Author Topic: Cowboys vs Samurai (creatures and powers)  (Read 5172 times)

Offline Taran

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Cowboys vs Samurai (creatures and powers)
« on: August 06, 2012, 02:51:52 PM »
I'm going to run a complete home-brew setting.  I'd just like advice on how to adapt the Dresden, with it's monsters, templates etc.. as well as any ideas for themes, encounters, home-brew powers or whatever people think might work well.  If you're interested, read on....

- The PC's will start as colonialists(European-types) working for a major Trading Company in a feudal-japan type land. 
- Much of the content/ideas I'm taking from the D&D Oriental Adventures book which uses Rokugan as its back-drop. So I'll be using the 5 major clans from that setting and the concept of the shadow-lands and Jade Court as a Threat.
-Much of the land hasn't been explored by the colonies- technology is somewhere between 1600's - 1700's The Age of Reason (muskets, steam power)  So wizards will still be curdling milk, but will also be able to hex tech.

The colonialists will be all tech-savvy while the locals will be traditional and be more clued-in.
« Last Edit: September 16, 2012, 05:53:18 PM by Taran »

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2012, 09:28:33 PM »
If I remember my history right, the Samurai were quick to adopt guns despite all notions of martial honour. You could spin that as hypocrisy quite easily, I think. And hypocrisy is a fun theme.

As for templates, you might want some kind of supernatural martial artist/warrior. For ninjas and samurai and monks and the like.

Options would include Inhuman powers and a few random minor extras.

If you're interested in custom Powers, Supernatural Martial Arts and Superhuman Acrobatics might be useful for that template.

Might also be fun to come up with a new kind of Scion, for half-kami people.

Cowboys don't give me as many ideas...the homebrew rules for allies and vehicles/mounts might be good if you wanted to make horsemanship important, but that's about all I've got.

Offline Taran

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2012, 12:46:51 AM »
I think I'll need to incorporate The Jade Court - whatever they will be.  I kind of like sinkers version of the magic eating vampires, which would go well with the theme.  I can't really think of anything else that would make them different from the other vamps.

I want the land to be very close to the spirit world with many Ley lines and Places of power that let Spiritual beings move easily between the NeverNever and the mortal world.  i like the idea of people leaving gifts for some of these spirits as a way to gain their favour or keep the more malevolent ones appeased.

Is the 1600's before the Accords were signed?  If so, how would various groups interact with each other?  Is it like the Cold War? No one group wants to mess with another for fear of retaliation?

As for cowboys, maybe the title is misleading...it's more like militia groups sent over by foreign government.  Horsemanship will be important as this will be about exploring wide open country.

Offline UmbraLux

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2012, 01:58:53 AM »
If I remember my history right, the Samurai were quick to adopt guns despite all notions of martial honour.
The Tokugawa Shogunate allowed a few matchlocks but strictly controlled import and manufacture of guns.  They feared rebellion.  They were still using matchlocks when Matthew Perry's flotilla showed up some 300 years later.  Perry's visit instigated a power struggle between the Emperor and the Shogunate (it's the premise for the "Last Samurai" movie).  The emperor armed peasants with guns to exert control over the Samurai and end the Shogunate era.  The shogun imported guns also - pretty much had to - but wasn't able to adopt and utilize them in number to match the Emperor.

@Taran - I recommend incorporating heavy use of kami, various types of ghosts, kappa, kitsune, tengu, and even minor 'gods'.  There's a good list of Japanese mythological creatures on Wikipedia.  A few may even be helpful.   ;) 

The Jade Court could be cool as well...I've been considering writing up a new version to use - something more along the lines of the two part vampires of Eastern myth.  And something to make the council cringe.   ;D
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Offline Taran

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2012, 12:31:40 PM »
@Taran - I recommend incorporating heavy use of kami, various types of ghosts, kappa, kitsune, tengu, and even minor 'gods'.  There's a good list of Japanese mythological creatures on Wikipedia.  A few may even be helpful.   ;) 

The Jade Court could be cool as well...I've been considering writing up a new version to use - something more along the lines of the two part vampires of Eastern myth.  And something to make the council cringe.   ;D

Oooh.  Thanks for the link.  I'm basically making Ogres into Oni and there's a few other creatures that would translate well from the Dresdenverse.  Another creature that I'd like to use is Naga (which don't happen to be in the wikki). 

