Flaming Arrows

[Psycho]

Originally Posted by Tifone

Sauromantia could turn the vast poison archers armies they used for early expansion, into vast FIRE archers armies as soon as the enemies start fielding poison immunes to counter them. Shouldn't they at least need to replace the Androphag archers with the non-poison ones to have this opportunity?

No. Those arrows should be able to burn like any other arrows. From the balance perspective, they are certainly not overpowered in EA.

[Nikelaos]

fact of the matter is you have other archers to buy, they aren't massively expensive so just get some of them to cast flamming arrows on.

the other fact is snake poison(they should be practicly milking it of those hydras) doesn't burn.

snake poison is made of water (doesn't burn) and peptide toxins (protein polymers, like plastic but not as complex - also doesn't burn)

burning is caused by respiration (oxygen + fuel = energy + waste materials), our bodies do it all the time to create energy (heat included) but we need glucose (which if not burned turns into fat which can be burned) to burn, we can't burn protein.

so yeah poison don't burn or more they do but at such a massive temperature that the aura of heat would burn to death the archers firing the arrows.

the poison burns of - MYTH BUSTED

[vfb]

No, the Sauromatians are using poison oils extracted from a plant (herbus maximus toxicus) growing in the Sauromatian swamps. In fact, it is the Hydra's consumption of these poisonous plants that gives them their poison gas aura.

The oil is quite flammable and when burned releases additional toxic vapors.

Not only that, the Flaming Arrows enchantment causes missiles to ignite a short moment after they are launched into flight. Otherwise even normal arrows would just burn up in their quivers.

[jimkehn]

Jeez......sorry I asked!!

[SlipperyJim]

Originally Posted by vfb

No, the Sauromatians are using poison oils extracted from a plant (herbus maximus toxicus) growing in the Sauromatian swamps. In fact, it is the Hydra's consumption of these poisonous plants that gives them their poison gas aura.

The oil is quite flammable and when burned releases additional toxic vapors.

Nicely done.

Of course, one might ask: Why don't the Androphag archers poison themselves with their own arrows? You know, the occasional mishap, pricking a finger on a sharp arrowhead, and then DEATH. Why doesn't that happen? The answer is obvious.

Hydra-skin gloves.

Wait, wait, wait ... how do the Androphags get close enough to the hydras to skin them for gloves? That answer is even more obvious.

Hydras shed their skins, just like snakes.

Androphag gathering parties go out into the swamps and gather discarded hydra skins. Then they make archery gloves out of the skins. They give those gloves to the Androphag archers who use them to protect their hands from nasty poisoned arrowheads.

...

Now, the life cycle of a Bog Beast is fascinating. All of the Bog Beasts which respond to summoning rituals are actually females. The male Bog Beasts are shy and reclusive creatures who dwell in the deepest parts of subtropical swamps. When a female Bog Beast begins her estrous cycle, she must sniff out the male via her tremendous proboscis. She follows an elusive trail of pheromones until she finds a suitable mate. Then the courtship ritual begins....

[Gregstrom]

Originally Posted by Nikelaos

snake poison is made of water (doesn't burn) and peptide toxins (protein polymers, like plastic but not as complex - also doesn't burn)

so yeah poison don't burn or more they do but at such a massive temperature that the aura of heat would burn to death the archers firing the arrows.

the poison burns of - MYTH BUSTED

Pardon me, but proteins are affected by heat and can burn. Look at a burnt steak, for instance. Some peptide toxins don't even need to catch fire to be deactivated by heat - normal cooking temperatures of ~70 degrees C do the job nicely.

[vfb]

Oh oh oh ... I wanted to hear more about the Bog Beasts. Rumor has it there are scantily clad ladies involved too! Or was that just some sort of not-so-subliminal advertising campaign trying to get me to watch the Bog Beasts special on Animal Planet...

[Sombre]

Water doesn't burn eh?

I learn something new every time I come here.

[chrispedersen]

Originally Posted by Tifone

chris,

I am getting this.
You are not getting that versatility is an upgrade. Sauromantia could turn the vast poison archers armies they used for early expansion, into vast FIRE archers armies as soon as the enemies start fielding poison immunes to counter them. Shouldn't they at least need to replace the Androphag archers with the non-poison ones to have this opportunity?

Slippery,

can't agree that we shouldn't discuss realism The relationship about realism and fantasy in the game was long discussed anyway in the first thread about poison arrows by Sombre IIRC.

I get it .. I just don't agree with it. Sure, its nice to be able to turn a poison archer into a fire archer.
But you're turning an expensive archer into the equivalent of a cheaper archer.

I just don't think thats the biggest balancing act thats out there. Compare the problems of MA-Man, Oceania, EA-Yomi, ... there are much bigger problems.

[sum1lost]

Originally Posted by Nikelaos

fact of the matter is you have other archers to buy, they aren't massively expensive so just get some of them to cast flamming arrows on.

the other fact is snake poison(they should be practicly milking it of those hydras) doesn't burn.

snake poison is made of water (doesn't burn) and peptide toxins (protein polymers, like plastic but not as complex - also doesn't burn)

burning is caused by respiration (oxygen + fuel = energy + waste materials), our bodies do it all the time to create energy (heat included) but we need glucose (which if not burned turns into fat which can be burned) to burn, we can't burn protein.

so yeah poison don't burn or more they do but at such a massive temperature that the aura of heat would burn to death the archers firing the arrows.

the poison burns of - MYTH BUSTED

Nikealos, I hate to break it to you, but protein can be burned. Our bodies convert protein to fuel all the time, as it really isn't that hard to oxidize. I'm not sure where you got this information, but I've studied protein oxidation pathways at the molecular level in both biology and organic chemistry classes. If you really want, I can point you to some texts that explicitly spell out how to burn protein.

One simpler way is to burn a steak. Said steak is composed of primarily lipds, proteins, some acids, random solutes, and water. When it gets hot, the water evaporates out, but the organics oxidize quite handily.