-forgotten. The surrounding architecture was archaic and gothic, like the catacombs of a church. Some parts were so dark that Yoji’s night vision momentarily flickered on. Yoji was glad for the map from old blueprints in the corner of his HUD. These kinds of facilities were never redesigned for greater efficiency and functionality, never retrofitted with cutting-edge security measures. The activity required to do so in one area was just asking to be noticed. All you could do was move in as much hardware as you could and hope the facility stayed hidden. But unfortunately for the Ishii, this one hadn’t.

Every so often, a helidrone would pass by. But they all completely ignored the squad members. Thanks to Hisashi’s hacking, as far as the helidrone’s simple AI’s were concerned, the squad didn’t exist. They didn’t even register the loss of the handful of units, since Hisashi was simulating the signatures of the destroyed drones and feeding false sensory input into the network.

Picking up passing patrol of four security drones, arriving in 120 seconds. Hisashi warned.

Can you hack them? Nha asked.

I can try, but they’ve got separate security codes. I’ll have to do it individually. Success isn’t guranteed.

Acknowledged. We’ll take out some then. Men, hide behind the pillars.

In a blink of an eye, the enforcers conceal themselves. It was if no one else was in the hall.

This model’s processing units are in it’s chest. I’ll highlight it’s position in your HUD’s. …

Acknowledged …

Security drones arriving in 10 … 9 … 8 … 7 … Sure enough, as Hisashi began his countdown, Yoji heard the the mechanical gait of steel and rubber slapping against concrete.

3 … 2 … 1!

>Roll 3 1d20’s. One success is required.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>4207741

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>4207741

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>4207741

>>4207741
Holy fuck. Yoji's stealing all our luck in this thread. This smug bastard.

>4 Security Drones destroyed, stealth maintained

The entire squad waited for the security drone patrol to enter the room, gauging their position in the room through triangulating the sound of their footsteps. They waited until the drones had reached the center of the room, the most vulnerable position in the entire room.

In perfect unison, the enforcers swiveled out of cover, their fingers already tightening on their triggers before their guns were trained on their targets. There was no prior communication, not even any signals over their shared network. Each member of the squad knew what their job was.

One burst, one kill. The chests of the security drones exploded into shards of plastic, chrome, and silicon shrapnel. They never even saw what hit them.

Drones neutralized. Nha messaged to Hisashi.

Replicating drone signatures … 3 second gap between last system check-in … Gap is within acceptable latency parameters. You are good to go.

Acknowledged. Move out!

Before moving on, Yoji spares a glance at the drone he downed. He hadn’t gotten a good look at it shooting it, having already known were to aim with Hisashi’s HUD support. The drone was humanoid in shape, although it’s arms were muh longer and it’s head was barely more than a camera and sensory suite on a pole. It had been made of angular metal plate sloped to deflect gunfire. Not that it had mattered. The metal had been too weak to stop the AP rounds from his semiauto. All it had been armed with was some cheap, archaic semiauto. All in all, not his most impressive kill.

The squad pressed on. Every so often, Hisashi would warn them of a passing patrol of security drones and they would deal with them in the same way as before. This happened two times in total. The architecture gradually grew roomier and roomier. Then, they ducked into a tight hallway at the side of the room From there on, their path grew more and more narrow and cramped.

Checkpoint ahead. Hisashi warned just before the squad rounded the next corner. Down the hallway. Two stationary security drones. The location’s the perfect place for it, so probably a blast door too.

To proceed, the drones had to be neutralized quickly enough they wouldn’t be able to sound any alarms.

>Lure them out, then ambush them

>Let Hisashi hack them

>Toss a frag grenade

>Toss an EMP grenade

>>4208138
>Let Hisashi hack them
>Prepare to toss an EMP grenade if he fails.

>>4208161
+1

>>4208138
>Let Hisashi hack them

Hisashi, try to hack them. Nha ordered.

Got it. Hisashi confirmed, Acquiring connection credentials …

>Roll 3 1d20’s. You will need 2 successes.

