Magical Foci Masterlist

[ParseltonguePhoenix]

Throughout the Dresden Files, Dresden has used and upgraded many different items as magical foci and tools. My idea is to make a list of these things, by book, to make it easier for DLP members planning to write a DF fanfic.

Basic format should include the name of the book, the type of foci or tool, and the canon description of said item.



Series Mainstays, (items used throughout the series, unless broken, replaced, or upgraded - will make note of upgrade in each novel).

Staff - A staff of lightning struck oak, covered in sigils, and used as a focus in casting spells.

Blasting rod - A rod covered in sigils and used for channeling fire spells.

Shield Bracelet - A bracelet with tiny medieval shield charms on it. Used for creating force fields that protect against attacks by matter and projectiles such as bullets, but not energy, such as heat.

Energy-storing rings - Rings which are enchanted to store a small fraction of kinetic energy with each swing of Dresden's arms, and used in attacks by expelling that energy when triggered.

Silver pentacle pendant - A pendant Harry inherited from his mother. Used for various spells.

Bob - an intelligent air spirit bound to a skull in Harry's possession. Bob was used by the necromancer Kemmler and taken by Justin DuMourne when Kemmler was killed. Dresden takes Bob when he kills DuMourne. Bob is used as a magical encyclopedia and lab assistant.

Leather Duster - A gift from Susan Rodriguez in Fool Moon, which Harry magically improved to armor capable of withstanding military grade gunfire, magical attacks, and to be waterproof and stainproof.

Potions -



Storm Front





Fool Moon


Kim Delaney's Circle Design

- Three concentric rings of spidery symbols.
- a figure of High magic. Three of them, really, one inside the other, like layered walls.
- The outermost circle of symbols is a barrier against creatures of spirit and magical forces.
- The second circle is a spell barrier against mortal flesh, but you'd need stones or gems or something spaced between the symbols to make it work.
- The third ring of symbols is meant to withhold creatures of flesh and spirit. neither mortal nor spirit, but somewhere in between.
- A circle like this one is usually meant to hold entities such as demigods and archangels.





Grave Peril


Cane sword

- cane sword inscribed with runes and used to channel magnetic earth magic




Summer Knight


Rope of Unicorn Hair

- used as a restraint, limited to Dresden's apartment





Death Masks







Blood Rites


Bear shaped belt buckle

- used to store magical power and temporarily restore it and energy to Harry when exhausted. Its use leaves him pretty much defenseless once he uses up this power.


Cane sword

- cane sword inscribed with runes meant to help him channel earth magic and magnetism.





Dead Beat






Proven Guilty


Little Chicago

- A scale model of Chicago, made with materials taken from the city itself, which Dresden built as a thaumaturgical link to the entire area of Chicago.





White Night


Shield Bracelet upgraded

- can now stop energy based attacks as well as projectile and matter based attacks; upgraded after Mavra takes advantage of his old shield to waste his hand with the heat of a flamethrower.







Small Favor


Steel Chain

- a coil of steel chain, coated in copper, used to channel energy and conduct electricity



Turn Coat


Sanctum Invocation

- ritual performed on the mysterious island in Lake Michigan, which Dresden names Demonreach, which grants him a bit more power in his spells on the island, and which unexpectedly gifts him with Intellectus while on the island. (mentioned because while it's not technically a foci, the Sanctum Invocation does kind of act like one while Dresden is on the island)





Changes

Upgraded Summoning Circle Design

- A five foot hoop of braided copper, silver, and iron.

- Each metal strand in the circle's braid was inscribed with tiny, precise sigils and runes in formulae that harnessed and controlled magical energies to a far greater degree than a simple circle.

- Flickers of light, like static discharge but more liquid, slithered around each strand of metal, red light, blue, and green dancing and intertwining in continuous spirals.


Speaking Stones

- stones magically linked in such a way as to promote communication, similar to cell phones.


Pentagonal Ruby

- contains the sum total of knowledge of the Ways of Margaret LaFey, Dresden's mother; Dresden glues it into his mother's pentacle


McCoy's Staff

- similar to Harry's own, McCoy gives it to Harry to replace his own, since it was destroyed.


It should be noted that nearly all of Dresden's foci are destroyed by the end of Changes.



As I said, this is intended strictly as a resource to help anyone intending to write a Dresden Files fanfic. That said, I don't actually have my copies at hand, as I loaned them to a family member, so that's all I'm able to contribute at the moment.

[Midknight]

Good idea. Changed the name, and stickied it

[RedNehi]

Fool Moon
-Wolf belt: lets wearer transform into wolf. The transformation is addictive.

