Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

Using a regular doctor, even a clued in one, would be ridiculous. How are they supposed to evaluate the impacts of a substance they don't understand the working mechanism of and have no real data on?

They can't exactly refer to peer reviewed studies and clinical trials of the longitudinal impact of super coffee brewed in nuclear hellfire on teenage infernal exalts.

Listens-to-wind would be great, but an experienced linear alchemist or a similarly specced but more junior wizard would probably be easier to get our hands on.

I'm skeptical of it actually being enough to convince Charity and Micheal, but they'd at least have something to work with.
Honestly, this feels like a self-invented problem to me. So far, Michael and Charity were very understanding and accommodating of our power. Charity is making bleach baths for us, something that, on the face of it, is much more lethal and unhealthy than super-coffee.

EDIT: Molly doesn't have a bad history with drugs. In fact, her law breaking was related to fighting against drugs. That has to count for something.
 
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[X] Go talk to Thomas about the Hunger first
-[X] Use empathy and etiquette excellency where appropriate
-[X] Stunt: Taking a sip of coffee in the Starbucks where she agreed to meet Thomas, Molly feels a paradoxically foreign and familiar sensation well up; something between opening an immense eye and the beat of a vast heart, but with elements that don't truly belong to either.
-[X] As her presence shines across the room on unseen light and strikes with unheard thunder, Molly looks up to see Thomas; who looks like nothing so much as a man who's last step ended with a gut-wrenching click.
-[X] "It's good to see you under better circumstances Thomas. I can't promise this won't be a little strange for both of us; but it should be a little less, well, Harry than how we met." She says with just the right emphasis on the pun to shatter the tension like a kneecap under a sword's pommel.
 
[X] Go talk to Thomas about the Hunger first
-[X] Use empathy and etiquette excellency where appropriate
-[X] Stunt: Taking a sip of coffee in the Starbucks where she agreed to meet Thomas, Molly feels a paradoxically foreign and familiar sensation well up; something between opening an immense eye and the beat of a vast heart, but with elements that don't truly belong to either.
-[X] As her presence shines across the room on unseen light and strikes with unheard thunder, Molly looks up to see Thomas; who looks like nothing so much as a man who's last step ended with a gut-wrenching click.
-[X] "It's good to see you under better circumstances Thomas. I can't promise this won't be a little strange for both of us; but it should be a little less, well, Harry than how we met." She says with just the right emphasis on the pun to shatter the tension like a kneecap under a sword's pommel.

I can't resist a good pun…
 
Well that makes Crowned With Fury (•••) a contender. The king and the kingdom and Shadoww Spite Curse (••) likely still beat it, but it is worth considering.

Splintered Gale Incarnation (•••••) if normal means just not our Shintai form so instant miniboss squad.

Thousand fold Typhoon Hand (••••) if someone comes up with a great way get more essence in combat we and we expect to use many attacks at once.

Those 5 seem like the only sigs currently worth any consideration. Out of more then 55. Wow.
 
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[X] Go talk to Thomas about the Hunger first
-[X] Use empathy and etiquette excellency where appropriate
-[X] Stunt: Taking a sip of coffee in the Starbucks where she agreed to meet Thomas, Molly feels a paradoxically foreign and familiar sensation well up; something between opening an immense eye and the beat of a vast heart, but with elements that don't truly belong to either.
-[X] As her presence shines across the room on unseen light and strikes with unheard thunder, Molly looks up to see Thomas; who looks like nothing so much as a man who's last step ended with a gut-wrenching click.
-[X] "It's good to see you under better circumstances Thomas. I can't promise this won't be a little strange for both of us; but it should be a little less, well, Harry than how we met." She says with just the right emphasis on the pun to shatter the tension like a kneecap under a sword's pommel.
 
Honestly, this feels like a self-invented problem to me. So far, Michael and Charity were very understanding and accommodating of our power. Charity is making bleach baths for us, something that, on the face of it, is much more lethal and unhealthy than super-coffee.

EDIT: Molly doesn't have a bad history with drugs. In fact, her law breaking was related to fighting against drugs. That has to count for something.
Even if you're not taking it seriously as a problem the solution should still make sense.
 
