How would you go about using iajutsu in Fight? On a related note, is it possible to use Lock to prevent an opponent from drawing their sword?
I would say it’s…script Avoid as your defense, have a Die Trait that lets you instantaneously draw your weapon (it may exist, I haven’t looked), then use Aggressive Stance and Great Strike for your Iajutsu strike. You could also turn the Aggressive Stance action into an Intimidate, then follow up with Great Strike. Bear in mind that it’s a huge investment of actions, but I think that’s the iajutsu mentality: read your opponent so that you know when you can lay down three actions’ worth.
Having high Reflexes would help.
I’ve not read it in a while, but what’s the deal? You can draw a weapon in 1 action instead of 2?
Practiced Precision (Dt) to draw sword in one action, or “Draw Sword” instinct so that you begin the fight by quickly drawing your blade. Work towards a Deadly Precision (Dt) if you want your damage to become a by-product of skill rather than Power. Spend some General Skill Points on Martial Arts (only way to get it) and focus on developing your Speed. I also would suggest Two Fisted Fighter Training if you wanted your character to be able to use the Butterfly techniques (either that or earn a grey shade reflexes). Good Luck! (Love to see the finished character in the Crucible)
If I wanted an full-on quick-draw duel, I wouldn’t use Fight.
I’d do, like, ad-hoc opposed checks. Maybe opposed Steel -> Sword or something, with some situational modifiers.
Fight is the fallback if one of you hasn’t won already immediately.
Whaddya know, there is an Iajutsu Die Trait already! I forgot about Practiced Precision.
Great. Now, imagine two warriors, one armed with a sword, still sheathed, the other either unarmed or armed with a dagger/dirk. Could the dagger armed warrior use a Lock to prevent the swordsman from drawing his sword? Then use his dagger to strike the swordsman?
Being a well practiced Aikidoka, yes he could. make it a vs. test against Martial Arts/boxing/knifes.
Two warriors enter under Arena rules (no Draw Sword Instinct, weapons sheathed) a lot would be determined by who won the engagement test, and the odds favor the swordsman over the unarmed/dirksman (all other things being equal) as engaement test ties go to the longer weapon, and the loser gets a +2 Ob to most everything in the fight volley (based on page 431).
When it comes down to equally matched opponents (L.P./Skill Exponents/Stats) Scripting really is the key to survival.
Using Fight rules, no. There’s no way short of incapacitation to prevent someone from drawing. In practice, however, getting a Lock and having a knife is going to make any swordsman very sad. Two actions to get the sword out, then using that sword with the increased Ob from positioning? Not good for him.
If this is very important to your game you could consider giving making Draw actions a test. Something like Agility or Speed at an Ob of weapon positioning disadvantage could work; that makes it still easy to claw out your knife in a clinch but very hard to get big awkward things out of sheathes. I don’t love this solution, but I think it could work.
But if one party has a knife drawn and the other’s still standing flat-footed, yes, I think a test first to win the fight before it even begins makes sense.
In fight, your unarmed attacker could script Charge as his first action using his m.a./brawling skill. If you win the vs. test, it can go very well for you (if you lose, not so much).
I’ve practiced Aikido/Jujutsu for a while myself, and I like to think about how one can perform certain thing susing the rules(Like an unarmed opponent preventing a sword being drawn. Conversely, the swordsman has ways to use the hilt of the sword to counter the Lock with another Lock…while the sword is still sheathed). I’m still learning the rules, and trying to think of ways to use them creatively. Also, from reading through the rules, daggers/dirks etc. can be NASTY. The potential for multiple Suberb strikes. Oucheth!
If you get up close and personal with a knife you can really ruin someone’s day. Fast
…Unless they’re armored. And if they’ve got a bigger weapon you’ll have some trouble getting up close like that. And you’re sacrificing power if you don’t get a pile of successes and just land Incidental hits.
Note that Lock is a Power test. Weapons aren’t needed and indeed aren’t helpful. Whether your sword is sheathed, unsheathed, or absent, it makes no difference to attempting to Lock or break out of a Lock.