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Harry Potter: Wizards vs. Muggles

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Scholastica Since: Jan, 2010
#126: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:23:24 PM

Yeah, some guy with a stick pops up between the Secret Service detail and the POTUS in war-time they aren't going to stop and think before they fill him with bullets.

CyganAngel Away on the wind~ from Arcadia Since: Oct, 2010
Away on the wind~
#127: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:24:44 PM

Assuming they have guns in-hand, of course.

I don't know how the Secret Service works, so they very well could.

There are too many toasters in my chimney!
Scholastica Since: Jan, 2010
#128: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:26:33 PM

They do. Its their job.

Granted, Reagan and Kennedy would probably have something to say about their effectiveness.

Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#129: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:26:34 PM

They mainly exist to keep the president alive; they do that by shooting people.

melloncollie Since: Feb, 2012
#131: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:31:01 PM

Pettigrew hit a gas pipe
That was the coverup story, dunno if that's what actually happened.

Thats a lot of oil to transform. And how many wizards can you have doing it without them getting shot up?
See this is where we have problems, because it hasn't been said what the limits of magic are. Can 1 wizard do it? Can a team of 100 wizards do it? Can it be done at all?

I also doubt that most natural resources (in the US anyway) are guarded night and day by armies. But we can assume they will be once they are hit, so it's a one-time deal.

If the wizards launch a full scale attack on muggle resources then it would be a crippling blow but one muggles could overcome eventually. No oil? Go back to coal. No grids? build new ones.
If you have no oil, no gas, no electricity all at the same time, how will you build new grids? And that takes a lot of time and money. And no trains or cars or boats means you can't ship materials or personnel efficiently, you're stuck with horse carriages and sailboats. No electricity means no refrigeration either, so everything grown at farms has to be turned unperishable somehow.

Like I was trying to say, the effectiveness of attacking natural resources depends on strategy and timing. What if you took away transportation, electricity and gas mains on the East Coast during the winter?

edited 28th Nov '10 10:34:41 PM by melloncollie

TheGunheart Some nights I rule the world (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Some nights I rule the world
#132: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:31:11 PM

Teleporting, in an instant. No obvious entry point to anticipate. Unless the target sleeps with someone in the room watching them, there's always going to be an open window for that kind of power.

melloncollie Since: Feb, 2012
#133: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:32:06 PM

^ If Muggles know about Apparating they probably would have 24-hour surveillance.

CyganAngel Away on the wind~ from Arcadia Since: Oct, 2010
Away on the wind~
#134: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:32:20 PM

Do they wear stealth scopes stuff all the time?

There are too many toasters in my chimney!
Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#135: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:35:17 PM

^It's called interlocking fields of fire; you watch your sector and shoot anything that enters it.

And why the fuck would the president sleep with the window open?

TheGunheart Some nights I rule the world (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Some nights I rule the world
#136: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:35:24 PM

We're also assuming that wizards have no handy way of bulletproofing themselves. Obviously, you can't block spells with armor, but given everything else they're capable of...

^ I mean as in "window of opportunity". If the target is ever alone or out of someone's sight for an instant, you've got a dead target.

edited 28th Nov '10 10:36:12 PM by TheGunheart

Scholastica Since: Jan, 2010
#137: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:36:09 PM

Mellon: There was a time when we didn't have oil and electricity to power our vehicles. If the circumstances made it neccesary, I'm sure that a war-time footing would get some of this up and running again. And I still doubt the wizarding worlds ability to carry out such a massive attack. And like you said, its a one trick wonder.

^ Tackling. And the guy doing the kidnappi9ng has to be watching non-stop for that opportunity.

edited 28th Nov '10 10:37:07 PM by Scholastica

Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#138: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:36:44 PM

That's SOF/CIA/Secret Service types aim for the head.

Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#139: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:37:43 PM

@The Gunheart: You see the thing is; the President is never really alone.

Scholastica Since: Jan, 2010
#140: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:39:19 PM

And even if the President is captured or killed that doesn't leave the country headless. Off the top of my head at least three presidents have been assasinated but the country got on fine.

Kino: Something wrong with your post editing button?

edited 28th Nov '10 10:40:10 PM by Scholastica

CyganAngel Away on the wind~ from Arcadia Since: Oct, 2010
Away on the wind~
#141: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:39:22 PM

Um, no. I was saying, if they don't wear thermal headsets and stuff, then an invisible wizard could quite easily walk up and kidnap him, couldn't they?

There are too many toasters in my chimney!
Scholastica Since: Jan, 2010
#142: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:40:43 PM

And walk out the door with him?

TheGunheart Some nights I rule the world (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Some nights I rule the world
#143: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:41:17 PM

I was also referring to anyone else in the chain of command, but I see the point.

And aiming for the head has nothing to do with this. We're talking magic here: weight restrictions likely wouldn't apply.

...And then there's the idea of employment dementors, which can not be killed at all.

Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#144: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:41:27 PM

Assuming he's in the White Hous; the president is under constant surveillance by god knows what kind of technology. If they see a single heat source hiding next to a vase they're going to call it in and we'll have a dead wizard.

TheGunheart Some nights I rule the world (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Some nights I rule the world
#145: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:42:42 PM

This is assuming there's no way to mask one's heat completely.

Scholastica Since: Jan, 2010
#146: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:42:42 PM

Dementors could be effective weapons but I'm pretty sure they burn.

Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#147: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:42:46 PM

@The Gunheart: Who said dementors can't be killed? Chuck a few thermite grenades at them and we;ll see what happens.

TheGunheart Some nights I rule the world (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Some nights I rule the world
#148: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:43:36 PM

If they burn, then obviously that means they can be killed. But it's specifically said that you can't, and if something as simple as fire could do it, you wouldn't say they can't be killed.

Scholastica Since: Jan, 2010
#149: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:43:41 PM

Kino has a point.

Not killed by any means wizards know of. Maybe fire doesn't kill them, just hurt them real bad. Thats still a dementor who can't be used for combat.

edited 28th Nov '10 10:44:49 PM by Scholastica

Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#150: Nov 28th 2010 at 10:45:14 PM

@The Gunheart: I'm talking about in the books; we have no reference of them being un-killable.

[edit] Shotguns with rock salt

edited 28th Nov '10 10:45:59 PM by Kino


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