[OOC] Academy 218 - Superhuman School (Always open)

[Schradinger]

Traceur's jump from two-story heights all the time and land fine, and they don't have the advantage of healing abilities and energy buffs. With those added, a three story jump (which would actually be closer to 25 feet unless the building has 12 foot ceilings), isn't beyond the realm of possibility without taking debilitating damage. Her coordination is also enhanced, since her brain is getting more energy with which to work faster and better, so while she would definitely not have been able to pull it off without first absorbing the electricity from the outlet, she's around the level of Captain America right now with that energy in her system.

[Jazzy]

Schradinger said
Traceur's jump from two-story heights all the time and land fine, and they don't have the advantage of healing abilities and energy buffs. With those added, a three story jump (which would actually be closer to 25 feet unless the building has 12 foot ceilings), isn't beyond the realm of possibility without taking debilitating damage. Her coordination is also enhanced, since her brain is getting more energy with which to work faster and better, so while she would definitely not have been able to pull it off without first absorbing the electricity from the outlet, she's around the level of Captain America right now with that energy in her system.

These people are usually 20+ with years upon years of experience and training to do just that. If you think they land just fine then again, you are very sorely mistaken. Many of these elitists injure their knees, hands, feet, ankles, etc. The very most common injury being completely chafing the skin off of your palms and heels. Your character is capable to absorbing energy, but you are not excused from the other laws of physics. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you want to go through this argument with me I can go into intricate detail on why her spine would be mush from falling that high.

I'm giving you the option to not go down that road. Fix the post to have her absorb almost all of the energy from the fall and I'll turn my cheek. If you want to argue with it I'd be happy to obligate and you will most likely regret it.

Your options are laid out. Think, it's not illegal yet.

[Shin Ghost Note]

My problem is that she jumped out a three story window and was up on her feet in seconds. Even with an enhanced system, she should have taken a bit of damage (Fun fact: following that logic, she should be able to shrug off most physical attacks). You made it pretty clear in her sheet that she takes damage from absorbing energy - In this instance, it would be the sheer impact that would break bones.

What I want is for Paige to take some damage from the fall. She can regenerate after all.

I'll be in the PiratePad

[Leonerdo]

I want to add that there's a little "ticker" around your heart that controls those electrical pulses that makes your heart beat, and the slightest change or electrical discharge can offset that and your heart would stop (if the discharge wasn't strong enough to outright cause your heart to explode). Just saying, I don't know if anyone is interested in that or not.

Proceed.

[Schradinger]

Alright. I'll edit something in Allen. Though she actually could withstand most physical attacks, at least those delivered by normal humans (Codi's tentacles can smash concrete and they just cracked a few ribs when they hit Paige, and nobody seems to have a problem with that). Her body was conditioned by baseball bats and steel toed boots, so she's not going to be dainty in the least. Not superhuman either, but at least comparable to martial artists that have trained for durability. That isn't to say that nothing can phase her, just that she's a lot tougher than your average 17 year old girl.

And Jazzy: Again, if she had been a normal human at the time she hit the ground with normal human physical abilities, you'd be absolutely right. The GM has spoken though, so edit I shall.

In closing: These utterly random forays into the specifics of physics are really confusing when most of the time Allen just shouts "artistic license" and moves on. Could we just pick one or the other please? It's creating a double standard, which again, is really confusing.

[Schradinger]

Leonerdo said
I want to add that there's a little "ticker" around your heart that controls those electrical pulses that makes your heart beat, and the slightest change or electrical discharge can offset that and your heart would stop (if the discharge wasn't strong enough to outright cause your heart to explode). Just saying, I don't know if anyone is interested in that or not.Proceed.

But summoning light from stars, sand from nothing, and having a body composed entirely of metal is perfectly legit. See what I mean about a confusing double standard?

[Shin Ghost Note]

What I'm saying is that she should take some damage from the fall.

The only reason I accepted Paige in the first place was because of her weaknesses. Stick to them, please.

[Leonerdo]

Schradinger said
But summoning light from stars, sand from nothing, and having a body composed entirely of metal is perfectly legit. See what I mean about a confusing double standard?

The presence of powers is the suspension of disbelief. The effect of those powers on other people and on the environment around them is still very much real. You also stated that Paige wasn't immune to the damage that energy does on the body. It's not a double standard.

Also, if I get shot by a gun seven times, I won't be more resilient. If I got shot an eighth time, it is going to hurt just as much as it did when I was first shot.