Thomas proceeded to explain to Molly how the Hunger worked, but as the conversation continued Thomas noticed that something was wrong. He likely would not have noted it if he wasn't talking about the Hunger at right that moment, but it wasn't bothering him.

He was so surprised that he must have said it out loud because Molly cocked her head and looked at him oddly "Of course not. You are doing my will. Your Hunger wouldn't dare distract you from that." As if that was the most natural thing in the world.

As if it was an afterthought Molly put a handful of gems on the table. "On another topic all together I have happened to find myself in possession of some gems could you please find me the best possible price for them. I'm not in a hurry."
 
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Please confirm this with @DragonParadox first.
As my reading it, just more clones as normal.
Oh certainly. QM always has final say.

But basically Im looking at the intent. There is an Essence limit on how many normal Splintered Gale clones you can make in your downtime. Spawning an extra Essence clones in combat with scene-length duration would have no real benefit for being a 5 dot charm if they were vanilla squishy mortals.

That's conditional though; it's literally just the flesh mask. If you cut one while they're standing in daylight they all burn the same.
It's worth being it's own merit, but not including WoD style vampiric fortitude for.
Not sure how much of that is true.
Hasnt been tested afaik.
Fey pacts for power are an entirely different ball game though. For all we know she could burn the demon out of him to do it or something.

Considering how taking up the mantle of the winter knight involves having sex with Mab on the stone table they use for high level blood sacrifice it wouldn't even be that out there as an option. Probably not worth the effort, which is why it's not her first option, but true enough to threaten Harry with.
She could. Or at least Mother Winter could. However, thats not what she's proposing there.

And while Dresden's assumption of the Mantle involved sex with Mab, I would not assume that was anything like standard procedure for most Knights. Mab was making a not so subtle political point there without actually outright saying it, one which was reinforced with her sending Lea as backup to make the Red Court....go away.
Looking at that passage, it seems likely that that whole thing was a direct deception. I mean, she implies the bit about how much he'd pay to touch his love again and her offer of knighthood are connected, but doesn't actually say it.
That sort of thing is a critical distinction for the fey.
I dont think I agree. Particularly given the situation was just after the final battle of Small Favor.
Mab had no reason to shade the truth there, now when she could simply state something that Dresden knows: Mother Winter can craft an Unravelling.

I don't really buy it. The charm goes out of its way to define what a limit of a clone is, and then doesn't explicitly break it when referring to them. Using the word normal doesn't really cut it for claiming they get full charm access in that context. Sure it makes the signature kind of crap, but it wouldn't be the only one in the book like that.
Language ambiguity is an ongoing issue for the sourcebook, and to be fair, its a free fanwork.
However, I didnt say full charm access, I said combat body.
Our activated scenelong combat suite, without stuff like Excellencies and shintai and such.

Its a 20XP five dot charm. Benchmark it to the Signature effects of other 5 dot charms.
Like someone else pointed out, dumping a bunch of temporary naked clones on a battlefield is pretty effing useless.
Unless their baseline isnt mortal humanity.

I remember. I think that finding a doctor, bringing them inside the masquerade, and having him check us for side effects is the worst we'll have to endure. Or just trade a favor with Listens-to-Wind.
We are mortal human, but not vanilla flavor.

Molly has 150% the HP of a vanilla mortal, enhanced durability, enhanced poison resistance, is essentially immune to mundane illness and her body temperature is low enough to kill plants.
A mortal doctor would tell our parents that by all rights we should be dead.

Listens to Wind is a minister of a supernatural nation at war.
One we havent even met IC, nor do we currently know him by reputation. How do you think you can get him to drop all his business for a consult and pay him with a favor? We dont have that kind of juice, and he has no experience with our physiology either.

Besides, all that misses the point. Remember the QM's comment on Soul Rendering Practice:
To buy it no, to repeatedly use it in a short span of time yes. Molly would be inflicting soul-deep pain on herself for power. Once per week or so is fine, more in an emergency, but if you get into the habit of spamming it there will be psychological consequences.
That was for SRP, but I think its worth paying attention.
A lack of mechanical consequences is not a lack of roleplaying consequences.

