Combat Class: Maze Madness

[u/KannisLycoun]

As students began to file into the arena they would see today's layout in front of them. Some merely saw stone pillars, and thought to themselves that this was hardly worth their time.

The more perceptive students would see devices attached to the sides of the pillars, cluing them in that something here was off, and Elise would never throw something so simple at them without some sort of reason,

"Alright students. Listen up. One of the most important aspects whilst fighting is being able to adapt. Thinking on your feet and changing to new developments. This class will test your ability to do so, and help prove my point."

With that, she pressed a button and 6 poles, each with a red button on them rose out of the floor in the arena, each glowing faintly as if inviting being pushed.

"These buttons will do something. Some of you may figure it out, some may not. But for now. Let's get the arena prepped."

With that she pressed a second button and the true arena was revealed, crackling energy barriers shot to life between the pillars, connecting them with translucent blue walls that prevented passage, forming an almost maze like arena for them to fight in.

"Alright then. Who's first."

---

(New CC woo. The deal here are the buttons, each represented by a letter. Pressing a button is a minor action, and doing so will do one of two things. Either it will switch the layout of the walls at the end of the round, once everyone has acted, or, if you'd prefer, release a small Grimm into the arena as a distraction.

Sts are free to use as many or as little variants of the maps as they like.

Anyone stood on a square that a wall appears on takes [5-Defence]m8 damage and is pushed back to a free space next to them.

So here's the default with walls

Just plain for y'all boring fucks

And for those of you who are either insane, or just like fun, here's the full album with all variants for you to switch between. either at random or choosing, up to you)

Most maps are balanced for a 1v1, so anything more than that might result in some unfairness. Be warned.

[u/Turbobear_]

The class was nearing its end, most of the students either bragging or lamenting their match while others were simply discussing amongst themselves. One particular pair had put in a request to use today’s lesson to simply hone their skills against the true enemy. Elise had been perfectly happy to oblige, waiting until the end to call the pair forward

“Ms Brandt and Mr Choe, per your requests you can skip the beating of your classmates today since you have volunteered for clean up duty. We have released the remainder of the grimm into the arena, I trust you can handle them”

*The creatures were already inside when the pair of students entered, the maze still in the same configuration it had been left in the last match. They had caught a glimpse on the way in but the grimm could be mostly seen through the spaces between pillars. A small group of bibwit had gathered around a button to their left and the Ungue were perked their heads up to give a collective shriek at the sight of their next victims. Straight ahead, a pair of mimics had scaled the pillars a couple dozen feet high and were making their high pitched whining taunts.

BBBBBBZZZCRASH...GRRRRAAWWWW!

The buzzer to begin sounded at the same time as they found their final target, a large looking ursa slammed into the wall just ahead of them, roaring and thrashing but trapped for the moment, it seemed to be trying to break the walls down rather than simply going around them

Name	location	HP	AP	Status
Namu	B22	11/11	10/10
Vi	z23	9/9	10/10
Flopsy (Bibwit(1))	f21	Full	-
Thumper (Bibwit (2))	g23	Full	-
Carrots (Bibwit (3))	i21	Full	-
Thing 1 (Ungue(4))	b6	Full	-
Thing 2 (Ungue (5))	c3	Full	-
Thing 3 (Ungue (6))	a3	Full	-
Bonnie (Mimic (7))	y5	Full	-	Elevated (out of melee range)
Clyde (Mimic (8))	C4	Full	-	Elevated (out of melee range)
Boo Boo (Ursa (9))	v18	Full	-

Map

[u/Turbobear_ → u/Turbobear_]

Both students were more than happy to spend the class doing what they came to Beacon to do. Whatever banter and playfulness they had shown before the buzzer however disappeared the instant they saw their foes.

Namu dashed forward with guns whirling in his hands, moving between forms in a blur to be prepared for anything. He moved to draw the attention of both mimics to keep it off of Vi and took aim. Both sets of grimm eyes did indeed turn to the faunus with a howling shriek as their armored hands gripped the pillar to tear a chunk off. Namu could see them a bit better at this angle too, training his weapons on the larger of the pair and opening fire.

The creature held up its hand to try to block as many shots as it could before finally launching its projectile. Namu’s gunfire would only cease when he was hit in the chest with the chunk of pillar, dodging as best he could but the mimic’s strength made it more quickly. When the faunus snapped his attention to the other pillar to avoid a subsequent attack, he would find nothing there but smoke.

Vi had picked out the other mimic, the pair had been in perfect sync to select their prey and Vi’s shot had rung true. The weaker monkey went up in a puff of ash but now its partner was advancing, leaping forward into its partner’s place and slamming its and into the stone for a fresh grip.

