Proposal: Steadfast Scorpion Glaive Style, The Slopes of Ash, and The Wetlands of Endless SpringDifficulty: Very EasyResult: (6+5)+2=13,
Unexpected BoonDuring the First Expansion of the Bei Bu, the nation of Warrior-Monks soon realized that their Elementalists were not going to be able to stand on their own against the hostile armies that once helped chase them into the jungle. In order to remedy this issue, sources of metal were sought out throughout the Jungle of Light. A few veins of ore were easy enough to find, but what really called to our smiths was a handful of sparkling stars that had at some point fallen from the sky and into the Jungle. This Stellar Iron brought with it inspiration for our smiths in the form of the Stellar Glaive. Given visions from the gods on how to work Stellar Iron and how to craft the tool the gods deemed best fit for it, our smiths crafted a glaive head with a blade on the inner and outer curves that was sharp enough to cut through a fly landing on it. The edges also proved to be impervious to damage. Sacred groves of trees were sought out within the Jungle, and select trees were harvested for their sturdy, light, slightly springy wood. The 40 centimeter blade is attached to the end of a 1.6 meter pole of wood, with each weapon built exactly to the specifications supplied by the visions of the gods. The poles of the Stellar Glaives are strong enough to block repeated bladed attacks, and just flexible enough to be able to withstand blunt force without splintering while staying firm enough to strike true. To stay true to the image of the gods, Stellar Iron can only be utilized in pole weapons and the styles that use them.
As those of fighting age were armed with the best of weapons, so too were they to receive the best training. They train in the art of constant and precise attacks meant to whittle through an opponent before offering a coup de grāce.
Steadfast Scorpion Glaive Style had a select set of specialized moves and training focused on fighting both alone and as a larger unit. When fighting as a larger unit,
Steadfast Scorpion Warrior-Monks utilize multiple ranks to create a thicket of glaives capable of causing deep lacerations with the slightest movement and making it difficult for an enemy unit to just push through to eliminate a reach advantage. The lone
Steadfast Scorpion Warrior-Monk typically takes a deep stance with the glaive held above the head poised to strike not unlike it's namesake, and indeed they could whip the glaive downward rapidly and repeatedly, offering flurries of blows to their enemy's upper bodies. They also utilize "claw strikes" to advance alternating horizontal strikes in rapid succession by spinning both themselves and their glaives to overwhelm their opponents. When on the defense,
Steadfast Scorpion Warrior-Monks block with the shaft of their glaive and use the enemy's strike to add momentum to a counterattack with the bladed end. There are more than enough
Stellar Glaives to go around, and
Steadfast Scorpion Glaive Style is accessible to those even without deeper ties to the elements or the self and so it is a
Common practice among the Zheng Mian, with larger unit sizes than normal thanks to training in tighter ranks.
With the ability to raise armies blessed by the gods themselves, the Zheng Mian were able to drive a wedge between the divided city-states in
The Slopes of Ash to the north and conquer their feuding territories one-by-one. Formations of
Steadfast Scorpion Warrior-Monks moving through the valleys were relentless on the attack, chopping through spears and shield, knocking aside axes and swords, and viciously separating people from their body parts. When additional
Laughing Lizard Warrior-Monk support was added, the results were overwhelmingly clear and measured in the corpses the Zheng Mian left in their wake. The city-states that did not raise the Zheng Mian banner when offered were instead crushed beneath their unabating offensive until the entirety of the region was under the influence of the Zheng Mian through annexation, vassaldom, or as a tributary.
The people of
The Wetlands of Endless Spring lived in many slightly nomadic clusters, roaming the grasslands and waterways and feeding off of the abundance of plant and wildlife that shared the region with them. An empire from a distant land had taken to conquering the people who'd lived here and forced them to settle lands more permanently so as to keep them easily controlled and accounted for. Over time this led to the sickening of the lands around the permanent settlements, upsetting the local balance between man and nature. While the distant empire was more numerous than the Zheng Mian forces, the vast number of rivers and waterways that separated open fields and the occasional copse of trees allowed the smaller, more maneuverable forces of the Zheng Mian to isolate pockets of Imperial forces and crush them. While there were plenty of larger bridge crossings and shallows that could be waded through, there were multiple instances of individual
Steadfast Scorpion Warrior-Monks holding smaller crossings against overwhelming odds. As the Imperial forces suffered defeat in detail, they were forced to release their grip on the people of
The Wetlands of Endless Spring. As time went on, the citizens returned to roaming, and the area returned to balance. The locals offered thanks to the liberating Zheng Mian by becoming their willing subjects, and the bounty of the lands was willingly gifted to the guardian nation.
