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The Dresden Files => DF Spoilers => Topic started by: EBRIEN on April 25, 2025, 01:34:14 AM

Title: Harry's force rings
Post by: EBRIEN on April 25, 2025, 01:34:14 AM
Was wondering a little bit about these. Harry describes charging them with his own motion throughout the day and whatnot like that. He hits the heavy bag at one point to recharge them. I was thinking if it's kinetic energy like how watches maintain charge(?), wouldn't it be possible for Harry to use some sort of device to do this like those used for watches? I'm sure the technology aspect of it may negate it, but I'm just thinking that it should be possible.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: Mr. Mouse on April 25, 2025, 03:06:57 AM
Leave it in his jeans while doing the laundry and let the spin charge it?
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: EBRIEN on April 25, 2025, 02:46:10 PM
Leave it in his jeans while doing the laundry and let the spin charge it?

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. Though, the water might delete the magic of them. Maybe ride a bike with the rings somehow attached to wheels.

Maybe this thread becomes a list of top ten ways to recharge Harry's rings! 

10. Spin cycle of the wahing machine (with possible issues)
9. Bicycle ride with rings attached to wheels
8. Mouse dries himself after a bath (Rotational velocity)
7.


Okay Folks! Add yours to the list!
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: peterwiggin94 on April 25, 2025, 06:46:11 PM
Hula Hoop.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: Bridger on April 25, 2025, 08:38:31 PM
Attach them to the wheels of the Blue Beetle.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: TrueMonk on April 25, 2025, 09:01:51 PM
Ask toottoot to carry one with him.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: Avernite on April 26, 2025, 09:21:06 AM
Put them in a bingo wheel and start spinning! ;)
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: g33k on April 27, 2025, 07:58:35 PM
Attach them to the wheels of the Blue Beetle.
...
which is now sitting motionless in some junkyard.

 :'(
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: Talby16 on April 28, 2025, 02:58:27 AM
Attach them to Mister's Collar.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: RobReece on June 26, 2025, 03:41:00 AM
I don't think it's the motion of the ring, it's getting energy from Harry when he moves his arms.  Putting it on something moving wouldn't do anything, even another person might need attunement or something.

IMHO
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: g33k on June 26, 2025, 12:25:46 PM
I don't think it's the motion of the ring, it's getting energy from Harry when he moves his arms.  Putting it on something moving wouldn't do anything, even another person might need attunement or something.
Remember that Elaine could recharge her thorn-wand by just plugging into a wall-socket, and she's got similar training to Harry (she's just "more elegant").

I think Harry's rings are (or could easily be re-made) similarly-amenable to mechanical recharge.

It might have to be more linear than rotational, though -- the force rings are pretty explicitly one trick, linear thrust (though if he does have to re-make them anyhow, he might include some rotational and other variants).

Maybe he could find a supermarket or similar, with a sliding-door that opens & closes many times per hour, all day long...

Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: Talby16 on June 26, 2025, 05:23:49 PM
I don't think it's the motion of the ring, it's getting energy from Harry when he moves his arms.  Putting it on something moving wouldn't do anything, even another person might need attunement or something.

IMHO

To add to g33k's answer, IIRC it states in the book where they are introduced that they are charged by kinetic energy. I take that to mean that anything that generates kinetic energy should charge the rings up.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: TrueMonk on June 26, 2025, 08:51:39 PM
I still think Toot, or possibly more members of the guard with force rings would be great. They are allways topped off because they are moving all the time and if he needs them to attack something it would be the knives/nails setup dialled up.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: RobReece on July 01, 2025, 05:48:40 AM
To add to g33k's answer, IIRC it states in the book where they are introduced that they are charged by kinetic energy. I take that to mean that anything that generates kinetic energy should charge the rings up.
I agree that it's storing kinetic energy,  the difference being the source of the energy, I think it's coming from Harry and his movement,  not the motion of the rings themselves. 
If all it needed was for the rings to be moving then he could have been doing that for years, instead he wears them and hits the big bag.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: Talby16 on July 02, 2025, 01:19:34 AM
I agree that it's storing kinetic energy,  the difference being the source of the energy, I think it's coming from Harry and his movement,  not the motion of the rings themselves. 
If all it needed was for the rings to be moving then he could have been doing that for years, instead he wears them and hits the big bag.

