I base my assumption on several facts.

Fact 1.) HP spells take either no power, or so little it doesn't matter. DV spells have forced their casters (usually Harry, a wizard whose claim to fame is his amount of power) to their knees out of exhaustion.

Fact 2.) In strait up combat, DV wizards are limited to evocation, which is limited in its effects. HP wizards will have access to pretty much all of their spells, which have a noticeable (and even ridicules), range of effects. Including, but by no means limited to, fire that can't be put out with non-magical means, Killing Curses, Horrible Pain curses, Mental Domination Curses, Mental Invasion, Trasfiguration, Conjuration, and, yes, Teleportation.

Fact 3.) DV spells obey the Laws of Physics, most of the time. They are able to break the Laws of Physics, but need to be continuesly fed energy (of which DV wizards have a limited supply) to do so. HP spells break so many Laws of Physics (and easily, at that), it's not even funny.

Fact 4.) Did I mention DV spells take large ammounts of energy? They do.

Note: If I think of any more, I'll add them. Everyone else, feel free to add your own.

 

How many basic offensive spells can a more-powerful than average Dresden wizard cast before tiring out? Say, Dresden himself. And assume they're all blocked. I just want to get a general idea of an average/bit powerful Dresden wizard's endurance.

 

It varies from time to time. Against Cowl, Dresden went down after a Shield and Flipping a car. Other times he got of a few more (but weaker spells). It's been awhile since I read the books, but I don't think it went over five.

 

Not entirely true. A key point in apparation is keeping your destination in mind. So, for example, "I wish to be at the Winter Court". Not "I want to be at coordinates X,Y". So geographical location has not much to do with it, I'd say.

One more idea about avoidance of thaumaturgy (I agree that HP enchantments would be able to protect against it though): transfigure or polyjuice your body. Thaumaturgy uses part of your body to target the rest of the body. If you no longer have that body, the hair that the DV wizard has somehow procured without entering into a duel will no longer have a corresponding body to target.

 

So, essentially, grow yourself a new body? And then 'transfer' your consciousness into it? Or merely transfigure your body into a new form? I suppose that would work, depending on the magnitude of the change (I don't know precisely how the link between body and body clipping works in Dresdenverse - more physical change = less connection?)

Of course, doing this transfiguration would undoubtedly be hard, much harder than casting a Shield Spell or Apparating to safety, thus it would be a long-term counter rather than something you do in a duel setting. And Polyjuice would be fairly useless. It takes far too long to prepare compared with the transfiguration for only a fraction of the time. And if in combat, if you have the time to uncork a potion-flask and drink it you have time that could be much better spent casting spells.

 

Yeah, I was just supplying it as a counter to thaumaturgy, not advising someone use it in a duel.

Two questions regarding thaumaturgy:

1. Did Dresden say that "clippings" become useless after a certain amount of time has past? I.e. if the person they belong to has changed since the clipping was made. I seem to recall something like this, but I can't remember.

2. Does distance effect it, or is casting a spell at someone in China the same as casting a spell at someone next door?

 

Basically anything works that the target recognises a direct personal connection to, name and body parts/fluids being the strongest. Hair and nails, grow back so the connection gets weaker, dry blood is no longer an essential bodily fluid, just some flaky brown dust, etc.


As such self transfiguration would only work as a counter if the wizard made it permanent and accepted the change on a basic level, literally disowning the “clippings” as a part of himself (the same process would end up altering his “true name”).

Power requirements change, but if the target is on the other side of the world it means that the wizard has time to make the proper arrangements to circumnavigate that.

 

Yeah, they become useless after awhile.

Distance matters, but can be overcome. However, it is apparently impossible to target someone from another dimension, as Harry couldn't send his Death Curse at Aurora after she left the Nevernever.

Erud: Mental Changes matter, but so do drastic Physical Changes (probably). This is because the bases of Thaumaturgy is that a piece is part of a whole. So is their is a piece (say, Blood, which is, for this argument B bloodtype) it shouldn't affect a drastically changed whole (the owner of the blood is now O bloodtype).

This isn't usually important in the DF, mainly because Trasfiguration is illegal their, and much harder.

 

Ryu, as far as it can be seen the basis of DF magic is mind over matter, as such names and blood etc. are only needed because of their spiritual connections to the target, providing a direct channel to it.


A perfect example of this is when Dresden tracks Molly using Charity's blood. It is based on a spiritual & emotional connection. If genetic structure was a factor I doubt that would have worked even if one was the clone of the other.


