g'man, if you are trying to accurately portray an emotionally-compromised kid with a very stupid "glory of war" concept stuck in his head, and with something to prove on a deep personal level, then you're doing brilliantly.
If that isn't your goal, then my apologies for misinterpreting it... but it's still how my character sees him right now.
Also, GM, might I suggest the long-term-unavailable player be placed on proverbial cold storage? Maybe the character is captured or hospitalized in a way that allows much in-game time to pass, and he'd be able to start posting at any time without having to do as much catch-up work... in fact, it would be in-character for him to ask the other characters to fill him in on everything he's missed.
Finally, since people are asking a bunch about what number on dice equates to how successful an attack, might it not be prudent to make a short list, 1-10, of what each number means? I'll post here my interpretation.
1 = whatever the action in battle, it fails completely, be it a dodge or an attack. It might even result in the character being hurt worse because of the action than they would be if they hadn't attempted it. In morphing, you take a verrrry long time to change shapes. Maybe you're so fatigued that an enemy hurts you while you're between morphs, forcing you to carry the injury into the new morph, and you don't have the strength yet to re-morph.
Example: Hork-Bajir tries to gouge an enemy. Misjudges distances and either hits an ally instead, or puts himself in direct line of fire by an enemy or ally.
2 = whatever the action in battle, it fails in all aspects but one teeny, tiny, "it COULD be worse" way. This one aspect cannot be strongly fortuitous... it can only be the smallest lucky fluke that allows your action to NOT hurt you worse than you'd've been hurt by not acting at all. Morphing, this would be the slowest you can possibly go, but nothing hurts you between morphs. You get heavily fatigued by it.
Example: Hork-Bajir tries to gouge an enemy, misjudges the distance, and misses. Blades get stuck in the wall, but nobody gets hurt on the ally side.
3= Morphing occurs at the approximate speed of a newbie who is fully fed but totally inexperienced. Actions in battle fail in most aspects, but they have at least one minorly helpful/successful aspect.
Example: Hork-Bajir tries to gouge an enemy, misjudges the distance, and misses. Blades get stuck in the wall, but as he pulls his arm back, he rips an electrical circuit, causing the fire alarms to start going off. This distracts everybody, including the allies, but it also distracts the enemy, if only briefly. No allies are harmed by the blow.
4 = Morphing occurs at the speed of somebody who has morphed at least once before. In combat, actions are only marginally successful, but they don't have any immediately deadly accidental results for the player or allies.
Example: Hork-Bajir gouges at enemy. Lands a shallow wound in a relatively unimportant area of the enemy's body... but it distracts the enemy enough to keep him from hurting anybody other than the Hork-Bajir, potentially.
5 = Morphing occurs at the relaxed speed of somebody with a great deal of experience. In combat, actions are at full force, but they do not occur as the user intends. Dodging might get you away from one enemy but land you next to something as nasty or worse. Attacks will go off-target but still hit an enemy.
Example: Hork-Bajir gouges at an opponent; the strike is misjudged, and it lands on shoulder or face, deeply, instead of on the neck. Clearly nonfatal, but incredibly painful.
6 = Morphing occurs at the adrenaline-rush speed of a complete newbie. Not more than 2 1/2 minutes. In combat, actions will be successful, but not forceful at all compared to a 10-roll.
Example: Hork-Bajir gouges at opponent and slices a shallow wound in his neck. Heavy but not fatal bleeding results.
7 = Morphing occurs at the adrenaline-rush speed of somebody who has morphed at least once before. In combat, actions will be successful, but they will be noticeably less effective or forceful than intended.
Example: Hork-Bajir gouges at opponent but has a tiny stumble mid-lunge. He rips a hole in the enemy's neck, but it's not deep enough to cause rapid fatality.
8 = Morphing occurs at the adrenaline-rush speed of a food-deprived
estreen. Think 90 seconds or so. In combat, every action taken will be successful in essence, but they will do less damage (or a dodging action will not get you as much clearance from the enemy) than intended by the one taking action.
Example:Hork-Bajir gouges at an enemy. He makes the enemy bleed out severely, but he misses both spinal chord and windpipe. Enemy may be able to strike back in the brief seconds before it dies.
9 = Morphing occurs at the calm speed of a well-fed
estreen. In combat, every action taken within the space of a non-dialogue paragraph will be completely successful, but only to the degree of the INTENDED action. No lucky accidental shots.
Example: Hork-Bajir gouges at an enemy. He virtually decapitates the enemy.
10 = Morphing occurs at the adrenaline-rush speed of a well-fed
estreen who has years of combat experience. Think less than a minute. In combat, every action taken within the space of a non-dialogue paragraph will be completely successful; intended fatal strikes will act precisely as planned. There may even be an unintended additional beneficial effect.
Example: Hork-Bajir gouges at an enemy. He virtually decapitates the enemy and then kills the enemy behind him with the back stroke, maybe even accidentally.
GM, please evaluate these and correct me if you find them unsatisfactory.
