History Characters / TheDresdenFilesChicagoPDAndFBI

* KnightTemplar: He is a firm believer that he who breaks the law should be punished, and that anyone who gets in the way is a "necessary sacrifice."
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: he needs a belt possessed by a demon wolf spirit to transform; which ''someone'' gave him. Later books hint it was either agents of Nemesis, or the Black Council, or possibly both if they are working together.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Although in ''Cold Days'' it is implied that Nemesis drove him to it.

* ActionGirl: She attacked an ogre and a plant monster ("Chlorofiend!") with a ''[[ChainsawGood chainsaw]]''.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Definitely likes men, but her narration comments appreciatively on Georgia's curves "beckon[ing] the eye" in "Aftermath" and she gets rather flustered when Freydis propositions her.

* BrokenBird: In ''Ghost Story''. Harry's death hit her ''hard.''

* ConflictBall, Mixed with IdiotBall: In the first two books, she was practically married to it for the purpose of giving Harry a bit more conflict in the current plot, which reached its horrible zenith in Literature/FoolMoon where she arrests Harry for some ridiculously trumped-up charges, with a side of PoliceBrutality. She gets better, though.

--> "If I hear montage music playing, I'm cutting it short."
* FairCop: Harry often notes she looks like an adorable favorite aunt, or even a cheerleader, than an expert martial artist and monster ass kicker.
* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: or rather, the first ''and'' second cut. Karrin's two major reasons for not getting together with Harry are the MayflyDecemberRomance potential of their differing lifespans [[note]] which could be circumvented if she took up the offer to become a Valkyrie[[/note]], and that her two broken marriages have convinced her she's incapable of a successful relationship - in ''Cold Days'' she tells Harry she "runs relationships straight into the iceberg." Given what we see of said husbands it's highly likely that the marriage breakups were because Karrin married assholes, but try telling her that.

* {{Irony}}: The Tragic kind. The fearless woman who constantly [[BadAssNormal throws metaphorical haymakers at supernatural threats far above her weight]], has an affinity for using mortal firearms, trains her martial arts skills by sparring with ''freaking [[Myth/NorseMythology Einherjaren]]'', and doesn't hesitate to charge into incredibly dangerous situations to help people in need, [[spoiler:is killed in a [[RecklessGunUsage stupid accident]] by one of the most [[DirtyCoward cowardly]] characters in the series, one of her former colleagues in the police, during a lull in actual combat. Vadderung's Valkyries overlook the technicality that she did not actually die a heroic death in combat to induct her as an Einherjar after death anyways [[note]]Gard argues that the Valkyries' limited intellectus (pertaining to the deeds of the honored dead) told them that when it comes down to it, her actions in killing Svagnar and her habits throughout her life matters more than how she died.[[/note]].]]

* LikesOlderMen: zig-zagged. Out of the four significant relationships Karrin is shown or mentioned to have had, she is "of an age" with Harry, and in ''Blood Rites'' she is 30/31 when her second ex-husband is "mid to late thirties". However, her first marriage took place when she was 17 and the groom 29, and she was roughly 31 when she hooked up with Kincaid, who met Ebenezar as an adult approximately 200 years pre-series.

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: In ''Changes''. Implied to be an Archangel speaking through her due to her wielding Fidelacchius at the time.

* ReligiousBruiser: Considers herself Catholic and routinely beats the hell out of bad guys.
* SupportingLeader: The leader of Justice League Chicago, in ''Ghost Story''.
* SurvivalMantra[=/=]MadnessMantra: "I can't believe he's dead."

** Not that she was weak to begin with, but ''Changes'' takes things to a whole new level once she agrees to 'borrow' Fidelacchius, and amongst other things, proceeds to OneHitKill a PhysicalGod.

** [[DeConstruction Deconstructing]] this trope is arguably the thematic purpose of her character throughout the series. While she temporarily uses [[spoiler:CoolSword ''Fidelacchius'']] several times during the series in times of dire need, Murphy explicitly rejects taking up the role of [[spoiler:Knight of the Cross]], and largely relies on mortal human means like her martial arts skills, firearms, and heavier military ordnance to help Harry fight his battles against the supernatural. But by ''Ghost Story'', she is increasingly becoming ''heavily'' outclassed by the escalating supernatural threats Harry must face, and her usefulness as an ally in combat begins noticeably waning. This culminates in ''Skin Game'', when she attempts to [[spoiler:kill a surrendering Nicodemus out of [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend anger]] using ''Fidelacchius'', which de-powers the Sword and allows Nicodemus to regain the upper hand, shatter the sword, and deal [[GameBreakingInjury crippling wounds]] to her.]] Now no longer even able to physically keep up with Harry in battle, even Harry recognizes she has reached the limits of her usefulness as an ally and attempts to keep her to the sidelines during the events of ''Battle Ground''. But Murphy's fundamental inability to back down from a challenge leads her to rejoin the fight with him anyways, leading to [[spoiler:her tragic death at [[DirtyCoward Rudolph's]] hands in a [[RecklessGunUsage panicked accident]] just after [[BadAssNormal slaying a Jotun with a rocket launcher.]]]]

