Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

FAN: Discuss various fictional worlds that don't qualify for SF.

Moderator: Steve

User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Might be worth doing tests on them to see what the minimum amount of physical force needed to kill one is.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
Eternal_Freedom
Castellan
Posts: 10361
Joined: 2010-03-09 02:16pm
Location: CIC, Battlestar Temeraire

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

That'll be a fun job for Q Branch. Perhaps some kind of giant industrial press, a la Terminator?

Now that I think about it though...do we ever see anyone using magic other than Patronuses at Dementors? Is it possible that the "nothing else works on them" is just accepted wisdom because no-one tries anymore?
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:That'll be a fun job for Q Branch. Perhaps some kind of giant industrial press, a la Terminator?
Freshly Squeezed Dementor. :D
Now that I think about it though...do we ever see anyone using magic other than Patronuses at Dementors? Is it possible that the "nothing else works on them" is just accepted wisdom because no-one tries anymore?
Well, I assume someone must have tried Avada Kedavra on them at some point, at least. And considering the threat represented, I'd be surprised if no one had ever tried to experiment with killing them with magic, especially given how difficult the Patronus is supposed to be to cast.

No, if there's a big blind spot that most wizards are going to have, its going to be trying to handle them through non-magical means. Most of them, especially a lot of the pure bloods, probably wouldn't even think to test that. Wizarding society tends to be overly dependent on magic, I think.

Solving problems with magic is something that will instantly occur to them, because it usually works. Its when that doesn't work that they'll be lost.

That's pretty much the point of Snape's obstacle in the first book- its a logic puzzle, because a lot of wizards are no good at actually analyzing things rationally.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
Eternal_Freedom
Castellan
Posts: 10361
Joined: 2010-03-09 02:16pm
Location: CIC, Battlestar Temeraire

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Fair point. It was one of those "they can't really be that stupid can they?" ideas.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
Crazedwraith
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 11863
Joined: 2003-04-10 03:45pm
Location: Cheshire, England

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Crazedwraith »

I think Thermite for horcruxs and 'killing' Dementors, run into the big problem of analysing magic. It doesn't have to make rational sense.

It might not matter if thermite burns as hot as fiendfyre, it still might not destroy horcruxes because there might be a metaphysical properties of fiendfyre that causes it.

Likewise you might be able to crush a dementor's physical body in a machine press but it might reform or regenerate from it's spirit at some rate. The only thing we know that hurts dementors are patronuses. I know that borders on a no-limits fallacy but it's not so much 'no limits' as 'we have no idea what they are and where they are'.
User avatar
Shroom Man 777
FUCKING DICK-STABBER!
Posts: 21222
Joined: 2003-05-11 08:39am
Location: Bleeding breasts and stabbing dicks since 2003
Contact:

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

Technobabble wand-snapping sonics?

Sonics... shrieky-things that can prevent concentration for spells... and THEN send weaponized hard-of-hearing people to do the hearing-equivalent of Daredevil to these folks?

At least some measures based on anti-telepath/telekine/Jedi measures people usually try to come up with.

Breed huge steroidified people. We see Hagrid, despite his magic-lessness, withstand some spells due to sheer fortitude...

Ally with goblins and wizard sympathizers, Hermione can muster sympathy for House Elves so I'm sure if worse comes to worse, she and others would not be averse to helping their muggle-kin who face genocide.

I think the internet, advanced digital electronics, maybe even SECURITY CAMERAS, and such are probably hard to comprehend for a lot of wizards and witches, particularly purists. Arthur Weasley is a specialist in muggle things yet he's still kinda thick... I'm not saying "RAR ACTIVATE IPAD! STUPID WIZARDS LOSE!" but like if the average wizard, heck even Aurors not used to dealing with mugglestuff, doesn't know about security cams or miniaturized stuff then there can be some measure to mitigate their crazy Philip K. Dick-levels of mindwipe thoughtcrime Obliviation measures... (I think modern MACUSA would actually be MIB-level in proficiency though... I think they would be another thing entirely!)

