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[Kashyyk]

Why won't it?

In this complete scientifically inaccurate universe, I feel it would be easier to hit a metal object with lightning and overload the explosives inside than it would be to counter the momentum of a heavy, aerodynamic object with wind.

[Madman198237]

Because their BLOS+1 weapons don't have explosives more than half the time. Their regular cannonballs will sail right through the lightning, and they can just always use bonus range, or simply never use the explosive shells.

[Kashyyk]

If they never use the explosive shells, then we'll be back to where we were before, not getting completed wrecked on all fronts by artillery.

We could theoretically then revise the lightning to destroy the solid cannonballs as well.

I honestly don't see how we're going to move their cannonballs with wind. Their momentum compared to their surface area, especially considering the aerodynamic shape (also known as designed to not be affected by wind) is going to be insurmountable.

[Madman198237]

We're experts at wind manipulation. Yes, they're aerodynamic and whatever, but when you have our control of the wind, well...we'd better be able to do. Plus we'll get massive bonuses and be spending a research credit as well. We might as well shoot for the moon. Invalidate all their artillery in one go, turn this back into us steamrolling them.

[NUKE9.13]

Well, alright. Time to start voting, I think. I'm going to vote for my own suggestion, using the research credit. We really need to develop an effective defence against their cannons. Anything else is a luxury we cannot afford.

Hurricane Shield: (1) NUKE9.13
    With Research Credit: (1) NUKE9.13
Lightning Cannon
Landship
Winds of Ruin
Shield of Allah

I honestly don't see how we're going to move their cannonballs with wind. Their momentum compared to their surface area, especially considering the aerodynamic shape (also known as designed to not be affected by wind) is going to be insurmountable.

Tell you what, you try firing long-range artillery without taking wind speed/direction into account. And that's conventional winds.

That being said, I could also go for lightning-based PD.

[Madman198237]

Hurricane Shield: (1) NUKE9.13
    With Research Credit: (1) NUKE9.13
Lightning Cannon
Landship
Winds of Ruin: (1) Madman198237
    With Research Credit: (1) Madman198237
Shield of Allah

Thanks for setting up the votebox, NUKE. just so you know, the Winds spell is oriented entirely around deflecting their cannonballs in specified and LOGICAL ways. It's built around shortening their *longest possible* ranges to below Medium range. Everything else is nice, but nothing more than a bonus.

[Kashyyk]

Okay. Seeing as I haven't effectively convinced anyone that my design is best, I'll vote for one of the windshields.

From what I can tell, the two designs only really differ in the direction they blow the cannonballs? Would one of you two mind highlighting the differences explicitly for me?

[Madman198237]

Alright, so originally my design wasn't as focused, but I revamped it. The primary focus is now deflecting cannonballs. Specifically, my spell makes use of extreme levels of control over the winds (Not necessarily direct control, more of a giving-intent-and-direction sort of thing than "Push here! Lift that!" sort of direct control) to use low pressure beneath, high pressure above, and simple downwards winds to push, pull, and force cannonballs down into the ground, ideally shortening their range to below Medium, allowing us to wheel up every ballista we have an start pegging away with Firestorm ammo.

Basically, Winds of Ruin aims to let gravity do some of the heavy lifting (Ba dum tssh) as far as messing with flight paths goes. I'll leave it to NUKE to explain his, as I haven't read it recently and he will likely give a better accounting of his own design.

[NUKE9.13]

My design just says it deflects the shells. The direction is not specified, although I do suggest that they could be deflected to the sides of columns of troops. I suspect that altering their trajectory will be significantly easier than stopping them in their tracks.

The main difference, in my mind, is that my design leaves no room for interpretation when it comes to what we want. I may be misreading Madman's design, and when he says he wants

Soldiers, cannons, horses, even Arstotzka's mighty train are pushed, flung, and tossed far by the rage of the mighty storm, yet Moskurgers and their weapons fly, run, walk, and fire through it with impunity. In fact, if enough mages are participating, it can even give massive boosts to our projectiles, as if we enchanted every bow and ballista with Lucky Strike and a boost from the wind.

, maybe he is just adding that for flavour. But I fear the GM will look at that and say, "hmm, I guess they want four features, including one that amounts to replicating Lucky Strike... better add some difficulty"

[Madman198237]

It is fluff.

That was the original, the list of most important desires is underneath. So, yeah, not quite.

That said, I believe that we have enough experience to use the research credit and get all of those, so they're in the proposal. Besides, forcing us to march in columns is infantry suicide. ESPECIALLY when the enemy is using cannons. If the spell even fails to deflect one it will kill dozens of troops in a column formation.

[Kashyyk]

Hurricane Shield: (2) NUKE9.13, Kashyyk
    With Research Credit: (2) NUKE9.13, Kashyyk
Lightning Cannon
Landship
Winds of Ruin: (1) Madman198237
    With Research Credit: (1) Madman198237
Shield of Allah

I still think Lightning is better, but explicitly stating that deflecting cannonballs is the most important (only) thing sells it for me.

If madman rewords his design to explicit give a priority of requirements, such that the GM would have to actively try and screw us to avoid them, then I'll switch over.

_{Still think lightning is better}

[Madman198237]

What do you mean, change it? It already HAS a priority list, and has for days. I just edited the fluff right now, though, to make it clearer.

-snip-

Winds of Ruin
-snip-
Priorities
1. Is capable of deflecting cannonballs straight down very rapidly, reducing Arstotzkan maximum range to Short or Medium ranges (Within visual/non-magical ballista range)
2. Does not affect Moskurgers or their projectiles (Basically, extreme wizard guidance making the storm "smart", and thus affecting only Arstotzkans and their projectiles)
3. Target is E or higher (Duh), expectation of VE (Does this make it easier?)
4. Would be very nice to also do extreme damage to enemies, though cannonballs are the first priority)

-snip-

[Kashyyk]

Well then.

Hurricane Shield: (1) NUKE9.13
    With Research Credit: (1) NUKE9.13
Lightning Cannon
Landship
Winds of Ruin: (2) Madman198237, Kashyyk
    With Research Credit: (2) Madman198237, Kashyyk
Shield of Allah

[NUKE9.13]

Eh... fine.

Hurricane Shield
Lightning Cannon
Landship
Winds of Ruin: (3) Madman198237, Kashyyk, NUKE9.13
    With Research Credit: (3) Madman198237, Kashyyk, NUKE9.13
Shield of Allah

[evictedSaint]

Looks like winds is winning.  Design in an hour or two, unless it changes.