Ranged or Smash?

"Sword or Bow" is a common question when one considers combat. Meele or Ranged, both are revealing of character to the person observing the participant.

The philosophy of meele is quite simple- smash or be smashed. While the innate actions themselves are far more complex than the statement I've just offered, the crux of meele is that. The person with the fastest and strongest swing will inevitably win. Skill and initiative play a part but the overall quality to win in meele is strength.

At the other end of the scale is Ranged. More a reflexive quality and skill application- Observe target, track target and strike [at] target. Requiring more brains than brawn. It's not surprising to see this approach to combat adopted by those of a less heroic appearance. Ultimately the best practitioner of ranged will be those that have the mental fortitude to observe, track and strike in that order.

Lets have a look at some practitioners of meele and ranged and see what we can glean of their character from observation.

Farque
A two handed sword user.
Generally striking faster and stronger than those around him, definitely of the philosophy: cut or be cut. The epitome of a BDF. Obviously somebody who is impatient (the bad temper confirms that) and unforgiving (well we saw how far he was willing to go in the chase to get me). While I'm assuming he could probably be the best swordsman that I'll ever see (even better than me, maybe) in my life, there is no doubting his ability and resolve in combat. I don't think I've ever seen him really challenged in combat which is why he 'could' be the best swordsman.

Sephy
The Bisexy twin sword user.
While her innate pleasure at causing others pain stems from experiences in her youth, the capacity for extreme violence I believe was already there. A skilled user of the twin blades, she is remarkably quick in strike and parry (maybe even quicker than me, but then again she uses "two" swords). Her choice in swords lends an element of speed to her attacks and her striking method is more akin to a stab and slice rather than chopping as per your traditional sword user. I suspect that this has more to do with her elemental nature than to do with a choice she made earlier in life. When she wants to smash something she turns to rock and smashes things.

Helbe
Elf. Thief. Magic user, not mage.
Not a mage. So close to perfection but not quite there (then again he is an elf).
Helbe possesses many talents, the most important being his magic. But he chooses to utilise his other skills before his magic (which I find incredibly strange) so will directly participate in combat as opposed to trying to enforce his will on a battlefield. He prefers his bow and likes to strike from an advantageous position- sometimes using his magic in combination. I'd hazard a guess this is because of his sneaky nature inherent in thievery. His bowman ship is pretty good (alot of the time I think his shots are just lucky) and that's probably because of the partitioning of his awareness through using magic, moving quickly, casting spells and using his bow all at the same time (if it was just straight archery, he might be as good as me with practice). The epitome of a ranged combatant. Distancing oneself from occurrences around them. There's alot to Helbe that he keeps to himself.

Dorc the stupid dead orc.
Multiple meele weapon user.
An enigma. An orc, so lacking in the ability to form a coherent thought, given to a lack of attention before base needs.
I really can't comprehend how this orc was able to survive as long as he did before I destroyed him, given that it is the embodiment of all that is wrong with the BDF. Relying on strength before skill and diplomacy, he was not the sharpest tool in the shed. But putting aside those faults, he was magnificent to behold in combat. Nowhere else was this orc more in tune with the universe than laying about to all his foes on the battlefield. It was the only time I actually cared about the big green turtle. Fast, strong and to a degree skilled (at least where his strength complimented his skill). This orc would not use a bow, because he would rather have smashed something. Impatient and quick to anger (obviously why he got along with Fucker so long). Not someone I'd like to face in meele.

Shur Kee
Weird little hand to hand dude.
I didn't know this guy long, he tried to show me some stuff for hand to hand and it was pretty weird to do. Alot of kicking and moving around a strike at you. More like anticipating the blow and not being there. Alot of introspection involved too so his philosophy was more akin to ranged yet he was pure meele. But I don't understand why anybody would want to jump around without any armour in the middle of a battlefield. Just seems wrong and a way to invite death. He had some kind of inner strength that I've not beheld in anyone before except a couple of instances with Fucker. Strange. I doubt I'll get to know him any better either, as he appeared to have a good relationship with the orc.


Conclusion
Meele requires an impatient mindset to inflict death while ranged by its application requires forethought and planning. Obviously those guys are losers so magic is the only winner.