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The Dresden Files => DF Spoilers => DF Reference Collection => Topic started by: AcornArmy on November 15, 2012, 05:31:31 PM

Title: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on November 15, 2012, 05:31:31 PM
With the online Q&A sessions coming up today and on the 20th, I thought it might be helpful if we had a place to pool question ideas. If you want to ask a question, but for some reason can't remember any of the thousand questions you've had about the series over the years now that the pressure's on, or if you have so many questions that you feel like you need to spread them around so that other people can share some of the burden, then this thread's for you.

Some of mine, to start off:

1) Angels are apparently all soul. So:
   1a) Can angels be soulgazed?
   1b) Can the Fallen in the Denarii be soulgazed through the second pair of eyes which    sometimes show up on the foreheads of the Denarians? And, if so:
   1c) Will the soulgaze be different than the one you would see if you simply soulgazed the    Fallen's Denarian host?

2) Would you(Jim) please clarify exactly who the Faerie Queens can personally kill and who they can't? At various times in Summer Knight and in the rest of the series, we've been told or seen evidence that:

-- The Sidhe Knights are the only ones allowed to act in matters not directly related to the Faerie Courts. (SK, Ch. 10)
-- The Queens are not allowed to kill anyone who isn't a member of their own Court. (SK, Ch. 10)

And yet:

-- We've seen fae servants of the Faerie Queens kill and attempt to kill mortals many times.
-- Aurora was able to try to kill Harry just fine, but was unable to harm Murphy. (SK, Ch. 20-21)
-- When Harry is preparing to deal with Mab to become the Winter Knight, he thinks to himself that Mab can't kill a mortal, only make them wish they were dead. The implication seems to include the Winter Knight. (Changes, Ch. 30)

So which mortals can the Faerie Queens kill? Bob tells us one thing, but evidence in the books indicates something else.

3) Can Changelings be soulgazed?

4) Since Lash is apparently some sort of spirit-being, can she take on a physical-seeming form while she's in the spirit world, the way ghosts can?


Questions From Other People (from a more-or-less identical thread I made last year, which, alas, came too late):

Vairelome:

From one of the recent threads concerning Maggie, there was some discussion about her official last name right now (post GS, staying with the Carpenters).

So: "What is Maggie's official last name right now?" and if clarification is needed, "Under what last name is she registered at the local elementary school (assuming that's where she's placed)?"


Karley:

1) How and when did Harry and Michael meet? Would you consider writing a short story about their first encounter?
2) How long has Arthur Langtry been the Merlin?
3) How does one become the Merlin? [ Already answered. ]
4) Is the Winter Lady Maeve the same person as or was she some way involved with the old Irish Queen Maeve of Connacht?
5) If Harry ever does put his full effort into universe-hopping, can you make him go to Discworld?
6) What are the names of the other three minor vampire courts?
7) How did Justin DuMorne find out about Harry?
8 ) When did the old Mother Summer retire and why won't Mother Winter retire?
9) How old is the Gatekeeper?
10) How did the White Council annex the New World shamans and what were the reaction of the Natives?


Eleyctra:

Is it significant that the eyes of Lea changed from gold in the earlier books, to green in Changes? Is Mab controlling Lea more than we think?


jeno:

1) How old were Eb and Maggie Sr when they first manifested a talent?
2) How many sisters does Thomas have?
[ Already answered. ]
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 15, 2012, 05:43:13 PM
Quote
jeno:

1) How old were Eb and Maggie Sr when they first manifested a talent?
2) How many sisters does Thomas have?

These ones have already been answered.

Quote
3) How does one become the Merlin?

This one was also answered, the senior council pick out a new Merlin from amongst themselves.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh on November 15, 2012, 05:46:48 PM
I have a bunch of questions in the relevant thread, but only one of them got asked, I'd want it to be whether Talos is still alive after the end of SK, because that is one that for some reason irrationally nags at me and seems unlikely to connect to anything that would lead to an "I'm not going to tell you".

I'd also really like to know
1) When was Kemmler's last stand, 1961 as per DB or WWII as per GS ?
2) If Harry had known about Lea's bargain with Maggie, could he have just demanded her help against Justin instead of selling himself for it and:
2b) if the answer to 2) is yes, is Harry ever going to find/figure this out ?

but I suspect that 2) might well get an "I'm not going to tell you", and there have been rumblings that some of the apparent series inconsistencies are part of a larger plan so 1) might as well.  Indeed, I can see 2) being resolved in CD.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on November 15, 2012, 06:01:20 PM
These ones have already been answered.

This one was also answered, the senior council pick out a new Merlin from amongst themselves.

Okay, stricken from the record.

I have a bunch of questions in the relevant thread, but only one of them got asked, I'd want it to be whether Talos is still alive after the end of SK, because that is one that for some reason irrationally nags at me and seems unlikely to connect to anything that would lead to an "I'm not going to tell you".

You mean the Questions for Jim 2012 style 2 (http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,33234.0.html) thread? Yeah, that'll work, too. The reason I started this thread, though, is because that one has 22 pages, and a whole lot of random questions in it that no one's going to care enough about to ask at a Q&A. I didn't think most people were likely to spend that much time on the subject. And one of the Q&As is tonight, so a short thread to put the questions we care about most into seems easier than sifting through the other thread looking for ideas. I guess I wanted a distilled version of the QfJ2012 thread.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Second Aristh on November 15, 2012, 06:14:04 PM
The question I'd enjoy having an answer to the most at the moment is

Do all faeries have a weakness to iron and if so, has it always been that way or is it more like wizards and murphyonic fields?  What is considered iron/cold iron (i.e. is it the amount of iron that matters or some sort of metahysical signifigance)?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 15, 2012, 06:47:21 PM
Okay, stricken from the record.

You mean the Questions for Jim 2012 style 2 (http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,33234.0.html) thread? Yeah, that'll work, too. The reason I started this thread, though, is because that one has 22 pages, and a whole lot of random questions in it that no one's going to care enough about to ask at a Q&A. I didn't think most people were likely to spend that much time on the subject. And one of the Q&As is tonight, so a short thread to put the questions we care about most into seems easier than sifting through the other thread looking for ideas. I guess I wanted a distilled version of the QfJ2012 thread.

You know I'm just going to gather every question I asked over the course of that thread right? And you could just read the question posts rather than all 22 pages.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on November 15, 2012, 07:00:54 PM
Argh! Fine! I'll just drop the questions into your thread.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: LordMelvin on November 15, 2012, 07:03:09 PM
2) Would you(Jim) please clarify exactly who the Faerie Queens can personally kill and who they can't? At various times in Summer Knight and in the rest of the series, we've been told or seen evidence that:

-- The Sidhe Knights are the only ones allowed to act in matters not directly related to the Faerie Courts. (SK, Ch. 10)
-- The Queens are not allowed to kill anyone who isn't a member of their own Court. (SK, Ch. 10)

And yet:

-- We've seen fae servants of the Faerie Queens kill and attempt to kill mortals many times.
-- Aurora was able to try to kill Harry just fine, but was unable to harm Murphy. (SK, Ch. 20-21)
-- When Harry is preparing to deal with Mab to become the Winter Knight, he thinks to himself that Mab can't kill a mortal, only make them wish they were dead. The implication seems to include the Winter Knight. (Changes, Ch. 30)

So which mortals can the Faerie Queens kill? Bob tells us one thing, but evidence in the books indicates something else.

Re: Your three points:
-- We've seen the fae wreaking mayhem on multiple occasions, but the only real bodycount was in PG, where they were acting via Mollys' choice. It was, essentially, Molly's decision to indulge in black magic that opened the way for the horror movie fetches to go wild at the convention, while at Arctis Tor, anyone present had clearly chosen to involve themselves in the events, I. E. become involved in matters directly related to the dealings of the court.
-- In Summer Knight, Harry as Winter Emissary was an open target, since he was - temporarily, to hear him tell it - a part of Winter, while Murphy was, as a vanilla mortal who happened to be standing nearby, not a legitimate target, and therefore the Chlorofiend had to pull its punches.
-- Take 1 part wishful thinking, 2 parts assisted delusion via [GS thing], and 1 part not-thinking-straight-due-to-having-just-been-permanently-injured. Garnish with inaccurate phrasing and unreliable narrator to taste.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on November 15, 2012, 07:11:10 PM
Re: Your three points:
-- We've seen the fae wreaking mayhem on multiple occasions, but the only real bodycount was in PG, where they were acting via Mollys' choice. It was, essentially, Molly's decision to indulge in black magic that opened the way for the horror movie fetches to go wild at the convention, while at Arctis Tor, anyone present had clearly chosen to involve themselves in the events, I. E. become involved in matters directly related to the dealings of the court.
-- In Summer Knight, Harry as Winter Emissary was an open target, since he was - temporarily, to hear him tell it - a part of Winter, while Murphy was, as a vanilla mortal who happened to be standing nearby, not a legitimate target, and therefore the Chlorofiend had to pull its punches.
-- Take 1 part wishful thinking, 2 parts assisted delusion via [GS thing], and 1 part not-thinking-straight-due-to-having-just-been-permanently-injured. Garnish with inaccurate phrasing and unreliable narrator to taste.

