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The Dresden Files => DF Spoilers => Topic started by: EBRIEN on December 27, 2022, 02:35:50 AM
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Hi Folks---Hope you're well and enjoying the holidays.
We know Harry uses a revolver. I wonder if he would consider attaching something magical to the bullets he uses. There were the Dragon's breath loads he mentions in one of the books (A Kincade appearance, I believe). He seemed to think there were some cool possibilities. So, how about some magic bullets?
I guess the iron content could already be effective against the Fae, but what about other creatures? Maybe an Outsider?
What do you think?
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Dragon's Breath are commercially available shells - I think pyrophoric magnesium powder. Nothing magic there, you can buy them yourself. Actually when they tried to make holy bullets, of engraved silver, the church said their inaccuracy meant the lead bullets were the Devil's work.... when actually, it was merely the harder silver didn't take rifling well.
Wonder, though, if you could get a chip of mordite in a bullet.... would that affect an Outsider? Supposed to be anti-life, yet the Mistfiend was alive
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Theoretically if Harry had someone’s blood, he could make a seeker bullet which would be attracted to a target, and could be fired around corners, but if he has their blood, why bother? Bullets work largely because they are mundane, they break magic circles and transfer kineric energy to the target. Harry could use a variation of the enchantment he put on his rings on bullets increasing massively the kinetic energy of their impact or releasing it inside the target, but they would literally be a one shot. Maybe worth it to have a speed reloader full in his pocket for special cases. Genowskwa, or 13th Hunstman killers. Better yet Ghouls. A single bullet Centre mass won’t kill a Ghoul, (even Harry’s big revolver) but one which set off one of Harry’s ring spells inside the ghoul would probably blow a hole in it the size of a bowling ball, and definitely stop it. Harry would appreciate that. Ghoul killers it is then.
Marcone’s bullets were designed to penetrate magic, but these were created with great effort by Gard (during which period Gard wouldn’t be able to notice Marcone’s lessons with Namshiel and pass the info onto Odin)
The bullets cast by Murphy were magic in that they were inherited silver. But they were specie to use by her against a particular monster
Wild Bill used a rifle and bullets but largely as a replacement for his staff, perhaps the increased kinetic energy load suggested above compared to using fire or force directly like Harry.
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I'm guessing Jim hasn't written "magic bullets" for Harry for kinda-meta reasons: basically, they'd be "too good." They'd give Harry a too-easy solution.
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Yep, Harry’s lucky Jim hasn’t equipped him with a catapult, or better yet a pea shooter.
Besides it’s not a breach of the First Law if Harry kills a mortal with a normal bullet, a magic bullet would be a breach, so a good in universe reason.
However CPD and the FBI would not be so bound and certainly would want something that can slow down the monsters, the ghoul killers posited above, or a Fae killer, same deal but a hollow point filed with iron filings. Harry might design the spells, but lesser level practitioners could make them. Not everything is susceptible to a shotgun.
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... However CPD and the FBI would not be so bound and certainly would want something that can slow down the monsters, the ghoul killers posited above, or a Fae killer, same deal but a hollow point filed with iron filings. Harry might design the spells, but lesser level practitioners could make them. Not everything is susceptible to a shotgun.
Hollowpoint bullets & shotgun pellets of iron instead of lead wouldn't even need spellwork.
They'd still take down a mortal almost as well, but they'd be deadly to the fae. Not even Mab could survive an assault-team so armed (unless she knew ahead of time, and could avoid ever being in their gunsights).
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Wonder, though, if you could get a chip of mordite in a bullet.... would that affect an Outsider? Supposed to be anti-life, yet the Mistfiend was alive
My theory is, the "Mistfiend" isn't from the Nevernever, but is a very-minor Outsider, primarily dangerous because of all the Mordite... which is a substance native to the Outside (so, no: I doubt a Mordite Bullet would affect an Outsider).
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Theoretically if Harry had someone’s blood, he could make a seeker bullet which would be attracted to a target, and could be fired around corners, but if he has their blood, why bother? Bullets work largely because they are mundane, they break magic circles and transfer kineric energy to the target. Harry could use a variation of the enchantment he put on his rings on bullets increasing massively the kinetic energy of their impact or releasing it inside the target, but they would literally be a one shot. Maybe worth it to have a speed reloader full in his pocket for special cases. Genowskwa, or 13th Hunstman killers. Better yet Ghouls. A single bullet Centre mass won’t kill a Ghoul, (even Harry’s big revolver) but one which set off one of Harry’s ring spells inside the ghoul would probably blow a hole in it the size of a bowling ball, and definitely stop it. Harry would appreciate that. Ghoul killers it is then.
Harry charges his rings by punching a heavy bag - are you going to put the bullet in his gloves to charge it up? The propellant in the case has a surprising small amount of kinetic energy - an actual 9 mm bullet is under a third of an ounce. Even Harry's 44 is about a half ounce.
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Hollowpoint bullets & shotgun pellets of iron instead of lead wouldn't even need spellwork.
They'd still take down a mortal almost as well, but they'd be deadly to the fae. Not even Mab could survive an assault-team so armed (unless she knew ahead of time, and could avoid ever being in their gunsights).
Might not want a hollowpoint. The only thing that affects the Fae that much is the steel. The outside of your bullet is not steel. It's lead, maybe copper. Steel will not take the rifling, and will be inherently less accurate. I don't know a pistol round is big enough for a sabot, so you have the point/penetrator similar to an AP bullet. THAT you make from steel. Actually could be less deadly to humans, as it could well overpenetrate.
Steel shot is a thing. Some areas ban lead shot, and you can get steel shot OTC. Beats down your barrel faster, but you'll get a few battles. Sabot slugs are a thing too.
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Normal hunting loads are copper jacketed lead. Shotgun slugs or shot are lead. Although they do make steel shot for hunting waterfowl. Military loads sometimes have iron or steel penetrators.
A hollowpoint cavity could have a steel or silver bead dropped into it and epoxied into place making them deadly to weres or fae.
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Yeah: once a magical expert gets with a good armorer, the humans are gonna really shock some of the supernaturals.
I have the strong suspicion that the Librarians have already done this...
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Harry charges his rings by punching a heavy bag - are you going to put the bullet in his gloves to charge it up? The propellant in the case has a surprising small amount of kinetic energy - an actual 9 mm bullet is under a third of an ounce. Even Harry's 44 is about a half ounce.
Yeah, the movies mislead most people about the kinetic energy transfer of the bullet (i blame actors, I am with Drax on this) Jim gets this right with Harry’s shield and Duster. The rings absorb kinetic energy from normal movement, they just need to ride around in a pocket for long enough. Speedier recharge is the punching bag.
Murphy referenced steel jacketed bullets in Wild Card dealing with the Lea level Wildfae Puck (a proto Nameless).
The modified Ghoul killers would expand their force in all directions once penetrating causing the ghoul to “pop”
Mab can survive a steel jacked bullet by removing the bullet, she will regenerate from that. Iron filings would take way longer to remove, which is why I suggest them, together with a ghoul killer, disperse them into her body. I am sure Kincaid has long been thinking along these lines, like Mr Teatime in the Discworld, he has plan for everyone, as he demonstrated with Harry.
Now that’s a horrifying thought, what if Kincaid is now working for the Library of Congress? He has experience of working with an Archive.
This is why the other nations fear humanity, if we wed our technology with magic and our numbers they are doomed. Imagine a claymore with magic Fae seeking projectiles. The Fae do.
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Normal hunting loads are copper jacketed lead. Shotgun slugs or shot are lead. Although they do make steel shot for hunting waterfowl. Military loads sometimes have iron or steel penetrators.
A hollowpoint cavity could have a steel or silver bead dropped into it and epoxied into place making them deadly to weres or fae.
Why glue steel? Buy AP rounds. Steel already installed. the Fae have been known to wear armor too. Silver maybe.
Harry, with a reloading press, making bullets... and popping them into a centrifuge to power them up with some kinetic energy? Wonder how long a shelf life for the extra KE.
Pull iron filings out of a body with a rare earth magnet? Would hurt like heck, but she'd heal.
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And it would take time.
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extraction? Some time, but if you get enough flux, not too much. It would hurt more, but Mab is a tough b1tch. She'd likely thank you for doing it as fast as possible, so long as you at least tried to keep the pain/disability at a minimum
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extraction? Some time, but if you get enough flux, not too much. It would hurt more, but Mab is a tough b1tch. She'd likely thank you for doing it as fast as possible, so long as you at least tried to keep the pain/disability at a minimum
<heh>
By her lights, Mab might owe you a favor for ripping through her flesh with myriad bits of cold iron... :o
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Harry charges his rings by punching a heavy bag - are you going to put the bullet in his gloves to charge it up? The propellant in the case has a surprising small amount of kinetic energy - an actual 9 mm bullet is under a third of an ounce. Even Harry's 44 is about a half ounce.
Yeah, the movies mislead most people about the kinetic energy transfer of the bullet (i blame actors, I am with Drax on this) Jim gets this right with Harry’s shield and Duster. The rings absorb kinetic energy from normal movement, they just need to ride around in a pocket for long enough. Speedier recharge is the punching bag.
IDEA-- RE:Harry's inlaid spells on his duster...he rewrites them so that the kinetic energy absorbed is then transferred to some magical foci and redirected towards a foe. We've seen him redirect incoming magics (incoming from the left to redirected with the right? Entropy curse and frozen turkey meet blampire) Just thinking on the fly here. Seems there are tons of things Harry could be doing with the kinetic energy stuff--charging up magic bullets, using the incoming kinetic energy absorbed by his duster to regen his electric ca..uh..hmmm)
Thanks for all the chat on this one. Fun stuff!
Brien
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Rewrite it so the kinetic energy of the bullet travels back along the trajectory to the point of origin? Blowing up a gun or at least shooting it out of an assailants hand?
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Pull iron filings out of a body with a rare earth magnet? Would hurt like heck, but she'd heal.
Pull iron filings out of a BRAIN. What you get back may not be the same.
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Better hope you can do it before Halloween
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My theory is, the "Mistfiend" isn't from the Nevernever, but is a very-minor Outsider, primarily dangerous because of all the Mordite... which is a substance native to the Outside (so, no: I doubt a Mordite Bullet would affect an Outsider).
IIRC Jim retconned the Mistfiend's nature in one of the later books where Harry was reflecting on the events of TC, to say Peabody explicitly let loose an Outsider to kill all those wizards.
Mordite being the substance of the Outside, I doubt it would be effective against Outsiders. Harry would probably have to use Soulfire to craft anything that would be bane to them by virtue of being made of a Starborn, and then the massive liabilities of having pieces of your soul floating around that others can take and use against you would probably overwhelm the utility.
I'd bet he probably could enchant a bullet to spread Winter cold throughout a body as soon as it contacted blood, but any target whose magical defenses he can't overwhelm with the Infriga spell anyway - at much less effort - is probably going to be good enough with shields, veils and kinetic speed boosts that the chances of getting a bullet into them are remote anyway.
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I'd bet he probably could enchant a bullet to spread Winter cold throughout a body as soon as it contacted blood, but any target whose magical defenses he can't overwhelm with the Infriga spell anyway - at much less effort - is probably going to be good enough with shields, veils and kinetic speed boosts that the chances of getting a bullet into them are remote anyway.
Ah, but could he make those bullets AND GIVE THEM AWAY? Tilly or Bradley if he becomes a new buddy might like a magazine or two? Carlos if he comes in from the cold, so to speak? All carry guns. Heck, Harry put them in his own in case he gets caught in another circle like the Shedd. It appears magical charms stay charmed, you just can't pull in fresh.