Subject: We can fix that!
Author:
Posted on: 2012-11-11 00:15:00 UTC
They're welcome to drop by 625-N-1 and borrow stuff. Whatever it is they want, Mike and Kilroy probably have it somewhere. They may not know where it is, mind, but somewhere...
I own and practice with several swords, bows, daggers, etc. and have taken lessons for years. So I'm curious as to how man
y ssassins (or other agents) have experience with their chosen weapon and what it is.
First person to answer gets a free dose of bleeprin!
Agent Eledhwen's an elleth from the Tolkienverse, and I believe her last job as a generic elleth was more or less border guard that met the Sue about to converge on Rivendell, so I think she's been trained well enough to warrant such a post.
Agent Christianne's a trickier one; she's, according to backstory, been with the PPC for a while. I'm guessing her first time handling a weapon was when she had to face down some Naruto Sues (offscreen, since I wasn't the one obsessed with Naruto way back when; Christianne's original creator was) on her very first mission (it was, after all, in the brutal old days before the intern programme at the PPC).
Currently, what with the two of them working in a fandom where swords (or even katanas) would seem very eccentric (if not downright illegal, considering the fine for carrying a katana in Britain), my Agents prefer to use guns, which they managed to get training for in the time while I was working on IAHF. Since I'm personally not huge on guns I don't think I've ever specified what models they prefer, but yeah. For the most part it's on-the-job training for my Agents, and consistent practice both on and off missions.
Anebrin gets free proficiency because he's an elf from a fantasy game. Agent!Des comes from an AU of World One where everyone is trained with an old weapon (amongst other things). So, in my case, backstory.
My two Agents have a sort of arsenal, really. One of them, Kilroy, is an ex-Inquisitor (Ordo Malleus), and mostly uses a Daemonhammer or other large blunt object. Mike tends toward military-grade firearms, like assault rifles and anti-materiel rifles, although she's a mean hand with a sword (considering she's Heroic Spirit Joan of Arc and all).
But they use all kinds of stuff, depending on the situation.
Like that FREAKING BATTLECRUISER that Kilroy somehow fit in his hyperspace pockets?
Oh, the Inheritance of Wrath? Yeah, that's pretty big. In fairness, we did need something with enough firepower to destroy an entire island, but not so much as to destroy the planet. It fit the bill. (And was fun to write, to boot!)
Freaking awesome idea, wish I had been around to think of/implement it first. I've been thinking about the agents that I hope to eventually write. I plan, and again this is all extremely hypothetical, to use a lower ranking Evil Sunz Bigmek named Wazgob. Wazgob will be based on one of my favorite Nob models, it was never intended to be a Bigmek, just a Nob, but he's "Cyborky 'an 'ees got lotsa Flash Gubbens" and I'm very proud of him. I think Wazgob's partner should be someone suave and sophistimacated to counter Wazgob's general Orkynes. On the subject of the original post, I have no skill with Kombi-Shootaz or Choppaz, nor do I have experience Kaptanin' a Stompa (much as I'd like that).
Man, everybody gets all the fun equipment.
All my prospective agents (Spoiler: one might be Specs) have are basic, one-handed, non-explosive weaponry.
They're welcome to drop by 625-N-1 and borrow stuff. Whatever it is they want, Mike and Kilroy probably have it somewhere. They may not know where it is, mind, but somewhere...
Yey.
Kinda makes me wish I had decided to revive one if my more ridiculous characters. He kept all forms of weaponry in a hyperspace arsenal created by a rift in reality inside his forehead.
Actually, I might just do that, he was an awesome character...
How does he manage to grab the right gun at the right time? (Because Kilroy sometimes can't, depending on whether or not it'd be funny for him to fail).
Also slightly reminded of Tatsumiya Mana's Extradimensional Ammo Storage. Except with guns, not just bullets.
Cool concept, though!
I dunno. Like I said, he is a ridiculous character, so it usually just kind of happens.
And most of the time, he doesn't grab a gun - he grabs a sword that transforms into a really, really big gun. Like, to impractical degrees.
Or, that's how I originally wrote him.
Most of it was written by Lielac, but stuff blows up later on.
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1PN-1Ma1NYV3abvjncv3GmeqSQPTYCpU3XdP6jvH1Svk
I actually have years of experience in saber and foil fencing. Both Italian and French style. Admittedly, it's more of a sport than it is a martial art, but I know to stick 'em with the pointy end. I also know a lot of hand-to-hand, but I don't know if I'm really going to write about that.
