Sword Quest V - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

> From our perspective, is she swinging right-to-left or left-to-right?
> How does the size her katana compare to the size of our swords?

>Right to left.
>Her katana is about as long as Roukanken.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Are we within the slash path, or is she just swinging to push us back?

[Hello Purvis]

> Are we within the slash path, or is she just swinging to push us back?

>You are within the path, though it could very well be both things.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is she holding her katana with one hand or two?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is she holding her katana with one hand or two?

>Both hands.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Jump back again, but this time, swing our right-hand sword right-to-left, trying to catch her blade on ours and deflect her swing harder and further leftward than she originally intended to swing.

[Hello Purvis]

> Jump back again, but this time, swing our right-hand sword right-to-left, trying to catch her blade on ours and deflect her swing harder and further leftward than she originally intended to swing.

>You move back and swing your weapon to interfere with hers. The blade passes you by with surprising speed, and your's follows. Just as she reaches the end of her swing, your blade hits the back of hers and knocks it further away before she can recover it. In response, she doesn't even try to, instead starting to step rightward and break away from you.

>_

[Suwako Moriya]

> Is she stepping to her right or to our right?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is she stepping to her right or to our right?

>Your right.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Horizontal left-to-right slash with our left-hand sword while pulling our right-hand sword up to get it out of the way.

[Hello Purvis]

> Horizontal left-to-right slash with our left-hand sword while pulling our right-hand sword up to get it out of the way.

>You slash at her, but she is already moving out of the way, apparently having anticipated that the other weapon was coming. It passes just short of her as she moves to face you again, drawing her weapon back into position, now a couple more feet away.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Do graduates of the Konpaku School of Swordery tend more toward offensive, defensive, or balanced combat styles?

[Hello Purvis]

> Do graduates of the Konpaku School of Swordery tend more toward offensive, defensive, or balanced combat styles?

>You can be any of these things as you need to be, so probably balanced.

>_

[Kilgamayan]

> Is she holding her sword directly in front of her, or off to one side?

[Hello Purvis]

> Is she holding her sword directly in front of her, or off to one side?

>She seems to be bringing it in front of herself.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>What conventions do we know of for sword duels in Gensokyo, regarding injuries and what kind of contact would count for scoring a proverbial 'point' or winning a match? Is it poor form to actually injure an opponent rather than merely threaten to do so? Should we try to make contact only with the flat of our blade?
>...and do we have any idea whether the oni would even respect such a polite set of sparring rules?
>We really should have gotten more details from the one who set this up....

[Hello Purvis]

>What conventions do we know of for sword duels in Gensokyo, regarding injuries and what kind of contact would count for scoring a proverbial 'point' or winning a match? Is it poor form to actually injure an opponent rather than merely threaten to do so? Should we try to make contact only with the flat of our blade?
>...and do we have any idea whether the oni would even respect such a polite set of sparring rules?
>We really should have gotten more details from the one who set this up....

>In your case, it is all the same. You may use your swords as you use danmaku, and you would hope anyone else who considers themself a student of the blade in Gensokyo would learn the same!
>Whether oni respect this is a bit more difficult. You would hope so, they are notorious for their sense of honor and forthright nature. But, sometimes that leads them to weird places.
>That might not have hurt...

>_

[DracoOmega]

>So, that means we can aim freely to any part of the body without risk of actual injury - or general foul play?
>Is this 'disruptive' enough that a strike to a leg might cause a meaningful stumble that could be capitalized upon?
>Or is it safer to assume that any single hit wins a round, at which point we'd square off again? If we had to guess.

[Hello Purvis]

>So, that means we can aim freely to any part of the body without risk of actual injury - or general foul play?
>Is this 'disruptive' enough that a strike to a leg might cause a meaningful stumble that could be capitalized upon?
>Or is it safer to assume that any single hit wins a round, at which point we'd square off again? If we had to guess.

>Yes.
>Yes, much like being hit with danmaku, being stabbed by a sword isn't fun at all.
>You don't imagine there will be rounds, as such. That would require something more formal than what has happened already!

