Flaming Coinshot

Great to see you!

Really? Really? Someone already did this to me today.

I think you can slightly push the bullet to put it on course and then blast it

Or maybe moonlight actually means something and has huge implications for the Cosmere? That'd be weird.

I was banned from pillow fights for the foreseeable future due to a undisclosed Christmas party incident.

yep. Also, the Deux ex machina is the only nessecary deus ex machina ive ever read. Gwammer good. Speleng gud

You're still ignoring the centuries of technology required. Sure, gunpowder might not be necessitated but everything else is still required. Really? Ok, I didn't know that. Again, Seekers and Tineyes could probably prevent that.

It's not equal. Some have far more than others. Ishar's insane and taking spren apart. ...No. Millimeters? Really? But that's the entire point. That's how Roshar would win. That's how the Taliban won, that's how the Americans won the west, that's how Germany conquered Europe, that's how wars are conducted. You don't try to kill all your enemies. You scare them. But I don't think there are many. I feel like the Scadrians could set up an ambush if you moved them through PR (thanks for the lingo, Frustration), but if you could sneak it through the CR into, say, the Southern Roughs, it'd be very effective. Although any talented seeker could find it eventually. Firearms are tough to make. Believe me. Rosharans don't have the technology. This is something I have some expertise on, knowing a couple gunsmiths/shop owners and a few military historians. (Friends of family, people I've met.) Rosharans would need: Much more advanced metal refining techniques, gunpowder (something they've never encountered), a way to bore out the barrels (which requires them to have even more technologies), and, if they want the level of Scadrian firearms, rifling, a technique that requires expertise and tools that the Rosharans are literal centuries away from. Ideally, they'd start with bronze-cast cannons and work their way down and up, but the Scadrians are far past that point, far past the musket and flintlock stage, reaching the artillery/cartridge stage, so Roshar would need to put their best scientists on catching up centuries of technological development without material, expertise, or technology. Most of the points in your point are very valid, but this is one that will never, ever happen. Also, one thing not mentioned to much but I feel the need to note is that Shardplate and Blade are useless in this fight, because Scadrial has electrolysis, allowing them to produce aluminum. And if you want to argue about the timeline, then I'll say that we know Lost Metal is before Five, and I'm assuming this would happen later, and the chemist said electrolysis would be within five to ten years. You say that firearms depend on the troops, but you're not talking about the technological jump Rome made in the Punic War. You're talking about skipping eight centuries of technological advancement. Even with fabrials, that's a stretch. For the men of red and gold, I thought Marasi and company burned it all away so that the portal cut out. All this said, though, I want to try to be a bit of a mediator here and say that these arguments are really refining, especially when you look at 4 pages back. And it's a really good topic, so just kinda keep your cool and have respect for the honestly pretty good opinions on both sides. Also, is making a chart or something to keep track of the individual arguments a good idea? Or bad idea, or just unnesecary.

He did it, in BoM. A good electrum user could analyze the future quickly and move based on that, maybe warn their superiors if they see something special. One with Zinc could operate far better. Steelrunner, easily. But shooting a Windruner out of the sky is going to be very difficult. Then how did Urithru fall? That's what I'm talking about. A large-scale distraction that can't be ignored complemented by a highly skilled strike team carrying remote-detonation H-T bombs. Even if they don't destroy a city, the psychological effect is huge, and the disruptance of logistics is also important. The fact that Scadrians can effectively hit Rosharan convoys while the Rosharans can't do the same (Scadrial can mass-produce metals and aluminum, and it's defensive capabilities outpace Roshar (Iron)). You don't need to, I think. It's a scalable mathematical equation. The Americans didn't make a Tsar Bomba because they didn't know how. It's because they didn't want to and they felt it was too tactically stretching. The Scadrians don't have such weaknesses. Well...that's implied. In a true scorched earth campaign, I think Scadrial would do far more damage. The Rosharans have complex honor codes and oaths holding them back. The Scadrians are focusing on high damage output. On a tactical and battlefield level, Roshar will likely win. But they won't win the war. Scadrial is simply winning to do more. It's like the Civil War. One side has more romantic ideals of war and honor with better generals and *technically* better troops, but the other has a larger industrial base, navy, and the scorched earth tactic.