That's useful speculation, but my problem with it is that we have to speculate in the first place. These are supposed to be hard rules which have to be followed by the Queens. I just want a clear, straight answer from Jim on the subject. If nothing else, it'll make things easier for the DFRPG folks.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Direwolf513 on November 15, 2012, 09:23:30 PM
The question I'd enjoy having an answer to the most at the moment is

Do all faeries have a weakness to iron and if so, has it always been that way or is it more like wizards and murphyonic fields?  What is considered iron/cold iron (i.e. is it the amount of iron that matters or some sort of metahysical signifigance)?

Something nagging at me from another thread - why don't the Fae have an issue with the iron in human blood? The answers in the other thread (ranging from there's not enough iron to make a difference to blood having its own metaphysical significance and weight that cancels out the metaphysical significance of the iron) are all well-thought out and plausible, but I'd just be interested in Jim's take on it.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Casterbridge on November 15, 2012, 10:02:30 PM
Concerning Angles being soul gazed, Harry tried to soul gaze an angel in Ghost Story, the angel stopped him, implying yes they can be soul gazed (but probably have ramifications in the mental department, my guess anyway).
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Lord Rae on November 16, 2012, 12:05:59 AM
Actually he tried to use the sight on an angel in GS... not soulgaze. Different and distinct actions.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Aesir on November 16, 2012, 04:30:36 AM

I'm fairly certain that the following were answered by Jim at one point or another:

Do wizards gain power (not just skill) with age (i.e. is a 300 year old wizard more powerful than at 20 years old?) like every other supernatural group seems to?

What did the Red Court use Chichen Itza for when Cortez was there?

What are Harry's specialties in magic (there have been some inconsistencies about what he is skilled at)? How skilled is he with evocation?

How old are the senior council members?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Jebm on November 16, 2012, 05:06:29 AM
1)Who taught Fix swordplay after he was Knighted?.

2) If a White Court vamp became a Knight for one of the Fae Courts, would the power boost  and new magic affect/overlap with their vampire powers?

3) Does being a Winter/Summer Knight mean you still have to follow the Laws of magic?

4) What is Ancient Mai's  specialty since you've said before that she's never been one for physical combat

5) How different is rune magic in terms of function and effect from the regular magic we've usually seen in the series?

6) How highly ranked were the Eebs in the Red Court Hierarchy since they weren't True Mayan and would they have stood a better chance against Susan and Harry if they decided to fight instead of sending in the scrub and the Ick ?

7) Where did Madrigal Raith acquire those ward cloths as they seem to  be rather convenient for participating in a duel  he didn't know he'd be in.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: King Ash on November 16, 2012, 05:50:00 AM
1)Who taught Fix swordplay after he was Knighted?.

2) If a White Court vamp became a Knight for one of the Fae Courts, would the power boost  and new magic affect/overlap with their vampire powers?

3) Does being a Winter/Summer Knight mean you still have to follow the Laws of magic?

4) What is Ancient Mai's  specialty since you've said before that she's never been one for physical combat

5) How different is rune magic in terms of function and effect from the regular magic we've usually seen in the series?

6) How highly ranked were the Eebs in the Red Court Hierarchy since they weren't True Mayan and would they have stood a better chance against Susan and Harry if they decided to fight instead of sending in the scrub and the Ick ?

7) Where did Madrigal Raith acquire those ward cloths as they seem to  be rather convenient for participating in a duel  he didn't know he'd be in.

Pretty sure that this one has been answered with Enchanting.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 16, 2012, 06:02:34 AM
I'm fairly certain that the following were answered by Jim at one point or another:

The Wizards gaining power one has been answered by select book quotes, the rest, no.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: laura118b on November 16, 2012, 07:53:51 AM
I have a bunch of questions in the relevant thread, but only one of them got asked, I'd want it to be whether Talos is still alive after the end of SK, because that is one that for some reason irrationally nags at me and seems unlikely to connect to anything that would lead to an "I'm not going to tell you".

I'd also really like to know
1) When was Kemmler's last stand, 1961 as per DB or WWII as per GS ?
2) If Harry had known about Lea's bargain with Maggie, could he have just demanded her help against Justin instead of selling himself for it and:
2b) if the answer to 2) is yes, is Harry ever going to find/figure this out ?

but I suspect that 2) might well get an "I'm not going to tell you", and there have been rumblings that some of the apparent series inconsistencies are part of a larger plan so 1) might as well.  Indeed, I can see 2) being resolved in CD.
I asked him that for you a couple of years ago and got a half answer.  He said that Maggie didn't have enough time to set the deal up as well as she could have if she'd had more time.  So while that's not a direct answer to it, it is close.  And I think the gist is no, that she didn't close all the loopholes and for help he didn't really need anyway he had to ask himself.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on November 16, 2012, 08:48:23 AM
7) Where did Madrigal Raith acquire those ward cloths as they seem to  be rather convenient for participating in a duel  he didn't know he'd be in.

I know this isn't a definitive answer to the question like a WoJ would be, but I think I can answer the "rather convenient" part of the question. Madrigal Raith was basically a member of the White Court nobility. His uncle is King of the White Court. Members of nobility are bound to collect objects like those warded armbands, because they can afford them and they're in a position to come across such things, due to their prominence within the structure of the ruling House. I see it as something like the way wealthy families often collect antiques or expensive works of art; only, in this case, the armbands had practical value in a duel.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Arjan on November 16, 2012, 11:12:19 AM
I know this isn't a definitive answer to the question like a WoJ would be, but I think I can answer the "rather convenient" part of the question. Madrigal Raith was basically a member of the White Court nobility. His uncle is King of the White Court. Members of nobility are bound to collect objects like those warded armbands, because they can afford them and they're in a position to come across such things, due to their prominence within the structure of the ruling House. I see it as something like the way wealthy families often collect antiques or expensive works of art; only, in this case, the armbands had practical value in a duel.
House Malvora could have provided them as well. Winning this duel was crucial to them and Madrigal was not really up to the task and needed some help.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Aesir on November 16, 2012, 01:39:43 PM
The Wizards gaining power one has been answered by select book quotes, the rest, no.

I recall Jim saying in one of the audio Q&A's that the senior council members were around Harry's age at the time of the French and Indian War.  Some day he may even go back and write about that period.

On evocation I recall Jim saying in an audio interview that Harry is one of the most skilled WC members at evocation, although the senior council members have been doing it for far longer than he has, and have the skill to back it up. The Merlin is the Merlin for very good reason. 

As for Chichen Itza, my memory has fogged over from time, but I believe that at some point Jim said something along the lines of it being put to the same use in the time of the Aztecs as it was in Changes, magical rituals involving human sacrifices. 

For his exact words, you'd have to dig through the audio interviews.


Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 16, 2012, 01:50:10 PM
I recall Jim saying in one of the audio Q&A's that the senior council members were around Harry's age at the time of the French and Indian War.  Some day he may even go back and write about that period.

On evocation I recall Jim saying in an audio interview that Harry is one of the most skilled WC members at evocation, although the senior council members have been doing it for far longer than he has, and have the skill to back it up. The Merlin is the Merlin for very good reason. 

As for Chichen Itza, my memory has fogged over from time, but I believe that at some point Jim said something along the lines of it being put to the same use in the old days as it was in Changes, magical rituals involving human sacrifices. 

For his exact words, you'd have to dig through the audio interviews.

For the senior council, their ages are all over the map, Langtry and Eb are the same age, LTW and Martha unknown but appear to be same generation, Mai's over 400, Pietrovich and Cristos unknown and nobody freaking knows how old Rashid is, he was running around in 700A.D.

And the possibility of Harry being one of the best evocators makes me want an official clarification even more, in early books he was supposed to be pathetic at evocation and good at thaumaturgy, in later ones he's skilled in both with a talent for evocation in particular.

