inspired by that one wandering blades blogpost, here's an attempt at "Gubat Banwa-fying" THE RAID, specifically the RAMA VS MACHETE GANG scene, one of the best scenes in the movie
if you haven't watched the raid, you owe it yourself to see a gritty, brutal application of pencak silat that is all at once kinetic, ballistic, and horrifying
here's some important starting assumptions and disclaimers
gubat banwa is not specifically emulating any genre--it is a simulation of itself. hence, not everything will fit perfectly, but role-playing games care not for perfection
gubat banwa is a tactical martial arts game: this means there are a lot of mechanics and abstractions to create multiple tactical decision points in combat: it's not aiming specifically for the cinematic. gubat banwa's tactical violence is very gamified, on purpose
POSTURE (POS) represents wear and tear as well as desperate avoidance of attacks and blows. while it doesn't feel like Rama is taking any head on damage from the attacks here, he is absolutely still getting worn down, exhausted, and suffering a thousand tiny hits to his stamina. This is what POS is meant to represent.
RAMA is a LEGEND 4 MANGANGAYAW (raiding, focus on quick strikes and forward movement) though he has no weapons on him, that doesn't make him any less dangerous. this means he has a whole slew of techniques and most importantly, has access to all Four Signature Techniques of the Mangangayaw, as well as their Enlightenment
Rama only has 1 Anting here: the Kala Cuirass (his kevlar jacket) which gives him +4 POS, which means he has a max of 44 POS
most of the Machete Gang are made of MACHETE GUY 1 is a Legend 0 Fist (32 POS), MACHETE GUY 2 and 3 are Legend 0 Swordmaidens (32 POS), though the larger guy (BIG MACHETE BOSS) is a Legend 1 Berserker (34 POS). this is in stark contrast with Rama being of a much higher Legend
the hallway is long but not wide: it's at most 12 x 3, with each room extension being 5x5. this makes melee fighting almost essential, which is good
Beats are put in [X] brackets
let's begin: the divination dice are rolled: 2 evens, 2 odds: machete gang goes first, and rama starts with 2 Thunderbolts
A bit of fictionalization:
Rama is stuck here in front of a gang of armed men. Only stupid people would attempt to go up against someone--not to mention 4 of them--without a weapon of his own. this is why Rama was so hesitant to face them in the first place. the fact that Rama gets out of this alive shows a reality of The Raid's Universe: if you're skilled enough, you can probably get out of it unscathed. Gubat Banwa shares this reality and assumption. in real life, this is a lot less commonly true: it can still happen, but is rarer and not worth taking the chances
Machete Gang and Rama both start at the ends of a 12 tile long hallway.
Machete Guy 1: Rushes forward thrice
Rama: Rushes forward once to meet the guy, then performs BETWEEN THUNDERS to blow him wide open (disarming him in the fiction), then Deflects
Machete Guy 2: Rushes forward twice then attacks Rama, but Rama evades it due to Demerit from the Deflect, then he moves 2 behind Rama
Machete Guy 3: Does the same, Rama still evades thanks to the Demerit, describes it as pinning the guy to the side, gaining +1 TB.
Big Machete Boss: Machete Boss rushes forward [1], Inflicts Violence [1], but Rama uses his Break to Live Hand and performs TOO LIKE THE LIGHTNING to deal 8 DMG to him (and Rama describes himself shoving the Machete Guy 3 for TB, though functionally he's still beside him). Big Machete Boss's attack goes through, and he deals 3 DMG to Rama. He does it again [3] with 3 Demerit due to Deflect and Rama evades all the attacks. What you see in the scene itself is Rama describing his avoidances, gaining another TB. He now has 4 TB.
RAMA goes first, refreshing his Break, then performing BETWEEN THUNDERS + TOO LIKE THE LIGHTNING to Big Machete Boss, dealing 12 DMG to him. He then keeps up the Deflect (a smart move, as a clean attack will damage him horribly and maim if he's not careful even if he is at Legend 4)
MACHETE GUY 2: Rushes [1] (leaping on top of Rama) and Inflicts Violence [2], dealing 4 DMG to Rama (he's at 7 DMG, he only has 44 POS), he Inflicts Violence again [3] but with 3 Demerit, Rama evades the attack completely.
MACHETE GUY 1: Rushes [1] and then uses Polearm Master [2] to slide Rama closer to him, then Deflect [3] to protect. He then yells at Machete Guy 3 to chop Rama's leg off
MACHETE GUY 3: He acquiesces, Inflicting Violence still with Demerit, but Rama performs Live Hand (dealing 9 DMG) evades this (in the fiction, him doing a two-kick disarm). The Machete Guy, avoid to do any more, spends his last Beat to Deflect.
BIG MACHETE BOSS: Doesn't go in just yet, and spends a Beat to just Deflect.
RAMA (7 DMG) goes first, refreshing his Break, then goes wild at the guy in front of him (Machete Guy 1), dealing 15 DMG to him!, forcing him back. He then rushes 1 tile and then Deflects.
MACHETE GUY 2: Rushes [1], attacks twice: first one deals 4 DMG to Rama, the second one is evaded. Rama performs a deft deflection, gaining +1 TB because that was cool as shit. He's at max TBs now.
MACHETE GUY 1 (15 DMG): Rushes [1]: Inflicts Violence twice: same thing: first one deals 2 DMG to Rama and then the second is Evaded.
