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Why don't mages use side weapons?
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In fiction mages usually only hold wands, staffs, books or some magic orbs/discs floating around them and most of the time they run around empty handed.
How can it be justified other than the rule of cool when it makes so much sense to hold side weapons?
Harry potter double wielding a gun and a wand, Voldemort would have been killed in the first movie.
Or just imagine you are powerful mage and you are fighting another strong and evil warlock, he is about to cast a spell at 3 meters of distance of you, one Abracadabra and you are dead to the ground. It takes 1.5 seconds for him to cast the spell, which is not enough time for you to counter attack, what are you going to do, just stay here and die? Well you could simply grab a rock/knife/anything and throw it in his face breaking his teeth or nose, or simply quickly lunge at the enemy and stab him with a sword/spear while he is casting.
Having a weapon is just too convenient so why aren't mages using them?
Edit: let's just restrict this to medieval technology as it is the most common used in fantasy anyway, but instead of gun there still were repeating cross bows and daggers which only take a fraction of a second to throw so the harry potter example still applies, gun or dagger the difference is little they are both light, small, easy to carry and quickly kill someone.
magic warfare combat
asked 1 hour ago
Eries
5171215
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up vote
3
down vote
favorite
In fiction mages usually only hold wands, staffs, books or some magic orbs/discs floating around them and most of the time they run around empty handed.
How can it be justified other than the rule of cool when it makes so much sense to hold side weapons?
Harry potter double wielding a gun and a wand, Voldemort would have been killed in the first movie.
Or just imagine you are powerful mage and you are fighting another strong and evil warlock, he is about to cast a spell at 3 meters of distance of you, one Abracadabra and you are dead to the ground. It takes 1.5 seconds for him to cast the spell, which is not enough time for you to counter attack, what are you going to do, just stay here and die? Well you could simply grab a rock/knife/anything and throw it in his face breaking his teeth or nose, or simply quickly lunge at the enemy and stab him with a sword/spear while he is casting.
Having a weapon is just too convenient so why aren't mages using them?
Edit: let's just restrict this to medieval technology as it is the most common used in fantasy anyway, but instead of gun there still were repeating cross bows and daggers which only take a fraction of a second to throw so the harry potter example still applies, gun or dagger the difference is little they are both light, small, easy to carry and quickly kill someone.
magic warfare combat
asked 1 hour ago
Eries
5171215
New contributor
Eries is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
This might be more appropriately asked on writing.SE. And seems pretty opinion based, and thus subject to being closed.
– RonJohn
1 hour ago
Thats a job for writing.SE
– Jannis
1 hour ago
@RonJohn moved the orginal question in writing.SE, and changed the original one
– Eries
40 mins ago
You should tell us more about your setting, like the rough time period and especially what sidearms are available. Having access to a handgun would be very different from being stuck with a knife/bow.
– nullpointer
31 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
In fiction mages usually only hold wands, staffs, books or some magic orbs/discs floating around them and most of the time they run around empty handed.
How can it be justified other than the rule of cool when it makes so much sense to hold side weapons?
Harry potter double wielding a gun and a wand, Voldemort would have been killed in the first movie.
Or just imagine you are powerful mage and you are fighting another strong and evil warlock, he is about to cast a spell at 3 meters of distance of you, one Abracadabra and you are dead to the ground. It takes 1.5 seconds for him to cast the spell, which is not enough time for you to counter attack, what are you going to do, just stay here and die? Well you could simply grab a rock/knife/anything and throw it in his face breaking his teeth or nose, or simply quickly lunge at the enemy and stab him with a sword/spear while he is casting.
Having a weapon is just too convenient so why aren't mages using them?
Edit: let's just restrict this to medieval technology as it is the most common used in fantasy anyway, but instead of gun there still were repeating cross bows and daggers which only take a fraction of a second to throw so the harry potter example still applies, gun or dagger the difference is little they are both light, small, easy to carry and quickly kill someone.
magic warfare combat
asked 1 hour ago
Eries
5171215
New contributor
Eries is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
In fiction mages usually only hold wands, staffs, books or some magic orbs/discs floating around them and most of the time they run around empty handed.
