Big Po - Hungry Hungry Sumotori
Michelangelo - Friendly Capoeirista
Roberto King - Murderous Dagger Fighter
Dan da Ying - Helpful Eagle-Stylist
Four Horsemen
By boat, train, and horseback, four martial artists made their way to the town of Gila Gulch, each looking for something different. Roberto King sought his daughter, who had gone missing. Michelangelo searched for the deadly Foot Clan, murderers of his mentor and brothers. Big Po was looking for different cuisine to try. And Dan da Ying was trying to find and recover the legendary lemonade recipe that Dragon-Stylists had killed his best friend for.
Gila Gulch
The four PCs arrived the frontier town of Gila Gulch at high noon, all approaching from the South, Big Po looking ridiculous atop a struggling donkey. Po greeted the others warmly, and Michelangelo responded that he looked well-fed, while Roberto ignored them both. They started towards the saloon at the center of the three streets that made up the town, when a white man was thrown through the swinging doors and bounced off the dusty ground several times before coming to a stop.
A hulking Japanese man, almost as big as Po, exited the saloon, ripping the swinging doors from their hinges as he did, and threatened the man he'd just thrown into the street. He told the man on the ground, apparently the sheriff, to stop bothering him if he didn't want to get beaten even worse. The fat man turned and walked back into the Happy Rancher Saloon, from which upbeat piano music emanated faintly. Po got off of his donkey and, followed by Michelangelo, went to go help the sheriff to his feet.
The sheriff had taken a beating, but could still walk on his own. Po opined that he shouldn't go looking for trouble, but the sheriff replied that looking for trouble was part of the job. Po said that there were better jobs available, like being a chef! Michelangelo asked what the deal was with the big guy, and the sheriff said that "Tetsu" was in league with the Outlaw King, who lived on top of Hangman's Mesa to the north. Tetsu and his boys liked to come down into town and get drunk and generally make a mess of the town.
Michelangelo offered to teach them a lesson, but the sheriff warned that they were a tough bunch; they'd kicked his ass even though he was quite the boxer (though he didn't look like he'd been Trained by a Master to Michelangelo). They asked how many there were in the saloon, and the sheriff replied that there were "Two dozen, plus the bartender, piano player, a few prostitutes" (Big Po: "The only dozen I like is the baker's dozen!").
Roberto said he'd help, but asked them to make sure not to kill any children for now, because he was looking for his daughter, a red-headed Irish girl who looked like him; the rest of the group looked at him in horror for suggesting that such a heinous act was even worth considering. Michelangelo charged into the saloon, saw that there were ten thugs, in addition to Tetsu, drinking and seated; he ran up and kicked one in the face, knocking him out. He told the others to take the big guy, while he'd handle the rest. The barkeep ducked behind the bar muttering "not again", while the piano player kept on playing.
Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting
Dan sprinted towards the staircase, but got tripped by a thug as he ran past their table. Roberto and Po walked in after them, and Tetsu shouted "YOU!" and then locked eyes with Po. A rumbling like a stampede thundered down from the upper floor, and Dan turned to see another 10 thugs running for the stairs down, as he punched at the thug that had tripped him for minimal effect. Michelangelo kicked another mook in the face, and he, too was knocked out.
Roberto drew a pair of knives, one of them jagged, worn, and handmade, and ran at a pair of thugs; the first one dropped from a crit stab to the lungs, but the second dodged his other blade, and swept his legs out from under him. Big Po dropped into a crouch to start a Springing Attack, and Tetsu dropped into his own defensive stance in response. Dan was grabbed by the large thug who had tripped him before, and two thugs tried to grab Michelangelo, but he nimbly dodged.
The group upstairs started to arrive on the ground floor, and headed for Michelangelo, while Roberto finished the other thug off. Big Po charged, but Tetsu tripped him, and then charged up his own Springing Attack. The big thug grappling Dan slammed his head into a table, but the punch from a second thug missed. Three of the reinforcements charged Michelangelo, but he managed to nimbly dodge all three through Acrobatic Dodge and Feverish Defence.
Dan tried a defensive Eagle Claw Punch on the guy holding him, but missed due to combined Shock and grapple penalties. Michelangelo, meanwhile, launched a Flurry of Blows at the three thugs attacking him, and took out two, though the third batted his kick away. Po got to his knees just as Tetsu shouted "CHARGING MOUNTAIN APE" and landed a Springing Punch on him; fortunately Po's thick skin prevented too much injury.
