I got pondering it because well, Alchs have a submodule to teach people Charms and Spells but despite it being a charm for Literally Everyone Else, for Mortals Sorcery is a Merit. XD
#Exalted
tulip folio
fierce star
and like. The five stations were not skippable, at least by RAW and RAI, in ex2.
you could teach sorcerers, there were academies all over the place, but a lot of them start off learning some thaumaturgy and then flunk out around the stations of Journey or Fear.
marsh garden
the five stations seem neat
fierce star
they were really cool.
Iki made a point of it over a couple of ex2 games where had characters that would have loved to have learned sorcery, but utterly failed ato ne of the stations and so didn't (well, one did, but infernals got to cheat in ex2)
bleak hazel
I have definitely framed my musings about whether Rival can learn sorcery around the Five Stations
mighty rover
bleak hazel
namely, if he ever gets it it will be because he sacrifices his desire to become a great sorceror to become a sorceror at all
(despite his dad leaving him a cool tome and lots of advice on it, which leaves him feeling quite distraught when it just doesn't work)
tulip folio
Dream was Occult 5. She would never be able to learn Sorcery because the first station is Humility and Dream was the Solarist Solar To Solar. XD
Integrity is a caste ability, she doesn't have opinions, she has facts
bleak hazel
he'll never be that good at it, but he might get terrestrial circle eventually just because he needs occult 5 and two occult charms to make his build work and he might eventually get two more in Investigation for Bending The Mirror
ISOB control is a nice boost and fitting for the one spell he can actually cast reliably
bleak hazel
Rival would not have approached it ever if a) his partner was anyone other than Grinning Mask, most sorceror to ever sorceror and b) his dad hadn't left him the big book of sorcery and featured it prominently as a thing his badass successor was expected to be great at
marsh garden
was there an equivalent to the five stations for necromancy in 2e, just the same things, or nothing at all and it was entirely different?
bleak hazel
maxed Rival will be a better fighter than Gleam ever was and a lot more charismatic, he has some big presence investment, but Gleam had celestial sorcery + more war charms
prisma sun
Drifts voice: "Have you considered that martial arts is sorcerery?"
bleak hazel
their E5 builds are about the same as crafters
coral wraith
Rival would not have approached it ever if a) his partner was anyone other than ...
GM inspiring Rival like that is quite cute, actually
Maybe Rival inspired GM to train Flying Guillotine...
tulip folio
was there an equivalent to the five stations for necromancy in 2e, just the same...
@fierce star I don't 100% recall on this front, do you?
fierce star
Yes
necromancy followed the same stations, except sacrifice was usually a lot more visceral
bleak hazel
500 requests to spar with him until Grinning Mask finally learns a spell that lets them not get dropped on the mat within fifteen seconds
fierce star
one of my NPC necromancers in the game Dream was in sacrificed her mobility and her legs literally rotted off.
marsh garden
that's pretty metal
bleak hazel
I do feel that Gleam's successor lacking a fair amount of the big scope powers his dad had is perhaps a shame but on the other hand his maxed build is my entry to fight Ligier so I can't really complain about not having enough space for stuff other than being a combat wombat
he will eventually collect a few basic war charms, the Craft social engineering tree and Prophecy, which will be plenty
Gleam probably didn't have Craft (Social Group), he was in this to make artifacts and fundamentally didn't have the lightness of heart to spend time learning how to make fancy outfits
whereas Rival was a silversmith before he was anything else and he clings quite tightly to his art as a way to connect with people
art and violence
fierce star
That was a fun campaign tbh, caravanning across the south. It died as they were heading to Gem.
so it never got to explode
a clown was going to do it
velvet raft
Mortalgame today
fierce star
good luck, die well
velvet raft
It's game time and voice is fucked aaaaaaaaa
buoyant summit
Nooooo!!!!
velvet raft
We got the session going on Zoom, thankfully
velvet raft
First combat done! Victory!
marsh garden
nice
is anyone in mortalgame a sorcerer?
or a beastman
or are you all podunk nobody baselines
ik you've got MA dots, but
velvet raft
is anyone in mortalgame a sorcerer?
We’ve got a sorcerer, yeah
velvet raft
Stormwind Rider
marsh garden
waow
lament owl
What if instead of exalted it was antalted and you were ants
marsh garden
exanted
marsh garden
he's not unc...
tulip folio
Denial-Invoking Terror
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Strength 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Mute, Psyche
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: A Thing
The terror a dragon invokes assaults the mind just as much as the heart, many unable to process the emotions and acting in complete denial of the source of fear that controls them.
The Wanderer makes a special ([Strength] + Presence or Bureaucracy) threaten roll. Instead of Appearance, the wanderer may instead add a number of non-charm dice to this roll equal to the amount her resources exceeds the average Resources of characters around her Characters with Resolve lower than her successes will pay no attention to her or her affairs. While they remember the encounter, they steadfastly refuse to think about or discuss the encounter for this Charm’s duration, as dread silences their mind.
A non-trivial character can spend one Willpower to resist this influence if the Wanderer directly and overtly interacts with him or if she threatens one of his Major or Defining Intimacies. He can also do so if another character succeeds on a persuade roll to convince him to pay attention to the Infernal or talk about the encounter, treating this as an inconvenient task (Exalted, p. 216).
This Charm ends if the Wanderer makes an attack, rolls Join Battle, or takes a similar hostile action.
Keys:
Wilful Ignorance Dividends: Affected characters with Resources lower than the Wanderer's Resources not only refuse to think about it, their minds are so shaken by the difference in station they actively forget, increasing the difficulty to remember events from that encounter to (Wanderer's Essence +2) even once this charm's duration ends.
Better-Him-Than-Me Mantra(Essence 3): This charm does not end if the Wanderer takes a hostile action, though taking hostile action reduces the level of intimacy required to be allowed to resist to trivial. Characters the hostile action is directly taken against automatically resist for no cost.
New Wanderer Strength Charm
marsh garden
interesting stealth charm in strength, i appreciate the influence you mentioned from the mega rich light-bending guy
tulip folio
Yeah, the idea is that the Wanderer has the Beuro charms in Strength too.
As the Dragon is about wealth and resources.
Unequalled Tyrant Hoard
Cost: —; Mins: Strength 3, Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Wanderer draws on the fierce nature of a Dragon, a great beast that is unmatched master of its wealth through sheer terror and force.
The Wanderer may use Strength instead of other attributes (Ignoring bonus dots of strength) when completing leadership projects or other bureaucratic tasks and can treat herself as having or lacking the Hideous Merit as benefits her for such tasks, as her terrifying mien does not impede her leadership in the slightest.
At the end of each story, if the actions of a foe or the failure of a project has caused the Wanderer to lose dots in Resources, Cult or Backing, she regains (Essence/2, rounded up) lost dots divided among those merits as she claws back her dominion from the world.
They have this as a 'swap stats' charm
Dragon's Ire Wanderers when you keep killing their cult/stealing their money.
marsh garden
crossposting here, just in case someone has helpful precedent or previous arbitration
couldn't find anything in any books that explicitly say one way or another, although i assume that the anima power/charm/etc. would just fizzle because the target is no longer valid
velvet raft
I'm pretty sure this is a big "who knows?"
marsh garden
velvet raft
Tragically, Tomb of Dreams does not explain how familiars actually work >_>
marsh garden
fierce star
I forget, was it here or elsewhere where we had the 'are demons always retainers or are they sometimes familiars for non-infernals' discussion
marsh garden
I forget, was it here or elsewhere where we had the 'are demons always retainers...
considering the fact that you cannot have a 1CD as a familiar unless you're a twilight or an infernal, i imagine they're always retainers
bleak hazel
you can finesse a 1cd familiar with Essence 3 Sid Ride but you have to turn them into a horse first
umas only
marsh garden
okay yeah fair, sids can do whatever as well
sid charm, infernal charm, or twilight anima power
otherwise no demon familiars for anyone
fierce star
I, personally, disagree. A first circle demon is a retainer if you are using it for retainery things--a blood ape bodyguard or a neomah courtesan would be a retainer. A frist circle demon is a familiar if you're using it for familiar things--an agatae mount, or stomach bottle bugs doing stomach bottle things. The latter can't be targtted with charms unless they explicitly can target spiritual familiars, which is what the twilight bit is for. Or at least that was my ruling on it prior to infernals having the demon-thrall goetia ruling in their merits section.
fierce star
Yes, this is etirely a brainfeel ruling fo rme, but I wouldnt' call my agata mount my retainer.
marsh garden
filling in the blanks from "you need to take charms for elemental compatibility"
bleak hazel
that Sid charm is honestly not very useful because they are still allowed to oppose you, but it is a good fight-ender if you ever need to fuck with Octavian or whatever
tulip folio
that Sid charm is honestly not very useful because they are still allowed to opp...
