The Dresden Files characters
The Dresden Files, a contemporary fantasy/mystery novel series written by American author Jim Butcher, features a wide cast of characters. The book series was also made into a live-action television series which ran in 2007.
Main characters
Harry Dresden
Species: HumanDescription: Private investigator, Regional Commander of the White Council's Wardens, Knight of the Winter Court, Warden of Demonreach Prison, Wizard of Chicago.
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a wizard and the protagonist of the series. He works as a supernatural private investigator in Chicago, dealing with paranormal crimes and consulting for the Chicago Police Department. The novels are written from Harry's perspective, in the style of hardboiled detective fiction. In the television series, he is portrayed by Paul Blackthorne.
Bob
Species: Spirit of intellect/air elementalDescription: Repository of magical knowledge
First appearing in Storm Front, Bob is a "spirit of intellect" who inhabits a skull perched on a shelf in the laboratory beneath Harry's apartment. He is bound to the skull and its owner's wishes. He is free to leave the skull if given permission by his owner, but he will die if exposed to sunlight without a host body. His usual vessel is Harry's cat, Mister, who does not seem to mind Bob's presence. He is a major character in both the book and television series. Bob was created to fit the mold of the "Talking head" trope when the story called for exposition on a topic. In the television series, he is portrayed as an incorporeal human bound to the skull, and is played by Terrence Mann.
Molly Carpenter
Species: former Human ; now High SidheDescription: Apprentice to Harry Dresden from Proven Guilty until Changes, Winter Lady as of the end of Cold Days
Margaret Katherine Amanda "Molly" Carpenter is the oldest daughter of Michael and Charity Carpenter, a skilled illusionist who eventually becomes the Winter Lady. Her first appearance was a cameo in Death Masks, where she embarrassed Harry by talking to him about his sex life while she was barely a teenager. She was later a major supporting character in Proven Guilty, seeking out Dresden's help when her boyfriend is arrested as a suspect in an assault. During his investigation, Dresden learns that Molly is a wizard and has been using dark magic. At the end of the book, she is placed under the Doom of Damocles by the White Council, with Dresden as her mentor. After Dresden's death in Changes, Molly struck out on her own, coming to be known as the Rag Lady, due to her vigilante activities and her calling card: a strip of cloth from the remains of Dresden's fae armor in Changes, which she stuffs into the mouths of her victims. It is revealed that the Leanansidhe has been training her in more advance magic, using pain to motivate her. During the events of Cold Days, Molly discovers Dresden's return to life, and eventually absorbs the mantle of the Winter Lady, after which she returns to Arctis Tor with Mab. Molly has frequently expressed a romantic interest in Dresden, but her affections are not returned.
Molly's magical talents are very different from Dresden's. She is not capable of moving around as much energy as he is, but she is much more talented in illusion and mind magic. It is shown at one point that her own mind takes on the form of a treehouse, inside of which is the bridge of the starship Enterprise, with copies of herself taking different roles at the various stations. She has been described as "sensitive", and she is capable of using dangerous and complicated mind magic with little or no training, while also making her quite literally sensitive to strong emotions and magic around her.
During the events of Small Favor, Molly researches the Carpenter family tree as part of an assignment given to her by Harry and discovers that Charlemagne is one of her ancestors.
Karrin Murphy
Species: HumanDescription: Former Sergeant, previously Lieutenant, in the Chicago PD assigned to Special Investigations; leader of the Paranet as per Ghost Story
Karrin Murphy is a major character who was introduced in the first book of the series, Storm Front. She is a Chicago police detective, initially holding the rank of lieutenant and in command of the Special Investigations division, which handles cases in which something unexplainable or supernatural is involved. At the end of Proven Guilty, she is demoted to sergeant and stripped of her command; later she is forced out of the department entirely. In the early books, she seems to be Dresden's best friend, but a romantic tension arises between them later in the series. By the events of Changes, she and Dresden agree to kindle a romantic relationship, but are prevented from doing so until Peace Talks by Dresden's death and resurrection as the Winter Knight. In Battle Ground, she is accidentally shot and killed by a panicking Detective Rudolph after killing a Jotun with a rocket launcher. Gard confirms that Murphy will one day reincarnate into an Einherjar, but only after her memory has faded from the minds of all those who knew her in life.
Murphy has wielded Fidelacchius, one of the three swords used by the Knights of the Cross, on multiple occasions. When Dresden views her with his Wizard's Sight, he perceives her as a warrior angel. She is the character whom Dresden most often confides in.
Thomas Raith
Species: VampireDescription: Former salon owner and hairstylist, half-brother of Harry Dresden.