According to the backstory in Rokugan, the Naga were the main race of the mortal realm until humans fell from the sky and destroyed their whole civiliztion.  I have their cities, mostly abandonned, in various remote locations.  Some totally looted, some undiscovered by humans. 

If you get your version of The Jade Court done, be sure to let me know!

How should I cover Guns?  Basically, there are only muskets and pistols, which would fall under Guns, but on the whole, most people would be using x-bows or bows.  If someone wants to be able to use both at equal skill, would they take a stunt or would it be two separate skills?

Offline admiralducksauce

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2012, 05:16:16 PM »
Quote
How should I cover Guns?  Basically, there are only muskets and pistols, which would fall under Guns, but on the whole, most people would be using x-bows or bows.  If someone wants to be able to use both at equal skill, would they take a stunt or would it be two separate skills?

The rules say that to use both at the same level should take a Stunt. As for which weapon type is someone's "default", I'd say let them choose. Probably westerners are going to default to Guns with archery at a -2, and vice versa for Rokugan natives.

Offline UmbraLux

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #6 on: August 08, 2012, 07:42:13 PM »
If you get your version of The Jade Court done, be sure to let me know!
I have a version I based on the gaki / hungry ghosts myths.  Working on something different now.  Essentially a type that breaks a Law by default.  Helps explain the council's reaction.  ;)

Quote
How should I cover Guns?  Basically, there are only muskets and pistols, which would fall under Guns, but on the whole, most people would be using x-bows or bows.  If someone wants to be able to use both at equal skill, would they take a stunt or would it be two separate skills?
Just call it "Shooting" and have it cover both.  Stunts or aspects can be used to be better at one or the other.
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Offline Taran

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2012, 02:25:24 AM »
I just finished a session of "city" creation tonight and I feel a bit overwhelmed.  I feel like I've just bitten off more than I can chew by doing a whole country instead of a city game.  We never actually got through locations and the whole exercise felt laborious.

For locations, I tried to group types of places:  "Colonial villages have aspect "X" "  instead of doing each village/city individually, but it still seemed to take forever.  We've only gotten through 7 locations, but it seems like there's SO much more to go.

I sent everyone home and told them to email me their ideas for locations and faces as they come up with them and that I would compile them so we could go over them when we get together next.  We don't play for another few weeks (summer and all that).

Have I done somthing wrong or am I on track?  What should I do?

Offline UmbraLux

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2012, 02:45:09 AM »
If you're working on countries, you might try targeting aspects towards culture, conflicts, people, and resources instead of locations.  Then give everyone a city and have them write it up to fit.  Or just work them out yourself - depends on how willing the players are to invest some time.
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Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2012, 03:01:48 AM »
Don't sweat it. City creation isn't actually necessary, though it's certainly useful.

Offline YPU

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #10 on: August 15, 2012, 12:48:05 PM »
And on the fly city creation is always an option. The few dresden groups I know IRL actually all only did part of the city creation beforehand and later filled in spots they wanted to become recurring locations.

Make sure you have the bare bones all right, but just leave blanks to be filled in later on. This also leaves room for things you might have forgotten or themes that you later realized would be interesting to explore.
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Offline Taran

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #11 on: August 23, 2012, 12:25:19 PM »
Yay, city creation turned out fine afterall.  Thanks for the advice.  Now I want to work on some of the crunch.

I need help working on mechanics for turning people to evil.

The shadow lands:  It's tainted by a Dark God (Old ONe).  The Nevernever and mortal realms overlap.  Exposure to the Taint over time can warp you, mutate things and generally make things evil.  I'd like to model this somehow.  I figured Mental stress would be the best way.  Then as people get consequences you can compel to do evil stuff.  Not sure how to model the mutations, though.  I guess I could do physical consequences to reflect mutations.

