I like the "shiny" check as well. It's just so... useful. I also like the accordion fold drawbridge, and the continuing excellent evocation of the storm.
Ivellios says:
I didn't really notice the drawbridge but that is because my moniter is old and doesn't display brightness that well, after copying the image over to photo shop and adjusting the settings I can see it ok and I can think of a number of uses that drawbridge could have in a siege. By the looks of it you could have the middle section fall droping the invaders on the bridge and then you could raise the 2 other parts and salvage them so you wouldn't need to replace the entire bridge each time you were invaded and droped the bridge
I wouldn't like to be part of the crew that have to return the roller after it's been used.
Arya says:
Suilad.
"Shiny"?
For a moment, I thought Anye was turning into a pixie, because hearing her say 'shiny' is pretty random.
Let's just hope Feiht didn't hear about the bridge being uphill and the giant cement cylinder hanging over the bridge. If she got to it, well, let's just say , everything would be downhill, fast.
Love the new stip, good work, Mith and Alien.
Namarie.
Nebra Reppalk says:
Well, we dwarves are creative when it comes to mechanical things. I have to admit the stone cylinder is a masterstroke. Of course, I usually design more traditional defenses. Then again, I did design an unsiegeable castle once in the middle of a large lake. Had its own village, farms, and everything to prevent starvation. (Yes, I'm tooting my own horn again. More like a brass band really..)
Khyrhon says:
I like th shiny lights in frame #4. Perhaps I am part pixie
Khyrhon says:
"This whole place looks like it was designed by Leaf, except that it all works." "Hey!" You just gotta love this comic...
Khyrhon says:
Woah, why did the font change?
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
Khyrhon: What font?
Great comic as usual. What are the shinies in panel 4? maybe they are pixie defenses!
Sorry about the Solembum thing. I'm reading Eragon/Eldest AGAIN and I get obsessed over any kitties in any book. Mogget is still my favorite!
*I don't even know how to spell solembum's name*
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
Yay! Mith has recovered from EVIL argument in game!
AnyaDraconis says:
That's actually a pretty clever defense system. Although it really wouldn't help if you were being attacked by pixies...or anything capable of flight.
I can just see an invading army screaming "RUNAWAY!!!"
Khyrhon says:
Now the font is back... for a while it was big and in bold... whatever. Oh, and what book is Mogget from?
Lee says:
Someone please roll a concrete cylinder over the biochemically obsessed spammers.
Khyrhon says:
I'm just posting this because I feel like it, it has no significance, no really, it doesn't!
whosoever says:
that big stone thingie is awesome. I can't wait till we get to see the rest of the dwarven lands.
Jeremiah says:
In fact a cylinder is not the best defense, it can hit a side and then stop as it only has one axis. A set of spherical boulders would work better. They just won't stop rolling. Them dwarfes have not though about that.
if people who like prettiful shiny lights in frame 4 are part pixie, then i am all pixie, which is weird because i thought i was an elf stolen by goblins and planted in the human lands to be their spy and unknowingly work against my elfin kin. mith & alien, you should so have a fanfic page.
me says:
moggett is from sabriel
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
Gasp! Khyrhon does not know which book the great and powerful Mogget comes from! Oh, the horror!
The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix is your answer!!!!
Never let this happen again else the great and powerful Mogget shall.... ummmmm... Well, he shall ignore you because he is sleeping!
Wait a sec... he's not as sleepy at the end of Abhorsen. Oh well. HE WILL STILL BE SLEEPY!
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
Anya: If yor're getting attacked by pixies, that's what the shiney things in panel four are for!
...And in panel six, "Point" should not be capitalized because it is not a beginning of a sentence. Grammergirl to the rescue!
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
I just realized... the "Hell's Pixies" storyline is NOT VERy LONG! Only six comics! I think it should either be merged with the "Let Pixies Lie" Storyline or should continue until the Hell's Pixies exit the comic. But, that's just my opinion.
By the way, have you guys ever seen "The Adventurous World of College Algebra"? Say if you have, 'cuz then I can say funny lines from it and people will understand! We just watched it today in math class. Well, at least the last part. And I own all the parts! Isn't that nerdy? Owning a video about MATH? But, I only like it because it's made by Standard Deviants and they are funny. The whole movie is a parody on Indiana Jones. It's so cheesy it makes you laugh out loud! There are also some really, really, REALLY random things in there. Again, please tell me if you've seen it because I am OBSESSED! AGAIN! Over something else!
Grammar. Spellingalien to the rescue! And, to defend my position as hideous editor of this comic, it *was* uncapitalized in the script.
According to Mith there is a fanfic page. Go look, and tell everyone where it is, 'cause I don't know it. [Edited by moderator]
Khyrhon says:
Hmm, I'll have to read those books... I do need more good books to read, anyways
pixie101 says:
hi
Retiarius says:
Actually, the stone cylinder might work, but not dropped. A hollow cylinder like that could shatter, bounce off the bridge, or break the end of the bridge. And the embarrassment and property damage if both chains ends don't release at the exact same time doesn't bear thinking about.