Potions don't require magic, right? So technically finding exotic Potterverse ingredients and brewing potions is STILL non-magical and can still be kosher! I imagine a lot of squibs and whatnot actually excel in these fields and there could be potions schools and institutes in the wizarding world, even in magical Britain, apart from Hogwarts. Cause if you're a squib who wants to learn this stuff, you can't exactly enroll in the wizards-exclusive Hogwarts right? If magic is required for potions, then my point is moot...
Image "DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source)
shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN!
Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people :D - PeZook
Shroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic
Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
User avatar
Zixinus
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 6663
Joined: 2007-06-19 12:48pm
Location: In Seth the Blitzspear
Contact:

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Zixinus »

I think we all forgot: anti-memory tempering measures. Preferably in a tatoo that cannot be removed.

I'm sure that in the endless bag of "tactical" gear you can find stuff like flashbangs or even plain old can-o-teargas that would be useful against wizards. The question is what would be most useful and obvious?
Credo!
Chat with me on Skype if you want to talk about writing, ideas or if you want a test-reader! PM for address.
User avatar
FaxModem1
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 7700
Joined: 2002-10-30 06:40pm
Location: In a dark reflection of a better world

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by FaxModem1 »

If you want to accept the movies as canon, memory wiping charms can edit people and events from newspapers and photographs, so a tattoo might be edited as well.

I'm still wondering if Hermione was able to restore her parents' memories of her.

A small derringer might be a good item for the kits as well, due to the sheer number of wizards who don't know what a gun is, as their newspapers had to explain what a pistol was when Sirius Black was carrying one.
Image
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by The Romulan Republic »

FaxModem1 wrote:If you want to accept the movies as canon, memory wiping charms can edit people and events from newspapers and photographs, so a tattoo might be edited as well.

I'm still wondering if Hermione was able to restore her parents' memories of her.
She probably could. Memory charms are not necessarily irreversible, and if Hermione wasn't competent enough to do it (unlikely), she could probably find someone who was.

The more interesting question is what her parents' reaction would be to find out that the entire life that they remembered was a lie, and that a daughter they didn't know they had was responsible.
A small derringer might be a good item for the kits as well, due to the sheer number of wizards who don't know what a gun is, as their newspapers had to explain what a pistol was when Sirius Black was carrying one.
Yeah, in the books, the Prophet describes a gun as a metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other. :lol:
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
Zaune
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 7430
Joined: 2010-06-21 11:05am
Location: In Transit
Contact:

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Zaune »

As far as armour goes, I've always thought the best solution was the simplest: Most combat spells are stopped by a solid object, right? It seems quite likely that the trauma plate in a ballistic vest would stand up to even a Killing Curse. If standard titanium or ceramic plates would be too easy then use a custom-made one combining meteoric iron and a heat-resistant ceramic.
There are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot easily be duplicated by a normal kindly family man who just comes in to work every day and has a job to do.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)


Replace "ginger" with "n*gger," and suddenly it become a lot less funny, doesn't it?
-- fgalkin


Like my writing? Tip me on Patreon

I Have A Blog
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by The Romulan Republic »

A Killing Curse can be blocked by a physical barrier- walls, statues, etc. I'm not sure what the maximum thinness/density would have to be, though.

A ballistic vest would certainly be worth a shot.

I also wonder if part of why Medieval wizards apparently carried swords (see Gryfindore) is that Medieval mail/plate armour could tank a killing curse.

Edit: That would also go a long way toward explaining why Medieval Wizards felt sufficiently threatened by Muggles to do things like build the Chamber of Secrets, or, post-Middle Ages, institute the Statute of Secrecy.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
Zixinus
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 6663
Joined: 2007-06-19 12:48pm
Location: In Seth the Blitzspear
Contact:

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Zixinus »

I doubt it. The point of the killing curse is that it finds something alive and stops it living, just as that. Whether it is protected by dead clothing or dead metal is unlikely to make a difference. Walls block it because it hit something solid (otherwise it would go through walls), found nothing alive and fizzled out. Remember that there is no conventional defense or shield charm against a killing curse, otherwise it wouldn't have been a big deal.
Credo!
Chat with me on Skype if you want to talk about writing, ideas or if you want a test-reader! PM for address.
Crazedwraith
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 11863
Joined: 2003-04-10 03:45pm
Location: Cheshire, England

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Crazedwraith »

Zixinus wrote:I doubt it. The point of the killing curse is that it finds something alive and stops it living, just as that. Whether it is protected by dead clothing or dead metal is unlikely to make a difference. Walls block it because it hit something solid (otherwise it would go through walls), found nothing alive and fizzled out. Remember that there is no conventional defense or shield charm against a killing curse, otherwise it wouldn't have been a big deal.

This links back to my 'can't analyse it' bit. We just don't know enough about the mechanics.

As Zixinus point out. The objects the AK hits in place of people were always very definitely separate from them. I remember misses, and statues and fawkes getting in the way. Not just inanimate objects blocked them. (The statues were animated, that might have actually helped, the AK 'killed' something)
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Zixinus wrote:I doubt it. The point of the killing curse is that it finds something alive and stops it living, just as that. Whether it is protected by dead clothing or dead metal is unlikely to make a difference. Walls block it because it hit something solid (otherwise it would go through walls), found nothing alive and fizzled out. Remember that there is no conventional defense or shield charm against a killing curse, otherwise it wouldn't have been a big deal.
This is simply contradicted by canon. In fact, I'm not certain, but I think that this is basically a reinterpretation lifted from the Methods of Rationality fanfic (which in my opinion is probably one of the primary offenders for spreading misinterpretations of canon among the Harry Potter fandom).

The Killing Curse cannot be blocked by a conventional shield charm.

It has, however, been blocked or otherwise countered by:

-The love protection from an act of deliberate self-sacrifice.

-Whatever the hell happened in the Forbidden Forest with Harry- some combination of Voldemort sharing his blood and him having a horcrux in him, apparently. Possibly also the Elder Wand being loyal to Harry and refusing to kill him.

-The Elder wand refusing to attack its master.

-Physical barriers. Dumbledore animates statues to block Voldemort's shots (and his Phoenix takes one of the shots and survives). Despite the fact that Dumbledore and Harry are standing behind them, they are quite unharmed. This fairly definitively proves that your contention that the spell will keep going through a physical barrier if there is a living target behind it is objectively false.

It obviously does go through clothing, which is why my question about material density/type is relevant.

Granted, some of that is book canon, not film canon, but it seems even more unreliable in film canon- there are times where the Killing Curse appears to be blocked by conventional combat spells, though they're often ambiguous.

The Killing Curse is a big deal because:

a) It cannot be blocked by ordinary magical defences. One must either be creative and good at transfiguration, have some very rare and complicated arcane protections, or have someone willingly sacrifice their life for you, in order to stop it. Otherwise, it comes down to dodging or being faster on the draw.

b) It has (prior to Harry) a 100% mortality rate for those actually hit by it.

c) It apparently requires actual malice and intent/desire to hurt/kill to cast. And a lot of power.

In other words, anyone capable of using it is by definition a powerful wizard capable of premeditated murder (which we know literally damages the soul in the Potterverse).

d) This is more speculative, but the fact that it is a spell which has no real purpose other than death and destruction is likely notable. A transfiguration, fire spell, blasting spell, etc., could likely be used for non-destructive purposes. Hell, even Snape's Sectumsempra could be.

The Killing Curse has basically no application other than killing.

Edits: I mean, okay, you could maybe use it to take down a door or wall or something, in theory, but there are other spells that could do so far more easily and at far less risk. And it might not work for that, because it appears to require malicious intent and sadism to cast (if Belatrix is to be believed).
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
Crazedwraith
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 11863
Joined: 2003-04-10 03:45pm
Location: Cheshire, England

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Crazedwraith »

The Romulan Republic wrote:The Killing Curse cannot be blocked by a conventional shield charm.

It has, however, been blocked or otherwise countered by:

-The love protection from an act of deliberate self-sacrifice.
It still killed someone. Voldemort. (well all but because Horcruxes) It was reflected, not stopped.
-Whatever the hell happened in the Forbidden Forest with Harry- some combination of Voldemort sharing his blood and him having a horcrux in him, apparently. Possibly also the Elder Wand being loyal to Harry and refusing to kill him.
Killed the Horcrux in harry.
-The Elder wand refusing to attack its master.
Reflected. Killed Voldemort.
-Physical barriers. Dumbledore animates statues to block Voldemort's shots (and his Phoenix takes one of the shots and survives). Despite the fact that Dumbledore and Harry are standing behind them, they are quite unharmed. This fairly definitively proves that your contention that the spell will keep going through a physical barrier if there is a living target behind it is objectively false.
'killed' the animated statue. Killed the Phoenix. (It's just they self-resurrect.)

The killing curse pretty much always kills something. There's no proof just like wearing a boilerplate under a poncho like Clint Eastwood/Marty McFly would stop it.
User avatar
Eternal_Freedom
Castellan
Posts: 10361
Joined: 2010-03-09 02:16pm
Location: CIC, Battlestar Temeraire

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Actually the animated wizard statue survives at least one killing curse reflecting off it's chest. In the book at least. Another statue takes a similar hit but shatters, so it is somewhat inconsistent.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Crazedwraith wrote:It still killed someone. Voldemort. (well all but because Horcruxes) It was reflected, not stopped.
Sort of killed Voldemort, although the point is that it was successfully defended against (by sending it back at its caster), which shows that even the claim that it can't be blocked by magic is not as accurate as it seems.
Killed the Horcrux in harry.
Fair enough.

The Forest situation was screwy, and its hard to tell what caused what, because there are at least three factors (the shared blood protection, the horcrux, and the Elder Wand) in play.

I include it nonetheless, however, for completeness in terms of people surviving the Killing Curse being cast at them.
Reflected. Killed Voldemort.
Granted, but further proof that it can be blocked by magical means, despite what wizards say.
'killed' the animated statue. Killed the Phoenix. (It's just they self-resurrect.)

The killing curse pretty much always kills something. There's no proof just like wearing a boilerplate under a poncho like Clint Eastwood/Marty McFly would stop it.
This presumes that the statues count as alive, and that Phoenix resurrection count as death. I'd say likely no on the first, and I don't have a clue on the second.

Also, as Eternal_Freedom noted, the wizard statue survived a direct hit intact.

Another was destroyed, but in a manner that would fit with the Killing Curse going off like a grenade when it hits an inanimate barrier.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
Crazedwraith
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 11863
Joined: 2003-04-10 03:45pm
Location: Cheshire, England

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Crazedwraith »

The Romulan Republic wrote:
Crazedwraith wrote:It still killed someone. Voldemort. (well all but because Horcruxes) It was reflected, not stopped.
Sort of killed Voldemort, although the point is that it was successfully defended against (by sending it back at its caster), which shows that even the claim that it can't be blocked by magic is not as accurate as it seems.
Yeah but by a one in a million act of true love. How do you expect muggles to replicate that reliably?
Killed the Horcrux in harry.
Fair enough.

The Forest situation was screwy, and its hard to tell what caused what, because there are at least three factors (the shared blood protection, the horcrux, and the Elder Wand) in play.

I include it nonetheless, however, for completeness in terms of people surviving the Killing Curse being cast at them.
It also killed Harry. He went to heaven and back to meet Dumbledore/Death.
Reflected. Killed Voldemort.
Granted, but further proof that it can be blocked by magical means, despite what wizards say.
Yes and again by extremely unusual circumstances, that aren't repeatable by muggles.

I've always wondered about that speech Moody gave about meaning it. If everyone could say the words and not kill him with it. Surely Harry can't have been the only survivor of it. I guess there's a honking great asterisk of: only survivor of it being properly performed.
'killed' the animated statue. Killed the Phoenix. (It's just they self-resurrect.)

The killing curse pretty much always kills something. There's no proof just like wearing a boilerplate under a poncho like Clint Eastwood/Marty McFly would stop it.
This presumes that the statues count as alive, and that Phoenix resurrection count as death. I'd say likely no on the first, and I don't have a clue on the second.

Also, as Eternal_Freedom noted, the wizard statue survived a direct hit intact.

Another was destroyed, but in a manner that would fit with the Killing Curse going off like a grenade when it hits an inanimate barrier.
This I must concede, I'd forgotten a statue taking more than one hit. The living statue thing really was stretching the point. I think one statue might have been blasted before animation anyway, though that might have been Bellatrix who was unlikely to try to use AK on Harry. (not wanting to destroy the prophecy or kill steak Voldemort)

But a) it's not feasible for a muggle to wear a larger-than-life statue's chest worth of metal in front of them at all time. b) The destructive effects of a non sell may do them by blast damage anyway. Harry's house in godric hollow had a massive hole in it as well.

The best defense muggles have against AK is not to get hit and take the opposing wizard/witch out before they've finished the incantation. (Though Bellatrix does in non verbally at the start of Half Blood Pirnce)
User avatar
Tribble
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3082
Joined: 2008-11-18 11:28am
Location: stardestroyer.net

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Tribble »

IIRC Harry didn't die in the Forbidden Forest, but was knocked into limbo and given the option of either moving on or returning. Also IIRC he survived the Avada Kedavra because:

Voldemort contained part of Lily's sacrifice in him via Harry's blood. Funnily enough, if Voldemort hadn't used Harry's blood Harry would have remained entirely immune to Voldemort, but presumably this would have also meant the Horcrux in Harry couldn't be hit either. Another reason why Voldemort's decision to use Harry's blood was a big mistake. What Voldemort should have done is have someone else kill Harry, but he was too arrogant for that.

The Elder Wand belonged to Harry.

Voldemort's Horcrux took the bulk of the blast and, perhaps most importantly,

Harry was trying to sacrifice his life to save others, and Dumbledore stated that the ladder was "what made all the difference".
Presumably this is another reason why Dumbledore give all of the details; if Harry had known that he was supposed to survive, he wouldn't have been in the right mindset and would have been killed.

Obviously this combined set of circumstances was practically unheard of, and even Dumbledore was reduced to guesswork.

Another thing to note about the Avadra Kedvra was that when it rebounded off baby Harry the first time in addition to killing Voldemort IIRC it caused a good chunk of Harry's bedroom to explode. Even if body armour could block the "instant kill" effect it could still kill the person via the resulting explosion.
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - The official Troll motto, as stated by Adam Savage
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Crazedwraith wrote:
The Romulan Republic wrote:
Crazedwraith wrote:It still killed someone. Voldemort. (well all but because Horcruxes) It was reflected, not stopped.
Sort of killed Voldemort, although the point is that it was successfully defended against (by sending it back at its caster), which shows that even the claim that it can't be blocked by magic is not as accurate as it seems.
Yeah but by a one in a million act of true love. How do you expect muggles to replicate that reliably?
Its very unlikely that they could.

My point is that there are more counters to AK than most wizards realize, and that the "unblockable" claim is only partially true and highly oversimplified.
It also killed Harry. He went to heaven and back to meet Dumbledore/Death.
Debatable, as Tribble noted.
Yes and again by extremely unusual circumstances, that aren't repeatable by muggles.
Granted, though again, it demonstrates that AK isn't nearly as infallible as its made out to be.
I've always wondered about that speech Moody gave about meaning it. If everyone could say the words and not kill him with it. Surely Harry can't have been the only survivor of it. I guess there's a honking great asterisk of: only survivor of it being properly performed.
Yeah.

Its lethal if you're hit with it. But it is not an easy to cast spell.
The killing curse pretty much always kills something.
But not actually always.
There's no proof just like wearing a boilerplate under a poncho like Clint Eastwood/Marty McFly would stop it.
No proof, but it is a reasonable possibility based on the fact that physical barriers can block it.
This I must concede, I'd forgotten a statue taking more than one hit. The living statue thing really was stretching the point. I think one statue might have been blasted before animation anyway, though that might have been Bellatrix who was unlikely to try to use AK on Harry. (not wanting to destroy the prophecy or kill steak Voldemort)
There was prior damage to a couple of the statues by other spells, I believe, during Harry's fight with Bellatrix. However, that hardly seems terribly relevant to the effects of the Killing Curse.
But a) it's not feasible for a muggle to wear a larger-than-life statue's chest worth of metal in front of them at all time.
Hence the necessary type/density of material being a very important question.
b) The destructive effects of a non sell may do them by blast damage anyway. Harry's house in godric hollow had a massive hole in it as well.
It is certainly possible that standing next to a near miss from AK could be lethal, though by no means certain or even necessarily likely. The destruction to the house is well beyond the usual effects of AK, even when it strikes physical objects, and can likely be safely attributed to backlash from the spell rebounding- a highly atypical situation.
The best defense muggles have against AK is not to get hit and take the opposing wizard/witch out before they've finished the incantation. (Though Bellatrix does in non verbally at the start of Half Blood Pirnce)
The best defence is almost always not to get hit.

Even if I could block it with a shield, that would be time that I wasn't attacking, and would put me on the defensive.

Good duelists, I think, would prefer to dodge while firing back.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Technobabble wand-snapping sonics?

Sonics... shrieky-things that can prevent concentration for spells... and THEN send weaponized hard-of-hearing people to do the hearing-equivalent of Daredevil to these folks?

At least some measures based on anti-telepath/telekine/Jedi measures people usually try to come up with.

Breed huge steroidified people. We see Hagrid, despite his magic-lessness, withstand some spells due to sheer fortitude...

Ally with goblins and wizard sympathizers, Hermione can muster sympathy for House Elves so I'm sure if worse comes to worse, she and others would not be averse to helping their muggle-kin who face genocide.

I think the internet, advanced digital electronics, maybe even SECURITY CAMERAS, and such are probably hard to comprehend for a lot of wizards and witches, particularly purists. Arthur Weasley is a specialist in muggle things yet he's still kinda thick... I'm not saying "RAR ACTIVATE IPAD! STUPID WIZARDS LOSE!" but like if the average wizard, heck even Aurors not used to dealing with mugglestuff, doesn't know about security cams or miniaturized stuff then there can be some measure to mitigate their crazy Philip K. Dick-levels of mindwipe thoughtcrime Obliviation measures... (I think modern MACUSA would actually be MIB-level in proficiency though... I think they would be another thing entirely!)

Potions don't require magic, right? So technically finding exotic Potterverse ingredients and brewing potions is STILL non-magical and can still be kosher! I imagine a lot of squibs and whatnot actually excel in these fields and there could be potions schools and institutes in the wizarding world, even in magical Britain, apart from Hogwarts. Cause if you're a squib who wants to learn this stuff, you can't exactly enroll in the wizards-exclusive Hogwarts right? If magic is required for potions, then my point is moot...
Apparently, Rowling has said that Potions do require magic, or that's what I've read.

Which personally, I think is idiotic. The way they're portrayed in the books, its more about what ingredients you use and mixing them. If the ingredients have magical properties and are mixed correctly, why shouldn't it work?

Note that, to my knowledge, this only applies to brewing, however. A Muggle ought to be able to use a pre-made potion.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
Tribble
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3082
Joined: 2008-11-18 11:28am
Location: stardestroyer.net

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Tribble »

If a Muggle headshots the owner of the Elder Wand, will it transfer its allegiance to the Muggle, or will its power break because its owner was not successfully beaten by another wizard? Or maybe it will just give its allegiance to the first wizard that touches it?
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - The official Troll motto, as stated by Adam Savage
User avatar
The Romulan Republic
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 21559
Joined: 2008-10-15 01:37am

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by The Romulan Republic »

That is a really interesting question, although sadly, I don't know if its one that's answerable based on existing canon evidence.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
User avatar
Zixinus
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 6663
Joined: 2007-06-19 12:48pm
Location: In Seth the Blitzspear
Contact:

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Zixinus »


Which personally, I think is idiotic. The way they're portrayed in the books, its more about what ingredients you use and mixing them. If the ingredients have magical properties and are mixed correctly, why shouldn't it work?
Because you need to use magic to transform the components as well as make the magic in the ingredients react or come together, maybe?
Credo!
Chat with me on Skype if you want to talk about writing, ideas or if you want a test-reader! PM for address.
User avatar
Tribble
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3082
Joined: 2008-11-18 11:28am
Location: stardestroyer.net

Re: Put together a Magical Self-Defence Kit for Muggles (RAR?).

Post by Tribble »

Zixinus wrote:

Which personally, I think is idiotic. The way they're portrayed in the books, its more about what ingredients you use and mixing them. If the ingredients have magical properties and are mixed correctly, why shouldn't it work?
Because you need to use magic to transform the components as well as make the magic in the ingredients react or come together, maybe?
We know that's the case for at least some potions such as when Snape contained the curse in Dumbledore's hand.
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - The official Troll motto, as stated by Adam Savage
Post Reply