The military is in any way incapable of defending themselves, be it by the European alliance being dismantled or by total destruction.
Europe win condition:
Ensure all dragons are no longer a threat, be it by containment or extermination.“
Nothing said a direct confrontation, only who would manage to win if dragons in Faerun were to be transported to Europe and had to deal with its military. And dragons seem pretty capable of dismantling the alliance, see random man becoming a flying tank and eating a few politicians, the more of them are killed and replaced, the less likely the alliance would hold themselves together, seeing that paranoia of getting assassinated would be logical and people would bicker about what’s the best course of action.
The military is in any way incapable of defending themselves, be it by the European alliance being dismantled or by total destruction.
Europe win condition:
Ensure all dragons are no longer a threat, be it by containment or extermination.“
Nothing said a direct confrontation, only who would manage to win if dragons in Faerun were to be transported to Europe and had to deal with its military. And dragons seem pretty capable of dismantling the alliance, see random man becoming a flying tank and eating a few politicians, the more of them are killed and replaced, the less likely the alliance would hold themselves together, seeing that paranoia of getting assassinated would be logical and people would bicker about what’s the best course of action.
lol nonsense, assassination by an external foe generally galvanizes people against that foe. If dragons started assassinating politicians they would unify Europe even more than it is now. I mean just look at what the mere verbal threat by the US president has done. Not to mention that politicians are literally the most surveilled people on the planet so the dragons aren't going to be able to kill one without getting caught.
The military is in any way incapable of defending themselves, be it by the European alliance being dismantled or by total destruction.
Europe win condition:
Ensure all dragons are no longer a threat, be it by containment or extermination.“
Nothing said a direct confrontation, only who would manage to win if dragons in Faerun were to be transported to Europe and had to deal with its military. And dragons seem pretty capable of dismantling the alliance, see random man becoming a flying tank and eating a few politicians, the more of them are killed and replaced, the less likely the alliance would hold themselves together, seeing that paranoia of getting assassinated would be logical and people would bicker about what’s the best course of action.
lol nonsense, assassination by an external foe generally galvanizes people against that foe. If dragons started assassinating politicians they would unify Europe even more than it is now. I mean just look at what the mere verbal threat by the US president has done. Not to mention that politicians are literally the most surveilled people on the planet so the dragons aren't going to be able to kill one without getting caught.
The difference is the president is a very visible and loud man who represents a large faction and has significant control over America due to his role as president, you can’t just mobilise an army and prepare against something if you don’t even know it’s location, Europe is bigger than the maps would tell you and there’s no Dragon country for them to unite against.
I would like to hear you say there would be literal tanks next to politicians and fighter jets everywhere like their a king of the hill flag, cause what are they gonna do when a dragon pops up, blow it up when their next to the politician? Not to mention if they have access to magic they could just teleport in with a handgun, blast him in the face several times and just pop back out, quicker than a tank can probably turn and aim inside a room. The civilians don’t matter if the politicians representing them are to busy filling in power vacuums and trying not to randomly die to care about a threat that cannot be targeted properly.
Dragons doing tactics similar to what a human would do does not disqualify them, because by that logic humans would lose because wealthy people like to hoard money, and thus are ultimately only using a dragons tactics and would lose because they hid in their nuclear bunkers like cowards while ordering others to fight on their behalf.
The difference is the president is a very visible and loud man who represents a large faction and has significant control over America due to his role as president, you can’t just mobilise an army and prepare against something if you don’t even know it’s location, Europe is bigger than the maps would tell you and there’s no Dragon country for them to unite against.
I would like to hear you say there would be literal tanks next to politicians and fighter jets everywhere like their a king of the hill flag, cause what are they gonna do when a dragon pops up, blow it up when their next to the politician? Not to mention if they have access to magic they could just teleport in with a handgun, blast him in the face several times and just pop back out, quicker than a tank can probably turn and aim inside a room. The civilians don’t matter if the politicians representing them are to busy filling in power vacuums and trying not to randomly die to care about a threat that cannot be targeted properly.