It's mostly good for 'hahahah, sucks to be you' if you don't wanna actually Kill The Demon.
velvet raft
that Sid charm is honestly not very useful because they are still allowed to opp...
It’s very funny that Sids can just sorta inexplicably turn an enemy of fate into Tripitaka’s horse
tulip folio
I do kinda feel like the Horse A Demon charm should have an upgrade to let you get some of the benefits of the demon back
As the 'use the lower of the demon or the horse stats' runs into horse stats are garbage
marsh garden
(the elemental carve-out i'm talking about)
of course, deebs' is uh
very expensive
but it's been around for a hot second
tulip folio
Lunars have a matching one for Fae
Which is a lot beefier
As Fae essence values are very low for their power
marsh garden
so yeah, "need a charm to take a spirit as a familiar" does not surprise me
oh yeah, cataphracts are like
e3 or some shit, aren't they
tulip folio
E2
fierce star
the lunar fae one can also get an upgrade for ghosts.
marsh garden
jeegus
fierce star
but, again, does it not like
does no one else think calling your agata mount a retainer feel weird
bleak hazel
I do kinda feel like the Horse A Demon charm should have an upgrade to let you g...
if you permanently transfigure them you can bind them as a familiar, which lets them use better of horse or their traits and their charms
but anything bigger than a 1cd isn't going to work that way
tulip folio
The Cataphract one is really nice with the lunar charm that is 'one of my familiars reflexively clashes an attack against me'
bleak hazel
I do quite like the idea of a Stomach Bottle Horse that can just kind of wiggle through rocks
tulip folio
As the base 16 pool for cataphracts can stop a decent number of decisive attacks
marsh garden
does no one else think calling your agata mount a retainer feel weird
well, it's a person, is it not
bleak hazel
which is funny because normally the situation you want to get in vs a cataphract is one where you have an init lead that lets you clash him repeatedly
because in that case you get to use one excellency for attack and defence against his huge static pools and that way you can reliably beat him for a non-exorbitant cost
marsh garden
"normal" familiars mostly become person-level intelligences when you've juiced them up
bleak hazel
but if the Cataphract is the one clashing he can pick lowball attacks rather than highball
marsh garden
actually, on the topic
i think abyssals don't actually have the ability to take ghosts as familiars
tulip folio
They can get the Uberzombie as one with medicine iirc
marsh garden
they just get equivalent things in medicine's corpse-soldiers and lore's nightmares
bleak hazel
wait hang on what essence is a Cataphact?
fierce star
three dot familiars are explicilty allowed to be sapient, though. Haltan monkeys are a given cor ebook example.
tulip folio
wait hang on what essence is a Cataphact?
e2!
bleak hazel
I've just realised Fiend-Humbling Horsemanship doesn't specify demons
"un-exalted enemy of fate"
tulip folio
Yeah, that works. Fae are not spirits but they are a horse of course.
marsh garden
yeah it works on every demon, ghost, and fae
bleak hazel
the question is if binding them as a familiar gets you the tie of loyalty
tulip folio
Unexalted Enemy of Fate: Deathlords
bleak hazel
the Mask of Whinnys
tulip folio
Obviously, you can't do this to Faffle unless you also make his armour pony-shaped
marsh garden
yeah, it's kind of just an autowin button against every DL not named the lion, i think
bleak hazel
can't permanently transform those anyway, they're too swole
marsh garden
of course, that requires beating a D7-9 gambit, but
tulip folio
Still very funny to send the Lover Clad In Raiment of Tears running back home As A Horse even if it's not permanent.
bleak hazel
I'm trying to find generic rules for binding familiars but can't
tulip folio
I think it's fully just 'core.jpg'
Familiars are whatever the GM agrees is a familiar.
And considering Tyrant Lizards are there, the things that are off the table is limited in terms of 'too powerful'
coral wraith
well, it's a person, is it not
Infernals make it very explicit demons are people, even if they have weird moral systems
fierce star
I'm not sure if my opinion is this strong because of hte number of three dot first circle demon familiars i've taken prior to infernals has me with a strong sense of like, sunkc ost
becuase a FCD is definitely a three dot familiar if it's a familiar, but also, that's one dot more than a retainer
marsh garden
Infernals make it very explicit demons are people, even if they have weird moral...
yeah, that was mostly a rhetorical question
fierce star
so mechanically I should be arguing they're all retainers regardless
bleak hazel
unfortunately I can't use Bridle of Mercury to enforce my familiar cataphract's obedience because it's a fae, not a horse
tulip folio
Every sorta supernatural being in exalted is A Person at their core. Demons, Elementals, Wyld Beings etc.
fierce star
That'sf air
marsh garden
huh
bleak hazel
does having the option to use horse traits make a cataphract better in any way other than making them an excellent mount
tulip folio
Hmm...
bleak hazel
gives them +4 dice on combat movement and double 9s on disengage, I guess
otherwise horses are unfortunately not a great upgrade on giant scary raksha warriors
tulip folio
Yeah. Still 4 dice on combat movement isn't bad.
bleak hazel
it's what your cataphract gets for being mounted normally, yeah
tulip folio
En Garde: As long as there is no more than one non-trivial enemy Close to the Raksha Duelist, it has heavy cover and it's attacks gain double 9s.
Speaking of Raksha, I am working on more Fae Quick Characters.
In this case, being able to throw 'A Lancelot' at PCs. A terrifying duelist, if less 'Oh and I have a free army' of the Cataphract.
bleak hazel
given fae aren't inherently hostile I'm not sure it would be an incredibly absurd proposition for an NPC Sid to be wandering around with his good friend Fae Rocinante, who decided that being a glorious knightly steed sounded like a cool idea
the Sid, of course, has no idea what a knight is
tulip folio
Major Tie: Windmills(Hatred)
fierce star
I'm imagining the sid, like, is unknowingly living as a wandering swordsman in the wuxia sense, which is roughly equivalent to the ronin/knight errant/wandering cowboy archetype for story purposes, so the fae just goes 'good enough'
tulip folio
Look, if French Monks had known what Wuxia was, they'd have put a Youxia on the round table
Good enough
fierce star
this is 100% correct and canonical to arthurian lore
(did you know there's a werewolf on the round table?)
tulip folio
...I think I am going to go even harder into the 'Lancelot' thing with the Raksha duelist and make them just a Fucking Troublemaker.
bleak hazel
Major Tie: Windmills(Hatred)
suicidally aggressive ridesid fits in just fine here
20 dice to swing + whelm 6 cataphract is having a great time
sadly you can't turn them into a god
tulip folio
God Fucking Dammit Lancelot (5m, supplimental, E2): Get double 9s on a roll to charm or seduce. Can also treat it as an instill to provoke rage in anyone who sees it and who has a tie of love or possessiveness to the person being charmed.
making notes for Fae Duelist
Make them good at 1v1 fights and also very good at baiting people into said 1v1 duels.
fierce star
it should be double 8s if the initial target already has a major or higher tie of love towards someone else
The Cuck Charm
tulip folio
It's an important arthurian thing to be the Invincible Cuckoldry Knight.
Lancelot and Tristain: "Heh, Iki's talking about the other guy, not me."
velvet raft
Look, if French Monks had known what Wuxia was, they'd have put a Youxia on the ...
Compare: “My bright sword cleaves the casques of men / My tough lance thrusteth sure / My strength is as the strength of ten / Because my heart is pure”
With:
“long have I polished this blade / ten years have I honed its frosty edge / now I am holding it and showing it to you, sir / is there anyone suffering from injustice?”
tulip folio
...I might give them a charm to basicly Enforce The Effects of Duels. Likely a Psyche Effect or a 'hey, curse if you break it'.
So if you promice stakes in a duel against them and lose, you have to deliver on your promice.
As this is intended to be less 'murders the party' and more 'kicks sand in the face of one of the PCs and provokes a cool 1v1 duel with stakes if they lose beyond death'
tulip folio
It's a benefit my Sid has with her Unicorn Familiar!
bleak hazel
well, normally you have to throw all the godification charms at them to make them decent conversationalists
tulip folio
That and 'sids really fucking like a mount that gives +5 speed and flight' 😛
bleak hazel
doesn't it lose the speed bonus if it flies
velvet raft
Fuck I just realized something
velvet raft
doesn't it lose the speed bonus if it flies
It loses the mounted combat bonuses
velvet raft
Fuck I just realized something
Say you’re a Sid with a familiar. Your familiar does not have arcane fate. This means if you do cool things, people will remember your familiar, but not you
tulip folio
The flight is a sometimes thing but when your job is 'stab things', sometimes you need to stab things Up There.
velvet raft
Say you’re a Sid with a familiar. Your familiar does not have arcane fate. This ...
