Turn 1. Day 1.
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Outside Kira's Manor After leaving the others to converse, Lancer decides to take more time examining his surroundings, as having a good understanding of the battlefield could be an important advantage in any of the encounters that are to come.
The city itself is built on a seashore and the main source of its income is trade. It is an old city that only recently received the attention of many large companies. As a result, the shore itself is the part where the oldest buildings are. Of course, there are also many docks, but they are built further from the old city, as to not ruin the beautiful sight for any tourists. The part with the docks is also the residential district, where most of the cheaper flats are located. Kira's manor is somewhat further from the rest of the city, but like all of the old buildings, it is closer to the historical centre. It is located on a hill overlooking the sea - a perfect view, very suitable for such a building. Further from the shore is the commerce district- the most modern part of the entire city. Most of the buildings there are skyscrapers built in the last four years, as well as office buildings and the more expensive flats.
Strategically, the manor is a great vantage point, especially considering that Archers are known for their inhuman vision. However the forest is really dense and dark, making it hard to fight in. Perhaps Saber, Assassin or Berserker could find such terrain advantageous, but even Lancer would have difficulties finding enough space to swing his weapon freely. Ranged classes such as Archer or Caster would be mostly useless here and Rider wouldn't even have enough space to fight mounted.
The city is small and doesn't have an active night life, so there isn't much risk in fighting in the city itself after midnight. The buildings in the historical center and residential districts are built quite close to each other, but don't really put any class into a huge advantage or disadvantage. The commercial district, however is very spacious, giving ranged combat servants the upper hand. If one wishes to fight at a truly large range, the best location is the area surrounding the highways - open, level fields.
After observing the surrounding area, Lancer returns home to rest and gather strength, as sooner or later battle would be inevitable. Archer mentioned going to "hunt" tonight, so the time might come earlier than expected.
(+300 energy for half day's rest.)__________
Kira's Manor - Treasure Room The treasure room was quickly claimed by Archer, due to it being his favorite part of the manor. The knight of the bow stands there, sipping well aged wine from a crystal chalice. It is good that the cellar hasn't been touched since his death. In this time, selling all of it would net one a small fortune. However, unlike the cellar, the treasure room is almost empty. During Archer's reign, this room held uncountable amounts of gold, artifacts and weapons gathered from the entire world known during that age. In fact, if not for the bow, the Servant would not have been summoned for this Grail War. Even if he was reunited with the most treasured of his equipment, the bowman still misses his crossbow, halberd, dagger, war axe...
However, now is not the time to think about this. Tonight may be the time of battle, so preparation is vital for survival. After finishing his wine, Archer dematerializes and rests to save energy. Even if his Master is incompetent, the Servant does not intend to die just like that.
(+1000 energy for full day's rest.)__________
Kira's Manor - Rahul's Room After leaving Kira to her much needed studies, Rahul decides to set up a boundary field in case a hostile Master would decide to attack. He had already done so in his flat before even summoning a servant, so the lack of defense in the other magician's manor seemed careless. Since the Grail War has just officially begun, it is possible that a few Masters would decide to strike as early as possible, while the servants are still weak. Luckily, Archer seems to be a good leader, so that could partially compensate for his Master's obliviousness.
(Roll: 12) Rahul takes a moment to appreciate his work. He managed to set up a very powerful boundary field without it taking much time and effort. Also considering that there are two servants in the manor, everyone should be safe, unless a really powerful Servant attacks.
Since there is still time, Rahul decides to take a nap, knowing that he won't be having many opportunities to rest during the Grail War.
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Kira's Manor - Library After cleaning up the mess that Archer (and by extension, his Master) made, Kira starts reading a book, hoping to learn more about this "Holy Grail War". As time passes, she understands more and more.
The "War" is a ritual. This is not the first one - it is held each year to decide who receives an artifact capable of granting any wish. These "Servants" are resurrected heroes of ancient myths. As Rahul said, they are indeed much more powerful than magi, and even attempting to fight them is foolish. Normally, no one could summon such a powerful being. But they are not familiars. Magi usually make weaker, smaller familiars, since keeping them under control requires a lot of mana. Even Kira knows that it is impossible to create such a powerful being. Yet Servants are something else entirely. The Grail itself performs the summoning. Being an omnipotent artifact, it doesn't obey the usual rules of magic. Instead of directly controlling the Servants, the Master can control them with their Command Spell, but it has only three charges, so usually the Servant obeys willingly or out of fear of wasting a Command Spell. Which is why Archer treats here like he was the Master, despite the roles being reversed.
Kira looks at the clock on the wall. She apparently spent the entire day cleaning up the library and studying, as it is already 9 PM. Archer would probably want to discuss strategy before heading out, so everyone should gather right about-
"Now", a familiar voice speaks behind her "we should discuss strategy before heading out. Rahul and Lancer are already waiting in the kitchen. I would prefer you to not delay the meeting."
Kira turns around, but Archer is already gone. This time she isn't even surprised. The bizarre happenings of the day and her Servant's unbelievable rudeness have driven her to the point where nothing is unexpected anymore.
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Status:Healthy
Command Spell:3/3
Mana: 500/500 (+200 per turn spent resting, +500 per day or night spent resting)
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Skills:
Mana Control 4
-The master has impressive reserves of mana.
Mana Transfer 2
-The master can transfer mana to his servant at a 1-3 ratio.
Defensive Magic 3
-The mage can cast defensive magic of level 3 or lower.
Divination 4
-The mage can cast divination magic of level 4 or lower.
Elemental Magic 2
-The mage can cast elemental magic of Level 2 or lower.
Wind Affinity
-The mage is better at casting wind spells.