Roberto missed with a poorly-feinted stab to the eyes, but dodged out of the way of the Sweep that his opponent attempted. The thug holding Dan failed to Bear Hug him, but the thug behind him pounded him in the back. Michelangelo dodged a Committed grapple (though he had to use Luck), kicked the offending thug unconscious, and got ready to brace for another barrage of slams from the second group of reinforcements headed his way.
Flipping his knives to Reversed Grip, Roberto finished off his foe with a Deceptive stab to the vitals. Po and Tetsu found themselves evenly matched as they parried each other's attempts at grapples, while Dan was crushed into the negatives by a successful Bear Hug, and failed to land an All-Out Eagle Claw Punch. Michelangelo knocked a bigger thug off of his feet with a Feint followed by a Sweep, and Roberto took out another mook.
Tetsu did a Rapid Strike, Feint into grapple, and managed to get a hold of Po despite his All-Out Defence (Parry) AND a Feverish Defence. The thug crushing Dan loosened his grip, only to throw him into the piano, ending the music in a sudden twang and leaving the pianist shocked. Michelangelo acrobatically dodged a pair of grapples, while Roberto turned just in time to see three thugs in a "conga line" charging into him.
The first slam was a crit, changed into a normal hit with Luck (though the first reroll was also a crit), and Roberto managed to dodge all of them, though he did spot 5 thugs lining up for a second conga line. While Dan slowly stood up, Michelangelo performed a groin kick (Dan: "THE FORBIDDEN TECHNIQUE!", Tetsu: "NO HONOUR!") on one of the bigger thugs, wounding but not stunning him. Roberto fumbled while switching back from Reversed Grip and got ready for the incoming Slam brigade.
Po tried, and failed, to get a hold of Tetsu, who started shouting out "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" as he concentrated his chi, the building energy sending motes of dust into the air. Michelangelo dodged a Slam, while Roberto found himself almost entirely encircled by foes. Dan crit his consciousness roll, and made an All-Out Kick to the skull of the thug who'd thrown him and since picked up a table as a bludgeon, only for his foot to bounce off.
Michelangelo tried to Stamp Kick one of the tougher thugs, but got parried, while Roberto dropped the guy on top of him, and Giant Stepped out into the open. Po tried to break free, but failed, and Tetsu continued to yell and charge up. The thug fighting Dan picked up and swung a nearby table and missed (originally a crit, but averted thanks to Luck), while Michelangelo retreated out the doorway and into the street after a trio of Slams. Seeing the chaos, the sheriff muttered "Oh Jesus", but, too wounded to help, continued to watch.
The circle of thugs around Roberto continued to press the advantage, but only one managed to hit, and even then, he found himself impaled on a knife after a successful parry. Dan and his table-wielding foe grabbed each other, while Tetsu finished charging his Power Blow (Dan: "Wellp, there goes Po") and threw Big Po several metres (with 22 MoV), through the back wall of the saloon; a ringout!
Dan got his revenge by judo throwing his opponent into the piano, and Michelangelo kicked another mook to the ground. As Big Po started to regain his feet, his foe walked towards him menacingly, beating his chest and declaring himself to be Tetsu - The Mountain Ape. Michelangelo ate a Slam from one thug, then another, but thanks to Roll With Blow, he reduced the injury substantially.
The circle closed on Roberto, but none hit due to the penalty from the growing pile of bodies, and he took out two more mooks in a flurry of stabs. Dan put his prone foe into a Choke Hold, and Michelangelo bounced a kick off of the thick skin of one of the bigger thugs' groins. Big Po and Tetsu both continued to pace towards each other, neither willing to commit first.
Dan's foe tried to Sweep the leg, but missed and was choked out. Roberto finished off the last of the mooks from the encirclement. Michelangelo continued kicking the pair of surviving thugs outside. And Tetsu lunged towards Big Po.
Notes:
It is now canon that the US President wields a flagpole as a quarterstaff, and may be an optional final boss encounter. Other notes: Lincoln was assassinated by a Dragon-Style Kung Fu practitioner who was never caught, and the Secret Service are ninjas.
I made a mistake against Big Po: Tetsu shouldn't have been able to use a Trip as a Wait action. It should have been Sweep, though he could have still tried a Trip to Parry the Slam.
I rolled a 5 or 6 for every damage die against Dan. Bad luck.
Roberto: "Wait, does anybody have above 10 IQ?"
Big Po: "Nah, too much head trauma."
Big Po's turns required far more thought than the rest of the party, as Sumo is a pretty hard counter against itself.
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