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((That would be a shipping chart.))

((For the record, that is not a shipping grid.))

These guys live up there; if we don't behave exactly like a cloud should, they'll be able to pick us out as strange.

These guys have brains; if we show up as an ice-covered dragon skeletons, they'll know we're strange and dangerous immediately, without the time taken to observe our movements for a while or for that matter pick us out from the surrounding cloud.

Let's go for the extreme case- if it's an open sky, our bones are bleached-white (or somehow blue) and our ice is pure-transparent, a house-sized dragon at medium/long range is going to be a lot more difficult to spot than an apartment-complex cloud that's following your ship. It'll also be easier to stay in their blind spot, (assuming the balloon is a blindspot).

It'd like to note that that's the extreme best case for you. Of course it'll be better.
I'm assuming that there are clouds in the sky, because there are almost always clouds in the sky. If we stay next to or perhaps partly in a cloud, we'd be completely invisible. Even if not, a cloud isn't an immediate cause for worry, even if it's not acting exactly like a cloud. And we do have margin for error--these sky-sailors know they're just human, and anyways are going to be scanning the sky for anything of note, not staring at individual clouds and trying to see if this random cloud is moving a bit differently than clouds normally do.
And how would a cloud-cloaked dragon be easier to hide in the blind spot than a non-cloud-cloaked dragon? I'm not sure we could significantly increase our apparent size if we tried.

I reiterate not worrying about them unless they're coming at us.

They're coming within spitting distance of our house. Traffic like this is worth investigating.

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We could watch clouds, go with them. If we were trying, it would be neither obviously stupid nor stupidly obvious.

We won't be able to read them like they can, we aren't a mariner. We dont' have the qualifications yo.

On the other hand, as I noted above, they're not going to know to look at Cloud X for any minor abnormalities...they're going to be looking for threats. Like dragons. What is it that we would be doing that attracts immediate and obvious attention?

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They sure seem to be coming near...although that lack of z-level is annoying...still, it wouldn't be that large if they were a mile away, now would it?

Unless they're a mile-long...

Oh come on now.

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Remind me never to hire you as an aerial marine.
"Why did you waste the gunpowder and cannonball/ballista bolt/whatever?"
"That cloud is following us!"
"You idiot, it's the wind! Don't fire unless you have some reason to believe that it is dangerous and able to be affected by our weapons!"
Because seriously, what kind of cloud would be affected by weapons?
On the other hand, if we were an icy skeletal dragon, we'd be an obvious and immediate threat, and hence worth firing on immediately. Not to mention, obviously affectable by weapons...

I delight in this conversation.
More like
"Why did you waste the gunpowder and cannonball/ballista bolt/whatever?"
"That cloud is following us!"
"Holy shite it is! BY GOD SHOOT IT SOME MORE!"
Because seriously, what kind of cloud would be affected by weapons?
Strange cluuds.

1. Oh, come on. That would require there to be a sentry that's watching a specific cloud for no particular reason, and a captain who believes and trusts in this sentry's honesty and sanity enough to believe in a flying cloud.
2. Most strange clouds are still clouds. Clouds are made of water vapor/droplets and other little things floating in the air, and won't be affected by shooting them. This is true of all clouds--normal clouds, storm clouds, demon-possessed clouds, clouds of poison gas, clouds of smoke, clouds of nitrogen caused by warming liquid nitrogen, etc.
3. A dragon is likely to be noticed and fired at immediately, because it is a freaking dragon.

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How so?

Being a cloud usually isn't better than the alternative, which makes the quote exotic. Does OOC stuff have to involve macerated ass or something?

What?
Looking like a cloud is less conspicuous than looking like a dragon, you haven't explained how this is OOC (or untrue).

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Not true.
"Hey, look, a shiny thing!" (Ice is shiny when clean. And kinda shiny when dirty.) "Oh, look, it is a dragon-shaped shiny thing with a skeleton in the middle! I bet it's some kind of threat!"
Vs:
"Hey, look, that cloud isn't exactly like the rest of the clouds. Must be turbulence or something. Certainly not worth wasting the gunners' time about."

You obviously haven't met a sky mehreen. I am an expert on these things.

That's because they don't exist. You're as much an expert on sky "mehreens" as I am on, say, stars orbiting Jupiter.
I'm assuming these "sky mehreens" will be able to identify a dragon, which is made of a combination of bone and ice that is either shiny or opaque, as a threat as well as "quite unusual" immediately, and that they do not deal with clouds that look like they could be acting a bit unusual by shooting at them the moment they're seen. Because I'm assuming that they have typical human/oid senses, sanity, and sentience.

Btw, dwarves exist, so dwarven skymarines is almost undeniably a thing.

...So many problems with that statement.

Fly back to the starting area. Create a swarm of golems. Make the golems disassemble us and reassemble us in a normal-sized humanoid form with wings. Try and have as much bone in us as possible. Coat ourselves with ice. Create a chest and store the excess bone.

-1, aside from being time-consuming enough that we could lose them, it also sounds dangerous.

Nuriel looks exactly the same. "Glad I'm a demon."

Angel looks like a scrawny guy with long hair. "...Huh?"

@gwg
We aren't a sky mariner, we don't pay attention to how clouds behave, therefore we don't know how we should behave to stay hidden. Merely by following them we could be doing something obvious and stupid.

We could watch clouds, go with them. If we were trying, it would be neither obviously stupid nor stupidly obvious.

Nope, he didn't say they were coming at us, he said they were flying 'rather nearby'. The map isn't exactly clear on z-level either.

They sure seem to be coming near...although that lack of z-level is annoying...still, it wouldn't be that large if they were a mile away, now would it?

If I were an aerial marine, I'd shoot the cloud first and ask questions later. Clouds have no bus'nuss behaving loik that one there.

Remind me never to hire you as an aerial marine.
"Why did you waste the gunpowder and cannonball/ballista bolt/whatever?"
"That cloud is following us!"
"You idiot, it's the wind! Don't fire unless you have some reason to believe that it is dangerous and able to be affected by our weapons!"
Because seriously, what kind of cloud would be affected by weapons?
On the other hand, if we were an icy skeletal dragon, we'd be an obvious and immediate threat, and hence worth firing on immediately. Not to mention, obviously affectable by weapons...

Quote from: GreatWyrmGold on July 14, 2013, 08:09:03 pm

On the other hand, why bother not being a cloud if being a cloud is better?

Snide counter-comment That's ooc food right there.

How so?

[fearful]Not to an aerial marine.[/fearful]

(Assuming we're spotted, & there is contention as to which is easier to spot *cough*_cloud*cough*)

Not true.
"Hey, look, a shiny thing!" (Ice is shiny when clean. And kinda shiny when dirty.) "Oh, look, it is a dragon-shaped shiny thing with a skeleton in the middle! I bet it's some kind of threat!"
Vs:
"Hey, look, that cloud isn't exactly like the rest of the clouds. Must be turbulence or something. Certainly not worth wasting the gunners' time about."

Such as?

"Don't be ludicrous. Would Maria and Selina really throttle Angel? Or Conny, even?"

Never used 7.