She's neither a dragon nor a god though. She's an ex-mortal empowered by a a power-theft ritual similar to the Darkhallow.
Actual gods, it they're a related order of being to the Gods of Creation, may well be able to learn Exalted-style sorcery as they have even more direct authority over reality than the Exalted. They were built with admin access and then had their privileges are enhanced further with the Primordial's surrender.
She's neither a dragon nor a god though. She's an ex-mortal empowered by a a power-theft ritual similar to the Darkhallow.
Actual gods, it they're a related order of being to the Gods of Creation, may well be able to learn Exalted sorcery as they have even more direct authority over reality than the Exalted. They were built with admin access and then had their privileges are enhanced further with the Primordial's surrender.
Right now Dragons seem to have the greatest authority over aspects of reality.
But Mab does command Winter.
Not just an army of winter-aligned Fey, but her Court growing stronger literally makes the world colder.
That is authority.
Though I'm not fully sure if she is the wielder of hhat authority, or if it is the Mothers who wield that right.
One of those can propably learn theme-appropriate Sorcery.
Right now Dragons seem to have the greatest authority over aspects of reality.
But Mab does command Winter.
Not just an army of winter-aligned Fey, but her Court growing stronger literally makes the world colder.
That is authority.
Though I'm not fully sure if she is the wielder of hhat authority, or if it is the Mothers who wield that right.
One of those can propably learn theme-appropriate Sorcery.
I suspect that we're in a situation where reality is layered, with various constructions of the universe built over the buried remains of the older ones, and different categories of entity have authority over the different layers, using different types of means to produce the same effects.
Or to stick with the computer analogy, various layers of operating system. Exalted sorcery gives access to the basic operating system a couple of steps above the hardware of the Shinma that the Primordials wrangled to make Creation. Dragons have access to a virtualised layer on top of that, and modern entries like the Fey have access to one of the programmes the operating system is running.
Mab and the Mothers don't use sorcery, as that's the primordial designed cheat codes for a lower level of reality than she has authority over. Her Mantle gives her a different set of commands to influence and be influenced by a higher level of reality.
She's neither a dragon nor a god though. She's an ex-mortal empowered by a a power-theft ritual similar to the Darkhallow.
Actual gods, it they're a related order of being to the Gods of Creation, may well be able to learn Exalted-style sorcery as they have even more direct authority over reality than the Exalted. They were built with admin access and then had their privileges are enhanced further with the Primordial's surrender.
Mab holds one half of one third of the Fates' domain (Maiden, Mother, Crone - hers is half of the mantle of the Mother). I think that would give her enough authority over reality to be able to use Ancient Sorcery.
Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Nov 12, 2022 at 6:22 AM, finished with 72 posts and 6 votes.
[X]Plan Raging Behemoth Charge
-[X]Turn 1:
--[X]Reflexive activation: Viridian Legend Exoskeleton + Melee Excellency : -2 Essence
--[X]Reflexive activation: all Rage Recast Aspects + Anima banner power: No cost or roll, already spent 4 Essence in the scene
--[X]Movement: ~20 yards. Activate shield and move into melee range of gunmen.
--[X]Attack: Shield bash and pommelstrike gunman 1 into gunman 2 into the wall and floor
--[X]STUNT:"....." Lydia's voice catches in her throat as she enters the room behind you.You feel...light, on your feet as your shield unfolds itself silently, while behind you Amoracchius comes to life in response to the badwrongforbidden aura in the room, a white counterpoint to your viridian green. As the alarms blare your eyes catalog the room's contents. The six victims in restraints silently screaming in their nightmares. The moving manipulator arm. The central tank.
She's neither a dragon nor a god though. She's an ex-mortal empowered by a a power-theft ritual similar to the Darkhallow.
Actual gods, it they're a related order of being to the Gods of Creation, may well be able to learn Exalted-style sorcery as they have even more direct authority over reality than the Exalted. They were built with admin access and then had their privileges are enhanced further with the Primordial's surrender.
She's neither a dragon nor a god though. She's an ex-mortal empowered by a a power-theft ritual similar to the Darkhallow.
Actual gods, it they're a related order of being to the Gods of Creation, may well be able to learn Exalted-style sorcery as they have even more direct authority over reality than the Exalted. They were built with admin access and then had their privileges are enhanced further with the Primordial's surrender.
Mab holds one half of one third of the Fates' domain (Maiden, Mother, Crone - hers is half of the mantle of the Mother). I think that would give her enough authority over reality to be able to use Ancient Sorcery.