The Taint can:

-Can only be healed through special means (holy healing/places etc..)
-Exposure to the Taint over time can warp you.  (Environmental effect)
   >The stronger the effect the more damage it does and more frequency.
-Some creatures have an aura of taint.  Exposure to said aura causes mental stress (power?)
   >How would this power work on how much would it cost?
-Some powerful creatures can cast spells that cause the taint (sponsored magic:Shadow lands - the taint as an element)
-Fey creatures/mortals can be warped by the Taint (a template?)

Protection

Jade trinkets can protect people from the Taint for a limited amount of time.  Jade will also act as the catch for any Shadowlands creatures that have Toughness Powers.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2012, 12:47:23 PM by Taran »

Offline JoeOfThePr0n

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai (need some mechanics worked out)
« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2012, 11:11:03 AM »
As requested by Taran, this is a brief run down on what it is to be an Iaido Swordsman within the Dresden universe.

First, I am a trained Iaido swordsman, a samurai. Here is a brief by the books definition of what that is:

Iaido is the contemporary Japanese art of drawing the long sword. Iaido contrasts with kenjutsu (combative swordsmanship), techniques done with swords already drawn, and kendo, the Japanese sport of fencing. Basic iaido kata combines drawing the sword with either a defensive block or cut, usually followed by another cut, then chiburi (moving the blade in such as way as to remove blood and tissue) and noto (returning the blade to the scabbard). While kenjutsu and sword-drawing techniques (batto-ho) were originally taught together, they are now usually, but not always, taught as separate art forms. Iaido, as the sword-drawing forms became known in the 1930's, is now used not only to teach sword techniques, but as a form of mental and physical discipline, emphasizing correct technique and form, meditation and character development.

That being said, my Dresden Files RPG character is based on myself. Here are some stunts I have formulated. (Bare in mind, I do NOT know the rules too well. I have been playing D&D and World of Darkness for many years. This is my first character in DF RPG, and i am still familierizing myself with the rules. I still have to run these by my acting DM as well.)

I Present, The Swordsman of Boogie Down

Weapons Based Stunt:

Iaido Swordsman- Bonus to attack for the first time against each Individual opponent.

(I figure this is the bread and butter of the style. The swordsman anticipates his attack, or that of the enemies. Then it is on the draw that he reacts. E.g Parrying the attack and then counterattacking. Or simply going though the foe's defense and attacking first.)

O-Chiburi- After a successful attack that would draw blood, some small amount of mental stress is done to that opponent.

(This is a really neat idea. The Chiburi is the act of flicking the blade in such a way that it flings the blood away. The O-Chiburi is a variant that usually involves taking a large sweeping slash, allowing the blood the be flung direction-ally. The O-Chiburi is also known as "The wet umbrella". What is more likely to get into an opponents head to have their own blood splashed upon their face.)

These Next Two are more based on character, but I tried to keep it within the Samurai Flavor:

Discipline Based Skill:

Clarity Through Rage- Once per combat, Joe can shrug off one spell cast at him, but in turn, he is then subject to his trouble aspect.

(This may need some clarifying. The Swordsman of Boogie Down was taught of the never never, and conditioned to fight the supernatural by a white court vampire who feeds on Wrath. They have a bond, and she feeds on his wrath. His Trouble Aspect is "The Conduit of the White Court." This is very much a tool to be used by my DM. As a DM myself I know how important it is for the players to assist the DM in making the game exciting. For example: Joe is fighting a spellcaster. He ends the fight fairly quickly, getting the upperhand. Charging though a blast of fire and using this ability to shrug it off.  The spell caster losses his staff and the hand holding it for his trouble. Though Joe is merciful, The DM now has the chance to compel me toward wrath. And granted I have used this ability, I must accept the compulsion to finish the spell caster off. Murdering a now unarmed HAR... foe...)

