It would probably be possible to place runes on munitions (or modified, though few would dare), and I imagine in a far future timeline, that's how dwarfs would handle ammunition: Making it resusable, and essentially just another part of the weapon itself.
Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
- Start date
- Fantasy Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
We don't know enough about runes to start slapping them on things like stickers.
Why can weapon runes only be put onto weapons? What even is a weapon? If I grab a chair, break off a leg, and start hitting people with it, can I place a weapon rune on it? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Sure, tradition plays a large part of it—but that tradition has to be rooted in something. There's a reason Thungni said "only put this rune onto axes and hammers, but never a bolt thrower—you need engineering runes for those (also here's an engineering rune that strengthens the crew's bravery by invoking their pride. Don't put it on a banner)", but hell if I know what it is.
Why can weapon runes only be put onto weapons? What even is a weapon? If I grab a chair, break off a leg, and start hitting people with it, can I place a weapon rune on it? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Sure, tradition plays a large part of it—but that tradition has to be rooted in something. There's a reason Thungni said "only put this rune onto axes and hammers, but never a bolt thrower—you need engineering runes for those (also here's an engineering rune that strengthens the crew's bravery by invoking their pride. Don't put it on a banner)", but hell if I know what it is.
Melee axe with rune of unknown and explosives holding spot? Have a sapper stick a melee weapon to the bottom of a ship with explosives strapped to it, recall the axe while setting off the other runes on it and the explosives strapped to it?
Really big melee weapon so it displaces the most water? Wielded by submarines?
Really big melee weapon so it displaces the most water? Wielded by submarines?
Those innovative uses for the Rune of the Unknown may be technically possible, but they are also deep in the kickflip zone. Radical Runesmiths are hard to come by at the best of times, and this Rune specifically was developed by Kragg the Grim, and is only known by him and those Runesmiths that Kragg the Grim considered worthy. The intersection of the set of Runesmiths willing to try this out and the set of Runesmiths who know the secrets of this Rune is practically guaranteed to be empty.
Not quite. While Kragg would only teach according to his standards his students would be passing the rune to their students. And those could be in kickflip zone.
An example of such a student is the guy who made our training sword. He was not taught by Kragg, his great grandfather was.
If you're delivering an explosive charge in the first place, it would be better to use more explosive instead of a disappearing weapon. Sonoluminescence isn't that powerful - it produces high temperatures, but only for a short time over a small area. Plus, the explosion is going to generate a gas pocket, so (a) it would disrupt the vacuum collapse, but (b) you get a powerful cavitation effect either way.
The dwarfs should have this capability already. According to the wiki (insert disclaimers here), they have short-range submarines armed with clockwork torpedoes. That's a more efficient method of attack than a frogman. Chaos Dwarfs are the only kind with long-range subs (or access to rubber for diving suits), so they'd have more use for sapping charges.
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Mopman43
Mountain-Hermit of Nitpeak
- Location
- Vermont
The Nautilus has been mentioned by Boney (for example, the fact that serving on one is considered an acceptable alternative to the Slayer's Oath), though its hard to say if their exact capabilities match up with Man O'War.
The rune of the unkown is not developed by Kragg. His rune is the hit really hard rune, and he also developed the style on Thorek rune. The vanish and come back rune is just some rune he knows. It's not all the popular, so it's probably not widely known, but there are probably others who know it.
Make that definitely, for at least 5 generations of Runesmiths.
- Pronouns
- He
I believe there was a WoBoney years ago that the Rune of the Unknown comes from a time when business casual among dwarves didn't mean maille and axe. So, when wearing weapons openly would have been considered a faux pax, but neither side trusted each other to be unarmed in combat, these Runes allowed for a polite fiction while being prepared for combat.
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I vote for her everytime. She just ends up losing to like seven people every time.
- Location
- Hiding in the walls.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The problem with socials is that Boney is too good at writing interesting characters.
Gretel is fun, though. When I actually catch a vote I'll probably vote for her.
Gretel is fun, though. When I actually catch a vote I'll probably vote for her.
[Mathilde Weber Ultimate Tee-ball Champion!]
The flat of the greatsword imparts a cannonballs worth of energy right? So what if we use dread aspect tentacles to pick up cannonballs and demonstrate our grey magister 5D tee-ball skillz and become a fully automatic canon for a bit?
The flat of the greatsword imparts a cannonballs worth of energy right? So what if we use dread aspect tentacles to pick up cannonballs and demonstrate our grey magister 5D tee-ball skillz and become a fully automatic canon for a bit?
