Questions tagged [combat]
For questions involving the specifics of combat.
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For a species that prefers throwing large rocks at foes, what else would those developed muscle groups make them good at?
Context:
I'm working on a fantasy setting and one of the races I want to include are cyclops. When I implement a race into my setting, I usually take one or two sources as the primary inspirations ...
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Are mechanical walking vehicles useful in combat? [duplicate]
This is a highly contested issue on this site, and I have seen many different opinions on this topic. Are mechanical legged vehicles (or mechs) useful in combat in a near future scenario? If so where?
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Primitive underwater melee combat [duplicate]
My setting contains modified humans who live on an ocean planet with only small pockets of land. Generally, large populations of people live on these small islands but since land is so restricted, ...
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How would clothes be created for an easy put on/take out in the middle of combat?
There is a magic that allows a certain percentage of the population to create a twin of themselves instantly, a clone that is aware of itself and is equal in all aspects to the original, which makes ...
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How would humanoid creatures with powerful jaws, claws, and a tail efficiently use their anatomy in barehanded combat?
In the story I am writing, there are several fight scenes between clearly non-human combatants. These combatants have several natural weapons at their disposal that humans do not have, including jaws, ...
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What would be the best melee weapon(s) to emphasize arboreal mobility?
I'm currently trying to come up with various different Melee weapon "load outs" for the creatures in my world, and have come up with a few different ones for certain situations already. The warriors ...
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Most energy efficent attacks in a physics-bound magic system
I'm currently working on devising a magic system in which all the standard laws of physics are upheld (Conservation of mass/energy, thermodynamics/entropy, and more).
'Powering' the Spell:
To keep ...
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Would it makes sense for medieval warriors to carry giant bladed weapon on weak gravity?
Imagine Earth has been a tenth as massive as it is now, does it makes sense for warriors in the medieval period to carry bladed weapon bigger than themselves? for this purpose we have to assume no ...
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Best fish for a giant force of combat?
Alright, suppose that fish can breathe in the air. What species of fish, assuming there are 50,000 of them in a 10 year war against modern humans, would most likely prevail. The only conditions are ...
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How tattered can membranous wings get before flight becomes impossible?
It's a common trope in the visual design of dragons, giant bats and other fictional flying beings to have wings that appear to be severely torn, cut, pierced, and otherwise worn down. It's also quite ...
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Explanation of Game-Balancing Mechanics for Creature "Types"
I'm working on a creature-capture/battling game (think Pokemon for the genre, but nothing trademarked and a more adult tone), and it will be story-centric.
Background of the World
Gemini is a nation ...
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The effect of a 20 kilojoule punch on a person that is wearing a plate armor
I have always been in love of hand to hand combat but I realize the concept of efficiency and why that is not an ideal choice for combat so I decided to write a story in which characters who are ...
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How would one defend against a being that can turn parts of itself intangible at will? [closed]
There are a number of stories that contain a being that can turn parts of itself intangible at will, meaning it won't interact with most objects:
The twins from the second Matrix movie;
The demon ...
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Best fighting style for a pacifist
I am looking for a fighting style a semi pacifist could use; someone who hates violence but has no problem defending himself and putting someone down. He has no problem HURTING the infected, but he ...
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why do people commonly think scythes are good weapon? [closed]
I'm asking this because I commonly see scythes in fiction. and people in fiction use them to cut people into bacon bits, but in reality, it is utterly useless. I've already been exposed to how bad of ...
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Swords Becoming Effective Weapons [duplicate]
What sort of event would make swords the safest bet for a fight? In most post-apocalyptic scenarios, you would never be sure that your opponent didn't have a gun, no matter how rare ammo is. That ...
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Warfare in the presence of magic users [closed]
In this world you have normal earth like technology and also magic.
There are multiples levels in magic from least powerful to invincible. The number of magicians at a level is inversely ...
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Why would rapid-fire firearms do less damage than slower-firing ones?
It's a common trope in first-person shooter video games for the stopping power of a firearm to be inversely proportional to its fire rate and/or magazine capacity. This is done for game balance, in a ...
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Strategies against a water bender in modern day for an average citizen?
Assuming a water bender can only manipulate water that they are either touching or is within their relative touching distance (say, a few cm to a meter away), and assume that blood, saliva, and sweat ...
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How could a high medieval 1000bc level tec army use these spells on a large scale battlefield
Magic in this world is not comon but not particularly rare either. Anyone can do it with the proper training and dedication but to be truly great at it can take several decades however it's fairly ...
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What limitations, drawbacks, and gear can I give my hero who has absorption and reflection abilities?
I have a character who exists in a world where superpowers are a thing and common. Her ability is to absorb and reflect back energy and force she receives and even amplify that force (kinda like Black ...
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What would be the ideal "language" to control a complex machine via a human body?
Please assume the following scenario:
A spaceship in a dense battle situation, controlled by a human beeing. The bridge is basically an empty room, consisting of screen-walls (showing the outside and ...
user6415
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how would martial arts evolve in a magical world? [closed]
My magic system is quite basic it revolves around runes and drawing them in the air.If skilled enough you can not do that . or if the spell is so simple you dont need to unless exhausted. how would ...
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How could dragons effectively use their wings as weapons in ground combat?
One reason I prefer classical western dragons over wyverns is that they aren't totally handicaped on the ground.
However, those forelegs are only supposed to be for better locomotion on ground and ...
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Best Ergonomic Design for a handheld ranged weapon
I know I’m flirting with “Primarily Opinion Based” here, but I’m hoping there’s some established knowledge out there in the community that I might be completely oblivious to.