I'm a Saberist, myself. Finally got my E last year. You ranked?
When my characters are doing sport fencing and such. Or hand to hand - all I know about self defense is just the anti-mugging advice given to most girls I know, i.e. scream and run away, kick where the sun doesn't shine, and generally fight as dirty as possible.
Can't kick something that's in the body. Also, main target is dem eyes. And don't ever run away until the opponent is down.
Fighting dirty, on the other hand, is always a good advice.
*fondly remembers kicking self defense instructors in the fake nuts*
From feminist self defence classes I can inform you, that yes it does hurt when you kick a girl in that area. It's pretty sensitive.
Also, knees are a good target, they bring an opponent down from whatever angle you get them from.
I know it hurts. But when you think "nuts" and suddenly your opponent's a girl, you'd find yourself stumped at first. So let's just say crotch, that fits all genders.
The knees and ankles, yes. They're both surprisingly delicate if hit right. However, some things Agents fight don't have either. :P
Because people will get their feet out of your way if they think you're going to smash a toe or an ankle.
My (prospective) agents are a pair of space marines, who came pre-trained, and a velociraptor, who... honestly, nobody wants to train. He'd tend to do what comes naturally to velociraptors: using his toeclaws and teeth to kill sues to death. Still futzing around with the space marines, but Vid is as close as you can get to being an actual pacifist and still being part of the army (he's mostly a mechanic,) while Nemedra prefers to shoot things from the maximum possible distance, preferably while their back is turned and they're holding conveniently still.
As a boarder, I've got a pretty decently functional knowlege of fencing (I had to quit the actual sport because of health problems,) and fairly nothing else except a very primitive, brownie-camp knowledge of archery, which generally results in my arrow being embedded in the target's foot or sailing over their head.
"Which generally results in my arrow being embedded in their foot, or sailing over their head."
So, sophomore P.E.? :D
But I did a lot of shooting at hay bales when I worked a the renaissance fair.
Okay, I hate you now.
You got to work at a renaissance fair, and I didn't.
*pouty face.*
Because I was the only girl who didn't need a bodice, and could therefore climb down into the creek to get stray arrows (the patrons were all just as terrible of shots as I was,) and I ended up with a plague of frogs in my skirts. (The whole place flooded that year.)
It was fun, but I've come to value the fact that all my more recent jobs have been for science! and that I get to sit down occasionally. :)
Does that science include designing BFGs?
Cause I'd be up for that.
Spent this summer doing chemistry stuff - analyzing water for contaminants, and generally being lab gopher when we were waiting for supplies.
BFG (Actually, it was a BFT,) award for last summer goes to my brother, who built a trebuchet.
Punkin Chunkin is coming back on this Thanksgiving.
I love that show
When the pumpkins have rotted, we will be chunkin them with the trebuchet. My mother, of all people, is excited for it - probably because we'll be aiming them at the compost pile. :)
Hail to the chief!
Death surrounds me. Yet, in my head I hear something that sounds like angels!
Lo, I have found the holy grail of firepower!
Mine eyes can but weep as they bear witness to the majesty...the BFG 9000!
As I stride knee deep through the dead, all is clear. I know what must be done...
My cause is just...My will is strong...
...And my gun is very, very large!
I shall show you the true ways of the Church of Dakka.
First Prophet, the AS-24 Devastator (Serious Sam 3)
http://www.serioussam.wikia.com/wiki/AS-24_Devastator
High explosive, flat travel explosive shells that travel very fast, can be shot as fast as you can pull the trigger, deal MORE damage than a rocket launcher and are so awesome that they can punch through several weaker enemies before finding one they consider worth of exploding upon.
Second Prophet, the XM214-A minigun (Serious Sam series)
With a rather impressive firing rate of 1200 rounds a minute, no horde of enemies can even come close to you. And, depending on the installment, it fires either 5.56mm rounds or the more impressive .50 BMG anti-materiel round.
The Gods, the Omega RYNO 4-Ever and the Omega RYNO V (Ratchet & Clank series)
Video of the 5, as I can't find a good one of the 4 (deadlier, as the barrage is ALL MADE OF MISSILES)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5T1pVxxVh0
No words can describe the awesomeness. This is one of the few weapons that actually came close to be considered having enough dakka.
Other notable almost enuff dakka moments:
Matt Roszak's Mecha Dress Up, wherein one set of the millions possible includes four gauss cannons on the main body, double-minigun arms, five missile launchers stacked on the back, two more attached too the sides, miniguns on the legs, and a minigun between the legs.
