Tysy: Nice chapter, Jae: Nice chapter, too.

@ Tysy: There is no absolute "light" and obsolute "Dark". What's a "true light" and what's a "true dark"?

Only Sith deals with absolutes! You are the Chosen One! You're supposed to destroy them, not to join them!

Therefore, I think you will be a Sith, no?

Saying that the Sith are absolute is in itself an absolute, rendering that statement redundant. :p

Saying that the Sith are absolute is in itself an absolute, rendering that statement redundant. :p

Yeah, right, but the point is, I didn't say that. I just cited Obi-Wan's Quote in RotS. Thanks for pointing this out.

The next morning, Tysy awoke to a comfortable silence and a magnificent
six-course breakfast. It refreshed her body just as a good night's sleep had
refreshed her soul. She felt no fear, no apprehension about this "final test",
whatever it would be. The Force was with her, and the Padawan knew it.

"Tell me, Padawan," said the Presence at he sat across from her, eating
slowly. "You know where my loyalties lie, and my power. Do you wish I
was dead for trying to harm the Jedi? This Jae Onasi of whom you speak?"

"I don't wish you were dead," said Tysy decisively. "Far from it. I wish you
were redeemed and on Jae's side, walking the path of justice and Light."

"True justice is balance, young one," said the Sith Lord, "and the Light
cannot exist without the Darkness. Otherwise, how would we know what
was supposedly good for us? Good for all of life? You wish to see me
redeemed," the Presence said, "but would you sacrifice yourself to do so?"

Tysy paused. She had to think about this very carefully. "Of course",
she replied gently, after a very long moment. "I would do this for you.
Why would I be so selfish as to preserve only myself when you're in
danger of never becoming one with the Force that sustains you?"

Very subtly, almost kindly, the Presence took a hold of Tysy's elbow
and led her toward his Meditation Chamber, his home, once more.

"Do you see, little Syscha?" asked the Presence. "If you agree to
this test, I shall command that you to count to three. If you
want only my redemption, on 'three' you shall take my hand as if
by instinct. At that moment, all that is you will be siphoned out of
your frail Padawan's body and into my powerful yet diseased one.
By the same token, all that is me will enter your frame. Our two
souls will trade places. Then this Onasi will come, and we will duel.

"This will test not only your devotion to the Light, but also the
devotion of the weak one who comes, who believes only in the
Jedi Code and all of its flawed teachings. Who will she try to
strike down, to defeat and to kill? My soul within your body,
or your soul within mine? This will either prove my teachings
true or shatter them to pieces. What say you? Do you yield?"

"Dlya tebya," said Tysyacha. "I yield to you, and even
though I'd rather weep until I died than test Jae Onasi this
way, your soul is at stake. If this is what it takes for you to
see the truth at last, then so be it. Imprison me, and take my
frame. Use my body for this test, and know I love the Light!"

So he did. The Sith Lord turned to her and took both her wrists,
fragile as they were. "Count to three," he commanded her.

"At, said Tysy, rhyming it with "yacht". "One for me, alone."

"Good," said the Presence, smiling underneath his hood, his test underway.

"Dva," Tysy said humbly. "Two, for you and Jae, the two who'll duel."

"You don't have to do this," said the Presence. "I am a Sith, abhorrent
to you. If you refused this test and to say 'three', it would be natural."

She would hear none of it. "Tri!" Tysy grasped the Presence's hand.

Tysy felt her body empty itself of all but its physical insides, hollowing
itself painlessly, like it was only falling asleep. In the blink of an eye, she
felt herself being filled again, but she was herself no more. Not this time.

"Excellent," said Tysyacha in the dark and powerful voice of the Presence.

"It worked!" cried the bewildered Presence in the young girl's voice. "Oh,
by the Force, what have I done?" The Presence shivered suddenly.

"Selfishness is the path to the Dark Side," said Devscha. "Do not waver.
She comes, the weak one, but you must be strong. I shall prepare you."

That's scary...Very Scary...

You guys just trade your soul???

I've not felt this good in years, thought Devon.

Finally, the terrible disease that had prevented him from reaching his potential like manacles on a prisoner was no more.

Or would her have been a better term? Devon had disliked the form of the body he resided in, and using Vergere's Art of the Small, had changed it become identical to his old one. He would return it to its original form supposing Jae arrived, but he had grown attached to his old body. What a strange thing for one of the Lords of the Sith.

Ah yes, Jae's arrival. The probability of that was minute.

Being able to make full use of his powers, Devon was watching the 6,000 year old battle right now. It was going poorly for the Republic indeed. Their ships amounted to only thirty, and his to one hundred. A difference of six millenia in the technology did not lend anything to Li'adin either.

And morale - another factor. Infusing his spirit in a young and healthy body had allowed Devon to unlock all his potential in the dark side at long last. There was a great disturbance in the Force indeed, which sapped the will of the Jedi to fight.

Smiling to himself, Devon abandoned such simple thoughts and threw his mind into the abyss that was the dark side. It had become even more intriguing than usual.

And there were no more of those annoying injections to distract him.

Tysyacha's soul struggled within her new body. His body, that
of the fearsome Presence who was putting her through this "final
test". She felt the fluttering pulse of the half-rotten heart, the
marrow-oriented pain of the overused and decaying bones, the
supple sagging of the skin. This was true sickness, true suffering,
no matter what the Jedi said. She felt at once sad and ruefully glad
that the Presence's body was in this state.

