6
$\begingroup$

The user can manipulate fire in many ways, and to a certain extent, he can also manipulate electricity. The fire he uses is special and can reach temperatures above sun, but the average temperature reached by its flames is "48 times hotter than normal fire." He can increase his power gradually over time and is very resistant. Although it has a lot of resistance, his own flames can burn him, so he uses technologies to prevent this from happening, such as power armors. Its very resistance makes it always need the power armor. His manipulation of electricity is very weak, so he uses it very little. One of his weaknesses is that he can't spend much time in the water, and it makes him weak.

I wanted to know if there is any way to defeat him using technology and science. It doesn't matter if the technology to be used is futuristic. Like a power armor or something.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
14
  • 10
    $\begingroup$ Remember from our help center, Qs "Must be specific and answerable: What problem are you trying to solve? Must include context: What are you trying to accomplish? Must include restrictions/requirements: What will make one answer better than another? Should include research." Because he/she can be trivially defeated using a fire hose. Or a sniper rife. Or he/she can be shanked in his/her sleep. There's too little to work with here. $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 0:26
  • 8
    $\begingroup$ "is very resistant" - can you elaborate here, please? Just resistant to fire, or has very tough skin, or literally invulnerable like Superman? $\endgroup$
    – Alexander
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 1:11
  • 6
    $\begingroup$ the temperature of the sun can be either rather mundane or self destructive, the surface of the sun is only slightly impressive the temperature of the core means you create a nuclear bomb in your face. some more precision would be helpful $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 1:13
  • 8
    $\begingroup$ re "48 times hotter than normal fire.", the way temperatures multiply isn't intuitive. For example, twice as hot as 70°F is 600°F. How hot do you mean exactly? $\endgroup$
    – Joseph Sible-Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 7:00
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @Separatrix OK, so seems like something like a campfire burns at 600C/1110F/873K. If we multiply the K value by 48, then that's 41630C/74967F/41904K. Which means it's significantly hotter than the sun: "The temperature of the sun varies from around 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius) at the core to only about 10,000 degrees F (5,500 degrees C) at the surface, according to NASA." $\endgroup$
    – VLAZ
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 16:24

6 Answers 6

Reset to default
66
$\begingroup$

Shoot Him In The Head

You haven’t specified that he has any kind of supernatural senses, so a well placed sniper shot from well out of his visual range, (3km has been done but let’s make it 2km for safety) will neatly take care of the problem.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
10
  • 10
    $\begingroup$ I'd love to say this ISN'T the right answer, but it probably is. $\endgroup$
    – DWKraus
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 2:01
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ You wouldn't particularly need range, just surprise. $\endgroup$
    – AmiralPatate
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 10:30
  • 8
    $\begingroup$ Range helps create surprise! $\endgroup$
    – Daniel B
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 10:46
  • 21
    $\begingroup$ There are few problems in fantasy genre that cannot be solved with a well placed .50 BMG. $\endgroup$
    – Darth Hunterix
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 11:47
  • 7
    $\begingroup$ @DarthHunterix ... and what can't be dealt with using a .50 BMG usually can be dealt with using high explosives. Boom, baby... $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 15:55
40
$\begingroup$

The tech and science I use will be

A BREWERY!

brewery

And I will say "Dude, you must be thirsty. I very much am. And I have some beer from that new brewery! I am going to have one. Would you like one?"

then I will add the ancient tech of the Chickpea!

hummus

Because the beer made me hungry, and him too. And I have those pita chips and some hummus! And some more beer for when we finish the first ones.

I have not defeated him, but he is not my enemy. It turns out that in addition to fire power he can play guitar and knows a lot of songs I know too.

Eventually the neighbors hear us and come over.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
6
  • 17
    $\begingroup$ He could be in charge of the grill next time. $\endgroup$
    – user535733
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 1:41
  • 6
    $\begingroup$ Peace-talks over beer flagged as low quality??? Why would anyone want to live in a world where that happens. (From review). $\endgroup$
    – Escaped dental patient.
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 10:55
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ His riffs are FIRE! $\endgroup$
    – Patrice
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 13:18
  • $\begingroup$ I am +1 not for friending them, but for getting them drunk. Since if they pass out from being drunk they have a clean defeat. $\endgroup$
    – Anketam
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 14:36
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ +1 for your usual, highly original answer. Heaven help a pyrookinetic who tries to manipulate flame with a really high BAC. $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 15:56
8
$\begingroup$

Hot stuff:

Most of what you need is off-the-shelf tech available in Menards, a fire station, or somewhere similar. Start with a fire extinguisher, and go from their.

