2016/02/22 [DMFA #1645] If not sword, maybe bullets?

[Carmeops]

seems like the shots calling for the previous page were right: magic less metal bits, possibly to be turned into unstoppable-piercing-everything bullets

that would really be a game changer in that world, beings and creatures all equals in front of the power of guns

[Tapewolf]

that would really be a game changer in that world, beings and creatures all equals in front of the power of guns

It would also put Beings straight to the top of the Dragons' kill-list.

As for making the races equal, I'm really not sure about that.  For starters, they seem to have reached an equilibrium anyway, with roaming adventurers who are able to take down Demons, Angels and so forth.  The way they nearly decapitated Alexsi believing her to be Abel - they knew exactly what they were doing and it would likely have worked for any of the common Creature races.  Beings aren't nearly as defenceless as you'd think at first pass.

Where it gets really interesting is that Jyrras is pro-Creature and always has been.  That gun he built?  He tested that by shooting a Being, not a Creature.  Is he going to develop something specifically so that Beings can use it to kill his friends with total impunity?  I'm not sure.

Also, in most of the fights we've seen, from Glory and Devin at the way-station through to Dan and Wildy's sparring match, Beings have cast shielding spells.  They do that extensively, and this stuff will go straight through those.

[Carmeops]

It would also put Beings straight to the top of the Dragon's kill-list.

yep, but Jyrras already have mounted turrets, giant mechas, tanks and so on ready in the basement, not to mention two secret and highly illegal artificial lifeforms that noone knows about

to the outside world he is just building gadgets and oddities, by the time he finish the non magic bullets thing (Biggs has a full warehouse of the metal) he would have enough firepower to not fear any dragons, demons or gods out there

Destania will have an easy time completing her dragon genocide with them, and if Biggs keeps a handgun with him at all time, he will have a chance to backstab her before she backstab him

until now Destania always felt in control cause she could overpower Biggs at anytime, but if Biggs get a "kill everything on a trigger pull" device, the gap between them will close immediately

[Somebodyelse]

Yay fantasy physics expo!

That does solve the question of what happens when Fae and natural stuff mix. I guess they'd just magic it up on contact. I wonder if it would be the same for organic "anti-magic" substances or if that's an entirely different ballgame all together.

[Jasonrevall]

It would also put Beings straight to the top of the Dragon's kill-list.

yep, but Jyrras already have mounted turrets, giant mechas, tanks and so on ready in the basement, not to mention two secret and highly illegal artificial lifeforms that noone knows about

to the outside world he is just building gadgets and oddities, by the time he finish the non magic bullets thing (Biggs has a full warehouse of the metal) he would have enough firepower to not fear any dragons, demons or gods out there

Destania will have an easy time completing her dragon genocide with them, and if Biggs keeps a handgun with him at all time, he will have a chance to backstab her before she backstab him

until now Destania always felt in control cause she could overpower Biggs at anytime, but if Biggs get a "kill everything on a trigger pull" device, the gap between them will close immediately

You're forgetting something important. The bullet would go through magically protected barriers and defenses, but dragons are still very large and have thick scales. Pulling a handgun on a dragon wont necessarily stop it from stomping on you with its sheer size either. Magic is not the the sum of ability creatures possess and making these weapons may bring those talents to bear against jyrass and his allies/friends.

[KarlBob]

Couple things:

1. It took Jyrras Gianna, Guy Genius (tm), quite a while to work out his theories on non-magic devices, then test them out, before he created his pistol. Now here comes Biggs, shortly after a successful (impromptu) test, conveniently offering up a warehouse full of magic-free metal. I guess we know what Kria was referring to when she ordered Chazore to "look into this and report back to me all the details."

*Edit* Wait. No. It's Destania who's working with Biggs, not Kria. The scene with Chazore explains how Kria might know about the pistol, but not how Biggs knows. Maybe Gyrras is just that bad at keeping secrets.

2. If there's a warehouse worth of magic-less metal, it seems that Gyrras isn't the first to develop these theories. Have the Adventurer's Guilds been hiding a full-blown non-magic manufacturing infrastructure from the world? Or did most beings and creatures just not care?

*Edit 2* Nope again. The creatures should definitely care. Again, a warehouse-load implies non-magic weapon and "armor" (protective amulet) production has been going on for quite a while. Is the difference between non-magic swords/arrows and non-magic bullets really great enough to tip the balance of power in this world, as Mab has implied? Maybe the key is that Gyrras will turn an inefficient, one-item-at-a-time process into an assembly-line system capable of mass production. The Council seems to know that something is about to change.

[HaDDea]

Yay fantasy physics expo!

That does solve the question of what happens when Fae and natural stuff mix. I guess they'd just magic it up on contact. I wonder if it would be the same for organic "anti-magic" substances or if that's an entirely different ballgame all together.

I don't know, this update makes me even more confused as to how magic works. Apparently it can concentrate in geologic features like the Blue Volcano, but isn't everywhere? how does magic work in Furrae? it can't be a force that permeates everywhere, as "natural" objects resist its effects (initially). But apparently it can persist for a long time in places where it does exist (Blue volcano and its Mythos). is it really just Fae residue? then why are the dragons here? do they bring magic with them, or was there innate magic within Furrae to begin with? is magic more elemental in nature?

You're forgetting something important. The bullet would go through magically protected barriers and defenses, but dragons are still very large and have thick scales. Pulling a handgun on a dragon wont necessarily stop it from stomping on you with its sheer size either. Magic is not the the sum of ability creatures possess and making these weapons may bring those talents to bear against jyrass and his allies/friends.

Armor piercing rounds: that is all. But then again, perhaps Biggs has something else in mind... if i was going to shoot something the size of Hizell, I would want something more like a broadhead arrow point - a wide flat blade to slice a large hole. That, or a Bazooka.

2. If there's a warehouse worth of magic-less metal, it seems that Gyrras isn't the first to develop these theories. Have the Adventurer's Guilds been hiding a full-blown non-magic manufacturing infrastructure from the world? Or did most beings and creatures just not care?

Zezzuva pointed out that the Dragons had been culling "undesirable" races for millenia - including Humans. They also went after the Were, who are innately magic-resistant. It may be that humans of Furrae were originally non-magical and thus a threat  to the dragons because of these ideas and innovations. Thus Jyrras may be rediscovering what the Humans (or some other unfortunate Being or Creature) already knew.

[Jasonrevall]

You're forgetting something important. The bullet would go through magically protected barriers and defenses, but dragons are still very large and have thick scales. Pulling a handgun on a dragon wont necessarily stop it from stomping on you with its sheer size either. Magic is not the the sum of ability creatures possess and making these weapons may bring those talents to bear against jyrass and his allies/friends.

Armor piercing rounds: that is all. But then again, perhaps Biggs has something else in mind... if i was going to shoot something the size of Hizell, I would want something more like a broadhead arrow point - a wide flat blade to slice a large hole. That, or a Bazooka.

Armor piercing rounds work specifically for body armor. Also a handgun even with armor piercing rounds wouldn't pierce something that thick.

[KarlBob]

2. If there's a warehouse worth of magic-less metal, it seems that Gyrras isn't the first to develop these theories. Have the Adventurer's Guilds been hiding a full-blown non-magic manufacturing infrastructure from the world? Or did most beings and creatures just not care?

Zezzuva pointed out that the Dragons had been culling "undesirable" races for millenia - including Humans. They also went after the Were, who are innately magic-resistant. It may be that humans of Furrae were originally non-magical and thus a threat  to the dragons because of these ideas and innovations. Thus Jyrras may be rediscovering what the Humans (or some other unfortunate Being or Creature) already knew.

I guess that could explain why Biggs referred to the "great heroes of legend" having non-magic items. Maybe the secret was lost when the humans were exterminated, and the modern Adventurer's Guilds don't know how to make them any more.

[KarlBob]

You're forgetting something important. The bullet would go through magically protected barriers and defenses, but dragons are still very large and have thick scales. Pulling a handgun on a dragon wont necessarily stop it from stomping on you with its sheer size either. Magic is not the the sum of ability creatures possess and making these weapons may bring those talents to bear against jyrass and his allies/friends.

Armor piercing rounds: that is all. But then again, perhaps Biggs has something else in mind... if i was going to shoot something the size of Hizell, I would want something more like a broadhead arrow point - a wide flat blade to slice a large hole. That, or a Bazooka.

Armor piercing rounds work specifically for body armor. Also a handgun even with armor piercing rounds wouldn't pierce something that thick.

Which brings us back to the bazooka option. Plus, most creatures aren't as big, or as strongly armored, as dragons. An armor-piercing non-magic handgun bullet might work just fine against the hide of male Blue Mountain mythos, for example.

*Edit* Okay. Comic 941 confirms that Biggs and Kria do work together, at least sometimes. That resurrects the idea that Kria shared intel from Chazore regarding the pistol.

[Somebodyelse]

It'd be cool if energy could be "naturalized" then they could make anti-magic laser/plasma weapons. That's definitely something dragons couldn't shrug off.

Also, with the confirmation that natural metal becomes magical after awhile, the idea of anti-magic robots/cyborgs are probably out of the question.

[KarlBob]

Also, with the confirmation that natural metal becomes magical after awhile, the idea of anti-magic robots/cyborgs are probably out of the question.

Maybe they could be equipped with something like a sacrificial anode for magic? "Yup, that lightning spell enchanted the last bit of the mithril brick. Better swap in a new one before the robot starts picking up magic."

[Shadowdancer]

On a completely random tack (coz I'm gud liek that!).

Is that a play on words in the last panel or am I just seeing things that aren't there?

[Tapewolf]

Is that a play on words in the last panel or am I just seeing things that aren't there?

It sounds rather like a hint, yes.

[justacritic]

Now I'm seriously wondering if Mab is already in this tangled web of intrigue as well.

[Somebodyelse]

Now I'm seriously wondering if Mab is already in this tangled web of intrigue as well.

http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1174.php

Survey says: Yes.

[Lego3400]

*Edit* Wait. No. It's Destania who's working with Biggs, not Kria. The scene with Chazore explains how Kria might know about the pistol, but not how Biggs knows. Maybe Gyrras is just that bad at keeping secrets.

Kria is indeed working with Biggs in regards to something. She mentions him sending over some guys when Dan shows up to stop her from resurrecting DP. Also Chazore is also reporting to Biggs though we don't know if Kira knows this. Also the fact that's been hinted Biggs is on at least one of the councils and Kira also reports to one of them, and infact handed Jy's magic free game machine to them.