And the Chichen Itza thing, the only one who said Chichen Itza was used for that was Odin in Changes.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Aesir on November 16, 2012, 02:38:23 PM
For the senior council, their ages are all over the map, Langtry and Eb are the same age, LTW and Martha unknown but appear to be same generation, Mai's over 400, Pietrovich and Cristos unknown and nobody freaking knows how old Rashid is, he was running around in 700A.D.

Yep, Pietrovich and Cristos are unknowns, although Cristos must be the youngest of the bunch given the rules of seniority, and Mai is over 400.  The rest sound as if they are somewhere around 250-300, judging from the French and Indian War remark.

Quote
And the possibility of Harry being one of the best evocators makes me want an official clarification even more, in early books he was supposed to be pathetic at evocation and good at thaumaturgy, in later ones he's skilled in both with a talent for evocation in particular.

Do you have the citation on where he was supposed to be pathetic at evocation?  I recall something along those lines in the very first book, although I don't think "pathetic" was the word used.  Given that this series spans 2 decades of supernatural bad guys trying to kill him, his evocation skills have been forced to improve greatly in order for him to survive, kind of like what Molly is now going through now with Lea & the Fomor, so it may well have been accurate for the Harry of that time, but no longer accurate for the Harry of today.  Otherwise he wouldn't have been drafted to help teach evocation to young wardens.

Quote
And the Chichen Itza thing, the only one who said Chichen Itza was used for that was Odin in Changes.

Do we have reason to believe that Odin was mistaken?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Casterbridge on November 16, 2012, 03:34:15 PM
Actually he tried to use the sight on an angel in GS... not soulgaze. Different and distinct actions.

Bleh I attribute my statement to tiredness and hunger and not properly reading the statement I quoted.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 16, 2012, 03:39:12 PM
Yep, Pietrovich and Cristos are unknowns, although Cristos must be the youngest of the bunch given the rules of seniority, and Mai is over 400.  The rest sound as if they are somewhere around 250-300, judging from the French and Indian War remark.

Do you have the citation on where he was supposed to be pathetic at evocation?  I recall something along those lines in the very first book, although I don't think "pathetic" was the word used.  Given that this series spans 2 decades of supernatural bad guys trying to kill him, his evocation skills have been forced to improve greatly in order for him to survive, kind of like what Molly is now going through now with Lea & the Fomor, so it may well have been accurate for the Harry of that time, but no longer accurate for the Harry of today.  Otherwise he wouldn't have been drafted to help teach evocation to young wardens.

Do we have reason to believe that Odin was mistaken?

I want more specific ages than just "alive back in the french and indian war".

Quote from: Proven Guilty chapter 29
I gripped my blasting rod so hard that my knuckles turned white, and struggled to work out an evocation on the fly. I'm not much of an evocator. That's, the whole reason I used tools like my staff and blasting rod to help me control and focus my energy. The very thought of spontaneously trying out a new evocation was enough to make sweat bead on my forehead, and I tried to remind myself that it wasn't a new evocation. It was just a very, very, very skewed application of an old one.

The most recent quote on him being bad with evocation.

And we know What it was used for, I'm asking about Who it was used on in that time and Why.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Aesir on November 16, 2012, 04:41:07 PM
I want more specific ages than just "alive back in the french and indian war".

Asking Jim point blank for the exact ages of all the SC members assumes that not only has he picked birth years for them all, but that he remembers them without having to check his notes as well. I'll lay odds that "alive back in the french and indian war" is just the sort of answer you'd get if you were to ask him for their ages.

Quote
The most recent quote on him being bad with evocation.

Harry has come a long way since the first book in the series.

Quote
And we know What it was used for, I'm asking about Who it was used on in that time and Why.

The Why seems obvious, and maybe I've missed something, but I don't see what's so special about the Who.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on November 16, 2012, 04:44:22 PM
I haven't seen the WoJ talking about Harry's skill at evocation, so I'm just guessing here, but I'd bet that a statement like that would need to be qualified with, "for his age" or "of his generation." I can see Harry being considered very good at evocation for someone of his age, but not for, say, a wizard who's 150 years old and has been a Warden for 100 years of that time. It seems like any Warden who's 150 years old or so is going to be way better at evocation than Harry is, just by dent of skill gained through an extra 100 years of experience.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Casterbridge on November 16, 2012, 05:01:01 PM
Well Carlos was said and shown to be much more skilled at evocation, less powerful but still more talented.

Grant it Harry has and most likely will continue to improve his skill, so in the end he would probably get the upper hand as he already has the larger power base.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 16, 2012, 05:06:26 PM
Quote
Harry has come a long way since the first book in the series.

That's not book 1, that's a quote from book 8.

Quote
The Why seems obvious, and maybe I've missed something, but I don't see what's so special about the Who.

Really, what ritual was used that required Chichen Itza? what did they do to piss the Reds off that much? Who were the targets?

And this is all just a piece of irrelevant background information I'm asking about.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Aesir on November 16, 2012, 05:51:59 PM
I haven't seen the WoJ talking about Harry's skill at evocation, so I'm just guessing here, but I'd bet that a statement like that would need to be qualified with, "for his age" or "of his generation." I can see Harry being considered very good at evocation for someone of his age, but not for, say, a wizard who's 150 years old and has been a Warden for 100 years of that time. It seems like any Warden who's 150 years old or so is going to be way better at evocation than Harry is, just by dent of skill gained through an extra 100 years of experience.

Yep, we've had several comparisons of Harry with other wizards both in books and in Q&A's.  He has a huge amount of raw power, and in the time span between Proven Guilty and Cold Days, due to his growing skill, he's gotten a lot more efficient at using that power.  That's still only 20 years of hard practice, Luccio (in her original body) and most of the senior council members have had over 200.  And Morgan wasn't quite as old as all of them, but still considerably older than Harry, and considered by Harry to be "one of the best evocators in the world".  Do we know Morgan's age?

Well Carlos was said and shown to be much more skilled at evocation, less powerful but still more talented.

I recall Carlos being way more skilled at water magic, but his skill advantage in evocation wasn't necessarily large enough to make up for Harry's greater raw power. I kind of had the feeling that the difference between Carlos and Harry is very similar to the difference between Elaine and Harry.  Carlos and Elaine both have less raw power, so they had to make up for it by developing skill more quickly.  That doesn't mean Harry isn't a match for them, he just didn't need to develop the same amount of fine skill since he had so much more firepower at his disposal.  His top priority was controlling that firepower so he didn't accidentally kill all his friends and level entire buildings, not in making the most out of a pea shooter.  Therefore he isn't so good at little evocations that take a lot of pinpoint control, although he is getting better at them as the series progresses. It's big evocations that involve massive destruction and take down entire buildings that he's a natural at.  :P
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Aesir on November 16, 2012, 06:26:29 PM
That's not book 1, that's a quote from book 8.

Interesting, and that's rather similar to the wording used in book 1.  I suspect the distinction, based on previous descriptions by Jim, is a matter of context.  Harry has a bigger, fatter supply of magic power available to him than most other wizards do.  So his #1 issue is controlling all that power so he doesn't accidentally blow himself or those around him up.  That's why historically he's been highly dependent on his staff and blasting rod to help him focus and maintain control of his evocations. For most other wizards, accidentally taking out a building is less of an issue. So controlling their magical power comes more easily than it does to Harry, and this leads to them having an advantage at complex little magics that don't take much power, but a great deal of focus and control.  So they have a head-start in the efficiency race, and in a lot of ways find it easier going, at least at first, to improve their skill at complex evocations, and to work without foci.

On the other hand, most wizards don't spend a lot of time saving the world.  So when a Ramp comes charging at them, they may freeze, panic, cast an inappropriate evocation, or simply screw up the right evocation.  Harry has none of those issues.  He's had lots of practice at emergency evocations.  Furthermore, Harry's fine control has gotten significantly better in the last few books, and his spells have grown more flexible, so for a mage of his age, he likely is a good evocator, especially at big spells, even if there are other evocators, his age or even younger, that are better at intricate little spells. So I suppose it depends on how the word "evocator" is used. If we use evocator as a synonym for combat mage, than he's a damn good one for his age.  He can throw big, destructive evocations that most other mages couldn't dream of pulling off. Yet if we use evocator as a synonym for someone able to quickly cast a complicated spell that they made up on the spot, then he's not very good at it.  It's all relative.