If you look at pretty ...
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Can medieval weapons (swords, spears, polehammers, etc) be more viable than guns in this SciFi setting?
Context In this world, laws of physics are roughly the same as ours. No placeholder magic involved. Wars are fought by cyborgs/mutants/synthetic mutants (super soldiers) who can manipulate certain ...
user65681
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5
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Actual ramifications of time acceleration
For reference, the setting is urban fantasy, with a bit of hard science thrown in. One character can manipulate time; in this setting that means he can speed up his own movement through time.
One of ...
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What's the fastest way to move on foot in low gravity [duplicate]
Say you're in a combat situation on a low gravity world and you're trying to move from one bit of cover to the next as quickly as possible. How would you do that?
5
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Killing undead fish underwater
To kill zombies on land, you usually have to either chop their head off, burn them down or use purification magic (if it is a fantasy world).
But underwater you can't kill the zombies the same way as ...
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Is a self contained air-bullet cartridge feasible?
In my world, there is no access to modern or traditional gunpowder. I was wondering if a dedicated technician with a modern shop (cnc machines, and a surplus of parts and raw material, etc) would be ...
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How can I protect witches in combat who wear limited clothing?
On TV, witches often wear skimpy, impractical outfits when going into a fight. This is done for fanservice reasons, so I wanted a way to make this sensible. Witches perform magic by drawing in energy ...
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How to deal with speedster characters?
In many fictional franchises we see people like the Flash who can move at speeds defying physics.
In my story I want to include a speedster, however I feel that they would be too overpowered for the ...
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After the head, what part of the body is most vulnerable to blunt force trauma?
I'm in the process of re-evaluating what weapons my superhuman characters would find useful when fighting each other, and something recently occurred to me regarding blunt weapons like hammers, maces, ...
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How could a medieval army only use unarmed combat and still be effective?
This medieval fighting force, we'll just call them the Bruiser Army, uses only unarmed combat, but how are they still effective? They have absolutely no range compared to the spears and swords of ...
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How do I defend a person against an attacking teleporter?
Inspired by Personal Teleportation as a Weapon
Using the teleportation rules from that question:
The Teleporter can teleport themselves and/or any object (including people) they are touching, ...
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Curses work by shouting - How to avoid collateral damage?
If I want to curse my enemy I say the curse to him. As a result, he will become sick and have a lot of bad luck.
However, if he puts his fingers in his ears or uses some kind of earplug, I have to ...
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Personal Teleportation as a Weapon
I've always considered teleportation to be one of the most under-rated super powers in all ways, but at the moment I'm thinking through the ramifications of personal teleportation as a superpower in ...
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How can I establish a nationwide combat training program for a country without causing economic or political instability?
I am the dictator of a nation with a population of 350 million people. In order to keep our nation strong and independent, I have decided to institute a nationwide combat preparation program in which ...
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Could a mass-proportional physical speed limit on projectiles "nerf" guns but not ruin archery?
Like many other writers, I'm hoping to create some sort of justification for destroying the monopoly firearms have on the modern combat scene so that I can justify mixing things up with melee weapons, ...
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Why Choose Less Effective Armour Types?
Full steel plate armour is seen as the most effective type of armour from the Medieval period, viewed by some as the pinnacle of medieval/early-renaissance armour. It’s rounded surfaces and layers of ...
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Blindfold battle as a gladiatorial spectacle - what are the tactics and communication methods?
The Emperor (may he live forever) has invented a new form of battle for his birthday gladiatorial spectacle.
There are two armies, each consisting of one hundred trained warriors. Each is armed with ...
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How can guns be countered by melee combat without raw-ability or exceptional explanations?
I'm writing a science fantasy setting for a tabletop game. Its major influences are Dune, Final Fantasy 7, and Borderlands. My goal is to give a universal account why swords, spears, etc., equal or ...
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Best Way to Weaponize Malleable Golems
There is a race of golems that can
Change their shape at will (although not their color)
Manipulate objects within their body
Change their hardness between modeling clay soft and rock hard
The ...
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Controlling personal gravity – how would it affect a warrior's combat style?
So I have a character in a fantasy setting who is basically a human for the most part in terms of physical limits. They do have slightly stronger bone structure and greater endurance, along with ...
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Shield only combat
Asking this for a more realistic view for ''rising of the shield hero' and possible uses in future writings.
A shield is not a weapon, it is basically armor, that's why heavy armored knights rarely ...
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What (modern) weapons could be used to destroy skeletal enemies as completely as possible?
As per the cliché, after getting hit by a truck, our protagonist finds herself in a 'swords and sorcery' fantasy world. Also as per the cliché, she is granted an overpowered ability to make her new ...
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How practical is a Scythe? [closed]
In the story I am creating, I want to have the MC gain a shape-shifting scythe that can change sizes from a keychain to a massive 8-foot scythe. The scythe takes shape into a weapon most ideal for the ...
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Would ground-based vehicles become obsolete in the age of space combat?
I'd think the future combat of planetary invasion (as in conquering, not destroying) would use space fighters/gunships with infantry for CQC support.
Realistically, in a universe where interstellar ...
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Would a non-lethal military be effective?
An empire spanning the globe has a military force trained and equipped for the temporary impairment of combat forces, such as sleeping gas, shields and nets.
The empire is by far the most ...
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Effective strategies for aerial melee combat?
Given that melee combat usually requires that one have at least a semisolid footing in order to be able to exert significant force against one's opponent (instead of merely pushing the two combatants ...
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