NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)
- Thread starter I.F. Ister
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Action
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- Tags
- norse mythology (mythology) original xianxia cultivation western cultivation ask sirihand did your mother tell you anything? discussion pleases yggdrasil farming gloating gets people killed granary management hubris is a coward's word you will die norsemen do not die when they are killed the qm has a bad memory the qm is bad at math viking courtroom drama (legal drama) vikings
[X] Plan It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint
I think given its a long fight, one focus should be on trying to 'charge' our stoker pool, so we can begin next fight with it at near full
I think given its a long fight, one focus should be on trying to 'charge' our stoker pool, so we can begin next fight with it at near full
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We've been told that Flashfire Cleave separates us from the group and lets us get surrounded. This was clarified after the plan was written and Skippy might fix it before the vote is completed, but voting for it now strikes me as really risky and a good way to get surrounded and ganged up on with very weak defenses (as the plan doesn't invest in very many of those).
Yeah, I'll amend this to a Firebomb Strike. Since it's Perfected, not a lot needs to change about the overall accounting of Orthstirr, and we can still use Sharpen.
EDIT:
@Imperial Fister, since we can both do a Reversed Firebomb-Strike (where the explosion propels the blade), and a Delayed Firebomb-Strike (where the blade enters or cuts the target, then it explodes), I was wondering if we could find some cool way to distinguish them? Since right now, they both just let us use Sharpen.
One thing I was thinking is maybe a Reversed Firebomb-Strike is faster, since the explosion propels the blade, whilst our Delayed Firebomb Strike hits harder, since it's directing the force internally? What do you think?
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- Location
- In the oldest city on the oldest land
we are exceptional in strength. assuming that the benchmark post is still accurate.
our hamr is 8 and the normal stat range for a warrior of our age is 5-6 with 7 being above average though not impossibly so.
[X] Plan It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Yeah it seems like the line about "equal in strength" was just comparing our respective Hamr. Halla has probably a slightly lower-than-average Hamr for her power level, and is probably massively ahead in terms of Tricks, so that makes sense, I think? The main thing we use Hamr directly for is Contested Movement and Shapeshifting Slots, and whilst the latter are very useful, the former we've been able to cheese with Stoked Dice and Fight of Your Life. But we are now catching up and will hit Hamr 10 soon.
I've made some more edits to my plan, the main one of which is emphasising that if we can ignore attacks, then we should do. We have fantastic armour and defences, and a large part of the point of armour is that it lets you ignore attacks you'd otherwise have to defend so you can focus on killing your opponent. The other thing is that since the Hefty Halter-Chop is only a conditional, I've put in a note to use the combat dice on another Firebomb-Strike if we don't end up using it.
Ideally, I'd like us to put this guy down this round. That along with not expending too much orthstirr and wanting to field-test Stoking Engage before use it against an enemy champion is sort of the primary motivation of my plan. If we think about how Steinarr would fight this battle, workmanlike, not expending too much energy, simply cutting down men like a farmer chopping wood, then that's the approach I'd like us to take. We aren't there yet of course, but I think it's something to aspire to.
I've made some more edits to my plan, the main one of which is emphasising that if we can ignore attacks, then we should do. We have fantastic armour and defences, and a large part of the point of armour is that it lets you ignore attacks you'd otherwise have to defend so you can focus on killing your opponent. The other thing is that since the Hefty Halter-Chop is only a conditional, I've put in a note to use the combat dice on another Firebomb-Strike if we don't end up using it.
Ideally, I'd like us to put this guy down this round. That along with not expending too much orthstirr and wanting to field-test Stoking Engage before use it against an enemy champion is sort of the primary motivation of my plan. If we think about how Steinarr would fight this battle, workmanlike, not expending too much energy, simply cutting down men like a farmer chopping wood, then that's the approach I'd like us to take. We aren't there yet of course, but I think it's something to aspire to.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Taking actual armor damage is not repairable before this whole battle is over, it's one of the biggest sources of attrition we can suffer. We should not be taking it this early if we can avoid it for any reasonable expense (note that I said reasonable...it's not worth huge Orthstirr expenses to avoid or other serious expenditures).
