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  1. - Top - End - #121
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by lio45 View Post
    It's all in good fun, but I'm not really sure it's going to bear any fruit.
    If nothing else, when someone else brings up the idea that we can calculate the weigth of MitD by taking RC's max lifting weight and subtracting the weight of the cage, I can answer with a far more nuanced reply than what I had until now. Of course, when I start talking about wood types, they may think I'm making fun of them by paraphrasing the unladen swallow scene from Monty Python, but hopefully someone will back me up on that.

    Quote Originally Posted by lio45 View Post
    On that topic, and I'm sure it's been discussed before, couldn't Redcloak have buffed himself off-panel with one of these divine STR-boosting spells? Rich probably didn't think about the type of wood the crate was made from, but it's likely that he DID reflect upon the weight of [MitD + crate] compared to RC's lifting/carrying ability when he drew this, and it passed the test (the drawing remained in his work), so there has to be an explanation. (Ultra-light MitD, buffed RC, anything else?)
    I included a buffed RC in my calculations a page ago.

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    Last edited by Grey_Wolf_c; 2012-09-05 at 07:58 PM.
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  2. - Top - End - #122
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by DaggerPen View Post
    Man, I feel like I should be weighing in on this as the resident physics major, but it's looking like you guys have got it pretty well covered.
    Cool! FWIW I myself have a B.Sc. in Physics and had already started working on my masters when I decided to join my father in the family business.

    I think I recall that our thread guru Grey Wolf is himself an engineer of some sort, so there are at least several of us who are "qualified" to give a physicist's/engineer's POV (valid except, of course, in those not-so-uncommon scenes where the laws of physics are told to sit down and shut up!) ;)



    That having been said- this conversation has been really entertaining, and Rich puts a lot of detail into things. Into MitD clues, even more so. But do we *really* think that he stopped to research the likely building materials for a box, stopped to calculate its weight, and then figured out how feasible it would be for Redcloak to lift it?
    "stopped to research the likely building materials for a box"? No, definitely not.

    "stopped to calculate its weight"? No.

    But when drawing RC carrying MitD in a wooden crate (imagine him in the exact moment when he's having that very panel in front of his eyes, working on it), I think it's likely that it'd have crossed his mind if it was blatantly obvious that there was no way on Earth that RC could possibly have done what he's just drawn doing.



    I mean, yes, I'm one for "This information probably won't be relevant, but it's worth noting," but we're mapping out the likely woods for a crate based off of real-world plant distribution. Is this actually going to tell us anything the size of the box doesn't?
    Not really, no. :P

    But you know how it is in this thread... ;)
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  3. - Top - End - #123
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    I so knew the Grey Wolf was gonna post something like that.

    So weird thing. I just rechecked the scene in my SoD again, for posterity and to see how the pushing and shoving got done.

    The thing I said earlier about it being a different box once the zombies started carrying it, that actually happens way earlier.

    It actually happens when Redcloak starts pushing the monster up onto his cart!

    So i guess the second box with no door is actually just the side of the box with a door, and I was just being silly thinking they had switched boxes.

    So Zombie weight capacity is back on! And for those of you not in the know:

    The average strength for a medium sized zombie is 12, there are two zombies lifting the box, and they are doing so at waist height and presumably walking very slow (how else do zombies move right?).

    This means the Weight limit for box + Mitd is 520 pounds.

    Give or take the Giants attention to detail of course.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf_c View Post
    If nothing else, when someone else brings up the idea that we can calculate the weigth of MitD by taking RC's max lifting weight and subtracting the weight of the cage, I can answer with a far more nuanced reply than what I had until now. Of course, when I start talking about wood types, they may think I'm making fun of them by paraphrasing the unladen swallow scene from Monty Python, but hopefully someone will back me up on that.

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  5. - Top - End - #125
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf_c View Post
    I included a buffed RC in my calculations a page ago.

