Geek Girl #8

[mockman]

Hey thats no fair, i mean like we can always bring in a veritech fighter from macross saga or a mega starfighter with plasma cannons,and photon torpedeos. Heck, with phasing rockets they could blow the thing up from orbit from the inside out( re: d20 future,d20future tech.)

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Edited to add: and aslong as we're talking about writing rules, it's "Quixote." That's been bugging me.

No. It isn't. Not in the modern Spanish, which is the way I originally read it. Don't try to correct the biggest Quijote fan.

I'm betting on the F-16. I believe the context was d20. Any typical dragon, unless you buff him up considerably, isn't going to win against an F-16. Even when you age him considerably. Great Wyrms are the best fliers, and they're still listed as "clumsy" which means, while an F-16 can't hover, it's going to outfly a dragon any day of the week, with its speed, it's unlikely a dragon would get any attack to connect, even if the F-16 does a flyby, which would be dumb. The only spell I can think of that would protect against the F-16 would be a Wall of Force. But to be large enough to cover one facing the Dragon would need to be 35th level (assuming the facing of 30ft applies to height as well as width. That leaves 5 other sides exposed. Assuming the dragon can cast that spell 6 times, doesn't that mean the dragon can't fly at all anyway? So, dragon still loses.

My vote is for technology.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

unless the dragon has a SAM battery and good RADAR reception at his beck and call. I rather like that idea.

I may add it to a D20 Apocalypse game.

[Fellfrosch]

If the dragon starts using that wall of force offensively, rather than defensively, he'll have a much better chance: just pop it up right in the F-16's path. That assumes you have some way of getting closer, however, so maybe Dimension Door? Teleport?You need to get close enough to the F-16 to zap it, without being seen, which is going to be very hard.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

teleport will make life tough for a heatseeking missile too. Oh, its over there now. Wall of fire could be used to great effect as a lure. Burning hotter than a living thing and all. Resistant Sphere could act as a sheild untill the missiles were all gone.Summon Swarm in the flight path of aforementioned F-16 could end a life quick.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Teleport is the more likely, you'd have to be an exceptionally high level Wizard to cast Dimension Door and make it move you 30 miles.
And then, after you cast teleport, you've made your standard action. The F-16 gets a move action before you can cast another spell. I'm relatively certain that a Jet moving at Mach 1 will pretty much be out of even a 20th level Wizard's range for that wall of force (75 feet).
As for using teleport to avoid the missle, I suppose you could do that to avoid the missle. BUt how many times do you have it memorized? Even if you're a Sorcerer of 13th level or higher you only get 6 5th level spells (which, incidentally, is the same level as Wall of Force). And then, so... you've foiled the heat seaking missles. Now you're out of spells that will get you even close to the jet, and he's got bullets.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I don't think the swarm will work, for the same reasons he won't get an attack in.
YOu have to get it in the path of the fighter, which you then have to predict.

You have to be a pretty darn high level wizard to get a Risilient Sphere large enough to fit a full grown dragon inside. the sphere is 1 foot in diameter for each caster level. So that means, what? 30th level?

I'm still voting for the fighter in this match up.

[Fellfrosch]

The dragon flies around and makes some noise and gets the fighter's attention. Then it casts Ethereal Jaunt and disappears--it can't be detected on radar or thermal imaging of any kind, and the missiles fly through it. The pilot comes over to check it out, the dragon pops back into the real world (a free action) and summons a wall of force right in front of the jet. An F-16 doesn't have the manueverability to avoid it, and crashes and dies.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

nice.

Point to Dragon

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

assuming the jet flies within range of the Wall of FOrce spell.

But then, this is a fight between a wizard and an F-16, because there's nothing about being a dragon that makes this his victory. If you can cast wall of force, you're high enough level to cast fly.

So, point to wizard, MAYBE (assuming that he flies that close), but that's without giving my jet pilot any class levels. If we can assume that ethereal voids radar detection, then we can assume that we've developed an ethereal detection device.

[Fellfrosch]

I don't think we have to assume that radar can't detect a non-physical object. That's pretty much a fact.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

meh, it's still a wizard battle, not a dragon. In fact, a human wizard stands a better chance than a dragon, being much harder to target.

[Fellfrosch]

That I will certainly grant you.

If I were a dragon, I'd just hide from the F-16 and go trash the airbase after he leaves.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

There's a strategy that makes sense.

BUt I still think money and technology would win.
The Ethereal Jaunt gambit would work exactly once (unless the other pilots in the air force are idiots -- shut up Army brats). Then they know not to fly that close, and work starts on Ethereal detection devices.

[mockman]

In the d20 future they use sonar and satalite gps guided scatter shot missles. And speed is a factor, the fighter doesnt need to be close, it can fire all it weapons except guns a mile away. A wizard is still human so he still needs line of sight and know that the target is there.
Technology always beats magic.