Draft:Two Become One

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Two Become One (also called 二なる一 ('Ninaruichi', literally 'two become one')) is an ability and a combat technique.

Requirements

This ability is not initially available and must be unlocked. To unlock this ability, your character must reach Expert level in these combat skills: Two-handed sword and One-handed sword. Once the skill requirements are reached, one must then purchase the Two Become One lessons at a dojo or, more rarely, be taught the technique by a makaryuudo.

Once unlocked, to be able to perform this combat technique, your character must be equipped with the following:

• At least one two-handed sword

• At least one one-handed sword

Use

If you meet the requirements, you can perform Two Become One, which will result in the following:

• You may use a two-handed sword and a one-handed sword during the same turn, performed the following way:
  • You select one body part of an enemy to target.
  • When performing accuracy checks, you roll for both swords at once: a solid hit equals a solid hit from both weapons being used.
    • A character with the Ambidextrous trait gains FT -1.
      • Example: If you have FT 6 and IR 1 and roll a 7, you do one inaccurate hit with each sword. A character that is Ambidextrous would have FT 5 and IR 1, so the same 7 is a solid hit from both weapons.
  • You may only attack up to three times.
  • 1.1x damage after all other modifiers have been applied (ie Strength, Pain Sensitivity)
  • Your Initiative Speed while using Two Become One is equal to the IS of both weapons added together.
    • Example: If you use this ability with a katana (Weight 14) and a wakizashi (Weight 9), your IS is equal to 23 (14 + 9 = 23).
    • Example 2: Following up on the above, if you are using the katana and wakizashi while under the effects of moderate Stress, then all weapons you carry are subjected to an extra IS tier -1 effect, bringing the katana's down to 9 and the wakizashi's down to 5, therefore bringing your IS while using Two Become One to 14.
  • Unlike with Dual wielding, you cannot combine this ability with Multiple Targeting. All of your attacks must be aimed at one target.

In total, using Two Become One might look like this:

• Aiko the guhin is fighting against a human Cultist. She is carrying a katana and a wakizashi, and decides to use Two Become One to do two attacks. Because she has low Stress, her IS is 23 (14 + 9 = 23). She declares her intention to attack the Cultist's hips, knowing their armor doesn't cover them there. Her accuracy is FT 6 IR 1. When it's her turn, she rolls a 7 and a 6, equalling one inaccurate hit and one miss. The inaccurate hit's Pain Damage is calculated as 0.8 * 0.7 * (90 + 60) = 84% Pain, while Limb Damage is ((1d8 + 7) + (1d8 + 5)) * 0.7 * 0.8 = 12 Damage (with a 4 being rolled for the katana and a 5 for the wakizashi).
  • If Aiko had the Ambidextrous Trait, then she would have gotten one solid hit and one inaccurate hit. Using the same dice results as before, this becomes 120 + 84 = 204% Pain, and 17 + 12 = 29 Limb Damage.

Trivia

This ability is based on the niten'ichi (二天一, 'two heavens as one') style of swordfighting created by Japanese swordsman and strategist Miyamoto Musashi, in which the fighter uses their large sword (normally a katana) with one hand instead of two, freeing up the other hand to use their companion sword (normally a wakizashi). In the Mazes, this technique is the heritage of the makaryuudo, with the name of its inventor being lost to history.