So people just remember cool shit happening around your dog
Lucky dog (has an attached sid)
bleak hazel
there really aren't enough Sids considering how many funny bits you can do with them
we need another two hundred to live in the whiteroom dimension where they do nothing but engage in Sid-charm-based comedy skits
tulip folio
Of course, if you have the Cataphract Horse you must of course learn Throne Shadow
So you can make the Cataphract Horse even scarier
...I need to check what the 'teach another guy charms' charms are for Lunars and Sids.
Pondering for 'teaching Raksha Cataphracts Sword Martial Arts' purposes.
bleak hazel
Sids mostly have it in martial arts
you can put your horse into the hyperbolic time chamber with Emerald Gyre but that's E4
tulip folio
Teaching the Cataphract Single Point Shining in The Void for shits and giggles
feral cipher
playing The Grave Calls For It's Due has been fascinating because it's like, me consistently going to myself 'does he really suck That Bad? God I think he does'
The man has not had a single positive interaction out of like six scenes sofar
He just leaves every conversation fuming
tulip folio
Hahahah
lament owl
playing The Grave Calls For It's Due has been fascinating because it's like, me ...
"Graves Due Malding as he has a pleasent evening with a beautiful woman"
tulip folio
For wanderer stat-swap stuff: Do you think 'can parry with charisma' is too silly with the justification of 'Wanderer Charisma is Tale-Crafting and you're reinforcing your shield arm with stories of brave guardians and last stands'
limpid badge
playing The Grave Calls For It's Due has been fascinating because it's like, me ...
this is the abyssal way
bloody hand has been just. a real piece of shit to all her erstewhile circlemates
tulip folio
Abyssals do tend to be either 'shithead' or 'I'm so sad and bishie, can you help warm me up with your body?'
Which is often also a type of shithead
fierce star
my last abyssal was just fight-and-prove-herself brained
tulip folio
Hmm...does Even Blade or Devil-Prince mesh better with Sid Melee, you think?
Devil Prince has more immediately style beyond 'John Swords' but even blade is a really easy entry into a SMA later/easy access to mastery by completing it without a heap of extra investment.
fierce star
I think even blade is the better mechanical mesh, but iirc one of the sid trees has a lot of threaten tech in it that'd go well with devil prince?
prisma sun
Devil Prince also funnily enough synergizes with CMOS
bleak hazel
Devil Prince is great with Sidereal Presence and Sidereal Melee, plus it's still shorter than average
It focuses heavily on gambits, makes them hurt, and if you land a gambit you can immediately Harmony of Blows with melee versatile
Even Blade I actually dislike on Sids because it's so hard to combo
it can never work with any SMA whatsoever
tulip folio
It focuses heavily on gambits, makes them hurt, and if you land a gambit you can...
Makes sense. Steal a guy's fingers with Devil Prince, then just stab the shit out of him.
...and Devil Prince would fit better with the GM approving 'hey, what if the Enlightening Abnegation Sabers were actually sabers?'
bleak hazel
I can't remember what D.P.S uses besides sword and its special batleth thing
tulip folio
Chopping Swords
bleak hazel
but I suspect it's not great at SMAs either
coral wraith
Yeah it's similarly barred from SMAs unfortunately
tulip folio
Fair. Okay. Enlightening Abnegation Sabers (Actual Sabers Edition) + Finger-Stealing Feint will be very fun to play with.
'I steal your name and...rolls 2 health levels!'
coral wraith
The Sabers are straight up gas imo
If you're a third line fighter they're basically perfect
bleak hazel
Just Sidereal things: if you have Impose Nature and D.P.S, you are mechanically incentivised to be extremely scared of yourself
marsh garden
I can't remember what D.P.S uses besides sword and its special batleth thing
hatchets, which still doesn't get you anything
tulip folio
Just Sidereal things: if you have Impose Nature and D.P.S, you are mechanically ...
Fucking up your own brain for combat effectiveness by using Impose Nature and then Disheartening Abnegation.
bleak hazel
It's genuinely a very good combo
You just have to be inherently scared of your own capacity for violence so you can impose that fear on other people
marsh garden
the bigger challenge is genuinely roleplaying that intimacy
although i guess it could just be a self-pitying "look at what you're making me do" kind of performative fear
bleak hazel
I think it could be a fun character but it would have to be a large part of your deal
and you can get nearly as much juice out of the actual charms by just using the regular threaten tech to do normal instills since DPS also has an instill-at-major-fades-to-minor thing
marsh garden
yeah, if you're legitimately scared of your own ability to hurt people, you're either going to avoid hurting people whenever possible or the most deranged fucked up little freak imaginable for being willing to solve your problems with violence anyway
tulip folio
My Sid doesn't have self-fear though she does have a major intimacy of self-obsession. 😛
Which is very much intended to be fun with Impose Nature
'Gods I'm great'
'...she's not wrong...'
bleak hazel
Rival uses his major "I love fighting" one that also procs Heroic Essence Replenishment
which he then chains into these two:
tulip folio
...in other sid things I'm imagining a sid using that 'kill an intimacy so hard I can never have it again' by making themselves fall in love with their nemesis and then killing the love to prevent ever feeling at an inoportune moment.
bleak hazel
bleak hazel
simply give the enemy your philosophy and then shit talk them for it
coral wraith
yeah ok
bleak hazel
double 7s fuck you
or double 8s if it's because he landed Impose Nature
although IN is very expensive so that's mostly if you're going for the talk no jutsu
chilly sluice
*blows your head off*
With bashing, so it's totally fine 😛
tulip folio
IN like many sid charms is great for Shenanigans
bleak hazel
I should do a pass on Rival and Telek's intimacy sheets since some of them aren't quite right for how they work right now and Telek still has his placeholder ones from before I figured out how he worked
tulip folio
...dammit...IN is also giving me inspiration for a Dickass Fae Wanderer Charm that works in a similar but inverted way.
Pick one of your intimacies. The other guy gets their choice of a diametrically opposed intimacy
Just 'hey, I'm gunna pick a thing and we're gunna argue about it, even if you had no strong feelings about it ten seconds ago'
chilly sluice
I love being instant enemies with someone
tulip folio
100% the intent
feral cipher
bloody hand has been just. a real piece of shit to all her erstewhile circlemate...
It's especially funny because Graves hasn't gone around kicking babies or anything exactly, he's just having social interactions and at every conceivable turn finding something to get increasingly angry about
He got mad at somebody saying that he should feel happy about things
tulip folio
'People telling me to be happy makes me unhappy!'
buoyant summit
this is the abyssal way
What's funny is despite playing Abyssals our circle feels like a Sid one
Because we're doing fucking
office politics
But
with five people
It's hilarious
It's like an episode of the Office but Dwight can raise an army of skeletons
feral cipher
Beautiful
buoyant summit
Good lord
feral cipher
He is always like this
buoyant summit
Our character would have a field day ragebaiting his ass
She is literally specialized to do so
And is a servant of the Heron
i.e. The Theatre Bitch
"Have you really not taken an hour to stroll the Quarter Magnificent? Drink something?"
"By the Neverborn, that's pathetic~"
nova yew
Good *lord*
He is so mad about everything
feral cipher
He's having this conversation with Thorns' local god, Drinks-The-Sun
Who has very politely been persuading him to enjoy himself
tulip folio
It's like an episode of the Office but Dwight can raise an army of skeletons
'If they move my desk one more time I'm dragging creation into oblivion'
buoyant summit
Oh shit so in your group's canon the city god of Thorns sided with Mask?
buoyant summit
fair
We thought Mask like
did a thing with them
to create the gigantic, expanding Shadowland
feral cipher
Nah
But the Grave struck a deal with her to get her backing for the festival
buoyant summit
lol nice
feral cipher
In exchange for our party's necromancer getting mortal food growing again (this was happening anyway he just leveraged it)
since she's a harvest god
in a shadowland
buoyant summit
oof
buoyant summit
Nah
But the Grave struck a deal with her to get her backing for the festival
Which Caste is the Grave?
feral cipher
Eclipse!
buoyant summit
Oh that makes him meeting Envoy even more likely because she's the Heron's Moonshadow
Hehehehehehe
buoyant summit
Just
My character seemingly frivolously keeps bringing up how he should come to the Quarter
But doing it specifically to unbalance him
feral cipher
Unfortunately my Guile isn't great so I keep getting intimacies and persuasions that I can't easily resist
so Unfortunately Graves had to endure (a nice evening watching a play)
feral cipher
I'm working on ticking it up haha
marsh garden
i assume a couple pips in soc
feral cipher
It's just 3 atm
marsh garden
Resolve is the mental defense
feral cipher
Then yes That one is 3
marsh garden
Guile is avoiding read intentions
feral cipher
His guile is... also 3
checking his sheet
I did not take the 'best practice' of character building for exalted, apparently, so i'm middling on a handful of things rather than being stellar at four things and dog ass at the rest.
