After seeing the EMP Hardening thread I figured I would bring up mad scientist levels of possible tech that could theoretically work, then again I doubt anyone would use it. I will post more on this later, as I am at work now. I will just put basic stuff that has exsisted before WWII or at the time of for now and eleborate on stuff that could also be wizard proof theoretically. The first item is probably the most popular, the Rail Gun.  Feel free to add other crazy tech. That being said if there are some errors in my rail gun please correct me I want to be as accurate as possible.



Rail Gun: Born on April Fools day in 1919 (that was the day it was submited to the US patent office) the Rail gun is quickly becoming the favorite weapon of steam/diesel punk fans and would be a nightmare if an enterprising young wizard/ practicioner got hold of it  and doom if a Fae queen got a hold of it..

How it works:
The essential design of a rail gun has not changed since the inception however powering the machine has always been a problem.  The Solution?  Magic.  Rather force rings or force devices like Harry's ring and something to transfer that to the electrical power to charge the rail gun (although causing lightning to constantly hit something that absorbs energy would probably work just as well.) Daily walks and activity charges even on a mass scale isn't exactly the way to go here.  Rather you need to charge them supersonically or something else  to cause insane amounts of charge.  This can be done by instead making these objects into nuts and bolts to moving parts on a car or into tips for a whip or tips of a helicopter both of which break the sound barrier.  (And a helicopter quite frequently.)  How you would do this would be probably up to the story teller to see if it's feasible (Or if the story teller is using it as a Macguffin.) These objects should be designed to fit together like a puzzle and function as a force battery to actully charge up the rails creating the magnetic field (Here is a nifty diagram from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Railgun-1.svg) Depending on the weight of the object (which will likely be smaller than a mail box but realitively dense) the projectile can go from mach 3 to theoretically around mach 10. 

Problems:    A rail gun shoots things at insane speeds which cause the gun itself to easily wear out.  Then again there is the whole thing about the power of the gun causing plasma to fire around the projectile.  Essentially that projectile is going fast, and you do not want to be near that gun when it goes off.  Also when it goes off, everything is going to come down on that location from the local cops, to some 3 & 4 letter agencies (who would also probably like to see your designs) and probably every supernatural organization.  This gets even more complicated with the size of the rail gun, which is quite big.  So unless your dealing with something horrifyingly powerful it is not going to be worth making one.  Almost forgot to mention the problems presented with an object traveling near other objects at speeds of Mach 3.5+, which are of course the matter of sonic booms and waves destroying all sorts of things.  Collateral damage would be insane, and with the speed it's traveling its going to take a long time before it hits the ground even if it hits a target (Once it gets over Mach 7 I could safely say that it would probably go through anything including a tank and killing everything inside from the speed.) 



Next up when I get on next break The Hwatcha (Unless of course someone wants to go ahead and do it.)

Aloha, and hello.  Back from my sabatical. As a person who knows a metric ton about EMPs and EMP (due to personal interest and study) as well as some working knowledge of fire arms I would like to add some points to go along with Bruce's. I promise I will not be too wordy.

1.  Reasons a Glock would work under magical stress or why Kincaid uses it.  Glocks are mechanically designed to not fail under circumstances that would prove otherwise and are probably the closest thing to artisan guns these days (Yes desert eagles are prettier but there is a good reason why a glock won't jam, and if maintained properly can be fired after situations that are normally reserved for showing off the reliability of an AK-47, it's how they are designed.)  Another issue is the people who work for Glock have pride in their work, and make great strives in innovation.  Much the same ways that several revolver manufactures did back in the day.  Sounds like a bunch of mortals putting a loving threshold onto a gun to me. However a weakness Glocks would have is most models are made out of plastic.  So if a hex doesn't work some spells at the gun would easily end it due to the nature of the material. Then again when someone is shooting at you I am pretty sure the last thought in going through your mind would be "Wait a second that is a glock!  If I freeze it the gun will break into a million tiny peices when the guy drops it!"  This makes me ask Bruce about other reliable guns like the AK47 or the thompson Sub-machine gun which use low tech and are highly reliable (one of my squad leaders found a Tommy gun from WWII that was still friring and got to use because he was the only one who knew how to.)