Quote
Really, what ritual was used that required Chichen Itza? what did they do to piss the Reds off that much? Who were the targets?

And this is all just a piece of irrelevant background information I'm asking about.

I read that passage in Changes a bit differently. It wasn't that they used the very same ritual when Cortes came through, but that the Reds haven't used the location since Cortes conquered the Aztecs.   Do we know what supernatural group Cortes was associated with that the Ramps weren't able to stop his conquest? 
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: King Ash on November 16, 2012, 08:40:45 PM
Quote
I read that passage in Changes a bit differently. It wasn't that they used the very same ritual when Cortes came through, but that the Reds haven't used the location since Cortes conquered the Aztecs.   Do we know what supernatural group Cortes was associated with that the Ramps weren't able to stop his conquest? 

Well Cortez was a Spaniard so I am presuming that the christian powers were backing him up. According to changes the Rampires are one of the most vulnerable beings to faith magic, so maybe a bunch of christian Spanish soldiers were enough to cause grief to even a bunch of Rampire turned gods.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: astrogat on November 16, 2012, 09:26:49 PM
That's not book 1, that's a quote from book 8.

He has come a long way from that to, mainly because of Molly.

It might also be that he underestimates himself. He grew up with Justin, I can very well see him being bad at praising people. Then he has mostly fought things far bigger than himself. He has never (as far as I know, except Elain a long time ago) had a change to test himself against someone in his own league. Morgan seems to consider him good, and I would value that testimony way higher than Harrys own judgment (he is after all not a particularly smart man, when it comes to himself).
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Aesir on November 16, 2012, 10:26:19 PM
Well Cortez was a Spaniard so I am presuming that the christian powers were backing him up. According to changes the Rampires are one of the most vulnerable beings to faith magic, so maybe a bunch of christian Spanish soldiers were enough to cause grief to even a bunch of Rampire turned gods.

Your reasoning sounds good to me.  If called upon by those with true faith fighting the good fight against murderously evil Ramps, I don't doubt that the White God's angels would do everything legally allowed under the restrictive rules they operate under to keep their people safe.  This is probably the most likely possibility.

He has come a long way from that to, mainly because of Molly.

It might also be that he underestimates himself. He grew up with Justin, I can very well see him being bad at praising people. Then he has mostly fought things far bigger than himself. He has never (as far as I know, except Elain a long time ago) had a change to test himself against someone in his own league. Morgan seems to consider him good, and I would value that testimony way higher than Harrys own judgment (he is after all not a particularly smart man, when it comes to himself).

While my rebuttal went off in a different direction, I'm in agreement with your reasoning as well.  Harry has gotten quite a bit better since he started teaching Molly, and he does have a tendency of underrating himself.  I'll take Morgan and Eb's opinions of Harry over Harry's own opinions of himself any day.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 16, 2012, 10:54:28 PM
Well Cortez was a Spaniard so I am presuming that the christian powers were backing him up. According to changes the Rampires are one of the most vulnerable beings to faith magic, so maybe a bunch of christian Spanish soldiers were enough to cause grief to even a bunch of Rampire turned gods.

Michael's faith was only enough to get him victory against 3 or 4, and faith doesn't stop spells, they probably needed to have supernatural backup of some description if they were trying to take on Red Court forces.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: rad on November 16, 2012, 11:31:10 PM
Quote
Michael's faith was only enough to get him victory against 3 or 4, and faith doesn't stop spells, they probably needed to have supernatural backup of some description if they were trying to take on Red Court forces.

Well... there is more going on than that.  We have a group of very faithful and well armed soldiers at the core (priests too).  They would have every sort of Christian implement with them and many of them imbedded into their own arms and armor.  You also had the reds without any kind of metal arms and armor.  Next you have an incredibly large number of local tribes turning on them.  It was not only the Spaniards but an entire army of rebels that had numbers to go against the Reds.  Finally, and most importantly, you have disease imagine having a plague which wipes out 1/3 of your food supply come right before this army.  Mix it all together and you fall apart. 

This is of course discounting the idea of having a sword, or three, suddenly appearing in South America and altering chance for everything to go right. 
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: King Ash on November 17, 2012, 12:16:49 AM
Michael's faith was only enough to get him victory against 3 or 4, and faith doesn't stop spells, they probably needed to have supernatural backup of some description if they were trying to take on Red Court forces.

Can you show a quote on that?  Because Michael's faith sans Sword at the very least was able to block Mavra's spell.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: DRFacts on November 17, 2012, 12:43:20 AM
I seem to remember Michael shaking off vampires like water at one point in the aftermath of the party. He could quite probably clean a handful of ramps with his sword without much difficulty. A sword could have come across with Cortez, or perhaps other stuff in kind. In fact, given the ability of wizards, I could hardly imagine that the conquest of the Americas was done without wizardly knowledge or help at some level.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 17, 2012, 12:45:10 AM
Can you show a quote on that?  Because Michael's faith sans Sword at the very least was able to block Mavra's spell.

Quote
"I'm told that He helps those who help themselves," I said. "We've got to get out of here."

Michael's armor clinked as he looked around. "They've blocked the exits."

"I know. How many of them can you handle without the Sword?"

"If it was only a question of holding them off ..."

"But it isn't. We may have to punch a hole through them."

Michael shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe two or three, Lord willing."
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: King Ash on November 17, 2012, 01:20:32 AM
Sorry TCF, I should have been more clear. I was asking for a quote on Faith not stopping spells because as I stated Mavra's spell is blocked by Michaels glowing cross.. I agree that Michael doesn't seem able to punch a hole in them with his faith.

Actually we have a bit of a conundrum regarding faith and the Rampires.
We have
Quote
A vampire lurched toward Thomas, while another reached out to grasp Susan. She thrust her cross in its face, but unlike with Mavra, the wood did not blaze to light. Faith magic isn’t always easy to work, even on vampires, and the Red Court, creatures with a more solid hold on reality than the more magical denizens of the Black, were not so easily repelled.

in Grave Peril
vs

Quote
Faith is a power of its own, and one even more elusive and difficult to define than magic. A symbol of faith, presented with genuine belief and sincerity, is the bane of many an otherworldly predator—and one of the creatures most strongly affected were vampires of the Red Court.
in Changes.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 17, 2012, 01:49:09 AM
Quote
Sorry TCF, I should have been more clear. I was asking for a quote on Faith not stopping spells because as I stated Mavra's spell is blocked by Michaels glowing cross.. I agree that Michael doesn't seem able to punch a hole in them with his faith.

Hmm, forgot about that, I doubt it's an always on feature though. Though I suppose this means we can add blocking spells to the list of things faith can do.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on November 17, 2012, 08:46:47 AM
Actually we have a bit of a conundrum regarding faith and the Rampires.
We have 
in Grave Peril
vs
in Changes.

No, I think it makes sense. It's just that, while Red Court vamps are one of the groups which are strongly affected by implements of faith, Blampires are even more strongly affected by them. Red Court can be hurt and turned away by them at a distance, but Blampires can be fried by them even at a distance. At least, that's how it seemed to me in Grave Peril and Blood Rites. Which makes a kind of sense: Red Court are unnatural, soulless monsters; Black Court are even more unnatural, soulless, undead monsters. Red Court have a kind of magic flowing through them, maintaining their presence on the mortal plane; Black Court have a kind of magic flowing through them, which they not only need to maintain their presence on Earth, but also to simply animate their own bodies. They rely on it more than the Red Court does, so if something like faith magic interferes with it, they go poof faster.

Which is not to say that the Red Court isn't harmed by faith magic more easily than most beings of the Nevernever-- which, apparently, they are. It's just that Blampires have it even worse. But then, Blampires are also much more powerful, too.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Anthony on November 17, 2012, 12:51:01 PM
Questions:
1) When Harry Soulgazed Molly he saw that in one of her possible futures she was no longer human with yellow eyes. Is there somebody in the Dresden Universe that has the same yellow eyes? How can you become such a creature (inhuman with yellow eyes)

2) Harry's mom can predict the ways in the nevernever. Time is fluent in the nevernever. Did this mean that Harry's mother could also predict the speed in which time passed or choose the paths and know at which speed the time passed.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: phoenixjustice on November 17, 2012, 10:04:08 PM
Questions:
1) When Harry Soulgazed Molly he saw that in one of her possible futures she was no longer human with yellow eyes. Is there somebody in the Dresden Universe that has the same yellow eyes? How can you become such a creature (inhuman with yellow eyes)

Oh no, Molly possessed by the Yellow Eyed Basta**! (let's see who gets the reference. :P)

But in all seriousness, I can't remember anything with yellow eyes. Rampires had dark ones didn't they?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on November 17, 2012, 10:38:36 PM
Oh no, Molly possessed by the Yellow Eyed Basta**! (let's see who gets the reference. :P)

But in all seriousness, I can't remember anything with yellow eyes. Rampires had dark ones didn't they?