marsh garden
samesies
or, well, i'm middling at a handful of things and dog ass at the rest
and then i have 32 dice to feats of strength
feral cipher
My build is centered around Presencemaxxing supplemented by War and Bureaucracy
plus Lore for the sith lightning
marsh garden
i really want to make a war character
feral cipher
It's got some interesting tricks!
marsh garden
war infernal and war deeb both call to me
although i'm really interested in what getimian mass combat tech will look like
feral cipher
I can order around my zombie army that can't morale break to keep boosting them
marsh garden
and yeah, i want to make the classic Death Lightning Necromancer abyssal too
feral cipher
Later pickups mean I get to do shit like just automatically add anybody I kill to said army
buoyant summit
war infernal and war deeb both call to me
🐲become the second war character in Infgame when that finally starts lmao
marsh garden
that cackles evilly and spams swarms of skeletons
marsh garden
🐲become the second war character in Infgame when that finally starts lmao
i can't, i want to dodgemaxx there
buoyant summit
plus Lore for the sith lightning
Sith lightning does pretty much make you a Sith Inquisitor if ur a Moonshadow
marsh garden
being a demat goober appeals to me
buoyant summit
all ur missing is the saberstaff
feral cipher
Haha
buoyant summit
🐮Sadly I didn't know beamklaves existed when I made Final Envoy otherwise I would just
Be a fucking Sith Inquisitor
Down to the fact my next serious character investment is gonna be into sorcery rituals
feral cipher
Yeah my ideal state in a fight is being behind my army as I do strategems and blast Crypt Bolt
And get a free social action every round to bully and bribe people
marsh garden
god
marsh garden
i really hope we get a crypt bolt upgrade or two in riders
buoyant summit
Also with the free social action lmao
marsh garden
i dunno if anyone's let slip what backer charms they asked for
feral cipher
Also with the free social action lmao
It's a ridiculous pickup
marsh garden
but i really want higher scaling for it
buoyant summit
It's a ridiculous pickup
It's so fucking funny
'Hi u suddenly have a Major intimacy of fear and/or shame against me because I styled on you and quipped'
'what?'
bleak hazel
Devil Prince is definitely a really strong low essence martial art, yeah
marsh garden
heart-razor strike seems so fucking insane
buoyant summit
'I am going to use that craven intimacy to be good at cutting off your fingers'
marsh garden
for being the first charm in the tree
buoyant summit
I wanna get in a duel with a shithead ingenue and cut off their fuckin pinky and go 'skill issue'
But yeah unless there's a similar charm in another splat, Abyssals are funnily enough I think the best users of Devil-Prince
Purely on the back of Succinct Killer and how much Abyssal Presence is making people shit themselves in fear
marsh garden
ngl i really wish that one was more changed from solar presence
it's...so sauceless
like yeah it's fuckbusted
3m for +1 action with no restriction
feral cipher
I don't do fear intimacies much, but i'm really good at bargains and I get bonuses from making people hate me or want something from me
marsh garden
but there's just no juice to it, and it doesn't feel fitting with any of my mental images of an abyssal's talk no jutsu
buoyant summit
I do find it funny our two socialite characters in our group's game both have Intimacy manipulating MAs
The Midnight has Black Claw
marsh garden
feral cipher
So one of my best tactics in a fight is, likely, paying people to fuck off
buoyant summit
but there's just no juice to it, and it doesn't feel fitting with any of my ment...
I agree that by itself it's somewhat sauceless, but Abyssal talk-no-jutsu is just making people angry or afraid, which is very easy to do after smacking them with a decisive or gambit
marsh garden
yeah, the rest of their assorted intimacy tech (esp. in the combat trees) is fun
and i guess having generic glue isn't a bad thing
i just wish that it was a more narratively resonant staple charm
feral cipher
Mhm mhm
marsh garden
instead of just "something from Miracles"
feral cipher
you're handsome jack
God yeah I guess so
If he was more really obviously owned about everything and also a skeleton
lament owl
Im a day caste so I’ve kinda been splitting between Larceny and Socialize for social stuff and So Much Dodge, Melee and Evocations On My 5 Dot Artifacts for combat
marsh garden
lmao
buoyant summit
We don't have a Day caste but that's because ours just died!
And our next one is an NPC who I'm meeting in Great Forks
Which
If you know the Heron
Is spicy
🐮I get to be the first to infiltrate the city which insulted my Mistress so~
marsh garden
i think the heron is now my favorite deathlord (she's very much secured her spot in the top 3)
buoyant summit
Oh she's great
lament owl
Yeah a random Solar appeared and out socialed him
marsh garden
because i have been thinking about her abyssal named All Clad in Tatters Came the Mountebank Knight
i have not been able to stop thinking about tatters
it's such a good name
and they're a fucking secret sop
lament owl
The Solar was very uh
Anathema Pilled is I guess my best way to phrase it.
“I mean kill me if you want I will just reincarnate” ARE YOU SURE-
marsh garden
i want to know more than their one-paragraph blurb, because it's great
marsh garden
The Solar was very uh
Anathema Pilled is I guess my best way to phrase it.
“I ...
that's incredible
feral cipher
I was very easily manipulated into this because Graves already really, really hates Dragonblooded, heaven, and gods, but despite absolutely being suckered into doing this he was still really mad
marsh garden
"tell me the name of god you fungal piece of shit"
feral cipher
So I killed him
I then reanimated the corpse and it's been following me around in the last scene
marsh garden
Graves is perpetually shrinking into a corn cob, despite apparently succeeding in every endeavor
this is peak
buoyant summit
because i have been thinking about her abyssal named All Clad in Tatters Came th...
Are they her Moonshadow?
They sound like a Moonshadow
marsh garden
nah, they're a Day!
buoyant summit
Oh wait no, that's the guy who runs her theatre/court
bleak hazel
a lot of my characters start out with deliberate holes in the skillset because it's easier to start with as many of your non-favoured dips as possible and then fill in favoured at lower prices later
buoyant summit
He's the Moonshadow
marsh garden
this is their blurb
buoyant summit
Who my character actually hates lol
feral cipher
Graves is perpetually shrinking into a corn cob, despite apparently succeeding i...
He's technically winning but leaves every interaction feeling like he's lost the conversation
buoyant summit
Because he wins people over purely with the opulence
feral cipher
Like I was going to go beat the shit out of the Realm anyway
buoyant summit
Does very little carrot and stick
feral cipher
I killed a Solar
But i've still been owned
feral cipher
Unfortunately they were able to work it up to a Defining
marsh garden
pfft
buoyant summit
l m a o
feral cipher
Because I already really hated the Dragonblooded
buoyant summit
mfw no Integrity tech
feral cipher
And my two Definings are 'I deserve more than everybody else' and 'I will do anything to keep what's mine'
marsh garden
tbh e1 abyssal integrity is pretty ass at defending against instills
buoyant summit
Fair
lament owl
I was planning to dip into integrity a little bit to get around the downside of my ludicrous guile
marsh garden
they've got the solaroid anti-shaping, really good willpower generation, and negative intimacy protection/generation
but they're hot cheeks at preventing a sid with her tits out from whammying them
then they get Unfeeling Shade at e2 and that's waaaaaay the fuck better
feral cipher
I do plan on investing into Integrity charms a little now lmao
Unfortunately I have like two, three other charm tracks to worry about too
marsh garden
mood
actually, i'm not aware if it is - is Becoming the Unfeeling Shade in any way a solar mirror?
marsh garden
i initially assumed it was an alter, but now i think it might be a unique one?
lament owl
I was planning to dip into integrity a little bit to get around the downside of ...