  • O2 deprivation: If you get up to sun level, the pyromancer will probably induce fusion and blow himself up. But at more manageable levels, flood spaces with CO2, nitrogen, or similar inert gasses that can't burn and deprive a fire of needed oxygen. At the lowest levels, this can be a simple CO2 fire extinguisher. At the upper levels, sophisticated fire suppression systems exist for just this purpose. And a pyromancer who can't breathe is just as dead.

  • fire suits: Ever see those guys wearing the fancy silver suits walking up to volcanos? The gear of fire fighters is more basic, but the idea is to make a heat-resistant non-flammable barrier. At lower tech levels, asbestos has been a thing for centuries. Cancer in 20 years is better than burning to death.

  • Choke on it: When does a pyromaniac fear lighting a fire? When they're standing in a pool of gasoline. One of the quickest ways to stop a fire is to use up all the oxygen and fuel. Or maybe they can shape fire, but if you overwhelm their capacity to control, it's out of control. A fuel source that is really something else (like dynamite) will cause the pyromancer to be hoisted by their own petard.

  • Do you smell smoke? Perhaps the pyromancer is detectible because they are generating a smoky signature around themselves. Perhaps they make a readily trackable heat source with their powers and don't even know it. But they could easily have a tell that broadcasts their location or even their intentions. Devices as simple as a smoke detector or as complex as thermographic cameras allow observers to always know when and where things will heat up.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Why deprive him from O2? Just feed him O2 as much as he likes, and then some. Almost everything burns better when in an oxygen-rich atmosphere, especially his power armor (and he will, too). $\endgroup$
    – arc_lupus
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 13:52
  • $\begingroup$ @arc_lupus I figure that falls under the" choke on it" tab, but yes. $\endgroup$
    – DWKraus
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 17:13
7
$\begingroup$

This is Bob the cop. He's going to arrest the pyrokinesis user for some crime he apparently commited.

If the pyrokinesis user kills Bob, then DanielB's answer will likely soon follow. If the pyro keeps Bob alive and "just" hurts him to keep him away, for example by reaching for the electricity in Bob's taser and using that to tase Bob, then friendlier methods to arrest him and place him in an asbestos cell somewhere will be taken.

The pyro has to take on society. Is he going to steal his food every day by force? Or the money to pay for his house and livelyhood? What is he doing for social interaction? Even if he just gets a job and does the normie thing, as long as he's wanted enough that he comes into contact with the law, he is screwed.

So sending Bob didn't work? Ok the police can simply hire someone to change the locks on his house while he is away, and if necessary empty the house and use that as a bargaining tool to get him to cooperate with justice. Doesn't work? Ok next time he turns the corner to his house he gets blown down by a watercanon, by the time he knows what is going on he's in handcuffs with a hood on, cold, wet, disoriented and halfway to a cell. Or maybe the police does the time-honored act of lifting him off his bed in the early early morning, since this is a powerful individual they might also send some teargas inside every window just in case. Or maybe they just wait for him at his commute where they tase him (cant control it if it happens before he reacts), pepperspray him, fire tear gas and a rubber bullet or two into his chest to incapacitate him as he rounds a corner and arrest him...

Unless the pyro is a hobo who keeps moving and tries to stay out of sight, there just isnt a good way the pyro can truly stay ahead of the law.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Suddenly, Sanderson's Reckoners appear... $\endgroup$
    – fectin
    Commented Jan 27, 2022 at 17:08
4
$\begingroup$

If we talk futuristic, then any type of sonic canon or any sound-based weapon should be able to deal with the pyromancer. While he/she can reach temperatures above sun, the sound is still able to travel through the plasma. Some way to send them to vacuum could also be a solution, as well as anything gravity-related.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
0
$\begingroup$

Well - treat it like any other fire. Just keep dumping water on him. A water cannon is going to keep him off balance, and super heated stream will at least block his visibility. It might damage power armour, and force him to keep working to keep the temperature up.

Evaporating water also would shield the surroundings from the heat, and while you can't shoot him as effectively through the water and steam, it still lets you contain him at a relatively low cost.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .