User blog comment:Leolab/Ancient User Tourney, Round 1: Hirai Norio (Cfp) v William Vigiles (Alock)/@comment-5795750-20160522123743

BG1's "The First Clash: Newbie vs Vet edition":

Initial: I guess here I have to give this to the Exiled Companion katana here since as a sword it is definitely more lethal than a truncheon; furthermore it is made of steel meaning it will last longer on the field than something made of wood - the only way I can see the wooden bludgeoning tool being as effective as a metallic sharp weapon is that the former is wielded by a being of immense strength which I doubt William is.

EDGE: Hirai

Mid: This one I will have to call a tie since the longsword may be lighter and more manoeuvrable than the heavy Japanese club but the kanabo packs some serious power behind it, especially with the studs that can leave some nasty contusions in its wake (I will not go into armour just yet)

EDGE: Even

Long: A yumi is essentially the Japanese version of the longbow so in effect this is the longbow vs crossbow debate all over again - for the sake of it, I might as well side with the Broken Oath yumi since it, arguably, has the same power behind every shot as the crossbow but it has a shorter reload time (it's just a question of whether the ease of being able to aim will change things since with a crossbow, you don't have to hold the bolt steady but I digress)

EDGE: Hirai

Special: Two swords are better than one dagger. Need I say more?

EDGE: Hirai

Armour: As much as I would like to side with William here for being a tank with regards to his armour... that's a reason why I'm not gonna side with him. Sure William's armour will defend him well early on but here's the thing - Hirai's samurai armour, while not as protective as plate armour, suits Hirai's fighting style of the samurai being swift and agile with his movements whereas William's armour, as some people below point out, hampers him in those departments of speed and agility (not to mention reaction times) to the point that Hirai can just simply do the basic manoeuvre of attack-retreat-repeat which will wear William down to the point of exhaustion.

EDGE: Hirai

Overall: Sorry Alock, while your warrior is interesting and all but he is, to me at least, more like a law enforcement officer compared to Cfp's soldier of fortune - you make mention of William's not being a cold-blooded killer unless he needs to be and this characteristic of his is really going to bite him in the ass as he gets his ass handed to him in the fight; furthermore, your primary weapon is designed for subduing and not killing and your armour hinders rather than helps you due to its relatively heavier nature compared to the samurai armour; and lastly to back up the law enforcement vs soldier point made earlier, William's primary scope of experience is defending a city against internal threats such as public disorder and crime whereas Hirai has fought against other soldiers in the battlefield like other samurai and ninjas of medieval Japan. So all in all, Hirai Norio takes this one with ease.