The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Standard Warden Equipment?
Quantus:
--- Quote from: dspringer1 on July 12, 2017, 05:59:43 PM ---This is a valid point, but I think you take it too far. After all, nobody says police should avoid wearing Kevlar simply because criminals would "expect it" and counter it. It helps often enough that it is worthwhile making standard equipment for police operating in dangerous areas/missions.
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That's because Kevlar is the only stop in town for armor against modern weapons; which are all basically just guns. If there were qualitatively distinct armor options (say magnetic/energy armor vs physical) or if other weapons were more common (say Flamethrowers) then the arguments might be comparable.
--- Quote ---Nobody is saying that equipment makes the warden. Each warden is primarily going to rely on their own personal (and individualistic) magic. However, some needs are very standard. Every warden will be attacked by physical weapons (bullets, blades, claws). Issuing each warden a standard form of protection vs this very common risk makes sense. It is certainly not going to be the only defense a warden has. But it is something that every warden will find useful and it can easily save a lot of warden lives.
For example -- harry has his shield bracelet and his duster. The duster would be the equipment that sometimes saves his life, but the shield bracelet is his personal defense and the item that saves his life more often. The duster would be the example of "issued equipment" as it is very general purpose and unintelligent. It requires no interaction with the wizard. We have seen other examples of such devices like in the duel with the White court vamps where one had a item to protect against magic.
--- End quote ---
But who's to say that Harry's brand of Shield that is a force-wall is universally superior enough to Carlos' Entropy-based shield to the point where all wardens should standardize to that method. His Duster has been pounded through an awful lot.
--- Quote ---Other devices cannot be made by others. For Harry, the bracelet is far more flexible, but has to be created by Harry as it is really just focusing his own personal magic.
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I dont think this is actually true so long as you know the principles the object functions on. Harry can use a Borrowed staff without difficulty.
--- Quote ---All I am arguing is that it makes sense for the White Council to issue "some" magical equipment to each warden. We have not seen evidence of this (as of yet), but it makes sense.
--- End quote ---
Fair. The Swords would have qualified as such while they were still possible. Though I suppose it's worth noting that the only example we have of standard issued equipment was something that had to be individually crafted to suit each Wizard's unique Magic and Mindset, despite them all apparently being functionally identical.
There is also the matter of the Burden of Upkeep. Per WOJ the vast majority of Harry's time goes to basic maintenance on each of his gizmos, or they eventually get worn down by the sunrises and need to be re-enchanted. Each item that is Standard Issue is one more timesink for each warden, translating to one less item of personal/optomized usage they can maintain themselves, or less time they can actually be doing the Job of a Warden.
jonas:
@Dspringer, to compound on what Quantus said, it's a matter of knowing the weakness. Kevlar doesn't do jack against knives so i'm sure if criminals could get ahold of some fletchet guns they would use them, or armor piercing or anything else they can snatch up and they often do. they lack the broad organization or motive to widely distribute said objects though. To bring this into comparison to the DF, Someone figured out how to block wizards off from their magic and multiple groups went about making their own version and freely distributing them. so greater enemies plus greater resources equals need for greater flexibility.
Quantus:
--- Quote from: jonas on July 12, 2017, 07:11:41 PM ---@Dspringer, to compound on what Quantus said, it's a matter of knowing the weakness. Kevlar doesn't do jack against knives so i'm sure if criminals could get ahold of some fletchet guns they would use them, or armor piercing or anything else they can snatch up and they often do. they lack the broad organization or motive to widely distribute said objects though.
--- Quote ---Yup, as I recall it Ballistic Batons and Knives (aka modern-day spring-driven crossbows) started to become illegal more or less in line with the availability of Kevlar to the general public. I always wanted one as a kid but my dad said they were too dangerous...
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To bring this into comparison to the DF, Someone figured out how to block wizards off from their magic and multiple groups went about making their own version and freely distributing them. so greater enemies plus greater resources equals need for greater flexibility.
--- End quote ---
And to point to a specific example, Thorned Namsiel was able to go right through Harry's shield using variances in magical "frequency" (in SmF). It was an impressive bit of Evocation there because it was done on the Fly, but if that shield were common enough to be a majority approach, the Counter spell would become equally more common. Wizards' powers are based on Preparation, and so their defense against it is a balance of Surprise and Secrets, or else you've given your enemies all they need to do said Preparation.
I think a better analogy for spells is Cyber-security rather than physical weaponry, where there is always an implicit functional Secret that must be maintained.
Mr. Death:
--- Quote from: Quantus on July 12, 2017, 07:41:48 PM ---Wizards' powers are based on Preparation, and so their defense against it is a balance of Surprise and Secrets, or else you've given your enemies all they need to do said Preparation.
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Yeah, among the biggest reasons a standardized Warden kit won't happen is that the average wizard has the mindset of, "I'm not going to tell you what I can do, just in case I have to use it against you."
I think there's WOJ that that's the reason Harry's never told anyone Nicodemus's weakness -- if he ever gets the noose, he doesn't want everyone to know how to kill him with it.
Quantus:
--- Quote from: Mr. Death on July 12, 2017, 08:46:21 PM ---Yeah, among the biggest reasons a standardized Warden kit won't happen is that the average wizard has the mindset of, "I'm not going to tell you what I can do, just in case I have to use it against you."
I think there's WOJ that that's the reason Harry's never told anyone Nicodemus's weakness -- if he ever gets the noose, he doesn't want everyone to know how to kill him with it.
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I was picturing the more altruistic "If I tell you what I can do You or somebody you tell will have plenty of time to Counter it." But ya, that too. :P
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