A Challenger Appears! Green versus Red

[ericthered]

Truth be told, I've never as a GM enforced evaluate distances. I've often allowed them on mounted troops charging the enemy, and even occasionally on people running full tilt at each other.

Does having a shoe in hand count as being "Armed" for purposes of parrying? what sorts of benefits are we giving the shoe? Also, are you swinging it around like a ball and chain or just gripping it firmly?

[Plane]

Gripping it by the laces allows it to be used either as a sling or a flail according to low-tech, so I think it does count as being armed.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Plane

Gripping it by the laces allows it to be used either as a sling or a flail according to low-tech, so I think it does count as being armed.

But you have to use your flail skill at the improvised weapon penalty for that to count, right?

[Plane]

correct, -2

[ericthered]

That's umm... not terribly threatening then.

Evaluate to +2 and step closer.

[Plane]

You narrow the gap from 6 to 5 yards.

I want to avoid that penalty to hit you so I'm going to use my free step to go from kneeling>standing.

I guess AOD:Determined Dodge this time, so I might get some AP

[ericthered]

Evaluate to +3 and step closer.

[Plane]

You narrow the distance from 5 to 4

HT roll was 7, which is 4 under 11, so I recover 2 more AP and am up to 10/12 AP.

taking AOD: double using free step to go 4>5

[ericthered]

Maintaining evaluate and stepping closer.

As long as Green is just defending and stepping away, that is what Red will do, if you want to just roll until you've got full AP.

[Plane]

my next roll was a 10, MoS 1 re 11, so I get back 1 AP and go from 10/12 to 11/12

I for some reason had some mental scheme a couple day ago as to how I could get back some AP but I can't seem to remember what it was. Something about forgetting some kind of roll or overpaying... oh well.

in that case I'll just go again, another 10, so I'm at max now.

Anyway, here's the rub... with my move at 1/2 (2.5 rounded down is 2) the free step is already 50% of my distance. To move the remaining 50% of my MP would cost 5 AP at 1 per 10% or 3 AP at 1 per 20%... too expensive!

"1 AP per additional step" is cheaper, but the only way I could do that is a Committed Attack (which will cost 3 AP anyway since that costs 2 to begin with) and I could take -2 to all defenses, or...

I could possible choose Defensive Attack (1 AP) to target myself (telegraphed to get a bonus to defend against it) and then defend (1AP) and retreat against the attack targetting myself (1 AP) which would also cost a total of 3 AP but would not require taking any defense penalties (in fact I could take +1 to parry)

I'm taking the latter option... the first part of my Defensive Attack, I use my free step to maintain a distance from you as usual (4>5)

Telegraphic Attack to grapple my torso! I roll a 13, MoS 2 re 15 (12+4) it succeeds.

I will now attempt to do a parry against that grapple while retreating for a +3. I do not get the +1 bonus for "one foe" since I am focused on you and not myself.

Note that due to us both being a -1 to DX due to fatigue and our Brawling/Boxing being reduced from 16/14 to 15/13 that our base parry scores are now 7+3=10 and 6+3=9 instead of 11/10 as before.

My 9 is increased to 10 due to taking a Defensive Attack, and another +2 from defending against a telegraphic attack makes my target number 12. The +3 for retreating changes this to 15.

Much as I would like to get another +2 for doing a "cross parry", that doesn't really make sense since I'm using my other arm to try and grapple myself, so it's busy!

However, since this is a grapple, I don't really need to use arms at all. Using MA122's "If you parry a grappling technique" I could use no-hands "counter" parry to avoid the grapple. I thought this might avoid counting it as a parry by my arms, but TG22 states it counts as a parry with both arms, though apparently just individually and not like a Cross Parry where it forbids future parries during the action.

Given that we should be using realism rules where the -4 to DX for off-hand applies to parries, using this no-hands version would be necessary to avoid the -2 to parry for using the left hand...

I get a 10, a success. Meaning I have moved 2 yards away from you (the distance between us is now 6) at the cost of 3 AP, reducing me from 12 to 9 AP.

Actually... probably would've been simpler to pay the 3 AP to move 50% of my Movement Points (if we were using it, I can't remember if we discussed which we were using) then I could've avoided the risk inherent to die rolls (missing myself wouldn't have prompted a retreat... and failing to defend against a grapple invalidates the step you get from a retreat!) but then I would've have gotten that sweet +1 to parry which won't matter in the slightest since you'd still probably target my legs and I'd have to dodge.

The conservation of momentum only seems to apply if youre previous maneuver was a Move though, so I could've maintained a speed of 2 next round for free if we were using velocity rules. Maybe the 1 free step could be viewed as 1 free step of acceleration so that accelerating to max could eventually be free if done slowly?

Your go!