With the ubiquitous giant otori birds serving as both steeds and beast of burden, it is perhaps unsurprising to hear that the more rural samurai take great pride in their ability to ride the beasts, the Lord Commander of the Sentinels often holding otori races for his scouts, though to keep things interesting non-affiliated samurai are allowed to take part. These events allow the young samurai to prove themselves in a relatively safe way.

Despite the inhospitable weather, the Lord Commander insists on holding the race. The Sentinels often spend months out in the wilderness and so foul weather is considered a non-issue . Samurai taking part even comment that the rain is going to make the race even more exciting.

Magic: Magic is allowed though spells must be cast so that they cover the duration of the entire event, i.e. 3 hours. You can use multiple casts to achieve this as long as you have sufficient spell slots.

Iron Bird
Characters who kept their otori after D2 event gain +2 to both Giddiup Birdie! and Bravest bird! rolls as they now know their steeds.

When it rains, it pours
The sudden heavy rains make the weather almost insufferable. Clothing clings to skin and the humid air is heavy with noxious gasses, the riders having to wear protective masks to avoid risk asphyxiation. However the claustrophobic masks make breathing nigh impossible. To avoid suffering ill effects from the weather, the character must roll raw Stamina against TN 15. If a character fails this roll they become Fatigued remaining fatigued for the duration of this event unless they can remove this status effect. Characters with Advantage Jurojin's Blessing gain a Free Raise on this roll. Characters with gas mask gain a two free Raises on this roll as per the rules.

Giddiup Birdie!
To guide the otori through the first part of the track the rider must coax their mount into a breakneck speed while using their own body weight to facilitate tight turns. This is no mean feat and a single misstep can easily lead to the rider being thrown off the saddle. To successfully navigate the character must roll Horsemanship / Agility against TN 15. Success and each successful raise grants the character a Race point. Should a character fail this roll they suffer 1k1 exploding damage for each raise called (i.e. if they called no raises, they suffer no damage, if they called two raises they suffer 2k2 damage and so on.). Should two or more damage dice explode, they also suffer Lame disadvantage on the limb chosen by the GMs.

Bravest bird!
Otori tend to avoid the thickest of the fungal thickets in fear of predators and only the most talented riders can persuade an otori to dash through terrain where the animal cannot properly see all around. In order to persuade the bird to keep up the pace through the thickets, the character must roll Animal Handling / Awareness against TN 15. Success and each successful raise grants the character a Race point. Should a character fail the roll, they lose a Race point for each raise they called. Characters with the Blessed by Chikushodo Advantage gain Free Raise on this roll, while characters with Cursed by Chikushodo must call a Raise for no effect. Additionally Characters with the Advantage Inner Gift: Animal Ken gain a Free Raise on this roll. Characters wearing a gas mask cannot see well and increase their TN by 5.


Outcome
Once you have finished making your rolls, please post your total points to this thread along with a link to the relevant rolls. Every character that scores at least a single Race point will be given a sturdy otori-feather cloak. The character with the most Race points will get Sentinel's Cloak instead. Ties are resolved by Bravest Bird rolls.

Sentinel's Cloak: This cloak has a built in cooling system that allows the Phoenix scouts to operate in the hot and humid xenofungi forests without having to worry about heatstroke. Character wearing Sentinel's Cloak may activate it any time and the cloak remains active for six hours. During this time the character gains Free Raise to resist all weather effects that cause Fatigue.

More. Blasted. Otori.

Hyeon-ju strongly considered not to participate, but then she'd be failing herself and the vow she made to be a good guest that would participate in all that the hosts were arranging for them.

Grumbling, she affixed her breath mask, and mounted the dumb bird. It bucked a few times in protest against the angry rider, probably sensing her immense dislike of its birb-kind. And from there, the Otori hatched its cunning plan...

... The Utaku wanted to race, to win. The Otori instead to dilly-dally dead last of the group, taking in the scenery, sometimes stopping to groom itself or pick up some tasty worms that were coming out of the ground due to the rainfall.

The Otori looked smugly at the Utaku as she dismounted, confident that it wouldn't get shot. And it was true - it would live another day.