* UndyingLoyalty: a mutual case with Harry, once the ConflictBall / EarlyInstallmentWeirdness cleared up. In ''Dead Beat'', Mavra gets Harry to act on her behalf by blackmailing him with Murphy's ruin; in return, Harry threatens to come after Mavra with every weapon and upgrade he can get his hands on if Mavra ever tries it again. [[{{Foreshadowing}} Harry lists off his potential options for this]], and Harry flatly refuses every single one of them in later books... until he heads off to save Maggie in ''Changes'', whereupon [[ChekhovsGun every single one of them is either taken up or seriously considered as a plan b]]. In ''Cold Days'', Harry gets this equal parts touching and terrifying line from Karrin:
--> '''Murphy''':"I don't know what I'm meant to do or who I ought to be. But what I do know is that I've got your back. Always. [...] So goddamit, don't you start taking the highway to Hell. Because I'm going to be right there with you. All the way."

* WeakButSkilled: In ''Aftermath'', she uses tactics and brains to do what Harry would have done with brute force.

* TheWorfEffect: The only two beings she's ever lost to in hand-to-hand combat that we see are an Einherjar with thousands of years' experience and a couple hundred pounds on her, and [[spoiler: Nicodemus]].
** In a short story she gets nearly killed by Jenny Greenteeth, TheDragon of Winter Lady Maeve.

* SmugSnake: In ''Changes'', when he think she can nail Dresden, and when he's in the process of getting Murphy fired.

* FaceHeelTurn: Rudolph is introduced in ''Fool Moon'' as a rookie justifiably scared by the loup-garou rampaging around in the next room. In ''Grave Peril'', he gives Harry a IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer regarding Murphy. However, two books later, he's transferred to Internal Affairs and become the Rudolph we love to hate.

* [[Characters/TheDresdenFilesHarrysHousehold Harry and Harry's Household]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/karrin_wildcard_5.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:"Tiny. But ''fierce''."]]

'''WARNING!''' Due to the books relying heavily on mystery and surprise, the pages would be virtually unreadable with excessive spoiler tags. Therefore, all spoilers except for the most recent novel (''Literature/PeaceTalks'') are '''UNMARKED'''. Tread carefully.

* GoodIsNotNice: Rawlins is an honest cop, so honest it got him thrown into SI. However, that doesn't keep him from sitting back and watching when Harry and Murphy need to bend the rules on a deserving suspect. In fact, he asks them to wait so he can make popcorn. However, he's usually pretty kind to his own allies.

* MeaningfulName: due to his priority on politics, is a fair-weather friend.

* HypercompetentSidekick: Despite being Rudolph's junior partner, he's much more competent and smarter than Rudolph, and is also effectively in charge of the team.

* BadassNormal: He only needs a shotgun and rock salt to ruin a demon's day. Back in day, his department handled the same stuff Murphy's didm

* FromACertainPointOfView: He told Harry that if he didn't help his friends in ''Ghost Story'', three of them would die. Turns out he didn't actually know and was simply guessing -- after all, Harry's life is so dangerous that some of his friends would probably die anyway.

* {{Squick}}: especially post-#Me Too movement. In ''Blood Rites'', Lisa is explicitly said to be 20, and Karrin was 11 when their father died, making her 31 at most. And according to the [[https://www.jim-butcher.com/timeline mostly-official timeline]] Rick is in his mid to late thirties. We never see Harry mentioning Murphy going through or being recently granted a divorce; granted, they weren't always at the TrueCompanions level but they're close enough by ''Grave Peril'', at least, that he would have. Meaning Murphy and Rick were divorced when she was roughly 26 or 27 at most. Meaning Rick knew Lisa when she was too young to drive, possibly even in middle school. UnfortunateImplications at best, and thinking he was [[{{Ephebophile}} already grooming a backup plan]] doesn't seem like a stretch. All things considered, quite a few readers get (possibly unintentional) chills when re-reading ''Proven Guilty'', when he's illegally interrogating then-17 year old Molly, with the only witness a cop who would never call Rick out on inappropriate behaviour towards her. [[note]]Although given this is Jim Butcher, Rick and Lisa could quite possibly have been written as a minor foil to Harry and Molly.[[/note]]

[[folder: Agents Biggs and Lytle]]
!!Agent Biggs and Agent Lytle

[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2017_07_12_at_51520_pm.png]]
[[caption-width-right:150:Biggs (left) and Lytle (right).]]