    Grey Wolf
    Thanks. I went back and re-read it. I admit I had skipped that part, since I was mostly here for the oak debate these days. ;)

    I think that Rich drawing RC lifting the crate + MitD combo does definitely set some kind of upper limit for MitD's weight, but I also think that all the possible variations in crate weight due to the type of wood used are well within the margin of error we should apply to Rich's tolerance for "letting" RC lift both MitD and that crate.

    Let's say we take the lightest possible crate made out of a decently strong wood, consider RC was BullStrengthed (I'll refer to GW's post with the little table), and see what kind of weight limit that would set on MitD... might be interesting to look into it (shouldn't be too long), but not tonight, though.
    Last edited by lio45; 2012-09-05 at 08:26 PM.
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  6. - Top - End - #126
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by lio45 View Post
    Cool! FWIW I myself have a B.Sc. in Physics and had already started working on my masters when I decided to join my father in the family business.

    I think I recall that our thread guru Grey Wolf is himself an engineer of some sort, so there are at least several of us who are "qualified" to give a physicist's/engineer's POV (valid except, of course, in those not-so-uncommon scenes where the laws of physics are told to sit down and shut up!) ;)

    Oh wow, haha! Then there are a lot of people here pretty well equipped to do this type of stuff. XD;;

    Not really, no. :P

    But you know how it is in this thread... ;)
    That I do. :P
    Last edited by DaggerPen; 2012-09-05 at 09:17 PM.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    For lack of anything better to do at the moment than continue with the same line of investigation...

    Is there anyone with SoD handy who could let me know exactly how many planks there are on the crate's side, and approximately how wide the planks are?

    (If we never get to see the box's other sides, which is very likely considering Rich's style, I'll just assume it's square and symetric unless any of you have a reason to suggest it might not be.)

    GW had pegged the box's height at 6'. We agree on that?
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  8. - Top - End - #128
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by lio45 View Post
    GW had pegged the box's height at 6'. We agree on that?
    It is also about twice as long as it is wide.

    The 6' comes from the box being taller than O'Chul, from when O'Chul was in the jail next to the box. The width I estimated from the width of a broad door, and doubled it for the length. I was being purposely conservative in my guessing.

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    But really, the important lesson here is this: Rather than making assumptions that don't fit with the text and then complaining about the text being wrong, why not just choose different assumptions that DO fit with the text?
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf_c View Post
    It is also about twice as long as it is wide.

    The 6' comes from the box being taller than O'Chul, from when O'Chul was in the jail next to the box. The width I estimated from the width of a broad door, and doubled it for the length. I was being purposely conservative in my guessing.

    GW
    O'Chul? ... Is the SoD box we're talking about the same as that box? Or it's just a handy reference for the height (both boxes would likely be the same height)...?
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    A characteristic of mitd I don't see in the OP is that he's subject to fate/destiny/whatever the setting equivalent is, since he was instrumental in fulfilling the oracle's prophecies.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf_c View Post
    I've asked this three times now: why would a goblin with strength 16 not carry a melee weapon and instead rely exclusively on magic for combat? Especially since he is involved in a mission that will require all his resources to accomplish? Why would he ignore such a massive resource that can save him spells if he is indeed that strong?
    Since I don't play D&D, I have to ask: is strength really that important for melee, compared to feats or training or special weapons? If Redcloak doesn't have strength 16, but perhaps 12 (still 4 more than in your calculation), would he still automatically be such a good melee fighter?