-----------

D6 EVENT LA: Otori Race! Stamina check. 2 FRs from Mask (lowering TN to 5). TN 5: 3d10 14
D6 EVENT LA: Otori Race! Giddiup birdie! Wark! Horsemanship/Agility. TN 15: 4d10o10k3 10 +0 points
D6 EVENT LA: Otori Race! Bravest Birb! Kweh! Untrained Animal Handling/Awareness. +5 TN from mask. TN 20 (lol): 2d10 8 +0 points

0 points and one unhappy Utaku.

Akemi was totally there for the race and not to monitor the forest for any mushroom-based zombie.

She cursed herself for still not having invested in a mask of her own, but her superior Hida constitution allowed her to temporary endure without it.

Outside that, nothing had changed since she acquired Kurogane a few days ago. The beast could still not unhorse her, but she still couldn't convince them to follow her orders either. Maybe she should have spent more time with it if she actually intended to alter that status quo instead of just hoping for the best.

---

D6 LA | Otori Race | When it rains, it pours | Raw Stamina (TN15): 3d10o10k3 15 -> Pass
D6 LA | Otori Race | Giddiup Birdie! | Horsemanship / Agility (TN15) | Iron Bird | Unskilled: 3d10+2 21 -> Pass, 1 point
D6 LA | Otori Race | Bravest bird! | Animal Handling / Awareness (TN15) | Iron Bird | Unskilled: 2d10+2 11 -> Failed
Total: 1 point

People would say wearing an outfit in this colour to go Otori racing was just asking for trouble. Those people would totally be right, because any mud on this outfit would stand out a long way away!

She was soon coughing under her mask, it not doing a lot of help with her which also startled the otori, as it moved away from her the moment she started coughing, causing her to stumble and almost fall into the mud! With a little help however she was onto the birb, and racing somewhere near the back. You couldn't even call it racing, it was like a gentle trot around the course with Nara going 'ooo that's pretty. Oooo what's that? Oooo'

She made it to the end though, and got a free cloak! How lucky for her



(ooc:
D6 LA Otori race part 1 - raw stamina vs TN15: 2d10o10k2 14 - fail, fatigue
D6 LA Otori race part 2 - horsemanship/agility vs TN15. Fatigue for +5tn. +2 to roll because birb is mine: 2d10+2 12 - fail, 0 points
D6 LA Otori race part 3 - animal handling/awareness v TN15. +5 TN for fatigue, +2 to roll because birb is mine: 4d10+2 29 - 1 point!

1 point total, get a nice pretty cloak

Ishiyo arrived...wearing her dress uniform and a strap to hold on her fancy dress hat. As the other racers lined up she merely trotted on to the field, waving at everyone until she took her place. When the start was sounded she was off with the other racers!

The heavy fog did not seem to bother her at all, though she did realize her uniform would need to be cleaned...again...after this. Still she moved through the forest with no ill effects.

Moving through the woods, her pace greatly slowed. She kept on the otori, but only because unlike the others she took no risks while riding. Falling way behind as a result. Still there was a smile on her face and Ishiyo seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this brisk afternoon ride.

Perhaps more remarkably she managed to get her otori to push through the thickets with only minor issue. And emerging from the forest to the finish line she saw that strangely...she was not in last place. Not that it mattered as her ride across the finish line looked like a victory lap, and for Ishiyo it was. She had come to have fun and that task was accomplished.

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

Raw Stamina. TN15: 3d10o10 29 - Passed

Horsemanship/AGI. Untrained. TN15: 3d10+2 9 - Failed, No Raises so no damage

Animal Handling/AWA. Untrained. TN15: 3d10+2 17 - Passed - 1 Race Pt

1 Race Pt and a Delighted Crane

As Ruhe had foretold in his epic club piece, the race was meant to be deadly. Instead of flaming rocks, however, it were stifling amount of water. Ruhe and his avian steed were not unscathed when the clouds tore, but this weather was metal so Ruhe approved greatly. He urged Onikage onward with metal on his lips. That probably contributed to oxygen shortage, but the hell with breathing.



LA6. Rain is Falling on My Hhead! Stamina! TN15: 2d10o10 13 [Nada Points, Fatigued]

When the actual riding happened, Ruhe found himself in more familiar element, and he took his bird on a slippery road and he rode till it could no more.



LA6. Birbride hell yeah! Unskilled. Fatigued. TN20.: 4d10 27 [1 Point!]

And no more was the fungal forest. No amount of metal encouragement seemed to be convincing Onikage to go forth, through, and hence.



