Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
Oh, I see the problem, you're thinking short term for use around Chicago. I'm thinking long term for use post-Masquerade break in the wars against the Red Court, Winter Court, Formori, and Outsiders.
Yes, none of these are good charms to buy anytime soon. But we're not getting our hands on Dragon corpse or treasure anytime soon, much less building it into a nuclear powered fighter jet, so I thought it was kind of obvious I was talking about after we've built our infrastructure up to the point this is remotely practical.
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- Location
- washington
I don't wanna spend anything on drive especially since we can eventually fly very soon. go high up enough and its not really gonna ruin masquerade not to mention most people will dismiss something flying.
By default, the souls condemned to your hell actually need to escape it though, and if they've been suffering in your hell badly enough to motivate them to escape, then they're unlikely to be that well disposed to you.
Given that Solars can make Mages and Abyssals can make western vampires, I think these two infernal charms might be appropriate as General charms.
The first, a reliable way to make Hungry Dead without throwing people into your Hell and hoping they bust out:
Tender Mercies of the Devil Tyrant (*****)
The Infernal Exalted claim dominion over the damned, and see their fate as theirs to decide. Just as they condemn the wicked to suffer in hells, they can grant them a chance at parole to prove their worth as one of the Hungry Dead.
System: By touching the corpse of someone whose soul is in one of the Thousand Hells, the Infernal may grant them a chance of escape from whichever Hell they are suffering in. The target must succeed at a Willpower roll (using the dots they had when alive) against a base difficulty of 7. By spending up to their rating in Essence, the Infernal can empower their escape attempt, granting the target an additional die on their roll per essence spent. If the target is condemned to the Infernal's personal Hell, they can grant these additional dice without spending essence. The target still needs to escape, even with help, to pass the trials required to take their Second Breath, so cannot simply be set free.
If successful, the target will rise as a new member of the Hungry Dead someone between the next sunrise and sunset, although by default they will be a chih-mei. An infernal can only attempt to use this charm on someone once.
Repeated use of this charm to help souls escape a particular Hell can incur the ire of its ruler, increasing the base difficulty of the Willpower roll and potentially provoking retaliation.
Second, a way to make your own Hungry Dead minions useful without needing existing allies amongst them to teach them how to stay sapient.
Devil Vassal Enlightenment Bestowal (*****)
The Demon Emperor will rule both the Heavens and the Earth from the August Personage of Jade's vacated throne. The Infernal Exalted, in anticipation of their coronation, can chart out a Road Forward for the Hungry Dead willing to embrace this future, enlightening the devil people with the tenets of a new dharma more appropriate for the coming Age than obedience to the soon to be defeated.
System: Over the course of an hour, the Infernal can grant newly risen Wan Kuei, those who have fallen back to Chin-mei status, or those willing to switch their service to them a Dharma rating of 1. By default, this is as a Scorpion Eater (see Heresies of the Way). The difficulty of all the Infernal's social actions against a beneficiary of this charm is reduced by three (unless they move to another dharma).
With the Storyteller's permission the Infernal's player can work with them to develop a new Dharma they can teach instead of Scorpion Eating. A dharmic soul virtue (or virtues) and tenets must be chosen, amongst which must be some form of service to the Infernal, meaning that disloyalty is a Moment of Blindness. At the Storyteller's discretion Wan Kuei with the new Dharma can either follow the same rules as the Scorpion Eaters, or the general rules for the Hungry Dead with the exception that they can safely feed on tainted chi from sources controlled by or loyal to the Infernal. Infernals on this path have their Dharma rating capped by the Infernal's Essence rating. Hungry Dead of lower rating than the maximum can treat being lectured for a week by the Infernal as a potential moment of enlightenment. A given Wan Kuei can only benefit from this once per year.
This charm may not be purchased until Essence 2.
At Essence 5 the this charm may be repurchased to extend the Road Forward. All Wan Kuei currently following the Dharma experience a moment of enlightenment, their maximum rating in the Dharma is increased to twice the Infernal's Essence rating, and they begin to use the general rules for the Hungry Dead from Blood & Silk, with the exception of their ability to feed from tainted chi sources. At the Storyteller's discretion, if it's in theme for the Infernal, members of the Dharma may exchange their shintai disciplines for the versions in that source.
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- Location
- washington
I mean there is escaping and then there's escaping. We could always try and redeem those in our hell through rehabilitating them over very very long periods, or the people we mercy kill for various reasons, could also kill someone to free them from certain deals or fucked up shit. Also I'm sure there are ways to literally enslave them not that we would do that though or that anything is full proof when dealing with exalted there's always the chance of rebellions.