Two FBI agents who are part of a government group that doesn't officially exist but seems to have an interest in the paranormal. They are dispatched to investigate a series of unusual murders in Taylor, where they come into conflict with Dresden and Listens-To-Wind.

* JurisdictionFriction: Both agents are adamant that the investigation is theirs and Dresden and Listens-To-Wind are not to interfere.
* IronicName: Lytle is much larger than Biggs.

! Library of Congress, Special Collections Division
[[folder: In General]]
* TheDreaded: We have no idea what they do other than general description by Lara that they have insatiable thirst for knowledge of the supernatural, but according to [[WordofGod Word of Jim]]: "Do NOT screw with the Librarians. Holy moly. Just don't". In ''Battle Ground'', the Accords treat their possible involvement post-Battle of Chicago with ''considerable'' amount of concern. Lara called ''Vadderung an optimist'' when he suggested that they are already in the city and might have already identified each and all of them.

* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: As a result of the ongoing battle with the Fomor and the denizens of Chicago clashing hard with his view of the world, he ends up murdering Murphy in a hysterical fit of rage.]]

* TheWorfEffect: The only two beings she's ever lost to in hand-to-hand combat that we see are an Einherjar with thousands of years' experience and a couple hundred pounds on her, and [[spoiler: Nicodemus]]. In the comics, while she [[CurbStompCushion puts up a good fight]] she has absolutely no chance against [[spoiler:Puck]]. Then again, as a [[WildCard wild fey]] nominally on the side of the winter court, ancient, and possessing ridiculous amounts of magic, [[spoiler:Puck]] is out of everybody's league except for high ranking members of the fey courts or powerful non-human mystical entities.

* BadassNormal: It takes a special kind of badass to effectively declare war on the ''White Court'' when he thought they'd tried to kill Murphy.

* TheBigGuy: Often fills this role, despite aforementioned stature. As shown by ''Blood Rites'', she is capable of '' breaking a normal woman's neck with one kick''.

* BadassNormal: The scariest mortal in a fist fight is five ft. and 100 lbs.

* TheBigGuy: Often fills this role, despite aforementioned stature.

* [[spoiler:SurprisinglySuddenDeath:]] [[spoiler:While her death was heavily telegraphed throughout ''Peace Talks'' and ''Battle Ground'', she is shockingly killed by ''reckless trigger discipline'', by one of the most cowardly and useless minor characters in the series, bleeding out from a gunshot wound to the neck within seconds.]]

* [[spoiler:DiedInYourArmsTonight:]] [[spoiler:Harry sees the light go out in her eyes and is helpless to do anything about it because she dies so quickly.]]

* [[spoiler: AintTooProudToBeg: Desperately begs for his life after Harry comes after him for killing Murphy in ''Battle Grounds''.]]

* KilledOffForReal: By[[spoiler: Puck]].

* KilledOffForReal: By Agent Wilson.

* KilledOffForReal: By Agent Harris.

* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Same as Denton. He started out trying to bring criminals to justice who couldn't be touched by the law, and wound up indulging in wholesale slaughter.
* KilledOffForReal: By Agent Wilson.

* {{Irony}}: The Tragic kind. The fearless woman who constantly [[BadAssNormal throws metaphorical haymakers at supernatural threats far above her weight]], has an affinity for using mortal firearms, trains her martial arts skills by sparring with ''freaking [[Myth/NorseMythology Einherjaren]]'', and doesn't hesitate to charge into incredibly dangerous situations to help people in need, [[spoiler:is killed in a [[RecklessGunUsage stupid accident]] by one of the most [[DirtyCoward cowardly]] characters in the series, one of her former colleagues in the police, during a lull in actual combat. Vadderung's Valkyries overlook the technicality that she did not actually die a heroic death in combat to induct her as an Einherjar after death anyways (Gard argues that the Valkyries' limited intellectus pertaining to the deeds of the honored dead told them that when it comes down to it, her actions in killing Svagnar matters more anyway than how she died. Harry can't argue with that).]]

* Irony: The Tragic kind. The fearless woman who constantly [[BadAssNormal throws metaphorical haymakers at supernatural threats far above her weight]], has an affinity for using mortal firearms, trains her martial arts skills by sparring with ''freaking [[Myth/NorseMythology Einherjaren]]'', and doesn't hesitate to charge into incredibly dangerous situations to help people in need, [[spoiler:is killed in a [[RecklessGunUsage stupid accident]] by one of the most [[DirtyCoward cowardly]] characters in the series, one of her former colleagues in the police, during a lull in actual combat. Vadderung's Valkyries overlook the technicality that she did not actually die a heroic death in combat to induct her as an Einherjar after death anyways.]]