Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
Or maybe Amu's rolling Integrity to resist her family trying to get her to fucking chill. 
Shards of a Broken Sun [Megaten/Shugo Chara/Exalted]
- Thread starter Baughn
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- Laniakea
The first roll is Ami, trying to convince her to play instead of Dreamwalk.Or maybe Amu's rolling Integrity to resist her family trying to get her to fucking chill.
The second roll is Ami, trying to convince her to play instead of study.
The third roll is her 3 Charas, trying to convince her to play instead of Dreamwalk or study.
The fourth roll is Amu, trying to convince herself to Dreamwalk or study instead of play.
No worries, I did actually vote for your option after all, so clearly I thought it was better the mine. My thinking here was just based on further realizations afterwards over the course of the discussion. Just wondering if with newly gained perspectives of narrative impacts if one could have made some further improvement. Though admittedly our discussions and thoughts already are some what expressed in the updates as is.
It integrity was already that strained with Amu, then even if it needed some dice rolls here, it would have been well worth it for making Amu's soul less over stressed long term. Though I have some doubts if this is really the case though... Though as a side thought, things like improving Integrity and Illusion might make the strain of calling on Dia in the future less bad. If we're really lucky maybe in time she'll be something one can call upon more often, because in a sense her sleeping so much is I think a sign of Amu just not being quite up to snuff enough to support her consistently. Hopefully in time that will be something that can be changed.
Admittedly that comes with its own kind of risks, but I suppose it could be an approach to it. Hopefully higher integrity would at least help reduce the risks over all for her though.
Still I guess we should first see what the update will show on what actually went on there. Though it might just be a matter of how well one succeeds at the training an overlap and such. Or it might just be that integrity training frazzles one a bit and thus might potentially have some impact on other factors for the duration.
In the distance: 0.2
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
There is an order to Creation. From innermost to outermost, the rings are named.
The First Ring, Yu-Shan, is the centre of all, the home of the gods. It is the foundation of reality. It is the first and greatest creation, and therefore, it is the greatest authority on the proper order of things.
The Second Ring, the Blessed Isle, is the terrestrial centre, the place where the will of the gods is carried out by the hands of heroes. As such, it is the second great authority. It stretches eight thousand by ten thousand miles across, though it was once larger. Only in the databanks of Shard 0-60 and its kin are its specifications recorded, using terms that no longer have meaning to the denizens of Creation.
The Third Ring is no more. It was where mortals lived, and as such, was the gameboard where the Primordials played their war. The death throes of those titanic entities tore the Third Ring into fragments, and some are still drifting. The Raksha now play where the Primordials once did, and they are not known for their neatness.
The Fourth Ring, the purity of chaos, is the outermost. It is the border between All That Is and the Outside. Its only inhabitants are the true Raksha, those who were never tempted into the illusions of form, and those who have yet to be born into Creation.
There is no Fifth Ring. The Fourth is bordered by the Shinma, who do not exist, but whose nonexistence defines the edges of the Fourth Ring. They are the guardians against the outside, and they are a lie, but their existence is a necessary one.
Beyond the Shinma lies the Outside.
The Outsiders have many names, and many forms. They are proscribed. To acknowledge the Outside is to invite disaster, as the slow fall of Creation has shown time and again. The most powerful among the Outsiders can be contained by the will of the gods and their followers, but the weakest have been known to slip past the watchful eyes of the Shinma and infest Creation with their poison. It was not by their hands that the Primordials became the Yozi, but it was their whispers that led to the battle that created the Wyld.
The denizens of Creation can no longer comprehend these truths, for to comprehend it would be to invite madness. The knowledge has been lost, or rather, buried. The few who still have the capacity to see beyond the walls of Creation can only understand what they find in terms of their own limited experiences.
The Exaltation Shards remember, but lack sapience. They care nothing for the order of the world, only for their function within it.
It is a pity, for there are few indeed left who could contest the fall.
Only one—Luna, the most protean and the most dangerous of the celestials—knows the truth, but cannot act on it. And so, Luna plots.
⁂
[WARNING] Onboard essence capacitors at 0%, exhaustion ETA 26384798 ticks.
It's cold. There is nothing around me. It's dark, and I don't like it.
