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Player Information

Name: Tri
Contact: tricia868 or tricia868 at gmail dot com


Character Information

Name: Karrin Murphy
Fandom: The Dresden Files
Background: Karrin's father, Collin "Jack" Murphy, was in law enforcement, as are many of the men in her family, including her brothers. Though she doesn't know it, her father's job was very similar to hers; before the development of Karrin's division of Special Investigations, he was one of the detectives given the stranger cases, the ones touching on the supernatural. The job got to him, and he turned to alcohol, killing himself when Karrin was only eleven.

This is very likely a large part of the reason that Karrin's mother opposes her job. Marion Murphy saw what it did to her husband, and knowing she couldn't talk the boys out of continuing in the family profession, she held hopes for her girls. Her worries are only made worse in light of which division Karrin runs. Mrs. Murphy is sharp enough to read between the lines and knows what her daughter faces.

Growing up, it was always assumed that Karrin, the oldest daughter, would follow in her mother's footsteps, with wife and mother as her most important roles. Karrin expected it too. She married young, at seventeen, and her husband, Greg, left her. They didn't talk afterward, only fighting when they tried. He died of cancer years later, and Karrin didn't find out until reading his obituary in the paper. In the intervening time, she had been married a second time. This marriage ended in divorce as well because he wanted a family; her job was too important to her for Karrin to give it up and have children. Her second husband is her current brother in law. Rich later married Karrin's much younger sister, Lisa, and is starting a family with her.

When Lieutenant Murphy was shunted into SI and given command there, unlike most who received the job, she quickly caught on to the fact that some things going bump in the night were not strictly human. She hired on the services of Chicago's only professional wizard and accepted his help and knowledge with far less disbelief than most ordinary humans.

While Harry provided her with partial information, Karrin was only able to give him partial trust. Eventually, she told him she wanted in. All the way, nothing held back. Karrin hated knowing that there are things out there she doesn't understand, from which she has no chance of protecting the citizens of Chicago. That lack of understanding had dire consequences. When she arrested a werewolf during the day of the full moon, there was a massacre within the precinct that night. Police officers and prisoners alike were torn to pieces.

Karrin has faced down trolls, werewolves, vampires, faeries, and more in the line of duty. She has had to fabricate information for her reports because, unlike an unfortunate medical examiner, she is well aware that trying to declare the truth will only earn her a stint in the mental hospital. "Terrorists" tends to be a very good explanation when she needs one.

After clearing out a nest of vampires in his company, Karrin got romantically involved with a not-quite-human mercenary named Kincaid. Their relationship went on for a few years and was physical rather than emotional, though Karrin was too caring not to develop some feelings for him. They suited one another, and he knew her well enough to give her guns as gifts rather than flowers or jewelry.

She commanded her division well, keeping her subordinates together and coordinating them to deal with supernatural threats that ordinarily would be entirely unmanageable for a human police force. Karrin Murphy was good at her job. When a teenage girl, the daughter of a friend of Harry's, was kidnapped by Fae during an ongoing investigation, Karrin considered the girl's safety before the regulations to which she was bound. She, along with the girl's mother, Harry, and Harry's half-brother Thomas, conducted a raid into the Winter Court of Faerie to rescue her. Time passes differently in the Nevernever, and by the time she returned, twenty four hours had passed. Karrin, having been in charge of the investigation and possessing no acceptable explanation for her absence, was demoted to Sergeant and lost command of SI as well as all of her seniority.

Personality: Karrin is conflicted on a lot of important fronts for someone who is so straightforward and outwardly confident. She is decisive and will not hesitate to do what she deems necessary, but in some situations, it comes at a price. Her job is the most important thing in her life, so much so that she will sacrifice it in order to perform it to the best of her abilities. You can't tell your superiors that a girl was kidnapped off to the Nevernever and that's why you disappeared during an important investigation, but it would be worse to leave the girl to die. She will protect her city and its citizens to the very best of her abilities regardless of personal cost. The loss will affect her terribly, but she refuses to regret any of it. As she'll later say after another devastating blow to her career, "I knew what I was doing. I took the risks. I paid for it. And I'll keep doing it for as long as I damned well please. Don't try to take that from me."

Every time she has had to set aside the law in order to save lives has cost her something. Karrin is a cop in every way, and it took her a long time to come to grips with the fact that some dangers cannot be stopped while within the confines of the law. It took a lot for her to rise above the loss of faith in herself, her purpose, and the world around her that resulted from the realization.

Then there's her personal life. Her divorces bother her more than she'll ever willingly admit, especially in light of what has happened since each of them. Murphy is afraid of developing any emotional connection if she doesn't feel it can last, limiting herself to physical relationships with people about whom she doesn't feel quite strongly enough to think she'll fall in love. At the same time, she desperately wants someone with whom she can have a family and grow old. A part of Karrin does measure success in terms of personal relationships and starting a family, probably due to her mother's influence.

Karrin is intelligent, stubborn, unwilling to discard the truth in favor of blissful ignorance, and willing to take on any odds to protect people. She is good at evaluating the capabilities of those around her and fostering comraderie within groups when necessary. Murph wears her hair shorter than she likes it most of the time because she refuses to appear vain or feminine in front of her department. You will never see her in a dress anywhere other than a family function, and then only if her mother made the garment; she hates dresses. She is a hard worker and has trained constantly to prove to men who look like they could snap her in half that she is at the very least their equal in a fight. Karrin has a temper, and Harry has a chipped tooth to prove it.

Murphy is solid, dependable, level-headed in most crises, and unshakable unless you know exactly which weak points to hit. Family seems to be good at that, so Karrin dreads family reunions. She is a devout Catholic in spite of the divorces. She is also an intensely loyal friend.

Powers/Abilities: Karrin Murphy has no supernatural abilities outside of the protection afforded her against certain creatures within her series by her faith in God. She is, however, very competent with guns, trained in martial arts (aikido specifically), and much more formidable than anyone would expect from looking at her.



Karrin Murphy is the creation of Jim Butcher, and Sarah Jones belongs to herself.