Questions regarding Dresden Files magic.

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The Romulan Republic
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Questions regarding Dresden Files magic.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

So, while working on a fanfic, I realized that I had a crucial gap in my knowledge of Dresden Files magical lore. Specifically, I know I've read somewhere that Soul Gazes can be non-visual, affect other senses instead, depending on the person, but I can't for the life of me find the source. Can someone else confirm this?

And since it seemed foolish to start a whole thread for just this question, and the Dresden Files magic system can be somewhat complicated, I thought this could serve as a general discussion thread/resource for any questions anyone might have on the subject of Dresden Files magic, how it works, etc.

So if you have a question, or a bit of useful information, feel free to post it here (ideally cite the source for any information).
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Re: Questions regarding Dresden Files magic.

Post by Crazedwraith »

Pretty much any book it comes up in, Dresden mentions that the way he describes soul gazes are only the way he experiences them. That other people experience them differently. I'm not sure of exact quotes, if you've got the books to hand, try when he soul gazes Molly in Proven Guilty. Or White Night when he sees Lara and Ramirez soul gaze from White Night might be good places to start looking.
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Re: Questions regarding Dresden Files magic.

Post by Ralin »

Yes. Not non-visual in the sense of not requiring eye contact, but different wizards experience them in widely varying ways. Dresden mentions at one point that Carlos told him he perceives a soul gaze as music that gives him insight into the nature of the person he's looking at, along with one or two other examples. Harry also mentions that his own version of the soul gaze, seeing the nature of the person in terms of symbols and metaphor, is the most obscure and oddest form he personally has heard of.

Can't remember which book off the top of my head, but my guess would be White Night when he soul gazes Beckett. Or whatever her name was with the kid.
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Re: Questions regarding Dresden Files magic.

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Thanks.

I don't have the books on hand, unfortunately. I get Dresden Files through the public library, but when you can't remember which out of fifteen books might give you the most information, that could be time consuming. ;) It helps to narrow down which books might contain the best information.

And yeah, stuff like Carlos is what I'm looking for- specifically non-visual types of Soul Gazes.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
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Re: Questions regarding Dresden Files magic.

Post by Zixinus »

Maybe look into how hte RPG covers this?
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Re: Questions regarding Dresden Files magic.

Post by Ralin »

Yeah, I was right. Chapter 29 of White Night. Page 265 of the Kindle edition
Lock eyes with a wizard and the essence of who and what you are is laid bare. It is perceived in different ways by every individual. Ramirez had once told me that he heard it as a kind of musical theme that accompanied the person he was gazing upon. Others looked on a soul in a series of frozen images. My interpretation of a soulgaze was, perhaps inevitably, one of the most random and confusing I’d ever heard about. I see the other person in symbol and metaphor, sometimes in panorama and surround sound, sometimes in misty translucence and haunting whispers.
Zixinus wrote:Maybe look into how hte RPG covers this?
I doubt it will give him anything he couldn't get from that quote, honestly. It's an idiocentric ability that is perceived in different ways from person to person and is probably shaped by the wizard's character and personality. Especially since FATE as a system is pretty big on giving general mechanics that can be reskinned in various ways as desired.
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