I mean, wizard metabolism is a lot hardier than that of vanilla mortals, yet we dont see any of those onscreen chugging down alchemical super-coffee every week.
Maybe there's a reason for that.
 
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I mean, wizard metabolism is a lot hardier than that of vanilla mortals, yet we dont see any of those onscreen chugging down alchemical super-coffee every week.
Maybe there's a reason for that.
Well, canonically it's because there's no such thing in DF. In the quest universe there are a number of possibilities for why Harry Dresden (the only wizard we know) doesn't take advantage of such a potion
1) Rarity, cost of availability of ingredients. If, for example, you need unroasted coffee beans harvested under the light of full moon with an obsidian knife, Harry wouldn't be able to afford it.

Hell, given how broke he is, normally, he probably couldn't afford it even if it cost only as much as a premium coffee.
2) Complexity or length of the preparation. If it normally takes 23 hours to brew (i.e. one day save one bour of sleep) , Harry might have considered it more trouble to make than it's worth, especially since normally you can't preserve the potions.

Normally it's provably easier to tough out one day without sleep, especially since Harry has high willpower.
 
Honestly, this feels like a self-invented problem to me. So far, Michael and Charity were very understanding and accommodating of our power. Charity is making bleach baths for us, something that, on the face of it, is much more lethal and unhealthy than super-coffee.

EDIT: Molly doesn't have a bad history with drugs. In fact, her law breaking was related to fighting against drugs. That has to count for something.
Point of order:
Molly was arrested for drug possession at a party and sentenced to community service. We dont know whether she has ever used or not; it is implied she used, but was never confirmed one way or another:
Michael stepped over to his wife and kissed her gently. Then he said, "Faith, my love."
She closed her eyes and looked away from him after the kiss. "Are you sure?"
"I'm needed," he said with quiet certainty. He touched her face with one hand and said, "Harry, would you walk me to the car?"
I did. "Thank you," I said, once we were outside. "I'm glad to get out of there. Tension, knife."
Michael nodded. "It's been a long year."
"What happened to them?" I asked.
Michael tossed his case and his bag into the back of his white pickup truck. "Molly was arrested. Possession."
I blinked at him. "She was possessed?"
He sighed and looked at me. "Possession. Marijuana and Ecstasy. She was at a party and the police raided it. She was caught holding them."

"Wow," I said, my voice subdued. "What happened?"
"Community service," he said. "We talked about it. She was clearly repentant. I thought that the humiliation and the sentence of the law were enough to settle matters, but Charity thought we were being too gentle. She tried to restrict which people Molly was allowed to spend time with."
I winced. "Ah. I think I can see how this played out."
Michael nodded, got into his truck, and leaned on the open window, looking up at me. "Yes. Both of them are proud and stubborn. Friction rose until it exploded this spring. Molly left home, dropped out of school. It's been… difficult."

