He's about 25 refresh or so at the end. Spoilers ahead:
[-7] evocation, thaumaturgy, the sight, soulgaze, wizard's constitution (the wizard template)
[-2] Lawbreaker 1st
[-1] Listening
[-5] Refinement 5x
[-3] Soulfire
[-2] Winter Magic
[-5] Inhuman Speed, Inhuman Strength, Supernatural Toughness with Catch: trappings of Summer
Remember, the writeups of all the Senior Council are woefully understated. This also applies to most high-power guys. I mean, McCoy can obliterate one hundred targets in a single blow and he is the weakest of the Senior Council
Dude, you might want to put spoiler tags on there.
I agree, spoiler tags seem in order. And with that in mind.
Two items seem to have been left off.
[-1] Sponsored Magic: Places of Power 'Demonreach'
[-1] Item of Power: Harry's mother's silver pentacle with gem granting World Walker*
Also, a [-2] Refresh cost for Lawbreaker, 1st Law after three or more occasions when magic was deliberately used to kill another mortal/human. I don't recall when Harry would've used magic in that fashion. Of why the Council wouldn't have given him a haircut. At the neckline, given how (un)popular he is with some important members of the Council.
Remember his last human kill? That is what gave him the second level of Lawbreaker 1st. Spoilers ahead:
He killed Slade for gaining more magical power. Human sacrifice is a major violation of the First Law and Harry does it knowingly and willingly. The rest of the Council does not know about it yet. Or maybe they do, and the high-powered sniper rifle was used by one of the Council's hired assassins.
Remember his last human kill? That is what gave him the second level of Lawbreaker 1st. Spoilers ahead:
He killed Slade for gaining more magical power. Human sacrifice is a major violation of the First Law and Harry does it knowingly and willingly. The rest of the Council does not know about it yet. Or maybe they do, and the high-powered sniper rifle was used by one of the Council's hired assassins.
The circumstances of the situation you mention don't hold up too well. Oh sure, Council haircut time maybe. But not the metaphysical part of the Law.
He kills Slade with a blade. Slade isn't sacrificed to power a spell, the power of the Winter Knight goes to the nearest Winter Queen as normal. Of course she seems to have decided Slade should bleed out on the table that powers the faerie courts but that's not really anything new or unusual for them. It seems to be part of their natural recycling system if you can call it that.
He kills Slade with a blade. Slade isn't sacrificed to power a spell, the power of the Winter Knight goes to the nearest Winter Queen as normal. Of course she seems to have decided Slade should bleed out on the table that powers the faerie courts but that's not really anything new or unusual for them. It seems to be part of their natural recycling system if you can call it that.
Yeah, I don't think that act would qualify him for Lawbreaker, either.
Besides, as a servant of Winter -- paralyzed, horribly tortured, and ready to die or not, Slade was still the Winter Knight -- did he even qualify for human status any more?
The servants do have free will so I can see an argument for Lawbreaker, but would the Council be upset about a Warden killing a Knight under more 'normal' circumstances like a duel or in a straight-up fight? (Leaving aside the political ramifications for a second). For instance, when Slade was a renegade all the way back in Summer Knight, would Harry have picked up Lawbreaker if he whacked him on the battlefield during the "Chicago above Chicago" event, while trying to save the world?
One last thought: Does anyone else find it ominous that the Stone Table was used for the Slade/Harry transfer? Based on Lily/Aurora and even Ronald Reuel/Lily, the faerie court powers can be moved around without the table -- but Mab deliberately used the Table for that transfer. I'm wondering if that will have repercussions later.
Remember his last human kill? That is what gave him the second level of Lawbreaker 1st. Spoilers ahead:
He killed Slade for gaining more magical power. Human sacrifice is a major violation of the First Law and Harry does it knowingly and willingly. The rest of the Council does not know about it yet. Or maybe they do, and the high-powered sniper rifle was used by one of the Council's hired assassins.
Spoiler:
The First Law is Never Take a Life, with the caveat that it involves either using magic to directly/indirectly take someone's life, or using mundane means to kill (sacrifice) someone and then using their death to power a spell/magic. In the case of Harry killing Slade to take on the mantle of Winter Knight, the situation is a bit different. For whatever reason, the Winter/Unseelie Court requires that the mantle of their Knight be released by the death of the Knight. He wasn't killed to make use of his life/life force, but to free the Mantle of Power that he had been entrusted with. Once the Mantle of Power was freed, then Mab Harry take up that Mantle in a ritual.