The last one I have for you is an Empathy based skill:

One breath- Able to identify the highest initiative foe, or that which will attack first, and gain a bonus to attack him for the first time.

(The build itself will aim to build heavily upon the first attack against each opponent. In true Iaido fashion. A familiar and favored sort of mantra in Iaido is "One breath, one draw, one kill" Now the idea behind this one is though empathy, he can somewhat read the motive of those who imminently intend on violence. He can then be ready and react.)

Anyhow, I have to run to work so I will have to wait until tonight to hear and gather all your input and opinions on this. Taran, I hope you can use some of these ideas on your game. (And credit me -wink-) and I hope you can all fill the gaps in these mechanics that I most certainly have.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2012, 11:14:40 AM by JoeOfThePr0n »

Offline Taran

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai (need some mechanics worked out)
« Reply #13 on: August 27, 2012, 01:07:13 PM »
As requested by Taran, this is a brief run down on what it is to be an Iaido Swordsman within the Dresden universe.

Thanks JoeOfThePr0n, I just figured we'd get feedback if you posted it here.  As far as the stunts go, I don't have much experience with custom powers/stunts, but they look cool.

I Present, The Swordsman of Boogie Down

Weapons Based Stunt:

Iaido Swordsman- Bonus to attack for the first time against each Individual opponent.

(I figure this is the bread and butter of the style. The swordsman anticipates his attack, or that of the enemies. Then it is on the draw that he reacts. E.g Parrying the attack and then counterattacking. Or simply going though the foe's defense and attacking first.)

I'm not sure how this would work.  I could see that winning initiative would give you an advantage.  +1 to attack on the first strike against any opponent, or would it be a bonus if you won initiative against an opponent.  Another neat thing, would be getting Ambush against someone you won initiative against (which might be too powerful) but you'd only be able to do it once and that person would probably be taken out quickly.  Maybe it's a weapon stunt.  IF you win initiative, you pin your weapon skill(instead of stealth) against their awareness, if you win, you get ambush for that first attack.

O-Chiburi- After a successful attack that would draw blood, some small amount of mental stress is done to that opponent.

(This is a really neat idea. The Chiburi is the act of flicking the blade in such a way that it flings the blood away. The O-Chiburi is a variant that usually involves taking a large sweeping slash, allowing the blood the be flung direction-ally. The O-Chiburi is also known as "The wet umbrella". What is more likely to get into an opponents head to have their own blood splashed upon their face.)

Is this done as part of a physical attack or is it a separate attack?  I could see it as a maneuver.  Maybe you can sacrafice some damage to create a maneuver.  Or, if you inflict a consequence on an enemy, you can tag it to do a maneuver(covered in gore) on another enemy in the same zone.  They'd defend vs Weapon skill.  I don't know. 


These Next Two are more based on character, but I tried to keep it within the Samurai Flavor:

The last one I have for you is an Empathy based skill:

One breath- Able to identify the highest initiative foe, or that which will attack first, and gain a bonus to attack him for the first time.

(The build itself will aim to build heavily upon the first attack against each opponent. In true Iaido fashion. A familiar and favored sort of mantra in Iaido is "One breath, one draw, one kill" Now the idea behind this one is though empathy, he can somewhat read the motive of those who imminently intend on violence. He can then be ready and react.)

You could have your initiative based on Empathy instead of Awareness.  I wonder if figuring out who has the highest initiative would be an actual stunt or if it would just be some kind of awareness/empathy check?

First, I am a trained Iaido swordsman, a samurai. Here is a brief by the books definition of what that is:

Iaido is the contemporary Japanese art of drawing the long sword. Iaido contrasts with kenjutsu (combative swordsmanship), techniques done with swords already drawn, and kendo, the Japanese sport of fencing. Basic iaido kata combines drawing the sword with either a defensive block or cut, usually followed by another cut, then chiburi (moving the blade in such as way as to remove blood and tissue) and noto (returning the blade to the scabbard). While kenjutsu and sword-drawing techniques (batto-ho) were originally taught together, they are now usually, but not always, taught as separate art forms. Iaido, as the sword-drawing forms became known in the 1930's, is now used not only to teach sword techniques, but as a form of mental and physical discipline, emphasizing correct technique and form, meditation and character development.