Touhou. Just look up a video of the game, you'll see what I mean.
Halo REACH, during the scene where the human army was charging into battle, right before the gameplay itself started. But that's the UNSC, they do stuff like that.
I could go on, but I've run out of sources at the moment.
I get the feeling you have an entire Bible dedicated to BFGs and the like, Riese.
Honestly, as I sit here at my computer, I can see "The Collins Atlas of the Second World War," "Weapons and Vehicles of World War Two," and "A History of Air Power." It's a little ridiculous.
Incidentally, I was quoting the DOOM comic. Which is a fun read, if you don't mind the massive amounts of gore.
Ah, DOOM. One of the best games I have never played.
Right up there with Okami, Warhammer 40,000 and Portal.
People ask what the best shooter ever was? DOOM. Because all the rest are pretty much knock-offs of it. -Watches the COD-and-Halo fanboys rage-
Heh heh heh.
I actually watched a five-hour long Legendary campaign of Halo 4 on YouTube last night.
Made all the funnier by the ludicrous commentary from the four saps playing it.
Mine is usually more of a prior to the 19th century category, but hey, I'm willing to learn. :)
I love history. IIRC, the first book I ever checked out of the library was this little blue book called "The Battle of Midway." I've been hooked ever since. My focus is military history (Especially the Second World War), but I know a fair amount of general stuff as well.
-Waves History Major flag around-
Mine's spotty: Ancient history, England ~1500 to ~1700, Victorian to WWI era, and Napoleonic France.
Oh, and Latin America in general.
Of those, I know some Ancient, WWI era England, and Napoleonic France. The History Channel did a thing on Napoleon a while back. It was like a movie-biography-series-thingy, and it was actually really good. They had John Malkovich play Talleyrand, which made me chuckle (I had just seen R.E.D.).
Even as Spies, some of my agents have combat training.
1. Gaspard always carries his trusty C-14 Impaler Gauss rifle from the StarCraft continuum in his Adventure Pouches. Nobody knows how he can:
a) fit that thing in there in the first place
b) carry several boxes of munitions with him
c) wield a rifle that's essentially a giant metal brick. Trope image is the rifle in question.
2. Nasir is a seasoned Pokémon Trainer and brings along Juliane the Glaceon with him when necessary. He's also handy with a Webley Mk VI revolver.
3. Angus used to be in APD, Discworld division so he's used to fighting with bows and swords.
4. Lucia is a LotR specialist and can outshoot most people at the range with her longbow.
I've got two prospective DIA agents too:
5. Taldaris of Aiur, a protoss High Templar that has mastered the use of his formidable psychic powers.
6. Fire Flash the Earth pony armed with nothing but speed, courage, and well-placed kicks to the kneecaps.
Agent!Sergio Turbo is proficient with firearms, mainly handguns and assault rifles (with his favourite combination being a 9mm handgun, like his current Beretta 92, and a 5.56mm assault rifle, like his Colt M16A3 or his recently bought Beretta ARX-160A2)
Nikki Cherryflower in her current state uses whatever magic she can use at the moment (has a still-unresolved condition in which her magic system keeps changing wildly) and various kind of grenades. Explosive, flashbang, smoke... you name it, she has it.
She also knows how to take advantage of her impressive physical strenght in melee combat.
Corolla uses exclusively her Nanohaverse magic, although she can use a knife if things get hairy.
As for Boarder!Sergio Turbo aka myself, I have no proficiency at all with hand-to-hand or melee combat (tried to learn karate during middle school, didn't work out for me), and although I have a good gun knowledge I never had the occasion to try one myself (also because gun laws are a lot more strict here in Italy that in, say, America).
American gun laws are... Unique, let's say.
California has some rather harsh restrictions, but just a couple of state lines over, Utah folks can own a gun scott-free, and nobody cares in the slightest.
And the highest power gun that can (apparently) be owned on the civilian level without complaint is a VULCAN MINIGUN.
You know, this guy.
So, yeah.
Just a small insight into American gun laws for your benefit.
I'm probably gonna get screamed at by a friend of mine if he ever catches wind of me saying this.
I have never gotten the harsh restrictions on gun ownership.
CARRYING, yes. But owning one doesn't do anything but deter crime. Especially if you have received proper instruction in its care and use. You never hear about the Texas rednecks shooting themselves by acting stupid with a gun.