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GM Pregame Insight: Hey, here's some special insight again during these three question phases from yours truly! The
Steadfast Scorpion Glaive Style was
Very Easy thanks to the nature of Basic Armed Styles - while they're often outshined by their magical counterparts and more potent Elementalists, their simplicity makes them easy to grasp. Both the weapon and the style didn't ask to do too much, so difficulty didn't get bumped up any. It wasn't any easier however, because it was still the development of both a weapon
and a style for it. Later on when you can create and revise freely, it will be possible to create a new weapon or piece of equipment for a style so long as it fits the style (so a newer, different Stellar Glaive for example).
Speaking of the Stellar Glaive, view the weapon as the gift for the Boon, not the material it's made of. The gods decreed this metal shall be used for their specific weapon type only. You can use Stellar Glaives and pole weapons in other Styles without worrying about the restricted usage of Stellar Iron impacting rarity, but it is not usable for any other weapon or type of armor. To do so would be to spit in the face of the gods.
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With your closest enemies conquered, your people sought to expand their influence and spread their beliefs to the ends of the continent. During this time the favor of the gods made itself known through the powers of the first Master who led the armies to the shores. This Master is likely to be relatively easy to bring into being, and so they shouldn't be considered the baseline difficulty for your own estimates of future Master proposals, especially if they're created alongside a new Style as this one is. Describe the Master and what makes them stand out on the battlefield. They also championed either a Magical Armed Style or a Qi-enhanced Unarmed Style. If describing a Magical Armed Style, remember to include the weapon that is developed for it, the Element that is used and how it is utilized, combat doctrines, mindset, special strikes, and techniques. If you decide to utilize a Qi-enhanced Unarmed Style, remember to include the Element for the base style, as well as what sort of Qi powers they use, whether they be "buffs" or "debuffs" they can apply or energy-based attacks. Remember though that while this Style is being designed for a unique character, the Style does not necessarily need to be made Unique and could potentially see more widespread use on the battlefield. Additionally, what were the three biomes conquered during this time?
You also get
Two Revisions, one for each style or it's related equipment to use now to get used what Revisions are capable of. You can modify the units themselves by producing new equipment or making specific changes to them or their outfit. Specific equipment from the equipment spoiler can be modified or have a closely related variant made. Styles can have techniques, tactics, and tricks refined or added to them. Note, however, that revisions will
never produce a new unit type, so any changes made will affect how currently existing units operate. Put simply, you cannot revise a new unit from a style, unit, or piece of equipment, and cannot revise a new style from a unit or piece of equipment.
[More GM Notes: This is to promote refining with revisions as opposed to using them as small designs when it comes to units, which are the end result of anything you do. Units are ultimately a direct result of a style modified by whatever applies in your Equipment spoiler. As a general rule of thumb, if you think something is an extreme enough change that it'll affect the unit rarity then you might be better off with a design.]
To sum up all the actions being required from you this turn, there's
Three Biomes, Two Revisions (one for Laughing Lizard Style or the Monks, the other for Steadfast Scorpion, the Glaives, or the Monks), and one new Style paired with a Master. Might seem like a bit, except you guys pretty much have biomes figured out anyways if I remember correctly, and the rest is to figure out how things work.
Steadfast Scorpion Glaive Style: An extremely offensive style utilizing glaives to launch withering assaults and whittle foes down until they can be dispatched with ease. Individuals tend to fight like the namesake scorpion, and when fighting as larger units they form tight-knit "hedgehogs" of glaives to allow consistent movement and offensive capabilities.
Fire:
Laughing Lizard Style: A defensive style of martial arts that focuses on footwork and constant movement, with fist and foot strikes as the primary means of offense. The Dance of Movement emanates light heat and creates a mirage effect around the monk, causing very bizarre afterimages to drag behind them.
Stellar Glaive: A glaive with an absurdly sharp blade on both sides of the curved head. The blades never dull. The jungle wood used in the pole is light, strong, and resilient. The blade is 40cm and the shaft is 1.6m, for a total length of 2m. There are more than enough of these for any Glaive-using style.
Zheng Mian Uniform: A white set of pants and shirt dyed using Jungle flowers. Each monk order has an associated color used for dyeing their clothing in order to express association and rank.
Laughing Lizard Warrior-Monks: Monks utilizing the Laughing Lizard Style. The easy fluid movements make it a popular style among the Zheng Mian. While their fighting style is more guarded, their teachings promote openness, joviality, and celebration of all things. In their daily lives they often take positions of guidance and mentorship, teaching others the benefits of being happy. Laughing Lizard Style monks come from all backgrounds and train at the monasteries in The Jungle of Light by the Teaching Flames in the village and at the First Light deep in the jungle.(COMMON)
Steadfast Scorpion Warrior-Monks: Monks utilizing the Steadfast Scorpion Style. They are equipped with Stellar Glaives and are extremely well trained fighters both individually and as a unit. Practitioners of the style emphasize decisiveness and honesty in their daily lives regardless of their station. Due to both the ease of picking up the Style as well as the nature of the style's tighter unit formations, these Warrior-Monks fight in larger unit sizes than normal. (COMMON)
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Topic: MMA AR: Zheng Mian Thread - Question 3 (Read 1531 times)