LA6. Fung us ALL! Unskilled. Fatigued. TN20.: 3d10 12

[Nada Points]

ONE POINT \m/

----

But after all the tribulations of getting back, Ruhe still felt it was all worth it! Tiredness be damned, he performed for the racers without holding back!



LA6. Fluff Fiddle. 3R. Fatigued.: 8d10o10k5 45

Moriko had been looking forward to this. Not the race so much as the experience, getting out into the wilds with Hana, the subtle synchronisation of bird and rider, communicating through touch alone. Two sets of eyes, two bodies, working in unison. that was what Moriko desired most. The sudden rain shower caught her off-guard. One could become accustomed to almost anything, given sufficient exposure, but there was no time for that as she donned the fabric mask that did nothing to hold back the fetid stench.

The result wasn't exactly Sentinel-worthy, but that didn't matter to Moriko. The only thing that mattered was the near symbiotic bond that was forming between the young Phoenix and her mount.


---
1. [D6 LA] When it Rains (Raw Stamina 2, Void +1k1, TN15): 3d10o10k3 14
Failure. Remaining TNs increased by 5.

2. [D6 LA] Giddiup Birdie! (Agility 3 / Horsemanship 3, Otori Emphasis, Iron Bird +2, Can't Breath, TN20): 6d10ro1o10k3+2 37
Success. 1 Race Point.

3. [D6 LA] Bravest Bird! (Awareness 3 / Animal Handling 1, Void/Shiba Tech +2k2, Iron Bird +2, Can't Breath, Animal Ken FR, 2 CR, TN30): 6d10o10k5+2 41
Success. 4 Race Points.

Final Total: 5 Race Points.

Bayushi Akagi spurred his trusty otori steed Daitan and set off at breakneck speed from the starting line. Dodging easily between the thick mushroom stalks, the Scorpion soon found himself in the depths of the xenofungi forest. Unfortunately, the lenses of his gas mask began to fog up from the damp weather. Wiping them off seemed to do no good, as they would fog up again within minutes.

Akagi thought he and his otori were still ahead of the rest of the riders. That was good, right? But this also meant there were no other riders to follow, and the path they were on seemed to be getting narrower and narrower - finally dead-ending into a thick wall of brambles that Daitan flatly refused to enter. Akagi wiped the fog from his gas mask yet again, and realized he had taken a wrong turn somewhere.

Backtracking for several minutes, Akagi eventually found signs of the other riders’ passage in the damp, spongy undergrowth, and was able to get back on track. This let him finish the race - eventually. The Scorpion grinned sheepishly and congratulated the winner.

—
6LA Otori Race, When it rains, resist fatigue with 2 free raises from gas mask, raw STA TN5: 2d10o10k2 9 succeeds
6LA Otori Race, Giddiup Birdie with 2 called raises, AGI/Horsemanship +Iron Bird +Void Point TN25: 5d10o10k4+2 32 succeeds for 3 Race Points
6LA Otori Race, Bravest bird with 2 called raises, gas mask penalty, AWA/Animal Handling +Iron Bird +Void Point TN30: 5d10o10k4+2 23 fails for -2 Race Points

Total: 1 Race Point

Mumei had no real idea how good a racer Hiroki was, but it seemed like quite a lot of fun to find out. The rain, the noxious air, these did quite a bit to dampen her enthusiasm even if she wasn't feeling any truly ill effects. It was still sticky hot, pouring rain, and everything stank.

But when she saw the twisty course, she grinned and leaned over to stroke Hiroki's feathers. "Who's the best bird? That's right, you are. Let's show everyone just how great you are." And with that, they're off, the trained dancer easily throwing her weight into the turns and helping Hiroki navigate.

The dark undergrowth though? She tried urging the bird in, but honestly, her own heart was a bit shaky at the idea of heading into that without knowing what might live there.

_______
Iron Bird
Hiroki is good +2 birb

When it rains, it pours
D6,LA Otori Racing Stamina roll TN 15, Void for +1k1: 3d10o10 24 Pass

Giddiup Birdie!
D6,LA Otori Racing Horsemanship / Agility, Void +1k1, +2 for own birb, 1 raise, TN20: 5d10o10k4+2 28
2 points

Bravest bird!
D6,LA Otori Racing Animal Handling / Awareness, Void for Skill, +2 for own birb, 1 raise TN 20: 4d10o10k3+2 18
0 points

2 points total

Fluff pending

D6 LA - Otori Race - When it Rains it Pours - Stamina, 2FR for Wearing Mask, TN 5: 2d10k2 6 - phew!