Grand Master Luke, in one of his possible not-so-serene moments,
once said that everyone gets exactly what they deserve in the end.
You've proven him very true so far, whoever you are, and whoever
you were before I sacrificed my body to you, an empty shell...

Except it wasn't, and Tysyacha could sense that by inhabiting it, the
Presence was quickly molding it into a more comfortable essence. Making
himself at home amongst her heart, her muscles, her lungs and brain. It
was all so sickening, except wasn't self-sacrifice what all of the Jedi said
they were after, what would bring them bliss? Tysy herself felt none.

How can I have fallen so far, she thought, to take no joy in
my gift of possible redemption? Why do I feel scared instead of happy?

Suddenly the Presence, in her own body, rose up. "Come here," it said.

Tysyacha obeyed, noticing what freedom of movement the Dark Lord's
Sith robe gave her. Instead of her silver saber, she held a hissing ruby one.

"You cannot redeem a Sith Lord," said the Presence in the voice of a
young Padawan girl, "unless that Sith Lord, either consciously or not,
wishes to return to the Light. However, I know the gifts of the Light
to be nothing but parlor tricks, merely illusions to disguise the lies of
the Jedi Order. They say the Light will bring you power, but if so,
why do so many of them fall at the hands of those such as I?

"You will see that the weak one, if she is ever wise enough to discover
what has happened between us, will duly praise you for your sacrifice.
However, if Jae happens to win this battle and claim victory, you, my
Tysyacha, will be sent to hard labor as an exile and traitor to the Jedi
Order. They will know you voluntarily gave your form to me and were
not forced. Great will be the magnitude of your crime in their eyes.
Jae will stand with you, but not even Skywalker will be able to avail
you of your fate. That is your true sacrifice, my new apprentice!"

When the Sith Lord's frame shuddered, Devscha continued, more
kindly, "Do not fear, young one. Jae will never win this duel. She
is weaker than most Jedi, for only the outdated teachings of the
Old Republic sustain her. Once the duel is done, your body will be
created anew, in the same form that you were, only refreshed and
renewed. All muscular frailty in you will vanish, and you will conquer!"

For some odd reason, Tysy liked the sound of that, and she raised
the red lightsaber. Then, just as quickly, she sank into despair again.

"Get in close to their ships," Carth ordered.

"With all due respect, sir, won't that be suicide?" the XO asked.

"It'll be suicide to stay at a range where they can hit us but we can't hit them. The only way is to close on them, force their ships to risk firing on their own if they fire on us, too. Then the range advantage they have will be irrelevant," Carth said. "We have to buy the Li'adins more time. Move in now."

Some of the ships hesitated in following the orders. Carth pulled every one of the captains up on the holovid and looked each of them in the eye, fury burning in his own. "Explain your insubordination before I relieve you all of command."

"It's hopeless, sir. We can't win," declared one of the captains.

Jolee watched them, stroking his chin in thought. "Carth, I think they're under some kind of Sith influence. Jae, Talin, a little Battle meditation, please." The three Jedi sat down in meditation, boosting the morale of the Republic soldiers, and making the courage of the Sith fighters flag....

"Move in now," Carth commanded. "They may have a few thousand years of technology on their side, but we're still the best damned soldiers the Republic has ever seen, and I intend on showing them just what good soldiers can do against their supposedly superior technology and Sith idiocy."

The ships moved in close, so close they could nearly reach out and touch the other ships. At point blank range, there was no advantage, and several of the Sith ships accidentally shot each other as several Republic ships feinted moves.

Several hundred more Republic ships blinked into normal space and joined Carth's task group.

"Nice of you to drop by, Admiral Dodonna," Carth grinned. "The party got started a little early, but we saved a lot of fun for you, too."

Dodonna smiled in spite of herself. "We're here now, and we've brought 'a few' Jedi helpers."

Masters of the battle meditation technique joined Jae, Jolee, and Talin, and the 3 Jedi dropped out.

"There's no way to keep Devon from continuing to throw everything at us, even if he's going to die soon. We aren't going to survive. We have to get to his time and stop him," Jae said.

"That may just be suicide," Talin cautioned, taking her hand. "I'm not too excited about losing any one of us, especially you, dear."

Jae smiled back at him, the love brightening both their eyes.

"Aw, aren't you two cute. I think Jae's right, though. We need to go forward and stop him," Jolee said.

The Li'adins obliged, and three Jedi arrived at Vryss in Devon's time.

"Go out and meet them," the Presence commanded in Tysyacha's voice.
She--or he, more accurately--was becoming more accustomed by the
minute to using a younger and more flexible set of vocal cords. This
was not the case, however, for the female Padawan imprisoned in
the corpselike body of a Sith Lord. Its throat was a scarred mass
of tissue, and whatever came out of its mouth through Tysyacha
was a rasp, a growl similar to Darth Nihilus' hisses of expression.

Ah, well. Striding slowly but boldly outward from the heart
of the Presence's fortress, Tysy focused on her three new targets.

"Hello, Jedi," she began in that grisly voice. It sounded disembodied,
hollow, but she knew this was perhaps her own spirit trying to lessen
the pain. Trying to lessen the crushing sense of utter failure, of being
used and tricked. How on earth had she ever let that Sith Lord convince
her that this test would save his soul? Save hers as well, if it worked?

Tysy lit her red saber. The Presence's, really, but none of the three
Masters knew it. Hopefully, they never would, but who was saying
hopefully? She felt a commanding force slip into her mind.