How does this work with his staff? He carved the spell on the end of his staff multiple times and used it against Asher in Skin Game. Harry is moving the staff, but the actual spell is not touching him directly (ie ring on skin). I could buy the argument that Harry is necessary for the rings to power up. We only saw the rings "being charged" while he was wearing them within his aura. The staff is a different story. The carved spell on the end of his staff is not within his aura. Is it charged by passive movement (just being used as a walking stick)? Does Harry have to run energy through his staff with movement to charge the spell? When it comes to the staff, it seems inefficient to have to actively run energy to it in order to charge it.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: RobReece on July 02, 2025, 04:20:05 AM
How does this work with his staff? He carved the spell on the end of his staff multiple times and used it against Asher in Skin Game. Harry is moving the staff, but the actual spell is not touching him directly (ie ring on skin). I could buy the argument that Harry is necessary for the rings to power up. We only saw the rings "being charged" while he was wearing them within his aura. The staff is a different story. The carved spell on the end of his staff is not within his aura. Is it charged by passive movement (just being used as a walking stick)? Does Harry have to run energy through his staff with movement to charge the spell? When it comes to the staff, it seems inefficient to have to actively run energy to it in order to charge it.
I think it would be the same as the rings, so long as he's manipulating the staff, it draws energy from him and stores it in the end of the staff. 
My question would be, the 76 layers (iirc), do you nave to fill them one at a time, layer 1, then layer 2, etc. Or do you think they're filling simultaneously? I think that make it pretty strenuous just moving it around,  at least until they were filled and no longer sapping the extra energy.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: Cats_are_evil on July 02, 2025, 02:58:40 PM
How about this, strap it to the top of a SpaceX rocket. It doesn't seem like it interferes with technology. So everyone should be safe.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: g33k on July 03, 2025, 12:47:35 AM
... 
If all it needed was for the rings to be moving then he could have been doing that for years ...

By his own admission, sometimes Harry misses some obvious-in-retrospect things.

Remember:  he was trained by centuries-old old-school wizards who were trained by even older ones.  Ancient traditions (that are really silly) are frequently perpetuated in such thought-bubble environments.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: Talby16 on August 01, 2025, 07:31:21 PM
By his own admission, sometimes Harry misses some obvious-in-retrospect things.

Remember:  he was trained by centuries-old old-school wizards who were trained by even older ones.  Ancient traditions (that are really silly) are frequently perpetuated in such thought-bubble environments.
Add to that the reluctance to work with mortal technology and to use helpers (the Guard or Mister as examples) and it becomes easy for Harry to miss obvious solutions that are clear to us outsiders.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: RobReece on August 02, 2025, 04:09:35 PM
I still think that Harry made them, Harry enchanted them, Harry uses them, Harry has to supply the energy that fills them.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: g33k on August 02, 2025, 10:17:04 PM
I still think that Harry made them, Harry enchanted them, Harry uses them, Harry has to supply the energy that fills them. 

Harry says it's just storing up force... and
"F=ma"
At the end of the day, I really think this is magic "doing business with physics."

Elaine (with largely the same training) literally just plugs her similar-use elecric-attack gadget into the nearest wall-socket to recharge it.
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: RobReece on August 03, 2025, 05:04:31 PM
Harry says it's just storing up force... and
"F=ma"
At the end of the day, I really think this is magic "doing business with physics."

Elaine (with largely the same training) literally just plugs her similar-use elecric-attack gadget into the nearest wall-socket to recharge it.

And I think it's like his other magics where the energy come from Harry, albeit more efficient than most as he's made these rings a few times, improving them each time.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: g33k on August 11, 2025, 04:37:29 PM
... I guess we'll have to agree to disagree
Fair enough!
Title: Re: Harry's force rings
Post by: RobReece on August 11, 2025, 06:42:14 PM
Fair enough!

So many people have lost that ability these days, nice to find someone who still can.