"I can see that," I said, and sighed. "Maybe you should pitch in with Charity. Maybe the two of you could sit on her until she gets back on the straight and narrow."
Michael smiled a little. "She's Charity's daughter. A hundred parents sitting on her couldn't make her surrender." He shook his head. "A parent's authority can only go so far. Molly has to start thinking and choosing for herself. At this point, twisting her arm until she cries uncle isn't going to help her do that."
"Doesn't seem like Charity agrees with you," I said.
Michael nodded. "She loves Molly very much. She's terrified of the kinds of things that could happen to her little girl." He glanced at the house. "Which brings me to a question for you."
"Yeah?"
"Is there some kind of dangerous situation developing?"
I chewed on my lip and then nodded. "It seems probable, but I don't have anything specific yet."
"Is my daughter involved in it?"
"Not to my knowledge," I told him. "Her boyfriend got arrested tonight. She talked me into bailing him out."
Michael's eyes narrowed a little, but then he caught himself, and I saw him force the angry expression from his face. "I see. How in the world did you get her to come here?"
"It was what I charged for my help," I said. "She tried to back out, but I convinced her not to."
Michael grunted. "You threatened her?"
"Politely," I said. "I'd never hurt her."
"I know that," Michael said, his tone gently reproving. Behind us, the front door opened. Molly stepped out onto the porch, hugging herself with her arms. She stood that way for a moment, ignoring us. A few seconds later, a light on the second floor came on. Charity, presumably, had gone back upstairs.
Michael watched his daughter for a moment, pain in his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and said, "May I ask a favor of you?"
"Yes."
"Talk to her," Michael said. "She likes you. Respects you. A few words from you might do more than anything I could tell her right now."
"Whoa," I said. "I don't know."
"You don't have to negotiate a treaty," Michael said, smiling. "Just ask her to talk to her mother. To be willing to give a little."
"Compromise has to work both ways," I said. "What about Charity?"
"She'll come around."
"Am I the only one who has noticed that Charity really doesn't regard me with what most of the world thinks of as fairness? Or fondness? I am the last person in the world likely to get her to sit down for a reconciliation talk."
He smiled. "Have a little faith."
"Oh, please." I sighed, but there wasn't any real feeling behind it.
"Will you try to help?" Michael asked.
I scowled at him. "Yes."
He smiled at me, mostly in his eyes. "Thank you. I'm sorry you walked into the cross fire tonight."
"Molly told me there had been trouble at home. Bringing her here seemed like the right thing to do."
"I appreciate it." Michael frowned, his eyes distant for a moment, then said, "I've got to get moving."
"Sure," I said.
He met my eyes and said, "If something arises, will you keep an eye on them for me? It would make me feel a lot better to know you were watching over them until I return."
I glanced back at his house. "What happened to having faith?"
He smiled. "Seems a bit lazy to expect the Lord to do all the work, doesn't it?" His expression grew serious again. "Besides. I do have faith, Harry. In Him-and in you."
Demon-infested me writhed in uncomfortable guilt on the inside. "I'll keep an eye on them, of course."
"Thank you," Michael said, and put the truck in gear. "When I get back, I need to talk business with you, if you have the time."
I nodded. "Sure. Good hunting."
"God be with you," he replied with a deep nod, and then he pulled out and left. Have sword, will travel. Hi-yo, Silver, away.
That arrest was explicitly the point at which friction between her and Charity escalated, resulting in her moving out.

So yes, besides the potential for unforseen consequences, there already is a fraught history here with lots of trauma triggers.
Especially with Molly then going on to mindwhammy her friends to stop them using.
Tread with care.

I can see Molly using in a crisis.
I cant see her chugging pharmaceuticals week to week.
 
[X] Go talk to Thomas about the Hunger first
-[X] Use empathy and etiquette excellency where appropriate
-[X] Stunt: Taking a sip of coffee in the Starbucks where she agreed to meet Thomas, Molly feels a paradoxically foreign and familiar sensation well up; something between opening an immense eye and the beat of a vast heart, but with elements that don't truly belong to either.
-[X] As her presence shines across the room on unseen light and strikes with unheard thunder, Molly looks up to see Thomas; who looks like nothing so much as a man who's last step ended with a gut-wrenching click.
-[X] "It's good to see you under better circumstances Thomas. I can't promise this won't be a little strange for both of us; but it should be a little less, well, Harry than how we met." She says with just the right emphasis on the pun to shatter the tension like a kneecap under a sword's pommel.
 
[X] BronzeTongue

When it comes to Signatures it pays to remember that the Blizzard effect of Without Honor Without Hope should cool down the area enough to also trigger the primary effect of the Charm itself.
That makes it superior to the other -2 Signatures to me.
 
I can see Molly using in a crisis.
I cant see her chugging pharmaceuticals week to week.
Respectfully, I disagree. This could be as healthy a habit as drinking coffee in the morning or taking vitamin supplements (mote so, even, since those are usually mostly useless).

Besides, less sleep doesn't mean worse sleep. It might simply mean more efficient sleep, like in those people who naturally sleep 3-4 hours per day due to genetic mutations.
 
[X] BronzeTongue

When it comes to Signatures it pays to remember that the Blizzard effect of Without Honor Without Hope should cool down the area enough to also trigger the primary effect of the Charm itself.
That makes it superior to the other -2 Signatures to me.
I did say it was better. Still it does just enough indiscriminate damage to hurt all our allies and any other innocent bystanders in the very large area, but not enough to actually hurt our enemies enough to matter.
 
