The Wizards versus the "Muggles"

[JoeZhang]

Isn't this straight forward? Most wizards seem to be educated by Public schools, so you ask them about buggery or their views on black people and while they sweat and try and come up with an answer that makes sense to a normal person, you take them out with a sniper rifle.

 

[CaptainCanada]

It's not clear whether they can en mass mind control or not just individually. And as stated earlier, bribery may be a solution for muggles to wage a decent fight.

How, given that they have no means of contacting wizards? (beyond broadcasting "wizards interested in being bribed call _____").

Also, terrorism tactics may also be plausible because there is no evidence to suggest that a wizard unaware that he / she is a target couldn't be killed by a bullet hence sniper fire.

Er, no, because again, we have no means of identifying wizards or where they live. You can't wage a terror campaign against people you can't see.

Possible. Biological weapons may be another way muggles could fight the wizards.

Again, no obvious means of delivery (and wizards don't congregate in population centres, from what we've been told; there's only one all-wizard village in Britain).

Bio-warfare, if that's in play, would be an obvious advantage for wizards, since we know there are numerous diseases that can only be treated by magic (and not even cured then). Just weaponize those and humanity would be screwed.

It's worth noting that in the final novels, the wizard civil war spills over into the regular world (all the talk about random killings, bridge collapses, etc.) and the clear implication is that if Voldemort isn't defeated the Muggle world is also doomed in the long run. Likewise, Grindelwald's activities earlier in the century and the war against him had something to do with World War II.

 

[DarthTom]

Er, no, because again, we have no means of identifying wizards or where they live. You can't wage a terror campaign against people you can't see.

In a hypothetical war against the wizards you're right some of them would have to defect to the muggle side to help in gaining access to the wizard world and in identifying them.

 

[JoeZhang]

we have no means of identifying wizards or where they live. You can't wage a terror campaign against people you can't see.

Have you just traveled here from 1999?

"bomb the shit out of that area, it's got brown people... em..terrorists in it".

 

[CaptainCanada]

we have no means of identifying wizards or where they live. You can't wage a terror campaign against people you can't see.

Have you just traveled here from 1999?

"bomb the shit out of that area, it's got brown people... em..terrorists in it".

What you're describing is a military campaign, not a terror campaign, which would be equally ineffective in any event.

Wizards don't correspond to any country or geographic area. They live anonymously in normal communities and congregate in a select few areas that are completely sealed from the outside world by undetectable magic.

 

[DarthTom]

Have you just traveled here from 1999?

"bomb the shit out of that area, it's got brown people... em..terrorists in it".

True dat. Since Rowling has put some limitations on how well the wizards can conceal their world by establishing the fact that the school isn't completely hidden but suggests it's off limits to people and just barely out of our perception field, the obvious solution would be to nuke the entire site. In fact, a more drastic more would be to evacuate the entire British nation and nuke the entire country.

 

[JoeZhang]

I know very little about the Potterverse but it seems that the UK is the most important 'magic nation' - is that right?

 

[Yminale]

Well if any of you want actually see what a muggle vs. Wizard war would look like, all you have to do is study any insurgent conflict from the past 50 years (Vietnam to Iraq/Afghanistan).

Of course this would be a Global conflict and wizards would have more options than your standard terrorist/insurgent. Of course what really makes an analysis difficult is not the capabilities but their mindset. What drives wizards to wage war? What is their ultimate objectives? How united are they? Who are the major factions and what characterizes them? Who are the major leaders? How vulnerable are they to internal conflicts? Do they have a backup plan?

You may be saying that makes Wizards very human but that's the point with all their flash CGI magic, a wizard is still a human with a wand.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Since Rowling has put some limitations on how well the wizards can conceal their world by establishing the fact that the school isn't completely hidden but suggests it's off limits to people and just barely out of our perception field, the obvious solution would be to nuke the entire site.

What site, since we've been told that Hogwarts can't be mapped?

I know very little about the Potterverse but it seems that the UK is the most important 'magic nation' - is that right?

That's never stated. But since it's the country in which the stories take place, it's the most important location.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Not to branch out into other franchises, but all I know is that if any tanks come rolling up against Gandalf, he'd shine that light at them and make it very difficult to drive if they didn't have sunglasses on. Greatest wizard ever.

Well that depends on the light? If it's just visible light than a tank can switch to IR and still see Gandalf. Of course that doesn't stop the tank from launching smoke grenades to choke Gandalf or firing a burst from the machine gun in his general direction.

I'm glad you took that with the seriousness I intended. A lot of these other people don't take the wizarding threat as seriously as they should, to their own peril. The fools probably thought that was just a joke. I expect a twenty page report, single spaced, about how to defeat Gandalf with conventional weapons on my desk by 0800 tomorrow, cadet.

 

[Kemaiku]

I know very little about the Potterverse but it seems that the UK is the most important 'magic nation' - is that right?