Do not be afraid, Tysyacha. Your mind is weak, but unlike those of
these bumbling Masters, it has not been twisted by the Light. This is
a moment of battle, a moment of truth, but your spirit shall have to
subside. Otherwise, this duel will not be won, either by you or myself.
Yield to me, and let me guide you. Who is the true Master in this fight?

Again, Tysy fought, but she yielded, and let the Presence guide her steps...

So, they were here.

Within his meditation chamber, Devon's all-seeing vision focused upon the three Jedi. They had landed ten or so miles away from his citadel, the perfect spot for him to activate the intruder defense systems.

This planet may have been protected by a private fleet of warships from space, but on land it was arguably even better guarded.

Built into small mountain, the building Devon called his citadel jutted into the dark skies like a Coruscanti skyscraper amidst houses. It was a msssive building, miles high and miles wide. It was invincible, standing defiantly against the downpoars that had shaped the rest of the planet into soft fields of grass.

Of course, it was far from defenseless.

Designed to withstand sieges from countless divisions of troops, thousands upon thousands of turbolsers were built into the nigh unbreakable walls. Shield generators deep underground protected it from orbital bombardment, and a private army of droids built with Sith alchemy stood guard. Layers of walls surrounded the citadel, as well as a natural-looking river that was in reality an effective moat.

There was also the Sithspawn.

Devon had been tinkering with monsters for decades, and his many experiments had been scattered throughout the citadel as guards. Chrysalide rancors, Leviathans, Technobeasts, ever single monster the Sith had ever dreamed up was there.

This fortress could withstand whole armies. What good would three Jedi do?

Caution never hurt. Devon descended to his throne room, and along the way ordered guards. Twelve of his monsters, the match for over one hundred and forty-four of the old ones Jae had fought, stood at attention.

The Dark Lord sat upon his throne, and turned it about to look out the window. Miles below, three Jedi could be seen trudging forward amidst the torrental rain and harsh winds.

His current form and clothing were that he had worn before switching bodies. Should the duel turn against his favor, though, he would assume Tysy's form.

But then again, would it even start?

Devon activated a comlink on his throne, and spoke into it. "Seal all entrances and exits. Activate all force fields, and power up the weapon systems. I want the experiments released from the pens, troops at the walls, and above all, no possible way to enter or leave the citadel."

The orders were carried out. How could Jae and her friends stand against such odds?

All the same, the twelve guards would remain in this room. Devon fingered the igniter of his real lightsaber, which had not pressed in decades. He could never be too careful.

Gee, thanks, Emperor Devon. ;P Here I was hoping to finally get to the duel itself, and you have to send out monsters and moats and God (and you) only knows what else. Yeesh. :)
Yeah, below is probably the shortest chapter of the entire RP, but I'm wiped out from a weekend in Memphis for meetings (and a very fine trip to Beale Street and a little too much 'celebrating' there :D .). This is the only idea I have for the moment, though I'm sure more will come later.... :)

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

"Tysacha?" Jae called out to the girl. "We're here. We're on Vryss, and we're in your time now. Help us find you and help you."

Gee, thanks, Emperor Devon. ;P

You're welcome, Jae Onasi. ;P

Here I was hoping to finally get to the duel itself, and you have to send out monsters and moats and God (and you) only knows what else. Yeesh. :)

Let's see Jae and company get through those. :xp:

Tysyacha, or at least her physical body and her possessed voice, responded
to the call. Before it did, however, it snarled a directive to the tall, disfigured
Sith Lord clutching a red lightsaber for all it was worth, as if it were a life raft.

"Silence, thrall," Devscha commanded, "or this test will be over and I'll strike
you down. Your soul will become one with the Force, but what will you
do then? You are nowhere near as skilled in its manipulation as were Qui-
Gon Jinn or Obi-Wan Kenobi. If you perish now, your soul will not return."

The Sith Lord nodded, saying nothing but bowing its head humbly.

"Good." Through the Force, the calculating Devscha sent out a plea:

He's here, Master Onasi! The Sith Lord we all fear, whose name is
Emperor Devon. He's holding me captive, a prisoner. Please come and
kill him before he does something to me! I'm scared. What was it you
said about fear being a path to the Dark Side, or was that Grand Master
Luke? Anyway, I'm in the central chamber of the Vryss fortress. Hurry!

Devscha smiled. His trap was more cunning and clever than he'd imagined.

Good chapters, guys. Keep up.

Thanks. The actual duel should come up fairly soon. :)

((Speaking of the duel, I'd like to start it, so here goes...Emperor Devon,
you will be controlling Tysyacha in your body, and your body has your stats.
Your soul is in Tysyacha's body, however, which has far weaker stats. In
Tysy's body, you command Tysyacha's soul in your body. But she's got...
...something up her sleeve. She's looking for a fight in the worst way.)) ;)

Tysyacha, in the rapidly decaying shell of the Presence's body, suddenly
had an idea. It was more like a flash of an idea than a full-fledged thought,
but it was enough. She was tired of traps and illusions, all these obstacles
that kept her from facing her Masters and enemies. She had once heard
Grand Master Luke tell of an Echani maiden devoted to dueling, who spoke thus:

"In battle, all the words are swept away, leaving us open to pure expression.
Vengeance, mercy, anger, fear--these are at their clearest during a fight."

