The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Better Guns for Dresden and Co.
uncanny:
--- Quote from: prince lotore on July 17, 2017, 02:19:19 PM ---personally I never understood why there isn't a weapons master for the wardens. If they all get a sword and a cloak why not a set of armor or shield like swat or at the very least someone independent that makes stuff like the guy that made daredevils suits in the netflix show
--- End quote ---
I wondered something similar actually. Yes, Luccio used to make the swords BUT that's a specific, unique item. I don't watch daredevil, so maybe my thought is already expressed, but I'm thinking more like someone who is tasked with looking over the wizard's arsenal and directing them appropriately. (No wand? Oh, oh, sorry "blasting rod". Yeah, you'll need one. No bullet dampener focus? Ok, you'll need to fix that. Here's a book on how to create short and long term focii, and forms to request materials. Return it undamaged, if you value your health. Using a revolver? What are we, the wild west? Use a semi-auto son, we ARE in the 21st century after all!) He could even be responsible for handing out expensive materials for enchanting requirements, or even holding specific items when not needed in the field, and then chases down the wizard who borrowed it (with or without extreme prejudice :)). Basically... a wizard version of Q?
prince lotore:
a nerdier example would be microchip for the punisher or wayne tech for batman
dspringer1:
I think the real barrier for wardens with regards to packing serious firepower in the shape of guns is range. They pack swords in part because they are old school, but also because a wizard is at their weakest at point blank range. Wizards like to fight at range - where their magic is much more useful.
the other reasons is that wizards have limited time. Becoming experts in a lot of weapons simply takes time to achieve and practice to maintain. It is certainly doable, but almost all wizards are going to limit themselves to a small number of such weapons so as to minimize the time required as they really want to devote their free time to magic, not firearm skill. That naturally lends itself to wizards having a favorite few weapons and ignoring the rest.
Finally, when it comes to supernatural threats, a supernatural threat with a gun is going to have a significant advantage over a wizard with a gun -- faster reflexes, supernatural grace, etc. Firearms are never going to be more than a backup weapon for a wizard. Their magic is simply a far bigger threat to enemies. Where firearms have an edge is when the battle is long (ie - they exhaust their magic), when the gun is unexpected (surprise), when their foe is particularly good at blocking magic, or when they need to kill something without breaking the laws of magic.
Shift8:
Actually I would say its the exact opposite in nature, at least with most of the direct evocation most of the Wizards in the DV use most of the time.
Range is usually the advantage of the guns in the DV. Wizards as I see it are much more deadly in close. Remember that Harry thought a sniper was the most dangerous thing to him. A in close enemy he can see is far more his purview.
I dont think it can really be argued that learning how to use a gun would somehow hinder the use of magic. Regular mortals IRL learn more than one skill in addition to using a gun. You can go to school for engineering and still be a special forces person. For the same reason you can play in the NBA and go to school for something useful. When you add in that wizards live for centuries, this becomes even more moot.
Really depends on the nature of the supernatural threat though. We have seen plenty of Ramps and Wamps get outdrawn and out fought in gun duels. There is alot more to a gun fight that reaction speed, and even then the speed difference has to exceed other factors to actually matter.
IIRC in the very first book Dresden lays out why he uses guns, and the theme is both restated and shown throughout the books. Guns are not secondaries. They are complements. In certain situations they are better than the magic most wizards use in direct fights.
Quite frankly one of the best parts about the DV is that guns and technology are in a competitive, rather than hierarchical, relationship. Most other urban fantasy tend to make regular non magic users completely worthless. One of the reasons I loved the DV in the first place is that it did NOT do this.
That is what makes the DV so awesome. No other fantasy series I know of combines magic with guns like the DV. Seriously what is better than a giant gunfight between vampires and wizards where both sides are also using supernatural abilities and flinging lightning?
groinkick:
I think that wizards would be less effective if their focus was split between guns, and magic. They wouldn't be as good with guns as the professional mercenaries hired by the supernatural community, and by focusing on guns they would be giving up their greatest advantage, magic.
There is a saying that "you run when the plan fails" - Tremors movie. Well guns are what wizards use when the plan fails. Guns are basically a last ditch effort to survive.
That being said the White Council might be better off if they recruit the least magically talented people around the world (instead of ignoring them), and have them focus on traditional military training to help support the more magically gifted wizards.
That's how I see things anyways.
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