621285 I didn't cast through the staff. I etched the glyphs in the dirt with the tip of the staff.

From my profile:

Her staff, called Spina, is made of black iron, and engraved with glyphs running down its length, hidden in the decorative etching of thorny vines. The glyphs control the magic channeled through them, allowing it to solidify into any form on the whim of the user, creating a variable weapon. The limits of this ability depend on the amount of magic used and the size of the projection. A projection the size of a spear head doesn't take much, but creating a war-hammer head the sized of a small boulder would be much more tiring.

All the staff is, is a weapon that can sprout blades. And other various stuffs.

621290
Oooooh, I read that and thought you meant it could project magic in any form (ie- fireball, etc). You're fine then.

The runes are fine because she specializes in runes, meaning that she can hypothetically come up with them on the fly, assuming there's a science to them just like manipulating a traditional spell is has a science to it. Regardless, it's her talent, so I'd assume she knows a stupid-large variety, and that's balanced by the set-up time to cast them.

621294 I wouldn't have even had the chance if not for Shadeslayer's last post. That, and I probably annoyed Razor a bit asking him questions about stuff tonight.

I detailed where she learned about glyphs in her backstory, I believe. It involved traveling to see the Zebras.

621303
I, too, have annoyed Razor tonight. And he seems to be in favor of the sideways-shield-blade thing. Though he hasn't responded to my argument against it, so he might change his stance, who knows. I think he has bigger fish to fry right now.

621307 Like ending fights, and controlling Aurus' sister Aria and Gearrick in the Cliffcrest Castle RP?

621317
Mostly ending fights and updating the bracket.

621320 That too. Don't forget the judging thing as well.

621327
Has anyone else gone "OH SHIT" as their inbox gets flooded?

621335
No? My inbox has been basically empty.

621338
Damn. I've had these oscillating waves of people. For a few hours, everything goes silent, then suddenly I have to judge eight different matches.

621354
Aaaah, I have that happen too. I've just been dealing with fairly minimal load tonight.

621327 621360 621073

New Question: How the hell does voting work?

621371 Did you read Razor's blog he JUST put up on the subject?

621371
Razorbeam blogged it. Read blog.

621372
I totally missed the blog.

Judging in a nutshell. (Don't take this seriously.)

623969
Oh come now. We only backhanded someone across the room once or twice.

624005

624015 Your avatar is so appropriate right there.

Do we have any word on when to expect the judging assessment thread (or whatever you want to call it)?

I've got a very important question which is related to my character...

Can lightning be dodged?

I'm thinking no, lighting can't be dodged persay, as it simply moves to fast for the mind-body reaction to get out of the way. HOWEVER. If the target manages to predetermine the attack, I think they may be able to dodge the attack, and it is always possible for the attacker to simply miss for one reason or another... but I still wanna know the judge's opinion's first.

644318
I think it really comes down to what you're trying to do, specifically. Lightning itself is super-fast, but it's not easily controlled or naturally accurate. I think it'd all come down to the context, really.

646141
Well, magicial lighting would depend on its user's accuracy... but let me give me an example.

Here I made a post, attacking my enemy with a lightning bolt, which as I mention in my posts. Travells at several THOUSAND miles per an hour! That's way faster that any living thing can move. Yet he responded by not only dodging the attack... but somehow using a 'blast' from the lighting to push himself backwards... when did lighting make blasts? And Mythbusters proved that you can't use a shockwave from an explosion to give you a boost... so forgive me if I'm wrong, but he response isn't possible, is it?

646157
Nope, shouldn't be possible. Lightning doesn't contain a mass to create any sort of aftereffect force, as far as I know.

646168
So, the blast alone negates the post... but what about actually dodging it? Was that even possible, considering how fast lightning is?

646169
Considering his base stat Agility (B), I'd say that it isn't possible without great effort and a lot of pre-warning.

Would you say you had any sort of charging time for your Lightning? Because that may be a factor in the matter. If he saw your horn glow, he would prep himself for something.

Another small qualm - Are your lightning bolts completely straight? Judging by normal lightning and thunder patterns, they won't always hit their mark straight on.

646175
There is some charge time yes, however Arcantos conceals any show of this charge time, so no glowing horn. He's experienced at this magic.

And I know that natural lighting is forked and all over the place... and its also more powerful on the return... and actually hits the same place multiple times with you only seeing one... and it can easily kill you...

But this is magic lightning, more controlled, less powerful. But just as fast.

Lightining is, from nature's side, lazy. It always takes the easiest path to the ground. So, if that easiest path is through somepony, then it WILL hit. The chance of it not doing so is rediculously small.

That being said, as it is magical lightning, you do have some measure of control over it, which means that you have a say in where it lands. This means that if he manages to move far enough away before it strikes, it won't hit him.

