I have a question about the "Deflective Defense" Kata (Path of Waves p 88):
How long does the enhanced Physical Resistance Effect last?
It does not Specify this in the Text.
Kind Regards,
Aldyramon
I have a question about the "Deflective Defense" Kata (Path of Waves p 88):
How long does the enhanced Physical Resistance Effect last?
It does not Specify this in the Text.
Kind Regards,
Aldyramon
It is poorly written but assuming it's a rank 3 kata, I'd say it increases until the end of the conflict.
I would have put it until the start of your next turn, based on what it represents - namely, taking cover behind your large weapon.
Higher ranked kata aren't necessarily stronger by default, they require more specialization and give better scaling etc in return. The lower ranks will likely have broader and more consistent effects.
Until you next do something making a check with it, anyway.
If you start hefting and striking with the weapon, logically it can't still be "planted in the ground" and protecting you.
My argument is that Striking as Earth is way more consistent and overall better for a rank 1 kata than this one. Then again, if you have Fitness over 3, as long as you are not being attacked by close weapons, Deflective Defense is better.
Exactly, that's what I'm saying. The rank 1 kata will be more broadly applicable with easier conditions, while the rank 3 kata will be better, if you've invested in the right skills.
At any rate, this is probably worth sending an email to FFG for, as completely missing a duration seems like an oversight.
23 hours ago, Diogo Salazar said:My argument is that Striking as Earth is way more consistent and overall better for a rank 1 kata than this one. Then again, if you have Fitness over 3, as long as you are not being attacked by close weapons, Deflective Defense is better.
Depends. Deflective Defence is an action - meaning it needs to be compared to a Guard action. Guard is easier at TN1 (though it uses the slightly less common Tactics skill), but on the other hand, it offers TN+1 to hit, not just Resistance +1 which effectively removes bonus successes. On the other, other hand, because it need two bonus successes to increase more, it's a lot harder to get TN+2 or TN+3 than it is to get Resistance +3 with Deflective defence, and - since it's a Tactics check you can't use Striking-As-Earth with it.
On the other, other, other hand.....apparently I'm an Oni.
Note that Striking as Earth and Deflective Defence can stack, and do so very well indeed. An Earth-heavy Rank 3 Bushi will generally have a good fitness score and probably already have Striking as Earth. Passing a TN2 Martial Arts Melee check is...pretty trivial, because you have to do that every time you Strike in a skirmish. Meaning lots of lovely leftover opportunities. Getting your fitness rank plus your surplus opportunities in bonus resistance is pretty huge, especially they increase your existing resistance - if you're wielding a weapon which allows Deflective Defence there is a pretty good chance you're also in 'battlefield garb', and adding 4+ resistance when you're already in lacquered armour is getting into the territory where whole squads of spear-wielding minions will struggle to hit you.
one really nice thing about Deflective Defence is that range 2 means it's also effective against polearms - or at least forces your opponent to close to attack.
2 minutes ago, Magnus Grendel said:On the other, other, other hand.....apparently I'm an Oni.
Don't worry, we won't call the Inquisitors on you... yet...
My problem, really, is that it works only with Range 2-6 attacks, So I guess, it's the kind of kata that you use in skirmishes inside a bigger mass battle, or really, against Oni. I can totally see it as a good tanking option for a Hida Bushi fighting BFO (big f-ing Oni), but I don't see the value, for instance, in a duel (of course, it can work in an "informal" duel).
In a duel it's....kinda questionable? I guess it works because 'always in range of your techniques', but much more importantly it takes an action, and wasting an action when you're on a strife clock is a questionable choice, especially since the increased defence doesn't help against the critical strike of a finishing blow!
But...yeah. It's very powerful but situation-specific.
Yeah, I'd definitely not want it in a duel, but it doesn't have to be good in a duel. Not all techniques have to be good or even applicable in all circumstances.
I guess I'm biased because in our campaign we had about 6 duels, 1 skirmish, 0 mass battles and Hantei-no-kami knows how many intrigues. So I'm constantly evaluating a kata how much it's worth in a duel.
Sure, that's fair. If your campaign doesn't involve skirmishes or mass battles, then all the kata that are about those conflict types become worth much less (or even entirely pointless). Campaigns with no skirmishes at all are at least somewhat unusual though, as are ones with such a high density of duels.
Keep in mind, duels are somewhat rare, too.
I think we're on the reverse. Mostly skirmishes and intrigues, with only three or four duels. We've not had a mass battle yet ( The Hare Clan nearly did but they talked their way out of it), but Sins of Regret is coming up and has a nice one at the end.
As you say, it's very much campaign-specific. To be fair, the same argument can be levelled at skills, too. A lot of campaigns will have players asking "wait...there's separate skills for fashion, and for art, but there's no separate skill for 'riding'?" whilst other campaigns don't so much as think about Trade skills as anything beyond "the class with 'skulduggery' in it"
Yeah, although most skills I can definitely justify in the list. They might not be useful in any given campaign, but I understand why they exist.
Seafaring is the exception, where I don't understand why this one thing had to be broken out of Labour, but not others, especially since it will not be relevant in the majority of campaigns.
1 hour ago, Myrion said:Seafaring is the exception, where I don't understand why this one thing had to be broken out of Labour, but not others, especially since it will not be relevant in the majority of campaigns.
My guess is that it's to give (mechanical) identity to the Mantis.