Samurai

Description: This professional soldier from a far-off land considers himself a consummate fighter. Eschewing heavy armor and defense, the Samurai boldly goes into battle relying on his powerful, quick strokes and maneuvers to eliminate opponents before they hit him. His attachment to his honor and his overconfidence in his fighting skills, however, limits him severely, requiring that he reveal himself and his heritage to every enemy, human or monster alike.

Symbol: Bushido - the code of the warrior

Weight/Vulnerability: Medium

Peasant
   Spear
   Move M4*   Move M5   Fight M4*

Ashigaru
   Breastplate, Spear
   Move H5*   Fight M5   Fight H4**

Ronin
   Helmet, Breastplate, Broadsword
   Move M3**   Move H6   Fight M3**

Samurai
   Helmet, Breastplate, Broadsword
   Fight M2***   Fight M4*   Fight H6

Begins at: Inn

Special Advantages:

   1. Zanshin: The Samurai receives an extra Alert phase each day. The Samurai may play 3 asterisks in each combat round; normal fatigue and rest rules apply. Items may add to this bonus.

   2. Honor:
      2.1 The Samurai may not attack (unless he is targeted) during a combat round if hidden at the beginning of the encounter step. Samurai may decide to become unhidden at the start of any encounter step.
      2.2 The Samurai may not attack any character who has less fame unless targeted by that character first.

Relationships:

   Friendly: Soldiers, Guard
   Unfriendly: Company, Order



Designer: Mick Shields

Designer's notes:

This character grew out of 2 desires. One was my somewhat juvenile interest in Japanese fighting styles and history, the other my minor annoyance (also juvenile?) with the reliance of every character on the Hide activity. While playing MR, I realized that Hiding is just too dang important to ignore unless at great peril. So, why not design a character who could not use Hide as a combat strategy? To offset this, we gave the character decent speed, and decent weapons, and the ability of extra effort asterisks. The Samurai has an adaptable nature, with both H move and fight counters. Perhaps he will arm himself for battle with T monsters, or keep his speed available. What he finds in the Realm will help determine his course of action!