Dragons doing tactics similar to what a human would do does not disqualify them, because by that logic humans would lose because wealthy people like to hoard money, and thus are ultimately only using a dragons tactics and would lose because they hid in their nuclear bunkers like cowards while ordering others to fight on their behalf.
Does this dragon have teleport x2? Ok sure. Why does this dragon know where the hypothetical leader of the free world is? Anyways:
Dragon teleports in. Roll initiative! If it loses, it's dead before it fires. If it wins, it's dead before it can teleport back out.
I'll call out my own hypocrisy here: I've stated repeatedly that I refuse to accept D&D action economy - but it's valid to say that ... the dragon doesn't just port in, and act while everyone else is standing by like sheep, then port back out while everyone is still just standing by like sheep. The instant it appears, muzzles are drawing beads on it.
And ... just to be clear: As soon as we know we're fighting a supernatural enemy, the hypothetical leader of the free world is going to be surrounded by very serious men with assault rifles at all times.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
The difference is the president is a very visible and loud man who represents a large faction and has significant control over America due to his role as president, you can’t just mobilise an army and prepare against something if you don’t even know it’s location, Europe is bigger than the maps would tell you and there’s no Dragon country for them to unite against.
I would like to hear you say there would be literal tanks next to politicians and fighter jets everywhere like their a king of the hill flag, cause what are they gonna do when a dragon pops up, blow it up when their next to the politician? Not to mention if they have access to magic they could just teleport in with a handgun, blast him in the face several times and just pop back out, quicker than a tank can probably turn and aim inside a room. The civilians don’t matter if the politicians representing them are to busy filling in power vacuums and trying not to randomly die to care about a threat that cannot be targeted properly.
Dragons doing tactics similar to what a human would do does not disqualify them, because by that logic humans would lose because wealthy people like to hoard money, and thus are ultimately only using a dragons tactics and would lose because they hid in their nuclear bunkers like cowards while ordering others to fight on their behalf.
Does this dragon have teleport x2? Ok sure. Why does this dragon know where the hypothetical leader of the free world is? Anyways:
Dragon teleports in. Roll initiative! If it loses, it's dead before it fires. If it wins, it's dead before it can teleport back out.
I'll call out my own hypocrisy here: I've stated repeatedly that I refuse to accept D&D action economy - but it's valid to say that ... the dragon doesn't just port in, and act while everyone else is standing by like sheep, then port back out while everyone is still just standing by like sheep. The instant it appears, muzzles are drawing beads on it.
And ... just to be clear: As soon as we know we're fighting a supernatural enemy, the hypothetical leader of the free world is going to be surrounded by very serious men with assault rifles at all times.
Why is the assassination attempt always “teleport in, attack, teleport out” anyway?
The dragon (as a human) could cast Greater Invisibility close by, then have a quick sprint with a knife. One minute should be more than enough time to at least slip to somewhere you could recast it (they’d probably hear the recasting, but invisibility makes visual tracking a bit difficult).
Why is the assassination attempt always “teleport in, attack, teleport out” anyway?
The dragon (as a human) could cast Greater Invisibility close by, then have a quick sprint with a knife. One minute should be more than enough time to at least slip to somewhere you could recast it (they’d probably hear the recasting, but invisibility makes visual tracking a bit difficult).
Okay the image of a dragon with a kitchen knife going to turn the president into a kebab is kinda funny.
The action economy thing about how it might fail initiative makes sense, if there’s at least a dozen armed men around, at least one might out react the dragon, the only problem is the average initiative bonus of an adult red dragon would have is 12, its average is nearly as high as the best possible result with a +3 to dexterity. This is further compounded with teleporting being extremely hard to predict, there isn’t a full 10 seconds of glowing lights before they appear, they just pop in ready to roll, that might activate surprise rules, making it even harder for soldiers to react in time to an ambush, this is even worse when you add in legendary actions.
Let’s say it goes dead last against 10 men with assault rifles and a politician, it’s legendary actions goes as, 1 casting of Scorching Ray and two Pounces, that has the possibility to down 5 different soldiers, meaning the action economy has been cut in half or the president has been hit with a really nasty attack and is probably downed.
