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Episode 1924: One Hundred and Eighty!!

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Long term gamers will have plenty of stories about old games they've played. Lots of incidents and events that were crazy and memorable. A relatively new player joining the group and coming into this doesn't know all those stories. So inevitably one day they'll suggest doing something that mimics a trigger event for some legendary ridiculousness that everyone else remembers.

If this happens in your group, everyone's immediate thought may be, "No, don't do that, because <whatever> happened last time!" However, you should stifle this instinct and let the new player try it.

Because honestly, the story is just going be more funny afterwards when you reveal that they weren't the first ones to cock things up in the same way.

Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie)

There we go Corey! Personally, I was expecting you to use the cable part to attach or tie yourself to a chair or another not-critical part of the ship, but maybe those grapple darts aren’t puncturing the bulkheads. They’re also not trying to fly off into space yet, so there’s time to patch any possible holes too. A fourth dart into the floor wouldn’t hurt though; that would prevent any bouncing up and down from becoming too intense. The caltrop-look that would result by having BB-8 at the centroid of the four tethers would be pretty neat as well.

Hang on, why's the bottom of the Falcon where the red laser bolts are coming from? I suppose I'd misinterpreted the view out Finn’s window here, but using the ventral turret seems like a poor decision from a weapon coverage perspective. Assuming there’s a full hemisphere of coverage on the side of the ship the turret is on, having most of that hemisphere’s view filled with Planet is a questionable choice. Not to mention the personal oddity of climbing into a seat that's facing downwards. Even with gravity generators working, that would be a very weird sensation transitioning from ladder to chair.

Thinking about it more, this makes more sense as something done just for the movie. The contrast between the shaded underside and the bright sand and sky serves to keep the audience’s eyes focused on the ship. And that means that to have the Falcon seen firing back at the fighters, the ventral turret is the only option. And that’s even assuming the camera is tethered to its relative position to the Falcon and flying above the sand as well. This scene could probably work pretty well if the camera is stationary and rotates to follow the action as it flies by, almost like a race track camera on a straightaway.

Commentary by Keybounce (who has not seen the movie)

Mabel: "Grappling. Hook!"
Ancient Romans: "Grappling Hook!"
Batman: "Grappling Hook"
Terraria: "Spiderman Grappling Hook"
And apparently, Phantom Menace, and "The General" from Clone Wars: Grappling Hook! (source: All the Tropes)
Heck, even A New Hope, and "What's a chasm doing in the Death Star anyways".
Even Mythbusters. Well, sort-of. At least they built an ascension device in the style of the things.

Then again, there's the additional Evil Overlords List:

  1. In order to get the Grappling Hook, the hero will need the Double Jump. In order to get the Double Jump, the hero will need the Grappling Hook. Think about it.
  2. Better yet, to insure against Sequence Breaking - In order to get the Grappling Hook, the hero will need the Grappling Hook. In order to get the Double Jump, the hero will need the Double Jump.
  3. Best yet, I will take possession of the Grappling Hook and Double Jump, thus powering up myself rather than the hero. If I cannot do so, I will destroy them. Heroes are resourceful buggers and will find a way to get every powerup possible—the only solution is to not leave them any to get.
  4. Why use such an entry method at all? If getting into a lair requires such methods, I will find another lair.

(Of course, as mentioned elsewhere on the page, sending the heroes to a false lair, so that when the finish, they get a "Sorry, your villain is in another fortress" message.)

The list of ways to use grappling hooks in fiction is huge. Even the real-world applications are... interesting, if limited. And the way BB-8's looks just like the one in Terraria makes me wonder which came first?

But now I have to ask: How strong is the hull of the Falcon? Did BB-8 just puncture something important? When the GM says "For Now", with bold-face emphasis, what else will happen next? And how do you anchor something in 3-space with only three hooks, not four?

For that matter, there's the whole deflector issue. Why now are we seeing the deflectors turned on? If your goal is to make a cloud of dust as your cover, wouldn't deflecting sand into the air much much sooner be a really good option? Aren't all the missed shots making a big, big cloud of dust to act as cover?

And, I suppose, for completeness: Attack on Titan, and Infinity Train season 2: Backpack Grappling Hooks! :-)

Transcript

[SFX]: Pow! Pow!
Rey: Fire back!
Finn: We need some cover!
Rey: I know just the spot, about a hundred klicks away.
Rey: Engaging deflectors. Hold them off a few minutes!
[SFX]: Pow! Pow! {Finn shoots}
[SFX]: Pow! Pow!
Rey: Evasive manoeuvres! 12!
BB-8: Uh oh...
GM: BB-8—
BB-8: I fire three grappling darts into the bulkheads to stabilise myself.
[SFX]: thnk! thnk! thnk!
GM: Okay. You’re suspended in mid-air. For now.
BB-8: Maybe I should get rocket thrusters installed.
GM: I mean, you’re fine! Shouldn’t be any more damage.


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Published: Sunday, 29 November, 2020; 01:11:02 PST.
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