[Schradinger]

Training your muscles makes them stronger and more resilient, training your bones makes them harder. That's a proven fact about martial arts. Does that mean her bones are unbreakable? No. Of course it doesn't. Does it mean she's tougher than normal? Yes.

Using bullets as your example is like saying that because she'll get hurt by a steel I-beam that means a pine 2x4 will do the same amount of damage.

That said, I edited damage in Allen. She also took damage from the electricity itself when she absorbed it, so I am sticking to her weaknesses.

[Jazzy]

If it's a proven fact, I'd like to see a source. Because I find it hard to believe you can train your bones to do anything other than provide the framework for your body.

[Schradinger]

Wolff's Law

[Jazzy]

Wolff's law is in reference to healing, and why our bones simply don't just remain shattered. My arm is an example of that when I broke it several years ago. However when taken into your context, I went to NCBI (Which is a real source, not Wikipedia) for my rebuttal to your argument.

A real source.

Wolff's law explains how at the breaking site, it would be slightly stronger. In order for your entire bone to become stronger, you'd have to break it in area. Then doing that on the entire skeleton? Don't even try. That, and breaking your bones leads to other health problems later on down the road. So if you want your character to be a little old lady at the age of seventeen, be my guest.

Drawing comparison to other people's powers shows your are desperate to be ratified in some odd way. Your argument is incredibly flawed and in essence, limits your character in far more ways than it benefits you. If you want to keep your stronger bones I'm also going to have to ask you to edit your character to have all of these health problems:

Osteogenesis Imperfecta

[Shin Ghost Note]

I know I keep shouting "ARTISTIC LICENSE" but we need to apply science when you leap out three story windows.

But, once again, I am tired of this conversation, and there is no point in continuing it. This argument is over.

[Maxx]

The only thing that makes bones harder without breaking it is the consumption of calcium phosphate over an extremely long time (like, your entire childhood). You cannot train your bones to be stronger. That is 100% impossible. And Wikipedia is a horrible source.

[QuietThinker]

If supercharging herself makes her like captain america, then I think she should be fine jumping out of a three story window, albeit with a very high chance of some ankle injury.

Also, training your body definitely makes it more durable. Injury on the other hand always makes the body weaker. Thats why Batman is so ridiculously implausible: the amount of hits he's taken over his career aren't things that go away over time; they stay with you for life.

Of course, if you throw regeneration into the mix, then it may well be a different story.

By the way, there is a person who can turn into a ridiculously fast monster when no one is looking at her. Her weakness is that no one can look at her, but what are the weaknesses of the monster? How does that monster even operate at such high speeds? Wouldn't the friction of the air be a major factor in how it moved? How would the air behave to having it run running through it? Would there be a sonic boom?

I agree that it is unfair to scrutinise he pseudo-science for some characters and not for others.

[Shin Ghost Note]

God dammit guys, I SAID THIS FUCKING ARGUMENT WAS OVER

WHY DO YOU KEEP GOING?!?

[QuietThinker]

I posted that before I saw your post declaring the discussion was over.

[Schradinger]

I wasn't comparing the powers, I was illustrating the discrepancy in the level of suspension of disbelief everyone is willing to grant to the various characters and their abilities.

The article you linked to doesn't debunk Wolff's law, it simply states that the law is not always correct and is too general to include all the variations and causes and results of varies stresses on bone. It's a fact that weightlifters develop stronger bones. It's a fact that astronauts develop weaker bones. Stress on bone has a direct correlation to bone density and durability, but I'm not going to sit down and earn a PHD on the effects of stress on bone just to write a fictional character with superpowers. Everything I write isn't going to be 100% scientifically accurate. Generally, all I'm going to do is look at commonly seen effects of various stresses and stimuli and think "Ok, now how would that general rule affect her after taking her abilities into account?"

In this case, the stresses of her life thus far combined with her ability to regenerate would lead to the development of bones with a higher resistance to physical stress. That's it. I'm not giving her an adamantium skeleton, just a physical development that reflects both her past and her ability.

Edit: I too, missed Allen's post about this being over. >_< Sorry, man.

[Shin Ghost Note]

Mr Allen J said
God dammit guys, I SAID THIS FUCKING ARGUMENT WAS OVERWHY DO YOU KEEP GOING?!?

[AeronFarron]

QuietThinker said
I posted that before I saw your post declaring the discussion was over.

wanna collab?