Romania, France and Scandanavia seem to be very important too.

 

[RoJoHen]

I expect a twenty page report, single spaced, about how to defeat Gandalf with conventional weapons on my desk by 0800 tomorrow.

I would just wait for him to try and cross a bridge...and then blow up the bridge.

 

[DarthTom]

What site, since we've been told that Hogwarts can't be mapped?

See below

There are spells that conceal everything that's overtly magical from the view of Muggles, except for the select few who know of the Wizarding World. From the author herself:

Q: Can Muggles see Hogwarts?
A: When they look towards it, as a safety precaution, they see a ruin with a sign saying it's unsafe. . .they mustn't enter. They can't see it as it really is.

http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2000/0700-swns-alfie.htm

 

[Admiral2]

The Harry Potter films got me to thinking how inept the "muggles," are depicted in the books and films. Not only do they seem completely incompetent and oblivious to wizardry they also seem inept at dealing with it.

In a hypothetical war against the wizards would the 'muggles' aka regular human beings be at a total loss to fight the wizards? Would all of our technology be completely useless in combating them?

Please.


Sneak in one good H-bomb and all the firework wands wouldn't mean dick.

 

[FreezeC77]

How the hell would a normal human distinguish a wizard from a regular person? As long as they aren't waving a wand around and wearing wizard robes they look and sound just like anyone else.

Much easier for a wizard to infiltrate the human world (even without using disguise magic) than the other way around.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I expect a twenty page report, single spaced, about how to defeat Gandalf with conventional weapons on my desk by 0800 tomorrow.

I would just wait for him to try and cross a bridge...and then blow up the bridge.

Why waste the explosives? Just stick some old burning trucks on the bridge and Gandalf can use his other amazing power of slightly weakening thin, unsupported ancient stone bridges beneath the weight of 40-ton fire monsters.

 

[CaptainCanada]

What site, since we've been told that Hogwarts can't be mapped?

See below

Yes, but again, what site? They don't know what it is.

I know very little about the Potterverse but it seems that the UK is the most important 'magic nation' - is that right?

Romania, France and Scandanavia seem to be very important too.

Every country seems to have their own ministry that corresponds to current national boundaries (if I was writing, I might have been tempted to have the boundaries of the wizard-states correspond to older entities like the Holy Roman Empire, Burgundy, etc.); even, in one of my favourite subtle jokes, Andorra, a microstate with a population of 84,000.

 

[Deckerd]

I expect a twenty page report, single spaced, about how to defeat Gandalf with conventional weapons on my desk by 0800 tomorrow.

I would just wait for him to try and cross a bridge...and then blow up the bridge.

Just make sure your intel is right. You could be told it's old wizards and juniors still with greenstick wands and suddenly it's SS crack troops and a panzer division.

 

[JoeZhang]

How the hell would a normal human distinguish a wizard from a regular person? As long as they aren't waving a wand around and wearing wizard robes they look and sound just like anyone else.

Much easier for a wizard to infiltrate the human world (even without using disguise magic) than the other way around.

If you get to know them well and they are willing,you might be able to check if they have a wizard's sleeve.

 

[Kemaiku]

What site, since we've been told that Hogwarts can't be mapped?

See below

Yes, but again, what site? They don't know what it is.

I know very little about the Potterverse but it seems that the UK is the most important 'magic nation' - is that right?

Romania, France and Scandanavia seem to be very important too.

Every country seems to have their own ministry that corresponds to current national boundaries (if I was writing, I might have been tempted to have the boundaries of the wizard-states correspond to older entities like the Holy Roman Empire, Burgundy, etc.); even, in one of my favourite subtle jokes, Andorra, a microstate with a population of 84,000.

Gregoravich the Wand-maker is considered second only to Olivander himself, and lives in the general area of the Darmstrung School and a second even larger Wizarding prison where Grindlewald was sentenced to, which in Deathly Hallows Part 1 seems to be 2-3 times bigger than Azkaban. All hinted to be in Scandanavia/northern Europe.

Azkaban only has the reputation it has, because it seems to be the only one where the truely criminally insane are sent and kept under guard by Dementors. The second prison could accomodate many thousands of inmates, I sincerely doubt there would need to a be a third one anywhere in the world.

Many countries have Wizarding schools, a couple of hints are dropped to "fledgeling" schools several hundred years old in the new world. But the British, French and Darmstrung schools are hinted to be the 3 oldest at about 1000 years old each, the benchmark for all later Wizarding education and schools. Beaubatons in France does seem to be an all witch school, hinting France has a second all wizard one.

Romania is the magical communities hiding place for magical creatures but mainly Dragons, huge farms of Dragons and hundreds of witches and wizards working there most of their lives, coordinating with the older schools and ministries.

So a lot of the magical world seems to be centered across Europe and Britian in particular.