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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 6, 2008 13:53:10 GMT -5
"Oh, that's another thing, the rifled barrel means major accuracy and very little wind offset compared to arrows, so..." Linx backpedaled to the back of the room and picked up a single repeater bolt from an ammunition crate. "One of these can travel about, uh, 150 feet or so before gravity and wind start to affect it enough for you to really need to compensate. It's a closer-combat weapon than the repeater rifle but it still works."
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Post by wolfsbane on Apr 7, 2008 7:30:06 GMT -5
"Hmm... my tribe liked to stay high in the trees and snipe at vermin. Do you have anything with longer range? "
Wolfsbane started looking around for the armory for something more suited for him.
OoC: Sorry for the short post, but I don't know the weapons so.....
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 7, 2008 8:52:19 GMT -5
OOC: I think there are some early drawings of them in my shop thread.
BIC: "Yes, I do, but don't think you'll be needing to stay high in the trees that much..." Setting his bolt repeater down where he'd picked it up, Linx reached higher up on the wall and plucked a repeater rifle off of its supporting pegs. He held it by the pistol grip and crank to show how different it was. "This thing is a lot heavier, bulkier thanks to the crank and its recoil can knock beasts flat on their backs if they're short on preparation. Of course, it's so accurate that I haven't found a distance I can't use it for yet, and within 400 feet or so it's so powerful that it goes through plate mail like it's not there."
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Post by wolfsbane on Apr 7, 2008 10:30:47 GMT -5
Wolfsbane looked startled. '...don't think you'll be needing to stay high in the trees that much.' That statement had startled him. A squirrel not being in trees? That was like... an otter not being in water.. or a mole not being underground.
"B-but I want to in the trees. In a battle, that's where I feel the safest... that's where I thrive. Also, what if I need to retreat or escape? Such a heavy gun would slow me down."
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 7, 2008 11:17:57 GMT -5
"You want to in the trees," Linx repeated with a strong hint of sarcasm. Various species may have had their own environments, but there was only one battlefield. This was the fort and its surrounding area; in order to have any flexibility with troops, everyone had to drop their original environment and pick up whatever they'd be fighting in. "In a lot of battles we're in, there aren't any trees to fight from. It doesn't matter if you feel the safest or thrive there. It's true that a precision riflebeast should work from a vantage point, but if you get used to fighting from one place, what happens when it ceases to exist?"
Linx let this sink in before continuing. He was far from done speaking but wanted to let Wolfsbane at least get the point of what he was trying to tell him. "As for your weapon being too heavy, if it's absolutely, positively necessary to abandon what you've learned in your future training about carrying one on the move, just drop it. Most of the time, though, that's not that much of a problem, since you'd be firing from so far away that you don't need to run away quickly."
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Post by wolfsbane on Apr 7, 2008 13:16:00 GMT -5
"I don't doubt that I'll be fighting in places where there won't be trees, for I've fought in different terrains... However, there are woods around the fort. I, as a soldier, could be used to the maximum efficiency if I was in the trees or a high vantage point. The reason why I specificially mentioned trees, is that in a forest, there is an almost unlimited different spots I can shoot from. This weapon prepares me for situations when I am not in the trees. My question is this. What if we are in a battle in a heavily wooded area? Then my weapon becomes more of a liability than an advantage. I will not have be able to fight with maximum effiency. Also, if I am to just drop this weapon, it will probably fall into the hands of vermin... and I'm sure that'll come back to haunt us. Also, unless we're in the plains where the terrain is flat as far as the eye can see, there will always be a vantage point a marksbeast can exploit, whether it be a hill, a cliff, a dunehill, or just a big flippin' rock. Squirrels can climb other things besides trees you know. I can't just lug something that heavy around. One of the things about a sniper is that they always have to change positions, unless they want to be killed. Any seasoned warrior can tell where a sniper is shooting from after a couple of shots. This weapon would make it harder for a sniper to move around. My point is this, I'd rather I have a light single shooter, rather than a heavy repeater. If you, as Master of Weaponry, could somehow customize a weapon so that it's lighter and easier to maneuvre, that would be great."
Just because he was a superior officer, it didn't mean that Wolfsbane had to keep his opinions to himself. Especially regarding the very instrument of warfare, that would and very well could decide whether he survived the battle or not. And just because somebeast wass an officer, it didn't mean they had to be condescending on other beasts as well. But Wolfsbane kept those thoughts to himself.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 7, 2008 13:25:51 GMT -5
"Matter of fact, working on something like that right now," Linx started once he was sure that Wolfsbane's little tirade was over. One thing he really hated was when beasts just rambled on and on and didn't let a word in edgewise... As was the case right then. "OK, I'll talk. One thing that bothered me was the idea of dropping a crank weapon... Well, I do mind the original bolt repeater falling into vermin claws, but if you have a repeater rifle, it's powerful, but it's already a technology vermin use. If you're in battle in a heavily wooded area, by all means, don't use it; there are better weapons to take its place then. Of course, you could use a standard repeater, which is lighter and a lot more compact, in that environment because the trees are packed enough to all but eliminate distances of more than a hundred feet or so. Now..."