How can it be justified other than the rule of cool when it makes so much sense to hold side weapons?
Harry potter double wielding a gun and a wand, Voldemort would have been killed in the first movie.
Or just imagine you are powerful mage and you are fighting another strong and evil warlock, he is about to cast a spell at 3 meters of distance of you, one Abracadabra and you are dead to the ground. It takes 1.5 seconds for him to cast the spell, which is not enough time for you to counter attack, what are you going to do, just stay here and die? Well you could simply grab a rock/knife/anything and throw it in his face breaking his teeth or nose, or simply quickly lunge at the enemy and stab him with a sword/spear while he is casting.
Having a weapon is just too convenient so why aren't mages using them?
Edit: let's just restrict this to medieval technology as it is the most common used in fantasy anyway, but instead of gun there still were repeating cross bows and daggers which only take a fraction of a second to throw so the harry potter example still applies, gun or dagger the difference is little they are both light, small, easy to carry and quickly kill someone.
magic warfare combat
magic warfare combat
asked 1 hour ago
Eries
5171215
New contributor
Eries is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 hour ago
Eries
5171215
New contributor
Eries is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 18 mins ago
asked 1 hour ago
Eries
5171215
New contributor
Eries is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 hour ago
Eries
5171215
asked 1 hour ago
Eries
5171215
5171215
New contributor
Eries is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Eries is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Eries is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
This might be more appropriately asked on writing.SE. And seems pretty opinion based, and thus subject to being closed.
– RonJohn
1 hour ago
Thats a job for writing.SE
– Jannis
1 hour ago
@RonJohn moved the orginal question in writing.SE, and changed the original one
– Eries
40 mins ago
You should tell us more about your setting, like the rough time period and especially what sidearms are available. Having access to a handgun would be very different from being stuck with a knife/bow.
– nullpointer
31 mins ago
add a comment |Â
1
This might be more appropriately asked on writing.SE. And seems pretty opinion based, and thus subject to being closed.
– RonJohn
1 hour ago
Thats a job for writing.SE
– Jannis
1 hour ago
@RonJohn moved the orginal question in writing.SE, and changed the original one
– Eries
40 mins ago
You should tell us more about your setting, like the rough time period and especially what sidearms are available. Having access to a handgun would be very different from being stuck with a knife/bow.
– nullpointer
31 mins ago
1
1
This might be more appropriately asked on writing.SE. And seems pretty opinion based, and thus subject to being closed.
– RonJohn
1 hour ago
This might be more appropriately asked on writing.SE. And seems pretty opinion based, and thus subject to being closed.
– RonJohn
1 hour ago
Thats a job for writing.SE
– Jannis
1 hour ago
Thats a job for writing.SE
– Jannis
1 hour ago
@RonJohn moved the orginal question in writing.SE, and changed the original one
– Eries
40 mins ago
@RonJohn moved the orginal question in writing.SE, and changed the original one
– Eries
40 mins ago
You should tell us more about your setting, like the rough time period and especially what sidearms are available. Having access to a handgun would be very different from being stuck with a knife/bow.
– nullpointer
31 mins ago
You should tell us more about your setting, like the rough time period and especially what sidearms are available. Having access to a handgun would be very different from being stuck with a knife/bow.
– nullpointer
31 mins ago
add a comment |Â
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
Fire
There are many reasons why a mage wouldn't carry a firearm, but the simplest one is probably the constant presence of fire around combat mages. Whether fireballs or fire shields, live ammunition and fire don't mix well.
It's a tradeoff
You could end up with a wizard like Gandalf, sword in one hand staff in the other, or Mustrum Ridcully, who generally believed that if hitting it with 6 feet of oak didn't work the magic probably wouldn't either and carried a couple of loaded crossbows in his pointy hat, but these are the anomalies in the grand scheme of wizards. Your average wizard is a classic nerd, whether of the type to live entirely on pizza, or the type to forget to eat for days at a time, they're generally not the type with the strength or agility to handle a non-magical weapon.
answered 27 mins ago
Separatrix
71.4k30169280
+1 for Terry Pratchet reference ;). Although I don't think that carrying live firearms is such a problem for mages.
