Kill Virgil

Discussion in 'Arcanum Discussion' started by DokEnkephalin, Dec 5, 2008.

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  1. DokEnkephalin

    DokEnkephalin Member

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    He always annoys me from the start, but if I let him stick around for any amount of time, he eventually grows on me. How to prevent that!

    To murder him immediately would be the perfect crime. There are already dozens of bodies lying around, just scorch his with fire and beat it with metal debris. No one would question! And if they did, what would they question?

    Constable: Looks like we've got an unclaimed, no living kin, and what looks to be the remnants of robes of Panarii on his body.
    Inspector: Those crackpots! But what could he be doing aboard a zeppelin?
    Constable: All evidence says that he may have been crackling with fire and plummeting into the hills, sir.
    Inspector: Well, by the lore of Panarii, that would make him the Living One! Albeit not so 'Living' anymore.
    Constable: Do you suspect any foul play, sir?
    Inspector: Wot, you think the L.F.S. Zeppelin said, "Look, there's one of those Panarii twits, let's hit him and destroy the lives of all our passengers just to take the man out!" Hm, come to think of it, that's an idea I'd entertain myself.
    Constable: There was one sole survivor, sir.
    Inspector: So what are you saying, one person dragged their beaten body out of a wreckage that slayed dozens and said, "Look, there's a Panarii. I think I'll kill him."
    Constable [fidgets]: Well...shall we investigate, sir?
    Inspector: Nonsense, constable. If that were the case, then any jury would find him well within his rights.
     
  2. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    Bravo! I can raise but one objection, namely the piquant fact that disposing of Mr. Brummond at the very beginning deprives you of the joy granted from exposing a human being to prolonged mental torture. A calculated undermining of the victim's self esteem, with the objective of generating enough self-loathing in the specimen to cause severe hypertension and obsessive dependence on the torturer would be preferable. For the Grand Finale, I'd suggest a meticulously staged event whereupon Brummond unknowingly slays his own mentor, Elder Joachim, only to realise his mistake later on. Let's be honest, while slaughtering resisting opponents certainly has its charms, having someone beg you to kill them because of disgrace brought upon them by your own machinations is just that much more rewarding.
     
  3. DokEnkephalin

    DokEnkephalin Member

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    Perhaps I owe my single-mindedness to my orcish heritage, but I take no joy in watching someone's suffering when they're supposed to be pulling their weight or die trying. Bloody hell, if my life is on the line, this reformed 'thug for a cause' better perform as a decent thug, and low maintenance if you please, or just scitter back to the gutter from which he crawled.
     
  4. Xiao_Caity

    Xiao_Caity New Member

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    I really, really, really want to kill you for that, being the Virgil fangirl that I am...

    But that was funny! :lol: :cry: Damn it...

    I'm with DE though, it's much more fun to mess with people until they crack and become a whimpering pile of formerly human mush quivering to do your every bidding in the distant hope that you'll take the suffering away. Then again, I'm a half-elf and I prefer Machiavelli over Jack the Ripper.
     
  5. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    I am me, and I would have perfected your approach by ruling in a Machiawellian manner using Jack the Ripper as a useful tool. Humans are base creatures, and as every human action is motivated by fear, knowing how to pull the strings of dread is the key to hegemony.
     
  6. Ramidel

    Ramidel New Member

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    Unfortunately, enslaving Virgil is not done through fear. The boy is loyal as a dog through rather another emotion, one I'd rather not incite.
     
  7. Xiao_Caity

    Xiao_Caity New Member

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  8. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    How does that contradict my point? Certainly it would be advantageous for you if you used Virgil's fear of losing the object of his coveting to commandeer him like the pitiful puppet he is.
     
  9. Wolfsbane

    Wolfsbane Well-Known Member

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    I say smash his head and be done with it. It's so much easier, and it allows you to focus on other, more entertaining things.
     
  10. Xz

    Xz Monkey Admin Staff Member

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    What's more entertaining than crushing someone's psyche?
     
