• dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world
    4·
    7 hours ago

    I really appreciate that there’s one character in Demon Hunter that has a gun. It works, and is incredibly effective… against lower-level demons. The world-ending upper-rank variety need at least a decapitation, and half the time, a secondary decapitation or dismemberment of some kind. Simply asploding demon parts with one or two shotgun slugs is not enough in that case.

    As a storytelling device, it really grounds the entire power-system in both the supernatural and super-human. We get periodically reminded that a gun absolutely holds its own in raw firepower, but the situation is just a bit more of a problem than it can handle.

  • Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    9 hours ago

    The fictional world I’m building is at an interesting point. For decades, a few people have held most of the magical power and control, thus dominating entire battlefields. But firearms have just been refined to precision, meaning a good sniper can take down one of these mages in a surprise shot in one go. No sudden “spider sense” escape buttons.

      • Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        8 hours ago

        Writing, or rather written, a book, but it’s hard to find interested literary agents. So, I’m working on a complicated plan to leverage an audience for self publishing.

        I suppose I’m implying such an assassination is how the book opens, but it mostly just translates to a shift in the way warfare is conducted - fewer battle lines, more war of information.

        • stinky@redlemmy.comEnglish
          1·
          8 hours ago

          One of my school friends was close to Sarah Maas. I hung out with her a few times, and we played online games together for years. The secret to her success was her parents’ money; they poured funding into her editing and publishing, and so she became a “self-made” literary success. I have mixed feelings about her.

          I’d be curious about your work if you’re willing to share an excerpt? Lemmy might be a suitable test audience if you’re into it

  • Ryanmiller70@lemmy.zip
    13·
    21 hours ago

    Something about the big bad in the first MHA movie whipping out a gun and shooting somebody just hit hard. Like this is a world where people can whip out black holes and use their skin to create anything they want, yet a pistol made everyone stop immediately and collectively shit themselves.

  • grrgyle@slrpnk.net
    53·
    21 hours ago

    My protagonist has the ability to wield a franction (a word for a small amount in my verse) of the vitael energies of potential offspring (“poffspring”) they decide not to have, so like if they date someone of the opposite sex and things are going well and they’re thinking of moving in together, and then they ghost them my protag gets the power of the potential unborn babies (well some of it). They have made enemies of pretty much everyone in their hammelit (small village in my world), but have grown that much stronger with each jilted partner.

    Anyway, they pulled this with the shire riff’s (reeve of a shire in my lore) daughter and got shot with a pepper shot blunderbuss and exiled from town, but they are able to carry approx a handful of extra sticks using the strength from their poffspring, which they use to heat the abandoned hut they live in upwind of the hammelit’s middens.

      • grrgyle@slrpnk.net
        2·
        10 hours ago

        I think so, yes, that feels right. OK, this is powerful… I think I’ve got the hook for my second book

        • Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it
          2·
          9 hours ago

          Maybe you can do that they will get a “bad power” that is more a problem than something useful because the children had that power and so that would explain why no one ever wanted to adopt him

          • grrgyle@slrpnk.net
            2·
            9 hours ago

            Ooo yeah like a curse and at first you think it’s the children’s fault, but then at the halfway point you find out they’re the victims. Would also provide some good tension since it’s the only way for the protag to get more power after the pepper shot removed their ability to make more poffspring.

            I mean I was joking in my original comment, but you could tweak it a bit and maybe obscure some of the details to make the story halfway evocative.

    • Knightfox@lemmy.world
      2·
      20 hours ago

      I was thinking that this was a relatively bullshit example, but the movie “The One” featuring Jet Li makes this an awesome example. On it’s face the impacts of one person likely aren’t even enough for one person to notice, but if you had someone with the knowledge and means to take advantage of this they could be incredibly powerful.

      • groet@feddit.org
        7·
        20 hours ago

        Especially if there exist loads of versions of the joke that were made pre-AI. Who hasn’t seen the gandalf with an AK-47 meme that was made 20 years ago?

  • rudyharrelson@lemmy.radio
    145·
    2 days ago

    I do love when this happens. I could probably think of more examples if I took the time, but the first that immediately springs to mind is Buffy the Vampire Slayer pulling a rocket launcher on a vampire.

  • wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    51·
    2 days ago

    Literally a plot point in Dresden Files. MC is a wizard who lives in Chicago doing private eye work. Regularly carries a blasting rod (wand) and a revolver. One big wizard gets taken out by a sniper rifle fired by a demon. He has semi-regular backup from non magical friends who are just well armed.

    A regular human mafioso who is just so good at being a conniving and ruthless piece of shit that he can hold his own with the magic folk is a recurring character. Your spells don’t mean too much if four goons get the drop on you with a metal pipe when you weren’t prepared.

    • DacoTaco@lemmy.world
      28·
      2 days ago

      What makes dresden files so good is that dresden knows this, and he abuses the hell out of that. Time and time again he gets the jump of his enemies because he thinks outside of the box like that haha.
      And same for marcone, he knows that with the right bullets and tools, common items can hurt the supernatural. Its also what imo makes the supernatural in the series so real, they are extremely powerful, should be feared but all of them have a weakness. You just need to know it. And like dresden said so much, knowledge is power!

    • Godort@lemmy.ca
      15·
      2 days ago

      I like the scene when he gets accosted by some low skill mages who give the line “prepare to defend yourself, wizard” and he just pulls out his gun.