One quick suggestion though. If we are going to do much more discussion of possible plot spoilers, perhaps we should move it to the Spoiler section.
I don't think Changes Harry has the full WN template. Probably just Unseelie [-2] and Inhuman Toughness [-2]. *Maybe* Inhuman Speed, though I don't think he's faster enough to qualify, just ... physically improved in general.
He was fast enough to outrun Suzan and not be winded - and outmaneuer the Ick. He was tough enough to take up blows from the Ick without being pulverized. Without even taking consequences like broken bones. And the Ick was strong enough to pick up a car and smash it against another car. He was strong enough to smash a vampire against the floor with a single kick. And right after he commented that this was the power of the Winter Knight.
Remember his last human kill? That is what gave him the second level of Lawbreaker 1st. Spoilers ahead:
He killed Slade for gaining more magical power. Human sacrifice is a major violation of the First Law and Harry does it knowingly and willingly. The rest of the Council does not know about it yet. Or maybe they do, and the high-powered sniper rifle was used by one of the Council's hired assassins.
No, he used mundane means to kill Slade, and while doing so was a requirement for gaining the Winter Knight job, it made no use of mortal magic. It's perfectly fine to kill using mundane tools for any reason whatsoever, though there might be repercussions that have nothing to do with stains on the soul. The First Law forbids the destruction of life either by use of a spell or to power a spell, neither of which occured there. He even dodged the bullet with Susan (killing to power a really big bloodline curse) because Susan was a full vampire when it happened.
I'd have to re-read a couple of sections of Changes (which I don't have in reach at the moment), but here are some massively unsubstantiated speculation on the whole Winter Knight thing, based on my recollection of the book:
* Becoming the Winter Knight is something Dresden felt he had to do, but certainly didn't want. As part of the deal, Dresden swore to not fight becoming the Knight.
* Dresden as Winter Knight might be rather bad for Winter/Summer balance, as Mab would command a Knight with not only the power of Winter, but with very powerful mortal magic, as well.
* Ivy's attention was drawn to the situation when Dresden wrote to her. She owed him, but was unable to offer direct help ... with respect to rescuing his daughter.
* Kincaid had discussed with Dresden just how he would go about killing him to avoid his death curse. Dresden was attacked basically exactly how Kincaid laid out his plan.
* (Theory) The Winter Knight powers return to the Queen as the Knight dies, not necessarily after death.
* Icy cold water greatly slows bodily functions ... possibly lengthening considerably the last few instants of life?
What if Kincaid, at Ivy's behest, shot him very, very nearly to death, in such a way that he was unable to use his death curse (finishing himself off in the process) and ensuring that he collapsed into the icy waters of the lake, thus stretching out the last few moments of life. This would cause the mantle of the Winter Knight to pass on in such a way that would not violate his oath. Once that occured, if he was able to be revived in time, he would be out from under his deal with Mab. Ivy would have returned Dresden's free will and balance between the Courts would be restored.
Hey, I did say it was massive speculation...
i think if kincaid really wanted, he would have hit harry's head, instant death. so i don't think it was him, or he was under order from ivy not to shoot him in the head, because she knows something...
I disagree;
He was fast enough to outrun Suzan and not be winded - and outmaneuer the Ick. He was tough enough to take up blows from the Ick without being pulverized. Without even taking consequences like broken bones. And the Ick was strong enough to pick up a car and smash it against another car. He was strong enough to smash a vampire against the floor with a single kick. And right after he commented that this was the power of the Winter Knight.
Hmm. I read it that the Winter Knight powers referred to were: -the toughness to survive the Ick's blows; and -not getting tired. Not that he was necessarily *faster* than before, but that he could run at absolute top sprint speed a lot longer.
i agree with you, but...
i think if kincaid really wanted, he would have hit harry's head, instant death. so i don't think it was him, or he was under order from ivy not to shoot him in the head, because she knows something...
Yes, but my theory is that Ivy instructed Kincaid to save Harry by shooting him in such a way that he would reach the point of death but still have that hairsbreadth of time left to save his life. Kincaid is a *very* good shot, and might well be the only being who could pull something like this off...