__________
Spells:
Heal (Defensive, Lv3, 200 mp)
-Slightly heals a servant or master.
Sense Magic (Divination, Lv4, 50 mp)
-Senses magi and servants in a large distance. "Magic Resistance" and especially "Hide Presence" may reduce the effect of this spell.
Sense Power (Divination, Lv3, 50mp)
-Reveals some random stats, skills or abilities of a targeted servant or master.
Gust Of Wind (Elemental (Wind), Lv2, 50mp)
-Knocks the target back, giving the caster a chance to escape, though both magic resistance and endurance greatly reduce the effect.
Status:Healthy
Command Spell:3/3
Mana: 400/400 (+150 per turn spent resting, +400 per day or night spent resting)
__________
Skills:
Mana Control 3
-The master has average reserves of mana.
Mana Transfer 4
-The master can transfer mana to his servant at a 1-5 ratio.
Defensive Magic 3
-The mage can cast defensive magic of level 3 or lower.
Elemental Magic 4
-The mage can cast elemental magic of Level 4 or lower.
Water Affinity
-The mage is better at casting water spells.
__________
Spells:
Magic Shield (Defensive, lv3, 100 mp)
-For three turns the target gets Magic Resistance 3
Freeze (Elemental (Water), lv4, 100 mp)
-The target has its speed lowered for an amount of turns dependant on Magic resistance.
Wave (Elemental (Water), lv2, 50mp)
-Knocks the target back, giving the caster a chance to escape, though both magic resistance and endurance greatly reduce the effect.
Icicle Barrage (Elemental (Water), lv4, 50mp)
-Launches multiple spikes of ice at the target. They partially negate magic resistance, but can be blocked with an ordinary weapon.
Status: Healthy.
Mana: 2000/5000 (-0 per turn when materialized, +200 per turn spent resting, +1000 per day or night spent resting)
__________
Stats:
-Offense:3
-Defense:4
-Speed:4
-Endurance:2
-Mana:5
-Spells:1
__________
Abilities:
Independent Action 5
-The servant can stay in this world without a master for as long as he wishes and doesn't lose any mana for staying in physical form. However the master's help is needed if the servant wishes to use a lot of mana for combat.
Weapon Master 5
-The servant has knowledge of all the weapons in the world. He can switch between weapons freely, getting an advantage when doing so in combat. When an opponent activates his Noble Phantasm, this servant immediately identifies it. Additionaly, this servant can summon any weapon he owns whenever he wishes, letting him retrieve them at any time and hide the true number of his Noble Phantasms.
Magic resistance 2
-The servant is resistant to low level magic. All knight classes have this ability.
Clairvoyance 3
-The servant has superior vision, being able to spot and track objects from extreme distances. Additionaly the servant can see through magical illusions for 200 mana per turn.
Conceal Presence 3
-The servant is highly skilled in concealing his presence from other servants.
__________
Noble Phantasms:
Aegg-Samaan - Executioner's Dirge (Level 3 Greatbow)
-Instead of firing arrows, this weapon fires bursts of explosive energy. These shots cost 400/1200 mana and count as level 3/5 spells.
Dalaach Nol - Rifle of the Vorpal Sigil (Level 2 Flintlock Rifle)
-An accurate, but slow ranged weapon. Activation costs 200 mana per turn. While active, the shots fired from this weapon home in on their target, making them even harder to dodge.
Talend Ash'aram - Swerving Wings of Grace (Level 2 Throwing Knives)
-Due to Archer's ability to summon any of his weapons, these knives can be thrown rapidly without ever running out of them. Archer has 4 of these knives. Activating their power costs 400 mana per turn. when active, the knives levitate and attack their target on their own.
Sha Na Bothat - Sword Of The Sanctuary (Level 2 Longsword)
-A reliable melee weapon. When unsheathed, the weapon can completely nullify the impact from any physical attack it blocks, meaning that it can defend against such servants as Saber and Berserker without tiring the wielder.
Lothar Rhul - Funerary Edge (Level 2 Flamberge)
-A quick weapon that leaves large open wounds. Activation costs 300 mana per turn. While active, the weapon grants the user increased speed and defense (equal to rank 5).
Thaan Hotla Maligna - Arm of the Forsaken God (Level 2 Claymore)
-A large two-handed weapon. Activation costs 300 mana per turn. While active, the weapon grants the user exceptional strength, making all attacks much more powerful and letting the user dual wield with this weapon.
Status: Healthy.
Mana: 1100/3000 (-50 per turn when materialized, +120 per turn spent on resting, +600 per day or night spent resting)
__________
Stats:
-Offense:5
-Defense:3
-Speed:5
-Endurance:4
-Mana:2
-Spells:3
__________
Abilities:
Magic Resistance 4
-The servant is resistant to high-level magic. All knight classes have this skill.
Battle Continuation 4
-The servant easily ignores pain and can fight at full strength even when heavily wounded.
Bravery 4
-The servant easily ignores mental pressure, fear and other mental effects that would otherwise make it more difficult to focus.
Regeneration
-Lets the servant use a spell which increases the casters health regeneration for 100 mana per turn.
Merciless Strike
-Lets the servant use a spell which increases his offense to X for 200 mana per turn.
Energy Beam
-Lets the servant use a spell which focuses 400/700 of his mana into a beam of force, equal in strength to a level 3/5 spell.
__________
Noble Phantasms:
Kal'rim Desarr - Shining Spear of the Sky (Level 4 Long Spear)
-A weapon that has superior reach to most other weapons. When activated, the weapon creates a gravitational field that pulls hostile servants towards Lancer. For 800 mana, the weapon bypasses any defenses and cancels them for 3 turns.