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[Hanslanda]

Imperial Stormtroopers are notoriously inaccurate, and a blaster rifle is chancy at best when it comes to killing power.

Except Obi-Wan says, "Only Imperial Stormtroopers could be this precise..." The whole Stormtroopers-can't-hit-shit thing is from the fact that the main characters don't just get shot real fast in the movies, not from in-universe incompetence. In-universe, Stormtroopers are quite often highly lethal, ESPECIALLY when Timothy Zahn writes them as they should be, as a military force.

I agree that IG would have the edge in close combat, because bayonets and experience, but I strongly suspect stormtroopers would outshoot them. Blasters seem to go right through armor, and if the IG isn't a Plot-Armored main character, I think it'd be a chancey affair. Take the beginning of the storming of Tantive IV. The stormtroopers go through a chokepoint, up against fortified (relatively speaking) forces who are waiting for them, and smash through them with minimal losses. And no cover.

So, yes, if it was close-combat, I believe the Guardsman would kill the Trooper. But if they tried to shoot it out, I think the Guardsman would be shot down in short order.

[Xantalos]

That's true, I believe I might remember such instances now myself. I stand corrected. But a lasgun shot to the chest, stomach, head, or neck will still probably kill you dead.

Same for a blaster, assuming that it's not a nonlethal version. It's probably reasonable to assume that Stormtroopers are actually somewhat accurate in their firing, just as it's reasonable to assume that lasguns do any damage.

[Sirus]

Actually, Hans is correct.

[Hanslanda]

Lasguns do damage. Just not to Space Marines... Or Daemons. Or Nobs. Or Necrons. Or any Tyranid bigger than a Gaunt. They really don't suck actually. You just need to use a LOT of them. Four guardsmen firing on your squad of Marines is laughable. FORTY guardsmen, on the other hand, is horrifying. Eventually you're going to roll some twos.

Fake edit: It would be neat to watch forty IG and forty Stormtroopers shooting it out.

[Flying Dice]

Okay. So 1v1, IG wins close in, Stormtrooper wins at range. If they have all their associated equipment, IG contingent would probably win because holy shit arty spam.

Now then, magic system showdown. Feel free to chip in.


Rand Al'Thor vs. Takimachi Nanoha vs. Gandalf the White vs. Harry Potter vs. Luke Skywalker vs. Eldrad vs. Raven vs. Bink vs. Archer vs. whoever else you can come up with. Assume it's a free-for-all on neutral ground; each individual is at the peak of their power with whatever tools, weapons, methods, etc. they could conceivably have. Assume that the different forms of magic or "magic" can interact with each other; a Starlight Breaker would draw from everything everyone used, Bink's power would still take effect against Force Lightning, etc.

Who comes out on top? If alliances are allowed, how would they shake out?

[Xantalos]

Anyone, you say?

I nominate God Man, the most OP superhero ever.

But if I were to choose from that list, I'd have to choose Gandalf, nor knowing of any of the others' abilities (on book 1 of the Wheel of Time right now), because at his full power Gandalf is the equivalent or better of a D&D god, assuming he's in full angel form.

[Hanslanda]

Bink from Xanth? Bink wins. His special power is that no magic can ever kill him. You can stab him to death with a sword, but the gods help you if you try to cast something on him.
Then again, Luke has a lightsaber... So... Poor Bink, we hardly knew him.

I'd go with Elminster. I don't think I have to explain why Elminster would win in a magic fight. Unless Cadderly was there, then it'd get interesting fast.

[Sirus]

Gandalf also has a sword. I can't speak for the rest, because I don't know them

[Flying Dice]

Yep. At least 5 of the ones I listed have swords or magic-aiding sticks, and at least 3 are well-known for being skilled with them. Archer would probably be out of luck, though, because all his weapons are constructs. But the lightsaber, Glamdring, and any of the numerous swords Al'Thor has had are physical weapons. Bink'd probably have to rely on his talent to lead those three into someone else's line of fire without being hit himself.

[Xantalos]

Gandalf also has a sword. I can't speak for the rest, because I don't know them

Hell, if alliances came up, Gandalf would probably end up the leader.
Also, I'd that one quote by him in the Two Towers is correct, he is invulnerable to physical damage - I think he said, "None of your weapons could harm me now"?
But at the height of his power he's essentially the Archangel Micheal from the Bible - the one who beat down Satan and beat devils to death with their own limbs. Fire sword and all that.

What about someone from the Dresdenverse?

[Hanslanda]

Yep. At least 5 of the ones I listed have swords or magic-aiding sticks, and at least 3 are well-known for being skilled with them. Archer would probably be out of luck, though, because all his weapons are constructs. But the lightsaber, Glamdring, and any of the numerous swords Al'Thor has had are physical weapons. Bink'd probably have to rely on his talent to lead those three into someone else's line of fire without being hit himself.

