Need advice on a fire-based defense

[Lanodantheon]

Sorry, my head isn't wrapping around this shield all that well. So its essentially a probability spell that uses fire magic to affect the probability of negative outcomes? That has a Scarlet Witch vibe to it, which is neat.

Better explanation: someone shoots a gun at you, there is an infinite number of possible outcomes. This shield cleanses away the possible outcomes of the event "someone shoots a gun at you" that lead to something negative like, "You getting shot".
The possibilities left are, "The shot misses" "The gun jams" etc.

[Cajun Guy]

You could use fire in the form of energy to excite the atoms of the incoming attack causing them to break apart into energy as the electrons are released. Sort of radioactivity only problrm is the same as any fire shield God helps the fool that tries to go through it. Does it count as lawbreaking if they are stupid enough to charge into an abatoir?

[Lanodantheon]

Does it count as lawbreaking if they are stupid enough to charge into an abatoir?

Yes. It says so in the rules.

[Sir lerks-a-lot]

I like all the idea's here, but the really effective defenses, the ones that aren't just veils (which is not to say that veils aren't effective defense, just that they're in another category), seem like they would be super costly in terms of power and control.  Fire is probably the lest defensive of all the elements, it's a destructive force primarily, and a cleansing force secondarily.  Harry himself, who seems to use fire as his primary element, uses spirit/force for defense.  Unless you're really restricted to one element I would pick something else for defense. 

Still I really like the idea of converting the kinetic energy of bullets and other projectiles into heat, though there are some issues with that.  Assuming your still human, your in danger from the heat your shield generates. If you have to stop incoming fire from fully automatic weapons, or, say protect yourself from an explosion, you might find yourself without body hair and your clothes on fire.  And what if you need to stop a fire attack?  Sure you can stop whatever is on fire, petroleum jelly or whatever, but converting the kinetic energy to heat little more than a foot from you may make the attack MORE effective, not less.

[paul_Harkonen]

Still I really like the idea of converting the kinetic energy of bullets and other projectiles into heat, though there are some issues with that.  Assuming your still human, your in danger from the heat your shield generates. If you have to stop incoming fire from fully automatic weapons, or, say protect yourself from an explosion, you might find yourself without body hair and your clothes on fire.  And what if you need to stop a fire attack?  Sure you can stop whatever is on fire, petroleum jelly or whatever, but converting the kinetic energy to heat little more than a foot from you may make the attack MORE effective, not less.

I want to point out that Crusher_Bob's math illustrates how little danger you're actually in from this type of heat.  Bullets have a fair bit of energy yes, but compared to the amount of energy it takes to heat up air (or water) it's a drop in the bucket.  Course, if your shield is just trying to convert kinetic energy to heat, fire based attacks are a danger.  But, you're a pyromancer, they shoot fire at you it shouldn't be that hard for you to think of ways to move that heat around to protect yourself.

[Sir lerks-a-lot]

I want to point out that Crusher_Bob's math illustrates how little danger you're actually in from this type of heat.  Bullets have a fair bit of energy yes, but compared to the amount of energy it takes to heat up air (or water) it's a drop in the bucket.  Course, if your shield is just trying to convert kinetic energy to heat, fire based attacks are a danger.  But, you're a pyromancer, they shoot fire at you it shouldn't be that hard for you to think of ways to move that heat around to protect yourself.

True, but notice how I used the plural on weapons? Multiple automatics are going to be trouble.  And what about the wall of kinetic force in an explosion?  Or if the monsters start chucking more substantial things at you, like cinder blocks?  And if your maintaining the shield, can you split your attention enough to convert the heat into offense?  I'm not saying it's not an effective, if limited, defense, I'm just saying that there are probably other, more effectual and efficient, tools in your kit that would be better at stopping attacks than fire magic.

[Victim]

I'm not saying it's not an effective, if limited, defense, I'm just saying that there are probably other, more effectual and efficient, tools in your kit that would be better at stopping attacks than fire magic.

Not really.  Designing a character to use the same element for attack and defense is vastly more effective than using two elements, since your specializations can apply both ways.  And if you can't apply specializations, then you can't have other types of magic.

Conversely, fire magic doesn't really have too many offensive advantages over other elements, so there's no special reason why it should be disadvantaged defensively. 

[Cajun Guy]

How about using it as armor or a block self based? Sort of you burst into flames like the human torch and the bullets whatever melt or are destroyed?

[Sir lerks-a-lot]

Not really.  Designing a character to use the same element for attack and defense is vastly more effective than using two elements, since your specializations can apply both ways.  And if you can't apply specializations, then you can't have other types of magic.

Conversely, fire magic doesn't really have too many offensive advantages over other elements, so there's no special reason why it should be disadvantaged defensively. 

Not within the game rules maybe, but within the fictional world it does.  That's what I mean, the things we're talking about, messing with probability, transferring kinetic energy into heat on the fly, maintaining fire hot enough to not only melt metal but dematerialize it, ect., are all incredibly taxing uses of magic where as compared to summoning a wall of spirit/force, or using physical material to intercept or deflect attacks (earth, water, air).  Conversely fire is always dangerous to human flesh, whereas the other elements are only dangerous in certain situations.

But here's an idea, rather than converting the kinetic energy in the projectile to heat in the air, why not just convert it to heat in the projectile?  That way your only changing the type of energy, not it's location, so the magic is less complicated.  Of course if the monster throws a propane tank at you, that could be bad.

[surarrin]

>_> Magical Riposte

1. Shield goes up.

2. People shoot at you.

3. Heat level reaches a threshold.

4. Use accumulated heat energy to fire lasers. ( or alternatively, use the heat to make a haze and help avoid more bullets. I like the lasers more!)

5. ? ? ? ?

6. Profit!

[KOFFEYKID]

I was reading this thread and thinking, the best (fire) defense is a good offense (against the attacks).

Its rather fitting, I think, that all of the really good concepts for fire defense rotes are sort of attacking the attack, if that makes any sense.

-edit-

I just came up with a relatively cool idea for a fire based defensive rote. How about this, a magical Plasma Ball.



Your character sits in the middle, protected from the arcs of plasma by magic, and whenever a foreign object pierces the dome of the spell, the arcs all focus on the new conductive object, burning it to a cinder.

[meg_evonne]

Fire consumes oxygen.Suck the air out of the vicinity

[Sir lerks-a-lot]

Fire consumes oxygen.Suck the air out of the vicinity

Wouldn't work; fire doesn't destroy the oxygen, it binds it to the fuel source and creates carbon dioxide and smoke.   There isn't less air after a fire, just less fuel, and less oxygen.  You could use this as a defense to a fire based attack though, burn all the oxygen out of a given space so no fire will be supported and you've taken away one of the three legs of the stool that support a fire  (oxygen, fuel, and a heat source).  Of course if your attack is a heat beam like Harry's, that could be just classified as a heat source.

[neko128]

Wouldn't work; fire doesn't destroy the oxygen, it binds it to the fuel source and creates carbon dioxide and smoke.   There isn't less air after a fire, just less fuel, and less oxygen.  You could use this as a defense to a fire based attack though, burn all the oxygen out of a given space so no fire will be supported and you've taken away one of the three legs of the stool that support a fire  (oxygen, fuel, and a heat source).  Of course if your attack is a heat beam like Harry's, that could be just classified as a heat source.

Ahhhh, alternate oxygenation sources, how happy you make me...  :-P

Now I'm going to spend my afternoon thinking about magical spells to summon or create oxydizing agents and screw around with fire-elemental evocations.