So be it. Clasping the hilt of the ruby saber the Presence had been holding
(or was it?), Tysyacha, in a guttural hiss, commanded the barriers to vanish.

"Uidtye!" Sensing her almost palpable anger, the monsters and the
troops that the Presence had ordered to guard the citadel all cowered,
retreating to their posts. Good. How in the Force would they know that
the spirit inside the body was that of a girl and not of their lord and Master?

"Praviy!" This word, even colder and more imbued with passion,
meant "Right!" Tysyacha, deep in her soul, felt herself well up with pride.
She found that she liked giving orders instead of merely obeying them.
She would become a powerful Sith once she got her body back, and--wait...

Would she be a Sith? Would she get her body back, or would the Presence
decide that he preferred the younger, more fragile and non-infected shell?

"Chto dela'yu ya?" Suddenly panicked, she cried, "What am I doing?"

No time for reflection was this, however, for the three Jedi approached.
"Finally have the guts to face us, do you?" asked Jolee. "Come on, Sith."

Tysy ignited her lightsaber, but only at the command of the other dark soul...

Devon scowled. How annoying. He'd never actually felt true anger in decades, though this was coming awfully close to it.

Fool! he hissed. Do you have any idea what your arrogance might cost me? Perhaps the Jedi will teach you humility, assuming you survive! Thank the Force you are not entirely useless to me, or I would end your life for this disobedience!

But there was still time to prepare, still time to create barriers. For all his martial prowess, Devon so hated to have to employ it. That was servant's work.

A flick of several buttons, and the emergency blast doors near the throne room slammed shut. Force fields were activated, and all available troops were called to defend their master at once.

That's at least eight of the blast doors. They should hold for a while, I made them after all, Devon mused.

The troops should arrive in time. I can still have my heir. And I know the Jedi can't defeat an army.

All the same, he called his twelve guards closer to his side.

If Tysy had been in her own body at the moment her master's savage
reprimand came to her through the Force, she would have wet herself
if not worse. The Presence, she was sure, could feel the stomach-
churning wave of fear that was threatening to overwhelm her.

However, humility was not what spurred Tysy to action at this
particular moment. There was the matter of the insolent Jedi,
Jolee, who had dared to taunt her--taunt both of them--like an
ordinary schoolchild. Neither the apprentice in the Master's body
nor the Master in the apprentice's body would tolerate this insult.

Tysy plunged herself into a combat stance. "Chto znayesh' ty--"

This was only what she thought in her mind as she struck, however.
What she hissed was, "What know you?", with the you being arrogant
and disrespectful. Dismissive, as a Sith Lord would be to all of his inferiors...

((Emperor Devon, this is your initial move. What is Devscha's first attack?))

We'll actually need Jae to do the stat-related stuff. I figure that won't need to happen until she posts a chapter, and the fictional Jae gets through Tysy. You can decide what happens for now. :)

((If Devscha gets a 12 out of 18 on a 3d6, her Power Attack lands.))

*Goes to Dungeons and Dragons' Dice Roller(tm) for ONE SINGLE ROLL*

*Gets an 11 out of 18 on a 3d6. Her Power Attack fails.*

"What do I know?" asked Jolee, a small smile gracing his lips. "Quite a bit
for a Jedi, and certainly enough to know how to deflect the first blow in
battle." He immediately prepared for a counterattack upon the Sith Lord,
or at least upon the Sith Lord's wrathful frame.

*Returns to D and D's Dice Roller to compute Jolee's first counterattack roll*

*Gets a 12 out of 18 on the attack, but this one had no special feats.
Thus, he hits Devscha successfully, doing damage.*

"Akh!" Within the body of the Presence, it was Tysy's soul that felt the
slash. She felt Jolee's lightsaber cut into gray, diseased flesh, although not
fatally. This was a warning blow, although still very painful to have to endure.

The three Jedi were somehow transported from the cold, wet surface of Vryss into the austere fortress that housed the presence of the Emperor.

Devscha met them, red lightsaber extended, and dropped into a combat stance. Jae, Jolee, and Talin ignited their sabers in turn.

The hooded Devon sneered, "What know you?" He threw the first blow of the duel, and Jolee stepped to the side to evade it. He attacked in return, and the blow struck, cutting into the wretched flesh.

"Aah!". The Sith Lord grunted audibly. But Jae heard Tysyacha's psychic pain.

"What do I know?" Jolee asked the hooded Sith, a small smile gracing his lips. "Quite a bit for a Jedi, and certainly enough to know how to deflect the first blow in battle."

Jae's mind raced. Something was wrong, very wrong. She sifted through the memories and 'heard' Tysy's plea in her mind again....
He's here, Master Onasi! The Sith Lord we all fear, whose name is
Emperor Devon. He's holding me captive, a prisoner. Please come and
kill him before he does something to me! I'm scared. What was it you
said about fear being a path to the Dark Side, or was that Grand Master
Luke? Anyway, I'm in the central chamber of the Vryss fortress. Hurry!

Jae said to Jolee and Talin, their eyes still on the Sith Lord, "Something's wrong, though. Tysyacha would never ask us to come and kill Devon--it's not the Jedi way. And Devon cried out physically, but Tysyacha screamed her pain as well. What are we fighting, Jolee?"