He had to take a breath at this point. Unlike Wolfsbane, Linx wasn't quite as used to going on and on as he so intensely hated. "The repeater rifle is a good thing to learn to use just because it's so powerful, you can't go through basic training and miss it entirely. I mean, even if I agreed with you entirely, you're gonna be learning it anyway. In any case, though, if you want a powerful weapon right now, it has to be crank-operated. Pump-action is far more compact, but, sorry, it can't be so strong because it'd be impossible to cock otherwise. This is the extent of technology right now; have fun with it, OK?"
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Post by wolfsbane on Apr 8, 2008 14:05:54 GMT -5
Wolfsbane took the lighter, single action standard repeater. It was a lot lighter than the repeater and weighed about the same as his longbow.
"Hm... I could definitely get used to this. Along with the fact that the ammunition is a lot lighter and compact."
He inclined his head in thanks to Linx.
"Thanks for your help Offisah Linx. I best get to basic training. If you could just point out the way, I will be out of your fur.", said Wolfsbane.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 8, 2008 14:10:30 GMT -5
"Training grounds. Noon. I'll write you in for that group..." Linx gestured to the door, but then hesitated. He couldn't just leave an essentially helpless recruit there with nothing. It was for this reason that he didn't just shoo the squirrel out. "You don't have to go right away, though, it's noon, after all. Just be there on time, and in the meantime, you can stay here... Or... I dunno. You can do whatever you want until then."
He eventually realized that he wasn't being much of his typical, arrogant officer self, but decided to disregard that. That attitude was only for tearing apart the civilian mind, anyway, and this one certainly lacked said mind.
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Post by wolfsbane on Apr 9, 2008 12:57:54 GMT -5
Officer Linx's change in attitude did not escape Wolfsbane. There was still some time before the training session. He wanted to learn more about the weapons at Otter's Fort.
"That would be absojollylutin' great! If you would be willing, could you show me some of the other weapons or defenses here in Otter's Fort? I want to be ready in case of a battle."
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 9, 2008 13:20:31 GMT -5
"...Absojollylutin?" Linx couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this before continuing. Despite trying to be a bit less antipathetic, it was impossible to ignore the stranger traits this squirrel had about him; linguistic foibles counted. Perhaps he'd be able to kill some time with the rest of the armory, and then maybe the dock if possible. "OK, whatever. Just take a look at this."
Turning to align his torso perpendicular to the front wall, the mouse gestured to the far end of the room. "Take a look at some of the other weapons in here. The long metal cylinders are fire throwers... And the thin ones that look like seriously stripped-down repeaters are fire breathers, but everyone mixes that up at some point."
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Post by wolfsbane on Apr 10, 2008 7:23:24 GMT -5
Wolfsbane looked at the pyro weapons. He assumed that one of them shot a large flame of fire. But he couldn't guess what the other one did.
"What's the different between the breathers and throwers?", he asked.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 10, 2008 16:46:29 GMT -5
"OK, this'll require another one of those explanations," Linx started cautiously. It would be imperative that he didn't have a squirrel that wasn't listening. "Get ready..."
"The fire thrower is a spring-powered projectile launcher. Think of it as a sized-up repeater, for starters... It can only hold one shot, though, which is a two-layered shell of steel filled with compressed oil. The, uh, layers are evenly spaced, and there's a pin running through the center of the thing. Anyway, this shell is inserted into its back opening, laugh while you can, and then you close the breech cap over it. It's worth noting that it's in the breech cap that you have the actual source of propulsion, a very, very powerful coil spring that has to be drawn back with a winch like a rack-and-pinion crossbow. Now, when you pull the trigger, the spring is released and it sends the shell flying. When it does this, the firing pin kicks the pin that's inside the shell so hard that it punches a hole in the shell's tip and the inner chamber decompresses as it exits the barrel, bathing it in its own oil. There's a small flaming wick just past the barrel and this sets the oil on fire as it goes past... So you have a flaming projectile. When it impacts on a target, the outer shell bursts and you have flaming oil and shards of metal all over the place."
Linx sighed and glanced at one of the fire throwers on the wall. "Do you want to hear about a fire breather?"
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Post by wolfsbane on Apr 11, 2008 12:32:40 GMT -5
Wolfsbane grabbed one of the fire throwers, and went through the motions that Linx had shown him.
"Interesting... that would be an excellent weapon, if we could throw barrels of oil onto large groups of vermin. Also, it can help cause chaos, in which we can capitalize on. Yes, tell me about the fire breather."
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Post by Linx Exotic on Apr 11, 2008 14:13:44 GMT -5
"Not just barrels, but, uh, exploding bolts... Anyway, the fire breather is sort of like the fire thrower in that, well, it involves fire. But that's it. It doesn't launch a shell with a spring... It has a hollow tube through its center, which the user can pull back the grip... Yes, the grip slides... To fill it with oil from a separate container. Pushing it back forwards sends the oil spraying out the end, at which point it's ignited by a pilot light similar to that on the fire thrower. The weapon itself is pretty light... The oil isn't, though, that can be really heavy." Linx watched Wolfsbane with the fire thrower cautiously. It looked like the squirrel was treating it rather lightly and if he wasn't careful, himself or the weapon could sustain damage from sheer carelessness. Artillery wasn't that robust, after all.
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