They aren't the Exalted Sidereal Incarna though. They may have authority over Fate but they aren't the individuals granted the specific authority that Exalted Sorcery grants.
Neither is true. They could learn some celestial martial arts more easily if they'd been tailored by the sidereals for the gods (the Five Arguments of Virtue), but otherwise they could learn terrestrial martial arts and terrestrial circle sorcery freely if they had Essence 3 or higher; and Essence 5 gods could learn any celestial circle sorcery or celestial martial art. Some gods also had martial arts charms as native charms.
Most gods just didn't bother to learn as learning wasn't in their nature.
There's an authorial statement that Mab and Co gained their power using power consumption/theft rituals similar to the Dark Hallow involving the sacrificial altar that showed up in one of the books.
There's an authorial statement that Mab and Co gained their power using power consumption/theft rituals similar to the Dark Hallow involving the sacrificial altar that showed up in one of the books.
If he'd succeeded, he'd have had the collective power of all of those supernatural beings and then some. He'd have been clearly stronger than the Ladies, and a full-on equal to Mab. I mean, why do you think the Erlking was summoned as part of that ritual? Because that's how the big E got so boss in the first place.
For that matter, how do you think the Mothers and Queens and Ladies established their original base of power? That big old sacrificial, power-sucking stone table in Tir na noth isn't there for its primitive decorative aesthetic.
If he'd succeeded, he'd have had the collective power of all of those supernatural beings and then some. He'd have been clearly stronger than the Ladies, and a full-on equal to Mab. I mean, why do you think the Erlking was summoned as part of that ritual? Because that's how the big E got so boss in the first place.
We've had this discussion here before, and this claim isn't accurate. There are other WoJs around that establish full power Cowl as strong enough to survive to mutual ring out if they fought alone in a white room. Which is similar to talking about how hard X person could beat up Batman in a similar setup.
It sounds like a fair fight, but the necessary precondition is taking away the primary tools of the other party so that you can get a fight you'll do well at.
Also, Erlking was summoned because he had the authority to raise spirits of old hunters up to a level that Cowl could get his hooks into them at, how he got that authority was irrelevant.
We've had this discussion here before, and this claim isn't accurate. There are other WoJs around that establish full power Cowl as strong enough to survive to mutual ring out if they fought alone in a white room. Which is similar to talking about how hard X person could beat up Batman in a similar setup.
It sounds like a fair fight, but the necessary precondition is taking away the primary tools of the other party so that you can get a fight you'll do well at.
Also, Erlking was summoned because he had the authority to raise spirits of old hunters up to a level that Cowl could get his hooks into them at, how he got that authority was irrelevant.
This is not from me, that is basically Butcher"s response to someone about it along with elaborating how they got the power from it. This is where I got the information from. Along with that, that statement is meant to act as supporting evidence to the earlier statement on how they got there power in the firstplace.
"
1. the mothers - how does a queen become a mother? like after a thousand yrs, old winter dies and mab becomes the new mother?
Essentially abdication. The previous mother wearies of her duty and moves along. There's been one new Mother Summer during recorded human history. Mother Winter has never retired.
It's /one/ of her Names. But God help the simp (or Council of simps) who tries to control her with that and nothing else. Ugh, that would get ugly.
4. if the elders of the black court could have taken mab, then HOW ON EARTH did any mere force of humans manage to go up and stake them? i mean, they should've wiped out anything that was coming after them if they can take on MAB herself...just a thought
Power in the spirit world isn't the same thing as power in the material world. And a one-on-thirtyish fight (Mab vs the elders of the BC) is WAY different than a one-on-20,000 fight (a BC vampire against a modest mortal city). Especially when the 20,000 know what your weaknesses are, and how to kill you with them. And that's assuming that you don't have a saint, or an independent wizard, or a shaman, a Knight of the Cross or some other champion, or other spiritual allies on your side which was not uncommon. Hell, for that matter, you might well be aided by vampires from the other Courts. *Everyone* resented how powerful the Blacks had become.
(and shouldn't the black court be the most numerous? in blood rites, ebenezer mentioned after a few weeks, there would be dozens or even hundreds of vamps, so y don't the black court vamps just settle down in africa or india and start biting away?)
You get all /that/ assertive, and you risk stirring mortals into awareness. And we monkeys are /dangerous/ in large groups, especially with all our ferromancy (technology).