---------
We actually need to roll 1d20 for attacks, but this works for this chapter. If you're actually calculating damage this round, Jolee's lightsabers did the following points damage (rolled on real dice, thank you, because I'm a purist and have to have my dice :D ):
Main saber--Energy: 26 Physical vs. DS (darkside): 2 Unstoppable: 5
Off-hand--Energy: 24
I broke it down so you can calculate any resistances appropriately.
I'll post the combat calculations shortly, but this should get us going. :)

If I'm a bit slow, it's because the ceiling cracked and then part of it crashed down into our kitchen, courtesy of a leaking upstairs toilet. It's a huge mess and we have a fair amount to repair, and it's going to eat a lot of time. Ugh.

Although behind many doors and surrounded by his guards, Devon saw the duel taking place perfectly well. Jae might be catching onto what was really happening, but it mattered not. The first platoons of his soldiers were mere doors away from her, thankfully. The Lord of the Sith may have been powerful, but he hated to do the dirty work himself.

-----
Jae, about when was it your celing cracked? Sounds like you've been busy for a while.

The ceiling cracked last Thur and broke free on Friday. We had a ton of stuff to clean up after that, and Jimbo had to cut the hole wider and square so my stepbro could put up the drywall. Of course, this meant that even more vermiculite fell out. We almost got our snow shovel out to shovel it up. :)

Combat:
Step 1--roll initiative to determine who gets to go first in battle. We roll a 1d20 for each character/minion, Tysy gets to do any monsters or minions or characters she controls. The highest score goes first. In case of tie--highest dex breaks the tie. If Dex is the same, the players re-roll. Since Tysy's thread/duelmaster, she gets to make the list of who goes in what order to keep track of who goes first, next, and so forth, unless you all want me to.
Step 2: The attack. Pull out the excel sheets I sent you because I'm going to refer to specific cells so this all makes more sense.
Roll a 1d20 to attack. A 'natural' 20 (what actually turns up on the die itself) is an automatic hit, regardless of your opponent's defense, and is also a critical hit. A natural 1 is an automatic miss, even if your attack exceeds your opponents defense.
Let's say I roll a 12 for Jae. She's attacking with her lightsaber, a melee weapon, so we use the melee weapon attack bonus in cell F25, which is 33. Jae's using the Makashi form against Devscha, who is also using a lightsaber, so she gets an additional +3 to attack. So, Jae's total 'to hit' is 48. This number has to be equal to or greather than her opponents' defense scores.
Devsha's total defense is listed in F19. Let's pretend it's 39. Since Jae's 'to hit' is higher than Devsha's def (48 is greater than 39), Jae hits. In actuality, any dice roll that put Jae's 'to hit' at 39 or higher is good.
Step 3: calculate the damage. And I'll edit that in later because I'm falling asleep while typing this and writing some really quirky stuff that I've had to erase. :)

Eh...Interesting...But you started the dueling stats? Looking forward to actual duel.

Well, after erasing some complete nonsense that I wrote in my earlier post about Halloween, apparently, while trying to explain combat, I decided to defer more of an explanation to (later) today.
Anyhoo, the combat's based on the Star Wars RPG revised core rulebook, chiefly because I can't find my old what I think is the D6 version from (mumbly) years back.

IIRC, we're ignoring some of the conventions that would be used normally in a campaign because we're just doing a duel, so I'm going to leave out attacks of opportunity, concealment and cover, stuff like that that really doesn't have a bearing on the duel itself or would make it more complicated than we really want. This might make the D&D purists cringe a bit, but what can I say. :)

Let's go back to the attack.

Jae's just rolled a successful 'hit' of 48 against Devscha's defense/AC (Armor Class) of 39. Now I roll damage for the primary lightsaber. This is in cells C30 and D30:
2d10+13,+3vsltsbr energy, +15 vs DS, Phys 1d8, sneak 1d6.
So with 2d10 I rolled 8 and 9, with 1d8 I have a 6. I don't have a sneak attack so I don't roll the 1d6. I am fighting against someone with a lightsaber so I get the +3.
So it's 17+13+3+15=48 points of energy damage and 6 points physical damage.

Since Jae has 2 weapons, she can attack with the other one in the same round. I am ignoring the half-strength modifier in this case for ease of calculation. If you all want to say that the second weapon /2nd side of a double weapon has a melee attack bonus of only half the strength modifier, that's fine, we just need to be consistent. It's one less calculation if we ignore it, but it'll be more hits for everyone, too.
So I roll 1d20 for that weapon and get 7. The 'to hit' with the melee weapon is in F25, which is 33 (man, these guys are powerful at level 18. :) ). Add in the attack bonus/penalty (I incorporated the 2-weapon penalty here) listed in B32. We're fighting lightsabers so the +3 is included.
In this case, the to-hit for the second weapon is 7+33+-1+3=42. Devscha's AC/Defense is 39, so it's a hit.
Now I roll damage using the information in cells C32 and D32, which is:
2d8+10,+3vs ltsbr energy, Fire 2d8, sneak 1d6
There's no sneak attack, so I don't roll the 1d6. We're fighting lightsabers so I get the +3 damage for that.
For the 2d8 of energy I rolled 3 and 3
For the 2d8 fire I rolled 8 and 4
So, it's 3+3+10+3=19 points energy and 8+4=12 points fire damage.

With double weapons, you make the extra attack as if you're fighting with 2 weapons, and the 2-weapon penalties apply, but it's as if the off-hand weapon were light/balanced.