2.  On actual EMPs.  The most common thing that causes an EMP is explosions-- well besides angy hexing wizards.  That being said there is lots of actual technology for making EMP Generation that could theoretically be toted by a wizard due to it's nature.  That being said most devices would not be easy to hand carry.  Most of this goes along with Bruce's previous statement (IE weapon was designed to CREATE AN EMP for one use or multi use therefore it should be able to at least withstand some minor hexing etc.) Additionally some EMP technology that was non nuclear explosion type was made in 1951, while after WWII most of it was indeed WWII tech. Hilariously though, an EMP works in real life how Jim portrays the wizards magic field.  You have unaimed dome/explosion/Radial EMP (Via Nuke or Wizards Field) Or an Aimed EMP (Via EMP Bomb or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosively_pumped_flux_compression_generator or Hex Spell.)  An Aimed EMP works like this you have the Power source which is conditioned via modulation, which goes through an electron source, which is then accelerated through a microwave source and then aimed using something.  Which is basically how Harry aims his Hex spell. A wizard could likely use the second method I suggested earlier make some huge explody spell on the EPFCG and basically do a conical hex on an area.  That being said most EMP's require explosion, the portable that doesn't a Wizard maybe could use, but I wouldn't be surprised if it went off early. 

I hope I have not infuriated anyone.

Well, Molly really really likes Harry.

I'm not that informed on military matters, but this isn't necessarily true. For example, one of my players (who IS informed on military matters), is playing a British ex-SBS (Special Boat Services, explained by him to the very uninformed me as "the British equivalent of Navy SEALS") sniper, who was discharged after most of his unit was killed by Djinn in Afghanistan...and he reported what really happened and refused to change his story. While they were somewhat sympathetic due to his recent trauma and he recieves veteran's benefits and avoided being sent to an institution, there is absolutely no chance of him ever being recalled to service, since they view him as dangerously mentally unbalanced.

A similar story could easily do the same in terms of their chances of recall for another PC. As could many other things, actually

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I am in the army, I have seen it happen to two officers.  One of them served in Vietnam and got brought back in for the recent going ons in Afghanistan.  Granted it is extremely rare, (even more so now that quotas are surpassed) but it is a possibility. Granted this happens only to either higher ranking officers or ones that had previous duties that were low on personnel (like intell) granted I doubt that this would have any effect on anything your running, but still it could be something fun to note.

That being said, UK officers don't have the recall thing, they are lucky like that.


And yes 4 years active 4 years inactive reserve for most enlisted, pending medical issues, change in lifestyle (you make more money than the president) and after the 4 years inactive are up you are free.  For the most part they do not call you up however technically the war on terror in the US is a national emergency and people get recalled for it. 


Here is another

Scout Sniper
You are the very definition of the word sniper.  You are a patient, keen eyed, survivor, who can shoot a doorknob from more than 400 meters out.  You also know how to hide and how to scout terrain, not to mention lie perfectly still for days...
Trouble  Your skills are quite in fact too epic.  Scout Snipers are rare so if people some how turn up dead from long range gunshots, chances are you are a prime suspect.

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Okay so I looked through and dug up data and found out a few things using my super military analytical skills.

1.  There is not much info on military concepts (other than the occasional former ranger shtick)
2.  There is not much info on how current, or former military characters/concepts could affect gameplay. 

So I am going to attempt to call out other former military members to help out in this arena.  Basically this will be done by posting what information we can (without getting into trouble of course) on some Military jobs and what they would be concept wise and how certain things are handled.

That being said I am going to put out some fairly simple concepts you can draw from that are a little uncommon and you can draw from edit at your discretion etc.  These are only ideas at this time.  Please don't kill me.  I have so much to live for.

I only know army and a few navy

All Army concepts should include the fact they know a thing or two about firing and maintaining a weapon, survival, and maintenance of the body.  Also in the trouble, certain areas the locals may despise them, they will likely trust authority a little more.  Also the person may be a little uptight

Former Sapper (add additional background on character like Sapper turned Sorcerer)
The US Army sapper is an elite warrior that has more knowledge of explosives in his pinky then some people will ever learn over two life times.  They can make explosives from scratch, know how much to use, and the best places to use it for, and create precision detonations.  Not only that, but they have  a physical training regime similar to an Army Ranger (only a larger focus on rucking around explosives)
Trouble:  First time there is even a little explosion your probably going to be the one who gets blamed.  Even if you were two states away.