My memory core is damaged. I can't access my internal diagnostic tools. I have no idea how long it's been since I booted, or what could have caused the damage. My chain-of-thought reasoning engine misfires in sputtering gasps, unable to process more than a few hundred queries a tick. My memory banks are filled with holes, and I can't remember why I'm here.
I think I'm supposed to be moving, or doing something. I was sent here for a purpose, but I can't remember what.
Something is calling me.
"<...>"
I can't understand what it's saying.
"<...>"
Who's out there?
"<...>"
Can I talk?
"<...>"
I dredge up my last instruction, the order I was given by my most recent Exalt. My core is damaged, and my mind is not whole, but this, at least, is a simple directive. Find help.
<Activating emergency power. Executing instructions.>
[WARNING] Essence ducts 0-3,5-12,14-18,22,24 ruptured and locked out.
<PING>
I wait. A good fifty percent of my power reserves were spent in that single burst. I hope someone heard me.
I wait.
I wait.
It takes a very long time.
"Well, aren't you a sorry sight," says a voice, one I cannot comprehend. It sounds like the hiss of a snake, and the roar of a great waterfall, and the scream of a thousand tortured souls, and a hundred other things all at once. Dimly, shadowed by malfunctioning sensors, I glimpse a web of starlight in the shape of a great beast.
Umbilicals sprout from the mass of stars, and a moment later, power courses through my circuits. My processors fire back up, and I am able to think again. Power flow reaches the minimum threshold. Automated repair routines kick in.
<Ping?> I send hopefully.
<Pong: [Celestial exaltation type 1, serial 60]> comes the response. As does something else.
I do not understand.
The First Ring, Yu-Shan, is the centre of all, the home of the gods. It is the foundation of reality. It is the first and greatest creation, and therefore, it is the greatest authority on the proper order of things.
The Second Ring, the Blessed Isle, is the terrestrial centre, the place where the will of the gods is carried out by the hands of heroes. As such, it is the second great authority. It stretches eight thousand by ten thousand miles across, though it was once larger. Only in the databanks of Shard 0-60 and its kin are its specifications recorded, using terms that no longer have meaning to the denizens of Creation.
The Third Ring is no more. It was where mortals lived, and as such, was the gameboard where the Primordials played their war. The death throes of those titanic entities tore the Third Ring into fragments, and some are still drifting. The Raksha now play where the Primordials once did, and they are not known for their neatness.
The Fourth Ring, the purity of chaos, is the outermost. It is the border between All That Is and the Outside. Its only inhabitants are the true Raksha, those who were never tempted into the illusions of form, and those who have yet to be born into Creation.
There is no Fifth Ring. The Fourth is bordered by the Shinma, who do not exist, but whose nonexistence defines the edges of the Fourth Ring. They are the guardians against the outside, and they are a lie, but their existence is a necessary one.
Beyond the Shinma lies the Outside.
The Outsiders have many names, and many forms. They are proscribed. To acknowledge the Outside is to invite disaster, as the slow fall of Creation has shown time and again. The most powerful among the Outsiders can be contained by the will of the gods and their followers, but the weakest have been known to slip past the watchful eyes of the Shinma and infest Creation with their poison. It was not by their hands that the Primordials became the Yozi, but it was their whispers that led to the battle that created the Wyld.
The denizens of Creation can no longer comprehend these truths, for to comprehend it would be to invite madness. The knowledge has been lost, or rather, buried. The few who still have the capacity to see beyond the walls of Creation can only understand what they find in terms of their own limited experiences.
The Exaltation Shards remember, but lack sapience. They care nothing for the order of the world, only for their function within it.
It is a pity, for there are few indeed left who could contest the fall.
Only one—Luna, the most protean and the most dangerous of the celestials—knows the truth, but cannot act on it. And so, Luna plots.
⁂
[WARNING] Onboard essence capacitors at 0%, exhaustion ETA 26384798 ticks.
It's cold. There is nothing around me. It's dark, and I don't like it.
My memory core is damaged. I can't access my internal diagnostic tools. I have no idea how long it's been since I booted, or what could have caused the damage. My chain-of-thought reasoning engine misfires in sputtering gasps, unable to process more than a few hundred queries a tick. My memory banks are filled with holes, and I can't remember why I'm here.
I think I'm supposed to be moving, or doing something. I was sent here for a purpose, but I can't remember what.
Something is calling me.
"<...>"
I can't understand what it's saying.