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>4208680

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>4208680

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>4208680

Rolled 5 (1d20)

Rolling for Security Drones

>2 security drones hacked

Bypassing firewalls … and I’m in. Hisashi crowed. The slight pneumatic hiss of joints and servos filled the air as Hisashi tested his control of the Security Drone’s bodies.

The enforcers stepped into the hall. The security drones turned their heads, their cameras automatically tracking any movement in front of them. But they didn’t otherwise react.

Nha stared at the control panel for the blast doors. Without the proper credentials, they couldn’t be opened. Hisashi?

Can’t. Hisashi messages back, The doors aren’t connected to the network … that’s strange. Why wouldn’t they connect the doors to the network?

Picking up any signals past it? Nha asked.

Yeah, but not for around 250 meters Hisashi replied. But the blueprints say it’s just a curved hallway past the door. It’s the perfect choke point to station guards …

We can worry about that after we get past the door. Any ideas, boys?

We could use our remaining shaped charges to melt through, sir. Akio suggested.

We have a limited amount. We might need them later. Hide objects, We could stab some of our shirasaya into the door and use it to pry it open.

You’re thinking of treating our badges of seniority that roughly? Akio gripes, That will definitely break them!

Nha pondered this. Any ideas, Hisashi?

Sorry, I was thinking about what’s ahead of the door. It’s giving me a bad feeling ...

>Blow through the door with the shaped charges

>Pry the door open with the shirasaya

>Call Hisashi up here so he can hack the door manually

>A clever write-in, let Yoji earn a bonus

>>4209418
>Pry the door open with the shirasaya

>>4209418
>Blow through the door with the shaped charges
Use em or lose em as they say

>>4209418
>>Blow through the door with the shaped charges
Then send the drones in to soak up any fire

>>4209418
>Have Hisashi simulate a drone finding a rare porn magazine next to the door to hopefully lure whoever is watching the cameras out.

Use the shaped charges. Nha decided. Yoji understood the squad leader’s decision. Now was as good a time to use them as any.

The squad members pulled the remaining shaped charges from their satchels, fitting them in a rough semicircle on the blast door. Even though Hide had been in opposition to this plan, he didn’t complain. Everyone trusted their squad leader.

Charges set. Detonating in 3 … 2 …

>Roll 3 1d20’s. You will need 2 successes.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>4209952
What's the point of write-ins if nobody is around to vote for them?

>>4209956
Yoji's luck run out.

>>4209956
I thought it was a good idea. But given the upcoming events, It affected the success of your immediate actions too much to incorporate without additional votes.

>>4209972
Clever write-ins us usually require some time to think up.
Maybe if you see a write-in you could give a bit of additional voting time for people to have an opportunity to see it?

>>4209990
Wait, I thought you were >>4209650. I apologize for my poor reading comprehension. I'll definitely incorporate your reference during the raid somehow, if not in actions, then in dialogue.

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>4209952

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4209952

>Critical Failure

Detonating in 3 … 2 … 1!

With a dull boom, the shaped charges detonated, melting through the blast door. Rivulets of superheated metal ran down the semicircle-shaped chunk of steel that had been cut from the rest of the door. It fell over with a kick, opening the way for the enforcers. The blast door had went down … surprisingly easily.

Hisashi, send in a few drones to scout ahead. Nha ordered.

Got it. Hisashi acknowledged uneasily. Two drones buzzed through the opening.

So what are you seeing?

The walls are lined with some kind of white material … Hisashi reported, Frag, my connection’s getting weaker. Something’s jamming it …

The way ahead is clear, right? We’ll move forwards and boost your signal. Nha says. The enforcer squad moved forwards into the hallway.

Okay, I’m at the end of the hallway. There’s another blast door, and it’s … open? Frag! I’m picking up activation signatures! Drones are coming online. 1 … 5 … shit, there’s too many.

Did someone hear that? Hide asked.

Yeah … I’m picking up something. Akio replied.

Sure enough, Yoji heard the soft clink of metal on stone far behind them. And ahead of them … the screeching of rubber wheels. It was … much closer!