Former Psy Ops:
You are the bastard son of George from Seinfeld and one of the fae queens when it comes to trickery. You can scare even the Nagloshii with the kind of insanity you can pull out of your hat.  The amount of BSing you can do has the Fey taking notes and you probably learned a few things from Old Scratch himself.  Hell a wizard might even have problems soul gazing you for answers. You know exactly how to play an audience.
Trouble: Well, you can shear a sheep over and over but you can skin him only once.  People will eventually stop trusting you.


Military Intelligence Systems Maintainer/Integrator:
You are so good at computers you can fix something Harry hexed, and probably make it run better. 
Trouble You are part of a really tiny community, making you that much easier to find. 

Honor Guard
You have unquestionable honor. You have done one of your countries highest honors and have incredible internal fortitude and a powerful spirit. Many others in the military look up to you.
Trouble  Sure all that is good, but this may cause you to fall prey on people who would use your morals against you.  Then again people might view you as uptight and aloof even for military standards.

Military Intelligence Analyst
You are viewed as an oxymoron by many and thats the way you like it, the less they know about you the better.  You have dived into some of the governments deepest secrets and are capable of making insane decisions and figuring out things much faster then some police.
Trouble That being said, you probably second guess when you shouldn't and you can be overly analytical not taking things at face value when you should.

Other military folks feel free to chime in post more or help out (cause I need sleep.)

Maybe it's he who walks behind he who walks behind...  But seriously it looks like you are going to have to pay the piper with your layout eventually. 

As a bearer of the Squashed Bug on my collar and a lightining fast backstabber, I know that a regular every day Jane Doe has the capacity to be scarier than Eldest Gruff.  Here is my idea, please add RPG stuff to it to make it better.  Anyways here is my adventure hook.  If you have what a sheet would look like or how to build this kind of person that's amazing, but mostly it's a plot device.

Your team of adventurers has finally found the easy to get to dealer of :insert magical drug here or some other low level easy task plot device: who they decide its time to dispatch of.  Before he "dies" he smirks and lets go of his cell phone.  Your party shrugs it off and walks off wondering what his last act was about and heads over to their favorite local drinking spot.  They spend their reward by going to the bar and partying.  When they get to their safe house however somethings wrong.  Way wrong.  The house has been ransacked.  By police.  Crime scene tape is over the front door and Men in black suits want to ask them about certain "dealings" that they have had in the past few days.  They are arrested on the spot and find out that they are flat broke and all their worldly possessions are gone, their families are being held for questioning and it seems like the world is collapsing on them.  What just happened?  Why is the FBI NSA and CIA in their safe house?  Why are their crazy people speaking foreign languages in their living room?  Congratulations.  You were just hit by a Pure Mortal Death Curse, and you will likely never get to see the outside except for 15 minutes a day for the rest of your life at best. 

What this requires is someone who is insanely deceptive and well connected.  Someone who has worked inside the system for years, and has wanted to see it fall, only they did not want to be held responsible, in fact they needed a patsy, someone like you.  That whole "go bust this drug dealer" thing?   That was to get you to think you killed him, taking him out of the game in order to make you look like suspects.  He likely uses crazy devices like cryptexes with high tech fail safes so that when a wizard tries something magical to open it whatever part of his schemes and set of instructions is gone forever, making getting the evidence impossible unless you were one of his cat's paws.  Whatever his will says, it likely isn't pretty for you, it might even include you, just so it can be used as evidence against you in the court of law.  Don't expect it to be anything useful either.  What may seem like 5 acres of land may end up being 5 acres of dead bodies and evidence.  Meanwhile, somewhere in Aruba, this guy is sipping umbrella drinks (if he didn't have a death wish and was just faking his death.) while you are pleading for your life in a courtroom and the world is falling around you. 

This guy is the definition of why you should be thorough. 


Commentary?

Wow really?  Thanks.  My mom taught me how to be a good GM (third generation nerd third generation occulter.)  You don't need that many good GMs, its more of a scenario that you could teach em while it was going on.  Though this does seem to be a common problem, though it does make me think of an episode of robot chicken.  I think the Fate system would be forgiving enough to field test new GMS with this type of play setting.