Also, it's too obvious. Anyone seriously considering invading would think up something to disable it or bypass it first.
However--you could place an axle in large ball-bearing sleeves inserted into the cylinder, then build rails for it along the top of the bridge walls sloping up to the fortress walls and hide the cylinder IN the wall. You'd want to have a set of heavy guide wheels--I'd use a series of three on each side--and have the cylinder's axle ends mounted on those. The axle itself wouldn't spin and the triple wheels on the rail would keep the cylinder from twisting as it rolled over everything on the bridge. It would also nail the smart alecs that got up on the bridge walls.
You could even keep a backup stone cylinder behind it.
Man, that's way too elaborate.
Oh, and Bob? Channelling Brak is an automatic 2d6 Intelligence drain. [Evil grin]
Retiarius says:
To Nebra Reppalk, regarding the lake island defense: it can work if the lake is very large or deep. Otherwise, the typical tactic is to build a causeway, as Alexander is supposed to have done when he destroyed Tyre. If it's too big for a causeway, send in the marines.
No defense is impregnable, but some aren't worth the trouble to try.
A favorite of mine is to build a fortress on a cliff flanked by waterfalls fed by a single river that splits in front of the fortress. That prevents the causeway trick but you have to have countermines prepared to prevent sappers from bringing sections of the cliff down. As I said, nothing is impregnable. If smart guys can build a defense, smart guys can break one.
JonMW says:
I'm thinking that since the bridge has walls, the roller won't go off the sides.
What I'd worry about is just the roller turning slightly (and it probably would if it ran over anything) and then getting jammed against these same walls.
However, if you assume that the dwarves are able to carve the roller extremely skilfully, and keep the road clean, it might not be a problem.
I'd assume that you'd use the roller by releasing it JUST BEFORE the attacking army reached the point where the road started going uphill. That way, it's got the most momentum, resulting in maximum squish. The way to get around that is to prevent the roller from ever being released in a covert mission, or something.
Another way is to come up with some way to derail the roller once it's been released. Siege-engine-like contraptions with ramps on the front might work. Remember that you don't need to stop the roller straight out - just lift one end and it will stop itself.
Another way is to attack with boats, and have catapults on the boats.
Just looking at the towers there, you'd be able to outrange any static defenses easily - you can't put a catapult on a stone tower like that, it'll just shake apart and destroy itself.
JonMW says:
Unless it was all carved out of a single large block of stone. But that seems unlikely.
Nebra Reppalk says:
Yeah, my friend copied my design to top me. Part of the problem was the lakes we used were too shallow for ships, too deep for soldiers. So I designed "seige barges" very wide and flat ships that could carry catapaults and trebuchets within firing range.
Of course my friend also posted a garrison of several thousand men, so I expected him to run out of food quickly.
I'd like to point out that sometimes half the battle is convincing your enemy you're stronger than them. Perhaps the stone cylinder is so impractical is because it's not meant to be used. It's there to serve as a deterrent, like eye-spots on animals.
Khyrhon says:
Yay! I got a 36 on my NLE! Actually, that's the worst I've gotten in my 3 years, but it's still good! I'm mad at myself though, I missed two because I had to guess, but the other two I should have gotten...
shineeeyyyyyy says:
I love shinies more than pixie 101 ha ha ha if u see this it is true i just hide it from u pixie101 ha ha ha
I'm offended that anyone would think the Sith would bother to steal Christmas. We're much too busy focusing on galactic domination.
(For those of you that don't know, when I'm not mucking about in the fantasy genre, I occasionally work as Darth Regens, Dark Lord of the Sith.)
Bob says:
I have already seen the muffin site.
Thanks anyways.
P.S. The muffin site connects somewhere with an awesome pink fuzzy bunny site!
Khyrhon says:
I've seen those too, and "Msking Fiends". My friend and I love quoting Charlotte and Vendetta! (My friend is happy-go-lucky and makes a good Charlotte, and I am evil and make a good Vendetta!)
Smiles says:
Umm..not to nitpik, but should the comments in panel 6 be reversed? If Ayne is the one who said shiny, why would she then say "You really should know better than to say such things where she might hear". Umm..going back to hiding...
... says:
The way I understand it Ayne is talking about what Myhrad explained earlier. She said "Shiny" to check if Feiht could hear them.
Icy says:
Myhrad really shows his age well. Or the three, he is the oldest, and more experienced I guess. Anybody realize he sometimes shows bursts of knowledge?
Chasing the Sunset
#407 - Let Pixies Lie
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Ivellios says:
Unigirl says:
Unigirl says:
odo says:
Ivellios says:
Tensko1234 says:
legendary gryphon says:
Lee says:
Arya says:
"Shiny"?
For a moment, I thought Anye was turning into a pixie, because hearing her say 'shiny' is pretty random.
Let's just hope Feiht didn't hear about the bridge being uphill and the giant cement cylinder hanging over the bridge. If she got to it, well, let's just say , everything would be downhill, fast.