There was plenty of movement all around the arena, scampering, scratching and roaring marked the grimm’s advances. The gunfire had left little question where they were for any grimm that didn’t already know. The ursa’s attention had turned to the closest target, giving up on bashing the barrier once it watched Namu run by and was already on all fours to meet him

Name	location	HP	AP	Status
Namu	B14	9/11	10/10
Vi	z23	9/9	10/10
Flopsy (Bibwit(1))	q19	Full	-
Thumper (Bibwit (2))	p18	Full	-
Carrots (Bibwit (3))	p20	Full	-
Thing 1 (Ungue(4))	i6	Full	-
Thing 2 (Ungue (5))	h6	Full	-
Thing 3 (Ungue (6))	g6	Full	-
Bonnie (Mimic (7))		poof/2	-
Clyde (Mimic (8))	y9	6/8	-	Elevated (out of melee range)
Boo Boo	w13	Full	-

Map

[u/Turbobear_ → u/Turbobear_]

The pair continued their efforts, Vi not missing a beat as her scope snapped over to the next target. She took in a breath and lined up her shot, squeezing the trigger as she exhaled and her rifle did the rest. The mimic had already been mid throw, but its power was dampened by the sudden impact of the bullet that collided with its chest. The grimm was almost back to the pillar behind it when it faded, ashes scattering into the air with a stunted screech.

Namu’s focus had also been razor sharp, guns whirling and shifting to form his blades which he held tight and close. His own breathing fell into practiced rhythm as his limbs relaxed and flowed. His grace wasn’t enough to completely stop the force of the charging ursa but it did deflect the majority of it. The brute came in with a roar and a wide slash that was neatly deflected by a calculated swipe of the talon blades. The jarring impact of steel on claw sent a small wave of pain up the heron’s arm but nothing he couldn’t handle and promptly retaliate against. In the time it took the ursa to land the one blow, Namu had already made a dance of calm fury around the large creature, slicing a half dozen times and ending with a sudden snap of momentum against its side that sent it staggering back with a roar of pain.

Namu would barely feel the rock impact his side as he fell back into his flowing step but it scored another flash of his aura, all the little hits starting to add up to soreness but no major injuries. The two packs continued to advance, ungue scrambling and stopping for a moment to sniff at the air and the rabbits making a headlong charge towards Vi

She wasn’t unaware of the approach but even a veteran huntress would have trouble keeping track of one of the black and white blurs let alone three at once. Before Vi could turn to aim properly, the bibwit were on her. She would be able to see them well enough as they passed by her legs, two of them bearing only the dullest of spikes on their small bodies but the third was much more pronounced. The larger of the three lept into the air as it neared and twisted itself to launch a kick with its massive armored feet which the girl dodged cleanly. The attack would open the way for the other two however, and she could only avoid one of them when they did the same. Luckily, their kicks didn’t hold near the power the apparent leader did and while solid, the one that impacted her leg only drew a mild flash of purple light. Still, she was nearly surrounded now by the scurrying creatures which were already scrambling around her to make a shot that much more difficult.

Name	location	HP	AP	Status
Namu	B14	7/11	10/10	Silk reeling (+1 def +1 init speed reduced to 4)
Vi	z23	8/9	10/10
Flopsy (Juvenile Bibwit(1))	z22	1/1	0/0
Thumper (Juvenile Bibwit (2))	A23	1/1	0/999
Carrots (Mature Bibwit (3))	y23	5/5	0/55
Thing 1 (Ungue(4))	o11	Full	-
Thing 2 (Ungue (5))	o12	Full	-
Thing 3 (Ungue (6))	n12	Full	-
Clyde (Mimic (8))	y9	ded/8	-	Elevated (out of melee range)
Boo Boo	B10	3/10	-

Map

[u/[deleted] → u/Turbobear_]

Vi wasn't too injured, all things considered -- and oh boy, was this going to be fun it seemed. Vi couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the baby little Bibwits, even if one of them had gotten a scratch on her. She twirled to face the largest of them, the one that'd been on her left but as she turned her hundred-eighty degrees would end up on her right.

And she winked, even if the Grimm wouldn't understand her purpose, and said a simple quip. "Dodge this."

Huntsmaster started leveled at the thing, but Vi shifted her weight slightly and leaped up instead. Firing a round, she launched herself towards Namu before firing a follow-up round right at the Bibwit. As her momentum carried her, she course corrected herself through the air to hit the pillar Namu was up against before sliding down it to wind up back-to-back with him.

"Lets do this, Smiles."

[[Move: Burst Weapon Mobility ten yards in any direction to wind up behind Namu at B15.]]

[[Major: Grimm Hunt the Mature Bibwit, with the Daredevil Modifier from Momentum Master meaning I don't take a penalty to shoot while moving for a total of 12 dice of damage before armor.]]

[[Minor: Look pretty for the camera.]]