Re: I dont understand Serpent Cataphracts
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">IIRC it's +AP/3, or about +5 for Cataphracts. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">restricted to the first round of attack in a battle?

Re: I dont understand Serpent Cataphracts
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Not quite. You can play the Devil's advocate and still admit it - then 'avocat du diable' would be used in French, which is a litteral translation without any pejorative meaning. When you say about someone, he is 'de mauvaise foi', it's a rather negative judgement: you mean he acts insincerely, and is trying to misguide others (as well as himself, sometimes). Eg, usenet trolls are often 'de mauvaise foi'.

Or could it be that 'Devils' advocate' is used in both cases in English?</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">No, your first analysis of 'Devil's advocate' was quite accurate. In fact, this phrase generally implies admission of one's status thereas. But 'de mauvaise foi' really is best translated as 'in bad faith'. We're talking about the 'mauvaise foi' that Sartre was so fond of invoking, n'est-ce pas? The term formally used in philosophy to describe this attitude is 'bad faith'. And its sense is exactly that which was being invoked below. But as I said, that's formal and technical (or at the very least erudite) terminology. Most folk wouldn't recognise it.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">For quotidian English, I would have to agree with Babelfish... même si les resultats donné par la traduction automatique des expressions sont typiquement atroces...

[ April 30, 2004, 14:43: Message edited by: E. Albright ]

Re: I dont understand Serpent Cataphracts
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">The phrase "devil's advocate" actually comes from a Catholic institution (or function) Advocatus Diaboli whose function is to argue against the beatification or canonization of any person put forth for that. I.e. he's to take the "devil's side" and try to explain why someone shouldn't become a saint, arguing all the negative points about the person.

Now, to me this is mainly interesting because of the religios connection, and the question then becomes: When will Illwinter create a unit based on the devil's advocate? :-P

Re: I dont understand Serpent Cataphracts
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">IIRC it's +AP/3, or about +5 for Cataphracts. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">restricted to the first round of attack in a battle? </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yes.

Re: I dont understand Serpent Cataphracts
 

Hmmm, what if the serpent's bite was mildly poisonous, and the riders had 50% poison immunity? This would give the SC's more uses (e.g. combined with Hydras), but wouldn't be overly powerfull.

Then again, does Pythium really need a new trick?

Re: I dont understand Serpent Cataphracts
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">(Just one more lash! That persnickety 'ole horse can't possibly be dead yet!)

Reflection has drawn me to the conclusion that a better quotidian translation of 'de mauvaise foi' would probably be 'not in good faith', which (unlike 'in bad faith') is a phrase one does hear bandied about.