Supernatural?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: peregrine on November 17, 2012, 10:58:09 PM
Tera had golden eyes, did she not?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: CenturionsofRome on November 17, 2012, 11:08:44 PM
Yeah, but she was a were-human.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: peregrine on November 18, 2012, 12:02:40 AM
Were means Man, actually.  Tera would be a wolf-wo, I think.  This has been your etymology lesson for the day.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Goodknight on November 18, 2012, 12:18:00 AM
Did Santa Claus have to do a lot of marketing to get his name out (like Mab and the Grimm Fairy Tales)?  Or did humans just decide "Hey! Lets immortalize Santa Clause!"   Also, what was Mab's reaction when she found out that Santa became more famous in the mortal world than every other single fairy combined?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Anthony on November 18, 2012, 09:43:35 AM
Oh no, Molly possessed by the Yellow Eyed Basta**! (let's see who gets the reference. :P)

Molly is much too old for him. I am sure she is quite safe... ;)

But in all seriousness, I can't remember anything with yellow eyes. Rampires had dark ones didn't they?

Nothing yet has those eyes. And that is precisely the reason I would like to know the answer to that question. Ity would not surprise me if we will see characters with such eyes later on in the series (people possessed by outsiders perhaps?) Seemed like a nice question for Jim...
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on November 18, 2012, 12:44:28 PM
The eyes weren't actually yellow. Here's the description from PG:

Quote from: Proven Guilty, Ch. 41
One was an emaciated version of Molly, as though she’d been starved or strung out on hard drugs, her eyes aglow with an unpleasant, fey light.

"...her eyes aglow with an unpleasant, fey light." I'd guess that any number of supernatural creatures might be capable of crawling inside a human and causing them to look like that. We might even have seen one or two in the books already, if the creatures can cause different changes in the appearances of their victims. That look could even be the result of a bargain or series of bargains with some of the fae. Probably Winter fae, maybe even Lea.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Aesir on November 18, 2012, 03:12:33 PM
The eyes weren't actually yellow. Here's the description from PG:

"...her eyes aglow with an unpleasant, fey light." I'd guess that any number of supernatural creatures might be capable of crawling inside a human and causing them to look like that. We might even have seen one or two in the books already, if the creatures can cause different changes in the appearances of their victims. That look could even be the result of a bargain or series of bargains with some of the fae. Probably Winter fae, maybe even Lea.

Honestly, I think she's already taken her first few steps along this path. Possession isn't necesary.  The girl already looks like a junky, her sanity is borderline, and she's got an extremely dangerous faerie for a tutor. All she needs are the glowing eyes, and I'm sure Lea could arrange that as part of a bargain.  Heck, Molly herself could make her eyes glow if she wanted to look intimidating as part of her bag lady act.

Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on November 18, 2012, 03:47:51 PM
Thought of a few more questions for the Q&As:

1) Harry has claimed Demonreach as his "sanctum" with the sanctum invocation. A sanctum is a person's own, private place, their own personal sanctuary. We already know most of the practical effects of sanctum spells, but I'm wondering if there are side-effects which might be similar to claiming a place as one's home. With that in mind, could Demonreach, without Harry living there, begin to develop a threshold? Could Harry hang wards on the place even without a threshold? If Harry did start living there, would the entire island begin to develop a threshold, covering the same area that's covered by the Demonreach genius loci?

2) Lea has apparently followed Harry for his entire life, protecting him from attacks coming through from the Nevernever. Given that he has lived in several places, does this mean that Lea is able to change where a place on Earth links to in the Nevernever, so that each of his homes were linked up to her killing ground? Or has Lea simply been following him around, claiming all of the places Harry's homes connect to in the Nevernever as her own, and then creating new grounds at those places? Will Lea be able to do this if Harry decides to live on Demonreach?

3) If someone is the subject of a bargain between a fae and someone else, does that person(the subject) have any rights under Faerie law? Do they have the right to know the terms of the bargain which concerns them?


I figure the answer to the last one is "no, of course not," but it seems like there could be a chance. Fae don't always seem to advertise the rules of their behavior, but they do still follow rules, like the one where a fae has to do something if they say three times that they were meant to do it.

I'm still unclear on how that rule differs from them not being able to tell a lie, unless the difference is that fae aren't usually bound by what may happen in the future. The saying-something-three-times thing could mean that, if they say they ought to do something three times, then they are bound to do everything in their power to actually do it. Otherwise, maybe they can write the statement off as being unable to control the future or something. Which I guess could be another question:


4) How does the fae rule about saying something three times differ from the rule against saying something that isn't true? Doesn't the rule against lying also prevent a fae from saying they will do something and then not doing it?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: King Ash on November 18, 2012, 09:39:37 PM
The eyes weren't actually yellow. Here's the description from PG:

"...her eyes aglow with an unpleasant, fey light." I'd guess that any number of supernatural creatures might be capable of crawling inside a human and causing them to look like that. We might even have seen one or two in the books already, if the creatures can cause different changes in the appearances of their victims. That look could even be the result of a bargain or series of bargains with some of the fae. Probably Winter fae, maybe even Lea.

Maybe we will get a cross over with Stargate and Molly becomes a Goa'uld. :P
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AxGrinder on December 02, 2012, 06:58:59 PM
Were means Man, actually.  Tera would be a wolf-wo, I think.  This has been your etymology lesson for the day.

I applaude you for my hearty guffaw.   :D
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: KevinSig on December 02, 2012, 10:27:19 PM
I've got a question, but I'm not sure on the formatting.

Do the Fae have souls?  Harry has claimed that they don't, but was he right?  Did Harry deny Aurora both a normal life & an afterlife to boot? 

If not, what happens to their soul, does it move onto the afterlife when a Changeling chooses, or is it converted into part of the new being.

(Angels don't have free will, & are all soul, so if Harry is making the assumption that the Fae have no souls based on the lack of free will, I just assume its a mistake.)


Wordy, right?  If I get a chance, I plan to just really ask the first bit, but I figure I should put out my entire thinking here.  It was something I wanted to know, back with Aurora & Meryl, but now has come up to the forefront of my thinking.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Elegast on December 02, 2012, 10:32:41 PM
I've got a question, but I'm not sure on the formatting.

Do the Fae have souls?  Harry has claimed that they don't, but was he right?  Did Harry deny Aurora both a normal life & an afterlife to boot? 

If not, what happens to their soul, does it move onto the afterlife when a Changeling chooses, or is it converted into part of the new being.

(Angels don't have free will, & are all soul, so if Harry is making the assumption that the Fae have no souls based on the lack of free will, I just assume its a mistake.)


Wordy, right?  If I get a chance, I plan to just really ask the first bit, but I figure I should put out my entire thinking here.  It was something I wanted to know, back with Aurora & Meryl, but now has come up to the forefront of my thinking.

That's a great question, should be our n°1 priority after CD.

Personally, I'm still trying to get an answer on my "Maeve at Splattercon" theory (see my signature). I'll try at the Bitten Books Q&A.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Aesir on December 02, 2012, 10:39:13 PM
I've got a question, but I'm not sure on the formatting.

Do the Fae have souls?  Harry has claimed that they don't, but was he right?  Did Harry deny Aurora both a normal life & an afterlife to boot? 

If not, what happens to their soul, does it move onto the afterlife when a Changeling chooses, or is it converted into part of the new being.

(Angels don't have free will, & are all soul, so if Harry is making the assumption that the Fae have no souls based on the lack of free will, I just assume its a mistake.)


Wordy, right?  If I get a chance, I plan to just really ask the first bit, but I figure I should put out my entire thinking here.  It was something I wanted to know, back with Aurora & Meryl, but now has come up to the forefront of my thinking.

There are some seeming inconsistencies surrounding this subject.  Are sidhe who are not faerie queens immortal? or only the faerie queens?  How can Lily be the first "mortal" to become a faerie queen when the same thing occurred with Maeve?  and much, much earlier Mab?  How can a mortal non-fae become an immortal fae?  Does she still have her soul? Or free will?   Can such a state be forced on her against her will? What percentage of new fae aredue to fae-fae breeding, and what percentage are due to fae-human breeding?  Can fae even breed with each other?



Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: THE_ANGRY_GAMER on December 02, 2012, 10:52:36 PM
There are some seeming inconsistencies surrounding this subject.  Are sidhe who are not faerie queens immortal? or only the faerie queens?  How can Lily be the first "mortal" to become a faerie queen when the same thing occurred with Maeve?  and much, much earlier Mab?  How can a mortal non-fae become an immortal fae?  Does she still have her soul? Or free will?   Can such a state be forced on her against her will? What percentage of new fae aredue to fae-fae breeding, and what percentage are due to fae-human breeding?  Can fae even breed with each other?

Presumably, Lily was the first individual to become Lady without having Chosen or already been a Sidhe.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: robertltux on December 02, 2012, 10:58:29 PM
Therefore he isn't so good at little evocations that take a lot of pinpoint control, although he is getting better at them as the series progresses. It's big evocations that involve massive destruction and take down entire buildings that he's a natural at.  :P
Gecko insurance only covers Acts Of Harry and not Acts Of God.
do you think that maybe sometimes Harry should just go ahead and LEVEL a building just so the owner can invoke Total Loss provisions?? (building is 30% toast so go ahead and level it so save the owner a possible Fix Payout)
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Arjan on December 03, 2012, 11:16:25 AM
Presumably, Lily was the first individual to become Lady without having Chosen or already been a Sidhe.
Mab was mortal too

And I think the first queens all were.

My current theory is that when the first queen got children the first changelings were born. Some of these changelings became queen as well. It does not happen often but is was nothing new.

The big problem was that Lilly was uninformed, unprepared and not that bright to start with. Her personality was not too strong either. And Titania did not help her with anything. She was doomed to fail.

Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: KevinSig on December 03, 2012, 01:01:19 PM
We already know Fae can lie, if they don't know that they're lying.  And given how grief stricken Aurora was feeling, I expect that Lily didn't get much specific info out of her.

New suggested questions...

When: Exactly was Evil Bob created & Maeve infected?
Where: is Harry's Winter Knight brand located?  Slade had it on his neck, Fix went looking for it on Harry's wrist.  So where is it?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Arjan on December 03, 2012, 06:25:05 PM
We already know Fae can lie, if they don't know that they're lying.  And given how grief stricken Aurora was feeling, I expect that Lily didn't get much specific info out of her.

New suggested questions...

When: Exactly was Evil Bob created & Maeve infected?
Where: is Harry's Winter Knight brand located?  Slade had it on his neck, Fix went looking for it on Harry's wrist.  So where is it?
Who says Harry needs a brand? It could have been some sadistic Maeve thing.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: AcornArmy on December 03, 2012, 06:28:12 PM
Who says Harry needs a brand? It could have been some sadistic Maeve thing.

I was thinking the same thing. Well, not the sadistic part, necessarily, though I'm sure that would end up being true, too. I was thinking that if Harry had gone with Maeve at Mab's party, he probably would have come back with a brand on him somewhere so that Maeve would have something to use to control him more tightly.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: ysn on December 03, 2012, 06:41:02 PM
Here's a couple:

Whats up with Lea, where is she, why wasn't she part of the whole thing in CD?
Will Harry even attempt to get rid of the Knight mantle if now it means basically abandoning Molly? Are they together in this whole winter thing for the long run?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: KevinSig on December 03, 2012, 09:36:32 PM
Do all Wizards have a portion of Scion blood in them, which explains their talent?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: lunyboy on December 03, 2012, 09:50:29 PM
Is it really Harry writing the case files?

What does a happy ending look like for Dresden and his Allies?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Jwing on December 03, 2012, 10:33:03 PM
I really want to know if we are going to see or at least hear about more of the nevernever than just faerie. Oh, and what happened to all of the demons we saw earlier in the series. I like demons, they were cool. ;D
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Sydna on December 04, 2012, 01:06:02 AM
Do all Wizards have a portion of Scion blood in them, which explains their talent?

Unknown, but I have always thought so.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: MathGeek on December 26, 2012, 05:26:17 PM
Something that has been bugging me and I haven't seen it discussed much since Ghost Story:

Are we supposed to have figured out who said, "Hush now" and was it in response to the "Die alone!" death curse?

I would also like to hear other people's ideas on this.  I remember possibilities being: Harry's mother, Lash, Mab, & Leah.  For some reason I'm leaning toward Lash.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: GrandPanjandrum on December 26, 2012, 05:41:16 PM
Question:

In Changes, just before Harry turned her into a flat tire...did Arianna throw a death curse with the mumbled word he didn't recognize?  ;)
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Tami Seven on December 26, 2012, 06:09:16 PM
Something that has been bugging me and I haven't seen it discussed much since Ghost Story:

Are we supposed to have figured out who said, "Hush now" and was it in response to the "Die alone!" death curse?

I would also like to hear other people's ideas on this.  I remember possibilities being: Harry's mother, Lash, Mab, & Leah.  For some reason I'm leaning toward Lash.

My vote is for Mab as she was rescuing him from the water. 
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: phoenixjustice on December 26, 2012, 08:32:59 PM
Would it be possible for the White Court to take over a Denarian?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on December 26, 2012, 11:39:27 PM
And this thread starts up again within a day of me getting all the questions from it added to the big collection of posts... ;D
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: wizard nelson on December 27, 2012, 06:57:08 PM
was murphy seen as a tarnished angel in harry's sight because she was daddy's little angel before his 'suicide'?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: 123456789blaaa on January 02, 2013, 09:23:51 PM
Is a being without Free Will worth less than a being with Free Will? If you do bad things to a being without Free Will, is that okay? How should they be treated? Like humans? LIke animals? If you have a choice between saving either an unrepentant serial killer or a friendly being without Free Will, is it immoral to save the friendly being since the mortal could have changed his ways?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: 123456789blaaa on January 02, 2013, 09:25:08 PM
Do animals have Free Will? Do they have souls?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: 123456789blaaa on January 02, 2013, 09:26:50 PM
You've said before that human beings are the only beings that have Free Will. However we have since learned that angels are all soul and so presumably have Free Will (plus how did Lucifer Fall if he didn't have Free Will?). Can a Fallen be redeemed or do they lose their Free Will after they Fall?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: peregrine on January 02, 2013, 09:32:21 PM
Tera West, a wolf had no soul.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: 123456789blaaa on January 02, 2013, 09:34:55 PM
Tera West, a wolf had no soul.

Harry says in Fool Moon that she does have a soul but it is too alien to soulgaze (of course he could be wrong. In the first few books he also makes a bunch of other mistakes like saying that the 4th Law is applicable to non-mortals and saying that the 7th Law applies to demons. Harry being inexperienced is basically the rationale for the mistakes he makes in those books).
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Anthony on January 02, 2013, 09:50:52 PM
Did Mab get pregnant from Harry?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Arjan on January 02, 2013, 10:44:50 PM
Is a being without Free Will worth less than a being with Free Will? If you do bad things to a being without Free Will, is that okay? How should they be treated? Like humans? LIke animals? If you have a choice between saving either an unrepentant serial killer or a friendly being without Free Will, is it immoral to save the friendly being since the mortal could have changed his ways?
So kill Mouse if he attacks the serial killer?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: 123456789blaaa on January 03, 2013, 02:18:28 AM
So kill Mouse if he attacks the serial killer?

I don't know. That's why I'm asking.

Quote
How do you come up with the bounds between Characters free will and the Divine Hand?
For the Dresden Files, the whole point of The Almighty positive good forces that are out there is that free will is important and they respect that and you've gotta have it and use it.  That's the entire point.  They are a force of freedom.  And it's the bad guys who are going around doing whatever they can to abrogate free will.  So for me, where you draw the line is what defines where good stops and evil starts is by how much you're taking away free will and how much you're enabling it.

If I had to take a stab at an explanation that I think Jim would give, I would say that presumably Mouse is attacking for a good reason (the serial killer is trying to kill someone or Harry or whatever). Normally Harry's Free Will and The SK's Free Will are equal and so their lives are both of equal worth. However, if the serial killer kills Harry or Mouse or some other being that Mouse deems worthy of protecting, the total Free Will and/or potential for enabling Free Will (this is why beings without Free Will get a pass. Sometimes they can enable Free Will) goes down (not to mention he'll probably do it again). In order to preserve maximum Free Will the serial killers Free Will must be taken away (in an ideal situation this would never happen but the Dresdenverse is not an ideal world).

