[Dragaera] javelin shooters (no spoilers)

[Howard Brazee]

On 8:40 AM Jon_Lincicum at stream.com wrote:
>  The impact of improvements/changes in the use of sorcery seems to be
>  the
>  primary driver in changing tactics of warfare. (See Kiera's
>  discussion
>  with Vlad about Spell-sticks, flashstones, etc in /Orca/.) However,
>  the
>  primary technological drivers for change in pre-firearm warfare in
>  our own
>  world were basically threefold:
>
>  1. The use of Steel over Bronze/Copper weapons.
>  2. The advent of mounted cavalry vs chariots/battle-wagons.
>  3. The constant improvements in armor technology vs bow/crossbows
>  meant to defeat the armor.

The thing is - sorcery doesn't have to be direct.   There are lots of 
indirect ways of using sorcery in warfare.   Examples:

1.   Create hotter furnaces in order to make better non-magical amour.
2.   Create better amour magically - by designing new non-magical materials.
3.   Make sure logistics problems only matter significantly at the 
actual battlefield where the defense is strong enough to interfere with 
teleportation.
4.  Create non-magical WMDs (primarily poisonous gases).    These can be 
magically contained or destroyed away from the battlefield, and the 
containers don't need to be long-lasting at the front.
5.   Create super-artillery.    The warheads can't be sorcerous, as such 
will be defended against.   But long-range artillery can use 
conventional weapons.   In Turtledove's first alternate WWII book, the 
Germans took out an alien space ship with a big gun - the aliens 
defended against an explosive missile, not a lump of mass.    
5a.  Create a super bow or spear chucker.    This might be defended 
against, if it's magical.     Or maybe not.   Great Weapons operate in 
battle areas.
6.   Create super soldiers.
7.   Create super traps.