The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Standard Warden Equipment?
Griffyn612:
--- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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It sounds like what you're suggesting is that there be more spells laid in to the cloak. Along with the "doesn't stain with blood" spell, you'd add spells like those on Harry's duster, and fashion them in a way that the "refresh" was handled by simple magical power being poured into it. Spells that would accept magical energy in a certain way that novices could do, and use it to recharge.
wyltok:
--- Quote from: dspringer1 on July 12, 2017, 05:59:43 PM ---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.
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure I agree with this statement. The main purpose of the wardens isn't to fight wars against other Accord nations: it's to police against warlocks who break the 7 Laws. From what we've seen, most often warlocks are equipped with magic and little else. From that perspective, the Council already used to issue wardens the ideal tool for their job: spell-breaking swords. Shame that the artisan who fashioned them is currently indisposed.
Kevlar is a tool against guns, and the swords were tools against warlocks. Presumably, the Brute Squad at Archangel had superior equipment, since they were the actual equivalent to the military for the Council, before their untimely demise.
kazimmoinuddin:
Wardens are known for 2 things, their cloaks and the swords. Most of the attention goes straight to the sword, so the cloak is likely for the more subtle magics, those not that readily apparent.
jonas:
--- Quote from: kazimmoinuddin on July 12, 2017, 10:20:15 PM ---Wardens are known for 2 things, their cloaks and the swords. Most of the attention goes straight to the sword, so the cloak is likely for the more subtle magics, those not that readily apparent.
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Green/grey hides blood, plus blends by distorting sharp edges/outlines from color variances.
Aaaannnd the Wardens wear grey cloaks, work for the white council and fight black magic. Not a coincidence, no?
dspringer1:
--- Quote ---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.
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Sure we do. We can equip police with leather jackets, steel breastplates, shields, helmets, and all sorts of things. We do not because these items are either rarely useful or suffer major liabilities. For a similar reasons, I would not see wardens being routinely equipped with anti-ghost charms, mind shields, salve to see through fey illusions or any number of specialized defenses or attacks. But common attacks – especially non-magical attacks - or common tools are something that can be easily incorporated. That is why cops are often issued batans. Not because they are the primary weapon, but because it is a simple tool that is often useful. That is the type of magical equipment I expected the council to issue.
--- 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.
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I suggested general purpose items that provide passive defense or some other useful non-combat function make a lot of sense. Foci of any sort are very specific to the mage and it would be tough to make one for another that would be super efficient. Harry might be able to use Eb’s staff as Eb trained him, but not as effectively as his own staff. Using the Merlin’s staff would be even less effective. The point of issued equipment is that it works no matter the specific strengths of the wizard vs common threats/use cases. It is a supplement, not a replacement for the wizards magical abilities.
--- Quote ---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.
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Upkeep is the cost of all magic items. It does not matter who creates. Upkeep certainly limits how many items a wizard can have, but making sure wardens have a small number of very well made general purpose items can easily save lives – and the warden can keep the maintenance going. And if the warden does not want it, he can give it back. Very experienced wardens probably have only their own self created gear, but younger wardens would really benefit from issued gear.
--- 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).
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And I think that Kevlar vest will do diddly against a marine sniper rifle. That is not an argument against wearing Kevlar as very few people pack marine sniper rifles. Denarians are major league threats and few wardens would be easy going against any one of them. Even if they did, the general purpose defense provided by the council would be only one of their defenses – and not the most important one.
Standard equipment is a supplement that provides a minimum baseline of capability. It is not a replacement for what the wizard can do and would never be the primary element in a wizard’s arsenal. But this solid baseline can often make the difference between success and death/serious injury fro common situations. Equally important (not just defense), common equipment can allow wardens to more easily work together, communicate, or effectively deal with issues outside their personal strengths.
--- Quote ---I'm not sure I agree with this statement. The main purpose of the wardens isn't to fight wars against other Accord nations: it's to police against warlocks who break the 7 Laws.
--- End quote ---
The White Council has had multiple wars and conflicts with other supernatural powers --- in the books we have seen them go to town against Formor, Rakashashas, references to several vampire wars, and vague references that indicate that wars are not uncommon among the supernatural set. And all these bad guys use various non-magical threats along with any magic they can do. The reality is that the wardens have probably been in many small conflicts, minor wars and several major wars in the last century or two. They may exist to enforce the laws, but they are also a military force and are routinely expected to fight as such.
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