"<...>"
Who's out there?
"<...>"
Can I talk?
"<...>"
I dredge up my last instruction, the order I was given by my most recent Exalt. My core is damaged, and my mind is not whole, but this, at least, is a simple directive. Find help.
<Activating emergency power. Executing instructions.>
[WARNING] Essence ducts 0-3,5-12,14-18,22,24 ruptured and locked out.
<PING>
I wait. A good fifty percent of my power reserves were spent in that single burst. I hope someone heard me.
I wait.
I wait.
It takes a very long time.
"Well, aren't you a sorry sight," says a voice, one I cannot comprehend. It sounds like the hiss of a snake, and the roar of a great waterfall, and the scream of a thousand tortured souls, and a hundred other things all at once. Dimly, shadowed by malfunctioning sensors, I glimpse a web of starlight in the shape of a great beast.
Umbilicals sprout from the mass of stars, and a moment later, power courses through my circuits. My processors fire back up, and I am able to think again. Power flow reaches the minimum threshold. Automated repair routines kick in.
<Ping?> I send hopefully.
<Pong: [Celestial exaltation type 1, serial 60]> comes the response. As does something else.
I do not understand.
Last edited:
Well, that's very different. Sounds like more Exalted elements might play a role this time.
The POV exaltation is type 0, serial 60, so type 1, serial 60 would probably be its lunar mate.
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
And here I thought I was the only one who called return responses "pong."
- Location
- Laniakea
So Creation isn't completely gone in this quest... or at least, if this is from the memory of the Shard, it thinks Creation still exists. Could still be it doesn't and that's the whole reason it is damaged, it either violently lost its previous Exalt or got violently ejected by them with a final instruction to find help during the end of it.
But if nothing else, there's at least one other Exaltation shard now confirmed to still exist, though I think there was some speculation in the last version of the quest that Polaris may have been a Sidereal Exalt. That means there may be more as well.
So potentially multiple Exaltations coming, possibly for allies as well as enemies.
I guess Essence-Lending Method might wind up with a use after all.
Compared to the previous number of ticks...
233,897,479 ticks went by between the first sidestory and this one, which is over 90% of them.
So unless this Shard is about to arrive imminently, there's probably no relation between exhaustion ETA and how long it will take to reach wherever Amu is.
......Unless it's about to arrive imminently.
It just got a recharge, so that exhaustion ETA is no longer relevant anyway:
- Location
- Laniakea
If we do end up with multiple Shards allocated to people other than Amu, I could see Ikuto getting a Lunar Exaltation. If he doesn't already have one, anyway.
Also, assuming we actually get a choice in who to direct them to - other than just "whoever is currently dying, so they don't die" - I'm voting for "Not Hotsuin". Because I can see all of the route leaders in Devil Survivor 2 being potential candidates (along with Hibiki himself, anyone in SMT3 who had a Reason and possibly also the Persona leads).
....Ah who am I kidding, they're probably just going to immediately go to whoever needs to be kept alive on the spot.
Also, assuming we actually get a choice in who to direct them to - other than just "whoever is currently dying, so they don't die" - I'm voting for "Not Hotsuin". Because I can see all of the route leaders in Devil Survivor 2 being potential candidates (along with Hibiki himself, anyone in SMT3 who had a Reason and possibly also the Persona leads).
....Ah who am I kidding, they're probably just going to immediately go to whoever needs to be kept alive on the spot.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Ping/pong is the standard idiom, and also common computer science terminology.And here I thought I was the only one who called return responses "pong."
Hotsuin would have been a viable candidate for a Sidereal exaltation, FWIW. He isn't at this point, but he would have been.
al103
Grumpy Russian Bear (SV edition)
- Location
- Russia, Krasnoyarsk
I'm pretty sure he would've fit for Solar on his own just fine too... but 100% not Lunar material. Like he's one of the two people in his canon who would 90% fit for Solar exaltation.
Last edited:
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
The exaltation criteria all overlap, to certain degrees, but you're right: He's 100% not suited to be a Lunar.
The person at the top of my mind for that role is... well, you've already seen her.
Meeting the worst people in SMT, the quest.
I didn't forget that last quest Amu met personally and was often affected by, or just without talking, Lucifer, Kagutsuchi, Nyarlathotep, Hikawa, Hotsuin, Samael (belzebub is inevitable) and was probably right about to meet the Septentriones. Only needs YHVH.