Suddenly, a wheeled turret explodes into the hallway in front of you. Sparks fly as it crashed into the wall. It didn’t stop, scraping against the wall as it charged forwards, guns blazing.

Shit, it’s an autonomous gun turret! Hisashi cursed.

>Retreat and find cover

>Stand and fight

>Divide your forces in a delaying action (Who fights, who stays?)

>>4210829
Retreating under fire without cover is asking to be shot to pieces. Especially when there's a bunch of drones advancing to our rear

>Stand and fight
>Use that EMP grenade and our machinegunner

>>4210841
+1

>>4210841
this

The first one to react was Hide, who opened up with his portauto. A split second later, the other enforcers overcame their shock, crouched, and filled the air with their own semiauto fire.

Hold your ground. Nha ordered, We stop it here or we don’t stop it at all.

Yoji drew a spherical EMP grenade from his pocket, armed it, and rolled it down the hallway.

>Roll 3 1d20’s for Hide, the other Enforcers, and the casualty rate.
>Ishii Autonomous Turret Casualty Rate: 1

Casualty rate mechanic explained: If your enemy’s roll is higher, for every increment of 5 between your roll and the enemy’s, a set number of squadmates dies.

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>4211278
So if you roll an 18, and 3 of us roll 2 5 and 19, would that mean we would suffer 5 casualties since there would be 3 increments of failure for the 2, and 2 increments of failures for the 5?

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>4211278

>>4211283
The first dice is for Hide's firing, the second dice is for the Enforcer's firing, and the third dice is for your casualty rate.

I'm new to group battles, please bear with me as I figure it out. I'm using this ""interlude"" to test out new mechanics without Kentaro having to do something risky.

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4211278

Rolled 20 (1d20)

Rolling for Ishii Autonomous Gun Turret

>Enemy Critical Success

Hide roared as he directed his portauto’s mighty stream of bullet fire towards the Gun-Turret. But he never hit. The Gun-Turret targeted him first, blasting him backwards. His portauto’s stream of fire sprayed wildly down the hallway except the direction of the gun-turret.

The fire from the Enforcer’s microautos splashed over the Gun-Turret. Armour plate dented. Redundant sensors were destroyed. But no lethal damage was inflicted. In return, the Gun-Turret raked the hallway with twin portauto fire, sending the enforcers in the hall diving out of the way.

Then, the EMP grenade detonated. For a split second, all of Yoji’s senses went offline. When they went back online, he opened his eyes to the carnage. The hallway’s walls were completely shredded. Electric sparks filled the air from smashed lightbulbs.

>Akio was dead, Hide was seriously injured

>Hide was dead, Akio was seriously injured

>Two tactical enforcers were dead

>>4211368
>Hide was dead, Akio was seriously injured

>>4211368
>>Two tactical enforcers were dead

>>4211368
>Two tactical enforcers were dead

Losses? Nha demanded.

Two down. Akio responded.

Hide?

Still alive … Even through the network, it sounded like Hide was groaning. Vitals are intact … chest muscles are shredded though …

Yoji looked around the hallway. Two tactical enforcers were dead. One had been unlucky enough to have his brains splattered across the wall by a stray bullet. Anywhere else and he would still have been alive. Even if it had penetrated his body armour, it would most likely have hit some redundant organ and passed out harmlessly. The other Enforcer hadn’t gotten out of the way in time. He had caught the full force of the Gun-Turret’s stream of fire, tearing through his armour and smashing his torso like a rotten melon. Entrails both organic and synthetic plastered the floor in a pool of blood diluted by clear patches of coolant.

How about the Gun-Turret?

It’s … still active!

The Gun-Turret must have been heavily insulated because it seemed completely unfazed by the EMP grenade. It retreated slowly back down the hallway. The Gun-Turret’s twin-barrels smoked, but they didn’t continue firing. They were overheated, Yoji realized. After it’s long opening salvo, the Gun-Turret was in danger of melting it’s guns. But that reprieve would only last less than a second. Already, the Gun-Turret was pumping coolant through the tubing wrapping around the barrels. If they didn’t kill it now, the Gun-Turret would charge again and scythe through their ranks with another salvo.