There's also a psychological issue on behalf of the vampires. Bear in mind that evolution made a pretty brutal selection among the Black Court. The ones who survived and prospered were those who avoided notice, respected the potential danger mortals represented, and who were generally quick to leave town rather than charge into a confrontation.
In any personal-scale conflict, a mature BC vamp is gonna tear holes through any mortal or White Court vampire. But the mortals started cheating, and doing all their fighting in angry mobs, and creating weapons that were ridiculously overpowered for the job of killing one another which could actually inconvenience, wound, or even kill a BC vamp. Murphy did all right in that BC nest, because she had allies, appropriate weapons and (most importantly) knowledge and a plan.
5. cowl with darkhallow - really? just a bunch of spirits...
If he'd succeeded, he'd have had the collective power of all of those supernatural beings and then some. He'd have been clearly stronger than the Ladies, and a full-on equal to Mab. I mean, why do you think the Erlking was summoned as part of that ritual? Because that's how the big E got so boss in the first place.
For that matter, how do you think the Mothers and Queens and Ladies established their original base of power? That big old sacrificial, power-sucking stone table in Tir na noth isn't there for its primitive decorative aesthetic.
6. ferrovax - is this because he's the OLDEST dragon? (i thought it was an empty boast) or because he's a dragon?
Ferrovax feels absolutely no need to boast. It's because he /is/ a Dragon, large D, an elemental force of the cosmos. He isn't some kind of Smaug hanging around a nice apartment. He's a Dragon in a more Asian sense of the concept, a semi-divine being who was once given authority over various portions of the mortal universe, and who was responsible for their orderly procession. There /are/ Smauglike dragons (though not nearly as many now as there have been in the past, thanks George!) but they are essentially nothing but emissaries and servitors created in the image of the real thing.
Regardless of big D or little d, dragons almost universally resent humanity for usurping the balance of power in the world.
y doesn't cowl do the darkhallow thing on a remote island or in the middle of the sahara desert or something...same with hag. just a question that's been bothering me...
Cause you need people around to fuel the fire. Had Cowl been successful, his ascension would have exterminated every source of life for several miles--and the more who died, the more elevated he would have become. Think of them as a big old batch of human sacrifices.
The hag's ritual was a far more primitive version of Kemmler's rite, and wouldn't have done nearly as much for her as the Darkhallow would have for Cowl--but it still would have sparked off massive violence, plague, ill-fortune and general chaos for miles all around."
Everything else is kind of ehh. Long story short, 3(21 xp before discounts) dots of any select path is almost always a better buy than any two Ancient Sorcery spells (20xp). Maybe Skin of Bronze is also worth it for stacking and convenience, but idk. Linear Magic is also easier to get discounts on, which further skewers the xp ratio.
Point of correction:
Your numbers appear to be wrong. If you look at the costs on the front page, it comes to the following: Sorcery Path Costs
Dot 1: 4
Dot 2: 1×3 = 3
Dot 3: 2×3 = 6
Dot 4: 3×3 = 9
Dot 5: 4×3 = 12
Dot 6: 5×3 = 15
Honorary degrees are a thing, and if you demonstrate a PhD level of knowledge, you can get one without actually going through courses. With a hefty donation and actually showing the knowledge (a bit of studying, a bit of buying ability points and a bit of CCC abuse to pass the exams) we could pass university in a month or so. Donate a million or so, ask them to arrange exams for you, not for admission but to see if you already know what they teach, obtain honorary diploma. A prestigious university would be glad to have a self-made genius millionaire to be associated with them.
Honorary degrees are not for displaying PhD knowledge afaik, they are for an extraordinary level of achievement in your field.
And you do not buy them with a donation, at least not at any university worth the name.
Politicians and business leaders get some, but those are definitely nothing to do with academics.
Reputable universities do bestow them, but they do so on people who are well known in their fields. For example,
Seven honorary degrees will be awarded to Frances Hamilton Arnold, Martin Baron, Arlie Russell Hochschild, Salman Amin Khan, Margaret Hilary Marshall, Anna Deveare Smith, and Sebastião Salgado.
news.harvard.edu
Harvard's May 2021 7-person list of honorees already had 18 degrees between them, none of which were honorary.
Nobody had less than 2, and the youngest person on that list had 4.