We aren't allowed to do this. It's been asked before and IF said no. I don't blame him, it makes plans way more complicated.
I agree with the latter goal. I don't really think your plan is much more focused on it than either mine or Alectai's. FBS is very workmanlike for us now that it's Perfected.
Also, knowing that the guy is shield-happy and using 25d per defense you should also definitely split that first attack into two 33d attacks, or at least reduce it down to 30-35 and reassign the dice in some fashion...the first one will get Shield Canceled no matter what, so putting more than that into it is just wasteful. That's 30 dice basically wasted since a shield will auto counter however many there are...you just need enough to bait it out. The HHC is probably heavily over-diced for similar reasons (his attacks will likewise be 25d...any more than 30d is probably wasted on a defense, 35d if you want to be paranoid, I went with a 40d Guard in my plan as future-proofing hoping it'd still be useful next turn, not because we need that much now).
No trouble, happy to help. I firmly believe that avoiding weird mechanics issues is better for everyone involved no matter what plan wins.
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thats good, but we can be far more. I don't mean to say we are only average- we are not. I mean that if we wanna reach the highest we can, we should travel more
So firstly, spaghetti posting. 😜
Second, hmmm, those are some good points. What I think I may do in that case is reassign the HHC dice into something like a 50-60d6 Atgeir Guard, and split the Firebomb-Strikes into two 36d6 ones in that case. We're going overboard a bit in the Guard, but it's an (hopefully) an investment for another combat round, and going slightly overboard on defence is less wasteful than on attack since tail risks are more problematic.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That seems fair, though Guards need to be powered entirely by Orthstirr, not dice. Limitation of the Trick type, since they can persist over multiple rounds and dice refresh.
...Damn, that's an added chunk of Orthstirr. It's not terrible, we could plausibly fight for ten rounds at that expenditure level, and it's also a savings for the next combat round, but I don't love it. Anyway, I've thrown it in for now, but cut it down to 40 Orthstirr as in your plan to hedge against fighting someone with guard-deleting abilities/the combat ending earlier than expected.
The spare sixty combat dice have gone into a couple of Sway defences with an instruction to use them if they'll let us keep up our Stoking Engage going for longer. Thinking along the lines of Ali weaving out of the way of punches while launching jabs. Anyway, I've got a piercing migraine so I'll probably be away when the vote is called, but wishing the best of luck to whichever plan wins, let's bury this guy.
I.F. Ister
Fortifying The Thread
- Pronouns
- He/They
I'll call voting in 30 minutes, if that's alright?
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Sure! I'm excited to see what Stoking Engage's inaugural activation will look like. As a technique I came up with, I hope it doesn't job.
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- Location
- Many Places
It's going to be interesting to see how we stack up the majority of Norsemen
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I will laugh if he dies in the first two hits and we don't get to. This is very possible if he doesn't have any hidden trump cards (our Sharpened Lightning-Charged FBS does 12-14 damage, so if he shield sacrifices against the first, the second could kill him)...he probably does have something to survive the second FBS, but only probably.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
I mean, if he just dies, I imagine Halla steps forward and starts laying into the line before they can recover, and the Round Breaks when she gets interrupted.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I suspect our current enemy dying is probably a round break. We might well decide to do the Stoking Engage thing next round anyway, but that'd be a separate choice.
I.F. Ister
Fortifying The Thread
- Pronouns
- He/They
There seems to be something, but it's difficult to tell. If there is an odr cultivator here, they're new to it
0~0~0
Voting is now closed
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Middling to low, I'd say. My bet would be that Hooknails is not with this group...he'd most likely be back guarding the ships, I think, as a member of Heljarskinn's Hird.
Plus, dramatically speaking, if he's here at all, he should probably be our final opponent of this raid, and this is likely the first of two or three battles, so him being here would be a bit off in that sense as well.
