Scenario: A wizard appears in your room, and before you can scream/shoot him/dial 911, he gestures, magically filling you in.
He’s come here because you are the only person he’s found (so far) in the entire multiverse that can wield the magical doohickey that can defeat The Real Evil Bad Guy who’s taking over the world of the wizard. His infodump spell leaves you with no doubt that:
He really is on the side of good, and the Bad Guy and his forces are Evil with a capital E. No wishy-washy moral relativism here.
He thinks you have a good shot at winning, but it’s a close call.
If you lose, you’ll probably die.
You can refuse to go. If you don’t go, you’ll never see the wizard again; you won’t suffer any negative consequences as a result.
If you don’t go, he’ll try to find someone else, but his hopes aren’t high. Without someone to wield the doohicky, the forces of Good are most likely doomed. Millions will die.
If you do go, expect it to take years.
Once it’s over, he should be able to send you back home if you so desire…but you can’t go home until it’s over.
If you live with family members, they also know all of this and can go if they wish.
Oh, yeah…one more thing. The dimensional gate can only be held open for 30 more seconds. You have to decide now.
What’s your choice? Remember, there’s no doubt in your mind that he’s telling the truth.
I would go. But the problem with this scenario is that there’s really no need to bother with the magic doohickey. We could just stop at a military base in this universe and pick up some heat-seaking missiles, then shoot them at the evil overlord whenever he uses a spell involving fire. Also, we’d take some machine guns to help my fellow humans mow down the orcs.
And I get the movie rights when I return to this universe.
Long as I get back before the fall semester starts – I don’t care about subjective time, but objectively the years-long mission better take 1 month or less in this universe.
Long as I get back before the fall semester starts – I don’t care about subjective time, but objectively the years-long mission better take 1 month or less in this universe.
Coming back? Do I get to bring magic wands that work and flying carpets and stuff with me? Maybe do some wizard training while I’m there? No? Screw it, then, I’m staying… on THAT side!
Well, it depends. If it were Ingold Inglorion on my doorstep, you better believe I’d be there in a heartbeat, with my mom - the ever resourceful RN - in tow.
But there aren’t many wizards that I could say the same about. Hmmm. Maybe Antryg Windrose.
I’d go in a heartbeat, provided I was convinced of all the stuff listed in the OP. That includes overriding the immediate suspicion that I had been placed under some kind of charm spell. I could even grab a good selection of useful gear within the 30 second window.
Bonus points if it’s Antryg, like phouka said. I suspect we’d get along like old friends. I loaned a friend of mine those books, and when she returned them, she said, “You’re Antryg.”
I wouldn’t complain about being recruited by a cute sorceress, either. Is Kethry available?
Go? Definitely! I’d only come back if I could bring the girl with me. Being a living hero is decidedly difficult. In mythology, heroes usually die after serving their purpose (e.g. Beowulf), so it’s a good idea to move on before that happens.
