The Dresden Files

[HAWK|5E] The Dresden Files is an urban fantasy series, blending hard-boiled detective noir with supernatural elements. Set primarily in Chicago. You're a private investigator in a Chicago most people never see. The woman who hired you thinks her husband is cheating; he is actually feeding something. The kid who went missing didn't run away. The police closed the file because the truth doesn't fit in a report, and the truth is why they gave you the number. The work is legwork. You knock on doors, call in favors, sit in a car across from a bar and wait. When the magic comes it comes fast and it costs. A shield bracelet and a circle drawn in advance are worth more than raw power, and knowing what the thing across from you is afraid of is worth more than either. Fights are short here, and they leave marks that do not go away by the next scene. You don't have to be a wizard. You can be a cop who has seen too much, a changeling with one foot in each world, a Knight of the Cross with a nail in your pocket, or something with a Court and a crown. Whoever you are, the city runs on favors and everybody keeps count. Close enough cases and the White Council knows your name, the vampires write it down, and a Sidhe you have never met uses it correctly. Being known is a debt as often as an asset, and it doesn't come off your record. None of it is on rails. The books happened, and everything after the moment you sit down is yours to change or to make worse. Mac pours the beer and says nothing. Murphy answers the phone. The next case is already waiting. Grab a stool and ask around.