This is the one I was thinking of
marsh garden
bound by the old laws is goated
1/day free willpower if you're a dealie boy, and moteless manip dice is slick
feral cipher
I'm sure Graves will get a win soon
marsh garden
lmao
feral cipher
He just won't be happy about that either
marsh garden
i love him
feral cipher
yeah taking any amount of hospitality from her creates that
marsh garden
snrk
marsh garden
really fucking funny that his loyalty is minor, too
marsh garden
oh oops, i was flipping it and the lunar one
feral cipher
I don't even have a tie for Fluffy's character actually
Which is funny in its own right
marsh garden
i'm missing ties to half my circle at the moment
one minor, one defining, two "they're there"
lament owl
I don't even *have* a tie for Fluffy's character actually
Have we even directly interacted yet lmao
marsh garden
incredible
feral cipher
To be fair, Ru likes to run games like this as everybody kind of running their own scenes
So party interaction only really happens when we directly want/need it to
marsh garden
interesting
feral cipher
It works well, I think
But yes it's still very funny that Graves and Ivory haven't had a word of exchange yet
marsh garden
hmm
i wish wrath of ravenous hunger let you sauce up living characters with hungry ghost bloodthirst too
it makes sense that it's purely debuff util unless you're hitting a ghostie, but
it would be nice to anoint a dipshit mortal with Curse Of Swole
lament owl
I finally picked up Passion-Obsession Puppet(Vocaloid Song Ass Charm Name)
marsh garden
passion-and-obsession puppet looks like so much fun
i love the heron's stalker freako charms
Cherished Victim Adoration is another fun charm name, although its effect is pretty tame
lament owl
Another vocaloid song name
It felt like it was about time to give my abyssal a hobby, and what is a better hobby for someone with an alright read intentions than stalking
marsh garden
my favorite pastime is chasing dynasts at night
lament owl
Follow around a dynast, duel them a bit, drive them crazy, seems like a fun time
marsh garden
eventually you start taking their face
they see themselves staring at them, hiding behind a corner, never there for longer than a blink
and then you can cast Grotesque Masque on the both of you!
or the infernal one that stitches a horrible leather mask to their face
or the one in MFS that replaces their face with a mask
lotta face-mauling spells, huh?
lament owl
Its an important body part
marsh garden
it do be
knotty islandBOT
I. Have to do sidereal intimacies. This seems.. Difficult.
wise ocean
In what sense?
knotty islandBOT
Little material to work with, most of which is.. Fleeting.
prisma sun
For your game or
knotty islandBOT
Aff.
But well, in the sense that sidereals are fleeting creatures, and seem to not form strong bonds except with other sidereals.
prisma sun
Intimacies do not need to be individual people
bleak hazel
Sids tend to develop some extremely weird ideologies as part of the nature of their existence, but you can also have a lot of normal stuff
also other people can't remember you, there's no reason you can't stay attached to them
there's one god in heaven that forgets her good friend Shepherd of the North Star so frequently that he's got his "why you should like me and be part of my political faction" conversation speedrun down to ten minutes
(helps that the man's a golden retriever of the highest degree and very likeable)
buoyant summit
You could also pull a Cold War classic out and have an intimacy of guilt over your actions even as you think they're necessary
limpid badge
But well, in the sense that sidereals are fleeting creatures, and seem to not fo...
this is mostly true, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun with it, seeeee Paloma!!!!
knotty islandBOT
So, mostly focus on her opinions of things she does?
delilah (she/it) ↩️
limpid badge
Intimacies are equipment, they are knives you stab and are stabbed with when engage in social combat!
you should use them to hit the "high points" of someone's life, and the kind of things they think about when confronted with a Tough Choices
Paloma treats being asked to engage in slavery as unacceptable, but as strongly as she feels about that, she's also weak to being Romanced because of her other defining intimacy
Or, to use another example- @coral wraith's Grinning Mask knows to insult her martial arts and teachers based on her (Positive) Intimacies towards those things, which draws her into an insult match instead of running away from someone who wants to bring her back to the office
Its about creating opportunities for Push-Pull
merry arch
another thing to note is that they're just as important for social defense too!
lots of intimacies can make for alternative avenues of influence for your enemies, but they also raise your resolve against unacceptable influence
limpid badge
yah~!
fierce star
Hell, my Sidereal barely has any intimacies related to like, actually doing her job in heaven because she finds that whole process bureaucratically boring and office politics too stuffy and simple a story.
nova yew
In exchange for our party's necromancer getting mortal food growing again (this ...
Hi that’s me!
feral cipher
that's you!
knotty islandBOT
Thinking about this sidereal.. I feel like to some degree, she has forgotten who she truly is, beyond her work.
feral cipher
I used your labor that you were already doing as a bargaining chip and then got involved enough in the project that it wouldn't work without me
So now Thorns' food relies on my funding
We love petty politics
knotty islandBOT
As in, well, she uses her masks so often, so frequently, even in Heaven, that she has somewhat forgotten what she was like before, and what that means.
Callie | System at 63 ↩️
feral cipher
For Graves his intimacies are mostly to tie him a little to the cast around him and also to solidify who he is, as a person
By marking something important about your character as an intimacy it becomes a fact about them - what do you think is important about this character to protect?
'I feel disconnected from myself' or 'I don't know who I am under the mask' are valid definings
knotty islandBOT
Wait, a better idea. Her resplendent destinies are, in her eyes, alive. They speak back to her, and are more than simple masks, but people vying for her influence. In truth she is a system, but she has not the words to explain it.
knotty islandBOT
They will stay as members when frayed or destroyed, but, will be locked away from front, and likely become less organised.
wise ocean
there's some charms adjacent, I think
bleak hazel
only Solar
Solar persona charms are kind of a giant mechanics tumour that ate their entire socialize tree with jank so they haven't really made a return
prisma sun
There's also the Deeb Mask charm
tulip folio
Balor's Advocate
Cost: 7m; Mins: Appearance 2, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: Mute, Psyche
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
What's the appeal of a social event without a little drama?
The Wanderer rolls (Appearance + [Linguistics, Presence or Socialize]) to make a special instill based on one of her Major or Defining intimacies against a single target. His Intimacies don’t modify his Resolve against this roll.
Success instills the target with an intimacy that diametrically opposes the Wanderer's chosen intimacy (Hate for Love, Disgust for Obsession etc) at Major intensity in a rush of emotions. It subsides to Minor once the scene ends. The Wanderer is never perceived as the source of this influence, after all, they were speaking of the exact opposite!
Keys
Wyld Provocateur(Essence 2): Until the end of the scene, affected characters must respond to the instilled intimacy in a melodramatic manner; raucous celebration, overexaggerated displays of grief, or screaming rage.
very nice
buoyant summit
Iki always posting the good stuff
tulip folio
The Wanderer will find that her dots in Resources are never unable to be used. She can produce local currency in towns that have never even heard of the Realm and requisition forms in societies that have rejected capitalism itself. Even if she finds herself locked naked in a cell, she can still produce notes of credit from seemingly nothing.
Given a few hours, the Wanderer can always find a place she can make use of her Resources, though in more extreme locations the available good will likely be limited beyond necessities for life.
Does this effect make sense?
bleak hazel
Yes, although possibly if this is a whole charm it might need a little mechanical perk attached because people with Resources aren't moneyless very often in my experience
tulip folio
Yes, although possibly if this is a whole charm it might need a little mechanica...
Oh yeah, this is supposed to be the sorta 'ribbon' on an existing charm.
Golden Tyrant Scales
Cost: —; Mins: Strength 3, Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
Where a hungry ghost may devour the blood and a raksha the soul, the Dragon consumes the future of entire regions while demanding you worship it for its mastery of your own destruction. Drawing on the spirit of the Dragon, she demands the world bow to the might she can leverage.
The Wanderer gains the following benefits:
• Magnates, Financiers and Nobles count as having a minor tie of kinship to her.
• She gains +1 Resolve against influence from characters with Resources less than <Essence>
• She finds that her dots in Resources are never unable to be used. She can produce local currency in towns that have never even heard of the Realm and requisition forms in societies that have rejected capitalism itself. Even if she finds herself locked naked in a cell, she can still produce notes of credit from seemingly nothing.
• Given a few hours, she can always find a place she can make use of her Resources, though in more extreme locations the available good will likely be limited beyond necessities for life.
this is what it's from
The main effects are 'Nobles have a minor positive tie to me' and 'I don't listen to poors'
wise ocean
I'm surprised it's only a 3/1 permanent
tulip folio
It's similar to stuff like Mysterious Wanderer Wisdom and Someone’s Son Style
marsh garden
that does seem pretty cheap for a permanent charm that applies an automatic uncontestable Tie and bonus Resolve
fierce star
I think it compares similarly to the inspirations, I dont' think it's overpowered
marsh garden
they are more powerful and splashable than anything non-sids get, but fair
tulip folio
I might make the tie guys a bit more narrow
'nobles' hits too many people.
Trying to find a term to narrow that while still getting like "oh yeah, you are rich rich fucker'
Saying 'capitalists' might feel a bit out of place but man, trying to go for like 'Even in the realm, this only hits the Really Rich Fuckers'
tulip folio
Potentially!
Oh wait, I know.
• Magnates, Financiers and the Idle Rich count as having a minor tie of kinship to her.