This helps me a lot.  Samurai are going to figure prominently, I think, as one of the players will be associated with them.  Thanks for the insight.

Taran, I hope you can use some of these ideas on your game. (And credit me -wink-) and I hope you can all fill the gaps in these mechanics that I most certainly have.

I will and I will.  Thanks your input!
« Last Edit: August 27, 2012, 02:31:45 PM by Taran »

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Cowboys vs Samurai
« Reply #14 on: August 27, 2012, 06:15:09 PM »
Yay, city creation turned out fine afterall.  Thanks for the advice.  Now I want to work on some of the crunch.

I need help working on mechanics for turning people to evil.

The shadow lands:  It's tainted by a Dark God (Old ONe).  The Nevernever and mortal realms overlap.  Exposure to the Taint over time can warp you, mutate things and generally make things evil.  I'd like to model this somehow.  I figured Mental stress would be the best way.  Then as people get consequences you can compel to do evil stuff.  Not sure how to model the mutations, though.  I guess I could do physical consequences to reflect mutations.

The Taint can:

-Can only be healed through special means (holy healing/places etc..)
-Exposure to the Taint over time can warp you.  (Environmental effect)
   >The stronger the effect the more damage it does and more frequency.
-Some creatures have an aura of taint.  Exposure to said aura causes mental stress (power?)
   >How would this power work on how much would it cost?
-Some powerful creatures can cast spells that cause the taint (sponsored magic:Shadow lands - the taint as an element)
-Fey creatures/mortals can be warped by the Taint (a template?)

Protection

Jade trinkets can protect people from the Taint for a limited amount of time.  Jade will also act as the catch for any Shadowlands creatures that have Toughness Powers.

I'd say that the Taint is an environmental attack, with take-out resulting in mutation. Jade is armour.  That's all within the RAW.

The aura isn't doable with the RAW, but I do have a custom Power. It looks like this:

DANGEROUS AURA [-2]
Description: Standing near you is dangerous.
Effects:
Dangerous Aura. Whenever another character spends any part of their action inside your zone, this Power makes a Fair attack against their Endurance at weapon 0. The attack occurs at the end of the target's action. This power can be turned off and does not affect the user.
Can't Touch This. Add two to the weapon rating of this Power's attacks against characters that spend their actions grappling you. At the GM's discretion, Stunts and Powers that provide odd methods of grappling may negate this effect.
Avoidable Aura [-0]. This Power makes attacks against Athletics instead of Endurance.
Extra-Dangerous Aura [-1]. This power makes Great attacks.
Super-Dangerous Aura [-1]. (Requires Extra-Dangerous Aura) This power makes Fantastic attacks.
Hyper-Dangerous Aura [-1]. (Requires Super-Dangerous Aura) This power attacks at weapon 2.
Mental Aura [-1]. This power inflicts mental stress and is resisted with Discipline.
Large Aura [-1]. This power affects everyone within one zone.
Vast Aura [-1]. (Requires Large Aura) This power affects everyone within three zones.

I've never used it in game, because my players opted not to fight the things that had it. But I think it's balanced-ish.

Though I should probably make Avoidable Aura incompatible with Mental Aura.

As requested by Taran, this is a brief run down on what it is to be an Iaido Swordsman within the Dresden universe.