– Demigan
21 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
It depends on your magic system. But taking Harry Potter as an example, while you could theoretically use a wand and gun at the same time it's a multitask you cannot afford. The likelyhood of you making a mistake and the spell failing increases immensely when holding a gun as well unless you aren't using the gun at that point. You could put the gun in a holster though and use it as an alternate killing curse, but the HP universe has proven that all mages including Hermione who's supposed to be oh so smart are actually batshit insane. She's afraid of Voldemorts name after reading about him 5 minutes and this is something almost all muggle-borns do for some reason besides the broken monetary system, the unworkable Quidditch rules, nonsensical use of Time Turners and the general lack of social control rules. Avada Kedavra is forbidden but Molly the Housewife has no trouble turning Bellatrix to dust! More kills are made with other curses than the actual killing curse! /HP rant.
From what I understand in D&D type games you usually don't carry weapons as it takes mental effort to cast spells, and being as little encumbered as possible with as little hindrance is key to casting your spell effectively. Besides that most mages are often painted as frail and weak so it's more balanced with other classes and the mage will simply not have use for weapons (even though logically self-improvement would be one of the first magics that would get developed, screw throwing a fireball if you can make yourself sexy and well capable of surviving without one!).
answered 25 mins ago
Demigan
5,5711430
+1 for the last part, it actually makes to much sense....
– Eries
20 mins ago
1
@Eries it's one of my pet peeves. Magic would logically follow the same development as technology. First you will worry about food, shelter (clothes, living area vs weather etc) and sex+offspring care, and only after that a fireball becomes interesting (unless you developed it for instant-BBQ). Yet almost every magic system in existance is combat-oriented with precious little day-to-day spells.
– Demigan
16 mins ago
Damn, it must be the effects of too many video games....
– Eries
15 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The usual reason is likely to make mages less allmighty and stories more interesting. In-world reasons include:
Magical gestures
Most magic systems include forming gestures with your hands or holding magical materials in your hand. That makes holding a waepon at the same time impossible and stowing them away before casting a spell increases the casting time.
Training
Mages need to stick their noses in dusty books all day to master the magic arts in a whooping 20 - 30 years of time. In order to effectively use a weapon to defend themselves, they need to invest time into regular weapon training. In the eyes of a mage, the most powerfull weapon is magic itself, so any physical training is a waste of time.
Concentration
Waving your hand around while holding a sharp blade in the other hand is extremely dangerous. You have to either concentrate on not cutting yourself or on getting the gestures right.
The same applies to crossbows. Even if you don't need gestures to cast spells, you can either concentrate on casting or on aiming your weapon, but not both at the same time.
Physical strength
Most weapons get more effective the stronger the wielder is (including throwing daggers). Again, that contradicts spending as much time as possible learning the magical arts.
Even a crossbow that needs no more that the twitch of a finger to fire a deadly bolt needs to be redrawn before you can fire a second bolt. You need to either have the strength to draw the string or use a rather slow method like a wind to draw the string with less physical strength.
Any weapon you want to use in fight has to be carried to the battlefield. Casting 10 magical projectiles at an enemy doesn't wheight anything, but carrying 10 throwing daggers burdens a mage with unnecessary wheight.
answered 21 mins ago
Elmy
7,55711032
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
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Material Reactivity
The metals from which most standard medieval weapons are made out of react negatively to magic, by destabilising any spell casting attempt when in close proximity to the mage, such as being carried on his/her person. No mage wants to commit magical suicide, so they go to great lengths to make sure they keep all such materials a safe distance away from themselves.
That doesn't automatically rule out all weapons of course. There's still the Stone Age classics, big rock and pointy stick. But to use such crude weapons in an effective manner requires a significant amount of training that magicians will lack as a rule because of the demands of their main job
answered 6 mins ago
nullpointer
3,044726
add a comment |Â
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
Fire
There are many reasons why a mage wouldn't carry a firearm, but the simplest one is probably the constant presence of fire around combat mages. Whether fireballs or fire shields, live ammunition and fire don't mix well.