>Charge it with Akio. the Gun-Turret’s no good at sword range.

>Hit it with everything the squad had, before it could fire back.

>Use your grenades as cover for a hasty retreat.

>>4212140
>Charge it with Akio. the Gun-Turret’s no good at sword range.
Bullets didn't work, and retreating only puts us in the way of the drones.

>>4212140
Btw corp enforcers are scary, scary people. They got machinegunned in a straight empty hallway to the point of overheating, and only 3/8 were even hit.
I hope Kentaro can also dodge bullets like that.

>>4212148
You better bet he can.

>>4212140
>Hit it with everything the squad had, before it could fire back.

>>4212155
With our luck I very much doubt that.

>>4212140
>Charge it with Akio. the Gun-Turret’s no good at sword range.

>>4212140
>>Charge it with Akio. the Gun-Turret’s no good at sword range.

Almost forgot; Kentaro put in a request for new cybernetics, right? Do we/when will we know if it was accepted and when it will get to us?

>>4212140
>Charge it with Akio. the Gun-Turret’s no good at sword range.

Akio instantly capitalized on this opportunity. He sprinted forwards with explosive speed, his hands on his resheathed katana and scabbard held behind his back. A mere Gun-Turret was finished as soon as it got inside his sword range. It had no melee capabilities. And it’s armour plating wouldn’t even be able to slow his monomolecular blade. As soon as Akio got in range, he’d carve through the Gun-Turret like it was made of soft cheese.

The Gun-Turret rolled backwards. At the same time, it trained both it’s turrets at Akio’s rapidly approaching form. Yoji could hear the click of bullets being cycled into its firing chamber. It was going to destroy it’s barrels to take out Akio!

>Roll 3 1d20’s. You will need 2 successes.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>4212819

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>4212819

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>4212819

Rolled 11 (1d20)

Rolling for Ishii Autonomous Gun-Turret

>>4212918
RIP Akio

>Akio seriously injured

Akio was three paces away from the Gun-Turret … Two paces … His sword was halfway out of its sheath ….

The Gun-Turret spat, catching Akio and sending him spinning. Immediately after, it’s barrel exploded as coolant boiled and the pipes around it ruptured.

Charge! Nha ordered. Every enforcer drew their shirasaya and charged down the hallway. Unable to fire, the Gun-Turret was helpless against being cut to ribbons. Yoji severed it’s right foreleg’s servomotors, sending it collapsing to the ground. Nha clambered up to the top of the turret and with a powerful two-handed stab, penetrated the Gun-Turret’s primary optical sensors, the thin armour beneath, all the way to it’s computer brain.

The Gun-Turret hissed as it’s hydraulic limbs lost power. It’s various sensor clusters went dark. It was dead.

How’s Akio? Nha demanded.

Alive. Right arm is missing. Upper chunk of right lung as well. Akio responded, shakily standing up. His right arm below the collarbone was gone, leaving a ragged stump from which scrap metal hung from strands of cabling and torn synthflesh. A trickle of blood and coolant ran down the hole in his side, staining his pantleg. At the very center of the hole was a gelatin-like mass of clotting blood and adhesives.

Can you continue fighting? Nha demanded.

Akio leaned down to pick up his katana. If Hide can continue, so can I.

Hide rose as well. He grunted with effort as he hoisted his portauto, leaning heavily towards his gun hand. All I need are new intestines and abdominal muscles. I can still shoot.

Hisashi, the mission is going to continue … Nha messaged. But there was no answer. Nha frowned. Hisashi? Hisashi, check in!

Busy …Hisashi replied, Taking hostiles!

On Hisashi’s end, silver figures were emerging at the end of the hallway, closing in on the breaching point. Thin and feminine-looking, they crawled on all fours on the ceiling and walls. In their razor-claws, they clutched a selection of edged weaponry and flechette catapults.