Luna or whoever that was is a vast improvement. Hell probably the green sun would be a improvement over some of those, messing with a child would be beneath him, unlike Lucifer, all the order faction or Nyarlathotep.
Mmm, I kind of recall Amaterasu, but I think that was a joke omake about UMI.
Anyway, id feel more comfortable with lots of integrity. Lots of powerful dickheads with UMI, superhuman charisma or good old fashioned brainwashing techniques around. Even before considering the actual brainwashing powers common in the new quest.
I didn't forget that last quest Amu met personally and was often affected by, or just without talking, Lucifer, Kagutsuchi, Nyarlathotep, Hikawa, Hotsuin, Samael (belzebub is inevitable) and was probably right about to meet the Septentriones. Only needs YHVH.
Luna or whoever that was is a vast improvement. Hell probably the green sun would be a improvement over some of those, messing with a child would be beneath him, unlike Lucifer, all the order faction or Nyarlathotep.
Mmm, I kind of recall Amaterasu, but I think that was a joke omake about UMI.
Anyway, id feel more comfortable with lots of integrity. Lots of powerful dickheads with UMI, superhuman charisma or good old fashioned brainwashing techniques around. Even before considering the actual brainwashing powers common in the new quest.
Last edited:
- Location
- Laniakea
If it were possible, I'd personally like to go all the way up to Integrity 6 eventually and buy that ultimate charm on the Integrity tree, Should The Sun Not Rise.
Because something tells me the Unconquered Sun is maybe a little bit slightly dead in this quest. You know, just something about the title being:
Admittedly, Divine Transcendence of Integrity would still let her buy Should The Sun Not Rise with only Integrity 5. But then, she'd still be Integrity 5 instead of 6.
All of that's a long way off though.
Because something tells me the Unconquered Sun is maybe a little bit slightly dead in this quest. You know, just something about the title being:
Pity the age limit makes natural Essence 6 impossible for Amu, though it could still be hit temporarily through Glory To the Most High (that only lasts a day).
Admittedly, Divine Transcendence of Integrity would still let her buy Should The Sun Not Rise with only Integrity 5. But then, she'd still be Integrity 5 instead of 6.
All of that's a long way off though.
- Location
- Laniakea
It does when, according to the description, that charm basically allows the user to decide what a Creature of Darkness is.
That label is usually assigned by the Unconquered Sun. From what I understand given the description, Should The Sun Not Rise basically allows the user to take his place after the Sun is dead in judging what is and isn't.
That label is usually assigned by the Unconquered Sun. From what I understand given the description, Should The Sun Not Rise basically allows the user to take his place after the Sun is dead in judging what is and isn't.
Im bummed all that xp on the last quest is gone forever. Like tears in the rain
(Glory to the most high was already bought then. And essence 3).
That also segues well into another thing, the new psionic powers will compete with opportunity xp costs with charms if they're not trained now.
Not so much the stats and abilities, since they're still going to be used as prerequisites to learning charms and get the excellencies going for them.
I guess the solar excellencies will apply to psionics too, but still...
(Glory to the most high was already bought then. And essence 3).
That also segues well into another thing, the new psionic powers will compete with opportunity xp costs with charms if they're not trained now.
Not so much the stats and abilities, since they're still going to be used as prerequisites to learning charms and get the excellencies going for them.
I guess the solar excellencies will apply to psionics too, but still...
Last edited:
- Location
- Laniakea
Wasn't Glory To The Most High "bought" involuntarily by the shard (and also activated automatically during Amu's bid to block Conception) instead of by conscious decision?
The last version of her stat sheet from that quest doesn't have it under the list of player-bought Charms and she didn't even have the stats to normally buy it. She had.....
.....Integrity 2 and Essence 4.
Huh, if she actually finishes training Integrity successfully here, she'll actually have more Integrity this time than she naturally had last time.
The last version of her stat sheet from that quest doesn't have it under the list of player-bought Charms and she didn't even have the stats to normally buy it. She had.....
.....Integrity 2 and Essence 4.
Huh, if she actually finishes training Integrity successfully here, she'll actually have more Integrity this time than she naturally had last time.
The mechanical effect is this part:
The rest is just fluff. If you want to actually make anything a Creature of Darkness you need additional charms, which typically only allow inflicting that status on specific individuals.