It's a tradeoff
You could end up with a wizard like Gandalf, sword in one hand staff in the other, or Mustrum Ridcully, who generally believed that if hitting it with 6 feet of oak didn't work the magic probably wouldn't either and carried a couple of loaded crossbows in his pointy hat, but these are the anomalies in the grand scheme of wizards. Your average wizard is a classic nerd, whether of the type to live entirely on pizza, or the type to forget to eat for days at a time, they're generally not the type with the strength or agility to handle a non-magical weapon.
answered 27 mins ago
Separatrix
71.4k30169280
+1 for Terry Pratchet reference ;). Although I don't think that carrying live firearms is such a problem for mages.
– Demigan
21 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
Fire
There are many reasons why a mage wouldn't carry a firearm, but the simplest one is probably the constant presence of fire around combat mages. Whether fireballs or fire shields, live ammunition and fire don't mix well.
It's a tradeoff
You could end up with a wizard like Gandalf, sword in one hand staff in the other, or Mustrum Ridcully, who generally believed that if hitting it with 6 feet of oak didn't work the magic probably wouldn't either and carried a couple of loaded crossbows in his pointy hat, but these are the anomalies in the grand scheme of wizards. Your average wizard is a classic nerd, whether of the type to live entirely on pizza, or the type to forget to eat for days at a time, they're generally not the type with the strength or agility to handle a non-magical weapon.
answered 27 mins ago
Separatrix
71.4k30169280
+1 for Terry Pratchet reference ;). Although I don't think that carrying live firearms is such a problem for mages.
– Demigan
21 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
Fire
There are many reasons why a mage wouldn't carry a firearm, but the simplest one is probably the constant presence of fire around combat mages. Whether fireballs or fire shields, live ammunition and fire don't mix well.
It's a tradeoff
You could end up with a wizard like Gandalf, sword in one hand staff in the other, or Mustrum Ridcully, who generally believed that if hitting it with 6 feet of oak didn't work the magic probably wouldn't either and carried a couple of loaded crossbows in his pointy hat, but these are the anomalies in the grand scheme of wizards. Your average wizard is a classic nerd, whether of the type to live entirely on pizza, or the type to forget to eat for days at a time, they're generally not the type with the strength or agility to handle a non-magical weapon.
answered 27 mins ago
Separatrix
71.4k30169280
Fire
There are many reasons why a mage wouldn't carry a firearm, but the simplest one is probably the constant presence of fire around combat mages. Whether fireballs or fire shields, live ammunition and fire don't mix well.
It's a tradeoff
You could end up with a wizard like Gandalf, sword in one hand staff in the other, or Mustrum Ridcully, who generally believed that if hitting it with 6 feet of oak didn't work the magic probably wouldn't either and carried a couple of loaded crossbows in his pointy hat, but these are the anomalies in the grand scheme of wizards. Your average wizard is a classic nerd, whether of the type to live entirely on pizza, or the type to forget to eat for days at a time, they're generally not the type with the strength or agility to handle a non-magical weapon.
answered 27 mins ago
Separatrix
71.4k30169280
answered 27 mins ago
Separatrix
71.4k30169280
answered 27 mins ago
Separatrix
71.4k30169280
answered 27 mins ago
Separatrix
71.4k30169280
71.4k30169280
+1 for Terry Pratchet reference ;). Although I don't think that carrying live firearms is such a problem for mages.
– Demigan
21 mins ago
add a comment |Â
+1 for Terry Pratchet reference ;). Although I don't think that carrying live firearms is such a problem for mages.
– Demigan
21 mins ago
+1 for Terry Pratchet reference ;). Although I don't think that carrying live firearms is such a problem for mages.
– Demigan
21 mins ago
+1 for Terry Pratchet reference ;). Although I don't think that carrying live firearms is such a problem for mages.
– Demigan
21 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
It depends on your magic system. But taking Harry Potter as an example, while you could theoretically use a wand and gun at the same time it's a multitask you cannot afford. The likelyhood of you making a mistake and the spell failing increases immensely when holding a gun as well unless you aren't using the gun at that point. You could put the gun in a holster though and use it as an alternate killing curse, but the HP universe has proven that all mages including Hermione who's supposed to be oh so smart are actually batshit insane. She's afraid of Voldemorts name after reading about him 5 minutes and this is something almost all muggle-borns do for some reason besides the broken monetary system, the unworkable Quidditch rules, nonsensical use of Time Turners and the general lack of social control rules. Avada Kedavra is forbidden but Molly the Housewife has no trouble turning Bellatrix to dust! More kills are made with other curses than the actual killing curse! /HP rant.
From what I understand in D&D type games you usually don't carry weapons as it takes mental effort to cast spells, and being as little encumbered as possible with as little hindrance is key to casting your spell effectively. Besides that most mages are often painted as frail and weak so it's more balanced with other classes and the mage will simply not have use for weapons (even though logically self-improvement would be one of the first magics that would get developed, screw throwing a fireball if you can make yourself sexy and well capable of surviving without one!).
answered 25 mins ago
Demigan
5,5711430
+1 for the last part, it actually makes to much sense....
– Eries
20 mins ago
1
@Eries it's one of my pet peeves. Magic would logically follow the same development as technology. First you will worry about food, shelter (clothes, living area vs weather etc) and sex+offspring care, and only after that a fireball becomes interesting (unless you developed it for instant-BBQ). Yet almost every magic system in existance is combat-oriented with precious little day-to-day spells.
– Demigan
16 mins ago
Damn, it must be the effects of too many video games....
– Eries
15 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
It depends on your magic system. But taking Harry Potter as an example, while you could theoretically use a wand and gun at the same time it's a multitask you cannot afford. The likelyhood of you making a mistake and the spell failing increases immensely when holding a gun as well unless you aren't using the gun at that point. You could put the gun in a holster though and use it as an alternate killing curse, but the HP universe has proven that all mages including Hermione who's supposed to be oh so smart are actually batshit insane. She's afraid of Voldemorts name after reading about him 5 minutes and this is something almost all muggle-borns do for some reason besides the broken monetary system, the unworkable Quidditch rules, nonsensical use of Time Turners and the general lack of social control rules. Avada Kedavra is forbidden but Molly the Housewife has no trouble turning Bellatrix to dust! More kills are made with other curses than the actual killing curse! /HP rant.
From what I understand in D&D type games you usually don't carry weapons as it takes mental effort to cast spells, and being as little encumbered as possible with as little hindrance is key to casting your spell effectively. Besides that most mages are often painted as frail and weak so it's more balanced with other classes and the mage will simply not have use for weapons (even though logically self-improvement would be one of the first magics that would get developed, screw throwing a fireball if you can make yourself sexy and well capable of surviving without one!).
answered 25 mins ago
Demigan
5,5711430
+1 for the last part, it actually makes to much sense....
– Eries
20 mins ago
1
@Eries it's one of my pet peeves. Magic would logically follow the same development as technology. First you will worry about food, shelter (clothes, living area vs weather etc) and sex+offspring care, and only after that a fireball becomes interesting (unless you developed it for instant-BBQ). Yet almost every magic system in existance is combat-oriented with precious little day-to-day spells.
– Demigan
16 mins ago
Damn, it must be the effects of too many video games....
– Eries
15 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
It depends on your magic system. But taking Harry Potter as an example, while you could theoretically use a wand and gun at the same time it's a multitask you cannot afford. The likelyhood of you making a mistake and the spell failing increases immensely when holding a gun as well unless you aren't using the gun at that point. You could put the gun in a holster though and use it as an alternate killing curse, but the HP universe has proven that all mages including Hermione who's supposed to be oh so smart are actually batshit insane. She's afraid of Voldemorts name after reading about him 5 minutes and this is something almost all muggle-borns do for some reason besides the broken monetary system, the unworkable Quidditch rules, nonsensical use of Time Turners and the general lack of social control rules. Avada Kedavra is forbidden but Molly the Housewife has no trouble turning Bellatrix to dust! More kills are made with other curses than the actual killing curse! /HP rant.
