Jade Legacy - Intermission Minigame 1 - Game Thread

[Plainsfox]

LION

Attacking from: L2 (+1 to rolls)
Attacking to: L1 (+1 to rolls)
Card Played: Masks tell No Secrets (-2 to Opponent's highest die. Returns to hand if battle is won)
Roll 2k1 w/1 die to handle explosions
Results: 11

The Lions could not rest on their victory, and the fact that they had opened one of the approaches to Otosan Uchi made their next task all the more important. They moved to force the Spirit Army out of their province and cut their line of supply, such as it was, to the Phoenix territories. All Lions knew that their personal honor meant nothing next to the Clan. None knew this more than Ikoma Shiratoshi as he called upon a few friends that he seemed to be owing more and more to...

******
Mirumoto Urizen looked over the ronin survivors of the rout in the Imperial province. They were assigned to his patrol mostly because they seemed to be a cowardly bunch of wavemen, fodder the spirits preferred to send on hazardous missions like this.

Urizen then addressed the motley crew before him "We've been detailed to obtain supplies for the Steel Chrysanthemum's army. Use any mean you see fit to gain these supplies. If you encounter any of the Usurper's forces, you are to evade them and inform me immediately. Is this clear? RAN? Ran was a ronin of indeterminate origin. All that Urizen could say about the man was that he was a rare combination of an old idiot. A lucky fool who used his looks to skate by and survive. Well, wouldn't it be better to have that idiot's luck with them? Still, it was annoying to have to repeat things three or four times to Ran. Atleast he kept notes!

A few days later, it was apparent to Urizen that Ran's luck must've ran out. Just as the ronin was leading the patrol to "The biggest cache of koku and rice that he'd ever seen" an avalanche of Akodo scouts seemed to drop on the patrol. Soon, Mirumoto Urizen would be too busy fighting for his life to realize that Ran had disappeared  

[Paidi tou Selini]

Phoenix
Turn #4
Mori Isawa Shugenja force P2 attacking Agasha Province P4
Card(s) Used - #5 Pressure of the Yoritomo

Things had gone from bad to worse. Their children were being held as collateral, their solemn protectors were being hunted to extinction, and the war was steadily being lost on all fronts. The mighty Phoenix clan was near ready to surrender to the Spirit Emperor's demands, but there was one more attempt still left to make.

Calling once again upon the aid of their Yoritomo allies, they would ensure the Spirit leadership was held up in politics as well as the much stronger force at their southern boarder while the Isawa themselves marched out of their castle to retake the lost Phoenix lands.

[Battle Roll 2k1 + 2 (Clan Bonus) + 2 (Card): 12]  

[xX_Terei_Xx]

Mantis Clan
Plays #20 :: Akodo War College
{ +2 on highest dice roll }

Defending against Crab
Roll :: 2k1 w/ 1 for explosions

Total: 17 (( So close... ))
{{ I swear I'll get that back, Mongooseh }}

Not expecting an attack so soon, the Mantis were stunned by the charge of the Crab out of Scorpion lands. After just claiming the Crane lands, the Mantis didn't have the reserves necessary to launch a successful counterattack. Forced to fight on foreign soil, alongside strangers with strange fighting styles, there was little hope in a victory.

The battle was close, but close doesn't cut it in war. The Mantis would remember this battle. The Crab had another thing coming if they thought they could just take land away from the Mantis.  

[xX_Terei_Xx]

Mantis Clan
Passed on card

M1 attacking S3 { +1 for attacking from Mantis lands }
Roll :: 2k1 w/ 1 for explosions

Total: 13  

[Rain Yupa]

Spirit Armies in U2 vs Dragon (3k1) = 6.  

[Rain Yupa]

Spirit Armies in L1 vs Lion (3k1-2) = 7.  

[Rain Yupa]

Spirit Armies in P4 vs Phoenix (3k1) = 8.

In before exploding dice.  

[Rain Yupa]

Spirit Armies in S3 vs Mantis (3k1) = 11.

Lucky Mantis!  

[Rain Yupa]

Explosions!  

[Rain Yupa]

The War of Spirits - 1142

5/21/12 - 5/22/12

Current Score
MANTIS - 21 gold, 3.5 glory.
CRAB - 20 gold, 3.5 glory.
LION - 14 gold, 3.0 glory.
DRAGON - 13 gold, 1.0 glory.
PHOENIX - 11 gold, 2.0 glory.

--------------------

((Sorry for map confusion; I had MADE the right map and even uploaded it to imageshack. But never actually posted it here. >_>' ))

The Dragon, though normally driven to inaction, stand poised to attack the armies of the Steel Chrysanthemum. They had cleared their own lands of interlopers, but now decided to attack the ones besieging Unicorn lands. Though allied with the Phoenix, there was a massive gathering of enemies to the east that they didn't have the current power to oust. If they helped the Unicorn, perhaps that roadblock would be remedied.

Though the lands were worse for wear during this ordeal, the Unicorn samurai themselves were mostly using hit-and-run tactics, and thus, mostly untouched by the enemy. It was a war of attrition they were eager to wait out, though perhaps selfishly so in their own provinces. Thankfully, the Tonbo managed to scry the location of an important battle that would turn the tides in the Unicorn's favor. All the Dragon had to do was make an appearance and let their swords do all the talking.

Though there were still some bad blood between the Dragon and the Lion over the Tonbo, the Dragonfly were able to get this vital information from an unlikely source: Informants from the ancestors of the Lion clan from before the 8th century who opposed Hantei XVI...