>Let the two enforcers fill them with lead

>Roll an EMP grenade down the hallway

>Concentrate try to hack them all

>Fuck it, fall back into the sewer

>>4213012
>>Roll an EMP grenade down the hallway

>>4213012
>Let the two enforcers fill them with lead

>>4213012
>Roll an EMP grenade down the hallway

A hail of flechettes sent the enforcers diving for cover. Hisashi was forced to emergency disconnect from his dataport, rolling behind the doorway. Even so, a few dozen of the flechettes peppered his armour, easily passing through to embed their razor-sharp edges in the synthmuscle underneath. There was no braving the storm of monofilament-edged darts that saturated the air only with a few bursts. The fire of the flechette catapults would make confetti out of armour and separate muscle from bone.

EMP! Hisashi demanded. His fellow enforcer pulled a spherical EMP grenade from his satchel and tossed it to Hisashi. He had the best angle. Hisashi caught it smoothly, thumbed the arming stud, then rolled it down the hall. Two seconds later, a powerful electromagnetic pulse washed out from the hall, making the lights flicker, then fail. Hisashi’s vision automatically turned switched to night vision mode, outlining the space around him in hard, angular green. The wall opposite to him resembled the pelt of some furry animal from the number of flechette darts embedded in it. His dataport was toast, a hollowed-out shell that had collapsed and releasing torrents of electric sparks from it’s ruined circuitry.

Did we get them? One of the enforcers asked. He peeked out into the hallway …

>Roll 3 1d20’s. Degree of success depends on number of successes.

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>4214059

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>4214059

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>4214059

Rolled 3 (1d20)

Rolling for Ishii Razor Drones

>>4214149
Good thing Ishii buys from the lowest bidder

… And instantly reeled back, a few dozen flechettes bristling from his cracked visor.

Two hostiles! He shouted over the network.

Two of the Razor Drones had been barely out of the EMP Grenade’s blast radius and scuttled into the room, before pouncing at the enforcers. The three enforcers drew their shirasaya in preparation for close-quarter combat.

Hisashi barely got his shirasaya out of it’s sheath to parry a Razor Drone’s frenetic claw-swipe. Frag, he hated close-quarter combat.

>Roll 3 1d20’s. You will need one success.

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>4214189

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>4214189

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>4214189

Rolled 3 (1d20)

Rolling for Ishii Razor Drones

Hisashi’s blade sliced through the Razor Drone’s palm, glided up it’s arm, then out it’s shoulder. Half of the arm, now freed from the other arm, disintegrated in the air into scrap metal as it fell to the ground. Before the Razor Drone could even blink, Hisashi decapitated it with a flick of his blade. Hisashi stared distastefully at the prone form of the Razor Drone. What a messy way to take out an enemy.

While Hisashi had needed two cuts to take out his opponent, his two guards had barely needed one. The Razor Drones were cheap enemies, best suited to ambushes. Too bad their AI’s were too stupid to set up an ambush independently instead of just attacking. Really, did the Ishii go out of their way to buy the cheapest drones? But still, Hisashi had counted 20 new drone signatures since the rest of the squad bumped into the Gun-Turret. He and his guards had taken care of 5, so 15 still remained. Quantity had a quality all on it’s own. The enforcers had been relying on stealth and momentum to complete their mission despite that, but they had lost both.

I figured out what that hallway was now. He messaged Nha.

What?

The lack of drone signatures, the weak signal from there, the way the drones instantly came online when we entered … It was a null room. The white material on the walls were probably hypersensitive nanoradiometers. Any communications inside would set off alarms. The whole facility’s probably onto us now.

Shoulda known. Nha cursed, That’s right. Yoji popped an EMP grenade and the Gun-Turret didn’t even slow down. Must have been insulated to guard the hallway without setting off alarms.

I lost my dataport, and there are still more hostiles left between our positions. I won’t be able to provide support if you plan to continue the mission.

Frag it! Nha cursed. The mission was on the verge of being jeopardized.

>All units retreat

>All units forwards

>Hisashi’s group retreat, Nha’s group forwards

>Send small detachment to help Hisashi’s group clear what’s behind while continuing

>>4215162
>Send small detachment to help Hisashi’s group clear what’s behind while continuing

>>4215162
>All units forwards
We don't have people to send as a "small detachment". Hisashi's guards will have to do the cleanup.

