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So, I am designing a story that is set in the ~15th century with creatures that can create fire at will (Role of anthropomorphic foxes in a medieval army). Now one of these creatures is having a problem with the local authorities and it basically escalades into a food fight, where it’s possible to use magic to set the food on fire, but not to use the magic directly against the enemies. „Why?“ you ask? Anti-magic-armour!

What would be the most effective „weapon“ against medieval guards, if „weapon“ is defined as „food available at a ~15th century banquet in the castle of a rich king“, when considering the ability to set the food on fire at will?

I was inspired by other questions asking about creative weapons and RWBY.

Here are the rules:

  • The character can set any food on fire whenever he wants to
  • The magic-fueled fire burns with ~1.500°C (can be adjusted if needed; basically it's like holding a big bunsen burner under the food whose flame covers the whole food)
  • Up to three magic-fueled flames at a time
  • There is no time-limit on how long a single magic-fueled flame can exist, meaning that the character will not run out of energy
  • The character is in a big castle with plenty of space but the only exit is blocked by a total of 3 guards
  • The owner of the castle is rich and wanted to impress a lot of women with the banquet, which means any „weapon“ you need is available
  • The character is (similar to) an athletic human with heightened senses (hearing, seeing, …)
  • The goal is to cripple or kill the 3 guards as fast as possible, so that the character can run away

I was thinking about something along the lines of throwing big chunks of meat around and melting them mid-air to let hot fat rain down on the soldiers and into their eyes, but I have no idea if this is feasible, how much damage this could do and what other "weapons" I could use.

And remember kids: Don’t try this at home!

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    $\begingroup$ 1500 C is an intensely hot fire, and is not possible with a food projectile. Temperatures of that magnitude are never reached in common household fires, or even in bonfires. They were probably first achieved in massive, heavily insulated, coke-fired blast furnaces. The fuel concentration is simply not high enough for a meat-loaf to burn at those temperatures. $\endgroup$
    – kingledion
    Commented Jan 25, 2017 at 23:41
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    $\begingroup$ @kingledion I'm quite confident that the meatloaf in my high school had a significant quantity of petrochemicals, and its density suggests that it wasn't made of anything on the low end of the periodic table, so critical mass was a constant concern. For the sake of profaning that cafeteria "food" substance, I'd allow a story that had 1500 degree meatloaf. :-) $\endgroup$
    – SRM
    Commented Jan 26, 2017 at 7:30
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    $\begingroup$ Is the fire using the food as FUEL? Or does the food remain unconsumed by the fire magic (your statement of "no time-limit on how long a single flame can last" is ambiguous)? $\endgroup$
    – Jason K
    Commented Jan 26, 2017 at 20:36
  • $\begingroup$ @JasonK The fire is fueled by the magic of the character and burns with 1.500°C. Normally the character can control the flame as he sees fit. But in this question it is used to set the food on fire / melt it / ... Basically as if you would put a bunsen burner under the food. I added the statement about the time-limit because in my last question about these creatures I mentioned a time-limit. It does not apply here because this is supposed to be a relatively short "fight"-scene and not a drawn-out battle of big armies. Therefore the character will not run out of magic energy. $\endgroup$
    – Secespitus
    Commented Jan 26, 2017 at 20:47

2 Answers 2

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Gravy or butter or lard. These would likely be available at every table, in great quantities. Butter and lard would actually ignite, while gravy might not. The key is that all three of these can melt and seep into the anti-magic armor, are all relatively lightweight, and relatively easy to aim. Gravy would work for splash damage; "solid" chunks of butter or lard would do the trick as well.

This is based on "any food at will," so I'm allowing ignition of non-flammable foods. Two other great options would be:

Brandy, or some other strong alcoholic drink. Alcohol burns HOT; you take a flask of it, throw it at the guards, wait for it to seep into the armor, then light it on fire. Instatorch.

Salt. This will likely be available in vast quantities if you're trying to show off your wealth, and with a melting point of 801C, your fire will instantly melt the salt from powder to molten salt... not something you want dripping through your armor. Molten salt reacts badly with water (but not necessarily exploding), it irritates exposed tissues, and can be thrown by the handful.

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    $\begingroup$ Since boiling oil was used as a weapon historically, vegetable oil could be an acceptable butter substitute. It doesn't even have to be burning. And it has way less saturated fat! $\endgroup$
    – kingledion
    Commented Jan 25, 2017 at 23:42
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    $\begingroup$ You're absolutely right, @kingledion! It's just plain cruel to inflict heart disease on a man while you're melting his skin off. :) $\endgroup$
    – Zoey Green
    Commented Jan 26, 2017 at 16:20
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A few questions, does the antimagic armor radiate? Or does it simply prevent penetration? If it radiates, it would be hard to trigger a reaction near the guards and your idea of flinging food would probably be the best case. Things like oil was popular back then to use to protect the gates from invaders. having the creature spray oil into the air followed by fire would create desirable effects.

Though I think you could also set afire a giant turkey leg. Can be tossed by the fox like a throwing axe/knife and at the last second burn it could potentially add some comedy too if needed XD. The heat that would radiate off would be strong enough to pretty much make their clothing in turn catch fire (since the transfer of heat would fall to science at this point as the magic of setting the food on fire already gone and past) and run off in attempts to put it out. At the least be distracting enough that the character can run past and they are unable to do much to go near the exit assuming the character is immune to the heat his power provides.

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