The Finishing Blow blow rules p162 is very funny and should be in the center to any duel, even the one who have been planned for a days (the one who strife of any participant is 0).
Strife management should be key.
but i dont see how you could really create an outburst without any action that create strife . the only one is center and is very luck depend . The provoke action should have for each Opportunities generate 1 strife

What i imagine duel go like.
First strike : the one who has initiative wins a TN 2 Martial Arts check should not be a problem for a bushi , so staredown is the key; so you bid your composure -1 to -4 if you are a gambler or not.
I would like to see a water assessment give you the focus value or/and the composure of your opponent instead of terrain who is not really relevent because you are always at attack range
I would like to see a fire assessment that give you the best rings of your opponent. so you have more chance to give strife with the center action.

Duel to first blood. p160
Requirements: At the end of each round, if either character is Incapacitated, this objective is completed.
if you strike to incapacited with a katana you are likely to kill or to crush a limb.

Imo To First Blood and to death are the same.
A Finishing Blow should be lethal
Dont over commit to staredown because you will likely not die in 1 strike and you won have penaltys to your check due to damage.
if every 2 or 3 damages would create 1or 2 strife it would be a great mental game.

And to avoid a duel that is center, center , center , center, ... 2 center in a row should give you a strife.
And Provoke is a little weak , it should give 2 strife is the opponent doesnt attack (provoke is tn 3).

What do you think?

The kakita are the most skilled duelist (tied with mirumotos) but in duel they perform weaker critical hits .
Because they are using the blade one-handedly.
A Kakita must be rank 3 to have better critical hit than a mere rank 1 unicorn
In duel Kakitas should have rank+2 in deadliness while using iaijustu.

I think duels are intended to be center spam by default. You can always increase your opponent's strife by using a fire opportunity, and you can increase their strife by figuring out their build and guessing their next move correctly. Further, the center check itself can generate strife due to how the dice work.

There is zero rules forcing a kakita to use one hand. They dont fight by sheating and drawing their katana since first edition and this is pretty much, not a iaijutsu duel. (and if it was, everyone would be using weapons in one handed).

And anyway, im not a Finishing blow lover like most of the people here. It just works because in this system is easier to irritate someone than actually beat him to death.

Edit:Mirumoto bushi are the ones forced to use a sword with one hand. Due to obvious dual wield. is there any dual wield rules in the beta by the way? this is a important stuff, shame that they didnt think this through and just posted the mirumoto bushi school on the Beta.

8 minutes ago, Mobiusllls said:

There is zero rules forcing a kakita to use one hand. They dont fight by sheating and drawing their katana since first edition and this is pretty much, not a iaijutsu duel. (and if it was, everyone would be using weapons in one handed).

Read the Iaijutsu Kata.

Effects: You draw and ready the sheathed weapon in a one-handed grip.

And why the kakita or anyone else would use iaijutsu on the duel? Specially if he thinks its a bad maneuver?

Edit: I specifically said that they wouldnt fight using iaijutsu and sheating their katana every turn, like in the past, and i do agree with the Rules as written. an draw with two hands (with strengh enough to increase severity) would be weird.

There is a kata for dual wield. 2opp = weapon damage. So im guessing Mirumoto will have a exclusive kata doing something different with the second sword.

I posted a vid on another thread. It's Iaido but philosophy is the same. In it you see of course one handed Iai strike, but also strikes where one hand unsheat the sword, and the second hand joins very quickly the grip before the strike to add strength or drive the blade.

so RAW are what they are, but hey, L5R your way.

i watched the video on the other thread! I agree its cool and all but i just dont think that it should actually add severity. There is a difference between being in a ready stance with a strong grip in two hands and drawing the weapon.
And besides, if you could tell the GM "Hey im drawing with 2 hands to do more damage". Why would someone draw with only one hand?

Rule of cool, Situation, house rules who know.

I wont say it should but it could be done.

for an horizontal strike, you wouldn't really be able to add a hand. For a vertical strike, like top to bottom, you have room to add a second hand.

And indeed once drawn, sword can be used two handed.

Rule of cool, Situation, house rules who know.

I wont say it should but it could be done.

for an horizontal strike, you wouldn't really be able to add a hand. For a vertical strike, like top to bottom, you have room to add a second hand.

And indeed once drawn, sword can be used two handed.