And transfiguration is not illegal. Doing it to others is. Self transfiguration is considered a pretty basic trick and accessible to common practitioners (the werewolf transformation being an example).

 

Perhaps with a ritual, but no DV wizard has performed transfiguration evocatively in the series (that I can remember). Moreover, Dresden mentions when it is raining toads something to do with how if they were real toads rather than a magical construct of toads then that would be very impressive.

 

This is further backed up by how, in the DF, magic obeys the Laws of Physics. That means, if you turn into a wolf, all the little parts and pieces need to work right. Billy and the werewolves are one trick ponies, but it's an impressive (if somewhat useless) trick.

 

The toads had nothing to do with transfiguration, they were a side effect of the events in Summer Knight and are described as the symptom of 'holes in the fabric of reality' and that is it.

Nerver seen the Alphas do a ritual to transform not even in Fool Moon when they have just recently learned the stuff.



And the White Council wizards? Why would they when they can do a variety of more powerful/useful spells?

We also see a wolf turning into a human, somehow I doubt she was an expert in human anatomy and physiology.

 

But at the time Harry didn't know that, and regardless his comment was a general one about magic, not specifically the toads: that it's very hard to alter the way things actually are, opposed to a superficial magical effect.

 

Nothing about transfiguration or magic in general. Just:

1. Faeries can make stuff out of ectoplasm.
2. There are holes in reality because of some big mystical event.

 

Not "just".

It's clear that if it had been made out of ectoplasm then it would be "just constructs". "Just" as in, no big deal. But if they were real toads then it takes serious magic to cause that - a hole in the fabric of reality.

Thus we can conclude that it's much harder to affect things on a real scale than on a superficial one. Since transfiguration is the changing of things in and of themselves rather than merely a magical construct, this means that transfiguration is hard.

 

Again, 'a hole in the fabric of reality' has no bearing on how hard or easy transfiguration is, it just means something that should NOT be happening in nature IS. In this case frogs are falling from the sky, it could just as well be water freezing in the Sahara at noon.


When Dresden talks about the faery constructs he is just giving an alternative explanation, if the frogs on the ground were actually transfigured he would still call them constructs NOT real.

 

For fuck's sake.

That it takes nothing less than a serious fuck up with reality ("If they're real, then it means something is out of whack.") to produce real toads rather than fake ones (i.e. transfigured ones rather than illusory ones) shows that it takes a lot to achieve transfiguration, whereas creating a construct is easy by comparison.

Disagree. A transfigured object and a non-transfigured object would have no discernable difference - that's the point of a transfiguration, it changes something in-itself, rather than merely overlay a magical effect (which would be a magical construct).

Now shut the fuck up and go away. I'm bored of arguing.

 

You wish.

The frogs are a side product! From some reason you seam to think that the reality hole is necessary to create the frogs. The hole is a side effect of two basic aspects of reality becoming unbalanced (in this case Summer & Winter), the hole in turn causes something impossible to happen. The frogs them selves could have been created spontaneously on the spot or simply teleported from some other part of the world, Dresden doesn't care which and doesn't comment. What he is worried about is neither the frogs nor the hole, but WTF has caused the chain reaction that ends with the meteoric amphibians.

 

Not just a reality hole, but something of that magnitude, yes. I'm not sure how to break it down so it is any simpler for you.

Dresden sees frogs.

Dresden says that there must be something big out of whack, like a hole in reality, if they are real frogs.

Thus, to create real frogs rather than magical construct frogs you need something big.

The fact that Dresden concludes that "real frogs = something big" means that something big is needed to make real frogs. If real frogs could be made by just anything, he would have no reason to suspect a major malfunction with the world (like how he said that he wouldn't be worried if they were ectoplasmic frogs).

Now shut the fuck up and go away. I'm bored of arguing.

 

This is grasped. Taure is pointing out the fact that Dresden basically went, "Wow, frogs appeared-something big must have happened!" (Not "Wow, frogs appeared-Wizard Joe must have been playing a joke!) Hence, something big needs to happen to happen for frogs to suddenly appear. Hence making frogs appear is a big thing. Transfiguration can make frogs appear. (Repeated for emphasis -->) Making frogs appear is a big thing.

Follow so far? Re-read if you have to. Here's the final conclusion: Transfiguring frogs is a big thing.

Lol, he even said "Hope they're not real, 'cause that'd be the sign of some major magic." (Not verbatim, obviously)

EDIT: Post-ambushed by Taure.