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Summer 10/Revenge Raid 4
I.F. Ister
Fortifying The Thread
- Pronouns
- He/They
[X] **Plan It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint**
-[X] Preparation
--[X] Slowing-Slog (-9 Orthstirr) (+3 Stoked Dice) (+1 DR)
--[X] Slipstream (-8 Orthstirr) (+3 Stoked Dice)
--[X] Explosive-Reactive Armour (-9 Orthstirr) (+3 Stoked Dice)
--[X] Activate Stoker State (-9 Orthstirr)
--[X] Reinforce Shield (10 Layers) (-5 Orthstirr)
--[X] Invest 3 Orthstirr in Hugr, 1 in Composure, 4 in Tactics, 3 in Scouting (-11 Orthstirr)
-[X] Strategy
-[X] We probe his defences with a couple of Firebomb-Strikes and unleash our Devouring Blaze to clear any magical constructs before getting the party started with a Stoking Engage, intending to pummel his defences and build our Stoked Pool. When he inevitably tries to break our Stoking Engage, we counter with our Contested Movement to hit him hard.
--[X] If he reveals any surprising bullshit or One Weird Tricks, then break the combat round while we figure out what to do.
-[X] Attack (69d6)
--[X] Leap in with two 35d6+6 Sharpened Lightning-Charged Reversed Firebomb-Strikes with Puncture (-22 Orthstirr) (+6 Stoked Dice) to probe his defences, unleashing our 1d6 Devouring Blaze (-3 Stoked Dice) as close the distance to get rid of any surprises.
--[X] Continue with a Stoking Engage (-13 Orthstirr) (18 Stoked Dice), throwing eighteen 3d6+5 Sharpened Basic Attacks (-18 Orthstirr), with +6 Speed.
-[X] Defence (69d6)
--[X] Summon a 40d6+10 Atgeir Guard. (-46 Orthstirr)
--[X] If it looks like we can simply ignore incoming attacks, then do so. Don't let it break our rhythm with Stoked Engage.
--[X] Use up to two 30d6+10 Sway defences to try and keep our rhythm going a bit longer with Stoking Engage, weaving out of the way of attacks that would interrupt us.
--[X] When we get towards the end of our Stoking Engage, get interrupted, or he throws a particularly scary-looking attack, we go to...
-[X] Counter-Attack
-[X] (-3 Orthstirr) Contested Movement + X Stoked Dice
--[X] If we have at least thirty Stoked Dice in our pool, then throw all of our pool except six Stoked Dice into a Sharpened Lightning-Charged Stoking Strike with Puncture (-11 Orthstirr) which we combine with a Delayed Firebomb Strike (+3 Stoked Dice) (- ?? Orthstirr for layering another Trick on top). The six remaining Stoked Dice go into the Hamr check.
--[X] The three Stoked Dice generated from our FBS are saved for next turn.
--[X] If something went wrong and we didn't land that many Basics, then throw our whole Stoked Pool into Contested Movement, and hit him with a Spark-Bomb with Puncture (-24 Orthstirr).
-[X] Total Orthstirr expenditure: -173 Orthstirr (-186 Orthstirr if we use Sparkbomb) (-12 extra Orthstirr if we use a final Firebomb-Strike to finish him off)
-[X] Total Stoked Dice Accounting: 18 + 15 - 3 - 18 + Stoking Engage = 12 + Stoking Engage
-[X] Preparation
--[X] Slowing-Slog (-9 Orthstirr) (+3 Stoked Dice) (+1 DR)
--[X] Slipstream (-8 Orthstirr) (+3 Stoked Dice)
--[X] Explosive-Reactive Armour (-9 Orthstirr) (+3 Stoked Dice)
--[X] Activate Stoker State (-9 Orthstirr)
--[X] Reinforce Shield (10 Layers) (-5 Orthstirr)
--[X] Invest 3 Orthstirr in Hugr, 1 in Composure, 4 in Tactics, 3 in Scouting (-11 Orthstirr)
-[X] Strategy
-[X] We probe his defences with a couple of Firebomb-Strikes and unleash our Devouring Blaze to clear any magical constructs before getting the party started with a Stoking Engage, intending to pummel his defences and build our Stoked Pool. When he inevitably tries to break our Stoking Engage, we counter with our Contested Movement to hit him hard.
--[X] If he reveals any surprising bullshit or One Weird Tricks, then break the combat round while we figure out what to do.
