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Old 04-04-2022, 03:31 PM   #1
Plane
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Default tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu)

Basically the effect is firstly that you teleport out of the way like w/ your standard Warp Dodge, but also that a log is left behind in a cloud of smoke, so an attacker still hits something and may not notice right away they missed until a couple seconds later when the smoke clears and they see the log.

This is also done by Enid Mettle in "OK KO Let's Be Heroes".

Shown here - https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qi...8b77e49c0cb7ff

though normally a log there was also one instance where it was done using a rabbit too : https://only1one1me.tumblr.com/post/...et-bunny-still

I'm not really sure about Kakashi's explanation about it being raised indoors though. All I can figure is maybe to train it to stay still (like a log) because you couldn't readily use this on a moving substitution object.

It doesn't seem like you can move very far, so a range limit of 5 or 10 yards might be there, if you're relying on this to do -10 dodges you probably can't deal with distance penalties anyway.

I'm just not sure if this would be like an Affliction to do a 2way "swap places" kind of Warp, maybe you set it up ahead of time w/ Triggered Delay?

I can't recall it ever showing where these logs are stored ahead of time, like if they're concealed on one's person, or maybe stored nearby. That kind of thing would obviously matter too.

- -

There's also the possibility that something other than Warp might cover this too, since it's arguably just a dodge w/ the added theatrics of a smoke bomb hurled in response to the attack but before the attack lands on where you were standing prior to that dodge, plus getting something else in the way so that it takes a hit.

Maybe this would be like using a log or bunny as an improvised shield and doing a Block? Except in this case you're no longer in that location when the object actually blocks the attack, you just place it there and then exit the hex before it lands.

Kind of like... instead of holding a shield up to block an arrow, throwing that shield toward the incoming arrow so that it intercepts the arrow a hex or two early (useful if the arrow is exploding perhaps) which would probably be a lot harder to do.
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Old 04-04-2022, 06:09 PM   #2
Varyon
 
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Default Re: tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu

So, typically, outside of comedy and/or ninja Supers (Naruto is largely the latter), this type of technique isn't meant to represent the ninja literally teleporting and leaving something in his/her place - rather, it's meant to be something where the ninja has a decoy setup ahead of time, manipulating the fight so the foe mistakes the decoy for them, then popping up from behind and attacking while the foe is distracted attacking the decoy. In the manga (and anime adaptation) Flame of Recca, the titular character makes a good deal of use of the technique in this fashion (early on, he also defeats a challenger with a pit trap he must have dug earlier... after said foe is distracted by a decoy he setup in a tree).

The practical effect, however, is that the character functionally does teleport and leave something behind, so it's probably most appropriate to build the trait like that. This is rarely a case of the character swapping places with something else - rather, it's some sort of typically previously-unseen, purpose-made decoy (and if it was previously in the scene, the ninja doesn't show up where it used to be).

My inclination would be to have two traits involved. First, obviously, is Warp - invariably defensive-only and short-ranged, so Limit it appropriately. It has a further Limitation - Must Leave Behind Decoy, which is probably -5% or -10% (maybe up to -20%, but that's pushing it). If the character is already in the same hex as a potential decoy, I'd allow just using said decoy, but more typically it's something the character would have to carry along with them - in the form of a Cosmic Payload that is typically Limited to only work for storing decoys (or perhaps only for storing ninja tools, with decoys included as an option). That's a sizable Limitation, arguably -80%, and I'd want to use Multiplicative Modifiers in this case, so net -70% between Cosmic and Decoys Only (Ninja Tools Only is probably something like -40%, for net -10% with MM). Alternatively, with GM permission, you could do something a bit more interesting - give Warp Limited Use, Slow Reload, with the "bullets" actually being decoys (in which case it no longer has the Must Leave Behind Decoy Limitation, but rather the Leaves Behind Decoy Enhancement... although I'd mark the latter at +0%). Note in this case the Decoys should probably be assumed to be destroyed when used.