It won't hit all dragonblooded but if you sit about all day turning money into more money or money into drugs, it hits you.
Does that help narrow the charm a bit?
lament owl
Our abyssal circle is comically vulnerable to teenage lesbians with hope in their heart and kind men who just want you to ok
fierce star
Daughters and Dads, the greatest weaknesses
merry arch
I gave their sword some inspirations too bc it's cute
my sword calls me baby when I kill people and it makes me feel funny headass
fierce star
your sword is the woman tha tlives in your head and calls you studmuffin
merry arch
correct
fierce star
[Insert Name Here], Malfean Bronze Harness (Artifact ***)
Cliffnotes: Harness of malfean bronze that lays close to the skin and digs in barbs of acidic metal as it connects the user's mind and body together deeper and deeper as you get more evocations
Attunement: 5m
Rules: So long as the bearer remains attuned to this artifact, they cannot have their crippling injuries healed through any means. Removing this artifact inflicts four levels of aggravated damage to the attuned exalt.
Evocations:
Grasping Upon Reality
permanent charm boilerplate stats, essence 1
Requirement: mind hand manipulation
The bearer's MHM charm becomes Indefinite instead of Scene-Long.
Resonant: Resonant bearers unlock this charm for free upon attuning to [name]
pre-first draft? Trying to make an artifact for my armless infernal girl
merry arch
same same. they're chronically ill, they're truly scared fuckin shitless by their fresh abyssal exaltation, and they got lost in the labyrinth and spat out in the west instead of the north
so they're struggling against the sun as well as everything else with their fuckin sword
fierce star
hell yeah
fierce star
nothing to do with that but: The Master Of Well-Exacted Vengeance, how does that sound for an abyssal?
buoyant summit
my favorite flavors of exalt are soggy, chipper, and smug
We know we have an Exalt that fits soggy but we forge-
Nevermind, Mara's Deeb
🐴Ice Unseen the soggiest Shikari on the planet
buoyant summit
nothing to do with that but: The Master Of Well-Exacted Vengeance, how does that...
It sounds... generic in a fun way?
Very obviously self-picked
Kind of like when this character named Cinder Fall gets called out in RWBY for having 'a name so perfect you almost certainly picked it yourself'
Since she is
The Fall Maiden
fierce star
I'm basically coming up with an Abyssal antagonist for a campaign I'll be running soon-ish and (spoielred because at least one player is in here) ||I'm basicly basing him off of Mr. X from resident evil||
buoyant summit
(Which she became by stealing the power so yes, she did almost certainly pick the name)
bleak hazel
that only works in American, over here it's "Autumn" and never "Fall"
fierce star
so I'm kinda wondering if the name is too obvious
buoyant summit
that only works in American, over here it's "Autumn" and never "Fall"
Well, RWBY was made by Americans lmao
So
Yes
?
bleak hazel
Abyssals are also like that, so seems fine
buoyant summit
XD
fierce star
Resistance Apocalyptic, But Not With The Chains
buoyant summit
We were just pointing out what that sort of name sounded like to us
bleak hazel
it's yet another case of "fictional fantasy society works like America" which is always funny in the same way that "fictional fantasy society works like 1800s Britain" is
except the latter is usually more mangled
buoyant summit
I mean
Sure
I guess
We are firmly in the camp of 'that deep my brother, it is not'
We were just pointing out a diegetic lampoon of a pun lol
bleak hazel
look the other thing I always pull up for this is "bad anime that people force me to watch" so none of them are
buoyant summit
lol
limpid badge
yaaay raksha with big number got his shit rocked by our abyssal yaaay exalted's good
velvet raft
It is kinda fun convergence of design and lore how most exalts are not passively crazy powerful the way big monsters with big numbers are
bleak hazel
fairly close ten round fight, Abyssal pulled it out eventually only flaring one level but at one point they were in an extremely tight spot, crashed to -9 with enemy on 20+
that was fun to watch, I honestly expected Mr. Raksha to get rolled faster but a fairly bad join battle for the Abyssal let the Raksha get some momentum before Excellencies turned it around
multiple decisives, a grapple and throw, onslaught and wound penalties enabling bare-minimum hits and a 3i vs 3i naturally occurring clash finished the guy off
the last of which I have never actually seen before
wise ocean
Only flaring one level? Did the build just not have any combat charms?
wise ocean
ah. understandable
alternatively: simply kill the wyld hunt. you will face no consequences as a result of this
bleak hazel
my extremely Dynast-looking infernal had to dip from the crowd the moment he saw the flare because he did not want everyone wondering why the noble Prince of the Earth did not immediately kill the Abyssal once the barrier around the match went down
luckily everyone panicking about the horrific Dead thing in front of them gave him enough time to put his hood up and do so
fierce star
"Welp, time for me to leave"
bleak hazel
Tepet Telek has a big green jade spear, pale brass skin and dresses like a total fancy boy
wise ocean
for all intents and purposes, I am an earth deeb
bleak hazel
except when told to dress down for criminal purposes, when as a former Legionnaire he swaps to the most E4 mafia soldier's fit possible
"man who has a Dodge Charger on terrible loan terms" ass outfit
fierce star
beautiful
bleak hazel
normally though he's a dynast's dynast who exalted after fleeing the battlefield at Futile Blood and leaving his deeb girlfriend to get trampled by the Mammoth Avatar
after swiping her spear and wandering the snowy wastes until he fell into Cecelyne he has developed an ideology that is 40% heavily warped immaculate theology and guilt, 30% social darwinism and 20% doing the hotel room scene from Apocalypse Now
he had to deter the abyssal from killing an entire opium den of gangsters and bringing the Hunt down on everyone and he did that by saying something along the lines of "while I would be entirely in favour of wiping out these useless wastes of impure blood at literally any other time, can you please do it tomorrow"
fierce star
meanwhile: oh god, oh god, one of the games i'm running is coming to a close and I was going to run an exalted game after it, oh god, I have to actually remember how to GM ex3, I ahven't doe this since just after dbs came out, oh fuck, oh god, aaaaa
bleak hazel
next time: Infernal vs Liminal
poor Liminal
after that, it's probably Telek vs local freedom fighter fishman Zenith
man is going to come after him as the most obvious deeb bastard imaginable and get a really nasty surprise
Telek is wholly in favour of the man trying to better his own condition and those of his people but at the same time this fucked up mutant is in the way of his Great Enlightenment so it's spearing time
his ideology is a tiny bit inconsistent
marsh garden
is this for voyserver?
bleak hazel
nah, unrelated campaign
wise ocean
lilahgame, I believe
bleak hazel
no this one is literally a tournament arc
marsh garden
nice
wise ocean
in voyserver it just looks like a tournament arc because everyone keeps trying to kill each other
unfortunately the people being killed usually do not want to be killed and the people who are doing the killing are quite good at it, so so far it's been Oh shit. Bail
bleak hazel
people drew lots, we run into our opponents on the street and then the priestly attendants around the fighters put up a big forcefield so the crowd doesn't get collateralled
marsh garden
why's the tourney been set up?
bleak hazel
Mars and Conky wanted to see heads roll
merry arch
entertainment for mars and sol invictus
marsh garden
huh, wild
bleak hazel
so they asked the local city father to host a tournament for The Strongest In The Southwest and presumably Ahlat was busy
marsh garden
is it gonna transition into a "cast down the gods for their hedonistic excess" campaign?
or is this just The Hook
and the point
bleak hazel
Mars and Sol have not exactly made appearances, I think we're like screen 60 of 12000 around the Games of Divinity or something
merry arch
^
marsh garden
ahh
merry arch
it's just a tournament as the entire story
bleak hazel
at least one or two of the party would like to cast down heaven but only on a general "fuck every single power structure for reasons" basis
Telek literally does not care
merry arch
monsoon is just there to party, fuck, and kill
bleak hazel
man is out here to purge all his self-identified weaknesses and then do the same to House Tepet, presumably after impaling the Bull of the North and marching south where his former house will surely welcome him with open arms
"if I can just become the Most Enlightened Anathema, surely I can get back to average karma again and then I will just have unlimited power that people will recognise makes me the best, right?"
marsh garden
a reasonable plan with no holes in it
bleak hazel
as he takes more and more cosmic transcendences of virtue the "guilty wretch with a facade of stone-faced soldier" persona will eventually be replaced with "total freakazoid alien who somehow thinks he's Better Than Deebs"
presumably after removing his capacity for fear, doubt, guilt and happiness
marsh garden
OH, THIS IS THE SOUL-SMELTER GUY
limpid badge
Mars and Sol have not exactly made *appearances*, I think we're like screen 60 o...
yeah we're literally just having a tournament
marsh garden
i see i see
limpid badge
i wanted an excuse for a tournament
marsh garden
based
limpid badge
so we're having a tournament
bleak hazel
yeah, Thousand Blades stylist but all the XP is going into Craft Primordial
in three days he learns Glory-Forging Sacrifice and starts making demon-bone masks for everyone
marsh garden
immense respect, i am just not very bright and need to ask many questions for basic tone things
bleak hazel
by round 3 we'll all have cool unified fits
also I like the idea of butchering our way through the criminal underworld in concealing robes + cool evil masks, although that requires doing something about the spear
tulip folio
The new necromantic spell in the sid expansion looks interesting.