D6 LA - Giddiup Birdie! - Riding/ Agility, VP for +1k1, 2 CR, TN 25. +2 for riding Kurikoo: 5d10o10k4+2 49 - 3 Points

D6 LA - Bravest Bird! - Animal Handling/ Awareness, VP for +1k1, 2 CR, Mask, TN 30. +2 for riding Kurikoo: 5d10o10k4+2 29 - Fail by 1

Total - 3 points... 'almost' got to a 6

OTORI RACE!!!

No way Izumi was missing this! Even if he did have to wear a gas mask that meant he could barely see over Dasshu's head. Not that that bothered them at the start. With a mighty 'KWEH' Dasshu lived up to his name and sprinted into the forest. They were one of the fastest pairs here!!!!

Unfortunately they also had no idea which way they were going, made even worse by Izumi having the vision range of a myopic ant through his mask. Still they eventually finished the course and had FUN!

--
D6 Otori Race FOXEH CARE NOT FOR RAIN! Raw Sta, 3 FR from advanced Gas Mask, TN 15 (Auto pass but rolling anyway): 3d10o10+15 32 Not fatigued.

D6 Otori Race GIDDEUP DASSHU!! Hor/Agi, VP for +1k1, TN 15: 4d10o10k3+2 28 1 Race Point!

D6 Otori Race DASSHU IS BRAVEST BIRB! Ani Han/Awa, VP for +1k1, TN 15: 3d10 8 actually TN 20 from gas mask, so even less successful!!!!

1 Birb Point and feathery cloak acquired.

It was coming down. It would be hard to breath. Yul reached into his bag, pulling out his gas mask. "Whoops, not that." He put it back in, and pulled out his aviators, putting them on. Now he was ready to ride.

Whether piloting a spacecraft, or riding atop a bird, the basic principle was the same. You needed to know your steed. Yul had spent a bit of time getting to know Maverick during the last week, and it showed. Yul wasn't a skilled enough rider to risk pushing too hard, and Maverick wasn't certain enough of this human on his back to run too fast.

But, for the off-road. "C'mon, buddy." Yul said, patting Maverick's neck encouragingly, nodding towards some thicker undergrowth. "Let's do it."

"Kweh!" Said Maverick, turning his head, staring at Yul with one eye. Yul stared back. Was that agreement?

Maverick ran forward, clawed feet tearing up smaller mushrooms as he ran, Yul grinning as he held on tightly. Looks like they had the same idea.

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

D6LA When it Rains, raw stamina TN15: 3d10o10k3 28
D6LA Giddiup, Iron Bird +2, TN15: 4d10o10k3+2 18
D6LA Bravest Bird! Iron Bird +2, TN15: 3d10o10k2+2 18

2 points, feathery cloak!

Blinky was excited.

He could feel the nervous energy coursing through his feathery friend. The scratching of the wet earth. The gentle nudging of his massive beak. The twinkle in his eyes. Shitting everywhere.

Fortunately it was raining so hard that the last part proved less of a problem. Koseki had a gas mask, but he was also rather hardy and what were some noxious fumes to a space miner? He left the mask off and breathed deeply.

Blinky's purple and turquoise display feathers slicked back as he charged through the pack of racers. The bird loved to race, that much was clear. With a better rider they would have won the race hands down, but Koseki was perhaps the first Hotaru to have ridden any animal since...ever. So he played it safe and let Blinky run the race without too much interference. In the end he was rewarded with a decent placing and a very nice otori feather cloak.

---
Rolls

D6. LA. Otori race. When it rains, it pours. Raw Stamina. Two FR (Firefly 1; FotE) to reduce TN. TN5: 3d10o10 8 Pass!

D6. LA. Otori race. Giddiup Birdie!. Iron Bird. Horsemanship / Agility. 1CR. TN20: 4d10o10k3+2 54 Holy moly, success! 2 points.

D6. LA. Otori race. Bravest bird! Iron Bird. Animal Handling / Awareness. TN15: 2d10+2 13. Fail.