Respectfully, I disagree. This could be as healthy a habit as drinking coffee in the morning or taking vitamin supplements (mote so, even, since those are usually mostly useless).

Besides, less sleep doesn't mean worse sleep. It might simply mean more efficient sleep, like in those people who naturally sleep 3-4 hours per day due to genetic mutations.
It's an efficient habit (which helps us immensely) but:

1) It might not be seen as healthy by Charity and Michael and even if they had a certificate that there will be no damage to Molly by an authority they accept without question (which won't happen, Molly is a bit unique for being an Infernal and they won't fully trust those who might give that opinion) I doubt any parent will like to hear that their children are getting so little sleep, even if it doesn't do any harm.

2) Molly is a teenager, and I have yet to hear of a teenager who passes up the chance to get more sleep. Just as she's eating more junk food now that she doesn't have to worry about weight gain or nutrients, I'm sure she won't be depriving herself of sleep all the time. If she was having nightmares every night I'm sure she would, luckily she doesn't.

Is it a project with a close time limit? That's what this recipe is for. If it's an emergency? Of course yes. Day to day? Not.

Of course, personally I would like this to happen all the time to have more AP and more chance to gain exp, but I keep in mind that it might not happen for several reasons.
 
Well, canonically it's because there's no such thing in DF. In the quest universe there are a number of possibilities for why Harry Dresden (the only wizard we know) doesn't take advantage of such a potion
1) Rarity, cost of availability of ingredients. If, for example, you need unroasted coffee beans harvested under the light of full moon with an obsidian knife, Harry wouldn't be able to afford it.

Hell, given how broke he is, normally, he probably couldn't afford it even if it cost only as much as a premium coffee.
2) Complexity or length of the preparation. If it normally takes 23 hours to brew (i.e. one day save one bour of sleep) , Harry might have considered it more trouble to make than it's worth, especially since normally you can't preserve the potions.

Normally it's provably easier to tough out one day without sleep, especially since Harry has high willpower.
Its a 1 dot potion. Dead cheap.
Dresden isnt well to do, but he isnt that poor. Especially if such a potion allowed him to get an additional 50% in waking hours each week.The fact he doesnt do it would point at reservations about prolonged use in this quest at least.

Respectfully, I disagree. This could be as healthy a habit as drinking coffee in the morning or taking vitamin supplements (mote so, even, since those are usually mostly useless).

Besides, less sleep doesn't mean worse sleep. It might simply mean more efficient sleep, like in those people who naturally sleep 3-4 hours per day due to genetic mutations.
-It is nothing as mild as coffee. Its the magical equivalent of Red Bull spiked with crack and bath salts.
Thats why its described as 160-hour energy drink.
Does Molly even drink coffee? She makes it, but I dont remember if she drinks it.

-We arent talking about people able to sleep 3-4 hours a night. We're talking outright eliminating sleep except for an hour.
A person sleeping 3-4 hours a night is still sleeping 21-28 hours out of 168 hours every week.
Someone on this stuff sleeps 1 hour. A week.

As far as we know, no stated physical side effects from occasional use.
That doesnt guarantee no longterm effects from prolonged use, whether physical or psychological.

And frankly, the girl who associates drugs in her life with the wreckage of two lives and herself ending up on a tree in Arctis Tor is not going to jump to start drinking some new potion every week to prevent sleep.
 
I did say it was better. Still it does just enough indiscriminate damage to hurt all our allies and any other innocent bystanders in the very large area, but not enough to actually hurt our enemies enough to matter.
One Bashing per minute does not hurt our allies notably.
Most fights are over quicker than one minute and a healthy adult with good Stamina score like Micheal can easily soak one bashing.
And if we expect to use it for a full scene in the presence of allies they can prepare by bringing winter-clothes.

The only scenario where the blizzard really hurts people we don't want to hurt would be in a case like Soul's Rest, where lots of vulnerable weakened folks are around.

Edit: Harry could also trivially protect himself or others from the cold.
 