It's very 'does a bit of everything' but not in a bad way.
marsh garden
yep, larceny/awareness/fod all to look for shinies
big fan
and it's summoner-defense, too
tulip folio
marsh garden
on top of giving hints of the big fancy artifact/world/whatever it originated from
highly efficient in its sauce
tulip folio
It seems like a really good 'I have 1-2 spells tops' spell
Even if the effects do have a bit of 'not insane at any single one of those things'
marsh garden
tbh per + occult steal action that also functions as a search roll to look for things to steal is a pretty good replacer
...can you add Excellencies to spell a+a rolls?
i imagine you can, but
tulip folio
I imagine so.
...so this is going to be a very silly thing but - I do kinda wish less spells relied on occult rolls.
There's a lot of exalts who get into sorcery without occult
marsh garden
...there are?
tulip folio
Like Jade, who is herself a Sidereal, got into sorcery with 4 larceny charms
tulip folio
They use banked motes from shaping rituals mostly
marsh garden
i'm glad that sorcery doesn't have a lot of external-ability taxes, tbh
tulip folio
You also don't need shape sorcery for ritual spells
marsh garden
it would be brutal to have six spells that are nice and then they're all like
manip + larceny, dex + archery, dex + archery, per + presence, wits + lore
speaking of, do people ever talk about Thorn of Cold Rebuke?
it seems fantastic for sorcless sorcerers
but bad for "real" wizards
tulip folio
While I kinda wish more spells were not 'perception + occult' because I've got enough stat and skill requirements getting to sorcery, without also adding in 'an entire extra stat' 😛
But that comes heavily from playing Alchs and Sids, both of which can get into sorcery with no requirement for int or occult
And then kinda just stall.
tulip folio
Well, okay. A very minimal int requirement. They can get in wit int 3, occult 0. Sids are the ones who can get in with Int 0, occult 0
marsh garden
ah, huh
i'm surprised alchs don't have the req lunars do
or wait, no, that makes sense
it takes a slot
this says occult 3
do i have the wrong document version?
tulip folio
...huh, for some reason I thought it was just the 4 secrets.
...I need to rebuild jade.
Dammit
...I don't think I have enough dots to get that now.
Bother
marsh garden
anyway yeah, it makes sense that there aren't more ability buy-ins on a lot of spells, since most splats have to deal with like
high occult or int investment + occult or int charms
tulip folio
I still dislike basicly all the attack rolls being perception. XD
marsh garden
so as many spells as possible should interface with one or both of those, and a ton of spells already don't allow int
yeah
tulip folio
RiRi is a dedicated combat mage and needing 'max in every single mental stat' is painful
marsh garden
i wish more of the offense spells used int as the primary
and another stat as their cutesy bonus-damage-or-gubbins stat
this would also square it better with att exalts being allowed to excellency it with...their sorcery stat
every spell i see makes me appreciate Raise the Rotting Horde and the shadow spells more and more, because it just is int + occ lol
i also really want to fuck with Flourishing Nightmare Jungle
coral wraith
I still dislike basicly all the attack rolls being *perception*. XD
Flying Guillotine is Int + Occult and has Thousand Wound Gears compatibility if you go the MA
Unslakable Thirst of the Devil Maw is also Int based
tulip folio
Devil Maw is a good one for sids.
'My unarmed gets scarier, yay'
Secrets Charms
Ancient Rune Lore
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
The Sidereal's spellcraft draws upon secret runes from before time, quick fingers shaping magic into patterns older than creation itself.
The Sidereal can use (Dexterity + [Larceny or Stealth]) instead of existing rolls for Sorcery. Noticing her shaping sorcery or countermagic requires a Difficulty (Essence + [Larceny or Stealth]) (Perception + Occult) roll, though this will not hide her as the origin of spells once cast.
Messed about with a thing. XD
marsh garden
huh, that seems super broken
permanent d8 check to notice a sid is casting a spell doesn't seem like an amazing idea
tulip folio
It doesn't stop noticing the spell was cast, just that they're preparing one. So they'll still see you blast a guy, it will just be not much chanting and waving before the blast.
marsh garden
also the infinite stat compression that pulls like
quintuple-duty
but that's only two or three times better than its equivalents in other constellations
marsh garden
It doesn't stop noticing the spell *was cast*, just that they're preparing one. ...
yeah but it means that you need a difficulty 8 roll to tell that the sid in stealth is casting a kill-you-instantly Celestial spell
and it makes it so you need zero investment to do that
you just take 3 occult and you're a better sorcerer than every 5 int 5 occult sorc (since you can replace int and perception and manip etc. with dex) while also getting to charge up a magma kraken from your stealthed RD
and then once it's all done, it matters a lot less, since you started a fight with a celestial spell from ambush
tulip folio
...I mean, I'm not sure I'd call this better than Knuckle-Cracking Stance going 'I can use strength instead of any of the social stats when being scary and I can use it instead of appearance for bonus dice, getting optional hideous when it would be useful and I gain bonus init when I'm scary'.
marsh garden
that one is a lot of sid bullshit, yeah, but it's just for Threaten
and instilling fear, which is basically threaten
not "all influence rolls"
and sorcery's basically a category in and of itself
tulip folio
Okay, I'll scrap 'charm to make secrets sids who focus on the ninja side of secrets instead of the nerd side good at sorcery'.
marsh garden
i don't think the concept overall needs to be scrapped, just like...e1 charm that's both permanent single-ability dependency and makes it super hard to detect your Spirit Bomb Alpha Strikes doesn't seem like a healthy implementation of it to me
...i also admit, i don't love specifically giving it to dex
the stat that does everything
to make it do even more everything
but that's more of a personal vibes thing than the actual concern part
tulip folio
It seemed the most applicable stat for well...Larceny and Stealth transplants.
marsh garden
yeah
fierce star
Just make the stat swap one charm and the noticing bit an upgrade charm to it at E3
if both effects together are too much at E1, split it across two charms and make the pushed part higher E
marsh garden
but it already does larceny + stealth + offense + defense + (non-solar) craft + athletics + performance
does it really also need to do the int parts of sorcery + the wits/perc parts of sorcery + the app/cha/manip parts of sorcery?
that's my resistance to it in particular, as opposed to other stats
tulip folio
Secrets Charms
Ancient Rune Lore
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
The Sidereal's spellcraft draws upon secret runes from before time, quick fingers shaping magic into patterns older than creation itself.
The Sidereal can use (Dexterity + [Larceny or Stealth]) instead of existing rolls for Sorcery. She can apply relevant Occult specialties on Larceny or Stealth rolls and vice versa.
Took a hammer to it.
'I have an occult spec in necromancy. That makes me good at hiding from undead too'
marsh garden
i definitely like the idea of specialization cross-pollinatination
to be clear: i don't think anyone should take my words into consideration except as the voice of the lowest common denominator
however, considering my understanding of The Powers Of Stealth Archery in this game (as with many others), and the power of dex, i think the specific confluence of Another Twenty Trillion To The Best Thing In The Game is scary
wise ocean
RiRi is a dedicated combat mage and needing 'max in every single mental stat' is...