>>4215162
>>All units forwards

>>4215162
>All units forwards

>>4215162
Switching to
>All units forwards

>I lost my dataport, and there are still more hostiles left between our positions.
Are there external Dataports? Like ones you could put over your existing one to act as a backup incase the external one gets fragged so you can replace it with a fresh one? You know like those things the Director in Ghost in the Shell wears for Section 9.

>>4215251
Hisashi's dataport was external and in a heavy suitcase since he was built on a combat frame. Not exactly the kind of thing you carry on your person.

Sir, are we going to continue our mission? An Enforcer asked Nha.

Of course we are. Nha snarled. We’ve barely gotten started.

B-but sir. Hisashi-senpai’s separated from the rest of us. Hide-senpai and Akio-senpai are badly injured. And ... The Enforcer trailed off and stared at the bodies of his two comrades on the floor.

Hisashi’s not specced for combat, but he isn’t a pushover. He’ll be fine. Hide and Akio can still fight, they said so themselves. And people dying is just part of the job. Nha snorted, When I got assigned members of your experimental division for my squad to show them the ropes, I didn’t think they’d be this green. I have no time to babysit. So are you going to continue to piss yourself, or are you going to be useful, Kid?

The Enforcer who had spoken out swallowed, then looked Nha in the eye. I’ll fight.

That’s what I want to hear. Nha nodded. The Kid seemed to have found his pride. A good thing too. He’d shone promise during the mission so far. He hadn’t gotten in anyone’s way and had a steady hand. Despite his lack of experience, he already knew what his job was as much as the enforcers on his squad. Maybe the Branch Second Lieutenant’s experimental program wasn’t complete sewershit after all ...

Okay, I’m not sure how you guys are enjoying this mission. It’s a change in pace than usual, and is involving characters that you guys might not be interested in. On the other hand, you guys might be enjoying being a tacticool enforcer squad. I just wanted to give you a taste of what real combat outside of duels might be like. But now that that’s over, I’m seriously fine with either playing the mission out to the end or returning to what Kentaro’s doing.

>Continue the mission
>Hear about the result later

>>4215712
>Continue the mission

>>4215712
I'm enjoying the mission and bit of insight so far.

Something I wanted to bring up before I forget, but if Kentaro learns a bit of the duel wielding technique, would it be easier for him to counter that style of fighting in the future?

>>4215727
Yes. If Kentaro were to learn the ins-and-outs of any particular unorthodox school of swordsmanship, I'd give a mechanical advantage in duels. However, you'll have to be careful that he doesn't incorporate the weaknesses of that school of swordsmanship into his normal combat as well. Kentaro might even learn a few tricks, but he won't be able to become as proficient in any school of swordsmanship as his normal one. However, with prep time, a shitton of external drives, enough proficiency, and a mechanic I haven't fully introduced yet, he might be able to switch which style he's proficient in overnight.

>>4215712
>>Continue the mission

>>4215712
>Continue the mission, but maybe shorten it?
There is a plot structure in a fight, and you're doing a good job following it, but right now it feels like it's going right into the culmination, and you're saying it's barely the beginning. I don't know how long you intended for this mission to go, but maybe you could let the beginning decide its success or failure, and summarize the rest?

>>4216199
You've got about two combat scenarios left

The squad of enforcers passed out of the hallway into an enormous, empty, vaulted and buttressed space. Once, it would have been a warehouse of vast capacity, or perhaps even a server room that could support the network needs of an entire district. Now, it was an eerily empty space. Even with night vision turned on, the edges of the room were lost in shadow. Here and there, abandoned shipping crates sat in the darkness.

After the hallway, Yoji could tell from the eerie feeling he got walking through another trap. Based on what the squad had just seen, he thought ...