If the soldiers all manage to survive the onslaught, they can deal an average of 90 Piercing damage (35% of health) if they all hit. Let’s say they all manage to predict the dragon in time before it finds its target, so no disadvantage, that would mean only 40% of them land their shots compared it its AC if they had a +6 to hit, leaving an average of 36 piercing damage (14%). But if they have disadvantage then only 18 damage (7%).
This is the best case scenario initiative wise and implies the dragon won’t manage to get between the soldier's turns, in which case it might just cut the chase and use its breath attack for if they are bundled up or Fireball if they are spread out or the politician is too far away.
Why is the assassination attempt always “teleport in, attack, teleport out” anyway?
The dragon (as a human) could cast Greater Invisibility close by, then have a quick sprint with a knife. One minute should be more than enough time to at least slip to somewhere you could recast it (they’d probably hear the recasting, but invisibility makes visual tracking a bit difficult).
Sprint where, though, precisely? Into the presidential supersecured bunker? Behind dozens of armored gates, layers upon layers of security, literally hundreds of heavily armed guards? And also, does invisiblity even work against IR? And ... I'm sorry, but there are other sensors besides that. Like, at there very least there are metal detectors - but maybe it's a plastic knife.
But I think that's why it's always teleport. Because you get to bypass the physical security.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
the average initiative bonus of an adult red dragon would have is 12
I'll see, and raise you: They know they're fighting a supernatural enemy - they all have readied actions for when the teleport comes in.
But I'll grant you this may be the second hypothetical leader of the free world. The first time, there are substantially better odds that this might work. Well, potentially.
I figure it might actually be a setup: Televise the conference chamber, so the dragon knows there to TP. Come to daddy. Though that also might only work the first time.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
the average initiative bonus of an adult red dragon would have is 12
I'll see, and raise you: They know they're fighting a supernatural enemy - they all have readied actions for when the teleport comes in.
But I'll grant you this may be the second hypothetical leader of the free world. The first time, there are substantially better odds that this might work. Well, potentially.
I figure it might actually be a setup: Televise the conference chamber, so the dragon knows there to TP. Come to daddy. Though that also might only work the first time.
That just sounds like they’re going to get tired of being paranoid sooner or later, that’s also gonna be a PR disaster when they shoot the barista for spooking them. Doesn’t that also make them waste any chances for detecting other threats, you can’t notice the guy slowly sneaking in disguised as one of you or the shine of a sniper lens from the distance, cause your readying to shoot a threat that may or may not appear.
How many leader of the free worlds are there?
Okay this is actually a good plan I’ll give you that, let them into a bait, especially if the guy in the bunker is a body double.
That just sounds like they’re going to get tired of being paranoid sooner or later, that’s also gonna be a PR disaster when they shoot the barista for spooking them. Doesn’t that also make them waste any chances for detecting other threats, you can’t notice the guy slowly sneaking in disguised as one of you or the shine of a sniper lens from the distance, cause your readying to shoot a threat that may or may not appear.
How many leader of the free worlds are there?
Okay this is actually a good plan I’ll give you that, let them into a bait, especially if the guy in the bunker is a body double.
Well, the TV conference doesn't last forever, you know. It's a limited window for the dragon to know where to teleport. So ... also, these are trained professionals, I hope they'll avoid blasting the barista - but even if not, there are civilian casualties and friendly fire in all wars. We'll take it.
There's just one hypothetical leader of the free world - I'm just saying that maybe your first assassination attempt worked, and this is the new one.
And yea, it's propably wise to use a body double - for eveyone except the actual body double (and arguably, the dragon).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
So ... also, these are trained professionals, I hope they'll avoid blasting the barista - but even if not, there are civilian casualties and friendly fire in all wars. We'll take it.
I feel as if there’s a significant difference between someone killed in action by accident and seeing the president's lady get her face turned into a video on live leak because a dude got jumpy. Cause ones a unavoidable error in the heat of battle and the other one would be avoidable if the soldiers didn’t get scope vison.