    Belkar doesn't seem that strong, but he's a good fighter. Xykon on the other hand seems quite strong and has at least argued once that he uses all kinds of power, but he doesn't carry a melee weapon either.
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by botkin View Post
    A characteristic of mitd I don't see in the OP is that he's subject to fate/destiny/whatever the setting equivalent is, since he was instrumental in fulfilling the oracle's prophecies.
    While there are settings and systems (Exalted comes to mind) where being outside of fate its a possible thing, default D&D is not one of them.
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    My mind is drawing a blank with regard to what prophecy the creature in the darkness was instrumental to fulfilling. This may be only because I have a cold.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    I'm pretty sure that if you could somehow have brought some of our great west coast Douglas Fir (a staple in my industry) to a medieval lord, you could have convinced him to ditch the local oak in favor of that wood for his gate. So, in a way, yes, although obviously given real world constraints the best choice by far is to stick with what grows in your area's forests.
    The Black Forest in Germany is mostly pines and firs, including Douglas Fir, yet German medieval furniture is also mostly oak as are beams in castle construction. Clearly, it was a concious choice, and not just "oak is handy."

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by lio45 View Post
    O'Chul? ... Is the SoD box we're talking about the same as that box? Or it's just a handy reference for the height (both boxes would likely be the same height)...?
    It is only a rough estimate, but yes, they do seem to be about the same size, and that is the one occasion where the box is not in the background, where perspective may be causing it to look smaller than it should. When next to O'Chul's cage, O'Chul is clearly shorter than the box, even when he is standing on the inside of his cage, which gives him an extra few inches. Since O'Chul is not likely to be too tall, and the wood weight calculator asked for height in feet, I went with 6' for ease of calculations. You can, of course, use whatever other estimations you feel you can defend - I was just giving you mine so you could take it into account if you ended with wildly different numbers from mine.

    Quote Originally Posted by Joerg View Post
    Since I don't play D&D, I have to ask: is strength really that important for melee, compared to feats or training or special weapons? If Redcloak doesn't have strength 16, but perhaps 12 (still 4 more than in your calculation), would he still automatically be such a good melee fighter?

    Belkar doesn't seem that strong, but he's a good fighter. Xykon on the other hand seems quite strong and has at least argued once that he uses all kinds of power, but he doesn't carry a melee weapon either.
    In 3.5, strength is everything to melee - it determines the chance to hit, and the damage. Yes, feats can add to damage and give other advantages, but everything is based on strength, especially for clerics.

    As to Xykon, he didn't use to be able to melee, but he is a lich now, and he gets a number of touch attacks, which ignore armour, and thus are much easier to hit with even if you don't have strength bonus.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kish View Post
    My mind is drawing a blank with regard to what prophecy the creature in the darkness was instrumental to fulfilling. This may be only because I have a cold.
    FWIW, I can't think what he is referring to either.

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    But really, the important lesson here is this: Rather than making assumptions that don't fit with the text and then complaining about the text being wrong, why not just choose different assumptions that DO fit with the text?
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Grey_Wolf_c View Post
    (Why you'd think I added it to my sig? Because it fits, damn it all)

    Now we can honestly say that figuring out MitD involved medieval carpentry. Thor, I love this forum.

    GW


    As for the point of actual result of the discusion on carpentry I think it was futile; after all, in the same scene we have a small toy cart loaded with clown ninjas and advanced cotton candy throwing in defiance of aerodynamics and inertia.
    There are other examples of physics being ignored when it suits the story. A favourite is the Miko and Windstrikes shaped holes in the tower wall(!).
    IMO, therefore any speculation based on science lead nowhere, unless the giant clearly use that in a scene as a plot or story telling device.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Garick View Post
    The Black Forest in Germany is mostly pines and firs, including Douglas Fir, yet German medieval furniture is also mostly oak as are beams in castle construction. Clearly, it was a concious choice, and not just "oak is handy."
    This really gets off-topic, but those pines and firs have been planted because they grow faster. Earlier, the Black Forest contained a mixture of oaks, beeches and firs.
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Garick View Post
    The Black Forest in Germany is mostly pines and firs, including Douglas Fir, yet German medieval furniture is also mostly oak as are beams in castle construction. Clearly, it was a concious choice, and not just "oak is handy."
    Medieval furniture, sure. I've never disagreed with that. Furniture has to look nice, resist scratches as much as possible, and you'll probably pass it down to your grandkids. A crate does not have to do any of these. All it has to do is "be resistant enough" (and only to bending/shearing, not to scratching).