>They should hug the walls in a room this large

>They should keep a loose formation to minimize vulnerability to gunfire

>They should send the tactical enforcers ahead as bullet sponges

>He should just keep his mouth shut

>>4216342
>They should hug the walls in a room this large
>They should keep a loose formation to minimize vulnerability to gunfire

>>4216342
>>They should hug the walls in a room this large
>>They should keep a loose formation to minimize vulnerability to gunfire

>>4216342
>They should keep a loose formation to minimize vulnerability to gunfire

Nha seemed to share Yoji’s thoughts. Stay close to the walls. Loose formation. He commanded. The Enforcers instantly changed their formation, staying close to the walls and keeping five meters away from each other at all times. In a room this large, the center of the room was always a kill-zone.

As soon as Nha gave his orders, everyone heard a soft pneumatic hiss in the distance. But the room was so large the sound was hard to triangulate.

Stop! Nha raised his hand, listening carefully. Nothing happened. Nha breathed out a sigh of uneasy relief. Continue …

As the Enforcers approached the far corner of the room, a large pile of shipping containers came into view. One of them had folded open like a corrugated steel flower, revealing … A Gun-Turret!

The Gun-Turret was active … but it didn’t seem to be targeting anyone despite the multitude of targets in front of it.

Is it dead? The rookie enforcer questioned. As soon as he transmitted, the Gun-Turret became active, swivelling towards him. At the same, there were two brief flashes of light from the two far corners of the room ...

>Roll 3 1d20’s. You will need three successes.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>4217561
This is where we die.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>4217561
Its probably sensor pad related, or motion.
Someone try ejecting a bullet and tossing it away?

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>4217561

Rolled 3 (1d20)

Rolling for Ishii Gun-Turret

In a blink of an eye, the Rookie Enforcer’s torso exploded, ripping him in half. He was dead before he hit the ground. Yoji didn’t even see the bullet hit.

Cover! Nha shouted, already diving behind a pillar. An invisible force grazed his leg, taking his body armour, the body glove, and a massive chunk of his calf with it. Yoji spotted his blood trailing out, as if pulled on by some immense passing pressure. Three perfectly round golfball-sized holes in the stone wall behind Nha suddenly popped into existence.

Frag. A railgun.

The Enforcers quickly hid behind pillars, or in alcoves in the walls, awaiting, and dreading the follow-up shots. They had known that the Ishii stockpile raid would be heavily guarded, but light antitank weapons were just overkill.

But no follow-up shots came.

Still, no one moved. Then, Nha signalled with his hands.

CEASE COMMUNICATIONS. RADIO SILENCE. SIGNAL OTHERS.

The message spread to the rest of the squad. Yoji understood. The Railguns must automatically fire on anything that broadcasted a signal. It was a good thing their armour was semi-insulated, or else the slight electrical signals of their cybernetic bodies would set them off.

Nha peeked out from cover, just to jerk back in time to avoid another volley from the railguns. A direct hit from one shell and you’d be a goner. But if the squad was going to continue, they had to be taken out.

>Provoke another volley so Hide can triangulate their positions and hit them with his grenade launcher

>Send Hide and Akio in-and-out of cover to locate and destroy the turrets

>Provoke another volley and charge them while they reload

>Wait for Hisashi to arrive, maybe he can do something

>>4218337
>Provoke another volley so Hide can triangulate their positions and hit them with his grenade launcher

>>4218337
>>4218337
>Provoke another volley so Hide can triangulate their positions and hit them with his grenade launcher

>>4218337
>Provoke another volley so Hide can triangulate their positions and hit them with his grenade launcher

>>4218337
>>Provoke another volley so Hide can triangulate their positions and hit them with his grenade launcher

I’ll provoke another volley to draw fire. Triangulate their positions. Keep radio silence, they only fire at broadcasting units. Nha messaged to the entire squad. Hide nodded in acknowledgement, dropped his Portauto, then drew the grenade launcher from his back and loaded in a few grenades.

Then, Nha poked his head out into the open …

>Roll 3 1d20’s. The first one will be for Nha’s survival check, the other two will be for Hide’s aim.

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>4218688

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>4218688

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>4218688

>>4218688
You've said you require voting support for write-ins if they significantly affect difficulty. Is this true when they lower the difficulty?