I feel as if there’s a significant difference between someone killed in action by accident and seeing the president's lady get her face turned into a video on live leak because a dude got jumpy. Cause ones a unavoidable error in the heat of battle and the other one would be avoidable if the soldiers didn’t get scope vison.
Well, I mean, you're the one who put first a barista, not the potential first lady/gentleman, in the room - not me.
Stray bullets hitting unintended targets is always a risk. When the fighting takes place around civilians, that risk includes hitting civilians. Urban warfare, police action, teleport assassinations in presidential bunkers. I'm not saying it's attractive. I'm saying that in our fight for survival against the dragon menace, if the president is silly enough to order a skimmed latté in his dragon trap, that's on him, or maybe the barista or you - not me.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
So ... also, these are trained professionals, I hope they'll avoid blasting the barista - but even if not, there are civilian casualties and friendly fire in all wars. We'll take it.
I feel as if there’s a significant difference between someone killed in action by accident and seeing the president's lady get her face turned into a video on live leak because a dude got jumpy. Cause ones a unavoidable error in the heat of battle and the other one would be avoidable if the soldiers didn’t get scope vison.
What are you guys talking about? Do you guys have no idea how security works? The leader of a nation is under 24/7 surveillance and security by half a dozen secret service agents who don't allow anyone to touch them or even get close to them unlessthe meeting has been arranged and that person has been vetted days or weeks in advance. When out in public there is also snipers and military professionals guarding the entire area around them, and spy planes watching the sky & area around them, and yes fighter planes on standby in case any flying vehicles approaches without prior authorization. And this is in peacetime. As soon as people know there is an imminent urgent threat this security will be beefed up even more. No there won't be a "jumpy" oops I shot the first lady because the first lady is also under this kind of security so they know absolutely she is who she is and is not a threat.
But besides all of that, what is killing the leader going to do? Every country has rules specifying who takes over when the leader is killed, and how a new permanent leader is chosen. Did the USA implode when either Kennedy was killed? No, there was national mourning, flares of nationalism, and large-scale police/military hunt for the perpetrator. Killing the leader of a nation on live-TV is just going to alert the entire world to the threat, and cause instant enactment of emergency powers to deploy all military and police personnel and well as spies, scientists, and intelligence analysts to hunting down every dragon ASAP. As well as complete unity against the common mysterious threat thus massive information sharing and military and police cooperation. Europe already has loads of security cooperation which has massively increased b/c of the war in Ukraine (which doesn't even directly involve them) an attack on a NATO member's political leader will bring the entire alliance together just like the attack on the World Trade Center did.
because they hid in their nuclear bunkers like cowards while ordering others to fight on their behalf.
That's exactly what all political leaders do when they are at war.
And hiding in a cave or among humans waiting with their centuries long plans to come to fruition is also what a dragon would do, that’s my point.
Human political leaders have a network of people to enact their will during war. A dragon doesn't. How is a dragon going to achieve anything while hiding in a cave?
That's exactly what all political leaders do when they are at war.
I'd go so far as to say: That's the job description. The contract might very well contain language along the line of 'if you lose your mind and decide to lead from the front, damn it, we'll shoot you ourselves, we can't have all the executive power sitting in a trench holding a rifle.'
And hiding in a cave or among humans waiting with their centuries long plans to come to fruition is also what a dragon would do, that’s my point.
Allegedly? I thought they mostly slept. On piles of gold. Waking only occasionally, with nothing better in mind than making nuisances of themselves, then going back to sleep.
I do think they dream of century-spanning evil plots. Then wake when they're hungry.
What are you guys talking about? Do you guys have no idea how security works? The leader of a nation is under 24/7 surveillance and security by half a dozen secret service agents who don't allow anyone to touch them or even get close to them unlessthe meeting has been arranged and that person has been vetted days or weeks in advance. When out in public there is also snipers and military professionals guarding the entire area around them, and spy planes watching the sky & area around them, and yes fighter planes on standby in case any flying vehicles approaches without prior authorization. And this is in peacetime. As soon as people know there is an imminent urgent threat this security will be beefed up even more. No there won't be a "jumpy" oops I shot the first lady because the first lady is also under this kind of security so they know absolutely she is who she is and is not a threat.
