Luke Skywalker (ROTJ) vs Legatus Lanius (FO:NV)

[Panzersharkcat]

Jerkass god plucks both of them away from their respective universes, Luke just as he is about the meet Palpatine and Lanius while he is directing the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, and dumped into a gladiator pit. They are both equipped with only leather armor and a machete. The victor will return to where he was before in full health with nobody the wiser about his disappearance. The loser will also return to where he was but dead, and probably with limbs missing. In terms of Force abilities, Luke only has what's displayed in Return of the Jedi. So, rookie Jedi with craploads of Force potential who you don't want to piss off or made-of-iron murder machine who has more health than the Legendary Deathclaw?

[FaxModem1]

How susceptible do you think Lanius will be to a Jedi Mind trick?

[Sarevok]

Legate Lanius is only durable in gameplay, where due to hitpoints even wild animals have better bullet resistance than level 4 body armor in real world.

So the real question is how much damage could he tank if he existed for real ?

[Panzersharkcat]

Gameplay is one reason why I didn't want to make this against Joshua Graham, who somehow has skin tougher than the power armor of the Enclave.

Anyway, I doubt him enduring past getting his arm lopped off by a machete but maybe smaller glancing hits that go through the armor? I think he would still have a huge advantage in terms of agility, considering how inhumanly fast he is. Even after crippling his legs, it's like having Usain Bolt with a giant sword running after me. Obviously, that wouldn't happen if his legs really were crippled, but he's still really fucking fast. Fallout Wiki says he's 80% faster than normal NPCs. Realistically, he wouldn't be that fast, but he would probably be significantly faster than anything Luke displayed in the movies.

[Thanas]

Legatus Lanius? What a stupid name.
Spoiler

Translated it means "the legate the butcher", or "legate butcher"

[Norade]

I think they were just using names that sounded cool both in and out of universe.

[Panzersharkcat]

They're a bunch of nuts who run around dressed in old athletic gear that looks somewhat like the lorica segmentata, are obsessive about keeping slaves, and have a, to put it lightly, "go back to the kitchen" attitude towards women. They kind of have a few screws loose. Names some of their members have: Cato Hostilius, Vulpes Inculta, Aurelius of Phoenix, Silus, Severus, Alexus, Lucius. OK, the last few weren't exactly crazy but they are really in love with Latin names. It's fairly well-researched on Obsidian's part, though, even if aspects of the Roman empire were flanderized in-universe. I had never heard of the frumentarii until this game and was unaware of the classical Latin pronunciation of Caesar.

[streetad]

Gameplay mechanics aside, Lanius is just a particularly brutal, vicious human being. Whilst undoubtedly a badass, and maybe a more skilled fighter than Luke, he has no superhuman abilities. By this point, Luke has demonstrated precognition (deflecting incoming fire, visions of the future), telekinesis (summoning his lightsaber, force-pushing the pig guy), mind-control (talking his way into Jabba's palace) and general superhuman agility/reflexes. Its not really much of a contest as far as I can see.

[Stark]

If you put Luke in FO, he'd have a shitload of VATS points.

Does Lanius have any magic powers?

[The Vortex Empire]

If you put Luke in FO, he'd have a shitload of VATS points.

Does Lanius have any magic powers?

Nope. He's just a tough psychopath with a really heavily scarred face and a fancy helmet. Odds are, Luke rips Lanius apart.

[Sarevok]

Heh. Starks right. Luke would be a super endgame boss character in FO3. With a gazillion health and an one hit kill sword attack that would leave gamers grumbling.

[Panzersharkcat]

Yes, but he only gets a machete and leather armor here. Same goes with Lanius. He probably could wreak a lot of havoc by using the force to take away Lanius' machete or by throwing his at him. Probably the former, though, since I don't remember him ever using TK offensively in combat in the movies.

[Stofsk]

I don't think it matters whether Luke gets his lightsabre or his x-wing or his blaster or his plush teddy bear. He's got magic powers; does the other dude have a useful reply to that?

As for demonstrated TK, Luke pulled some dude's gun away from him in Jabba's palace, and he also choked two Gammorean guards. Vader used TK to throw his lightsabre at Luke which is a feat I imagine Luke is equally capable of, even if he didn't demonstrate it during the duel.

[Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba]

Legatus Lanius? What a stupid name.
Spoiler

Translated it means "the legate the butcher", or "legate butcher"

Actually, that's pretty appropriate to the character. That is, he crucifies, massacres, and generally bucthers all opposition and wears a frightening mask at all times to help spread fear among his enemies.

Anyways, here's the best I could get from The Vault of Lanius' accomplishments:

Lanius was the bloodthirsty champion of [a hostile] tribe, sometimes ambushing entire groups of Legionaries by himself. Caesar's Legion then tracked down Lanius' tribe, although when Lanius' tribe knew that they wouldn't be able to win against Caesar, they chose to surrender. This act drove Lanius into a blood thirsty frenzy; killing the Chieftain and 15 others of his own tribe single handedly before he was knocked unconscious.
[...]
As the final boss, Lanius has the highest HP of any human character in the game, on par with The Master and Frank Horrigan of the first two Fallout games, and in sharp contrast to Colonel Autumn, the final boss of Fallout 3. [this is a gameplay mechanic, but it's a decent barometer of his strength that his creators intended him to be about as tough as gigantic armoured techno-organic post-human monstrosities]
[...]
In the G.E.C.K., Lanius has the unique class "Legionary Bad Ass". [admittedly this doesn't mean anything but it gives a good inkling of where the game-makers were coming from]

However, he doesn't have magic powers like Luke. He is probably much more familiar with a machete than Luke is, but Magical Chosen One Of Ultimate Destiny -> Legionary Bad Ass.

[Highlord Laan]

Legatus Lanius? What a stupid name.
Spoiler

Translated it means "the legate the butcher", or "legate butcher"

That actually suits him in game. The player hears of how Lanius took control of an under-performing cohort after first beating it's former leader to death barehanded, then ordered 1/10th of the unit killed by the other 9/10's.

As Mr. New Vegas put it "And you thought your boss was hard to deal with."

[Panzersharkcat]

I don't think it matters whether Luke gets his lightsabre or his x-wing or his blaster or his plush teddy bear. He's got magic powers; does the other dude have a useful reply to that?

As for demonstrated TK, Luke pulled some dude's gun away from him in Jabba's palace, and he also choked two Gammorean guards. Vader used TK to throw his lightsabre at Luke which is a feat I imagine Luke is equally capable of, even if he didn't demonstrate it during the duel.

Nah, he's just a lightning bruiser, with a lot of emphasis on the lightning part. Hmm... So yeah, Luke gets a broken nose at worst while Lanius returns to Hoover Dam with some limbs missing.

Legatus Lanius? What a stupid name.
Spoiler

Translated it means "the legate the butcher", or "legate butcher"

That actually suits him in game. The player hears of how Lanius took control of an under-performing cohort after first beating it's former leader to death barehanded, then ordered 1/10th of the unit killed by the other 9/10's.

As Mr. New Vegas put it "And you thought your boss was hard to deal with."

You also see him performing a human sacrifice right before the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, if you take the Legion route.

[Marko Dash]

Legatus Lanius? What a stupid name.
Spoiler

Translated it means "the legate the butcher", or "legate butcher"

That actually suits him in game. The player hears of how Lanius took control of an under-performing cohort after first beating it's former leader to death barehanded, then ordered 1/10th of the unit killed by the other 9/10's.

As Mr. New Vegas put it "And you thought your boss was hard to deal with."

IIRC this was an actual roman practice and is the origin of the word decimate.

[Panzersharkcat]

Legatus Lanius? What a stupid name.
Spoiler

Translated it means "the legate the butcher", or "legate butcher"

That actually suits him in game. The player hears of how Lanius took control of an under-performing cohort after first beating it's former leader to death barehanded, then ordered 1/10th of the unit killed by the other 9/10's.

As Mr. New Vegas put it "And you thought your boss was hard to deal with."

IIRC this was an actual roman practice and is the origin of the word decimate.

Yup. Caesar even tells you about it if you talk to him extensively. Of course, he uses the original Latin, "decimatio."

[Setzer]

Legatus Lanius? What a stupid name.
Spoiler

Translated it means "the legate the butcher", or "legate butcher"

That's the whole idea. He's supposed to be someone the Legionaries are more afraid of then any enemy.

[Thanas]

^Still a stupid name.