Permeable Wards, Rubber bands and Cellphones - What?

[KOFFEYKID]

You know, all of a sudden Im thinking, what if somebody made a building that was completely impervious to magic ala the circle the denarians use to isolate Ivy from magic. I realize that takes allot of juice, but Im really digging a wizard headquarters where they are vulnerable (without magic) but go to have access to technology. Like massive databases of magical theorem.

[toturi]

Leylines and such are magically charged areas. This is part of the Dresdenverse canon.

How about areas that are the reverse of such? Places where there is an absence of magic? Magically null or void zones?

It occurs to me that such areas could well be a good place for a wizard to hide out, much like what the Dark Side cave on Dagobah did for Yoda.

[pfloyd]

Leylines and such are magically charged areas. This is part of the Dresdenverse canon.

How about areas that are the reverse of such? Places where there is an absence of magic? Magically null or void zones?

It occurs to me that such areas could well be a good place for a wizard to hide out, much like what the Dark Side cave on Dagobah did for Yoda.

In my mind, places like this would make it more difficult for a wizard to cast magic. There would definitely be a negative modifier to the effective Conviction of a wizard's spell, as the energies would effectively be grounded. Sort of like a Quickening on Holy Ground.

[Mattastic]

@KOFFEYKID that idea rocks!
I'd totally allow it.

[Tharios]

In my mind, places like this would make it more difficult for a wizard to cast magic. There would definitely be a negative modifier to the effective Conviction of a wizard's spell, as the energies would effectively be grounded. Sort of like a Quickening on Holy Ground.

That's not a real problem though.  I could see such a place interfering with all supernatural activity.  It would probably utterly prohibit travel to or from the Nevernever in that area, make various activated powers difficult to use, and prevent all but nigh-godly (or even beyond godly) tracking and scrying attempts.  Not even Cowl could find you there, even if he had a whole hand of yours.

Yes, it'd be a disadvantage to any supernatural living there, but I think since they'd have the opportunity to use those advantages which they were otherwise previously denied by their status, the denial of varying degrees of certain powers to enemies, as well as being essentially untraceable, would more than make up for it.

It wouldn't even be a stretch to say that such places aren't necessarily so much rare, as merely unknown...even to old and knowledgeable beings.  After all, initially they'd just seem like areas without magical potential, which means they'd never be investigated, implying that no one would realize they're not just powerless, but ANTI-power.  Certainly none of the older members of the White Council would waste their time with such a place, and no other supernatural creature would either...the place holds no apparent benefit.  The only way supernaturals would ever realize the nature of such a place would be if a mortal is there and they're after him/her for some reason.  But then again, they'd have to be tracking by mundane means to begin with, implying a previously immediate chase that's about to put the supernatural pursuer severely on the defensive.

There's enormous potential for such an idea in concert with the various standard tropes of the Dresdenverse.

There could possibly be a potentially serious drawback to such places though in that mordite could form or appear there.  I'd consider that to be a negligible risk though considering the rarity.

[toturi]

There's enormous potential for such an idea in concert with the various standard tropes of the Dresdenverse.

There could possibly be a potentially serious drawback to such places though in that mordite could form or appear there.  I'd consider that to be a negligible risk though considering the rarity.

The way I see it is that such places are magically null and utterly mundane. Science work perfectly there. Hence magical elements like mordite can't form and magical beings take a big hit to their supernatural powers. Mortals in the know might even purposely look for such places to give them an edge.

[GoldenH]

an amusing idea just hit me:

Wizards towers are perfect to draw a circle around. Of course it does no good if you put a Wizard in there. Perhaps it's better if you kidnapped someone, say a lone princess, and locked her up in the tower with some task using technology.

This makes perfect sense if you go with the stories. I think Rumplestiltskin works the best. Imagine the king is a wizard, but his Hexing is so bad it makes even the spinning wheel break! So he gets a girl and sets her to an impossible task just 'cuz he needs some cloth.

Transplant this to modern day and what do you get - a secretary? a computer hacker? maybe just someone to record your favorite shows on VHS. Or maybe your kid, and you're all old fashioned and want to home school them. Though there is a problem of how to get them dinner. Maybe some kind of slot in the door won't break the circle.

[Tharios]

The way I see it is that such places are magically null and utterly mundane. Science work perfectly there. Hence magical elements like mordite can't form and magical beings take a big hit to their supernatural powers. Mortals in the know might even purposely look for such places to give them an edge.

Mordite isn't magical, it eats magic...all magic, all energy, all life.

The enchantments on mordite are never ON the mordite, they're around the mordite...close enough to bind it, far enough away to not get sucked in...like an event horizon.  I think a better way to describe the battle of wills over mordite is not that will can push it away, but that whoever has the stronger will can push it toward their opponent and the mordite will follow whichever power is stronger...like a magnet.  Aim your will at the enemy and hope it's more attractive to the mordite than your enemy's will on you.

Then again, perhaps a lack of magic doesn't lead to mordite...just as a lack of matter prevents formation of antimatter.  If you don't have matter to start with, you can't turn it into antimatter, after all.  That said, I don't think any force will "bolster" the resiliency of technology and such.  I tend to view magic as a macroscopic application of quantum mechanics.  Conventional physics and quantum mechanics do NOT jive.  Hence the lack of a unified theory, currently.

Of course, since it's all fiction anyway and there's no such thing as magic...doesn't actually make a difference.

[toturi]

Mordite isn't magical, it eats magic...all magic, all energy, all life.

Of course, since it's all fiction anyway and there's no such thing as magic...doesn't actually make a difference.

What is mordite? Is it scientifically explanable? What elements does it compose of? Is it an element? If mordite isn't magical, then can it be created by science? If mordite eats magic, then how can a mordite-fiend come into being?

The books are ambigious on the subject of how magic affects technology. Does a wizard sitting on a plastic chair causes it to break apart? All this is speculation since there hasn't been a mention of any place that impedes magical abilities, although there are areas that enhance it.

[Tharios]

What is mordite? Is it scientifically explanable? What elements does it compose of? Is it an element? If mordite isn't magical, then can it be created by science? If mordite eats magic, then how can a mordite-fiend come into being?

Not sure.  If I had to venture a guess, I would term it as an unstable confluence of exotic particles.  That said, it would make sense that mordite originates from beyond the outer gates.  I don't know for sure, but I seem to remember that being mentioned somewhere...but I could very well be wrong.
 

The books are ambigious on the subject of how magic affects technology. Does a wizard sitting on a plastic chair causes it to break apart? All this is speculation since there hasn't been a mention of any place that impedes magical abilities, although there are areas that enhance it.

As near as I can tell, magic only seems to inhibit processes, not structures.  Something that's electrically or chemically static doesn't seem to be affected.  Given Harry's propensity to wear smarta**ed t-shirts, which often contain complex polymers in the print and usually polyester in the fabric, it's safe to say magic doesn't break down artificially complex chemical bonds.  The only time technology seems to go wonky is when it depends on complex electromechanical processes.  If it's not an active process, it doesn't seem to matter.  I don't think there has been any mention of wagons in the old days throwing a wheel or snapping an axle just because of a wizard's presence.  I'm sure a direct hex could foul up even the simplest of mechanical or electrical devices though.

Like you said though...this is all speculation on our part.