To have something that wasn't in your Cosmic Payload or the same hex as you as a decoy, I wouldn't modify the above traits. Rather, I'd allow the player to spend an Impulse Point to claim that they actually setup that item as a decoy earlier. To use a person as a decoy like this (which, again, happened at one point in Flame of Recca), said person needs to either be willing to cooperate (which may require some retroactive Influence rolls) or be helpless (in the FoR case, the foe being swapped out for was one that had just been beaten senseless in the previous match - it was during a Tournament Arc - and would have been unable to really react).


If you genuinely want a power that swaps the places of you and something else (like Trickster's power in Worm), I'd go with Affliction (Warp) and a personal instance of Warp, both with a Limitation that both have to succeed in order for them to work at all.
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Old 04-04-2022, 07:13 PM   #3
Sorenant
 
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Default Re: tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu

Wouldn't it be Warp (Blink only; Gyroscopic) with Special Effect, Leaves random object in the original location? Edit: Perhaps a Linked Obscure (Vision).
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Old 04-04-2022, 08:30 PM   #4
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plane View Post
I can't recall it ever showing where these logs are stored ahead of time, like if they're concealed on one's person, or maybe stored nearby. That kind of thing would obviously matter too.
Logs (or in one early case a straw dummy) are only for the Hidden Leaf vilage style. This would descend from the first Hokage's Wood Style.

Gaara of the Sand pulled a substitution jutsu during the Chunin exams to keep Rock Lee from screwing Gaara's head into the arena floor and Gaara left behind sand and not a log. The in-universe explanatio nwas that Gaara made the substittion during a split-second when Lee's eyes were screwed shut in pain from the exertion of pulling off that Primary Lotus attack.

I think I've seen Water substitutions too.

At any rate the inanimate material is conjured up and briefly disguised with an illusion type of jutsu.

In the past I have speculated that in game mechanical terms the Substitution jutsu is the special effect of spending an Extra Life or Impulse pt when negating a devastating attack on the ninja. With more lead up time it'd be another sort of illusion jutsu.
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Old 04-05-2022, 03:24 PM   #5
Plane
 
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Default Re: tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu

One of the effects here besides dodging seems to be that you are effectively forcing your enemy to make contact with whatever object you left in your place which is why I wondered if it might somehow involve a block or parry even if you're not touching whichever object you're wielding.

It's almost like the object is doing a sacrificial dodge on your behalf, which is another example where you can force an attacker to make contact with something besides it's intended target.
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Old 04-05-2022, 06:03 PM   #6
Varyon
 
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Default Re: tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plane View Post
One of the effects here besides dodging seems to be that you are effectively forcing your enemy to make contact with whatever object you left in your place which is why I wondered if it might somehow involve a block or parry even if you're not touching whichever object you're wielding.

It's almost like the object is doing a sacrificial dodge on your behalf, which is another example where you can force an attacker to make contact with something besides it's intended target.
It's extremely rare for this to actually have any real effect on the battle. There are a few exceptions where the ninja uses a trapped decoy, such as a dummy filled with explosives, but even then it's more "I left an armed explosive there" than "Ha! Your weapon struck my fiendish trap!" I'd disregard the fact it forces the target to hit something, and either have an Innate Attack that is reliant on the Warp working or maybe just allowing the character to purchase/make a trapped decoy normally (and store it in their Payload).
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Old 04-05-2022, 08:42 PM   #7
Plane
 
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Default Re: tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu

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Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
I'd disregard the fact it forces the target to hit something, and either have an Innate Attack that is reliant on the Warp working or maybe just allowing the character to purchase/make a trapped decoy normally (and store it in their Payload).
I guess one thing you could do is something like innate attack (Wall) targeting whichever hex you teleported away from.

Then when it causes a miss I think per the 'striking into a close combat' rules, a miss on your intended foe on B392 there's that max 9 or less chance of hitting something else in the hex you were targeting?

Which means you're not guaranted to hit the log but there's reasonable odds of hitting the log.