Blood Rites
-Belt buckle: looks like a standing (roaring?) bear. Gave Dresden a boost in energy and focus for doing magic.

I'll try to find better descriptions of the items I posted, but it'll probably take a while. Also, do you just want items that Dresden uses or things that other people (Molly, Luccio, etc.) use?

[ParseltonguePhoenix]

@ RedNehi

Yeah, I'm actually looking at stuff Dresden himself uses. I updated the belt buckle to Blood Rites, but I don't count the hexenwulfen belts since they were one-off items he stole from the FBI crew.

I know in Small Favor Dresden has a chain-like thingy that he plugs into a wall to attack Mantis Girl, but i can't remember a solid description and won't have my books handy for a while. Thanks for the suggestions, man. Any others are welcome as well.

I include the containment circle Kim Delaney gets Dresden to look at (in Fool Moon) because it could potentially be used as an addition to Dresden's existing circle, or an upgrade, in a fanfic that begins here.

[Ryuugi Shi]

Nitpick: The Cane Sword was in GP. It may also have appeared in BR, but I don't remember it.

Also, are we counting potions?

[MattSilver]

I know in Small Favor Dresden has a chain-like thingy that he plugs into a wall to attack Mantis Girl, but i can't remember a solid description and won't have my books handy for a while.

The coil of steel chain in my coat pocket came out smoothly as I drew it

The mantis hadn’t had time to notice two important details about the chain: first, that the whole thing was coated in copper

That's about all about the chain in Small Favour. Elaine's, used in White Night, is described as:

Elaine smiled sweetly at me, and drew out a heavy chain from her purse. She held both ends in one fist, leaving a doubled length of heavy metal links about two feet long. Each of the links glittered with veins of what might have been copper, forming sinuous text.

Might be similar.

[ParseltonguePhoenix]

@ Ryuugi Shi

Potions are hard to get specific about, so I'll probably just put it under series mainstays. It'd be helpful if someone would list all the potions we've seen so far.

Also, I don't remember the Grave Peril use of Harry's cane sword, unless that's when he used it in a struggle with Morgan? Can you give me a quote? I vaguely remember him using it against Lord Raith in the Deeps in blood Rites, though.

@ Matt

Thanks bro, I'll add that in a minute. I'm still remembering Dresden using it to conduct electricity, somehow.

[Xantam]

In Summer Knight Dresden has a rope made from unicorn hair which can be used to automatically restrain anyone in his apartment. He used it on Susan in Death Masks, but as it only worked in his apartment, it is probably either destroyed or useless after Changes.

[Ryuugi Shi]

Originally Posted by ParseltonguePhoenix

Also, I don't remember the Grave Peril use of Harry's cane sword, unless that's when he used it in a struggle with Morgan? Can you give me a quote? I vaguely remember him using it against Lord Raith in the Deeps in blood Rites, though.

Ah, I'll have to find the quote, but it was at Bianca's party. After Bianca baited Harry and the others into a battle, Harry used it to grab someones gun with Earth magic and hit someone else with it at near sonic speeds.

(Also, was Morgan wasn't in that book.)

[ParseltonguePhoenix]

@ Xantam

It's hard to believe I forgot something used in pretty much the only explicit sex scene in the series. And vampire bondage to boot.

@ Ryuugi

Yeah, I somewhat recall that now. No need for a quote. I mentioned Morgan because the Dresden Wikia mentions Harry using it non-magically in a struggle with Morgan - and I remember something to that effect, just not which book it was in. If I recall correctly, Morgan pretty much attacks Dresden in his own apartment, trying to set him up.

[Ryuugi Shi]

Originally Posted by ParseltonguePhoenix

Yeah, I somewhat recall that now. No need for a quote. I mentioned Morgan because the Dresden Wikia mentions Harry using it non-magically in a struggle with Morgan - and I remember something to that effect, just not which book it was in. If I recall correctly, Morgan pretty much attacks Dresden in his own apartment, trying to set him up.

That's near the beginning of Summer Knight.

[dunesar]

He has the cane sword when he goes to see Bianca in Storm Front, although the security guard takes it from him, so he's pretty much had it since the beginning also in that book he uses sunlight that he folded into a hanky.
Also in storm front he makes a gettaway potion that transports about 50 feet from his apartment, and a love potion that Susan accidentally drinks.
There's also the blending potion he uses in fool moon to not be noticed, and something he calls super coffee that gives him energy.
There is more but i can't remember right now.