    Since you insist, here's a link for you. See section 3.2.1 for what type of wood medieval builders in the Black Forest area favored. Softwood was generally used, except in the areas where oak-dominated forests abounded. And it says oak was already a lot pricier than pine back then (not hard to believe, as it takes longer to grow, and is harder to cut/trim/work), so many people would use oak only for the visible/decorative parts of the houses.

    If softwood is good enough to be chosen by a medieval someone to frame his house, surely it's also fit for a crate, even one that has to hold scary monsters.

    P.S. lol at the idea that Douglas Fir grows in the Black Forest.
    Last edited by lio45; 2012-09-06 at 07:02 PM.
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    If Redcloak was high enough level in SoD to cast 4th level spells (i.e. at least level 7) he could have used Divine Power instead of Bull's Strength. The former gives +6 enhancement bonus.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by lio45 View Post
    P.S. lol at the idea that Douglas Fir grows in the Black Forest.
    Meh, this has gotten way off topic, but there definitely is Doug Fir in the Black Forest, though I doubt it's indeginous. Other firs are definitely indigenous there, however.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by miri View Post
    If Redcloak was high enough level in SoD to cast 4th level spells (i.e. at least level 7) he could have used Divine Power instead of Bull's Strength. The former gives +6 enhancement bonus.
    I have to admit, while I am enjoying reading all of this discussion of wood and theoretical construction, I am very much puzzled as to why the focus has been so much on real world physics, based on real world history. D&D is set and flavored around a certain time frame in real world history, but it differs dramatically from that time frame because of magic. There is magic armor, magic weapons, and magic items that all operate differently than their real life counterparts would. I feel that assuming there is some kind of magic involved with presumably experienced hunters capturing a high level monster makes sense, and that they would have the resources to own a more expensive, potentially lightweight yet sturdy cage than novice hunters would makes sense as well.
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by CloakedDancer View Post
    I have to admit, while I am enjoying reading all of this discussion of wood and theoretical construction, I am very much puzzled as to why the focus has been so much on real world physics, based on real world history. D&D is set and flavored around a certain time frame in real world history, but it differs dramatically from that time frame because of magic. There is magic armor, magic weapons, and magic items that all operate differently than their real life counterparts would. I feel that assuming there is some kind of magic involved with presumably experienced hunters capturing a high level monster makes sense, and that they would have the resources to own a more expensive, potentially lightweight yet sturdy cage than novice hunters would makes sense as well.
    So, in other words, it might be some kind of partially levitating cage? So that when the MitD is in it, it only weighs about 10 pounds from the viewpoint of someone lifting it?

    Interesting idea.
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Bulldog Psion View Post
    So, in other words, it might be some kind of partially levitating cage? So that when the MitD is in it, it only weighs about 10 pounds from the viewpoint of someone lifting it?

    Interesting idea.
    Except RC struggled to lift him, so it's not that.

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    But really, the important lesson here is this: Rather than making assumptions that don't fit with the text and then complaining about the text being wrong, why not just choose different assumptions that DO fit with the text?
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    That could be because he was trying to shift the MASS of monster and box.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Hardcore View Post
    There are other examples of physics being ignored when it suits the story. A favourite is the Miko and Windstrikes shaped holes in the tower wall(!).
    IMO, therefore any speculation based on science lead nowhere, unless the giant clearly use that in a scene as a plot or story telling device.
    I think the opposite, that is, "regular" real-world physics always applies everywhere by default on the Stickverse mortal plane, except when it suits the story for jokes (for example, the movement of the riding Xykon decoy following Wile E. Coyote's Law of Cartoon Inertia) or when, of course, any magic is used.

    RC lifting the crate is a joke-less scene, so you can't dismiss physics there (IMO).



