• sp3ctr4l@lemmy.zip
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    21 days ago

    Ok so…

    The broom must be enchanted or a spell must be used such that the head/bristles deform out of the way or into an accomodating shape for the shooter, or at least be removable, otherwise the buttstock is non functional, and shouldering/aiming the rifle would be extremely troublesome.

    Also if this is the kind of broom you ride for transit, you’re going to be sitting right on the bolt/ejection port/rear sight (the name suggests its basically an M1 Garand with chibi proportions)… so you’d need some kind of spell or enchantment to handle that, or some kind of saddle, or lower body wear with a reinforced crotch, not the drawn rolled up pants/shorts.

    It would at least work as a broom.

    That can potentially blow your head off while using it as a broom.

    Or perhaps the entire thing is a non functional artefact of some kind?

    Edit: Also not sure about the practicality of an ammo bandolier around a hat with a wide brim, though I guess the hat could also be enchanted such that it deforms out of the way to make reaching for ammo easier…

    • DaGeek247@fedia.io
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      21 days ago

      The bristles have a locking mechanism between it and the butt of the rifle. So it’s detachable.

      I assume firing while flying is a ‘last resort’ type of combat, and not the intended use case for this kit. If the rifle wasn’t chibified, it could be made long enough the stability of the butt would be done by the users thighs, right hand on the trigger, and left hand on the barrel/grip. You’d need a secondary sight at the end of the barrel to account for this pose, or some sort of magical version of it.

      Looks like this is less of a skirmishing frontline kit and more of a mobile stealth / sniper setup, where the witch goes around finding a good spot and getting set up to fight before rapidly leaving. Take the hat off for reloading, then quickly reattach the bristles and put on the hat before breaking contact and flying away.

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.zip
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        21 days ago

        Ah you’re right that there does seem to be an attachment locking mechanism for the broom head.

        (Some day I’ll get glasses. Someday.)

        So… I suppose that makes sense if the broom head is required for flight mode.

        As far riding the thing… yeah, I too did not figure it would be intended to be fired while mounted… I guess yes if it was drawn differently, you could sit on the butt stock.

        As far as combat role?

        I think it would more accurately be described as a skirmisher… a sort of individualized light air cavalry, if used en masse.

        Without assuming the use of magic to cloak your visual appearance, I don’t really see this as stealth.

        Sure, flying around on a broom is typically depicted as silent, but its highly visible.

        IRL snipers typically make use of terrain and extensive camoflauge to stay totally undetected, they’re usually inserted far from their target or AOE and then move on foot, in as much cover/concealment as possible, do the mission, then back to an extraction point.

        Huge emphasis on stealth within the AOE, and I do not see a flying person as hugely stealthy without the use of some kind of visual cloaking magic.

        The primary advantage of using the broom here appears to be that you basically condense pilot/driver and soldier into the same person, as well as the weapon and vehicle into the samw thing, thus you don’t have the long distance between insertion/extraction area/method and actual AOE.

        To me, the most comparable thing I can think of would be something like light infantry mounted on bicycles or motorcycles.

        I see this as a kind of mobile, lightly armed (not much ammo) and lightly armored infantry(wo)man, optimal for skirmishing in that she can speedily insert and retreat, and that this kind of attack can be easily scaled, as each soldier just comes with their own means of transit, which presumably has 0 or very little logistical upkeep and maintenance demands.

        Also, without some kind of magical bullet aiming or magical vision / optics… not really even a marks(wo)man, in my book. She just has a standard rifle.

        As for taking off the hat… this did not occur to me rofl.

        Soldiers are generally trained not to remove their helmets in combat zones… but this ultimately derives from their protective abilities.

        What if the hat is enchanted to repel attacks?

        Or if it must be worn in order to fly the broom?

        I have no idea, but it just seems like a chest bandolier would be more practical, perhaps a waist bandolier would work better with the given battle dress.

        • DaGeek247@fedia.io
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          21 days ago

          I do like your skirmisher motorcycle analogy. That does seem the most likely.

          There is also a bullet magic grimoir, which is explicitely included in the kit. The character very likely has some sort of aim/damage/range bonuses that get applied during combat, if not outright magic missile levels of targeting.

          If the kit is for skirmishing though while staying mobile; yeah. Bullet hat is dumb.

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.zip
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        21 days ago

        … … … what?

        If you are sitting directly on top of where you insert rounds… no?

        Also, do you really want a bunch of fairly sharp, cold metal jammed into your genitals?

        … the Garand is notorious for seriously bruising / breaking people’s thumbs who reload it properly, such that this phenomenon has its own nickname, ‘Garand Thumb’.

        Having the bolt close on your junk, male or female, would basically chop off parts of your bits, and your groin has tons of blood vessels…

        • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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          21 days ago

          You have obviously never made out with a gunwitch

          Their sweet, sweet love tentacles are impervious to cold, and can quickly catch a spent casing, reload out with gunpower and bullets from their secondary vagina, and reload, all while flying.

          Since it is impossible to determine the sex of a gunwitch without making love to them, inserting one’s penis into the riffling and rippling depths of their tentacular mass, or being penetrated by said tentacles, the bolt is not a concern. You only know their sex when they have implanted you with an egg. Their males implant their eggs into the urethra, the females into the vagina or anus.

          How is this not common knowledge?