Now if Mouse just attacked the serial killer for no good reason than you might be justified in killing him. Ideally you would just subdue him because he has potential for enabling Free Will though.

Keep in mind that I'm tired right now and I'm probably forgetting some things.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Ben de Wal on January 03, 2013, 02:33:28 AM
You've said before that human beings are the only beings that have Free Will. However we have since learned that angels are all soul and so presumably have Free Will (plus how did Lucifer Fall if he didn't have Free Will?). Can a Fallen be redeemed or do they lose their Free Will after they Fall?
angels don't have free will they hav to act with in set  pramiters,  countering  the fallen  is one  thats why uriel can only wisper 7 words  to harry
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: 123456789blaaa on January 03, 2013, 02:36:26 AM
angels don't have free will they hav to act with in set  pramiters,  countering  the fallen  is one  thats why uriel can only wisper 7 words  to harry

The whole thing with angels and Free Will is much much murkier than you say. To take one example, how did Satan fall if he didn't have Free Will?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Ben de Wal on January 03, 2013, 02:41:12 AM
 could be :D maybe they had it  before motals came about  and since they had so much power they had  to have restriction on there abilty to effect the mortal world
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: 123456789blaaa on January 03, 2013, 02:43:12 AM
could be :D maybe they had it  before motals came about  and since they had so much power they had  to have restriction on there abilty to effect the mortal world

Who knows?

Jim does. That's why I'm asking him in this thread. I'd like some hard answers instead of murkyness.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Ben de Wal on January 03, 2013, 02:49:03 AM
 if this hlp...
 i sveral actully uriel said clearly amused all designed for your protection but  there are som thing i can tell you
 so angels are bound by laws at the very least
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: 123456789blaaa on January 03, 2013, 02:50:40 AM
if this hlp...
 i sveral actully uriel said clearly amused all designed for your protection but  there are som thing i can tell you
 so angels are bound by laws at the very least

Humans can be bound by laws too.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Ben de Wal on January 03, 2013, 03:00:08 AM
 sorry i just cheated and wentto the woj There is a rather long discussion as to what constitutes free will as an element in the back end of this book (Ghost Story).  Is what is presented and discussed as a concept, your own philosophy?  How did that come about, the idea that free will is making your choices based upon truth.
Right, and in the Dresden Files universe it's a vital component.  It's what devides mortals, human beings, from everybody else.  Is that we're the ones that have elements of both good and evil inside us, we're the ones who get to chose what to do.  And because that's who we are, we make the world around us through those choices.  The forces of the universe, these cosmic forces are always ballanced against one another, and we're the ones who can tilt that see-saw one way or another with our actions.  I think that is largely true in real life, but it is certainly a very fun, dramatic use of the concept of free will for writing with.  It's very important in general, and that's why Harry, as he's gotten more mature, he's striven so much harder to make sure that other people have a choice, you know, he's not trying to make choices for people any more, he's trying to make sure that they know what's going on, and can make an informed choice.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Arjan on January 03, 2013, 04:56:38 AM
I don't know. That's why I'm asking.

If I had to take a stab at an explanation that I think Jim would give, I would say that presumably Mouse is attacking for a good reason (the serial killer is trying to kill someone or Harry or whatever). Normally Harry's Free Will and The SK's Free Will are equal and so their lives are both of equal worth. However, if the serial killer kills Harry or Mouse or some other being that Mouse deems worthy of protecting, the total Free Will and/or potential for enabling Free Will (this is why beings without Free Will get a pass. Sometimes they can enable Free Will) goes down (not to mention he'll probably do it again). In order to preserve maximum Free Will the serial killers Free Will must be taken away (in an ideal situation this would never happen but the Dresdenverse is not an ideal world).

Now if Mouse just attacked the serial killer for no good reason than you might be justified in killing him. Ideally you would just subdue him because he has potential for enabling Free Will though.

Keep in mind that I'm tired right now and I'm probably forgetting some things.
Or maybe the serial killer attacked Mouse because he likes killing beings without free will.

Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: peregrine on January 03, 2013, 05:49:37 AM
The Fae cannot lie, but they can be mistaken.  Does being fae grant one absolute self knowledge, or can they be mistaken about their own intentions and motivations, and thus "lie" to themselves?

Re: the above question, when Lily said she had not chosen, was she correct that she had not chosen her human or fae heritage, but that in accepting the Mantle, that choice was made for her? (see also actions determining other Scions choices)

At this point in time, can you give us a general rundown of Harry's strengths as a magicican?  He was especially skilled at thaumaturgy in the beginning, not so much evocation.  Has that changed with a decade or more of being in novels?  Are his multiple necromantic feats evidence of any special skill in that field, or just stuff he gets away with because of special circumstances/it's awesome?

Would you say that in general, Power and Purpose are linked?  That creatures that are outrageously powerful are so because they attach themselves to a specific purpose, like a train that is incredibly powerful, but only on train tracks, vs a car that can go on any roads?  (The metaphor being expandable to derailing being entirely intentional.)

What would happen to someone who spends a year or more in the nevernever, eating nevernever food, breathing nevernever air, then returns to the real world?  Do they get sick/die as all the ectoplasmic stuff in their bodies turns to goo, or does it metaphysically become one with them?

Just how pissed will Charity be?

Are we going to see any stories from Morgan's PoV?  Set a while back, obviously, but I'd love to see him do a Dungeon Crawl on some magical bad guys.  Kick in the door, and apply sword, fire, and boot to ass all up and down the battlemap.

If Harry had had the presence of mind to throw a Death Curse, would that have caused problems for him re: meeting Jack, and setting the plot of Ghost Story in motion?  Or would it have progressed the same, + changes from the affects of his curse?

Is Joe the janitor at the train station in Small Favor actually just a janitor, or is he, like Uriel, an angel in disguise?
And if so, is he Autobot or Decepticon?

Will we ever see some of the Supernaturally clued in mundane authorities in action?  Or does that not fit Harry's idiom?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: rad on January 03, 2013, 06:00:25 AM
Free will as humans have it has more to do with the range of choices and the ability to go against one's nature.  A human can go around changing their mind, act in whatever way, and then change again with incredibly different repercussions.  Other creatures, like the Fey, can't go against their nature.  The Great Tit can't go around being cold and calculating just like Mab can't go around being all flowers and sunshine (without some sort of Mabish plan in the background).  As far as the fallen go, when they chose to rebel they became that choice.  That choice completely changed what they were on a certain level.  It is the same way that the messengers of the holy people became skinwalkers.  They were angelic beings and when they changed they became like shagnasty.  A human, however messed up, would still be a human. 
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on January 03, 2013, 06:13:50 AM
Quote
At this point in time, can you give us a general rundown of Harry's strengths as a magicican?  He was especially skilled at thaumaturgy in the beginning, not so much evocation.  Has that changed with a decade or more of being in novels?  Are his multiple necromantic feats evidence of any special skill in that field, or just stuff he gets away with because of special circumstances/it's awesome?

It's changed, Harry has gone from "my fire evocation sucks (and evocation in general)" to the quote below.

Quote from: Cold Days Chapter 21
I hadn’t used much fire magic lately, obviously. You don’t go messing around conjuring up flame when you’re at the heart of Winter. There are things there that hate that action. But fire magic has always been my strongest suit. It was the first fully realized spell I ever mastered, and on a good day I could hang around in the same general league as any other wizard in the world when it came to fire magic.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: peregrine on January 03, 2013, 06:17:17 AM
I'm not crazy though, right?  In the beginning, his evocation wasn't so hot, because even though he used it in fights, he only had a small handful of spells he actually used.  Or that's how I remember it.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on January 03, 2013, 06:23:57 AM
I'm not crazy though, right?  In the beginning, his evocation wasn't so hot, because even though he used it in fights, he only had a small handful of spells he actually used.  Or that's how I remember it.

You're not crazy, he's changed from a shoddy evoker to a rather good one.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: KurtinStGeorge on January 03, 2013, 07:27:59 AM
Twice in earlier books; in Storm Front and Proven guilty, Harry has talked about unleashing an attack based on animals or insects.  He thought of sending a flood of rats into the Varsity Club when he confronted Marcone in Storm Front and in Proven Guilty he joked with Karrin that he'd like to send a torrent of cockroaches in City Hall and watch "the suits" come running out of the building.