From what I understand in D&D type games you usually don't carry weapons as it takes mental effort to cast spells, and being as little encumbered as possible with as little hindrance is key to casting your spell effectively. Besides that most mages are often painted as frail and weak so it's more balanced with other classes and the mage will simply not have use for weapons (even though logically self-improvement would be one of the first magics that would get developed, screw throwing a fireball if you can make yourself sexy and well capable of surviving without one!).
answered 25 mins ago
Demigan
5,5711430
It depends on your magic system. But taking Harry Potter as an example, while you could theoretically use a wand and gun at the same time it's a multitask you cannot afford. The likelyhood of you making a mistake and the spell failing increases immensely when holding a gun as well unless you aren't using the gun at that point. You could put the gun in a holster though and use it as an alternate killing curse, but the HP universe has proven that all mages including Hermione who's supposed to be oh so smart are actually batshit insane. She's afraid of Voldemorts name after reading about him 5 minutes and this is something almost all muggle-borns do for some reason besides the broken monetary system, the unworkable Quidditch rules, nonsensical use of Time Turners and the general lack of social control rules. Avada Kedavra is forbidden but Molly the Housewife has no trouble turning Bellatrix to dust! More kills are made with other curses than the actual killing curse! /HP rant.
From what I understand in D&D type games you usually don't carry weapons as it takes mental effort to cast spells, and being as little encumbered as possible with as little hindrance is key to casting your spell effectively. Besides that most mages are often painted as frail and weak so it's more balanced with other classes and the mage will simply not have use for weapons (even though logically self-improvement would be one of the first magics that would get developed, screw throwing a fireball if you can make yourself sexy and well capable of surviving without one!).
answered 25 mins ago
Demigan
5,5711430
answered 25 mins ago
Demigan
5,5711430
answered 25 mins ago
Demigan
5,5711430
answered 25 mins ago
Demigan
5,5711430
5,5711430
+1 for the last part, it actually makes to much sense....
– Eries
20 mins ago
1
@Eries it's one of my pet peeves. Magic would logically follow the same development as technology. First you will worry about food, shelter (clothes, living area vs weather etc) and sex+offspring care, and only after that a fireball becomes interesting (unless you developed it for instant-BBQ). Yet almost every magic system in existance is combat-oriented with precious little day-to-day spells.
– Demigan
16 mins ago
Damn, it must be the effects of too many video games....
– Eries
15 mins ago
add a comment |Â
+1 for the last part, it actually makes to much sense....
– Eries
20 mins ago
1
@Eries it's one of my pet peeves. Magic would logically follow the same development as technology. First you will worry about food, shelter (clothes, living area vs weather etc) and sex+offspring care, and only after that a fireball becomes interesting (unless you developed it for instant-BBQ). Yet almost every magic system in existance is combat-oriented with precious little day-to-day spells.
– Demigan
16 mins ago
Damn, it must be the effects of too many video games....
– Eries
15 mins ago
+1 for the last part, it actually makes to much sense....
– Eries
20 mins ago
+1 for the last part, it actually makes to much sense....
– Eries
20 mins ago
1
1
@Eries it's one of my pet peeves. Magic would logically follow the same development as technology. First you will worry about food, shelter (clothes, living area vs weather etc) and sex+offspring care, and only after that a fireball becomes interesting (unless you developed it for instant-BBQ). Yet almost every magic system in existance is combat-oriented with precious little day-to-day spells.
– Demigan
16 mins ago
@Eries it's one of my pet peeves. Magic would logically follow the same development as technology. First you will worry about food, shelter (clothes, living area vs weather etc) and sex+offspring care, and only after that a fireball becomes interesting (unless you developed it for instant-BBQ). Yet almost every magic system in existance is combat-oriented with precious little day-to-day spells.
– Demigan
16 mins ago
Damn, it must be the effects of too many video games....
– Eries
15 mins ago
Damn, it must be the effects of too many video games....
– Eries
15 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The usual reason is likely to make mages less allmighty and stories more interesting. In-world reasons include:
Magical gestures
Most magic systems include forming gestures with your hands or holding magical materials in your hand. That makes holding a waepon at the same time impossible and stowing them away before casting a spell increases the casting time.
Training
Mages need to stick their noses in dusty books all day to master the magic arts in a whooping 20 - 30 years of time. In order to effectively use a weapon to defend themselves, they need to invest time into regular weapon training. In the eyes of a mage, the most powerfull weapon is magic itself, so any physical training is a waste of time.
Concentration
Waving your hand around while holding a sharp blade in the other hand is extremely dangerous. You have to either concentrate on not cutting yourself or on getting the gestures right.
The same applies to crossbows. Even if you don't need gestures to cast spells, you can either concentrate on casting or on aiming your weapon, but not both at the same time.
Physical strength
Most weapons get more effective the stronger the wielder is (including throwing daggers). Again, that contradicts spending as much time as possible learning the magical arts.
Even a crossbow that needs no more that the twitch of a finger to fire a deadly bolt needs to be redrawn before you can fire a second bolt. You need to either have the strength to draw the string or use a rather slow method like a wind to draw the string with less physical strength.
Any weapon you want to use in fight has to be carried to the battlefield. Casting 10 magical projectiles at an enemy doesn't wheight anything, but carrying 10 throwing daggers burdens a mage with unnecessary wheight.
answered 21 mins ago
Elmy
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The usual reason is likely to make mages less allmighty and stories more interesting. In-world reasons include:
Magical gestures
Most magic systems include forming gestures with your hands or holding magical materials in your hand. That makes holding a waepon at the same time impossible and stowing them away before casting a spell increases the casting time.
Training
Mages need to stick their noses in dusty books all day to master the magic arts in a whooping 20 - 30 years of time. In order to effectively use a weapon to defend themselves, they need to invest time into regular weapon training. In the eyes of a mage, the most powerfull weapon is magic itself, so any physical training is a waste of time.
Concentration
Waving your hand around while holding a sharp blade in the other hand is extremely dangerous. You have to either concentrate on not cutting yourself or on getting the gestures right.
The same applies to crossbows. Even if you don't need gestures to cast spells, you can either concentrate on casting or on aiming your weapon, but not both at the same time.
Physical strength
Most weapons get more effective the stronger the wielder is (including throwing daggers). Again, that contradicts spending as much time as possible learning the magical arts.
Even a crossbow that needs no more that the twitch of a finger to fire a deadly bolt needs to be redrawn before you can fire a second bolt. You need to either have the strength to draw the string or use a rather slow method like a wind to draw the string with less physical strength.
Any weapon you want to use in fight has to be carried to the battlefield. Casting 10 magical projectiles at an enemy doesn't wheight anything, but carrying 10 throwing daggers burdens a mage with unnecessary wheight.
answered 21 mins ago
Elmy
7,55711032
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
The usual reason is likely to make mages less allmighty and stories more interesting. In-world reasons include:
Magical gestures
Most magic systems include forming gestures with your hands or holding magical materials in your hand. That makes holding a waepon at the same time impossible and stowing them away before casting a spell increases the casting time.
Training
Mages need to stick their noses in dusty books all day to master the magic arts in a whooping 20 - 30 years of time. In order to effectively use a weapon to defend themselves, they need to invest time into regular weapon training. In the eyes of a mage, the most powerfull weapon is magic itself, so any physical training is a waste of time.
Concentration
Waving your hand around while holding a sharp blade in the other hand is extremely dangerous. You have to either concentrate on not cutting yourself or on getting the gestures right.
The same applies to crossbows. Even if you don't need gestures to cast spells, you can either concentrate on casting or on aiming your weapon, but not both at the same time.
Physical strength
Most weapons get more effective the stronger the wielder is (including throwing daggers). Again, that contradicts spending as much time as possible learning the magical arts.
Even a crossbow that needs no more that the twitch of a finger to fire a deadly bolt needs to be redrawn before you can fire a second bolt. You need to either have the strength to draw the string or use a rather slow method like a wind to draw the string with less physical strength.
Any weapon you want to use in fight has to be carried to the battlefield. Casting 10 magical projectiles at an enemy doesn't wheight anything, but carrying 10 throwing daggers burdens a mage with unnecessary wheight.
answered 21 mins ago
Elmy
7,55711032
The usual reason is likely to make mages less allmighty and stories more interesting. In-world reasons include:
Magical gestures
Most magic systems include forming gestures with your hands or holding magical materials in your hand. That makes holding a waepon at the same time impossible and stowing them away before casting a spell increases the casting time.
Training
Mages need to stick their noses in dusty books all day to master the magic arts in a whooping 20 - 30 years of time. In order to effectively use a weapon to defend themselves, they need to invest time into regular weapon training. In the eyes of a mage, the most powerfull weapon is magic itself, so any physical training is a waste of time.