Closer to home for Molly, here's the University of Chicago's honorary degree list
Literally a "calling together," the University's convocation assembles all elements of the University community: degree candidates and their families, friends, faculty, deans, officers of the university, the trustees of the university, the provost, and th
convocation.uchicago.edu
They have only bestowed 50x honorary degrees between 2010 and 2022, and everybody on that list is a big swinging dick in their academic field or a professional field thats academic-adjacent. Its frankly a lot more difficult to get a honorary degree to than tp go to school for a bachelors and masters.
Besides, Molly would be averse to buying a degree even if she had the option to do so.
I'm not sure if being dream-eaten is as recoverable from as using soulfire or donating blood, it might be more like donating organs. We'll have to check / see. The reason I spoke of Whites is because we are likely to have access to those in the Chicago underground.
Its recoverable.
As long as the raksha has not reduced your Willpower to 0, you can recover.
I think there's an E3 Solar charm for fixing it as well, but Solars.
Thing is, gossamer doesnt require the person be maimed.
In Exalted 2E, its described as the byproduct of dreams and ideas. Its mined in the Wyld, and also obtained from the dreams of mortals. The Sidereal Martial Arts style Quicksilver Hand of Dreams takes it from dreams without damaging the donor.
Good odds you can mine it in the NeverNever. Somewhere. If you know where to look.
And if SMA can get it from humans, magic or magical craft can pull it off safely.
Uh, I'm not comfortable even buying Crowned With Fury, much less making it a signature.
Honestly, while there are plenty of potential signature charms that I would be fine with, I'm not 100% absolutely sold on any of the ones from the book, and would like to possibly do a custom signature charm effect that sticks more with Molly's themes, once we've played enough to develop them. It specifically states in the book that a signature charm is supposed to be a reflection of who the Infernal is as a person, after all, and calls out the possibility of custom effects.
Granted, it's still something that will have to be an extension of a charm we already have, but that gives a lot of leeway for some cool customization, still. After all, signature charm decision is one of the few build decisions that's permanent once selected. We want to pick the right one.
Shadow Clone Splintered Gale Shintai's signature effect is my preferred option for one of the two slots.
But the Key signature effect isnt bad as a secondary candidate.
Combo it with When The Tigers Run Free and you have a Reality Marble.
Mab holds one half of one third of the Fates' domain (Maiden, Mother, Crone - hers is half of the mantle of the Mother). I think that would give her enough authority over reality to be able to use Ancient Sorcery.
She, or rather her Mantle, has the metaphysical weight to qualify IMO. Question is whether she is allowed to.
Kinda like with angels, both loyalists and Fallen; the point isnt whether they have the power or metaphysical weight, its whether they have the permissions.
I suspect that we're in a situation where reality is layered, with various constructions of the universe built over the buried remains of the older ones, and different categories of entity have authority over the different layers, using different types of means to produce the same effects.
Or to stick with the computer analogy, various layers of operating system. Exalted sorcery gives access to the basic operating system a couple of steps above the hardware of the Shinma that the Primordials wrangled to make Creation. Dragons have access to a virtualised layer on top of that, and modern entries like the Fey have access to one of the programmes the operating system is running.
Mab and the Mothers don't use sorcery, as that's the primordial designed cheat codes for a lower level of reality than she has authority over. Her Mantle gives her a different set of commands to influence and be influenced by a higher level of reality.
Close.
I see it as Exalts inheriting the administrator permissions of primordials.
Whether or not other entities have the same permissions, they cant use them in Creation, at least under normal circumstances.
And there is currently no evidence those permissions are transferrable.
Else...well, mortals could learn Terrestrial sorcery in Ex2.
There's an authorial statement that Mab and Co gained their power using power consumption/theft rituals similar to the Dark Hallow involving the sacrificial altar that showed up in one of the books.
Correct, the supporting statement for this for those for those unaware is the one below here.
If he'd succeeded, he'd have had the collective power of all of those supernatural beings and then some. He'd have been clearly stronger than the Ladies, and a full-on equal to Mab. I mean, why do you think the Erlking was summoned as part of that ritual? Because that's how the big E got so boss in the first place.
For that matter, how do you think the Mothers and Queens and Ladies established their original base of power? That big old sacrificial, power-sucking stone table in Tir na noth isn't there for its primitive decorative aesthetic.
If he'd succeeded, he'd have had the collective power of all of those supernatural beings and then some. He'd have been clearly stronger than the Ladies, and a full-on equal to Mab. I mean, why do you think the Erlking was summoned as part of that ritual? Because that's how the big E got so boss in the first place.