  11. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    If someone is dead, they're dead. And dead people are useless. That's why soldiers are taught to shoot enemy combatants in the belly or otherwise disable them rather than going for a clean kill, since a wounded soldier requires medics and therefore siphons enemy resources. All they have to do with a dead man is to collect the dog tags and put him in a bag.

    Similarly, the true art of killing is having your victim kill themselves without you raising a finger, while profiting immensely from it.
     
  12. papa_dog_1999

    papa_dog_1999 Well-Known Member

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    Dad always told me the same thing. Kill an anemy soldier and you remove one man from the battle.
    Wound him and you remove three. The one you shot and the two to carry him.
     
  13. ville-v

    ville-v New Member

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    If you kill yourself in a gory way, ten enemy soldiers will be shocked and unable to fight. If you do it in less impressive way, they will die of laughter.
     
  14. Wolfsbane

    Wolfsbane Well-Known Member

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    But this isn't war, is it? It's the murder of a pesty little wannabe priest. I, for one, don't get pleasure of watching people crack under psychological preassure. It takes too mych time and their whining is too annoying. Better just make his death rememberable (perhaps by using an odd object as a weapon) and then move on to new, more exciting kills.

    Concerning that "wound rather than kill" statement; if you kill a man outright, there's no chance he's coming back tomorrow. Or the day after that (or any day). One soldier eliminated is an inch towards victory. Why take the risk of letting the target get away? Unnecessary. Boom headshot, that's how you do it.
     
  15. Arthgon

    Arthgon Well-Known Member

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    I would rather crush their souls, and their bodies.
     
  16. DokEnkephalin

    DokEnkephalin Member

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    That's the same line I heard in basic training when they explained why we use full-metal jacket rounds. The casing is more likely to fragment than penetrate, and the soldier won't be a lost cause but it'll take an operation too messy to do on the battlefield.

    However, everyone aims center mass, that's just standard in military and police training. It's lowest common denominator training; they really don't know how to train for that kind of accuracy, and they don't want soldiers wasting time and ammo trying trick shots during a crisis, so they never train to aim at a specific location.

    Back to the topic, like I said, Virgil does grow on you if you let him. He's always reliable for healing, though he's a mediocre fighter until you put Torian Kel's ancestral sword in his hand, then he'll chew up the Void. If you can only have one party member, it should be him. If you can get two, kick him out and go with the two hot elvish chicks instead.
     
  17. Ramidel

    Ramidel New Member

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    Eh. Virgil's a load for those of us who like to go solo in a fur bikini.
     
  18. Wolfsbane

    Wolfsbane Well-Known Member

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    One follower = Geoffrey, any day of the week. Why? He's hilarious, and Virgil's not.
     
  19. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    Isn't it the other way around? I was under the impression that full metal jacket just penetrates, leaving only a relatively small hole to worry about. Hunting ammunition on the other hand fragments and deforms in all the worst ways, shredding through flesh and bone like an intravenous cluster bomb. Case in point, a FMJ in the leg will make a rather clean entry and exit, while stuff you'd normally hunt moose with will blast off the leg entirely. That's why the laws of war dictate that only FMJ be used, since it's seen as somewhat more humane than the alternatives.
     
  20. DokEnkephalin

    DokEnkephalin Member

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    You're right, but specifically American 5.56mm has a thinner jacket, so it'll more likely veer in the body cavity instead of going straight through, and it does fragment.

    In fact, even though Geneva conventions require FMJ because of it's relative humanity, almost every country manufactures some work-around to ensure fragmenting, veering. They just avoid expanding casings, which leave the kind of exit wound that make the difference between wounding and killing.

    EDIT: I just saw the coolest thing; Virgil single-handedly wiped out the bandits under Sobbing Onion. Most of them were dead before I reached the door, then he killed the last one before Dog could sic 'im. I have new respect for this guy. He most appropriately hit them with a vengeance.
     
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