Rolled 16 (1d20)

Rolling for Railgun Turret

The Railgun is stationary, so DC for Hide's aim is 10, by the way.

>>4219110
Yes. If I accepted unsupported write-ins if they lowered difficulty, but rejected them when they raised it, it would be too safe to write them without considering what their consequences would be.

>Nha dies
>Hide destroys 2/3? Railguns

Instantly, Nha’s head exploded. Once the Railguns acquired a target, they never stopped aiming at it.

But Hide had his target as well. Bravely stepping out of cover, he fired three grenades. The first was at the turret right next to the squad, which blossomed into a dirty orange fireball. The second one soared across the vast room to hit a target on the other side. The explosion illuminated the burnt-out ruin of the turret for a brief second before fading into nothingness. The third … crashed into a buttress that had been hidden by shadows.

There was still one left …

Just then, Yoji heard an all-too-familiar screeching sound. The screech of rubber on stone. Two corrugated metal doors in the left and right walls of the room flew through the air as two Automated Gun-Turrets crashed through.
…

Hisashi and his guards were running at top speed, sprinting through the dark tunnels for nearly 15 minutes. Along the way, they had encountered a group of five Razor Drones. One of his guards had caught a full burst from a flechette launcher to his abdomen, shredding his intestines. Now, every other movement he made sent razor-sharp fragments further throughout his body. But in return, they had dismantled each and every drone. But Hisashi still had reason to worry. He had picked up 20 activations before his Dataport was destroyed. He and his guards had killed 10 Razor Drones. So where were the other 10?

>Comb the tunnels to look for the Razor Drones

>Continue forwards to the rest of the squad

>>4220078
>Continue forwards to the rest of the squad
If we never find those drones we won't have to fight them. Just watch our backs.

>>4220078
>Comb the tunnels to look for the Razor Drones
Don't want to get caught flat footed. Is there no way to jack into a relatively intact Razor Drones to figure out where all the other ones are at?
Who's left alive, and who's injured?

>>4220078
>>Continue forwards to the rest of the squad

>>4220078
>Continue forwards to the rest of the squad

But Hisashi didn’t have the time or luxury to worry about the missing Razor Drones. He had to regroup with the rest of the squad. Otherwise, he would be too vulnerable even if he did find them. He continued running, through the maze of corridors and past the melted-through blast door …
…

The vast underground chamber was in complete chaos. One Gun-Turret sent the Enforcers scattering and running for cover with it’s twin grenade launchers. The other continually peppered them with it’s quad-flechette launcher. One flechette passed straight through Yoji’s body armour and bicep as he rolled away from the stream of fire.

But it wasn’t completely a one-sided fight. Hide’s portauto roared as it washed across the room in waves. Yoji saw Akio calmly slap a grenade out of the air with his katana. And suddenly, disciplined bursts of Microauto fire filled the air, briefly drawing the attention of the Gun-Turrets before they were sent back into motion by Hide’s grenade launcher.

But it was impossible to properly coordinate their efforts in a room so large without the help of their communications network. With Nha dead, there was no one who could coordinate them. And it was impossible to pin down the Gun-Turrets. They were just too maneuverable, weaving through the columns of the vast room while returning their deadly fire. The Enforcers could only avoid the massive volume of fire the Gun-Turrets output for so long ...

>Focus-fire on one turret (One success required)

>Focus-fire on both turrets (Two successes required)

>Focus-fire on both turrets and the remaining Railgun (Three successes required)

>Risk a handful seconds of network communication (Lower number of successes needed by 2, but roll survival checks for Hide, Akio, and Hisashi)

>>4220825
are these turrets on wheels or rails?

>>4220844
The railguns are stationary, the gun-turrets are on wheels

>>4220854
Have our grenadier fire grenades at the stationary railguns while we make try to draw the fire from the mobile turrets.

>>4220825
>Take off the helmet and coordinate with loud yelling. Radio isn't the only thing.
>Focus-fire on both turrets

Due to a lack of votes, I'm going to end this thread and make another one tomorrow and see how that one goes. As always, thanks for playing.

End of Thread

A new thread is up.
>>4224373