fandomhigh | Adventuring!, Thursday, Period 3

Entry tags:

adventuring survival tactics

Adventuring!, Thursday, Period 3

When the class stepped through the Danger Shop, they'd think they stepped into a...wardrobe mixed with an armory. On hangers and stands were various styles of armor, for both ladies and even a few for guys. Hey, he wasn't going to assume anything about the tastes of his students! The one thing no one would find was stereotypical underwear armor. Hardison didn't have time for all of sexist nonsense. Not in his classroom.

"Welcome back," Hardison greeted when his students entered. He was dressed appropriately. "A'ight, so I probably don't even have to give this lecture, cause either this won't apply to your life or it does an' so you probably already know better'n me, but weird things happen on this island, so I'mma just say this to be clear. This course is based on fantasy media, not fact. Everythin' we learn about, everythin' we cover, it comes from adventures that take place in folks' imaginations. Please don't take anythin' we learn here as anythin' other than fun an' games for summertime."

And that over with, he gestured to the costumes around him. "A'ight, so the adventurin' class we're studyin' today is Fighters. They're pretty much the most basic of all classes; they make up the backbone of most adventurin' parties. Fighters is a pretty broad umbrella term; there are a buncha different varieties of fighters to serve peoples's individual tastes. For the most part, though, they got a few basic things in common. They're usually tanks--that means that they wade in an' do serious damage. They usually ain't the fastest fighters--heavy weapons that do a lot of damage are pretty slow to swing. They also generally wear pretty heavy armor--thick hides, heavy leather, and strong metals, either as chainmail or plate. As a tank, you end up takin' a lot of hits as well an' you need to be able to keep goin' an' not end up skewered, sliced, or scored. A good set of armor can turn a blade an' leave you with bruises insteada stab wounds."

Important life advice, even if a lot of the armor was pretty impractical. Or, it would be if it were anywhere other than the Danger Shop.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Show off what you decided on! There are plenty of costumes to choose from ~~either from the Pinterest page or find your own~~. Be prepared to explain to Hardison why you chose it and any flaws that would make this untenable in a real combat situation.

Raven spent rather awhile sifting through all the costumes and pieces, occasionally shifting to try out different looks and see how they moved. One of the fun things about being a shapeshifter: clothing always fit you perfectly.

She finally settled on a mix of leather and chainmail, with a long leather bodice and skirt over a loose chainmail shirt. She went with a tights look on the bottom, though it was hard to tell, under firm leather gaiters and the length of that split skirt. She topped it all off with leather bracers over her forearms and a piece of metal plate over her right shoulder.

She looked pretty awesome, if she did say so herself, though it all felt a little heavy for real combat.

"Lookin good," Hardison said, shooting her a thumbs up. "So, talk to me. Why this combination? What're you goin' for?"

"Well, I was mostly looking for something that would cover and protect as much as me as possible -- while still letting me move freely. The leather is still pretty firm while being lighter and more flexible than metal plate, and the chainmail adds extra protection to my central mass and upper arms without being too restricting. The plate here is mostly because it looks neat, though."

"So much of the armor here is because it looks neat," Hardison said with a laugh. "How a giant chunka decorative metal strapped to your arm is s'posed to protect you is beyond me, but it looks cool as hell, though, so I'm inclined to forgive it. There any downsides to your armor? If you were s'posed to go off an' fight in it for real, I mean."

"Well. . . . It doesn't matter how 'unrestrictive' you make something, it's always going to slow you down more than just being naked would." And now Hardison got to meet Raven's nudist side. "So there's that, though I guess that would mostly just take getting used to. With this many edges to things, there's always going to be ways under or around the armor, or places for weapons to get caught on. And if it's hot out, you're pretty much out of luck."

"That's what endurance trainin' is for, or so I hear," Hardison said. Because, honestly, the only endurance training he'd undergone were for hours of hacking, coding, or video games. "For the most part, you don't become a fighter if speed is your thing, unless you're a monk an' not wearin' much armor anyway. But you make good points, there're lots of places for weapons to catch an' snag an' there are a ton of weapons out there designed to do just that."

Rogues often had them.

"So, in that getup, what would you say your best fightin' style would be?"

Raven tilted her head and thought about that for a few moments. "Probably distance stuff. The bracers would be good for a bow and arrow, especially, and if I get rid of the plate, I still have full arm mobility for drawing and firing."

~~But wherever would you get an icon of JLaw with a bow?!?!~~

"Then I'mma suggest you try out bein' a ranger," Hardison suggested. "I mean, I'mma suggest you try out alla 'em, obviously, but ranger's the only fighter specialty with a bow. Give it a look."

"Ranger," Raven repeated. "I like the sound of that."

After trying on a few of the lighter outfits, Kira ended up picking dark, thick leather to cover herself with, all down her arms and legs. It wasn't fun to move in, but she could still be mobile if she had to be.

"So talk to me, Kira," Hardison said, shooting her a grin. "I saw you lookin' over some of the lighter armors first. Why'd you settle with this instead?"

"Well, I figured if I was going to be fighting, I'd be going up against people with weapons, and that would mean needing something stronger than light armor," Kira said. "In a hand to hand fight, I could dodge enough to get away with something light, but against a sword or a club? I know metal would be even better, but being able to dodge the bad guys a big part of my style."

"You mentioned likin' sneaky fighters last class," Hardison agreed, because he had been paying attention. "So, you're lookin' for a fighter class that's closer to that--sacrificin' damage for speed an' agility." He nodded. "What're some flaws you can think of about this gear specifically."

When it came to fashion, Cosima was always more interested in style than in functionality. Which was how she ended up in shades of tan and gold, with a kimono-style top tapering to complicated leather leggings covered in buckles. Her hands and feet were wrapped in strips of cloth; her toes, oddly, were bare.

She left off the jewelry that went with the outfit, though, and wound her braids into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She might have wanted to look good, but she wasn't stupid enough to give an opponent an easy target to grab.

"Smart, Cosima." Hardison said, noting her more utilitarian take on the armor. "You'd be surprised how many people fail to take into account all the things that can be used against 'em. Today's big, fancy necklace is tomorrow's choke chain an' that ain't never fun. So, why'd you go with this, rather than somethin', say, a bit flashier?"

Kaylin went with the ~~elf woman~~ outfit that seemed to suit her best. She put it on right over her tunic and pants because, no, she was not exposing her marks to anyone, thank you very much.

Okay, it might look a bit odd, but that's the way it was.

It did look odd, but Hardison wasn't going to pry. There were plenty of reasons someone might not be willing to strip down to put on a new outfit and the vast majority of those reasons were none of his business, unless and until she wanted it to be.

"Goin' with some lighter armor then?" he asked. "Not a fan of plate or chain?"

"It's too heavy," Kaylin said. "You can't move well in it."

Well, not if you were as skinny as Kaylin was anyway. A full set might just have toppled her over if she'd tried to fight in it.

"This, well, it could use a bit more protection, but I can run and jump and fight."

Alex looked over the costumes and decided to settle on a blue and brown costume that would at least be practical to move in and still had a reasonable amount of armour to protect her.

Did no one want to strap on a suit of plate or chain? That was fine, Hardison would just clank around the Danger Shop by himself.

"Alex, right?" he checked. "What've we got here?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Adventuring!, Thursday, Period 3

Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

RE: Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

RE: Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

RE: Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

RE: Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

RE: Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

RE: Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

RE: Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

RE: Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Re: Get Dressed!

Re: Get Dressed!

RE: Re: Get Dressed!