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Its a 1 dot potion. Dead cheap.
Dresden isnt well to do, but he isnt that poor. Especially if such a potion allowed him to get an additional 50% in waking hours each week.The fact he doesnt do it would point at reservations about prolonged use in this quest at least.
Point of order, it's a 2 dot potion.
Someone on this stuff sleeps 1 hour. A week.
That's also wrong. It's one hour per night. From Sorcerer companion:
•• A liquid that allows the drinker to go for an entire week with only one hour's sleep per night.
As far as we know, no stated physical side effects from occasional use.
At least in Paths of Power it is explicit that there are no penalties:

•• 160-Hour Energy Drink: A vial of liquid that allows the drinker to go a week with only a single hour of sleep per night without penalties.

No distinction of physical or mental penalties. No penalties at all.

As to IC being allowed to do it, we can argue for it, and we are good at arguing.

I realize that you don't like the idea, but you are inventing problems where there are none. Pr at least none that aren't easily solved
 
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Point of order, it's a 2 dot potion.
That's also wrong. It's one hour per night. From Sorcerer companion:
•• A liquid that allows the drinker to go for an entire week with only one hour's sleep per night.
Conceded.
Dresden still counts as easily Resources 2 by V20 rules: apartment with reliable rustbucket.
Which would put that well within his pay bracket.
At least in Paths of Power it is explicit that there are no penalties:

•• 160-Hour Energy Drink: A vial of liquid that allows the drinker to go a week with only a single hour of sleep per night without penalties.

No distinction of physical or mental penalties. No penalties at all.

As to IC being allowed to do it, we can argue for it, and we are good at arguing.
I realize that you don't like the idea, but you are inventing problems where there are none. Pr at least none that aren't easily solved
Im not inventing problems, just pointing out those that already exist.

Its not exactly a stretch that with drugs having been a proximate cause of the last family rift and her friends issues, that it might be something Molly is going to be sensitive about. Or her mother will be.
Feel free to disagree.
 
Its not exactly a stretch that with drugs having been a proximate cause of the last family rift and her friends issues, that it might be something Molly is going to be sensitive about. Or her mother will be.
Feel free to disagree.
It's possible that we'll need to convince Charity that it's safe, yes. Same as we dis with bleach baths, and using powers of Nuclear Hell Princess in general (Charity still has no idea about our shintai form, I think; we'll need to tackle this later). What I disagree with is that we shouldn't try.

A good opening move would be to brew cure for the common cold for our siblings. That's a 1 dot recipe. Or a combat healing potion.
 
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The first thing that comes to mind is something like the Lidless Eye of Sauron, an all-knowing and all-piercing gaze but that doesn't really intersect with Molly's desire for a kinder world.

Although, at the moment I imagine that her actual vision is of a kinder world for mortal humans, not necessarily for anything else.

Through a twisting of motivation the easy answer is that things become a means to an end in pursuit of that kinder order, some sort of horrific perfection? The image of peace through total subjugation?

Some vision of the world being made into a gilded cage of some sort with humanity a much beloved and doted upon but ultimately trapped pet.
Which would nicely intersect with Molly's own 'original sin' of taking away Rosie's ability to choose.

So maybe an unnatural mental influence effect?
It's not a bad angle. What if everybody starts uncontrollably proccing Naked Wicked Souls on everyone they see?

I'd also consider something for that wicked city language charm.
 
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On the matter of Splintered Gale Incarnation I was about to write that the bodies are wholly mortal other than the ability to use infernal only artifacts and their loyalty, but then I realized that without the anti-mind control protection on intimacies that you get from a charm there is no way you could even guarantee that loyalty. It would be rather odd if that is basically a nascent Demon of Molly got mind-whammned by a baby Red Court who got lucky on the addictive spit roll. So yeah in the end I think it is more balanced if you keep the passive abilities in SGI.
 
So yeah in the end I think it is more balanced if you keep the passive abilities in SGI.
So with our current charms they are fairly tanky, ignore pain, craft faster (but not summon tools), escape jail, bully CoD, resist and are empowered by water and cold, never need to make survival rolls in a hostile environment and heal in tonix liquids.

Do they get a copy of our soul sword? Maybe well they are in range of our anima.
 
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