Harry Dresden - Items

Items

Harry channels his magic through several items. The first are his silver rings (formerly ring) worn on both hands that store physical force, and release it in a linear attack. They are charged by movements of his arms and hands, siphoning small portions of kinetic energy off to be released later. He sometimes charges them by hitting a punching bag, but says that it doesn't charge them fully.

The second is his blasting rod, which gives him much finer control over evocations in general and fire in particular (his preferred form of attack), such that he can chew a ray of fire through a steel beam. It can be physically broken, as in Blood Rites, and it can disintegrate if he channels too much power through it, as in Changes.

The third normal item is his oaken wizard's staff, which helps him in wielding other forms of energy, particularly air and subtler force effects (and is handy for leaning on and beating people with, incidentally). His staves have all been carved from the oak of a lightning-struck tree on the farm of his mentor, Ebenezar McCoy.

The fourth item is his shield bracelet, which helps him establish defensive fields. From a mere kinetic deflector, this last effect has been improved to be effective against virtually all attack forms, up to the detonation of hundreds of pounds of C-4 going off almost point-blank (although the short duel against Thorned Namshiel proved it still has holes). The shields he channels through it he can now whip up and disperse very quickly.

The silver pentacle amulet he wears about his neck serves as an impromptu magical focus and often a divination aid to find his brother Thomas, his dog Mouse, or whoever else he might be looking for. This amulet has been enhanced with a pentagonal ruby gifted to him by his mother, held in trust by the Leanansidhe, granting him access to his mother’s knowledge of the Ways through the NeverNever.

The leather duster he wears (given to him by Susan Rodriguez) has been charged and strengthened by Harry to be able to ward off even military grade gunfire; the duster also stops combat energy-based magic fairly effectively, while being waterproof and stain proof. This duster was mostly destroyed in Changes, and Harry dropped what little was left of it overboard on his brother's houseboat. (The coat had previously been transformed into ornate armor by his fairy Godmother.)

For mundane weapon backup, Harry started off with a Smith and Wesson .38 Chief's Special revolver, upgraded to a unknown .357 revolver, and his most recent firearm is a Smith and Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver. He also keeps a sawed-off pump shotgun in the trunk of his car.

In Blood Rites, Harry uses a magical belt buckle in the shape of a standing bear that temporarily restores energy and magical strength to him while exhausted. The buckle does not appear to be mentioned in any of the other books.

Harry has also set up a laboratory in the sub-basement beneath his own living room. Here he keeps his own collection of magical tomes and lore, along with an extensive and eclectic collection of bric-a-brac useful in making potions. This laboratory has a strong summoning circle in the corner, under which the Blackened Denarius of Lasciel was buried for a time.

Starting with Proven Guilty, he sets up a detailed scale model of Chicago in the lab to use in focusing spells and rituals, while at the same time protecting him from counterattacks through the spells. "Little Chicago" incorporates bits of material from the locations it depicts (stone chips from buildings, bark from trees, etc.), and is destroyed during Changes.

Harry can make various alchemical potions to imbue himself with various powers or one-shot effects, though he heavily relies on Bob's knowledge to make them. He uses them often in the first novels, but less and less frequently as time goes on. He likes to put them in plastic sports bottles to better disguise their nature.

Although he has misused one before, Harry nevertheless ends up the current guardian of two of the holy Swords of the Cross, waiting for their new bearers. As events have transpired, Karrin Murphy may end up bearing one, as she has lost the reason for refusing to bear one before...her job with the Chicago Police.

As Harry's house is attacked several times during the series, he steadily fortifies its defenses, which come to include a reinforced steel door, wards designed to obliterate would-be intruders, and a set of magic candles that indicate when an unwelcome guest is getting close to his door. He lives in the basement of a three-level boarding house until it is destroyed during Changes, and rescues his landlady and upper-story neighbors when this happens.

Harry prefers to drive his Volkswagen Beetle because the simple technology powering it makes it less likely to abruptly die on him, and it can be fixed easily. He refers to it as the "Blue Beetle" due to its original color, though damage by supernatural creatures has forced him to replace several pieces of the bodywork in different colors. During Changes, it is crushed when his brother Thomas' car is literally smashed down on top of it.

Harry's office is a standard detective's office, with his files and some detective tools, mainly a place to meet clients and get mail. Amusingly enough, the Red Court buys the building on the sly later on, and even installs explosives to take him out...and the whole building, when they finally trigger them.

Harry supports himself with the fees he earns from small jobs for private clients and his consulting work for the Chicago police. When he becomes a Warden, the White Council begins to pay him wages that provide a needed boost to his finances. It is intimated that the Council has enormous financial power due to the longevity of its members. Harry never has much money to spare, spending most of what he earns on magical upgrades, car repairs, and everyday expenses and trying not to fall too far behind on his rent.

Many of these items and locations are destroyed in Changes. Harry’s house burns down, leaving many of his possessions destroyed; while the current status of the laboratory has not been addressed directly, it is likely that the majority of it was lost in the fire as well. However, the fire did not occur until after he had moved several important items, including the Swords and Bob's skull, out after earlier safety concerns developed. Some of the items he was unable to move out before include the summoning circle, the Chicago model, documents on the occult, and Bob's romance novels. Also the Blue Beetle has been crushed, his staff is broken, his blasting rod is "sparklies" (disintegrated), his office is in rubble, and in general the majority of his material goods are gone.

The last of the possessions he has had since the first books is his duster - canvas at first, then replaced by a leather one given to him by Susan Rodriguez in Fool Moon. Harry adds various protective enchantments to it, and the Leanansidhe enhances it further for the penultimate fight in Changes so that it can deflect massive blows. When the magic fades at noon the next day, the cumulative damage it has absorbed causes it to literally fall apart in Harry's hands. Later, while aboard Thomas' boat, the Water Beetle, he throws the remains into Lake Michigan.

In Cold Days, Harry's revival via Mab has left him with none of his previous equipment, except for his pentacle amulet. Harry is forced to learn to fight without them for the entire book, having to rely on the power boost from being the Winter Knight instead. He receives a new, unmodified duster as a birthday present.