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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JamesonCourage" data-source="post: 5681787" data-attributes="member: 6668292">I'm not trying to be condescending, I'm curious on this point... in your opinion, can something be rare in a book (movie, comic, whatever), and not be a plot point?For example, can a nearly unbreakable mithril-like substance just be super rare in a book (Generic Fantasy Book) while remaining a piece of the setting? Or does its rarity therefore make it a plot point, in your mind?Personally, I see plot devices not based on rarity, but on whether or not they exist to move the plot in some way. You can have a one-of-a-kind starmetal sword that is sharper and stronger than normal, but if it never cuts That Which Cannot Be Cut or withstands That Which Can Shatter Any Weapon, I don't think it's a plot device.To that end, I'd personally categorize rare items as a setting issue. I do agree that rare items are used more prominently as plot devices than common items, but I'm not sure if it's more often. If you read some Conan books, the guy is skilled like no one else in combat. He's just the biggest, baddest dude around. However, he has horrible in-combat luck: he tends to trip on cloaks, slip and fall, etc. from time to time. This is usually to knock him out, have an enemy pounce on him only for an ally to save him, etc. This is obviously plot, but it's entirely mundane.I don't think rarity damns something to be a plot device (not saying you think that; I'm just giving my thoughts on it). To that end, I'd definitely characterize limited magic, fantastical creatures, or unique objects as a setting issue. I wouldn't characterize it as plot at all, since many, many mundane things are used as plot devices.Take your pick of protagonists: James Bond, Batman, Zorro, Rand al'Thor, whoever. They're all loaded up with moving the plot forward. It's not a genre thing, in my opinion. It's a plot thing. I don't think it's really all that related to magic in particular.Mind you, I do understand where you're coming from. If something new and revolutionary's been used, I can understand why you'd rather the world take notice of it. I don't mind that point of view at all (and generally agree with it). I just don't see how this necessarily ties to magic (and I know you mentioned it's not genre-specific, and that Star Trek does this as well). Maybe you don't mean it that way, but I'm working off of the posts from you recently, the original post, and thread title.Anyways, sorry for rambling on. There's my view on it, for whatever it's worth. As always, play what you like <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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