Now, the critical hits....
Jae's weapon gets a critical threat anytime I roll 17-20. Let's say Jae's sneaky and attacks Devscha when he's busy with Talin and Jolee, so she gets in a sneak attack.
So, let's say I make an attack roll of 17 for Jae's main lightsaber and an attack roll of 19 for the offhand saber.
For the first saber, the 'to hit' is 17+33 (melee attack, cell F25) + 7 (weapon attack bonus cell B30) +3 for fighting against someone with a lightsaber (cell B30). Total is 60 vs. Devscha's AC of 39. Yeah, that's a good hit....
With lightsabers, the damage is double if you roll a cricital hit. How do you roll a critical hit? Roll the 1d20 again, and you must roll a 'hit' again with all your normal modifiers. I roll for Jae: 15, so the critical hit is 58 vs. Devscha's 39. So, Jae also gets the critical hit and does double damage.
Let's do the damage now:
2d10+13,+3vsltsbr energy, +15 vs DS, Phys 1d8, sneak 1d6
47 pts energy, 15 pts energy vs. the darkside, 6 pts physical, 6 pts of energy for the sneak attack. Since I also rolled the critical hit, the damage is doubled, _except_ for the sneak attack. So, total damage is 124 pts energy, 12 points physical, and 6 more points energy for the sneak attack. Jae's just done 142 points of damage. :D
For the off-hand saber:
19 +33 (melee attack, cell F25) + -1(weapon attack bonus cell B32) +3 for fighting against someone with a lightsaber (cell B32)=54, vs. Devscha's 39 AC. Yep, this one's good, too, and since I rolled a 19, it's a critical threat, (or threat for a critical hit). Now, I roll a 1d20 a second time to see if I make the critical hit to do double damage. This time, I rolled a 1, which is an automatic miss. So I don't get the critical hit to do double damage. However, I still roll damage as if it's a normal hit:
2d8+10,+3vs ltsbr energy, Fire 2d8, sneak 1d6
Total damage is 16 energy, 8 fire, and 4 energy for the sneak attack. Kind of measly, but damage is damage. :)

----

Jae looked at the diseased monstrosity in front of her, pointing her saber at his chest, the tip mere centimeters away. "What have you done to Tysyacha?"

The Sith Lord remained calm and almost detached, amazing considering the
soul within the body. "The girl is safe," said the cloaked figure, "and unharmed.
I have done nothing to her that she has not agreed to of her own free will.
What she has agreed to do is accept my proferred gifts, and they suit her.

"Tysyacha rests in meditation, sealed behind at least eight blast doors
and a vast array of my own elite troops. Bodyguards, you might say,
except she needs them far more than I do at this very moment, Jedi."

((Note: I need serious help controlling Devscha, since even though
Tysyacha's soul is doing the fighting, she is in Emperor Devon's body
which has Emperor Devon's stats. She may even have his lightsaber.
Sorry I'm such a doltidufus, but I haven't done much non-PC RPG's!))

Tysyacha, remember that this is just a practice round. The real duel takes place with the 'real' Devon. :)

------

Neener neener to your puny 20 energy and 8 fire damage, Jae - Devon's equipment reduces it to 0 energy damage (20 - 75% - 5) and 8 fire damage. Devon's health goes from 339 to 331. :p

Tysyacha, remember that this is just a practice round. The real duel takes place with the 'real' Devon. :)

------

Neener neener to your puny 20 energy and 8 fire damage, Jae - Devon's equipment reduces it to 0 energy damage (20 - 75% - 5) and 8 fire damage. Devon's health goes from 339 to 331. :p


You got way too many vitality points for a level 18 person. :) You only get 10 per level with the guardian/fighting Jedi classes. Consular/Sentinel types have even fewer. The max you can have is 180 if you have an all-fighting Jedi/Sith, + whatever more you get with the Toughness feat tree. You also forgot about the 142 points done with the main saber.
How did you calculate the damage reduction?

Oh, and make a Will save throw (1d20 + your modifiers in cell E15) vs. DC 22 to see if you get slowed. :D

You got way too many vitality points for a level 18 person. :)

I built that character in TSL, only using cheats to get the best items and the stats we decided on earlier. I can send you the specifics if you want. :)

You also forgot about the 142 points done with the main saber.

So I did. I think it would be best if posted the total damage dealt at the end of each post. You had a lot of calculations. :)

How did you calculate the damage reduction?

20 energy damage reduced by 75% (one of the equipment bonuses) minus another 5 points, a seperate bonus. :)

Oh, and make a Will save throw (1d20 + your modifiers in cell E15) vs. DC 22 to see if you get slowed. :D

That makes it 12 (my character's will) + 13 (from the random dice roller) which equals 25, if I did it right. :D

I built that character in TSL, only using cheats to get the best items and the stats we decided on earlier. I can send you the specifics if you want. :)

I used the TSL walkthrough that I sent you all for that--there may be something the walkthrough missed on that, then. . I'll go plug in TSL today and see what happens when I do that in the game. Otherwise, you might have to cut some vitality points. ;)



So I did. I think it would be best if posted the total damage dealt at the end of each post. You had a lot of calculations. :) I'll do that from now on. It's a good idea.


20 energy damage reduced by 75% (one of the equipment bonuses) minus another 5 points, a seperate bonus. :)Fair enough. :)



That makes it 12 (my character's will) + 13 (from the random dice roller) which equals 25, if I did it right. :DHeh, you made it. And because this is a practice round and I'm just too fair for my own good--don't forget your ability modifiers on your will save and your other saves--that probably would boost your roll even more. I won't remind you during the game. ;P

Oh, a practice round. But it's interesting if you put in the stats. Good job, guys.

Otherwise, you might have to cut some vitality points. ;)

No way. ;P

Heh, you made it. And because this is a practice round and I'm just too fair for my own good--don't forget your ability modifiers on your will save and your other saves--that probably would boost your roll even more. I won't remind you during the game. ;P

I actually think that's my (current) character's total will. At least, according to TSL.

Vitality points--apparently the listing in the walkthrough is the base number of points--apparently there are some bonuses that may be CON related, because when I plugged in the game, Talin was getting something like 15 points every level instead of the 10 he should get. So I'll do a buildout and adjust the VP, FP, saves, and DEF according to the game. I'll send you both the updated sheets.

So I'll do a buildout and adjust the VP, FP, saves, and DEF according to the game. I'll send you both the updated sheets.

Your ceiling taking a while? :)

If you get it done, this should be an excellent time for our duel. I'm free from anything this weekend.

Your ceiling taking a while? :)

If you get it done, this should be an excellent time for our duel. I'm free from anything this weekend.
Yep, the drywall mudding has to be done in layers, and the layers have to dry in between. So stepbro is coming again tomorrow to sand and put another layer on. I have to get some vinyl tile so we can put that in this weekend, hopefully, but Jimbo has drill so that's going to limit time.
In any case, I did the buildouts on Jae and Talin, and I'm beat so I'm going to tackle Jolee's tomorrow. KSE didn't work on my laptop so I had to do all this after work at home. :) This weekend should be relatively quiet--I'll have to get some cleanup from all the dust done, but that's not going to take forever. So hopefully we'll get some actual dueling in. :D

I'm thinking of joining in this whole RPG lark...any space for a rodian (doesnt have to be super) in this one? sorry if ive posted in the wrong place, i'm not experienced at this stuff ;)

This RP is actually devoted to the duel with Jae and me. It'll be over once I kill win. :D

Btw, Jae, what types of damage did those 142 points do?

Btw, Jae, what types of damage did those 142 points do?
Well, let's see.....

Let's do the damage now:
2d10+13,+3vsltsbr energy, +15 vs DS, Phys 1d8, sneak 1d6
47 pts energy, 15 pts energy vs. the darkside, 6 pts physical, 6 pts of energy for the sneak attack. Since I also rolled the critical hit, the damage is doubled, _except_ for the sneak attack. So, total damage is 124 pts energy, 12 points physical, and 6 more points energy for the sneak attack. Jae's just done 142 points of damage. :p

Did you and Tysy get the updated sheets I sent today? The only thing that changed was the Vitality and Force points. Resend your character sheets if you haven't already--I haven't received them if you did. And do you want the excel 'to hit'/damage calculator sheets? You'd have to adjust them for your own weapons/force powers, but you'll have the general idea.

Did you and Tysy get the updated sheets I sent today?

I got an e-mail, but no sheets. Btw, my computer doesn't have Excel.

And do you want the excel 'to hit'/damage calculator sheets? You'd have to adjust them for your own weapons/force powers, but you'll have the general idea.

Sure. :)

Another thing - I say we do away with forms. We'll both be using Makashi anyway, so it's just a needless calculation.

Oh, my over-the-top equipment reduces your damage to 27.5 in energy and 12 in physical. :p

I got an e-mail, but no sheets. Btw, my computer doesn't have Excel.

Another thing - I say we do away with forms. We'll both be using Makashi anyway, so it's just a needless calculation.

Oh, my over-the-top equipment reduces your damage to 27.5 in energy and 12 in physical. :p
I'll resend--hope your ISP doesn't strip attachments.

C/net has some free excel viewers (http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?qt=excel+viewer&tg=dl-20&search=Go%21), and so does microsoft, but you may be better off just copying stuff from the viewer into whatever spreadsheet version you have because I don't think you can change any data with the viewers.

Let's just say we all use Makashi, then, and not change. I don't want to re-calculate again. ;)

I took a look at the sheets you sent me. Did you make your characters in TSL? It might be for the better if you did - a few things looked weird to me, and the walkthrough you're using might have a different method of calculation.

For the ease of calculation, once you've rechecked your stats, send them to me - I can make this a lot simpler by implementing our characters into a module for TSL. That way, we can attack each other half the time in the game, and let the computer do all the calculating. The handiness of modding. :D

I took a look at the sheets you sent me. Did you make your characters in TSL? It might be for the better if you did - a few things looked weird to me, and the walkthrough you're using might have a different method of calculation.
I let TSL determine the base stats (saves, VP, FP, DEF). The walkthrough got the base saves and base DEF correct, but the VP/FP were different--I'm assuming there's probably some CON or WIS modifiers thrown in every level that none of the walkthroughs mention. So I adjusted those according to the game.
My DEF and saves look high because of the equipment and such that I have that boost attributes. ;)
As long as everyone is _consistent_, that's the important thing.

