History TheDresdenFiles / TropesAToM

** The White Council has a grand total of seven laws: ThouShallNotKill (no magic to kill your fellow humans, weapons are fine, though that doesn't mean "no consequences"); Thou Shalt Not [[ForcedTransformation Transform Others]] (because in a nonhuman body, the mind would [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody slowly change]], effectively killing the victim given enough time); Thou Shalt Not Invade the Mind of Another (looking through the mind of another without an invitation to do so is a light form of MindRape); Thou Shalt Not Enthrall Another (mind control, and full-on MindRape); Thou Shalt Not Reach Beyond the Borders of Life (no [[{{Necromancer}} necromancy]], though its benevolent cousin is "ectomancy", and that one's okay); Thou Shalt Not Swim Against the Currents of Time (no TimeTravel and places heavy restrictions on divination, doing either can result in a TemporalParadox, and is incredibly dangerous to the user and the fabric of reality); and finally Thou Shalt Not Open the [[EldritchLocation Outer Gates]] (no [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow looking for knowledge from the Outside]], no talking to [[EldritchAbomination the Outsiders]]. Period.).

* BadassLongcoat: Justified, since it's a highly-covering enchanted protective coat.

* AntiMagic: Water "grounds out" magical energy, and running water is even more effective. While not an outright barrier, it makes magic lose it's energy and effectiveness much more quickly than normal, and more energy needs to be pushed into the spell to make it work.

** ''[[Literature/BattleGround2020 Battle Ground]]'' adds [[spoiler:Hendricks, Wild Bill, Yoshimo, and, most shockingly, Murphy]].

* CoolGuns:
** Murphy uses a FN P-90 from ''White Night'' and onward, mostly because the compact size of the weapon makes it ideal for her small size. The weapon she uses was bought for her by a Kincaid as commemoration for [[NoodleIncident something that happened during their vacation in Hawaii]]. She eventually adds a red dot sight and a silencer to it. Murphy also alternates between using a Glock and an unspecified SIG model.
** Sanya always makes sure to pack a Kalashnikov of one kind or another. He is a progressive Knight of the Cross.
** Other assault rifles are mentioned throughout the series, but the precise models are not specified, as Harry generally does not know the difference and does not use assault rifles much. The aforementioned P-90, for example, is referred to by Harry as an Assault Rifle in ''Ghost Story'' though it's a Personal Defense Weapon, closer to an SMG.

** Specific examples aside, this is a running theme of the series, as a noir story in something of a CrapsackWorld, there isn't really a single [[SuperWeight Sorting Algorithm of Power]] so much as every power bringing with it a cost and a weakness. Most novels start with Harry not yet knowing the weak point, putting on the receiving end of the curb-stomp, and end with him finding it and applying the appropriate lever, putting him on the giving end. There is very little middle ground in magical combat.

** Harry's allies the Knights of the Cross - Micahel Carpenter, Shiro Yoshimo, and Sanya Ivanovich - a trio of {{paladin}}s battling a cabal of fallen angels, with each armed with a sword containing a nail from the Crucifixion. They've been having their own adventures offscreen since long before ''Literature/StormFront''. [[spoiler:In the course of the series, Michael is badly wounded and forced into retirement, and Shiro is killed making a HeroicSacrifice. Karrin Murphy uses Shiro's sword ''Fidelacchius'' for a while, and Waldo Butters eventually becomes Shiro's permanent replacement as of ''Literature/SkinGame''.]]

** In ''Literature/StormFront'', Harry's fresh from the shower and wrapped in a towel when Susan Rodriguez arrives for their date that he'd forgotten about. A toad demon ''also'' shows up and Harry is forced to go on a FullFrontalAssault and [[WardrobeMalfunction he ends up losing the towel]] in the struggle. This is [[HilarityEnsues made more complicated]] when he realizes Susan accidentally drank a LovePotion and he is now stuck naked with an amorous woman in a GeometricMagic.

* DistressedDamsel: The subject of what practically amounts to a RunningGag, with Harry inevitably helping her (even when it is unwise) because he has a chivalrous streak he [[FatalFlaw cannot seem to override]]. He even puts himself back under the [[spoiler:Doom of Damocles]] again to save a girl.

* DestructiveSaviour: Harry's tendency to destroy a lot of buildings has become a RunningGag. Frequently [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded.]] In ''Side Jobs'', the foreward to one story describes its early planning as finding a nice mall in the Chicago area for Dresden to destroy.

* ForWantOfANail: When referring in a Reddit Q&A to the "alterna-Harry" who'll be seen in the upcoming ''Mirror Mirror", Butcher only said: "Mirror universe Harry is different by one choice. One. And everything else just follows after that."

* DatingWhatDaddyHates:
** Wizard Margaret, mother of Harry, dated Lord Raith for several years much to [[spoiler:Ebenezer [=McCoy=]]]'s fury.
** It is implied a White Court succubus' father would never approve of her love [[spoiler:Irwin Pounder, a half-human half-Forest-People, as they must leave town and live in Irwin's father's domain for protection]].
** Played with in regards to Inari, daughter of Lord Raith. [[spoiler:He wants her to feed on Bobby, who is infatuated with her, to turn her into a full succubus. However, she and Bobby truly love each other and feeding on him first will destroy the fledgling demon inside of her, which is far from her father's plots. So he unknowingly is encouraging her daughter to date the one person he doesn't want her to be with]].
** Both inverted and played straight with Molly. Lasciel suggests that Michael's respect for Harry and Charity's dislike of him both contributed to her crush on him.