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Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The first issue with that is that we can't even conciously control our Dread Aspect tentacles to perform tasks like picking stuff up in the first place. The second obstacle is that the tentacles are probably incapable of lifting something as heavy as a cannonball. The third obstacle is that hitting the cannonball with the sword is likely to shatter the cannonball into fragments and splatter them all over the place like an incredibly unsafe shotgun more than it is likely to impart the force in a preferable manner.
Much as I would like Mathilde to have a few extra appendages for convenience, we'll need to learn how to walk before we can even jog, much less sprint. Attempting to gain control over our shadow may be helpful in alleviating the very first issue at least.
consequences
Not A Nice Person At All
- Location
- Jerkville
This is a physics issue(along with the already mentioned practical effects issue). The sword delivers the impact of a cannon ball. That isn't the same thing as the force needed to fire a cannonball, carefully shaped and channeled down a sufficiently sturdy tube to accurately deliver a cannonball's Strength 10 impact to a chosen target.
Now some might say that creating a cannon shaped liminal realm to hit a cannonball through to solve the accuracy and channeled force issue while using our belt, sword, and deliberately warped space to create a runic doubling feedback loop is unnecessarily complicated when we could just Pendulum people to death at less effort, risk, and AP, but I for one remember our duel with a Khornate champion and would in fact love a high impact non magical at point of delivery damage mechanism so I'm entirely on board.
- Location
- USA
Mathilde has such a mechanism. It's called pistols. She has three of them.
- Location
- California, USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
...So what you're saying is we have to enchant our bullets to become the size of cannonballs midflight!
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[Ultimate Tee-ball Champion V2 Electric boogaloo]
Now featuring thread feedback and not doing everything yourself!
Line a row of dwarf made cannonballs capable of withstanding the impact of a cannonball on tees and swing with Kragg the Grim's rune!
If Kragg did shoddy work and it doesn't send things exactly straight? Make a backless cannon for accuracy and use Kragg's rune for the force instead of gunpowder!
We Will Have A Machine Gun Cannon!
Now featuring thread feedback and not doing everything yourself!
Line a row of dwarf made cannonballs capable of withstanding the impact of a cannonball on tees and swing with Kragg the Grim's rune!
If Kragg did shoddy work and it doesn't send things exactly straight? Make a backless cannon for accuracy and use Kragg's rune for the force instead of gunpowder!
We Will Have A Machine Gun Cannon!
consequences
Not A Nice Person At All
- Location
- Jerkville
This feels kind of like saying she doesn't need Branulhune, she can make shadow chisels.
Even if the ridiculousness I outlined tops out at S8, her pistols are very unlikely to exceed S6, and I consider S5 far more likely.
Nicholas
No longer teaching battlethings on a battleship
- Location
- Ashore again
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"Mathilde, how on earth did you core several Chaos warriors in a row?"
"I fired one bullet, at sufficient velocity."
Alternate scenario:
"Behold, my new ultimate weapon!"
The muzzle flashes, a cannonoball appears...
and immediately drops straight down, right on Mathilde's boot, thankfully encased in Aethiric Armor.
She begins hopping around on her other foot.
"CURSE YOU CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM!"
- Location
- Australia
There is a beautifully detailed pair of maps in Enemy in Shadows that I've been overlooking. Rivers, roads, terrain, settlements, even scales! They're at the end of the book, just before the ads, they're not listed in the table of contents, and I only found out about it incidentally by google image searching "weissbruck", so I fear this may some level of obscure.
The first is a map of the Princedom of Altdorf and the Princedom of Carroburg, going as far north-east as the Coach and Horses inn and as far south-west as Bögenhafen. I've taken screenshots and while the resolution leaves something to be desired, they let you know how detailed the maps are.
WFRP 4e: Enemy in Shadows, pages 161 and 162
The first is a map of the Princedom of Altdorf and the Princedom of Carroburg, going as far north-east as the Coach and Horses inn and as far south-west as Bögenhafen. I've taken screenshots and while the resolution leaves something to be desired, they let you know how detailed the maps are.
WFRP 4e: Enemy in Shadows, pages 161 and 162
- Location
- USA
Regimand: "If you can't figure out how to use magic to defy physics, my old apprentice, you're probably doing it wrong."
Mathilde (waving a giant sword in his direction): "Not another word, Master, or I'll show you physics."
- Location
- A Pit Of My Own Making
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I love the lady with the map's hat. BigOh my goodness. So previously I'd made a post about the history of Delbren and Delberz, and today in EiS Companion I find this! 😆