Looking at https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qim...8662d28b8c2f39 it seems a lot more like a warp though since it's not the case of "I dodged in the smoke and put a log there" but actually "you grappled me and I teleported out of the grapple and now you're grappling a log"
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Old 04-06-2022, 05:58 AM   #8
Aldric
 
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Default Re: tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plane View Post
Looking at https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qim...8662d28b8c2f39 it seems a lot more like a warp though since it's not the case of "I dodged in the smoke and put a log there" but actually "you grappled me and I teleported out of the grapple and now you're grappling a log"
That's what happens most of the time, the target is hit, appears to take damage or be otherwise affected by the attack, and then he's replaced by a log, doll or whatever. The dummy target most of the time shows signs of being hit by the attack (kunai sticking out of it, or ropes around it as in the scene above).

So there are actually 3 parts in this technique, dodge the attack (warp or not, depending on speed and distances involved), create a dummy, cover the dummy with an illusion.
The illusion is short lived, so the attacker realizes almost immediately the mistake, however there is often the opportunity for a surprise attack.
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Old 04-06-2022, 11:50 PM   #9
Plane
 
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Default Re: tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu

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Originally Posted by Aldric View Post
That's what happens most of the time, the target is hit, appears to take damage or be otherwise affected by the attack, and then he's replaced by a log, doll or whatever. The dummy target most of the time shows signs of being hit by the attack (kunai sticking out of it, or ropes around it as in the scene above).

So there are actually 3 parts in this technique, dodge the attack (warp or not, depending on speed and distances involved), create a dummy, cover the dummy with an illusion.
The illusion is short lived, so the attacker realizes almost immediately the mistake, however there is often the opportunity for a surprise attack.
maybe the point of these logs is they serve the anchor the illusion somehow?

This also makes me wonder in GURPS how you would game subtle stuff like how Sakura used this technique during the chuunin exams.

This video includes a spoiler for episode 32 (Sakura Blossoms) so if anyone hasn't gotten that far in Naruto you might want to catch up to their organically before reviewing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26yNlLJHYaM&t=96s

Spoiler:  


This almost seems like a 'tactics' situation, or could it somehow fall under feinting, or perhaps a ruse?

It's definitely more advanced than your standard feint though since it involves a lot of psychology and setup over multiple preceding situations
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Old 04-07-2022, 07:56 AM   #10
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Default Re: tweaking Warp to represent Naruto's Body Replacement Technique (Kawarimi no Jutsu

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plane View Post
maybe the point of these logs is they serve the anchor the illusion somehow?
Again, in the original stories with ninja decoys, they're just that - a decoy that the foe mistakes for the ninja, allowing the ninja to sneak up on and attack them (or attempt to, at least). With ninja supers, the reason is just "the originals had decoys, so our ninja do too," even when it's obviously short-range teleportation. I don't know if there was ever an official explanation for why it's Body Replacement Technique instead of Teleporting Escape Technique (that is, why they have to leave something behind). However, the effect is that they teleport, and something else is left behind. If you want it to be something where they trade places with something nearby, that's the Warp + Affliction build. If you want it to be something they previously made/found/bought, that's Warp with a Decoy Required Limitation (or maybe Warp with Limited Use and Slow Reload); if the item is inconvenient to just carry around, they probably need a Cosmic Payload (unless using the Limited Use + Slow Reload option). If you want them to just leave something behind as a special effect (which, honestly, is probably how it works in most cases), then if that thing is innocuous (a piece of wood, straw dummy, initially-Gaara-shaped-pile-of-sand, etc), it's probably just +0%, while if it does something, you need a Linked effect of some sort - Innate Attack if it harms the attacker, Binding if it's a net that wraps up the attacker, Obscure for a smoke bomb, etc.

Whether this is because you need an object to place an illusion over, the technique is actually exchanging places with something else, you have to travel through a pocket dimension and leaving something behind makes it possible for you to get back (via a contagion effect), or the ninja who originally invented the technique thought it looked cool and everyone since then has mistakenly believed it was necessary (or said ninja told their disciples it was necessary, to keep an upper hand), largely doesn't matter. What matters are the game effects.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plane View Post
It's definitely more advanced than your standard feint though since it involves a lot of psychology and setup over multiple preceding situations
Probably a Ruse, with the GM giving Sakura a sizable bonus (and/or her opponent a sizable penalty) due to her making it look like she's doing the same thing as she's done twice previously. Not so much a general rule, just "In this situation, it makes a lot of sense her opponent would be fooled, so I'll give her a bonus."
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