Monouchi: The Field

A masterless swordsman holds open ground in feudal Japan against waves of attackers that arrive from every bearing and never stop. There is no final wave and no way to win. Every run ends the same way. The question is how many you take with you.

Monouchi is the last third of a katana's edge, the part that actually cuts.

FOUR CUTS, AND EACH ONE IS A CHOICE
Attacks are directional and independent of where you face, so you can cut behind you without turning. Two wide slashes buy breathing room. Two narrow stabs reach past anything's swing for double damage, if you can aim them.

A GUARD YOU HAVE TO POINT
It covers what is in front of you and nothing else, takes a beat to raise, and holds exactly three blows. Empty it and it breaks, and everything lands in full.

A DODGE YOU HAVE TO COMMIT TO
The roll goes the way you were already steering and cannot be turned once it starts. Read the wind-up, then commit. Rolling everywhere is slower than walking.

READ THEM BEFORE THEY REACH YOU
Armour tells you what you are facing. Plainly dressed levy fall in one cut. Crested samurai take more. The one in the horned helmet and face mask, the only dark figure on the field, takes a great deal more and hits twice as hard.

THE FIELD
Hills, a wadeable stream, raked sand gardens, a lantern-lit approach, and four buildings you can fight inside, where a doorway becomes a choke one blade can hold. Walk in any direction and the country keeps going.

A SKY THAT MOVES
Play long enough and the light turns. Night is moonlit. The weather comes when it comes.