--------------------

The Crab were waging a successful campaign against the Spirits in the South, but as they found out, so were the Mantis. Sharing a common lineage, it was alright in of itself. However, the Mantis now had something the Crab wanted, even if by accident. There was some border land that the Crane and Crab had vied over for centuries since the First Yasuki War; and now, with the enemy ousted, the Crane weakened, the land was good for the seizing.

Only one problem stood before them: The Mantis detachment that had remained behind to help hold the area. An unfortunate thing, to be sure. It would lessen the Empire with the lives of such good men and warriors, but if they moved quickly enough, the bloodshed would be limited.

The Kaiu commander would signal the Hiruma captain to take some of his elite scouts and take care of the Mantis Guards so the rest of their forces could seize the territory. Something which should have been easy, and in-and-out mission.

To the chagrin of the Crab, the Mantis commander in charge of holding that territory had trained with the Lion and had the military backing to show for it. The Hiruma themselves were nearly annihilated due to the defensive tactics the Mantis samurai were able to bring to bear.

But even in defeat, their mission was a success in-so-much that they held the Mantis's attention. The Crab army was able to invade flawlessly and defeat the Mantis in combat, even if under less-than-honorable pretenses. They would make it up to them after this war, but right now, the opportunity was too rich to pass up.

--------------------

The Lion would catch the Spirit Armies in an ambush as they seemed to be in search of... something... in Lion Lands. Which was INCREDIBLY suspicious, if the Lion who fought this day didn't already know that where they were poking their noses around held absolutely nothing of tactical, historical, nor spiritual importance. Unless there was some REALLY well-guarded secret that the Ikoma refused to let slip, the Spirits were apparently following a cold trail.

If this trail just HAPPENED to be in a canyon that ended up pinning the enemy in place with no means of escape, so be it. Driving the enemy into the heart of the giant crevice, the arrows of the Lion would begin to rain down upon them, slaughtering them to a man.

A fortunate set of circumstances to be sure! The Lion roared with victory for releasing their province from the enemy's hands!

--------------------

The Phoenix had it bad; the Shiba family was SEVERELY crippled, with most of its samurai dead or taken hostage. What hope did the Phoenix have without the Shiba to guide them?

The Yoritomo showed up like sharks to a carcass, eager to stake claim to the conquered lands. The Spirit Armies were initially ready to assault them, but they were here to... bargain?

Their advance delayed, the Spirit Armies met with the Yoritomo for negotiations, unaware of their involvements to the south. The negotiations were intense; something the Spirits were far unaccustomed to dealing with back in their lifetimes!

After several days, the Mantis would break off negotiations and pull their ships away from the harbor with little word. Disinterested, the Spirit Armies would continue their conquest... only to find that the Isawa and concocted a ritual that robbed the Spirits in the region of their strength! Those few days were what was needed to perfect and perform the ritual, and robbed of earthly connections, the Spirits were defenseless against the incoming storm of Isawa magicks that obliterated them.

The Phoenix were a peaceful clan, but sometimes revenge did taste ever so sweet.

--------------------

The Mantis, not satisfied with the Crane owing them favors, moved on to spicier targets. The Scorpion Lands were still beset with difficulty, and leaving Crane lands in their brothers' hands, they would march inland in force.

It had seemed that the Spirits were building a perimeter to the south to ward off Crab clan attacks. The Mantis were an unexpected variable, but surely, these minor clan upstarts would be pushovers compared to the Crab, right?

OH GOD WHY ARE THEY USING SO MANY KAMAS?! The Mantis Tactics were unlike anything these Spirits had ever seen, and their anti-Crab tactics did them nothing to protect them.

They weren't soundly defeated, but they were forced to retreat after suffering many casualties in such a short amount of time. They needed to re-evaluate, badly.

After little effort, the Mantis would find themselves with the gratitude of the Bayushi. Nothing can go wrong with that, right?  

[Plainsfox]

LION

Kitsu Akahiko wasn't your normal Kitsu shugenja. For one thing, he had little aptitude for the normal Kitsu magics....and was trained amongst the Isawa. Another thing, Akahiko was a descendant of Kitsu Taiko, a man who would burn first and then question their dead spirits in Jigoku.

Akahiko wasn't so severe....but the Steel Chrysanthemum's armies needed to be cleared out from those holdings. Hopefully they could add the Hare Clan to their numbers.

OOC:
Attacking From: L3 (+1 to all rolls)
Attacking To: I4
Card Played: Ring of Fire (Gain 0k1 For this battle)
2k2 w/ 1 dice to handle explosions
Results: 8  

[Mongooseh]

Cb1 Vs Sc2
Card Played: Negotiations Over Tea
+2 to roll
+1 Attacking from Clan province.

2k1 w/extra dice for explosion Result: 8  

[xX_Terei_Xx]

Mantis Clan
Plays #34 :: Call Upon the Wind
{{ +1k0 this battle }}

M2 attacking Cn3
{{ Mantis v Crab }}

Little did the Crabs know of the plot held by the Mantis. Using the magic harbored by their shugenja, they were planning to take back the lands that were stolen from them. From the waters off the Crane's coast, a storm was brewing. This one, however, was not natural.  

[Mongooseh]

Cn3 Defending
Mantis vs Crab

Card played in response:
Name: Ferocity of the Lion
Element: Water
Effect:
If you have the Warfare strategy, gain +0k1 for this battle.

(Come at me bro.)  

[xX_Terei_Xx]

Mantis Clan

M2 attacking Cn4 { +1 for attacking from Mantis lands }
{{ +1k0 this battle }}
Roll :: 3k1 w/ 2 for explosions

Total: 7