one of my characters is a sorceress and a social character. the MAD is real
velvet raft
I’m appreciating time spent as a mortal in mortalgame in part because it’s giving me the chance to beef up my attributes
More doable since we’re using crucible xp
marsh garden
crucible xp makes taking wp outside of chargen feel so much better lmao
the second game i'm in doesn't use it and whoof
i made sure to snag three points with bp
marsh garden
does it? it's about as expensive by weight, i think
velvet raft
It’s 6 xp for a dot
marsh garden
but ig it means you're not getting fuckled on ability dots
velvet raft
Ye
velvet raft
More doable since we’re using crucible xp
Started with Str 2/Dex 4/Sta 3/Cha 1/Man 1/App 4/Per 2/Int 2/Wits 3, since added +1 Dex and Per, probably just going to keep snagging attributes for a while
marsh garden
i also love that it makes purchased merits not hot dog ass to buy
like
i bought all three tiers of mighty thew
that was 6xp
if i did that in base rules
it would be fifteen
more than martial artist
instead it was 3/5 of a charm
and thank god
velvet raft
Debating Stamina, Wits, Perception or Charisma next
marsh garden
also, i gotta get some of the colors fixed a bit (his eyes are black, not red, among a couple minor things), but. behold. the most recent sketch of my dusk
jen does great work
marsh garden
happy to send you to her! she's in excord as well, and has an art blog
marsh garden
Debating Stamina, Wits, Perception or Charisma next
also, with this list, i'd probably kick wits up to 4 imo
velvet raft
I’m thinking either that or Perception, yeah
marsh garden
if you go per i'd snag a specialty instead
those are like 2xp
unless it's for casting
velvet raft
I will get +2 phys dots, +2 mental dots, and +1 social dot when I exalt, notably
marsh garden
but if it's for detection, some kind of awareness specialty would be good
velvet raft
So I’m not exactly in bad shape
marsh garden
i've bought two lore specialties and an occult specialty so far
my lunar is much stingier with em, but the dusk will be collecting
velvet raft
This GM calls for a decent number of interesting attribute + ability roll combinations, so I think perception might have good value … but really, maybe I should just ask what he’s likely to ask for re: wilderness survival stuff
marsh garden
he's got lore specs in dreams and executions, and occult specs in necromancy (chargen) and despair
velvet raft
I could also start getting abilities to 5
marsh garden
oh yeah, i imagine survival will be a lot of stamina and every mental?
velvet raft
I have a bunch of stuff hanging at 4
marsh garden
abilities to 5 makes sense
velvet raft
Ye, and allegedly I’m the team’s desert guide
velvet raft
Uncertain!
marsh garden
well, sid and solaroid both want 5s so
velvet raft
I think Sid is on the table but I’m trying not to predict
marsh garden
and it's not like you've done a bad job bolstering attributes if you end up with the lunar curveball
velvet raft
So maybe after next session I take martial arts and survival up to 5
marsh garden
MA + survival and then wits or per 4 after that sounds like a good plan
do you have all your awareness/survival/ma specs yet?
marsh garden
nice
velvet raft
But I could grab a few extra specs, as I have 4 xp I’m sitting on
Which is not quite enough for an ability without favored
marsh garden
could also nab a couple merit pips, if there are any you care about (shockingly few buyable merits)
(at least without sorc initiations)
velvet raft
I was pondering maybe Tempered By Elements, but honestly the bonus doesn’t seem that great
It would be fitting
But
velvet raft
Centipede
marsh garden
knew it was one of the bug ones
...may i suggest taking this and reflavoring it?
if the GM permits
i know you're low strength, but 5 dex means whenever you run...
or climb
marsh garden
well yeah, that's the reflavoring part
velvet raft
But it might be fun, yeah
marsh garden
you could take it as a "mundane" or martial artist's spiritual merit
velvet raft
That's from Infernals, right?
marsh garden
yeah
it's one of the Endless Spire merits
i plan to reflavor it and take it on my dusk
specifically so it's concerned with ruin
velvet raft
Yeah, I'll ask! Not immediately sure what else to take in terms of specialties anyway, so
Good idea
marsh garden
for you i think i'd go with like
as a well-traveled, windswept desert explorer, with a martial artist's spiritual journey, maybe you get world-lore based on other people who've made the journey
you explore a cave, you learn something about the last person who explored it
velvet raft
Yeah
marsh garden
you climb a mountain, and rather than its history, you learn about people who died on the climb
or the paths other people who succeeded took
you hunt a desert beast and learn who else has hunted from its pack, or race a laughing woman under the sands and walk a mile in her shoes
etc. etc.
i really like the merit
i think it's super flavorful
and easily adapts to other contexts
velvet raft
Yeah it's a really cool idea
I just asked
I probably will want to pick up more strength at some point anyway, so if granted mighty thews to play into this might be a sensible pickup
marsh garden
yeah, but at least you started with 2
and even without FoS you can do it on all the dex athletics
which is nice
velvet raft
Given I'm a mortal for the moment, yeah, I did not want to rely entirely on stacking a bunch of post-soak damage to actually do things >_>
velvet raft
My first combat, fortunately, was an unarmed and unarmored matchup where strength was less of a big deal, but I suspect against heavier opponents while using a lower-accuracy weapon it's gonna matter more
marsh garden
bar brawl or something, right?
velvet raft
Pit fight
In a bar, though!
The local mercenaries weren't hiring on with this Wyld Hunt we're trying to put together, but we managed to persuade one of the influential guys via fistfight :D
velvet raft
Fun little 2-on-2
I have been enjoying just playing the system as a mortal in this ... how do I put this
more OSR-ish style?
velvet raft
Just going with the dice and only having willpower to try to push things
Willpower: it's the mortal's excellency
:D
Which is why I have a max of 8 :D
marsh garden
lmao
i should really kick Hope's up
he's still at 5
and he's a caster...
oh! this is less a build thing for you and more idle curiosity
how many languages does your guy have?
and has language come into play at all yet?
(also what's his name lmao)
velvet raft
Language has come up a bit! And she's very well language-d
High Realm, Riverspeak, Flametongue, and a dot for local languages
velvet raft
Thankfully the GM has let the local language dot be Schrodinger's Four Local Languages
Rather than asking me to figure them all out ahead of time
velvet raft
yes
velvet raft
I have designated one as Delzahn, but that just seemed obvious for The South
marsh garden
yeah
velvet raft
Gotta speak Horse Nomad, it's the law
fierce star
Delzahn, Paragonese, Tengese and like Varangian would be the major 'Local Languages' in the south I think
velvet raft
...may i suggest taking this and reflavoring it?
Approooooooved
marsh garden
Approooooooved
velvet raft
I will know so many things about sand
fierce star
sand is really interesting but I personally have more interest in things nearer the clay side of the soils triangle
which yes is mostly just Normal Clay but clay is so interesting!
did you know the color of it is mostly determined by what metallic molecules are suspended in the clay's matrix? natural clay with fewer impurities is a beige color; iron impurities can make clay a very deep, rich red (often preferred by potters!), and green clay is formed with chlorites in the mixture? You can even get blue, purple, and other sorts of colors of clay veyr naturally without needing to dye it at all!
man clay is cool
velvet raft
So's your mom
... it's remarkable how over the past 6 months so much of my sense of humor has returned to where it was when I was 14
marsh garden
bleak hazel
pondering the existence of a Burn Life type thing but for schmovement
obviously you can't give people more dots in Dex, and adding dice to movement rolls is straightforward but boring
coming up with scenelong movement buffs that are actually cool is harder
wise ocean
reflexive off a trigger is fun
I'm not sure if Sids have any of the solaroid BIG JUMP ON DODGE charms
bleak hazel
their leaping dodge is in CMOS
one of those traditional weird holes in the Sidereal kit because their athletics constellation is "the rising smoke" and includes a bunch of weird stuff instead, like summoning Adorjan
Flickering Moonsilver Approach lets you do the anime "bouncing around wildly so nobody can track you and then appearing next to them" thing which is very cool
marsh garden
lol, our two sorcerers summoning demons
extremely glad both of them excellencied it
tulip folio
Does anyone have that autofilling gdocs character sheet for exalted?
tulip folio
Yeh!
tulip folio
Hmmm...Infernal Presence or Performance Primordial for being the Pretty Princess of Hell? XD
velvet raft
Presence is much more about being a god-king specifically
Performance I haven’t really read but IIRC it has Musical Episode charms?
marsh garden
performance has a bunch of tank and support tech
and it's about like
making people more willing to tolerate demon weirdness
presence is what you want for Being An Asshole Devil-Princess
with a giant cult
tulip folio
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pfjmZKzcUqAX9mB58IAEUIFkZr8rq4CvdRRM4kzw...
...anyone know where the flat exp costs in this sheet come from?
velvet raft
It's on the exp page, there's a checkbox in the top right
tulip folio
Oh I meant more 'what exalted book they're from or were they homebrewed up'
velvet raft
Oh, I think there's a link on the exp page
They're homebrew
You can also change the values listed on the exp page and the sheet will calculate using the changes
At least with flat costs
tulip folio
Okay, fair. GM is using flat costs and now my little gremlin brain has to refocus into 'what is good to spend on with BP'. XD
marsh garden
it's from a homebrew sheet that's linked somewhere
i think just straight up in the xp tab
you can edit the parameters for crucible rules if that's what you're using, though
buoyant summit
I think we've made characters for every splat except Solars now
We have Sids, several Lunars, a couple Deebs, an Alch, an Abyssal, an Infernal
uuuuhhh
Am I missing one other than Exigents?
fierce star
one of you should make a sovereign, sovereigns are kickass