Well, you hear a lot where I live about accidental shootings, and it's always because a) some dumb kid found the loaded gun, either at home or when on a hunting trip with the family, and played around with it, or b) people went out to their hunting cabins, got drunk, and had an accident. Then again, I live in Wisconsin, which is known for beer and guns, apparently.
I think the general idea of the restrictions is to make it so that it would be harder for criminals to get guns in the first place. I support the measures for having full background checks and enforcing safety training, just because it might mean people like the sikh temple shooter would have a harder time obtaining weapons. (For the record, I do believe that if he hadn't already owned a gun, he wouldn't have started on his rampage, because he wouldn't have had anything to do it with.)
I agree that ownership for people who want to hunt and things like that shouldn't be a problem, but it's too easy for people like repeat felons to get one currently. IMHO, of course.
...is arming oneself always the best way to deter crime? A gun is built for only one purpose: to kill. Should a response to crime always be "Hey, you're breaking the law/threatening me, I've got a gun, I can shoot you dead"?
In my opinion, the only people who should have access to firearms are soldiers and police officers.
There are several other activities that can be done with guns.
Aside for hunting (which can be debated as a "good" activity, as you're still killing stuff.), target shooting is a perfectly reasonable pasttime. And while I am not an expert on target shooting specialties, I can assure you there's enough variety and classes to ensure that almost every legally sold gun has one suitable kind of competition you can use it in.
Besides, the true scope of a deterrent is: if all people have legal access to guns and a sizeable portion of them does own one... you have to be pretty stupid to actually try to rob someone.
There is difference between "you're a criminal, I have a gun so I shoot you for that" and "You're a criminal, I have a gun so I can defend myself from you"
The first is vigilante justice. The second is self defense.
Just showing a gun, and maybe a warning shot (AKA not aimed at the perp) if things look REALLY bad, can thwart a mugging/robbing/enevworsestuff attempt without harming anyone.
Of course, it's all on the conscience of the individual. There's people who would shoot the perp immediately, and in no way I will justify those.
My position is the result of me looking at all of the gun-related violence and saying: "Wow, I don't think John Q. Public can be trusted with these things."
My agents use a variety of weapons, most of which are unavailable for me to use. Two of them use magic almost exclusively. Another uses a large war hammer. A fourth is a dragon and, as such, uses her own claws, teeth, and fire.
About the only agent I have who I can be said to share any real capability with is Agent Phobos. As you may have guessed, he is a fictionalized version of myself. We both know how to use various blunt objects ranging from baseball bats and sledgehammers to staffs and two-by-fours. We also have some experience wielding fencing foils, rapiers, long swords, short swords, daggers, knives, cutlasses, maces, bows, crossbows, spears, javelins (one of my favorite weapons when combined with a shield) and shields (in various combinations). Mind you, most of these were not real weapons. They were wooden practice weapons, blunted for stage, or foam covered. The use was little changed, though.
However, I really excel at hand-to-hand combat. I'm a big guy. 6'1" tall, 260lbs (which is made up of a higher proportion of muscle every day), ridiculously long arms, powerful legs, and the knowledge of how to use these things to my advantage. I am really not above fighting dirty, either.
-Phobos, who is not as dangerous as he likes to seem
Your level of combat pragmatism is, ironically, a feature I wrote for the combat style of the Bellamay family in my novel's organization checklist.
Especially shields, which are more a weapon than a defensive tool when a Bellamay gets his hands on one. (Ever been bitch-slapped by a shield, and then received an uppercut from its edge shortly after? Yeah, it's rather brutal.)
I got the inspiration for it from, of all things, Gears of War.
I just found that funny that you should bring it up.
Because I have some original characters who seem to have taken the same course in combat pragmatism. One squished a bug-monster with a library shelf, among other things.
That is incredibly awesome, sir or madam. I salute you. *salutes*
YES.
Bookworm SMASH.
Seriously, though, that's the best thing ever.
Also, is it just me, or does combat pragmatism seem to go really well with people who have no conventional training, and thus, fight dirty right off the bat when they know they can't win a fair fight?
I have received lessons and am a combat pragmatist for one reason... It works.
You can hardly fight when your arms have been ripped from their sockets or your knee caps are facing the wrong way. In any case, it is even more effective when combined with conventional training because it catches people off guard like nothing else. Lol
And when you need to get out of a situation, you need to get out right then and there.
I'm 5'3" and my only formal training is fencing and a couple of weeks of karate, but the element of surprise is a good element to have on your side.
That, and a Spanish mercenary out for blood against the six-fingered man who killed his father.
But that's usually not possible, so cheap shots make a good substitute.