Have you ever heard the account of people that have been hit by lightning and survived? They mention a static sort of feeling in the air around them, the small hairs in their neck raising and so on. That's a sure-fire way of knowing if you're about to be roasted.
Based on this, he would probably be able to feel that(as you charge), but then it just comes down to his intelligence and agility. Int - Quick enough to realise what the fuck is going on?
Agi - Quick enough to move?

dodging it is possible as it is magically made, but the force wave, or whatever, thing isn't legit. A forcewave from a lightning might daze someone and cause them to fall, but it has no actual concussive force as far as I know.

646183
Fair enough. Considering Arcantos would be a master in the field of lightning, I'd say the opponents reaction would be completely null.

I only questioned the accuracy due to, as you said, the forked pattern.

646187
The opponent did see the lightning while it was firing, but that's the little amount of warning he got.

Both Agi and Int are both B, so standard on both senses. I dont personally don't believe it's possible unless he had at least an A on both.

646193
As I said again: One would feel the static in the air, giving approximately ½-1 seconds warning before it fired.

646197
He's not a ninja. I don't think a second is long enough for him to get his bulky Earth Pony frame out of the way.

646198
Hardly, but it is there. Just for the sake of it being realistic :3

646197>>646198
And if you've never faced an opponent that uses before, they would feel the static, go 'huh'? And then be zapped, at least, the first time.

Of course, this IS magical lightning. I don't think it works the same way, with a huge difference in static potential between clouds and ground. Admittedly, it could just be a difference in static potential between Arcantos and the ground, but I don't think it works like that...

646208
Lightning is lightning, I'd say. So they would feel it regardless.

But yes, they'd probably go "huh?" as you say, and get zapped.

646209
Then the next time or two, they might figure out what it means... but I doubt that my opponent can dodge it in time.

So... you agree that the blast isn't possible at least... what about dodging the lightning bolt I launched?

646208>>646209
The fact that it's magical lightning is irrelevant - The lightning attack would still be created out of a high concentration of magic, and therefore still create the static effect through there being a lot of energy in the air. (At least, using theories of what we can assume about magic.)

But that still isn't enough warning, because the attack is still very sudden.

646213
Dodging: Perhabs, but due to his probable lack of knowledge: Getting hit is the most possible thing.

The blast: Fake, just fake. It simply is not possible to be flung away by it.

646213
In the same sense of the changes, the launcher of the magic would be able to aim better once they've used a few spells. To 'break in' the Unicorn's horn, weird as it will sound.

646214
Not to mention it takes time to notice the static, realize what it means and then react to it... and the reaction has to make them move far enough away...

646216
Thought as much... first post my opponent makes is illegal. Woot.

646218
... I don't get that.

646222
Never mind. Heh.

646222
Isn't it great? xD

646223 646226
Well, just gonna have to wait for him to respond...

Outa curiousity, how much damage would you say the lightning bolt would do in a direct hit? A Int Vs D Will & S Vit.

... Actually, how much magic would you say the lightning bolt would of burned? B Will, used by a specialized mage. (Through he specializes in storm magic as a whole, not just lightning)

646233
His D will would take nothing off of the damage, but his S Vitality would give him pounds of health.

So anything within 20%-33% damage taken off, roughly estimating. No guarantee's on that.

The attack wouldn't really damage any of his limbs, except by frying his nerve system and causing him to be crippled for a while. With his high Vitality score, he'd be able to shrug it off faster than your average pony.

What do you mean by 'burned'? Lasting damage effects?

646243
Oh sorry. I forgot to add magic. As in, how much magic/mana would my character of burned to cast the lightning bolt in your opinion?

20-33%? Interesting...

646246
Oh okay. Familiarity with the element would cut off some of the cost, but a bolt that powerful isn't going to be cheap in itself. B will gives you average mana.. So something like.. 10-15%?
I'm not familiar with what other judges have given for manaburn, nor with how big or powerful you intended your bolt to be.

Please note, if I were to argue with the damage on this lightning bolt, each successive hit would be less effective, because you're just attacking the same fried nerve system. This is not to say that it would eventually go to 0% damage, but it would definitely becomes less effective.

646256
Well... I was imagining it to be a rather standard bolt, not that powerful... 5% mana burn for 10-15% damage sound right?

Lightning does more then hit the nervous system....

646259
That seems fair enough for the first part, but you'll have to state that to whoever judges your post.

I don't know much about the external effects for lightning based attacks, so I apologise if I got things completely wrong. I'll research more into it if you decide to use me as a judge. :P

646265
We'll see. It all depends on timezones, when my opponent is one, when I'm on to reply, when your on to judge etc.

646271
I feel like there's a problem in treating anything that takes that little mana as if it has the energy to be actual lightning. I don't know what precisely it is, but I don't figure it has enough power to be actual arcing electricity.

646366
Why not? Arcantos is highly skilled at using said magic, and as I've said before. It is not as powerful as natural lightning.