First, I am a trained Iaido swordsman, a samurai. Here is a brief by the books definition of what that is:

Iaido is the contemporary Japanese art of drawing the long sword. Iaido contrasts with kenjutsu (combative swordsmanship), techniques done with swords already drawn, and kendo, the Japanese sport of fencing. Basic iaido kata combines drawing the sword with either a defensive block or cut, usually followed by another cut, then chiburi (moving the blade in such as way as to remove blood and tissue) and noto (returning the blade to the scabbard). While kenjutsu and sword-drawing techniques (batto-ho) were originally taught together, they are now usually, but not always, taught as separate art forms. Iaido, as the sword-drawing forms became known in the 1930's, is now used not only to teach sword techniques, but as a form of mental and physical discipline, emphasizing correct technique and form, meditation and character development.

That being said, my Dresden Files RPG character is based on myself. Here are some stunts I have formulated. (Bare in mind, I do NOT know the rules too well. I have been playing D&D and World of Darkness for many years. This is my first character in DF RPG, and i am still familierizing myself with the rules. I still have to run these by my acting DM as well.)

I Present, The Swordsman of Boogie Down

Weapons Based Stunt:

Iaido Swordsman- Bonus to attack for the first time against each Individual opponent.

(I figure this is the bread and butter of the style. The swordsman anticipates his attack, or that of the enemies. Then it is on the draw that he reacts. E.g Parrying the attack and then counterattacking. Or simply going though the foe's defense and attacking first.)

O-Chiburi- After a successful attack that would draw blood, some small amount of mental stress is done to that opponent.

(This is a really neat idea. The Chiburi is the act of flicking the blade in such a way that it flings the blood away. The O-Chiburi is a variant that usually involves taking a large sweeping slash, allowing the blood the be flung direction-ally. The O-Chiburi is also known as "The wet umbrella". What is more likely to get into an opponents head to have their own blood splashed upon their face.)

These Next Two are more based on character, but I tried to keep it within the Samurai Flavor:

Discipline Based Skill:

Clarity Through Rage- Once per combat, Joe can shrug off one spell cast at him, but in turn, he is then subject to his trouble aspect.

(This may need some clarifying. The Swordsman of Boogie Down was taught of the never never, and conditioned to fight the supernatural by a white court vampire who feeds on Wrath. They have a bond, and she feeds on his wrath. His Trouble Aspect is "The Conduit of the White Court." This is very much a tool to be used by my DM. As a DM myself I know how important it is for the players to assist the DM in making the game exciting. For example: Joe is fighting a spellcaster. He ends the fight fairly quickly, getting the upperhand. Charging though a blast of fire and using this ability to shrug it off.  The spell caster losses his staff and the hand holding it for his trouble. Though Joe is merciful, The DM now has the chance to compel me toward wrath. And granted I have used this ability, I must accept the compulsion to finish the spell caster off. Murdering a now unarmed HAR... foe...)

The last one I have for you is an Empathy based skill:

One breath- Able to identify the highest initiative foe, or that which will attack first, and gain a bonus to attack him for the first time.

(The build itself will aim to build heavily upon the first attack against each opponent. In true Iaido fashion. A familiar and favored sort of mantra in Iaido is "One breath, one draw, one kill" Now the idea behind this one is though empathy, he can somewhat read the motive of those who imminently intend on violence. He can then be ready and react.)

Anyhow, I have to run to work so I will have to wait until tonight to hear and gather all your input and opinions on this. Taran, I hope you can use some of these ideas on your game. (And credit me -wink-) and I hope you can all fill the gaps in these mechanics that I most certainly have.

First and last stunts need a bit of clarifying, but they look more or less good-ish.

Second and third need a lot of clarifying, and depending on what that clarification says they might not be workable.

Incidentally, there are one or two Iaido stunts on the Resources board list. Here's what they look like:

Quick Draw: You can draw and use a weapon in a single motion. You take no penalty when drawing a weapon as a supplemental action (page YS:213); if you're in a race to see who draws first, or anything else having to do with your speed or ability to draw, gain a +1 on the roll.
Iaijutsu: (Requires Quick Draw) You are trained in iaijutsu, the art of drawing a sword. The first attack you make with a sword each scene inflicts two additional stress. Furthermore, you may add one to your Weapons skill when making it.

I figure that the difference between Iaido and Iaijutsu is unimportant here.