While I know that we already have the Mortal Draw technique, I was thinking of a lower tiered version of it. I don't really have a name for it, thus the thread title. As for a description.... Battojutsu(just going with that one for now) is an offensive technique, best used against a solitary enemy. To use it, the user must have a sheathed weapon which can be easily drawn. The technique begins by the user going into their draw stance, and focusing on their weapon. It only take a moments focus to ready this attack (less than a second if practiced enough). Once readied the user cannot leave their stance without having to refocus. This allows them to move, albeit slowly, so long as they remain in their stance. The attack packs the same amount of punch as a normal attack, but coming from the sheathe makes the attack harder to read and therefore blocking or dodging the attack becomes much harder to do. (A normal weapon swing has body language to help determine if it is going to be horizontal or vertical as well as where it is being aimed. A draw doesn't have the tells of a normal attack and thus dodging or blocking becomes harder since you don't know if they are going to attack vertically or horizontally. You also can't determine if the horizontal strike will be aimed high, mid, or low similar to being unable to tell if a vertical strike would be aimed at the left, right, or center.) While the attack can be fatal if dodged or blocked wrong, it usually isn't. A skilled user of battojutsu can usually resheath his weapon quickly after a draw and refocus for a second draw almost immediately. Essentially it's a normal strike that is harder to read to read due to the nature of the stance. Of course this isn't always true. Since someone who straps their sword to their back and draw it overhead would have a particularly hard time doing a horizontal attack. Likewise someone who's sheath his placed on their lower back would find it hard to do a vertical draw. The unpredictable attacks would be for those who wear their swords on their hips drawing towards their opponent. They could draw upwards or sideways with relative ease. It is by no means impossible to dodge once you understand the mechanics of it, the easiest means of dodging would be to step backwards out of the range of the attacker, otherwise you risk attempting to side step a horizontal attack having thought it was a vertical one.
Technically, IRL, that is called Iaijutsu. The problem I see with this is that 'the user cannot leave their stance without having to refocus.' In the heat of combat, where you have a second or less to decide things, if you can't leave a stance, that is an incredibly telegraphed attack, vertical or horizontal makes no matter, and so blocking or dodging would actually become easier. As a strike at the beginning of combat, I can see this happening, but it would need to be a surprise attack. What makes the Mortal Draw, well, mortal is that it's a surprise attack, given from a seemingly unsuspecting personage, to an aggressor who has come within range. It isn't an attack for use in a protracted fight. Then again, I'm not a mod, so take this how you will, just my two cents.
That's actually a fair point. I think dropping the need to stay in stance would be helpful. My main aim for this is for it to be a non-fatal mortal draw essentially. If that makes any sense. A draw with little to no focus required, as compared to Mortal Draw's several seconds of motionless focus. I do plan on picking up both Mortal Draw and Quick Draw (which I will use with my weapon sheathed). Adding this Iaijutsu would effectively allow for three possible attacks from a sheathed weapon, each with different focus times and the like so no one would really know what to expect from a sheathed weapon. The way I see it is this Draw has almost no charge time so is good at close range. Quick Draw, with upgrade, only has a 2 second charge time, while Mortal Draw has something around 5 or so seconds from my understanding. Potentially I'd be able to focus on my sheathed weapon and then unleash any of the three Draws, so long as I have achieved the minimum focus for that specific attack. Make sense? As for you not being a mod. Eh. Getting some input is always welcomed. Might help get it approved after all.
As a surprise attack that kicks off combat, sure, but the thing to remember about a sheathed weapon is that it is exactly that: sheathed. Competent opponents know to keep their distance and always threaten the enemy with the point of their weapon even if they can't get a hit in, so having a weapon that isn't even out would be a disadvantage, even supposing your style is one that relies on quick draws. Most opponents won't be at the range you need to use such a strike, since you mention it's close range. Another concern, especially since I notice Samanosuke's weapons are katana, are shields. A decent shield or armor could withstand a strike such as you propose with ease, and as katana are infamously prone to chipping, his weapons would dull quickly. It's still a fairly telegraphed strike, in any case. I do see what you're trying to do, I think, and whatever the mods decide regarding this, I wish you luck.
Well as far as his weapons chipping and dulling is concerned, I do plan on getting Dark Blade (twice) once I can which would mitigate that issue. While a draw is close range, it isn't really any closer ranged than a normal swing would be. The range he needs to be at to land a strike period wouldn't change. As for fairly telegraphed, your right. I mean I'd have to sheath a weapon mid combat which would mean I was preparing for one of three attacks. It's another reason I'm going to try and come up with a few other draw based attacks if I can, or at the very least find a few other treasures that I could use with a sheathed weapon to expand the potential list of attacks that he can launch from a sheathed weapon. Anyway, thanks for wishing me luck.
While using this technique properly is impressive, it is something that can be done in real-life and with a bit of practice. By HC's standards, it's something a character should be able to do without earning it as a special technique (or paying rupees to learn it). ... Should've gotten back to you sooner, though. My apologies.