Concentration
Waving your hand around while holding a sharp blade in the other hand is extremely dangerous. You have to either concentrate on not cutting yourself or on getting the gestures right.
The same applies to crossbows. Even if you don't need gestures to cast spells, you can either concentrate on casting or on aiming your weapon, but not both at the same time.
Physical strength
Most weapons get more effective the stronger the wielder is (including throwing daggers). Again, that contradicts spending as much time as possible learning the magical arts.
Even a crossbow that needs no more that the twitch of a finger to fire a deadly bolt needs to be redrawn before you can fire a second bolt. You need to either have the strength to draw the string or use a rather slow method like a wind to draw the string with less physical strength.
Any weapon you want to use in fight has to be carried to the battlefield. Casting 10 magical projectiles at an enemy doesn't wheight anything, but carrying 10 throwing daggers burdens a mage with unnecessary wheight.
answered 21 mins ago
Elmy
7,55711032
edited 16 mins ago
answered 21 mins ago
Elmy
7,55711032
answered 21 mins ago
Elmy
7,55711032
answered 21 mins ago
Elmy
7,55711032
7,55711032
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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0
down vote
Material Reactivity
The metals from which most standard medieval weapons are made out of react negatively to magic, by destabilising any spell casting attempt when in close proximity to the mage, such as being carried on his/her person. No mage wants to commit magical suicide, so they go to great lengths to make sure they keep all such materials a safe distance away from themselves.
That doesn't automatically rule out all weapons of course. There's still the Stone Age classics, big rock and pointy stick. But to use such crude weapons in an effective manner requires a significant amount of training that magicians will lack as a rule because of the demands of their main job
answered 6 mins ago
nullpointer
3,044726
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Material Reactivity
The metals from which most standard medieval weapons are made out of react negatively to magic, by destabilising any spell casting attempt when in close proximity to the mage, such as being carried on his/her person. No mage wants to commit magical suicide, so they go to great lengths to make sure they keep all such materials a safe distance away from themselves.
That doesn't automatically rule out all weapons of course. There's still the Stone Age classics, big rock and pointy stick. But to use such crude weapons in an effective manner requires a significant amount of training that magicians will lack as a rule because of the demands of their main job
answered 6 mins ago
nullpointer
3,044726
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
Material Reactivity
The metals from which most standard medieval weapons are made out of react negatively to magic, by destabilising any spell casting attempt when in close proximity to the mage, such as being carried on his/her person. No mage wants to commit magical suicide, so they go to great lengths to make sure they keep all such materials a safe distance away from themselves.
That doesn't automatically rule out all weapons of course. There's still the Stone Age classics, big rock and pointy stick. But to use such crude weapons in an effective manner requires a significant amount of training that magicians will lack as a rule because of the demands of their main job
answered 6 mins ago
nullpointer
3,044726
Material Reactivity
The metals from which most standard medieval weapons are made out of react negatively to magic, by destabilising any spell casting attempt when in close proximity to the mage, such as being carried on his/her person. No mage wants to commit magical suicide, so they go to great lengths to make sure they keep all such materials a safe distance away from themselves.
That doesn't automatically rule out all weapons of course. There's still the Stone Age classics, big rock and pointy stick. But to use such crude weapons in an effective manner requires a significant amount of training that magicians will lack as a rule because of the demands of their main job
answered 6 mins ago
nullpointer
3,044726
answered 6 mins ago
nullpointer
3,044726
answered 6 mins ago
nullpointer
3,044726
answered 6 mins ago
nullpointer
3,044726
3,044726
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
Eries is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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1
This might be more appropriately asked on writing.SE. And seems pretty opinion based, and thus subject to being closed.
– RonJohn
1 hour ago
Thats a job for writing.SE
– Jannis
1 hour ago
@RonJohn moved the orginal question in writing.SE, and changed the original one
– Eries
40 mins ago
You should tell us more about your setting, like the rough time period and especially what sidearms are available. Having access to a handgun would be very different from being stuck with a knife/bow.
– nullpointer
31 mins ago