(spot the shout-out!)
Okay, that one might not be quite as obvious. Just think Miracle Max, you'll get it.
Well, yeah! If I got in a fight in real life, I'd aim for the groin first, neck second, and gut third.
That, and it makes sense. Simon Bellamay has only a few months of formal training. Luckily for him, his family fights dirty by practice, what with demons never fighting fair and all, so he fit in rather quickly.
Both of my more practical fighters are non-magic users in a world of magic users, so while the other characters use their mad mage powers to get out of trouble, the girls who don't have earth-shattering powers make do by, in the words of PTerry, kicking people "inna fork," and other assorted dirty defenses.
Though, that's not to say that the mages always fight fair, it's just that they fight dirty from a much greater distance...
In one of my short sorties in the Iris' Travels series on my DeviantART, Iris is a horrible, dirty-as-hell fighter. But, given that she has such horrible luck all the time (it's a plot device - the Mother of Fate hates her because she was born on the wrong side of a flipped coin), it's kind of necessary.
Also: not unless mages are practitioners of Full Contact Magic! Like... Basically all of mine are...
... Though, one I've got will haul off and punch you if necessary. She's got a bit of a thing about using her powers responsibly and when she's in her right mind, she won't attack you with magic, she'll either hold you off with it exclusively or treat you to a knuckle sandwich.
That gets her beat up quite often, though. Then her non-magical partner usually has to bail her out.
Magic without prior preparation in my world is kind of messy and not always efficient.
Hey, magic for my characters is usually a criminal act and considered grounds for discrimination.
In fact, one guy got arrested BECAUSE HE KNEW MAGIC, BY THE GRAND MAGISTER OF THE REALM.
Just for reference: Grand Magister is a rank of mage in my stories. A very high rank.
Depends on the world, of course, but I tend to either have magic be extremely common, highly restricted by law, or uncommon enough that most don't believe it exists. Then I have history to back up why magic is treated a certain way: I find that this helps a lot in defining the limits of said magic, and it makes my world building sheet happy.
It also makes a good excuse to help explain why there's a war on that's so brutal that the gods themselves are intervening and claiming human champions to try and stop the madness.
(actual plot device. I could copypasta the sheet I have written up here to prove it.)
I have a lot of different types of magic and treatments of it because I write a lot of different worlds. On one world, for example, the industrial revolution and the spread of technology was largely suppressed because the magic-using upper class wouldn't invest in any manufacturing plans that would undercut the necessity of having a mage supervise manufacturing. (They've since relaxed that to the point where disposable goods, such as textiles, paper goods, childrens' toys, and the like can be produced without any magic in the process, but things like computers, washing machines, and cell phones are all very expensive since they still need to be produced partly by magic.)
In a second world, the industrial revolution is just getting started, and magic is fairly commonplace, but there are immense restrictions on ever using it on other people, because 99% of the time, messing around with someone using magic results in bloody, bloody death. There's plenty of research for spells to make things and find things and all sorts of other amusements, but attacking or defending yourself with magic is basically the equivalent of throwing lightning bolts around: somebody's gonna get fried.
And in a third world, they just finished the equivalent of world war 1, using a combination of chemical and magical weapons that left giant scars across a whole continent. The world is still adjusting to the idea that a handful of mages and enough preparation can blow up most of a city, and it's pretty clear that there will be some sort of international agreement to register mages and make sure they don't learn to blow up cities in the near future.
Yeah, so keeping the magic in all of these alternate histories in place is one thing that helps me remember which world I'm writing in.
See, I've kind of gotten stuck on one method, because I made the mistake of playing Lost Odyssey during a down period where I was looking for inspiration.
I decided to use Lost Odyssey's idea of an industrial revolution where people were just discovering magic, and for the most part have no understanding of it.
I altered it a bit to where, instead of mages being regarded as SUPAKOOL, they're more ridiculed for using an unknown technology, to the point where practitioners are attested and executed, and the select few who manage to escape have set up a secluded mage city where the further study of magic is partaken in silence.
POLITICSPOLITICSPOLITICS ARGH
Two of my agents - Gilbert and Agent!Caroline - aren't actually proficient with any weapon. They both use whatever they can get their hands on, which sometimes leads to them concussing themselves or using Pop Tarts as projectile weapons...
However, Fiona's weapon of choice is an S&W 500 (which I have no experience with at all), and Veralyn's are knives and a bow and arrows (which I have... enthusiasm and some scattered experience with). I'll have to do a bit of research (and bounce fight scenes off'a my beta-readers) the next time either of these two use their weapons.
