Dansariki wrote:Neither do I, but three 3rd level Djinn would at least slow down Bart.

3? I was under the impression that Nat would be allowed to summon only one spirit. 3 would be highly unfair.....

We're allowing Nat whatever a magician of his level is likely to have on call, which appears to be three djinni of around third level. He still has to summon them all, of course, which, even at a few seconds per djinn, is going to take long enough for someone else to fry him.

Which is exactly what I've been saying, thankyou. This discussion is somewhat irrelevent. IF Nathaniel survived long enough to summon anything, he could still be taken out with ease by Bart or Verroq.

Well, if Nat is allowed to summon 3 djinn, I feel he is a strong combatant. Say, it takes him a couple of seconds to call in 1 djinni & that djinni protects him till he sends for 2 more. But would 3 djinn match Bart & Verroq's proficiency? Doubtful, unless the latter 2 decide to take each other head-on from the start.

Which begs the question:
Who do you think the demons summoned by Nathaniel (if he ordered them to protect him) would see as the biggest threat?

Bartimaeus, I would think. Therefore the demons would attack Bart, leaving Nathaniel to be killed by Verroq. I think Verroq would have the intelligence to put aside his vendetta with Bart to take this course of action. Still, "1 or 2 seconds to summon a djinni" would still probably be fatal to Nat in the first place.

Not to mention a couple of those spirits might not mind attacking Bart. :P

But why would Nat have any spirits dismissed in the first place? Don't spirits usually follow their masters around just for that purpose? And he's had assassination attempts on him before, so I think he would be pretty good at keeping up with making sure he always had at least one dijinn on sight.

Yes, but the second it would take to make the necessary hand sign or spoken syllable maight be to long to save him, you have to remember how quick Verroq and Bart can be.

Yes.
I actually agree, in that they'd see Bart as the immediate threat, but they'd probably attack Verroq first, seeing as how he's human, and therefore easy.
Then they would be surprised, and killed.

Where's the logic in that? Attack the weaker opponent first, leaving you open to attack from the bigger threat? Are you kidding?

No, send off a Detonation real quick, then turn to Bart.
But, of course, the Detonation wouldn't work.
Then they'd be distracted, and killed by one of the two.

I think their concentration might be a bit more focused on Bart, and less so on a "harmless" human. Only common sense.

Only to have them killed.

They'd send a quick Detonation on his way, barely thinking about it.

Well, as I said, its really important to know who attacks whom first. If Bart & Verroq take each other on from the start, they might both tire & thus make easy victims of the djinn's assault. But if Nat's djinn were to attack them separately from the very beginning, they are going to end up as dead meat.

I seriously doubt that Bart and Verroq, in their prime, would tire very easily.
I'm just wondering what Nat could summon..
He had four Djinni and two Foliots in PG, after summoning Bart...

More variables! It all depends what Nathaniel has on hand. I still don't see him as a real threat to Bart and Verroq. Most likely scenario: If his djinn attack Bart first (as they would, if they weren't stupid) Verroq would kill Nat, his djinn would vanish and then Bart and Verroq would fight it out. This would still happen even if, as you say, they send a quick detonation at Verroq. Second most likely outcome: Bart or Verroq take out Nat before he can summon, then fight it out.

Another likely scenario- Bart & Verroq fight each other first( they ignore the puny Nat) & one subjugates the other. Then Nat djinn & the winner fights it out.

But surely Bart would know Nat can summon more djinn to fight...he would kill Nat immediately, probably with an over the shoulder detonation.

Yup, gotta have some style with it :)

nathanielandbartimaeus wrote:Another likely scenario- Bart & Verroq fight each other first( they ignore the puny Nat) & one subjugates the other. Then Nat djinn & the winner fights it out.

Yeah, and Nathaniel's just going to sit and watch until someone wins, is he? No. The djinn and Nat would be dealt with first.

I agree.
Still, I like the style with it :)
Assuming Nat's dead, how LONG do you think the fight would last, Bart v. Verroq?