In Advocacy of Gunfights in Urban Fantasy

The sword is one of the most iconic symbols in fantasy. So many heroes are known for their swords. Bilbo has Sting, King Artur has Excaliber, Percy Jackson has Riptide. Even in Star Wars Luke has his lightsaber. The sword has become so pervasive that it is even in more modern settings. Star Wars, Percy Jackson, Trollhunters, even Harry Potter; all of these stories have swords in a setting that allows them access to guns. Using these weapons to include fantasy gunfights could prove very interesting. I’m not saying that these beloved stories should change, but I am saying that we can innovate.

Swords

I’ve found that writing fights, especially sword fights, are really hard to do correctly. One can only hear so much ‘my blade raced through the air and came slashing down upon my enemy’s shield. A clang reverberated through the air. I swivel my feet and held my blade aloft for another attack.’ While the previous passage may be relatively interesting, imagine reading that for pages and pages. The best way to explain this is through a quote by C.S. Lewis.

“But when at last the two lines met [Shasta] had very little idea of what happened. [….] He rolled right off his horse, bashed his left knuckles terribly against someone else’s armor, and then — But it is no use trying to describe the battle from Shasta’s point of view; [….] The best way I can tell you what happened is to take you some miles away to where the Hermit of the Southern March sat gazing into the smooth pool beneath the spreading tree, [….] For it was in this pool that the Hermit looked when he wanted to know what was going on in the world outside the green walls of his hermitage. There, as in a mirror, he could see, at certain times, what was going on in the streets of cities far further south.”

These fights get repetitive after a while. And, while the bird’s eye view can be useful it doesn’t work for all viewpoints and it only works for large battles with lots of terrain/features. (For example walls, gates, rivers, etc.) and in urban fantasy, one of the main genres that can benefit from fantasy gunfights, these wide-scale battles seem to be far and few between. The few that have these large fantasy battles almost always still focus on a single character.

So, the sword may be great for a sense of atmosphere or short one-on-one duels but is still overused in modern urban fantasy. Maybe the answer is more wizard duels? 

(Spoiler alert: It’s not)

Magic Systems

The other aspect of the fantasy genre is magic. This is the part where the authors can let their imaginations run wild. Every magic system is going to be different, just look at the variance between the worlds of Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Star Wars. Each has a different magic system. Many magic systems are not combat based. These systems, in addition to or in place of combative spells, have spells that are more versatile but do not have any direct combatant applications. Instead, the characters have to be smart to use them.

Harry Potter is a good example of this. For, though there are many dedicated combative spells, we also have spells that aren’t built specifically for combat. The most notable example is Wingardium Leviosa. Though its main purpose is not a combative one, it was still used to render a troll unconscious. With spell systems where much of the spells are noncombative, guns can be used to spice up fantasy battles. .

Novelty

The main reason why guns should be used is a novelty, one of the top five reasons we love fantasy stories. Novelty is the newness and strangeness of a piece, its the reason we love dragons and spaceships and magic. Here, gunfights can be used to increase novelty. One reason is that I haven’t found many stories that have these fantasy gunfights. Some come close, such as Star Wars, but none have utilized guns well in a setting with magic.

If used correctly, gunfights with magic can be different every time. The magicians and the magic will most likely change from battle to battle, ensuring new strategies and new outcomes emerge. Though the firing of guns may be the same, (and they may not with the introduction of magical guns) the magic will change each fight making it new and novel.

Magic Duels

Speaking of magic, fantasy gunfights also give people a chance to show off their cool magic system. Many straight-up fantasy magic fights, complete with killing curses, end up falling flat. Take Harry Potter as an example. The entire series is based on magic and wizards. Yet, there are few long or drawn-out wizarding duels in the book. This is because the battles all fall into one of two categories: short duels, or longer battles. The longest duel in the book (as far as I can remember) is when Voldemort fights Dumbledore at the end of the fifth book.

This is one of the problems with combative magic systems. Killing curses may seem fun but they can make fights dull. If all that happens is wizards firing the same few curses, fights will get stale. This is why duels are relatively short. Otherwise, they are battles such as the ends of Books 5, 6, and 7 of Harry Potter.

In those battles spells are flying around. But, we don’t know what these spells are. Most will be killing curses, but in Book 5, Neville gets hit with a dancing curse. Not only could this wreck tension, but it calls into question all of the spells flying around. What are they? Are they killing curses, dancing curses, or what? The reason for the dancing curse was of course because she didn’t want Neville to die. With guns, you always know what could happen, and there are non-lethal options. Maybe it hits your arm, leg, or shoulder and just injured a character. There are options.

Also, having guns serve for more creative uses of magic. If people have similar weapons, then any piece of magic can be used to give an edge. For example, a weather wizard could cause a downpour that obscures the visibility in a gunfight. Having guns can force the magic to act in strange and spectacular ways, creating a better and more magical experience for the reader.

Tension

Fantasy gunfights can be a great source of tension. We all know what happens when one gets shot. We always know the stakes. Also, gunfights change the way fight works. As those of you who play videogames will know, cover is used extensively during gunfights. This creates a more intense feel as protagonists duck behind trees or boulders hoping that they don’t get shot. Then again, gunfights are versatile. If you remove all cover, you can have a semi-traditional duel.

Tension is also gained by the fact that ammo is limited. Depending on the type of gun, the protagonist may only have six shots before they either run out or have to reload. However, because the types of guns can be varied, this limit does not always need to be imposed.

So, gunfights in urban fantasy can provide chances to raise tension without these chances becoming limitations.

Realism

Last is realism. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found it annoying when people don’t use guns in settings with guns. While there are ways to add swords to settings with guns, it never quite feels right. For example, even though lightsabers are powerful and can deflect blasters, couldn’t a Jedi do even more if they could use their super-reflexes to take enemies out from a distance? There are muggle-borns in the wizarding world, why haven’t any tried to shoot Voldemort? Though some of these can be slightly explained, adding guns requires no explanation.

End

So, many authors have neglected guns despite the myriad of reasons in their favor. Though the fantasy genre is by no means failing, singular authors will have to innovate to stand out. And that is what I hope to do here, and I’d like to take you along for the ride.