Unless the swords were magical in some way. IIRC, Gandalf's sword was magic, but not overtly. It was just a super awesome sword because magic. I would imagine his talent would affect that.

Harry Dresden versus Gandalf. 'FUEGO! PYROFUEGO!'
"You shall not pass! I just really like saying that."

[Flying Dice]

Ah, I knew I'd forgotten someone. Harry Dresden would certainly make things more amusing.

[Xantalos]

Yep. At least 5 of the ones I listed have swords or magic-aiding sticks, and at least 3 are well-known for being skilled with them. Archer would probably be out of luck, though, because all his weapons are constructs. But the lightsaber, Glamdring, and any of the numerous swords Al'Thor has had are physical weapons. Bink'd probably have to rely on his talent to lead those three into someone else's line of fire without being hit himself.

Unless the swords were magical in some way. IIRC, Gandalf's sword was magic, but not overtly. It was just a super awesome sword because magic. I would imagine his talent would affect that.

Harry Dresden versus Gandalf. 'FUEGO! PYROFUEGO!'
"You shall not pass! I just really like saying that."

Oh dear god that would be awesome, though I have a better matchup in mind.
Gandalf versus Ebenezar McCoy.

[Loud Whispers]

Besides, lore-wise lasguns can also vary in power. I've read novels of people taking a shot - unarmored - and living through it in most cases.

*Note here, even those who look unarmoured tend to be really freaking armoured. When the guard are written write, you see things like SPEHSS MAHREENS taking a single lasgun shot to the chest WITH THEIR POWER ARMOUR ON to be something impressive. And it is.

The guard have experience fighting everything. Would your average PDF conscript guardsmen not from a hellhole deathworld or nasty campaign fair well against a stormtrooper?

Probably not.

But then again, that's why the Emperor also has his own stormtroopers.

HELLGUNS AHOY

Hannibal Lecter vs the Thing.

Half way through assimilation the Thing breaks down, starts crying and wondering who the real monster is. Then Hannibal finishes assimilating the Thing.

I can imagine him and Jef getting along quite nicely.
"I provide him with all the food he wants, and he sees that my ... needs ... go attended to.  *tht-t-t-t-tttttt*"

I just can't help but feel all the best villains are sitting around in some evil Fortress chillin' whenever they die off screen or if no one makes sure they're dead. Jeffrey and Murphy are rolling around in biscuits and can't stop arguing. The Joker, Agent Smith and Hannibal Lecter keep making everyone depressed and nihilistic with their optimistic outlooks on life. Pale man and Freddy Krueger run the department of nightmare fuel and PR, spreading joy to children across the world like really traumatizing Santa Claus. The generic villains and Zoidberg obey Dr. Evil and can't quite seem to decide what the fuck are Twilight Vampires.
In one particular room Ozymandias plays chess against Tzeentch. The pawns kill themselves. Off in the tea room Skeletor announces HE HAS THE POWER to finally quit performance enhancing artifacts. The White Witch (SLAYAH OF ASLAN) and the other "Good" White Witch (obvious evil spy witch is evil) lead the department of freeze the heretic.

AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL.

[Frumple]

FD's omni-battle thing. Man. I'd put my bets on Archer, followed by Nanoha. The Blink thing I didn't remember, but if he's just immune to spells Archer would fillet the poor bastard, and everything else is just... from lower power realities, so to speak. Archer's actually a bit broken in an arbitrary sense -- dude's primary shtick is to be able to recreate magical artifacts, and then potentially supercharge them and make them explode. He's largely limited only by the arsenal you decide to let him play with, and for the period before reality notices they're there, the stuff he makes is as real and physical as the originals. His secondary shtick is he's basically a self-made Elder God of Swords, at least in a limited physical area. Reality marbles are wonderful, heh. E: Wait, wait. It might depend on the Archer. The one before CG-Shirou... might actually have been worse, I'unno.

As for Nanoha, magery's all well and good in the case of the rest of them, but she's something a little bit different. Crazy witch is a human sized mecha, with most of what that entails, with a side course of magical fuckery. Gandalf can You Shall Not Pass all he wants, I don't think it's going to help much against a beam of energy capable of scuttling an interplanetary warship from over the horizon.

As for the rest... yeah, those two are in the category that can casually destroy mountains and/or countries/(in archer's case, potentially planets, given the right kit. Iirc, there's anti-planet level artifacts out there. Dude could also just conjure up a sun crusher or whatever.), if they particularly feel like it. The rest of the lot are a bit more... subtle, from what I remember.