Basically, don't be afraid to write about agents who use weapons you aren't familiar with - just be prepared to do your research if you do!
That's why almost all of my agents use magic - a google search will help you find the details of most of those. And I haven't written Lana using her ax yet either, so yeah. The nice thing about both the Board and the internet is that you can almost always find someone who DOES know what you're looking for.
Kinda like when my early topic dissolved into sword technobabble. I ended up helping one of the Boarders (can't remember who) because they said something that caused me to totally nerd out about everything I knew.
And it also inspires a lot of different applications of certain ideas. (Like what just happened in my reply to Neshomeh.)
Last paragraph = this.
Especially when it comes to me and staffs or bows and arrows. God, I have no understanding of either...
Or spears. Polearms are complex, difficult weapons to write - you either chop like an axe, stab like a knife, or swing like a hammer, plus the length and resulting wobble from more metallic poles as compared to solid wooden ones, etc. etc...
(Or, rather, commenting on it. Expanding upon it? Whatever...)
I always find it really impressive when someone who doesn't have the time or resources necessary to become skilled in the use of a weapon can still write about an agent using that same weapon as though they (the writer) have had years of practice with it - like SC. To me it's a show of their commitment to writing a believable character with equally-believable skills, which is always a good thing to see in writers~
D'aw, why you make me blush.
One of my potential agents is a sword-wielding nut.
A while back, I posted a big topic which ended up going into how crazed about swords I really am.
It went on for AGES.
Real life: I have seen many swords, but only ever wielded one - Fort Ross, on the California coast, is an old Russian fort converted into a museum of sorts that has real-life period-specific weapons, one of which being a Russian war saber. It weighed about five pounds and was almost as tall as my lower torso at the time. (I was in fifth grade.)
I own three or so fake swords and practice basic kendo and fencing stances with them, and at one point I had a makeshift LARP session with some friends, which ended up turning into an impromptu weapon versatility and strategic defense class.
So, I have a bit of know-how with my agent's chosen weapon.
Agent Supernumerary's chosen weapon is "none," because he has the most awful gross (as opposed to fine) hand-eye coordination, and I think I can safely say my Real Life experience matches "none." Does that count? ^_^;
As for my other three Action Department agents, their weapons of choice are respectively a tail blade, a 20-lb sledgehammer, and a mace or a dragon, depending. I don't think I've ever so much as handled any of those.
(By the way, we don't generally refer to ourselves as agents/assassins/etc. As you've found, it tends to be confusing! We're Boarders or PPCers; the characters we write about are the agents.)
~Neshomeh
Ah, sorry. Didn't know that, lol.
I would he quite impressed if you had handled a dragon, tailblade, etc. Lol
You could say the style is "Bare-Handed Combat", that's a viable alternative.
I once wrote a character who was a Jack of all Trades in combat, mainly due to being a top-level mercenary and ex-con soldier.
He once fought a guy with a lamp, just because.
See, hitting someone effectively still requires hand-eye coordination, and the only time he's actually punched another guy, he also sprained his wrist because he has zero technique. Agent Suicide's Jawbone: 1. Agent Supernumerary: 0. (That happened in this mission.)
What he can do is magic in continua where it's allowed, because it works on willpower more than anything else. If the wand/staff/hand/whatever isn't quite on the ideal trajectory, it probably won't matter as long as you're thinking clearly enough, which Nume can do. He also keeps a syringe and a vial of highly concentrated liquid salt in his bag for emergency assassinations. (He used it in his and Ilraen's first mission.) Ilraen has pretty much taken over the OC disposal duties, though. He's developed a bad habit of saving the day of which I am breaking him.
~Neshomeh
Your rendition of magic and mine are equal parts the same and strikingly different, I see.
My magic rendition is more like Jedi style: the staff/wand/whatever is an extension of the user, magic pervades all aspects of life, to fully understand magic is to teach your body to flow along its wavelengths, yadda yadda.
Or, that's how it is in my novel (which I still have yet to write - it's my demon slaying one).
Well, what do you mean? Is the question whether we Boarders have experience with our agents' chosen weapons?
Most of my Agents' weapons are magic-based (Ari, Fio, Cepha, Amara), an extension of their species (Tera, Narav.) And I don't know much about ax-fighting. Though Ari does use a sword, and I have taken fencing as my winter sport twice.
Yes, that's what I meant. I'm half asleep right now, so I'm probably not making much sense.
And here's your bleeprin! Use it wisely!
