Zherical wrote:
normalphil wrote:
Note that Sarine's Alpha-strike from out of blade-range with total tactical surprise was one of the least effective moves of the fight. And Warrel certainly made enough cuts to kill off an entire squad. Numbers and tactical variables might not be all that decisive. Nah, I'm converting to and advocating the viewpoint that Sarine and Jon burned up all outstanding Karma from 3030-odd cumulative years of nice-guy assassin behavior. Highest attainable skill in their chosen vocation causing them to be in a position to benefit from a massive windfall of luck. Non-duplicatable feat given identical or even improved conditions.
What? I've understood every post except this..
Ok then...
Alpha-Strike: Call it an all-out attack. There's more to it, but Errant Story doesn't have giant robots anyway. Tsuiraku seem to field military golems, but the one we've seen was only 10 feet tall, tops. Heck, probably wasn't even ferro-fibrous.
Tactical Surprise (Total): She caught them with their pants down. Flat-footed... damn, I'm going to have to write up another one of these, aren't I?
Numbers and tactical variables: Either having more people to try to kill monks with, or starting in a really, really good situation when you try to kill monks.
Karma: In this context, the belief that providence is finite and alotted to people based on their actions.
Highest attainable skill in their chosen vocation: A person being as good as it is possible to get at their job. For Jon and Sarine, their jobs are to go around killing people. They are very, very good at this.
To be in a position to benefit from a massive windfall of luck: Robert Heinlien wrote in his novel "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" that cases of good luck are essentially when skilled, prepared people by virtue of being skilled and prepared are able to capitalize on extraordinary circumstances. In this case, Jon was able to survive Warrel's initial attack and brainstorm effective tactics used later in the fight due to Warrel's extraordinary constraint of not being able to kill Jon, only subdue him. Sarine was able to overcome massive injuries and make a decisive strike during a fleeting moment of oppurtunity due to Warrel's inability to see her as a dangerous opponent to be killed quickly, instead seeing her appaerently as a co-participant in an extended snuff-scene.
Non-duplicatable feat given identical or even improved conditions: Nine times out of ten, given the exact same set-up, it won't play out how it just did. Heck, ten times out of ten. Even if you add people to the side fighting the monks, or give them a better starting situation.