Pirate vs Elf Princess: FOIGHT!

[luke]

Wooden barricades have been set haphzardly to cordon off a stretch of the sandy beach. They reach from the water's lapping edge, into the dunes. Clutching the lattice work are nearly two hundred forms of pirate, villain and scum.

The Captain has agreed to let the Princess live and go free, should she be able to best his chosen man in a duel.

Arjan wonders why it's he who's been picked to die!

With a whoop and a shout and without warning, both fighters are unceremoniously thrust into the ring.

Finding their feet, weapons are drawn and position is vied for.

Arjan has a Speed of B4 and the Longest Weapon in the form of his loaded pistol. 3 successes

The Elven Princess has her prerequisite B6 Speed and higher Reflexes and Sprinting Training. 4 successes.

Before the unwitting dupe can blink. The fell lady is upon him.

Terpsichore is in optimal striking distance for her swords. Arjan is in perfect range for his pistols, but he has not even had time to bring his weapon to bear. He is in lunging distance for his cutlass.

Scripts must include positiong, intent of action, desired target for Strikes, desired impact for incoming blows and a justification for FoRKs. FoRK dice that are simply listed will be ignored.

Send 'em in, boys.
-L

[luke]

The pirates jeer and shout curses as the Elven witch sinously closes with her prey.

Exchange 1, Volley 1
Arjan
Position: Withdraw (+1D for Longer Weapon length) 5D total; 4 successes
Action: BLOCK! Using body and positioning in order to parry while withdrawing and cross bracing sword arm with the pistol for additional support. (FoRK Brawling plus Two Fisted Fighting for bonus shield die from Pistol).
Speech: He begins cursing...

Terpischore
Position: Maintain (+1D for cheatin' martial art, +1 for Reflexes, +1 for Sprinting) 9D total; 2 successes
Action: Strike, Avoid: She shifts her grip on her blade before striking, just as her sword master taught her. As she does so, she twirls, sweeping up a handful of sand and tossing it as a distraction as she pounces. (FoRK Sword and Brawling).
Characters may not Avoid while in Aggressive Stance. Terpsichore learns her lesson.
Speech: She sings a wrathful song

Volley Results
Arjan dances back, looking for an opportunity to bring his pistol to bear. Terpsichore skips forward, attempting to end this quickly. Remarkably, Arjan back-pedals from optimal striking distance to out of striking distance for the sword. (He won by two.)

The dust, sand and blades fall harmlessly across the path of the retreating pirate. Melee actions are out of range for this volley! You lucky dog, Arjan!

Terpsichore finds herself, as the expression goes, looking down the barrel of a gun. Son of a gun.

send in Forfeits promptly and I'll try to post the next exchange before I go to my con this weekend.

-L

PS I was left blinking by the dice, too!

[luke]

There is almost imperceptible hinge and halt in the death dance as the two opponent's realize each other's errors and shift to capitalize.

Exchange 1, Volley 2
Arjan
Positioning: Withdraw (B6 dice [i rolled the wrong amount of dice in the previous volley], 4 successes)
Action: Acquire and Fire (Ob 3, 4 successes)
Speech: G'night Tart!

Terpsichore
Positioning: Close (G9 dice, 7 successes) She wins and closes from Outside to Optimal.
Action: Hesitate, Set for Great Strike
Sing: Song of the Sword

Results:
Terpsichore whirls and spins -- she resumes control of the fight, plunging down toward Arjan like a spider plucking her prey from the web.

As she comes, Arjan's pistol belches forth a tongue of flame and gout of smoke. A searing lead ball slams into the onrushing Elf.

[I rolled a 5 on the gunpowder die; the pistol did not malfunction. The pistol shot hit. Neil wanted to aim for the head, but failed to generate the necessary successes (you need two extra). But since his intent was to use successes to aim rather than damage. Using his extra success, I moved the shot to the next less likely armored area -- the legs! I rolled a 5 on the DOF. A Mark result for the pistol. Melee combat is considered "too close to shoot" for ranged weapons, therefore the pistol counts as VA 4. It penetrates the chainmail (Ob 5 vs 4D) and delivers a Severe wound to the Elf. She passes her Steel test: 7D vs Ob 4, 4 succcesses.]

Her leg goes numb and sweat breaks out across her whole body. She nearly topples, but does not. Instead she maintains her grace and momentum. In fact, a slight grin passes across her wan lips. Her eyes flash. She's still alive. And his pistol is empty...

The pirate and the princess stand but a few paces apart -- well within range for blades to be brought into play.

Send any third volley forfeits ASAP.

-L

[luke]

The cheers from Arjan's pirate mates are cut short...

Exchange 1, Volley 3
Arjan
Stands there, squinting at the witch. "She's supposed ta fall now!"

Terpsichore
Position: Maintain (Arjan is hesitating, and she's acting without penalty, so she automatically wins)

Action 1: Great Strike for +1 VA - Use Aggressive Stance - 9D total
She braces her off-hand against the pommel, preparing for the fatal thrust.
Ob 1 -- optimal striking distance and not moving quickly -- 6 gray dice (due to wounds) and 3 successes. A Mark hit.

Action 2: Set Great Strike

Speech: Song of the Sword - Crushing Edge (G2 vs Ob 4, 1 successes. The sword song is unsuccessful.)

==

The pirate's weak leggings buckle and pop from the stress of the Princess's perfect thrust. The white blade drives home, as the Elf maid gives as good as she gets.



The pirate takes a B7 Midi wound to the leg. He's at -2D to all future actions. He rolls 0 succcesses on his Steel test. He's hesitating for quite a while.

Send in your next exchange. Neil, you may have Arjan surrender with a Fall Prone and Beg for Mercy action. I'm sure he didn't mean to kill her.

You are in optimal striking distance.

[luke]

Screaming a big, "yowee!" Arjan drops his smoking pistol and rusty cutlass. He clutches his wounded gam and pitches over into the dirt in a dead swoon.

The pirates let fly with a great cheer and a bawdy laugh. Terpsichore finds herself beset with marriage proposal's she's hard pressed to decline in her current woozy condition.

==
Terpsichore wins! She earns... no tests! Everything was routine. She does earn a point of fate, however.

Congratulations, Terpsichore!