User blog:Leolab/Ancient User Tourney, Round 7: Hirai Norio (Cfp) v Oliver Moreau (Winter)

Thanks to El Anaranjado for the title card

Hirai Norio: The wandering ronin who failed to protect his master

versus

Oliver Moreau: The mercenary who failed to kill his king

Bio
Known as the Wandering Ronin, Hirai Norio is a masterless samurai roaming the countryside of Japan. Trained from birth as a fearless and just warrior, Hirai faithfully served his master for a decade. After his master was killed during one of many feuds between samurai clans, Hirai was forced to exile as a ronin. The origins of the feud has escaped Hirai's memory, but he does know he refuses the fall to the base levels of his fellow ronin.

When Hirai's master and his clan were under siege, Hirai became the master's personal bodyguard. As the advancing army slowly moved further into the sanctuary, Hirai and his master were cornered in temple. Although heavily outnumbered, Hirai's swordsmanship granted enough time for reinforcements to arrive and route the attackers.

That night, ninjas stealthily entered the dojo where Hirai and his charge were entrenched. With a swift cut, the master was killed before Hirai could protect him. Without a master, Hirai was ashamed- left abandoned by his samurai comrades.

Just before he could commit seppuku in isolation, he witnessed a robbing by fellow ronin. Unwilling to just stand by and let them take an innocent's life, Hirai took his sword and defended the peasant.

Realizing his new calling, Hirai choose to live not in disgrace or die by his own sword, but use his masterless status to protect those that could not protect themselves. He had become The Wandering Ronin- a hero to some and a bane to others.

Initial Weaponset (Short Range)


The Exiled's Companion- Hirai's iconic katana blade. With a tamagahane single-edged tempered curved blade approximately 2 and a half feet, weighing 2 and a half pounds, the Exiled's Companion has a circular hilt guard. The hilt itself is a traditional wood, but is wrapped in leather rather than the typical cloth to ensure a better grip. Hirai's fighting style with this blade relies on swift, short cuts rather than larger sweeping arcs typical of those with his training.

Other Weapons & Armor

 * -| Mid Range =



Kanabo- A 4-feet, 15 pound oak club with steel studs.


 * -| Long Range =



Broken Oath- Hirai's yumi bow, with simple steel arrows. Hirai, as is custom with samurai, is competently skilled with his bow


 * -| Special =



The Twins- Dual short wakizashi blades Hirai utilizes to allow him to pressure his opppnents wielding pole arms by utilizing his left sword to deflect attacks and his right sword to close the distance. The blades are typical wakizashi blades; One and a half feet steel single-edged blades.


 * -| Armor =



Dō-maru armor set- A set of steel and leather armor. The chestpiece consists of scales of steel, laced together into plates then lacquered. These plates are then laced together to form a solid steel cuirass over Hirai's vital organs. Due to the weight of the steel (10 lbs), the rest of Hirai's armor is simple thigh and shoulder guards of leather.

Bio
Oliver was born to a French noble and a British mother. When he reached the age 20, he had decided he wanted more from life and set out to forge his own path through life. After several run ins with the law, and the criminal element of France, Oliver decided to travel the world to better himself. Along the way he had become a mercenary for hire, working wherever the money took him. During his world travels he had picked up and learned the ways of numerous weapons, although the ones he preferred are below.

Initial Weaponset (Mid Range)


Naginata-Modified, with a 2 foot blade attached to the 4 foot handle, Oliver came across this weapon in an armory of a shogun he was infiltrating. Intrigued by the weapon, he took it upon himself to learn it, and then modified the weapon to suit his fighting style. Also, his favorite weapon he carries.

Other Weapons & Armor

 * -| Short Range =



The Cutlass-Won from a pirate, Oliver's cutlass is 29 inches long and weighs 2.5 pounds. With it, he is an expert swordsman, taught to him by numerous masters in his travels.


 * -| Long Range =



Persian Composite Bow-A bow made of horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, Oliver was taught archery as a child, but only got good at it as an adult in his travels. His quiver can hold 30 arrows at a time, and come with a variety of different attributes. 10 of his arrows are dipped in cobra venom. Another 10 are coated in oleander. The remaining 10 are simply arrows. All arrows are made of wood and steel.


 * -| Special =



Katar-Oliver acquired his twin katars after a run-in with a couple of bandits on a road in India. After dispatching them, he took it upon himself to learn the weapon, and is still learning all of what they can do. His katars are 2 feet in length, as well as 3 lbs in weight.


 * -| Armor =



Musketeer armor-Stolen from a musketeer he killed and replaced to infiltrate the Musketeers to kill the French king, Oliver's armor weighs 17 lbs.

Battle Notes

 * Arena is a 20m diameter circle, grassy soil footing, no cover
 * All warriors will start out with their Initial Weaponset equipped, along with their armor.
 * Their other weapons are placed sheathed/unloaded/unset/etc. next to their point of entry into the arena.
 * The match is to the death.
 * Brackets and other tourney information may be found here.
 * Note that vote scores are doubled, since Challnonge doesn't accept half-points.
 * Note that the pictures are  not  meant to be exact representations of the equipment. They're just generic images I found on the wiki.

Voting Notes

 * Votes with good edges or at least 10 relevant sentences count as a full vote
 * Votes with meh edges or at least 5 relevant sentences count as a half vote
 * All others count as no vote
 * Well-reasoned rebuttals can lower the count of a vote by half.
 * Well-reasoned counter-rebuttals can restore the half-point.
 * The users whose characters are fighting may not vote for or against themselves, but may defend their warriors by giving rebuttals and counter-rebuttals
 * I have the final say in how much a vote counts for. If I feel a vote merits counting differently than these guidelines, I will do so.
 * Due to voter concerns regarding his rebuttal spree on a previous match, El Alamein is only allowed to defend his own vote.
 * Voting ends at some point on 06/30/2016