A mock combat i ran by my lonesome to test out the now outdated 2nd edition of the Mutants & Masterminds rpg. A nuts and bolts breakdown of the dice rolls and mechanics follows the narrative.
Ninja showdown
Satoru walked slowly among the shadows of the forest. He was sent here by his master to gather rare herbs, an odd request, but master Kotaru's orders always had a reason, sometimes hidden by another, like the layers of the onion he was snacking upon for breakfast. Satoru was pleased, a student of the silent arts should always appear dumber than he looked to his teacher, lest jealousy put poison in his food or suicidal missions be assigned to the ambitious. "If the old turtle didn't bother to come up with anything more elaborate to send me here, he must be really thinking me a harmless fool" he mused. A wicked grin flashed on his face, "and this belief will become his undoing, when the time is right". Up in the trees Yoshifumi was thinking more or less along the same lines. Bring me Larks eggs... it seemed a weird order coming from the menacing and heavily scarred face of Master Kotaru. Yoshifumi's whisper was lost in the rustling of the autumn leaves "old turtle, if it's the blood of Satoru you want i will be glad to shed it, and if not, i will at least get rid of the onion stench of his breath!".
Running swiftly along a tree branch Yoshifumi unsheathed his wakizashi. His grin of anticipation suddenly wiped from his face as his feet slipped on a treacherous patch of moss. Cursing his bad luck he rolled in the air and landed lightly on his feet, right in front of his blinking enemy. Satoru chewed on the last bit of onion and took a long apprehensive look at his opponent's blade, gleaming in the shafts of light piercing the leaves above. He then locked his gaze on Yoshifumi's unwavering eyes. "good morning Yoshifumi, i bet Master sent you on an errand as well" he smirked nervously as his hands edged closer to his weapon's hilt. Yoshfumi changed his stance slightly and remarked curtly "Yes Satoru an errand i will be pleased to complete".
Yoshifumi's attack came fast but his blade met only the air as his black clad opponent dodged to the left. Satoru's eyes revealed fear and a hint of desperate determination. Yoshifumi knew Satoru was a cowardly rat, but even rats fought to the death when cornered. He cautiously started circling his opponent waiting for an opening. Satoru drew his wepon and smiled uneasily " This need not end like this, we are both valuable students of our wise Master, surely the death of one of us will greatly displease him..." Yoshifumi's eyes narrowed "you are not going to talk yourself out of this Satoru" with unexpected speed he charged, his leveled blade leaving a thin crimson line in Satoru's left arm. Satoru grimaced in pain "you will regret this Yoshi" he withdrawed quickly, his wakizashi held high in a defensive stance. Yoshifumi gritted his teeth and moved closer "I always hated that nickname, reminds me of a green lizard i had when i was a kid" his sword came from below rising high to meet Satoru's curved blade. The ring of steel startled a flock of multicolored birds that fluttered away in the noon sky.
Satoru disengaged, the blades scraping ominously against each other and slashed low, aiming for Yoshifumi's legs. The sword blow was easily jumped over by his grinning enemy " you must do better than that Sato, if you wish to finish eating the onions you have left".
Satoru knew when a battle was turning against him. Running away to fight another day, and with better odds, always seemed the more sensible approach to him. He grabbed a small egg from his belt and dropped it in front of his feet. A black oily smoke rose up from the impact point spreading quickly in the chilly wind, herald of the coming winter.
Satoru turned, ready to run but yoshifumi was soon upon him and as Swift as a frog's darting tongue his blade slashed diagonally, parting the smoke and drawing a thin red line along his back. Satoru felt the metal tang of blood as it began to well out of his mouth. His voice emotionless Yoshifumi raised his sword and said "Sato i give you the chance to die like a warrior". In desperation Satoru gathered what was left of his fleeting strenght and faced his fellow student. His wakizashi was held in trembling hands, the attack he tried soon after was pitifully slow and easily dodged by his adversary. "So; it seems i will be the one bearing the dangerous duty of reporting your death to Master Kotaru". Yoshifumi's grin widened "Will you mind me throwing away your stash of onions?". Satoru gazed blankly at his killer for a few seconds, orange and yellow leaves blowing past his ashen face. He fell gracelessly, a crimson pool staining the grass around his prone body. "I tought not" whispered Yoshifumi and without a backwards glance stepped out of the path, his eyes searching the trees for nests. He sighed "I really hope Master Kotaru doesn't want onion in his eggs".
0. Pre-battle: Yoshifumi draws his Wakizashi and runs along a tree branch hoping to suprise attack SatoruYoshifumi wins.
1. Yoshifumi takes a standard action and attacks Satoru, he misses, and using his move action retreats to a safe distance. Satoru draws his weapon, a move action, and using a standard action tries to demoralize his opponent, his attempt fails.
2. Yoshifumi takes a full action to charge Satoru and attack, his bonuses prove just enough to hit. Satoru fails his toughness save by 3 and is injured. Satoru takes a standard action to ready himself to block the next blow and a move action to move away from Yoshifumi.
3. Yoshifumi uses a move action to get close and a standard action to attack again. His attack is blocked by the readied action of Satoru. They both have the same dexterity bonus so they roll a die to determine initiative, Satoru wins.
4. Satoru takes a standard action and attacks, he misses. He uses his remaining move action and a free action to grab and drop a smoke bomb in front of him. Yoshifumi attacks, he hits and succeeds on the 50% miss roll imposed by the total concealment of the smoke. Satoru fails his toughness save by a wide margin, ending staggered, disabled and stunned.
5. Yoshifumi takes no action this round. Satoru is still stunned.
6. Satoru recovers from being stunned and attacks, trying to bring Yoshifumi to hell with him but his roll misses. Yoshifumi takes no action this round, waiting for his enemy to fall.
7. The strenous action taken by Satoru in the previous round brings him down to dying, he fails his fortitude saving throw to stabilize. Satoru is dead.
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