The New Winds

All Bushi regardless of their other school tags MUST participate in this event if their Topaz Points are 75 or higher. Courtiers and Monks MAY choose to participate if the wish

Spells: Not allowed, as the instructors would consider it outsider interference and not a true representation of your abilities
Kiho: Not allowed, as the instructors would consider it outsider interference and not a true representation of your abilities
Kata: Allowed, but only if they benefit Iaijutsu. They are activated on the Initiative roll.
Tattoos: Allowed, as the Instructors would not be able to tell you are getting outside assistance. Note that Iaijutsu takes place over 3 rounds

Participants both roll their Initiative in their first post

Now that you have entered an Iaijutsu duel you may no longer take free actions. This means that anything requiring a free action to activate may not be used once a duel has started.

As you are in initiative order your initiative-based techniques can apply. i.e. Bayushi Bushi 1 can apply to TN

Their second post, they conduct the Assessment.

Assessment:
First Round
Roll: Iaijutsu (Assessment)/Awareness

You are now in the first round of Center stance, you do not gain the center stance bonus to your Assessment roll. Both players roll against a TN = 10 + (Opponents Insight Rank * 5) to learn one piece of information about their opponent. Raises may be called for extra information. This is not a Contested roll, so the Heart of Vengeance bonus does not apply. Regardless of Raises called, if the total of one duelist's roll is higher than the other duelist's roll by 10 or more, they gain +1k1 to their focus roll (+2k2 if they have Iaijutsu 7)

• Opponents Void Ring
• Opponents Reflexes Trait
• Opponents Void
• Opponents Emphasis
• Opponents Earth Ring
• Opponent's TN

Bonuses that require a Skirmish/Combat do not apply.

Players may willfully bow out at this point, acknowledging their opponent as superior. (Honor gain)

On their Third post, characters conduct the Focus.

Focus
Second Round
Roll: Iaijutsu (Focus)/Void

During the focus stage your center stance bonus kicks in. Both duelists gain +1k1+[Void ring] to their roll. If you have Heart of Vengeance (Opponent's Clan) you gain +1k1 to your roll. If you have 5 skill ranks of Iaijutsu you gain +5 to the total of your roll. If your assessment was 10 or more higher than your opponent you gain +1k1 to your roll (+2k2 if you have Iaijutsu 7).

If you win the contested roll by at least 5 points then you get to strike first. For each additional increment of 5 you gain a Free Raise on your strike roll. If neither duelist wins by 5 or more the duel is a kharmic strike and both duelists will strike simultaneously

Bonuses that require a Skirmish/Combat do not apply.

On their Forth post, characters conduct the Strike

Strike
Round: 3
Roll: Iaijutsu (Strike)/Reflexes

During the strike phase your center stance bonus still applies. You may add +1k1+[Void ring] to either your strike roll or your damage roll. You roll vs your opponent's regular Armour TN to see if you hit them or not

This is considered an Attack roll, but it is NOT a Skirmish/Combat. Bonuses to Attack Rolls may apply, but not bonuses that require a Skirmish/Combat.

You may continue to attack, but doing so is highly dishonorable. If you decide to continue to attack, conduct a Skirmish combat in initiative order. This will eliminate you from the competition.

Rewards:
The winner is the player who struck first (and is still alive).

If there was a Karmic Strike, neither player wins the event.

Players who win advance to the next stage of the tournament, where players who lose are eliminated. At the very end of the tournament, the overall winner has their Topaz points compared to the overall winner of the Taryu Jiai tournament and the Courtier debates, the highest point player between the three being declared the Topaz Champion