That way, we can attack each other half the time in the game, and let the computer do all the calculating. The handiness of modding. :D
Call me quirky (plenty have), but I really like rolling my own dice. Not the online randomizer, real dice. It's part of the fun seeing how they land. I don't mind doing some of the math. I also prefer to announce the amount of damage done to Devon, rather than you telling me how much damage a program says Jae did to Devon. If I roll a 20, Jae can be thrilled, and if I roll a 1, Jae can react accordingly. :D

Edit: the game doesn't add in your LS/DS mastery bonuses at your regular and prestige classes if you just give yourself a honking number of XP to level up to 18--you have to adjust those in KSE. So yeah, my scores were a little weird--thanks for catching that, too.
Your VP/FP are based also on your equipment if you have anything boosting attributes, just to make things more confusing. So I now have about double the VP/FP that I had before. Yay for me!
I figured out my mistakes on the attribute bonuses--I did a calculation error--I'll revise and send those along. They'll be based on what I built in the game itself. So my saves will go down. My DEF was off because the dex mod was off, that'll go down too. You now have a chance of hitting me without having to roll a 20 every time. :D

I saw in a walkthrough I think that Barab Ore does 2d8 fire damage (or maybe I just mis-copied, who knows). The game has it at 2d6, so I'll change that as well.
I think now that we're getting all this settled, we'll get to whoop up on each other soon. :giggle1:

As long as everyone is _consistent_, that's the important thing.

Agreed. Were the stats you sent me done in TSL? :)

Call me quirky (plenty have),

You can add me to that list. :xp:

For clarification, though, I can make modules for both of us that have each other's characters. For instance, yours would have an NPC that had my stats. If you attacked it with your character, that could save a lot of calculation.

Whether you will or not, I'm going to do it that way. I have no inexplicable love for extra math. :xp:

I've seen that the barab ore does 2-12 damage in two sources, btw. We should go with that.

Oh, this is just a practice round, mind you. Don't let it get to your head. :D

Agreed. Were the stats you sent me done in TSL? :)
I just finished doing them in TSL and I'll send those along. When I saw the vast difference in Vitality points, I figured something odd was up, and after adding in all the 'stuff' it altered things a bit. Since you did all yours in TSL, and I had leveled the characters up to determine Vp/fp anyway, I figured I'd just add in all the equipment and get the Def/saves as well, and since that made my vp/fp even better, this was A Good Thing. At least for me. :D I get lower DEF/saves, so it all comes out in the wash, I guess. I went with the TSL stats for everything since you'd already done that with yours so we'd have that consistency. Oh, and I found out one of the robes I was using was upgradeable with an underlay, so I added that in before writing down the stats.
Since we can't do shields, I gave everyone a Nomi armband and a <name> armband (since those are the only 2 available in the unmodded game for a LSer). If you want me to give Talin and Jolee another Nomi armband instead of the <name> armband let me know.
I gave only Jae a <name> crystal, however--Talin and Jolee don't have those--I think we'd agreed that only Jae and Emperor Devon (and maybe Tysy?) would have the <name> crystals since they're so powerful.

For clarification, though, I can make modules for both of us that have each other's characters. For instance, yours would have an NPC that had my stats. If you attacked it with your character, that could save a lot of calculation.The only problem is we'd have 2 different fights going on that way with different damages unless you adjust your own chacter in KSE every round. :) It would also, believe it or not, be more work for me that way--my laptop won't run the game while anything else significant is going on in the background. I'd have to run the mod, close out the game, log on to the internet, go to LF, post my stuff, see what you did, log off, go back to the game, etc. Sucks to have a graphics card with hardly any memory. :)
With excel, I just plug in my dice rolls and the spreadsheet'll calculate everything attack and damage--I've got everything on paper at the moment, I just need to make up the spreadsheet now. That was the plan for last night but I fell asleep before I got to it. That was actually a good thing, though....

Whether you will or not, I'm going to do it that way. I have no inexplicable love for extra math. :xp: I used to do great in math til I took calculus.

I've seen that the barab ore does 2-12 damage in two sources, btw. We should go with that.Which is 2d6.... I think I must have done a typo then and wrote 2d8 (which is 2-16) instead of 2d6.

Oh, this is just a practice round, mind you. Don't let it get to your head. :D It won't, until I see Devon with 0 VP. :xp:

Edit: I may change Talin's robe and I'll send the update after that. :D

If you want me to give Talin and Jolee another Nomi armband instead of the <name> armband let me know.

Minor thing. You can choose. :)

I gave only Jae a <name> crystal, however--Talin and Jolee don't have those--I think we'd agreed that only Jae and Emperor Devon (and maybe Tysy?) would have the <name> crystals since they're so powerful.

Yep.

The only problem is we'd have 2 different fights going on that way with different damages unless you adjust your own chacter in KSE every round. :)

True, but it would be useful just for determining whether attacks succeed or not and how much damage they do. It's useful for just me, though. :)

Sucks to have a graphics card with hardly any memory. :)

Isn't Jimbo getting you a new one for NWN 2, though? :)

I used to do great in math til I took calculus.

Aren't we random today. :lol:

Which is 2d6.... I think I must have done a typo then and wrote 2d8 (which is 2-16) instead of 2d6.

I checked, and TSL tallies up the damage. I removed the crystal from my character's lightsaber, and the numbers in the damage section went down.

It won't, until I see Devon with 0 VP. :xp:

Aren't we confident today. :xp:

This is indeed very long discussion...Still can't wait to see the duel.

If you think this is long, you should see all the PMs we've exchanged. :p

Ok, point taken. I didn't mean to criticize you guys that the discussion is long, but just astonished that you guys can came up with so many ideas...That's my purpose.

No hard feelings, I hope.

BTW: Keep up this chapter. Looking forward to see more. :D

No hard feelings, I hope.

None. I was kidding. :)

what, 5 pages and you havnt actually started yet? jeez...