Love the new stip, good work, Mith and Alien.
Namarie.
Nebra Reppalk says:
Khyrhon says:
Khyrhon says:
Khyrhon says:
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
Great comic as usual. What are the shinies in panel 4? maybe they are pixie defenses!
Sorry about the Solembum thing. I'm reading Eragon/Eldest AGAIN and I get obsessed over any kitties in any book. Mogget is still my favorite!
*I don't even know how to spell solembum's name*
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
AnyaDraconis says:
I can just see an invading army screaming "RUNAWAY!!!"
Khyrhon says:
Lee says:
Khyrhon says:
whosoever says:
Jeremiah says:
bookbook says:
me says:
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
The Abhorsen series by Garth Nix is your answer!!!!
Never let this happen again else the great and powerful Mogget shall.... ummmmm... Well, he shall ignore you because he is sleeping!
Wait a sec... he's not as sleepy at the end of Abhorsen. Oh well. HE WILL STILL BE SLEEPY!
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
...And in panel six, "Point" should not be capitalized because it is not a beginning of a sentence. Grammergirl to the rescue!
Mogget/Solembum's Little Sister says:
By the way, have you guys ever seen "The Adventurous World of College Algebra"? Say if you have, 'cuz then I can say funny lines from it and people will understand! We just watched it today in math class. Well, at least the last part. And I own all the parts! Isn't that nerdy? Owning a video about MATH? But, I only like it because it's made by Standard Deviants and they are funny. The whole movie is a parody on Indiana Jones. It's so cheesy it makes you laugh out loud! There are also some really, really, REALLY random things in there. Again, please tell me if you've seen it because I am OBSESSED! AGAIN! Over something else!
Oh, and sorry for talking to myself again! :-)
legendary gryphon says:
Bob says:
Yeah toast.
I don't like to brag and I don't like to boast but whada I like?
I like TOAST!!!
Alien says:
According to Mith there is a fanfic page. Go look, and tell everyone where it is, 'cause I don't know it.
[Edited by moderator]
Khyrhon says:
pixie101 says:
Retiarius says:
Also, it's too obvious. Anyone seriously considering invading would think up something to disable it or bypass it first.
However--you could place an axle in large ball-bearing sleeves inserted into the cylinder, then build rails for it along the top of the bridge walls sloping up to the fortress walls and hide the cylinder IN the wall. You'd want to have a set of heavy guide wheels--I'd use a series of three on each side--and have the cylinder's axle ends mounted on those. The axle itself wouldn't spin and the triple wheels on the rail would keep the cylinder from twisting as it rolled over everything on the bridge. It would also nail the smart alecs that got up on the bridge walls.
You could even keep a backup stone cylinder behind it.
Man, that's way too elaborate.
Oh, and Bob? Channelling Brak is an automatic 2d6 Intelligence drain. [Evil grin]
Retiarius says:
No defense is impregnable, but some aren't worth the trouble to try.
A favorite of mine is to build a fortress on a cliff flanked by waterfalls fed by a single river that splits in front of the fortress. That prevents the causeway trick but you have to have countermines prepared to prevent sappers from bringing sections of the cliff down. As I said, nothing is impregnable. If smart guys can build a defense, smart guys can break one.
JonMW says:
What I'd worry about is just the roller turning slightly (and it probably would if it ran over anything) and then getting jammed against these same walls.
However, if you assume that the dwarves are able to carve the roller extremely skilfully, and keep the road clean, it might not be a problem.
I'd assume that you'd use the roller by releasing it JUST BEFORE the attacking army reached the point where the road started going uphill. That way, it's got the most momentum, resulting in maximum squish. The way to get around that is to prevent the roller from ever being released in a covert mission, or something.
Another way is to come up with some way to derail the roller once it's been released. Siege-engine-like contraptions with ramps on the front might work. Remember that you don't need to stop the roller straight out - just lift one end and it will stop itself.
Another way is to attack with boats, and have catapults on the boats.
Just looking at the towers there, you'd be able to outrange any static defenses easily - you can't put a catapult on a stone tower like that, it'll just shake apart and destroy itself.
JonMW says:
Nebra Reppalk says:
Of course my friend also posted a garrison of several thousand men, so I expected him to run out of food quickly.
I'd like to point out that sometimes half the battle is convincing your enemy you're stronger than them. Perhaps the stone cylinder is so impractical is because it's not meant to be used. It's there to serve as a deterrent, like eye-spots on animals.
Khyrhon says:
shineeeyyyyyy says:
Mogget's Little Sister says:
"Rosebud..."
Just a note, it's not the link. :)
sort of gryphon stuff says:
Nebra Reppalk says:
(For those of you that don't know, when I'm not mucking about in the fantasy genre, I occasionally work as Darth Regens, Dark Lord of the Sith.)
Bob says:
Thanks anyways.
P.S. The muffin site connects somewhere with an awesome pink fuzzy bunny site!
Khyrhon says:
Smiles says:
... says:
Icy says:
hailstorm says: