Wards?

[Rechan]

Two questions:

1) If your Wards kill a human, does that mean that you just violated the First Law? Because if some stupid burglar climbs in your window and fries himself, that's guaranteed you a beheading. And if that's the case, aren't they kind of pointless, since they're too much of a liability?

2) Do wards (and Thresholds) protect non-standard ways of entry? Such as through the Nevernever? Or, what if someone physically crashes through your wall or ceiling - are they subject to the wards or threshold?

[Richard_Chilton]

If you don't want to risk killing people then don't put landmines in your Wards.  You don't have to do that - and if you do then you've left a killing spell where anyone can trigger it.  Putting landmines in Wards that anyone can trigger is a bit like putting real landmines on your lawn (to keep intruders out) and blowing up your mailman by mistake - either way you're guilty of murder.

Spoilers for Changes. 

(click to show/hide)

Which is why when Harry heard that the cops were getting a search warrant he spent "I have to run" time dismantling his wards.  This left his apartment undefended and meant that he ran out of "get out of town" time and had to flee to the Nevernever.

But remember - when you put a landmine in a ward it doesn't have to be a "kill" spell.

Richard

[Bruce Coulson]

If you set your ward to do lethal damage, and they kill a mortal, yes, they're self-defeating.

However, wards don't have to do lethal damage; in fact, they don't have to do damage at all.  They reflect force; they can be set to just knock someone silly, with the extra shifts just going to the environment.

A wizard in a lonely farmhouse might well set a modified Veil ward; people just see an abandoned farmhouse, nothing worth noting, move along.

In a city, wards could just be a wall; no password, no entry.  Or set to loop people through the Never-Never; try to enter a window, come out on the front porch.

Wards generally bar access through any point of entry.  No loopholes.  So, dig through the floor or chop through the ceiling...same results.

[sinker]

Thresholds still effect uninvited beings regardless of how they enter. Otherwise "No Mortal Home" doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I would think wards wouldn't necessarily protect from entry from the Nevernever, but one could definitely design one that does.

[citadel97501]

If there is a land-mine up and someone dies, I can see giving them the Law breaker stunt, but if your ward without a land-mine kills someone you should be given a pass.

I mean basically they just tried to wrestle the equivalent of an electric fence, until they died. . . 

Hell people think about what it takes to kill someone in the DFRPG.  15 stress to kill the mortal with asthma (endurance 0), frankly if he was shooting at a wall with a rifle and the bullets are bouncing back and hitting him in the legs and arms, and he keeps shooting!, I think we should all be grateful that the wizard in question protected the gene pool. 

[crusher_bob]

You are thinking too small.

We shall combine the quote "a fortress of the Merlin's wards' with the fact that plenty of mortals can easily be talked into horribly stupid things...

[Belial666]

Also consider that consequences are for exceptional individuals already, those who are significantly powerful or with major plot importance. Someone with Endurance 0 that is not a powerful individual can well be killed by a stray bullet (weapon 2 and he rolls 1 lower than the bullet's attack roll).