2. Thunking someone in the head with an axe is also an event that should bring in traditional civil authorities ... the police. Too many times in RPGs players get into the pattern of see a critter, kill the critter, take its loot and move on. That's not really true role playing, it's a video game mentality. The Dresden world is supposed to be essentially our world, only with the twist that magic works. Harry gets some slack because he's friends with Murph, but that doesn't always stop her from cuffing him and running him into the station. The PCs probably don't have such connections, or if they do probably haven't built up enough of a white-hat reputation to allow an axe-murder to slide off so that they can just walk away clean. If nothing else, some "Dark Side" points might be in order...
Just my two cents.
Well I did a fair amount of roleplaying in the World of Darkness Campaign settings, and I think that in my group's games mortal law enforcement was definitely a factor. In the previous Laws of Magic thread I pointed out to
Iago that use of a handgunr in place of magic would make you vulnerable to the tools of mortal law-enforcement. But that will occur if you use mortal weaponry regardless of whether or not a given opponent qualifies as a free-willed human. Challenge a Black Court vamp and pump some bullets into some Renfields and it will look like murder. Heck, even the bones of Red Court vampires look human enough that everyone at the morgue except Butters was willing to go along. If you want to battle the forces of darkness learn basic precautions to keep from leaving fingerprints, hair follicles, and other forms of incriminating evidence. You don't even need the nightmare of the Justice System in
Hunter: The Reckoning, where vampires can mind-control the judge, jury, cops and prison guards with near impunity. Lets be thankful that using mortal law-enforcement in supernatural quarrels is a no-no in this setting.
As for "Dark Side" points, we are talking about four different modes of reasoning here: Firstly there are the actual laws of Magic as they are enforced by individual wardens, and while those do not directly affect your character sheet the consequences can be dire. Secondly there are the Laws of Magic as they exist as spiritual principles, which might be broken without drawing down the wrath of the Wardens but will still change you even if you hide your sins from the world. Thirdly there are the laws of the mortal world, as enforced by the police and governed by courts and legislatures. Fourthly there are the moral principles on which the laws of mortal society are (hopefully) based. The degree to which the laws and principles of mortal society are similar or dissimilar is another argument entirely, but I think that we still have to think of them as distinct though related categories.
But the mechanic here seems only to apply to the 2nd category, though it is linked to the 1st. There has been evidence from the series where the first and second have been violated without violating the 3rd; for there are no laws against mind control. By the same token mortal laws can be broken without breaking the Laws of Magic. Killing without magic means no violation of the 1st and 2nd, absolutely means a violation of the 3rd, and the 4th? I don't know; people are still arguing the morality of killing to save lives, or comiting crimes in pursuit of a just cause. I would certainly agree that a character who routinely killed things that
looked human or actually were human should show some psychological impact. Anyone who isn't a sociopath will be affected by killing anyone or anything that looks human, whether it's a White Court vamp or a Reinfield or just some garden variety human thug trying to shoot you. But I don't think the mechanic described in the rules for the Laws of Magic would make any sense whatsoever applied to mortal law and mortal offenses.