Thomas Raith is introduced as a vampire of the White Court in Grave Peril. He possesses a perfect human physique, an unaging body, supernatural strength, speed, and healing ability; all drawn from a demonic hunger within him. He appears in every book between Death Masks and Cold Days, and is the star of his own novelette, entitled Backup: A Story of the Dresden Files. He and Harry have the same mother.
Recurring characters
The Archive (Ivy)
Species: HumanDescription: Repository of all written human knowledge and wisdom
The character known as The Archive was introduced in Death Masks as a young girl who serves as a repository of all written human knowledge as well as the personal memories of each of her predecessors. She holds a position which has been passed down a magical family line from mother to daughter over the past five thousand years. She is usually accompanied by [|Jared Kincaid], who serves as her bodyguard, driver and caretaker.
It is revealed that Ivy's position as The Archive is unique as she was not supposed to inherit this power until her mother had died of old age. Her grandmother was killed in a car accident, causing Ivy's mother to inherit The Archive early and effectively ending the life she had lived up until then. Resenting both her mother and her birthright, Ivy's mother committed suicide out of spite, leaving Ivy to bear all of humanity's knowledge when she was still in the womb. She never had any life of her own as she knew everything about humanity before she could even speak, becoming more like a living computer and power source as she has no personal memories to differentiate from her vast well of knowledge.
As a result of her position, she is possessed of incredible magical talent, During an attack on her person in Small Favor, Ivy was able to combat eight powerful Denarians at once and match each of them spell for spell, even with limited spell energy at the time. She was given the name Ivy by Dresden; prior to this, she had no given name, being referred to simply as "the Archive" and treated as more of an object than a person. Ivy began to express more signs of humanity after her encounters with Dresden, though some feel that this may not be the best thing for her as forming emotional attachments could interfere with Ivy's judgement, which is meant to be logical and unbiased.
Georgia Borden
Species: WerewolfDescription: Psychology student, member of the Alphas
Introduced in Fool Moon, Georgia is Billy Borden's girlfriend and a capable member of the Alphas. She is a studious psychology student and a steady presence when Billy or the Alphas appear in the series. She is often the voice of reason and a grounding influence for Billy, who is inclined to put himself in situations where he is beyond his limits or useful abilities when he wants to help Harry.
Georgia is one of the first to notice Harry's erratic behavior after he acquired Lasciel's Blackened Denarius. A friend to Harry, she worries about his mental health, and she shares her concerns with Billy before he confronts Harry. In the short story "Something Borrowed", just before her wedding, she was kidnapped by the Faerie Jenny Greenteeth, who assumed her appearance. Harry and Murphy found her in Undertown in a comatose state guarded by shellycobs. Harry got her out of there and to the wedding just in time to ruin Jenny Greenteeth's plan to marry Billy and kill him. Like Sleeping Beauty's predicament, only true love's kiss could wake her. Billy provided that kiss, and they then transformed and brutally mauled Jenny as the wedding guests were running away.
In the novella "Aftermath", it is revealed that she is seven months pregnant and able to resist the spell cast on her by the Fomor. Further, she is revealed to have much better tracking abilities than Will, her husband.
William Borden
Species: WerewolfDescription: Engineer, former university student; leader of the Alphas
Billy was introduced in Fool Moon as a young and rather naive man trying to do the right thing. He and a group of his friends used magic to transform into large wolves. They patrolled their neighborhood in wolf form, vigilantly keeping out vampires and other creatures. Over the course of the series, Billy's wolf form has transformed his human body from husky to athletic and muscular. He married longtime girlfriend Georgia, whom he met before the events of Fool Moon. He often serves as a friend to Harry, inviting him to games of Arcanos, similar to Dungeons & Dragons.
As of Turn Coat, Harry has begun calling him Will instead of Billy, an acknowledgment of the maturity Will has gained since their meeting when Billy was a college student. Harry admits the mistake he made in intentionally keeping the younger man ignorant of most of the supernatural world.
In the novella Aftermath he teams up with Murphy to rescue his kidnapped wife, Georgia, who is 7 months pregnant. Will and Marci both demonstrate a newfound ability to heal quickly, if imperfectly as the result leaves them drained of energy and with bad scars. He and Murphy decide to form a 'Justice League' of Chicago in Harry's absence at the end of the novella.
In the events of Ghost Story, Will has made a strong personality change, becoming more aggressive and sarcastic than before. He offers deliberate insults to Daniel Carpenter and offers to fight the young man. Further, he suggests staging attacks on members of the magical community to scare them into proper safety procedures.