Fencer Archive
Thread: So...if you wanted to roleplay a samurai...would you be HS, Fencer, or...both?
I'd say you'd be a Master TKA (think aikido, a samurai was atrained unarmed fighter as well)and Master Swordsman (ye ol' katana) to begin with, and you might specialize further with fencer (wakizashi), but the main weapon is still the two-handed one, and SWG doesn't allow you to wield em both at the same time or combine their attacks like a samurai might. As far as defenses go, a Swordsman will NEVER block or dodge, only counter-attack (which is not an actual counter-attack but an evasion for all purposes, with a different name) You could obtain the Fencer dodge bonusses, but they are only in effect when using a one handed weapon.
The whole system makes little sense and I'm writing up a new one that will never get used but at least is more logical 
Not to mention BTW that a swordsman's weapon of choice means STOP... HAMMERTIME. The Curved Sword is a decent weapon to start out with, but when you get to the high levels, you can be just as quick with a powerhammer and about three times more damaging. Hopefully the weapons pass will make it more powerful, but right now, playing a Samurai kinda guy is not only hard to do realistically, it's also somewhat weak.
I think heavy swordsman is distinctly more similar to the samurai. I'm a student of kendo myself, I wouldn't compare myself to a samurai by any means, but when I started this game I didn't want to choose heavy swordsman because the moves were too similar to something I already do, so I thought Fencer would be a nice change of pace.
Actually the concept of dodge would contradict what the samurai are about. Many are quick to point to Bushido writings and proverbs such as "The Way of the Samurai is found in death." I think these are probably overly romanticized. It's not so much a "death wish," rather, it's the will to live your life to the fullest, and if that means you will die in the process, so be it.
I think a samurai would never lightly throw away his life fighting some minor opponent-- so there is some truth to what you say about coming out of a fight unscathed, but I would say that neither the swordfighting style, nor the culture are all that defensive.
That said, I think the Fencer notion of Dodge would not appeal to them. Even the notion of Block of the pikeman would go against the philosophy, in fact in kendo blocking to avoid losing a point is considered by some to be dishonorable. Dodge would not be considered all that dishonorable, but it's not that easy to do with that kind of sword, so you're usually safer attacking.
The only real "defensive" tactics you see in Japanese swordsmanship are moves that lead up to a follow-up attack; the design of the katana facilitates counter moves. Heavy Swordsmen have Counterattack-- that's actually the main reason I think that would be best for the Samurai roleplayer.
But it's your game-- feel free to come up with your own conclusions. Maybe come up with your own tradition that contains the elements of the samurai that you like. George Lucas did it with the Jedi-- it's not 100% based on the samurai, but there's some real influence. I'd have to say that the idea went over well.
An ideal samurai would have been trained in not just kendo, but also some form of unarmed combat (which would have been a form of jujutsu at the time), and archery, the use of the spear, and even the use of the short sword. So maybe Master Brawler is called for. Many would also have been trained in music, art, even calligraphy, tea service, and flower arrangement. And there is a huge emphasis on meditation.
Notice I say ideal-- the son of a powerful family or a well known instructor might have been trained this way, but some were not as well polished, and were really just thugs who picked on peasants.
Aikido actually came after the period of the samurai. There was a form, again, similar to jujutsu, called aikijutsu. The founder of Aikido actually just died within the last 30 or 40 years. He would have been trained in just about everything you could possibly think of. That is the tradition that is commonly known as the Art of Peace.
My samurai template is going to be Master Swordsman, Master Fencer, Master Brawler, and TK 4-4-0-3. It satisfies many of the above requirements.. Mastery of the katana, mastery of the wakizashi, skill in unarmed combat, skill in polearm combat, and meditation abilities I can't shoot a bow though.. Anyway I find this character idea to be very intriguing so I started my alt along this template last Thursday, so far I've made Master Swordsman, Novice Fencer, and 1-4-4-1 Brawler so I'm on my way
He will be a very powerful tank in PvE as long as the docs aren't too far behind 
Message Edited by AcidRaineV on 04-02-2004 10:19 AM
Actually to be accurate you would need to be a Heavy Swordsman, at least have the meditate line from TKA along with some hand to hand and entertainer or a crafting profession.
True samurais must be skilled in both the arts of war and at least 1 form of art. Wether it's poetry, music, sculpting etc...