Some guesswork on archery being obsolete by the time of The Phoenix Guards

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Parkes" <cparkes at actewagl.net.au>
To: <dragaera at dragaera.info>
Sent: Sunday, November 21, 2004 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: Some guesswork on archery being obsolete by the time of The
Phoenix Guards


>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Noah Stacy" <nstacy at cinci.rr.com>
> To: <dragaera at dragaera.info>
> Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 9:11 AM
> Subject: Re: Some guesswork on archery being obsolete by the time of The
> Phoenix Guards
>
>
> > FRIEDA2133 at aol.com wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>My guess is one of the useful tasks an accomplished sorcerer could do in
> >>the Imperial Guard was an anti-arrow spell.  This anti-arrow spell was
> >>figured out in the last Athrya reign.
> > Similarly, what I've been thinking as I've lurked about watching this
> > thread, is that the ranged attack that archers provided could be just as
> > easily provided by a sorcerer's corps.  Not only that, but sorcerers
could
> > almost certainly deliver more devastating firepower than just a bunch of
> > pointy sticks--I'm thinking here of say 100 sorcerers all casting
> > something along the lines of the D&D fireball spell. Of course, this
leads
> > into the offensive/defensive sorcery arms race that's been discussed
> > before...
> >
> > Latakia the Lemur
>
>
> Why not a spell to  break the bow string under tension?
> or a spell againsed stored energy,  a little chaos goes a long way.
>
>
> Carl
> http://cparkes.actewagl.net.au/
>
>
Visited Recluse lately? Remember, Sethra said (in Orca?) that the difficulty
in a sorcerous spell lies in the complexity of the spell. I would imagine
that casting a spell to effect every bowstring on an opposing forces
archers, and only those strings, would be pretty complex. Of course, such a
spell would be useful against incompetent guitar players as well. . . .

On a related note, is there any evidence of any long distance spells being
used? Almost every spell we have seen has been on objects within visual
range, or using objects that have some form of psionic link (Adron's spell
against the Orb, and the communication spell used by Garland in TPG). Sethra
states that it is more difficult to teleport someone to you, and I believe
that a psionic link is required here as well, whereas teleporting someone or
thing away is almost effortless.

Then again, maybe we are reading to much into this. Perhaps Steve just
doesn't think archery is cool. So, next time I am in Vegas I will bring a
bow with me, get him hooked an archery, and we will see Vlad running around
with a bow, putting shafts into people from a distance. . . . .
Or perhaps not.

Jeff