But besides all of that, what is killing the leader going to do? Every country has rules specifying who takes over when the leader is killed, and how a new permanent leader is chosen. Did the USA implode when either Kennedy was killed? No, there was national mourning, flares of nationalism, and large-scale police/military hunt for the perpetrator. Killing the leader of a nation on live-TV is just going to alert the entire world to the threat, and cause instant enactment of emergency powers to deploy all military and police personnel and well as spies, scientists, and intelligence analysts to hunting down every dragon ASAP. As well as complete unity against the common mysterious threat thus massive information sharing and military and police cooperation. Europe already has loads of security cooperation which has massively increased b/c of the war in Ukraine (which doesn't even directly involve them) an attack on a NATO member's political leader will bring the entire alliance together just like the attack on the World Trade Center did.
I think we were 'being funny'. Debatable in effect, but not intent. Anyways yea, I agree, the hypothetical leader of the free world is both very hard to get to - and also ultimately expendable. Which is kind of a funny combo, when you think about it.
But all those layers do legitimately fail to account for teleportation - in part, no doubt, because teleportation isn't a thing. So at least the first time, a dragon might have acceptable odds.
Which is why I'm talking about the second time.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
That's exactly what all political leaders do when they are at war.
I'd go so far as to say: That's the job description. The contract might very well contain language along the line of 'if you lose your mind and decide to lead from the front, damn it, we'll shoot you ourselves, we can't have all the executive power sitting in a trench holding a rifle.'
And hiding in a cave or among humans waiting with their centuries long plans to come to fruition is also what a dragon would do, that’s my point.
Allegedly? I thought they mostly slept. On piles of gold. Waking only occasionally, with nothing better in mind than making nuisances of themselves, then going back to sleep.
I do think they dream of century-spanning evil plots. Then wake when they're hungry.
What are you guys talking about? Do you guys have no idea how security works? The leader of a nation is under 24/7 surveillance and security by half a dozen secret service agents who don't allow anyone to touch them or even get close to them unlessthe meeting has been arranged and that person has been vetted days or weeks in advance. When out in public there is also snipers and military professionals guarding the entire area around them, and spy planes watching the sky & area around them, and yes fighter planes on standby in case any flying vehicles approaches without prior authorization. And this is in peacetime. As soon as people know there is an imminent urgent threat this security will be beefed up even more. No there won't be a "jumpy" oops I shot the first lady because the first lady is also under this kind of security so they know absolutely she is who she is and is not a threat.
But besides all of that, what is killing the leader going to do? Every country has rules specifying who takes over when the leader is killed, and how a new permanent leader is chosen. Did the USA implode when either Kennedy was killed? No, there was national mourning, flares of nationalism, and large-scale police/military hunt for the perpetrator. Killing the leader of a nation on live-TV is just going to alert the entire world to the threat, and cause instant enactment of emergency powers to deploy all military and police personnel and well as spies, scientists, and intelligence analysts to hunting down every dragon ASAP. As well as complete unity against the common mysterious threat thus massive information sharing and military and police cooperation. Europe already has loads of security cooperation which has massively increased b/c of the war in Ukraine (which doesn't even directly involve them) an attack on a NATO member's political leader will bring the entire alliance together just like the attack on the World Trade Center did.
I think we were 'being funny'. Debatable in effect, but not intent. Anyways yea, I agree, the hypothetical leader of the free world is both very hard to get to - and also ultimately expendable. Which is kind of a funny combo, when you think about it.
But all those layers do legitimately fail to account for teleportation - in part, no doubt, because teleportation isn't a thing. So at least the first time, a dragon might have acceptable odds.
Which is why I'm talking about the second time.
