Interesting topic; I grappled with this a lot when I first started going to the Grindstone. Warren is a long-traveled journeyman who's studied sword and shield for nearly a decade in-game. He's also max-slider highlander. How do I reconcile him losing to some tiny little housewife with a frying pan? How can I maintain his integrity as a fighter if he's constantly losing to people "less experienced" than he is?
I couldn't find a solution, so I went in the opposite direction. I maintain Warren is a threat in his proper gear, but to give myself the "John Cena out" I had Warren fight without weapon or armor. The reasoning was that he was confident in his abilities with what he's used to, so he was using the Grindstone to work on being caught in combat without those securities. It allowed me to have him win through brute strength and slowly refine that into something besides haymakers while also giving me an easy "out" for losing; Someone fighting in their preferred style should beat someone fighting outside of theirs. I got to write Warren learning things, they'd get to beat a huge guy, and everyone goes home happy.
It's also got the side effect of boosting Warren's presence: ICly he's only had to draw his weapon with any seriousness a small handful of times. I like to think that when people see him reach for his sword, they realize that shit has in fact gotten real. It does seem that way, certain circumstances recently have indicated.
I couldn't find a solution, so I went in the opposite direction. I maintain Warren is a threat in his proper gear, but to give myself the "John Cena out" I had Warren fight without weapon or armor. The reasoning was that he was confident in his abilities with what he's used to, so he was using the Grindstone to work on being caught in combat without those securities. It allowed me to have him win through brute strength and slowly refine that into something besides haymakers while also giving me an easy "out" for losing; Someone fighting in their preferred style should beat someone fighting outside of theirs. I got to write Warren learning things, they'd get to beat a huge guy, and everyone goes home happy.
It's also got the side effect of boosting Warren's presence: ICly he's only had to draw his weapon with any seriousness a small handful of times. I like to think that when people see him reach for his sword, they realize that shit has in fact gotten real. It does seem that way, certain circumstances recently have indicated.
![[Image: yEROfKO.png]](http://i.imgur.com/yEROfKO.png)