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Well, then if she is to be so unceremonious, let us do what we can to best her decisively.
>Charge foward, Roukanken held close before us. But rather than try to meet the oni's blade directly, carefully follow the path of any strike she will make from this frontal position and sidestep swiftly. If she turns he blade into too strong a diagonal, reduce our own profile while deflecting the blade's course with Hakurouken. Do not attempt to match power for power with the oni, but simply redirect her force along an angle just wide enough to slip past.
>Then strike at her side with Roukanken!

[Hello Purvis]

>Well, then if she is to be so unceremonious, let us do what we can to best her decisively.
>Charge foward, Roukanken held close before us. But rather than try to meet the oni's blade directly, carefully follow the path of any strike she will make from this frontal position and sidestep swiftly. If she turns he blade into too strong a diagonal, reduce our own profile while deflecting the blade's course with Hakurouken. Do not attempt to match power for power with the oni, but simply redirect her force along an angle just wide enough to slip past.
>Then strike at her side with Roukanken!

>You charge in with Roukanken as the oni slips back into a basic stance. She takes a step back and levels a quick stab at you. You step around it, then strike out at her side. The oni tries to step away, but your weapon lightly grazes her. She does not cry out, nor does seem to falter, but you note her eyebrows twitch and her jaw clench a little as she moves away.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Let's follow in quickly for a follow-up attack with whichever sword has better leverage given our current angles.
>But keep close eye on her blade and take care not to overextend. As before, try to redirect away any counterattacks rather than take them head-on. If she makes a strike that we do not think we can redirect while keeping up our offensive motion, try instead to dash past her range entirely - towards her rear, if we can, then quickly turn around, but back away instead if the former maneuver seems too risky.

[Hello Purvis]

>Let's follow in quickly for a follow-up attack with whichever sword has better leverage given our current angles.
>But keep close eye on her blade and take care not to overextend. As before, try to redirect away any counterattacks rather than take them head-on. If she makes a strike that we do not think we can redirect while keeping up our offensive motion, try instead to dash past her range entirely - towards her rear, if we can, then quickly turn around, but back away instead if the former maneuver seems too risky.

>You follow, and try to lead in with a measured slash from Roukanken, only to have her katana snap over to deflect it. Then she starts to slide her weapon down along the blade's length, as she steps to your right, away from Hakurouken.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Angle Roukanken to slide her blade aside from us, then pull back and away from the engagement while circling around her a little
>Then take another couple quick steps forward and make a sharp frontal slash with Roukanken while continuing to shift our position laterally to follow in with Hakurouken. Press our advantage in speed, rather than power.

[Hello Purvis]

>Angle Roukanken to slide her blade aside from us, then pull back and away from the engagement while circling around her a little
>Then take another couple quick steps forward and make a sharp frontal slash with Roukanken while continuing to shift our position laterally to follow in with Hakurouken. Press our advantage in speed, rather than power.

>You quickly shift your weapon as she tries to increase the pressure on her weapon, and it slides away. She pulls back as you circle, then moves back as you move toward her, stepping onto the bridge. You slash with Roukanken goes wide, and Hakurouken is in no position to reach her. At least not until she moves in with a speedy jab toward your torso!

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Pull Hakurouken in crosswise against the jab to push it aside, while we twist our body away from the attack
>Then try to slash with Roukanken again while the oni is committed to this thrust

[Hello Purvis]

>Pull Hakurouken in crosswise against the jab to push it aside, while we twist our body away from the attack
>Then try to slash with Roukanken again while the oni is committed to this thrust

>You try to push the attack aside with with your shorter blade, but you are not able to catch it at a good angle with that degree of preparation and it is like trying to turn aside an avalanche.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Then instead let's quickly step back and aside, and get the heck out of the way!
>Try to get a little distance and resume a defensive posture before making our next move

[Hello Purvis]

>Then instead let's quickly step back and aside, and get the heck out of the way!
>Try to get a little distance and resume a defensive posture before making our next move

>You draw back, barely able to twist away from the oni's sword. She seems content to let you go, instead recomposing her own stance.
>"Not half bad," she says.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Likewise. There is great strength and confidence in your strikes."
>Slowly approach her again. Try to bait her into making the first move, but make sure we position ourselves to be able to better-dodge any sudden attacks than we could the last one.