I completely forgot dragons could just cast teleport on a dead bull, big rock or stolen explosive and just crush everything there instead, the accuracy is much lower but it leaves less of an actual chance for the military to react immediately. Also what if a dragon decides to just teleport to a place as a human and just start priming a place with glyph of wardings while it’s the dead of midnight, at most the security will see a weirdo going full blown nuts in the middle of the streets, that won’t warrant gunning them down, sure the governments are tight with each other as far as nations go, but Europe still has plenty of riots, see one in France that had two people killed and hundreds arrested, they aren’t one harmonious dragon hating planet of the hats.
The glyphs will be pretty hard to remove and could act as invisible land mines that can only be disarmed if you destroy whatever it’s attached to. Imagine it being primed to explode with Vitriolic Sphere and melt everyone in the radius, wall of stone to causing a car to flip, you could even use Enemies Abound or Confusion to make them enter the greatest road rage in history.
Wait why wouldn’t they just drop big rocks on military sites and cost them tens of thousands to millions by having a rock bust the jet turbine or something.
at most the security will see a weirdo going full blown nuts in the middle of the streets, that won’t warrant gunning them down,
Um... have you met the secret service? A weirdo trespassing and planting stuff in a secure zone is 100% getting arrested, and quite possibly tackled in the process.
PS have you read Teleport? It's not accurate down to the centimeter, it's not even accurate down to the scale of feet. In many cases, it dumps you thousands of kilometers away from where you wanted to go.
“Dragon win condition:
The military is in any way incapable of defending themselves, be it by the European alliance being dismantled or by total destruction.
Europe win condition:
Ensure all dragons are no longer a threat, be it by containment or extermination.“
Nothing said a direct confrontation, only who would manage to win if dragons in Faerun were to be transported to Europe and had to deal with its military. And dragons seem pretty capable of dismantling the alliance, see random man becoming a flying tank and eating a few politicians, the more of them are killed and replaced, the less likely the alliance would hold themselves together, seeing that paranoia of getting assassinated would be logical and people would bicker about what’s the best course of action.
lol nonsense, assassination by an external foe generally galvanizes people against that foe. If dragons started assassinating politicians they would unify Europe even more than it is now. I mean just look at what the mere verbal threat by the US president has done. Not to mention that politicians are literally the most surveilled people on the planet so the dragons aren't going to be able to kill one without getting caught.
The difference is the president is a very visible and loud man who represents a large faction and has significant control over America due to his role as president, you can’t just mobilise an army and prepare against something if you don’t even know it’s location, Europe is bigger than the maps would tell you and there’s no Dragon country for them to unite against.
I would like to hear you say there would be literal tanks next to politicians and fighter jets everywhere like their a king of the hill flag, cause what are they gonna do when a dragon pops up, blow it up when their next to the politician? Not to mention if they have access to magic they could just teleport in with a handgun, blast him in the face several times and just pop back out, quicker than a tank can probably turn and aim inside a room. The civilians don’t matter if the politicians representing them are to busy filling in power vacuums and trying not to randomly die to care about a threat that cannot be targeted properly.
Dragons doing tactics similar to what a human would do does not disqualify them, because by that logic humans would lose because wealthy people like to hoard money, and thus are ultimately only using a dragons tactics and would lose because they hid in their nuclear bunkers like cowards while ordering others to fight on their behalf.
Does this dragon have teleport x2? Ok sure. Why does this dragon know where the hypothetical leader of the free world is? Anyways:
Dragon teleports in. Roll initiative! If it loses, it's dead before it fires. If it wins, it's dead before it can teleport back out.
I'll call out my own hypocrisy here: I've stated repeatedly that I refuse to accept D&D action economy - but it's valid to say that ... the dragon doesn't just port in, and act while everyone else is standing by like sheep, then port back out while everyone is still just standing by like sheep. The instant it appears, muzzles are drawing beads on it.
And ... just to be clear: As soon as we know we're fighting a supernatural enemy, the hypothetical leader of the free world is going to be surrounded by very serious men with assault rifles at all times.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Why is the assassination attempt always “teleport in, attack, teleport out” anyway?
The dragon (as a human) could cast Greater Invisibility close by, then have a quick sprint with a knife. One minute should be more than enough time to at least slip to somewhere you could recast it (they’d probably hear the recasting, but invisibility makes visual tracking a bit difficult).