    Quote Originally Posted by CloakedDancer View Post
    I have to admit, while I am enjoying reading all of this discussion of wood and theoretical construction, I am very much puzzled as to why the focus has been so much on real world physics, based on real world history. D&D is set and flavored around a certain time frame in real world history, but it differs dramatically from that time frame because of magic. There is magic armor, magic weapons, and magic items that all operate differently than their real life counterparts would.
    Essentially same answer as above. The focus is on physics because it generally applies in-comic, and RC lifting that crate is not a scene that has any reason to be exempt from the exigences of the laws of physics.


    I feel that assuming there is some kind of magic involved with presumably experienced hunters capturing a high level monster makes sense, and that they would have the resources to own a more expensive, potentially lightweight yet sturdy cage than novice hunters would makes sense as well.
    Sure, but in D&D, you can usually divide things into two distinct groups: the ones that are real-world medieval (or strongly inspired), and the ones that are fantasy/magic.

    In other words, I expect to see both "magical" cages and "classical" cages in the world. So, IMO, the hunters could very well have been equipped with a high-tech (a.k.a. magic) permanent cage like the moderately escapable one Xykon cast over Miko, bought from some wizard, but they weren't -- instead, they had what appeared to be a standard wood crate.

    Sure, they could technically have bothered to get spells cast on that crate to make it permanently lighter or stronger, but I would personally see that as a weird, half-assed middle ground between good old sturdy standard crate and kickass magical crate.
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    I don't want to copy your post here, but those are very good points, Lio45!

    Yes, no comedic purpose whatsoever is served by Redcloak lifting the crate. Therefore, it must be significant and subject to analysis.
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    So the song runs on, with shift and change,
    Through the years that have no name,
    And the late notes soar to a higher range,
    But the theme is still the same.
    Man's battle-cry and the guns' reply
    Blend in with the old, old rhyme
    That was traced in the score of the strata marks
    While millenniums winked like campfire sparks
    Down the winds of unguessed time. -- 4th Stanza, The Bad Lands, Badger Clark

  27. - Top - End - #147
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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    I think another approach would be worthwhile. The comic is based on communication; every line and letter is there because someone is going to read it.
    Thus we can ask whenever the MitD appear: Why did the giant include MitD in this scene?
    Is it because of plot? Because of rule if funny? Did giant want provide a clue? Etc.

    There is an advantage to this method; in communication the important thing for the 'sender' is to be understood. He will therefore adapt the message to the listeners level of understanding. This include not only vocabary, sound environment, but also context and real world knowledge.

    Another fundamental thing is that senders always use the minimum necessary effort to be understood.

    More can said about this subject but it is constraining trying to do it on my HTC.
    I will take a brake for now.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    @lio, yes, it is not a joke scene, however the giants options to get RC carrying help were limited, where they not? Most likely he just ignored the problem because it would take to much effort to figure out a way to solve something irrelevant for theq scene.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    As I mentioned a few pages back: For this thread to work we have to have some basic assumptions. Unless there is a good reason to think otherwise I would argue that we have to treat the scene with redcloak loading the MitD as if it is not a hand wave.

    I have not got the books so I don't have an opinion either way but if we start ignoring things because we think they're not important without a good reason then were do we stop?
    Saying we should just use common sense doesn't work because while it might be common as muck the same sense isn't common to all people.

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    Default Re: MitD VI: The Undiscovered Creature (Please Read the First Post)

    Quote Originally Posted by Hardcore View Post
    @lio, yes, it is not a joke scene, however the giants options to get RC carrying help were limited, where they not?
    Come to think of it, he could have just put the box on wheels to start with. The circus had to cart him around sometimes, so it wouldn't be too out of place.

    ...actually, are there even rules for monster weights? I'm worried that we're going to run into the tummyache problem at some point.
    Last edited by Dr.Gunsforhands; 2012-09-07 at 09:01 PM.
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