For that matter, how do you think the Mothers and Queens and Ladies established their original base of power? That big old sacrificial, power-sucking stone table in Tir na noth isn't there for its primitive decorative aesthetic.
It pretty clearly states, or at least implies, that the Winter Court's rulers got their power by some sort of sacrifice.
However, it doesnt say it was the same sort of mass ritual that the Darkhallow involves.
The principle of keeping what you kill is repeatedly demonstrated in the Dresdenverse.
Nicodemus Archleone allegedly grows stronger for each Knight of the Cross he kills, and its stated that naagloshii grow in power by murdering wizards and eating their Power somehow.
I would not be at all surprised if the Erlking killed and ate the power of multiple sprits to get so buff, same as the Nightmare tried to do to Dresden in Grave Peril. But there is at the moment no evidence he was involved in a Darkhallow-type ritual.
Honorary degrees are not for displaying PhD knowledge afaik, they are for an extraordinary level of achievement in your field.
And you do not buy them with a donation, at least not at any university worth the name.
Politicians and business leaders get some, but those are definitely nothing to do with academics.
Reputable universities do bestow them, but they do so on people who are well known in their fields. For example,
Seven honorary degrees will be awarded to Frances Hamilton Arnold, Martin Baron, Arlie Russell Hochschild, Salman Amin Khan, Margaret Hilary Marshall, Anna Deveare Smith, and Sebastião Salgado.
news.harvard.edu
Harvard's May 2021 7-person list of honorees already had 18 degrees between them, none of which were honorary.
Nobody had less than 2, and the youngest person on that list had 4.
Closer to home for Molly, here's the University of Chicago's honorary degree list
Literally a "calling together," the University's convocation assembles all elements of the University community: degree candidates and their families, friends, faculty, deans, officers of the university, the trustees of the university, the provost, and th
convocation.uchicago.edu
They have only bestowed 50x honorary degrees between 2010 and 2022, and everybody on that list is a big swinging dick in their academic field or a professional field thats academic-adjacent. Its frankly a lot more difficult to get a honorary degree to than tp go to school for a bachelors and masters.
Besides, Molly would be averse to buying a degree even if she had the option to do so.
You misunderstood me. Or, rather, I mangled the explanation badly. The idea would be to enroll into a university (pass entrance exams), then arrange to sit for examinations without actually spending time attending lectures, seminars, etc. The donations, if any, would be needed to arrange this.
On the PhD - I wasn't able to find this for USA, but in several countries I know it's possible to apply for PhD dissertation defense without attending a PhD study program. It's essentially a way for researchers who start their jobs directly after their masters / bachelor degrees. So, for example, you spend ten years in a research institution. You do the work, obtain results, publish the papers. At some point, in order to advance your career you feel the need to obtain a PhD (for example, to switch to a teaching position). So, what do you do? You prepare your thesis, and then you arrange to sit the necessary examinations, and then you have a defense. It's not a honorary PhD. It's just that you don't attend the course itself. I am fairly sure that this option should be available in USA also - it's just not advertised, because it's usually arranged on individual basis.
So, for Molly - buy a dot or two in technology and/or academics, then work together with your demons on some project (neural networks based on reverse engineering the demonic presence as shown in the computer hard drives? Or material science for armors we make. Or, if we are like super ambitious, spend effort to lay a foundational thesis of motonic science - that last one would probably require a lot of successes, though). Use all the dice modifiers to write the best possible thesis, maybe publish some papers as an independent researcher. Then get our PhD.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Nov 12, 2022 at 2:31 PM, finished with 92 posts and 12 votes.
[X]Plan Raging Behemoth Charge
-[X]Turn 1:
--[X]Reflexive activation: Viridian Legend Exoskeleton + Melee Excellency : -2 Essence
--[X]Reflexive activation: all Rage Recast Aspects + Anima banner power: No cost or roll, already spent 4 Essence in the scene
--[X]Movement: ~20 yards. Activate shield and move into melee range of gunmen.
--[X]Attack: Shield bash and pommelstrike gunman 1 into gunman 2 into the wall and floor
--[X]STUNT:"....." Lydia's voice catches in her throat as she enters the room behind you.You feel...light, on your feet as your shield unfolds itself silently, while behind you Amoracchius comes to life in response to the badwrongforbidden aura in the room, a white counterpoint to your viridian green. As the alarms blare your eyes catalog the room's contents. The six victims in restraints silently screaming in their nightmares. The moving manipulator arm. The central tank.
news.harvard.edu