Okay the image of a dragon with a kitchen knife going to turn the president into a kebab is kinda funny.
The action economy thing about how it might fail initiative makes sense, if there’s at least a dozen armed men around, at least one might out react the dragon, the only problem is the average initiative bonus of an adult red dragon would have is 12, its average is nearly as high as the best possible result with a +3 to dexterity. This is further compounded with teleporting being extremely hard to predict, there isn’t a full 10 seconds of glowing lights before they appear, they just pop in ready to roll, that might activate surprise rules, making it even harder for soldiers to react in time to an ambush, this is even worse when you add in legendary actions.
Let’s say it goes dead last against 10 men with assault rifles and a politician, it’s legendary actions goes as, 1 casting of Scorching Ray and two Pounces, that has the possibility to down 5 different soldiers, meaning the action economy has been cut in half or the president has been hit with a really nasty attack and is probably downed.
If the soldiers all manage to survive the onslaught, they can deal an average of 90 Piercing damage (35% of health) if they all hit. Let’s say they all manage to predict the dragon in time before it finds its target, so no disadvantage, that would mean only 40% of them land their shots compared it its AC if they had a +6 to hit, leaving an average of 36 piercing damage (14%). But if they have disadvantage then only 18 damage (7%).
This is the best case scenario initiative wise and implies the dragon won’t manage to get between the soldier's turns, in which case it might just cut the chase and use its breath attack for if they are bundled up or Fireball if they are spread out or the politician is too far away.
Sprint where, though, precisely? Into the presidential supersecured bunker? Behind dozens of armored gates, layers upon layers of security, literally hundreds of heavily armed guards? And also, does invisiblity even work against IR? And ... I'm sorry, but there are other sensors besides that. Like, at there very least there are metal detectors - but maybe it's a plastic knife.
But I think that's why it's always teleport. Because you get to bypass the physical security.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I'll see, and raise you: They know they're fighting a supernatural enemy - they all have readied actions for when the teleport comes in.
But I'll grant you this may be the second hypothetical leader of the free world. The first time, there are substantially better odds that this might work. Well, potentially.
I figure it might actually be a setup: Televise the conference chamber, so the dragon knows there to TP. Come to daddy. Though that also might only work the first time.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
That just sounds like they’re going to get tired of being paranoid sooner or later, that’s also gonna be a PR disaster when they shoot the barista for spooking them. Doesn’t that also make them waste any chances for detecting other threats, you can’t notice the guy slowly sneaking in disguised as one of you or the shine of a sniper lens from the distance, cause your readying to shoot a threat that may or may not appear.
How many leader of the free worlds are there?
Okay this is actually a good plan I’ll give you that, let them into a bait, especially if the guy in the bunker is a body double.
Well, the TV conference doesn't last forever, you know. It's a limited window for the dragon to know where to teleport. So ... also, these are trained professionals, I hope they'll avoid blasting the barista - but even if not, there are civilian casualties and friendly fire in all wars. We'll take it.
There's just one hypothetical leader of the free world - I'm just saying that maybe your first assassination attempt worked, and this is the new one.
And yea, it's propably wise to use a body double - for eveyone except the actual body double (and arguably, the dragon).
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I feel as if there’s a significant difference between someone killed in action by accident and seeing the president's lady get her face turned into a video on live leak because a dude got jumpy. Cause ones a unavoidable error in the heat of battle and the other one would be avoidable if the soldiers didn’t get scope vison.
Well, I mean, you're the one who put first a barista, not the potential first lady/gentleman, in the room - not me.
Stray bullets hitting unintended targets is always a risk. When the fighting takes place around civilians, that risk includes hitting civilians. Urban warfare, police action, teleport assassinations in presidential bunkers. I'm not saying it's attractive. I'm saying that in our fight for survival against the dragon menace, if the president is silly enough to order a skimmed latté in his dragon trap, that's on him, or maybe the barista or you - not me.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
That's exactly what all political leaders do when they are at war.
And hiding in a cave or among humans waiting with their centuries long plans to come to fruition is also what a dragon would do, that’s my point.