-[X] Attack (69d6)
--[X] Leap in with two 35d6+6 Sharpened Lightning-Charged Reversed Firebomb-Strikes with Puncture (-22 Orthstirr) (+6 Stoked Dice) to probe his defences, unleashing our 1d6 Devouring Blaze (-3 Stoked Dice) as close the distance to get rid of any surprises.
--[X] Continue with a Stoking Engage (-13 Orthstirr) (18 Stoked Dice), throwing eighteen 3d6+5 Sharpened Basic Attacks (-18 Orthstirr), with +6 Speed.
-[X] Defence (69d6)
--[X] Summon a 40d6+10 Atgeir Guard. (-46 Orthstirr)
--[X] If it looks like we can simply ignore incoming attacks, then do so. Don't let it break our rhythm with Stoked Engage.
--[X] Use up to two 30d6+10 Sway defences to try and keep our rhythm going a bit longer with Stoking Engage, weaving out of the way of attacks that would interrupt us.
--[X] When we get towards the end of our Stoking Engage, get interrupted, or he throws a particularly scary-looking attack, we go to...
-[X] Counter-Attack
-[X] (-3 Orthstirr) Contested Movement + X Stoked Dice
--[X] If we have at least thirty Stoked Dice in our pool, then throw all of our pool except six Stoked Dice into a Sharpened Lightning-Charged Stoking Strike with Puncture (-11 Orthstirr) which we combine with a Delayed Firebomb Strike (+3 Stoked Dice) (- ?? Orthstirr for layering another Trick on top). The six remaining Stoked Dice go into the Hamr check.
--[X] The three Stoked Dice generated from our FBS are saved for next turn.
--[X] If something went wrong and we didn't land that many Basics, then throw our whole Stoked Pool into Contested Movement, and hit him with a Spark-Bomb with Puncture (-24 Orthstirr).
-[X] Total Orthstirr expenditure: -173 Orthstirr (-186 Orthstirr if we use Sparkbomb) (-12 extra Orthstirr if we use a final Firebomb-Strike to finish him off)
-[X] Total Stoked Dice Accounting: 18 + 15 - 3 - 18 + Stoking Engage = 12 + Stoking Engage
Blonde-beard's eyes narrow beneath his helmet as you close the distance in a single short step. Your limbs are a blur as your speed takes you far further, far faster then expected. You're quick, too quick. He's not going to be able to effectively retaliate against your blows, not at the tempo you're setting for this fight.
(Shield Sacrifice)
The first blow—a probing strike meant to suss out his defenses—rides a fiery explosion as you bring it down with full intent to kill. Though the fight ending in a single move is more then doubtful, Steinarr's words of wisdom yet ring through your head. 'Every blow should be to kill,' that's what he said so many years ago. It was good advice then and it's good advice now.
Blonde-beard lifts his shield just as Sagaseeker's falling blade crackles with crimson lightning. It's a beautiful swing, perfectly timed and perfectly executed. Just looking at it would tell an onlooker all they needed to know about your skill.
However, when Sagaseeker's iron edge meets the shield's iron boss and the ringing clank of metal-on-metal fills your ears, the shield doesn't shatter. Instead, it stands tall and proud as it deflects your weapon away—leaving your rhythm disrupted and you wide open.
The shield shifts aside, revealing a trio of shining blue spectral swords lying in wait for an opportunity just like this one. They launch into motion as soon as Sagaseeker bounces, leaving blue streaks in their trail as they close the gap in a fraction of a heartbeat.
(Devouring Blaze)
But close the gap they fail to do as a palmful of fire sprays forth. Crimson flames hungrily seek out all there is to feast upon. Blue orthstirr vanishes into the ever-starving maw of the Devouring Flames, lost to the all-consuming depths of your might.
Blonde-beard's eyes widen as the flames wash over him, stripping him of his orthstirr armor and leaving him wearing nothing more then a gambeson and his helm for protection. His jaw tightens as Sagaseeker leaps back into action, once more riding a plume of flames.