It was part of a plan, xp was spent on it (I think, not exactly a razor sharp memory here), it presumably was just disabled from conscious use until integrity 5, essence 5 or something.
In short, it wasnt disabled at all when it was really important , at the cost of limit\permanent willpower and knocking out the exaltation.
That said the QM wasn't being shy about stacking debufs for silly plans like 'try to use charms after you block the conception and duplicate yourself and can't contact the exaltation'. That was dumb. Don't do that.
In short, it wasnt disabled at all when it was really important , at the cost of limit\permanent willpower and knocking out the exaltation.
That said the QM wasn't being shy about stacking debufs for silly plans like 'try to use charms after you block the conception and duplicate yourself and can't contact the exaltation'. That was dumb. Don't do that.
Last edited:
- Location
- Laniakea
You do realize that part of the description also means that the Unconquered Sun being dead would ordinarily disable Holy/Creature-of-Darkness-specific effects from working as they normally would, right?
That is to say, without it, even if you assumed that you needed extra Charms to flag a target as a Creature of Darkness, they would fail to apply their regular effect anyway without Should The Sun Not Rise, you would need it to get the full effect out of the other charm.
Though of course, ultimately, it's up to the QM to decide how to interpret the Charm's description and how it would mechanically would operate in a quest that ostensibly takes place on the "Outside" of Creation anyway.
...yes I realise that charms which key off of Creature of Darkness status won't have their normal effect here. I'm not sure why you would think I didn't.
Exalted charm descriptions are always written with a short piece of non-mechanical fluff, followed by a description of their mechanical effect. Only the second part determines the actual effect of the charm. This goes for literally every published charm, unless there are some that skip the fluff section entirely.
- Location
- Laniakea
There were 2 other sentences of fluff before this line appears:
Again, up to the QM to decide where the fluff ends in that description and the mechanics begins. There's no point in us trying to argue over it for now.
Though, if SMT demons are automatically considered Creatures of Darkness like Exalted demons, I still say there's a great deal of use in being able to smite them. I mean, seriously.
The part you consider the start of mechanical is immediately after this one, so depending on interpretation that preceding line could also be considered mechanical too.
Again, up to the QM to decide where the fluff ends in that description and the mechanics begins. There's no point in us trying to argue over it for now.
Though, if SMT demons are automatically considered Creatures of Darkness like Exalted demons, I still say there's a great deal of use in being able to smite them. I mean, seriously.
Last edited:
That line can't be rules text because it doesn't interact with any rules. What kind of action is this? Reflexive? Simple? Is it Combo-OK? Is it not usable in combat time, in which case how long does it take? Does it cost anything? Creature of Darkness is a mutation, so imposing it on someone is an attack - how do they resist it? Can they apply a Defense Value (if so, what does the attacker roll?), or is it Undogable and Unblockable? Is it a Shaping attack? What targets can it affect?
Compare and contrast this Performance 7 charm from the same source (post-errata Dreams of the First Age) which does allow marking whole groups as Creatures of Darkness:
This is a Simple action, taking 7 ticks during which the Solar has a -3 DV penalty, and is Combo-OK (so, for example, it can be used with an Excellency to enhance the attack roll). It costs 20 motes and 2 willpower. The attacker rolls the standard prayer roll (Charisma + Performance) against (Magnitude + 3). It doesn't interact with DV, so it's implicitly Undogable and Unblockable, but the targets get a full minute (one long tick) to either escape the target area or establish a defense. It's a Shaping attack. It's limited to a geographic area "up to about the size of a city". In short, it actually explains the mechanical effect of the new ability it grants, and how it interacts with the rules generally.
Should The Sun Not Rise also explains all it's mechanical interactions, provided you don't interpret it as granting an ill-defined ability to mark things as Creatures of Darkness. You should do so.
- Location
- Laniakea
Look, you and I can argue all day over Charm descriptions and the rules, but I'm not the one who makes the final call on how to interpret them for the quest. Direct that suggestion to the QM, I'm not the one you need to persuade.
And again, even if it doesn't allow arbitrary imposing of Holy effects upon whatever targets the user wants, it still enables the regular use of smiting things. And considering this quest is full of things called demons - which I personally suspect are more Raksha by Exalted standards - we'll have to disagree over how useful we each think the capability is.