What are you guys talking about? Do you guys have no idea how security works? The leader of a nation is under 24/7 surveillance and security by half a dozen secret service agents who don't allow anyone to touch them or even get close to them unlessthe meeting has been arranged and that person has been vetted days or weeks in advance. When out in public there is also snipers and military professionals guarding the entire area around them, and spy planes watching the sky & area around them, and yes fighter planes on standby in case any flying vehicles approaches without prior authorization. And this is in peacetime. As soon as people know there is an imminent urgent threat this security will be beefed up even more. No there won't be a "jumpy" oops I shot the first lady because the first lady is also under this kind of security so they know absolutely she is who she is and is not a threat.
But besides all of that, what is killing the leader going to do? Every country has rules specifying who takes over when the leader is killed, and how a new permanent leader is chosen. Did the USA implode when either Kennedy was killed? No, there was national mourning, flares of nationalism, and large-scale police/military hunt for the perpetrator. Killing the leader of a nation on live-TV is just going to alert the entire world to the threat, and cause instant enactment of emergency powers to deploy all military and police personnel and well as spies, scientists, and intelligence analysts to hunting down every dragon ASAP. As well as complete unity against the common mysterious threat thus massive information sharing and military and police cooperation. Europe already has loads of security cooperation which has massively increased b/c of the war in Ukraine (which doesn't even directly involve them) an attack on a NATO member's political leader will bring the entire alliance together just like the attack on the World Trade Center did.
Human political leaders have a network of people to enact their will during war. A dragon doesn't. How is a dragon going to achieve anything while hiding in a cave?
I'd go so far as to say: That's the job description. The contract might very well contain language along the line of 'if you lose your mind and decide to lead from the front, damn it, we'll shoot you ourselves, we can't have all the executive power sitting in a trench holding a rifle.'
Allegedly? I thought they mostly slept. On piles of gold. Waking only occasionally, with nothing better in mind than making nuisances of themselves, then going back to sleep.
I do think they dream of century-spanning evil plots. Then wake when they're hungry.
I think we were 'being funny'. Debatable in effect, but not intent. Anyways yea, I agree, the hypothetical leader of the free world is both very hard to get to - and also ultimately expendable. Which is kind of a funny combo, when you think about it.
But all those layers do legitimately fail to account for teleportation - in part, no doubt, because teleportation isn't a thing. So at least the first time, a dragon might have acceptable odds.
Which is why I'm talking about the second time.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I completely forgot dragons could just cast teleport on a dead bull, big rock or stolen explosive and just crush everything there instead, the accuracy is much lower but it leaves less of an actual chance for the military to react immediately. Also what if a dragon decides to just teleport to a place as a human and just start priming a place with glyph of wardings while it’s the dead of midnight, at most the security will see a weirdo going full blown nuts in the middle of the streets, that won’t warrant gunning them down, sure the governments are tight with each other as far as nations go, but Europe still has plenty of riots, see one in France that had two people killed and hundreds arrested, they aren’t one harmonious dragon hating planet of the hats.
The glyphs will be pretty hard to remove and could act as invisible land mines that can only be disarmed if you destroy whatever it’s attached to. Imagine it being primed to explode with Vitriolic Sphere and melt everyone in the radius, wall of stone to causing a car to flip, you could even use Enemies Abound or Confusion to make them enter the greatest road rage in history.
Wait why wouldn’t they just drop big rocks on military sites and cost them tens of thousands to millions by having a rock bust the jet turbine or something.
Um... have you met the secret service? A weirdo trespassing and planting stuff in a secure zone is 100% getting arrested, and quite possibly tackled in the process.
PS have you read Teleport? It's not accurate down to the centimeter, it's not even accurate down to the scale of feet. In many cases, it dumps you thousands of kilometers away from where you wanted to go.
The dragons would have an easy time on the Scandinavian countries. The white dragons could just freeze the cities in ice. Likewise for Switzerland.
- Igglywiv the Wizard
I played every class, now playing every sub-class.
You would not believe how much ADHD helps with creating campaigns!
Happy Pride Month!