(Shield Sacrifice)
You swing towards the sky as lightning crackles again across your blade. Again, blonde-beard's shield darts to intercept. Again, edge meets boss. Again, the ringing clang of iron-on-iron fills the air. Again, he sacrifices his shield.
But this time, things are different.
His shield's boss dents inwards as the wood snaps straight down the middle. Splinters lodge against the mushy ground as blonde-beard sways away from your blow—robbed of its strength by his shield's sacrifice, there's little you can do to counter this. As Sagaseeker strikes at the sky and ruins your rhythm, blonde-beard makes his move.
(Honed Trick Attack: 82 vs Atgeir Guard: 144+10=154, Defender Wins!)
An axe hidden behind his shield comes up as he lashes out with his sword. Fine iron carves the air to slivers as he aims to cleave away your leg at the knee, but spectral iron stops it in its tracks before it can even truly start.
However, though your summoned atgeir rebukes blonde-beard's sword, his other arm snaps out as the blue-coated axe slips free of his hand. It spins through the air with supernatural force as it sails past the clash of atgeir and sword on its path straight towards your face.
(Honed Trick Attack: 106 vs Trick Defense: 116+15=131, Defender Wins!)
Eyes snapping wide, you sway out of the way just in time to avoid the attack. The axe keeps flying, though, and your eyes snap even wider as you lock gazes with the young man behind you.
(Luck: 2 on a d20)
Though he had his shield at the ready, Agnar Bjarnesson wasn't prepared for an axe to suddenly come flying straight for him and so he pays the price. Blood leaks from around the axe embedded in his face as the lovingly-painted shield—which he'd received as an empty canvas from Sten the day before—slips free from limp fingers. Shield and spear thump against the muddy ground as their master follows soon after.
Though you weren't at fault for him being in the wrong place at the wrong time, you can't help but feel responsible for the young man's death. You'll have to make it up to him after the battle—as long as he hasn't met his fated day, of course.
Regardless, you've a man to kill.
Turning your attention back to blonde-beard, your jaw tightens as the fires of your heart's wrath stoke ever higher. So he wants to pull out some tricks, does he? Fine! Two can play at that game, after all!
(Exchange is in spoilers at the bottom)
Fire leaks from between your gritting teeth as sparks shine in your eye. Your limbs blur into flame-edged motion as Sagaseeker lashes out with ferocious force. Blow after blow rains down upon blonde-beard as he struggles ever harder to keep up the pace. Despite how much he struggles to defend, it's clear that he's very skilled. In the sliver of space in between each blow, he lashes out a lightning-fast strike in response. It lacks any real strength—the strength it has isn't enough to stop your assault—but it's enough to shear more then a few layers off your orthstirr armor.
Eventually, though, he couldn't keep it up forever. Through no fault of his own, the ground beneath his feet turns slick with blood and he slips. The opening is all you need to deliver a trio of undefended blows. The first tears open his armor, the second splits his flesh, and the third winds up buried in his stomach.
Wrenching Sagaseeker free, you breathe a sigh of relief as blonde-beard falls dead against the grass.
(Round Over)
0~0~0
(Tactics: 12+6) 18 Successes
You can't quite tell how the battle is going from where you stand, but the general sense is that it's going your way. The lines are starting to spread out more, too, which means that space is less of an issue.
You lock eyes with your next foe. Well, foes. Two of them. A thin-chinned man with an axe, shield, gambeson, and helmet steps forward while a helmeted, black-haired man wielding a spear in both hands follows behind.
Axe man is going to go on the attack while spear guy is covering defense. That doesn't mean that axe man won't defend or spear guy won't attack, it just means that that's what they're focusing on. You get the sense that they'll be burning a lot of orthstirr here (~20–40 dice for their moves). Axe man seems like he's, perhaps, a bit overconfident and spear guy feels like he's more then a bit nervous.
You don't sense any hugareida between them, which doesn't mean as much as you might wish. It's way more likely that they have one or two hugareidas that you just don't have rather then them not having anything.
Axe man is skilled at chopping while spear guy is shockingly good at intercepts. Both of them feel physically weaker then you, but axe man is stronger then spear guy.