Pitched battles are shockingly stupid. The Europeans, a people whose continent is largely fields and flat land, tried to get battles in forest, marsh, and hills because fighting pitched battles on neutral ground is so shockingly dumb. I don't mean to be rude, even if it doesn't seem like it, I'm trying to point out that a pitched battle is unlikely for both sides, especially when you have world's worth of people on both sides. But moving metalborn is far easier. Still, I think your estimates about the size of Radiants is a little too hopeful. Radiants depend on the psychology of spren, some who think Odium is preferable to humans. Meanwhile, metalborn are just products of population trends. Uhh-the reason why their fully charged is so that the wearer can see through all three realms, and push on virtually anything. What are you mentioning here? Sorry, I couldn't find it. Generators? But yeah, this one's tough to imagine. It'd likely involve multiple, massive fleets of airships primed with hundreds of metalborn. Kandra? But yeah, they can't communicate...maybe a new use of duraluminum? But Bronze detects all investiture. Or at least the high amount being expelled by transcending the border between realms. Other theory: bloodmakers used as meat bags in the unlikely case of a large-scale battle. Here's the thing about all of these theories, though. Modern warfare (even some older warfare) isn't necessarily about large-scale battles. Or rather, those who are remembered as military geniuses don't start those. Instead, it's logistics, careful planning, large-scale ambushes, and multiple small-scale ambushes. It's getting behind enemy lines and causing disruptances. It's putting psychological fear in your enemy. Roshar has the advantage when everyone around fights the same and has shared history. But Brandon has said that Kelsier would win in a fight between him and Kaladin, and the reason why reflects their planets' warfare. Roshar will try very, very hard to catch Scadrian forces. But said forces will do their best do avoid, draw in, ambush, and launch surprise offensives. And Scadrial is well equipped to do that, while Roshar is well equipped to carry out their strategy. No doubt, in a siege or pitched battle, Roshar will win. But I think, based on existing martial traditions and magic, Scadrial will win in virtually anything else. They will not win on a massive offensive campaign. They will win if they can draw Rosharan forces, trap them briefly in an ambush, and then launch a surprise attack on immobile Rosharan war commands and cities. Roshar can try to siege Scadrian cities, but things like land mines and artillery will make that hard. Bronze compounders and allomancers can keep watch alongside tin metalborn to make sure enemies don't slip past, while iron and pewter users can catch those that do. Twinborn backed up by allomancers and ferrings is just such an appealing model for war. However, Scadrial will not win in the conventional sense. If they try to, Roshar will grab them by the neck and break them. Instead, they'll wear the people and troops of Roshar down. They'll drive Roshar's command insane with surprise attacks and deft reactions. Scadrians literally can use Bronze compounders to quickly analyze situations to come up with the best outcomes, Electrum allomancy and feruchemacy is immensly useful on the battlefield, and the destructive capabilities of even a coinshot are incredible. (Wax's rampage in Bilming). Sure, Radiants are probably more versatile than I give them credit for. But their entire model (besides Lightweavers) is to provide a bulwark between their immortal, untiring, overwhelming enemy and humanity. That's not a group designed for subtlety or deft militaristic maneuvering. Most of Scadrial is. What isn't, it's designed to be even more domineering than Roshar. Massive (or at least fairly large) airships. (Thanks Frustration!) A navy that can far outpace everything Roshar has. It would be close, definitely, but in the end, Scadrial is just more annoying. Sorry, I meant storing Identity. And it took Wax some ten minutes. I think it'd take a talented Bondsmith. Of which we have none. Yeah, you're right, I should've considered that. But the idea of a metal ship is inconceivable to the Rosharans, while it's a tiny aside to Scadrial. Alright, thanks. Hey, could Chromium drain Stormlight? Because if it can, that's also huge. Think about it. Flying platforms crashed if they can get one person onboard. Radiants taken out mid-battle. It'd be a pretty large (if hard to exploit) advantage.