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You can just kick a person out of your hell and they become a Jade vampire. Hell the Yama Kings famously make deals, to release people, or just arrange for them to leave to further their plans.
The thing is, overcoming the challenge of escaping a Hell is how the dead qualify to become a super-powered Wan Kuei in the first place. The old testing grounds that aspirants to becoming Wan Xian had to pass were absorbed into the Thousand Hells and transformed, but there's still a test you have to pass.
That's why I put it that way, that the Infernal can help them cheat on the test, but they still have to sit it.
I can't recall that happening. I think they have to escape under their own power, even if the Yama King can choose to make it easy for them.
The question in the WxWoD FAQ is about them escaping, not being released.
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- Location
- washington
Doesn't really prevent the redemption informative for me though. Can always more make it some final test bullshit rather than them actually escaping though. I assume at some point we will want to redeem at least some of those we've killed seeing as eternal imprisonment while not as bad as tortures still pretty bad. I still will want for high level security around them though and precautions no need to be dumb about it.
The way to do that would be to make it easier for good people to escape.
Given that the original tests were set up to identify people to empower to oppose the Yama Kings, the requirements to defy them might actually be a surviving part of the original design of the rest that survived both the Wan Xian removing the tests for moral standards and their incorporation into the Hells. As might the challenge aspect of it. The Wan Xian left the ability part of the tests, and escaping hell is a pretty good demonstration of exceptional ability, even if the method used to do so has changed. If you make it too easy, it may not count as passing the test.
Going back to my charm, that's why I fluffed the Infernal as empowering them rather than making it easier.
Is bargaining with a Yama King well enough to be released, or being valuable/lucky enough not a form of escape?
If it's a test of your abilities, then possibly yes. If someone else bails you out and you don't have to suffer and struggle, I'd say probably not. I'd compare it to escaping from regular prison. You haven't escaped from it if your sentence ends or someone else bribes a corrupt judge to overturn it. You have if you bribe or seduce a prison guard to look the other way or smuggle you out, or persuade them to trust you enough to give you a job which you abscond from.
I think some form of act of rebellion/defiance against the ruler of the Hell is important.
Otherwise the Yama Kings could trivially mass produce vast numbers of loyal Hungry Dead.
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They can but remember that people don't stay loyal forever. And Hungry Dead can grow powerful enough to Kill the Yama Kings influence. Also the Yama Kings are empowered by the soul of the dead, people escaping weaken them, And they are at perpetual war with each other.
OK, vote closed let's see what or who you find.
They can't, as otherwise one of them would have done so by now, and kicked off a massive apocalypse as hundreds of thousands of Chin-mei rose from the grave or condensed out of their cremated ashes and went on a frenzy of devouring the living?
Your position is that any of the Yama Kings could trivially manufacture a vast instant army (and they have ways of making sure souls stay loyal, they'd just get them to sell themselves before releasing them), or shatter Wan Kuei and the other societies of supernaturals by releasing so many Chin-Mei that they can't keep up. Dead Wan Kuei go back to the Hells, after all.
Yama Kings have been killed before. Why wouldn't one of them have launched a last f-you to the world on their way down?
The Yama Kings have to work to bring forth the apocalypse, and they can be opposed. They can't have a trivial we win button they could have pushed at any point in the last several thousand years to instantly trigger the apocalypse and destroy civilisation on Earth so they could squabble over the debris.
It takes significant infrastructure, time, and 'man' power to take a Chin-Mei and convert them into a functional Devil Person. If a tide of new Wan Kuei are released; that won't be available.
Remember, on taking the second breath new Wan Kuei are almost all non-sapient monsters in perpetual frenzy that are motivated only by their hunger for human flesh. That's way I invented the second of the home brew charms above.
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- Location
- Germany
"Hello minor mages!
The demon in my head tells me you would make fine minions, who wants to sign up?"
The demon in my head tells me you would make fine minions, who wants to sign up?"
"And who'd like their very own head demon to keep them company!"
Can I get a citation for this? I dont know which sourcebook to look for this in.
The closest I can think of is the Las Vegas writeup in The Paranet Papers, and there the Dragon was actually a Red Court vampire that was bound/pacted to whatever demon is under the city.
Winning Vote
Arc 1 Post 36: Inconspicuous Intermission
Inconspicuous Intermission
14th of July 2006 A.D.