2 Race points and a sturdy otori feather cloak!

Neither Hoshi nor her otori wanted to do this, not really. Mostly, Hoshi just wanted to be present to support Mori. But, there was a bit of pride at stake, having grown up on the ranch. She quietly said a prayer as she approached her mount.

"Let's get this over quickly, ne?" she whispered to the bird. "I'll give you a treat when we're done."

Once the race began, however, Hoshi felt dizzy and weak. She fell off the otori, fortunately avoiding injury. The bird stopped and looked down at her with concern.

"I'm alright." she whispered reassuringly as she climbed back into the saddle. "Just get me back quickly, please."

The otori had never moved so fast before, racing to the thickets without hesitation. It was not enough to place well, but the bird brought Hoshi back to safely.

"I'm going to give you so many treats."

- - -
[D6 LA] Side Event: Otori Race, Casting Nature's Touch for flavor, TN 10: 4d10o10k3 18
[D6 LA] Side Event: Otori Race, Raw Stamina, TN 15: 2d10o10 11
[D6 LA] Side Event: Otori Race, Horsemanship/Agility, Fatigued, TN 20, Untrained, Iron Bird: 3d10+2 16
[D6 LA] Side Event: Otori Race, Animal Handling/Awareness, Fatigued, TN 20, Iron Bird: 4d10o10k3+2 33

1 point

While not directly in the military, Ryuu was already tapped as a likely candidate for joining the black guard. His natural stamina and exfellent health showed through, as even without a mask, the noxious fumes did not affect him.

He and Kinyobi had gotten to know each other over the time since the first test. While they were not setting any records, they were able to finish the race, specifically because of their teamwork together.

LA6 - Side Event: Otori Race - When It Rains, It Pours (Stamina 3, TN15): 3d10o10 18 No Fatigue

LA6 - Side Event: Otori Race - Giddiup Birdie! (Agility 3, Horsemanship 0, +3 Strength in Terror, +2 Iron Bird, TN15): 3d10+5 17 +1 Race Point

LA6 - Side Event: Otori Race - Bravest Bird (Awareness 2, Animal Handling 0, Iron Bird +2, TN15): 2d10+2 15 +1 Race Point

Total: 2 Race Points, gained a sturdy otori feather cloak

The bad air worried Atsumori a little. Not for himself--he had his gas mask, after all--but for Princess and the other otori, none of whom seemed to be furnished with comparable gear. Then again, the giant birds, unlike their human riders, were native to this planet. The fumes seemed to do no more than annoy Princess; she flared her orange-pink crest irritably on being led out of the comfortable stable, but her eyes and other mucosa looked perfectly fine even after a long enough exposure to seriously bother a human.

That was good, because it was hard for Atsumori to rein in (ha) his enthusiasm for the race. He was confident Princess was, well, a princess among otori, but this was their chance to show that to everyone else. He kept up a patter of sweet (if not exactly soft) nothings to the bird as he checked her tack and led her to the starting line... and then it was time to GOOOOO!

Go they did! Atsumori stuck on like a burr through the jumps and hairpin turns around the fungal trunks lining the first section of track, but it was in the rough straight stretch that Princess and her knight really pulled ahead of the flock, Atsumori's confident voice urging the big avian to stretch out her legs and trust her rider to find the trail. 'Mori whooped as Princess vaulted past the finishing markers. Whether or not they won in the end, he could feel in his bones that they'd finished in a time any Asakaze native could be proud of.

Also, what a video this would make!

--

When it rains: pass with gas mask, no Fatigue
D6 LA birb race!--Step 1, Stamina with gas mask on. 2 FR to lower TN to 5: 3d10o10 18

Giddyup!: Pass with 1 raise, +2 Race Points
D6 LA birb race!--Step 2, birdie bronco. Horse/Agi, +2 for Princess, 1 CR = TN 20.: 4d10o10k3+2 24

Bravest birb: Pass with 3 total raises, +4 Race Points
D6 LA birb race!--Step 3, who's a good birdie? Animal Handling/Awa, +1k1 Chikushudo(probably?), +2k2 Shiba void dump, +2 for Princess. +5 TN from mask, 1 FR (Chikushudo)+2 CR for effect. TN comes out to 30.: 6d10o10k5+2 49

Final tally: 6 Race Points, one ecstatic FireBirb, and one tired-out ActualBirb

Shiba Atsumori gains Sentinel's cloak.

Everyone else with core above zero gains a rugged cloak.