Endurance: (15/15) | Frenzy: (6/6) (+6 to all Combat Rolls) | Armor Health: (42/42) (+9 to Defense) | Reinforce Layers: (4/10)
Orthstirr: (786/944) | Odr: (108)
( ) Frami: 315 | ( ) Virthing: 315 | ( ) Saemd: 314
Sagaseeker has 49 orthstirr in his reservoir.
Emberguard has 13 orthstirr in its reservoir.
Shapeshifting + Runes are granting you (+2 to Damage, and +5 Attack-Speed)
Your combat pool is 129d6 and you have 27d6 Stoked Dice
What do you want to do?
[ ] (Plan Name)
-[ ] (Dice) Attack
-[ ] (Dice) Defense
-[ ] (Dice) Intercept
-[ ] (Dice) (Trick) (Orthstirr)
-[ ] Tactics Write in
0~0~0
AN: Not much to say here other then that I need to get used to writing combat again, lmao.
25-minute moratorium.
Edit: Oh, wait! I forgot to mention that I've changed the way shields work. So, when you sacrifice your shield it disrupts your opponent's rhythm, which allows slower fighters to swing back at the quicker ones.
(Sharpened Attack: 10+6=16 vs Reinforced Defense: 12+2=14, Attacker Wins! 5 Damage! Armor Pierced!)
(Sharpened Attack: 7+6=13 vs Reinforced Defense: 11+2=13, Defender Wins Ties! 3-1=2 Damage to Attacker!)
(Sharpened Attack: 14+6=20 vs Reinforced Defense: 18+2=20, Defender Wins Ties! 3-1=2 Damage to Attacker!)
(Sharpened Attack: 12+6=18 vs Reinforced Defense: 16+2=18, Defender Wins Ties! 3-1=2 Damage to Attacker!)
(Sharpened Attack: 12+6=18 vs Reinforced Defense: 15+2=17, Attacker Wins! 5-1=4 Damage!)
(Sharpened Attack: 11+6=17 vs Reinforced Defense: 10+2=12, Attacker Wins! 5-1=4 Damage!)
(Sharpened Attack: 7+6=13 vs Reinforced Defense: 11+2=13, Defender Wins Ties! 3-1=2 Damage to Attacker!)
(Sharpened Attack: 14+6=20 vs Reinforced Defense: 18+2=20, Defender Wins Ties! 3-1=2 Damage to Attacker!)
(Sharpened Attack: 12+6=18 vs Reinforced Defense: 16+2=18, Defender Wins Ties! 3-1=2 Damage to Attacker!)
(Sharpened Attack: 12+6=18 vs Reinforced Defense: 15+2=17, Attacker Wins! 5-1=4 Damage!)
(Sharpened Attack: 11+6=17 vs Reinforced Defense: 10+2=12, Attacker Wins! 5-1=4 Damage!)
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Ah, so he had a Shield Hugareida or something that let him use Shield Sacrifices without losing his shield, but when we stripped his Guards and Constructs, he never had the chance to properly recover, and he didn't have enough Basic Defenses reserved to keep up with Stoking Engage, though that Thorns effect he had going that let him instantly get free damage whenever he won a defense was nasty.
Also, we just saw that dodge defenses aren't a great idea when we're in a scrum like this, because the attack is still going somewhere. Lessons learned.
EDIT:
Hmm, a question @Imperial Fister .
If someone tries to Intercept, can we use Forceful Lever Trick to move them out of range? Would that technically be an Intercept of our own?
Also, we just saw that dodge defenses aren't a great idea when we're in a scrum like this, because the attack is still going somewhere. Lessons learned.
EDIT:
Hmm, a question @Imperial Fister .
If someone tries to Intercept, can we use Forceful Lever Trick to move them out of range? Would that technically be an Intercept of our own?
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Very reasonable. And something we can use to our own advantage as well. Worth keeping in mind.
Yeah, we'll need to focus on parries over dodges, going forward. That's doable, though.
I.F. Ister
Fortifying The Thread
- Pronouns
- He/They
I'm going to say you can't intercept an intercept. But you can make an attack meant to be intercepted, if so desired