Gained 2 Essence (Cap)
The very last day of term is filled with teachers giving speeches about responsibility and kids practically jumping out of their skin to cast it off on the altar of summer break. You wonder if like Pilate of Pontus they are just saying this so they can claim to have washed their hands of the lot of you when summer goes as summer does. Maybe you are being a bit too cynical, but that last chemistry essay was nonsense... and it wasn't even useful in in making bombs, much to Usum's disappointment. You'll just have to make do with more sedate technological projects for now.
"See you tomorrow," Izzy calls as you get into your car.
"Tomorrow, wear comfy shoes," you reply, part of you already daydreaming of freedom and what you are going to do with it.
Maybe you daydreamed too hard.
***
The screen is bright with the colorful squares of way too many windows and your notes form small mounds of scribbled yellow paper all around the desk.
"So about those demons that can posses smart devices..." you send to your head companion, trying and not entirely managing to make it a joke. Looking for magicians on line turns out to be an exercise in frustration not because you get no hits, but because you get too many. Games movies, books, TV shows, plays you name it it's on there. Not to mention the sheer tangle of Wiccan Circles, neo-pagan revival circles and people who just like to dress like vampires. And that is just when you look at 'magic' but as Father Forthil's talk has reminded you miracles can mean 'magic I like'.
Using instances of 'Bock Ordered Books' on the other hand gives you a vast electronic wasteland punctured by 'did you mean ordering books?' No as it happened you did not mean it and you have never wanted to strangle a search engine so much in your life.
"You done?" Leech calls as she comes in with a tub of ice cream in hand.
"Oh I am so done," you gripe. Every single forum that even looked like it might have been promising is members only and email verification. Even though you make a burner email to use on them you don't have much hope of getting answers anytime soon.
"What'cha looking for?" you little sister asks between spoonfuls of cranberry ice cream.
Briefly, very briefly you consider enlisting her help, but there is no way to do that without telling her in detail what you are looking for and what leads you have. Mom would not take you teaching Leech where all the real occultists in town hang out well... really really not well.
"Just some people, turns out investigative work is not as easy as they make it out to be in the movies," you sigh.
"No montages in real life," she agrees, then motioning with the spoon. "D'you want some?"
Ice cream proves to be an imperfect salve for your failure but better than none
***
15th of July 2006 A.D.
Saturday sets you on edge, it feels like mom hands you an extra helping of chores, just to see how you will react, to see if you are going to try to talk yourself out of being grounded. No doubt she has arguments already marshaled as to why ten days of study and going out with dad and saving a kid from breaking his neck falling out a window does not justify going out on your own. Joke's on her you plan do do it anyway and leave her none the wiser. You were this close to walking out the door when he made her ultimatum and while you don't regret your choice that night, you deserve a holiday of your own from it.
So that night you lay in your bed awake and listen to the noises of the house going to sleep, the faucet going with end of the day tooth-brushing, Amanda calling good night to everyone in part like the usually does. You wait until the clock by your bedside shows midnight, well past even the longest shows you mom and dad are likely to watch in bed. Weekend or no dad has to wake up early to deliver a commission tomorrow.
The shadows wrap around you like a concealing cloak, not a creak of the doors not a groaning of the floorboards to give away your plans. When you were younger your room was what is now Amanda's and the tall oak tree next to the window was your path to many unsanctioned nights out, but your mom had caught on and made you switch rooms.
You tuck your little sister more snugly in as you pass by her bedside, out the window and down the familiar way, more lightly than you had before.
What do you have planned for tonight
[] Clubbing, it has been way too long since you have been to a club and with your newly gained powers you could talk your way into the best clubs in town easy even with Daniel and his date in tow
[] Rollerblading, on the other hand you have been nostalgic for putting on skates as well and if you roped Daniel into this anyway why not take advantage of it. Izzy will probably be disappointed though
[] You could really go for a deep dish pizza. Head to Lincoln Park, they make really good ones there and the restaurants are open all night. You can all decide what to do from there
[] Write in
OOC: You guys can write in anything reasonable for 2006 Chicago, it can be a specific venue or just an activity.
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Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Pizza and hanging out with friends. Sounds nice and relaxing.
[X] You could really go for a deep dish pizza. Head to Lincoln Park, they make really good ones there and the restaurants are open all night. You can all decide what to do from there
[X] You could really go for a deep dish pizza. Head to Lincoln Park, they make really good ones there and the restaurants are open all night. You can all decide what to do from there
- Location
- United States
[X] Clubbing, it has been way too long since you have been to a club and with your newly gained powers you could talk your way into the best clubs in town easy even with Daniel and his date in town
- Location
- Georgia
sure. It's in paranet papers. But I remember differently. Dragon was pacted to thing under the city - to keep it bound.
there was separate red court vampire info in there.