BIG MACHETE BOSS (12 DMG): Rushes [1], Inflict Violence and deals 5 DMG, the second one Rama performs Live Hand against, and deals 9 DMG to Big Machete Boss. He then evades the third attack, which Rama's player decides to describe as the awesome backward cut as shown there. Importantly, this brings Big Machete Boss to 21 DMG, Staggering him, as shown as the clean cut given to the Big Machete Boss.
MACHETE GUY 3 (9 DMG): Rushes [1], Inflicts Violence twice: first one deals 2 DMG, the second is completely avoided
RAMA(18 DMG): Uses this for set up: he inflicts violence to Machete Guy 3 to deal 9 DMG to him (slamming him against the wall). Takes on Killing Blow Stance [2], then Deflects [3].
BIG MACHETE BOSS (21 DMG): Rushes [1], Inflicts Violence, dealing 2 DMG) to Rama, and then Shove [3] to push him back 1 tile to in between THREE targets.
MACHETE GUY 2: Rushes up to Rama twice [1-2] to get into position, and then inflicts violence, but Rama avoids it.
MACHETE GUY 3 (18 DMG): Does the same: Rush twice and then Inflict Violence, but Rama avoids it as well. Demerit is pretty strong.
MACHETE GUY 1 (15 DMG): Spends a Beat to turn and Inflict Violence on Rama twice which are also Evaded, and then spends a Beat to Deflect.
RAMA (20 DMG) goes wild: The scene where he's fending off attacks from both sides is represented by him being flanked. There's no moment in Gubat Banwa's tactical system wherein people are just standing right beside each other. They're always trying to out maneuver each other.
Rama shoves [1] Machete Guy 1 away to remove another flanking idea. Then, he Shoves Machete Guy 2 out through the door (dealing 2 DMG to him through Collide). For his last beat, he unleashes a powerful attack against Machete Guy 3, who is Staggered: he performs KILL THE STORM with the benefits of KILLING BLOW STRIKE (+2 Merit, Relentless, +d4 DMG, and ignores Combo Breaker): he rolls (with d10 because MG3 is Staggered) and deals 29 DMG (and he Smirked because he Chained [from Mangangayaw's WHIRLPOOL MOVEMENT], so his EVD becomes 3 and he adds +1 to all Violence Rolls until he gets Damaged. Just for the coolness, he spends 3 TBs to get another Beat and he moves into the room, doing the very brutal finishing move on the MG3. He gets 1 TB back, so he's back at 3TB. He spends the rest of his SPD to move deeper into the room where he's attacked by...
MG2 2 DMG: Inflicts Violence against him, which AVOIDS, the second Inflict Violence RAMA uses Live Hand to disarm him and also use KILL THE STORM against him, dealing 11 DMG to him, bringing MG2 to 13 DMG, and then he avoids it again. Suffering Demerit, MG2 only Deflects.
BMB (21 DMG): Rushes in and attacks. Inflict Violence twice, both avoided.
MG3 18 DMG): Does the same. First attack deals 1 DMG popping the Smirk, second is avoided completely.
RAMA (21 DMG): Refreshes Break. He shoves BMB first to the side (2 DMG from Collide), takes on the Killing Blow Stance, and then performs Kill The Storm on MG3, dealing 25 DMG, and also Smirking. Killing the guy and getting his EVD+1 back.
MG3 (15 DMG): Gets to Inflict Violence, actually dealing damage and popping his Smirk, dealing 6 DMG, and then shoves him back, making him trip on dangerous terrain (the couch) dealing another 2 DMG. He then rushes toward Rama.
BMB (21 DMG): Low on POS, he waits for a bit, and Deflects.
Rama (28 DMG): Plays it safe: rushes back, takes Killing Blow Stance, and then Deflects.
MG3 (15 DMG): Jumps in and starts attacking: Rama uses Live Hand to attack back with Kill The Storm, dealing: 20 DMG. More than enough to Defeat MG3. He describes himself parrying the attacks, catching MG3 as he jumps up again, and then slamming him against the wall behind them.
BMB (21 DMG): Jumps in now. Rush [1], they brawl: BMB deals 4 DMG to Rama, bringing him down. They're brawling: BMB's third attack misses completely.
The Resound where they brawl and try to strangle each other in the scene.
RAMA (32 DMG, Staggered): At this point in the fight both of them are completely brawling: Rama shoves him away, uses Between Thunders, then TOO LIKE THE LIGHTNING against him. He rolls low, only dealing 4 DMG. He describes his attacks really cool-like, getting +1 TB, so he's back to 4 TB.
BMB 25 DMG: Does the same. Rush then Inflict Violence. Deals 6 DMG. (This is the grappling and strangling and beat down part as they move into the corner). Then Shove him away.
RAMA: (38 DMG) Rama is desperate now. He spends a Beat to take on Killing Blow Stance, then he Deflects.
BMB (25 DMG): Rushes and then Inflicts Violence. Before that, Rama spends a Break to Live Hand, then performs his Killing Blow Stance. He rolls impossibly low: dealing only 7 DMG, bringing BMB to 32 DMG. To finish it off, he spends 3 Thunderbolts to Multiattack, dealing +7 DMG, finally killing BMB.
This got longer than it needed to be but it was too fun and this is one of my favorite fights in cinema. Hope you got to enjoy it