Will Harry ever use such an attack?  Would he be summoning actual rats and roaches or would they be something from the never-never that just looked like the real thing? If he has had this ability since SF why hasn't he used it yet?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Arjan on January 03, 2013, 07:40:41 AM
Twice in earlier books; in Storm Front and Proven guilty, Harry has talked about unleashing an attack based on animals or insects.  He thought of sending a flood of rats into the Varsity Club when he confronted Marcone in Storm Front and in Proven Guilty he joked with Karrin that he'd like to send a torrent of cockroaches in City Hall and watch "the suits" come running out of the building.

Will Harry ever use such an attack?  Would he be summoning actual rats and roaches or would they be something from the never-never that just looked like the real thing? If he has had this ability since SF why hasn't he used it yet?
Because it is cruelty to animals :)
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: wizard nelson on January 03, 2013, 07:45:10 AM
Quote
If Harry had had the presence of mind to throw a Death Curse, would that have caused problems for him re: meeting Jack, and setting the plot of Ghost Story in motion?  Or would it have progressed the same, + changes from the affects of his curse?
yea i've always thought that a death curse was a wizard unwittingly putting every last drop of soulfire into a last spell. idk if this means the soul is gone though, i tend to think of it as the glass(soul) being emptied(life gone). the shell of the soul is still left but lacks the substance of life? makes me wonder who cast the first death curse, what its DV origins are?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Socratov on January 03, 2013, 09:25:38 AM
You're not crazy, he's changed from a shoddy evoker to a rather good one.
almost. he went from shoddy invocator to shoddy invocator with quite the ammopack, to shoddy evocator on steroids (hellfire), to somewhat skilled evocator without steroids but with aimbot (exchange hellfire for soulfire), to skilled evocator with aimbot (training Molly), to nothing (ghost), to very skilled again with aimbot (Mab's training plan, and retaining the soulfire) and yet again increased ammo (WK mantle). what I want to know is:

"Will the event of harry invoking his own name  to use against the outsider signify an increase, or realization thereof, of power for Harry?"

that's all. it really struck me as odd when it happened and even though it wasn't mentioned again, it seemed significant.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: wizard nelson on January 03, 2013, 09:29:13 AM
Quote
"Will the event of harry invoking his own name  to use against the outsider signify an increase, or realization thereof, of power for Harry?"
i feel this in someway invoked his starborn status. notice he uses it to perfectly command an outsider?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on January 03, 2013, 09:38:17 AM
yea i've always thought that a death curse was a wizard unwittingly putting every last drop of soulfire into a last spell. idk if this means the soul is gone though, i tend to think of it as the glass(soul) being emptied(life gone). the shell of the soul is still left but lacks the substance of life? makes me wonder who cast the first death curse, what its DV origins are?

Explain to me why Harry having Soulfire is a big deal if every wizard can use it? Personally I write off what's used in a Death Curse as life energy like Harry says it is.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: wizard nelson on January 03, 2013, 09:59:05 AM
Explain to me why Harry having Soulfire is a big deal if every wizard can use it? Personally I write off what's used in a Death Curse as life energy like Harry says it is.
soul fire IS life energy, thats my point. and every wizard can't just use it, they have to throw their lifeforce(soulfire) into it, hence "unwittingly". i pointed out i don't believe this negates the soul because the shell still exists. your misinterpreting me.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on January 03, 2013, 10:04:02 AM
soul fire IS life energy, thats my point. and every wizard can't just use it, they have to throw their lifeforce(soulfire) into it, hence "unwittingly". i pointed out i don't believe this negates the soul because the shell still exists. your misinterpreting me.

Explain where you get the idea that Soulfire = life energy.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: wizard nelson on January 03, 2013, 10:08:56 AM
Explain to me why Harry having Soulfire is a big deal if every wizard can use it? Personally I write off what's used in a Death Curse as life energy like Harry says it is.
Explain where you get the idea that Soulfire = life energy.
explain to me where you get your death curse=life energy? :o
because harry references things associated with living life to things that create more soul. meaning experiencing life feeds the soul. (soul food anyone lol?) its a small logical leap from there.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: TheCuriousFan on January 03, 2013, 10:14:37 AM
explain to me where you get your death curse=life energy? :o
because harry references things associated with living life to things that create more soul. meaning experiencing life feeds the soul. (soul food anyone lol?) its a small logical leap from there.

Quote from: Summer Knight Chapter 27
Which left me with one last spell to throw. I closed my eyes for a moment, reaching inside, gathering up the magic, the life force within me. Any wizard has a reservoir of power inherent in him, power drawn from the core of his self rather than from his surroundings. Aurora's circle could cut me off from drawing upon ambient magic to fuel a spell - but it couldn't stop me from using the energy within me.

Granted, once used, there wouldn't be anything left to keep me breathing, my heart pumping, and electricity going through my brain. But then, that's why they call it a death curse, isn't it?

Sounds less like using the soul up and more like using everything the body needs to keep running.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: wizard nelson on January 03, 2013, 10:19:04 AM
Sounds less like using the soul up and more like using everything the body needs to keep running.
same difference is my point, the fire(life) leaves the body and simply leaves a diminished soul behind. actually for all we know a death curse causes the wizard to cease to exist. :o it would be kinda hard for anyone to figure it out anyway, except a necromancer?
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Socratov on January 03, 2013, 10:33:52 AM
i feel this in someway invoked his starborn status. notice he uses it to perfectly command an outsider?
Which is exactly why I ask the question. I just lawyered around it a bit to not force Jim to spoil the beans, but still answer a little  ;)
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: wizard nelson on January 03, 2013, 10:37:31 AM
Which is exactly why I ask the question. I just lawyered around it a bit to not force Jim to spoil the beans, but still answer a little  ;)
my goal is to spoil as many of jim's beans as possible to force him into developing his ability to create cryptic clues and ongoing mysteries. nothing like a little motivation to develop talent ;)
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Socratov on January 03, 2013, 10:41:03 AM
my goal is to spoil as many of jim's beans as possible to force him into developing his ability to create cryptic clues and ongoing mysteries. nothing like a little motivation to develop talent ;)
Granted, but I like what he is doing now. I only want to satisfy my curiosity a bit (however impossible that is), not force ijm to change completely. Besides, if the clues are too obscure it will seem like retconning, and I'd like slightly more forewarning then just 1 word wich may or indeed may not indicate whatever...  ;)

a little motivation s cool, but don't overdo it  :D
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: wizard nelson on January 03, 2013, 10:44:19 AM
Granted, but I like what he is doing now. I only want to satisfy my curiosity a bit (however impossible that is), not force ijm to change completely. Besides, if the clues are too obscure it will seem like retconning, and I'd like slightly more forewarning then just 1 word wich may or indeed may not indicate whatever...  ;)

a little motivation s cool, but don't overdo it  :D
i'm not forcing him to change. just to grow as a great author and mystery writer. if we all prove his books too easy to decipher and predict he'll know to step it up a notch.
not to say we've been doing a terribly good job deciphering clues so far...
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: Socratov on January 03, 2013, 11:15:39 AM
i'm not forcing him to change. just to grow as a great author and mystery writer. if we all prove his books too easy to decipher and predict he'll know to step it up a notch.
not to say we've been doing a terribly good job deciphering clues so far...
but then again, the collective mind of the DF community makes those things easier then a person on his or her own. and I think a balance must be maintained where a person on his/her own shuld stay able to do these things.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: 123456789blaaa on January 03, 2013, 08:03:48 PM
Or maybe the serial killer attacked Mouse because he likes killing beings without free will.

Yeah but that's still wrong because Mouse is an enabler for Free Will. If the Serial Killer kills him he is lowering the total amount of Free Will thus you should stop the serial killer from doing that.
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: KurtinStGeorge on January 04, 2013, 01:38:20 AM
Here's a question I hope someone would ask; probably sometime in 2014, when the next book is released.

You have stated that you want Harry's love life to grow organically, not be mapped out as most major plot points have been.  Even though you can't (or won't) give us any details, can you as the writer now see how it is going to play out.  Can you now say to yourself, "Yes, I know who Harry is going to end up with?"

A direct answer to that question would tell me if Jim now has a solid plan or understanding of where Harry's love life needs to go, or if we are likely to see a lot more pointless start and stop, I want to but I can't commit because I'm not ready, because your not ready, because the moon is out of phase, whatever, nonsense. 
Title: Re: [CD Sample Chapters - Spoilers] Suggestion Box for the Upcoming Q&As
Post by: rekshek on January 04, 2013, 01:41:44 AM
Will we learn more of about what got Lovecraft killed/will the mythos of Lovecraft take a more predominate role in the series down the road?