Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

[X] No, you would rather keep the favor for now, there are other places you can find information, other allies you can gather
 
[X] No, you would rather keep the favor for now, there are other places you can find information, other allies you can gather

We are a little low on essence to be going into a full scale social combat. Also I don't feel like we should need Mab's help for this.
"Experience?" He sounds enough like he's chocking that you wonder if you should pan him on the back.

Should be 'pat'
 
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Something I've just realised. Do we know that Winter Fey are even forbidden from having side-gigs?

When Harry was Winter Knight he was taking jobs from other people without it being an issue.

Do we even know that Lictor knew who/what he was working for?
We know they are not. See Odin, the Winter King. The issue, as I understand it, is the fundamental change it underwent.

So the question fundamentally is "do we trigger Mab encounter right now?" or, at least "do we warn Mab about how fast we are progressing and gaining power? Or are we planning to essentially ambush her when talking on Halloween?".

And there's also "are we going for the kill on naagloshii or are we simply driving it off?

Personally, I think there are three options:
1) Involve Mab / Winter as allies in the killing of naagloshii (also get RVD, and go to tribal lands to get a shaman)
2) Use the favor to burn one of Harry's debts, if at all possible
3) Use the favor to remove "enemy: WInter" issue.
 
[X] You are a better negotiator than him, if you are going to do it best do it right (Will Require convincing Harry; Opposed rolls with intimacy on his side)
-[X] Use Empathy excellency when talking to Harry, make the use of this excellency one of your arguments.
-[X] Make sure to restore all your essence before calling Mab
-[X] Make preparations that involve invoking all of your powers. Lower the temperature to invoke Without Honor Without Hope, wear a wet T-shirt under your normal clothes, have Mouse promise not to let you leave until talks with Mab are complete.
-[X] Invoke All Things Betray before Harry starts calling Mab
-[X] Use Etiquette and Empathy excellencies

Ok, so, why am I voting for this? It shows (to Mab, who is smart) that Molly puts the benefit of her allies (Dresden, who is likely naagloshii's target) and the world beyond her own petty advantage. We are using the favor to do something good, and important. Yes, we disclose a lot to Mab. And I dislike her, a lot. But naagloshii are a much worse being.
 
"Harry, I'm not a damsel in distress. I'm a damsel of distress."

Nah, Harry's a rough around the edges classic PI at heart.

The problem is that Molly is still too young and earnest to fit into any sort of femme fatale box in his head.

It is hilarious that Molly still hits his DiD button despite having been witness to her nuclear demon knight transformation and subsequent decapitation of a Valkyrie.
 
[X] No, you would rather keep the favor for now, there are other places you can find information, other allies you can gather
 
Nah, Harry's a rough around the edges classic PI at heart.

The problem is that Molly is still too young and earnest to fit into any sort of femme fatale box in his head.

It is hilarious that Molly still hits his DiD button despite having been witness to her nuclear demon knight transformation and subsequent decapitation of a Valkyrie.
As Murphy puts it Dresden is a sexist pig.
 
a king who moonlights as a god on the weakened?

Pretty sure you meant Weekend.

She's the queen of a spirit court, only one without any subjects."

Trust me Bob, some of us are working on it.

-[X] Use Empathy excellency when talking to Harry, make the use of this excellency one of your arguments.

I'm not sure what you mean by that? Are you saying to argue that we need to hit the supernatural levels of persuasion to convince him as an argument to convince him? Because I cannot see phrasing it like that working, better to tell him that we can, without pointing out that we did, the second distract from the first.
 
I'm not sure what you mean by that? Are you saying to argue that we need to hit the supernatural levels of persuasion to convince him as an argument to convince him? Because I cannot see phrasing it like that working, better to tell him that we can, without pointing out that we did, the second distract from the first.
The idea is that we don't hide that we are using our abilities to make ourselves more persuasive. We demonstrate this to Harry. In the open. That's the argument, yes. "I can use my magic to make myself better at talking to people, you can't".
 
Still, I would like to have it running before Mab is summoned, as I want to observe how Harry summons Mab with the full suite of sensory enchantments we have.


[X] You are a better negotiator than him, if you are going to do it best do it right (Will Require convincing Harry; Opposed rolls with intimacy on his side)
-[X] Use Empathy excellency when talking to Harry, make the use of this excellency one of your arguments.
-[X] Make sure to restore all your essence before calling Mab via a bleach bath
-[X] Make preparations that involve invoking your powers. Don't dry yourself after a bleach bath, have Mouse promise not to let you leave until talks with Mab are complete.
-[X] Invoke All Things Betray before Harry starts calling Mab
-[X] Use Etiquette and Empathy excellencies
-[X] [STUNT]
--[X] [Convincing Harry] "Harry, I know that you don't want to expose me to the Queen of Air and Darkness. Believe me, I understand the risks, and I understand where you are coming from. But... please, watch carefully, both you and Bob, I am about to make a convincing argument" - you say, and then, mid-sentence, pull on your power, willing it to make you better at this, to understand Harry's arguments more, to find a way to reassure him: "Harry, my power can make me better at talking to people. I am not a devil whispering in anyone's ear, and I am certainly not Mab's peer yet, but I am much, much closer than a human can get in their first century".
--[X] [Calling Mab] As you enter the room, hair sill dripping bleach from a refreshing bath you took, you take in the scene before you, the circle and its maker both, with senses sharp enough to see the fingerprints Harry left on the floor from where you stand. Behind you, Mouse guards the doors of Dresden's apartment - both to prevent anyone from interrupting and, as a personal promise to you, to prevent you from leaving until your talk with Mab is concluded. You'll owe him snacks for sure. It is time to begin, and you are ready to see how one calls the Queen of the Fae.


Ok, made modifications to my vote. Added a stunt. Two, actually, one for Harry, one for when Mab is called. I am hoping that Mab's presence will lower the temperature enough that WHWH triggers.
 
[X] No, you would rather keep the favor for now, there are other places you can find information, other allies you can gather
 
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On the balance I think an hour still works best for meditation as it is not as efficient as Essence renewal via charm. These are mortal arts after all
Fair enough.

The Archive might operate a lot like the Shards from Worm, especially the ones that have taken over most of the brain functions for their hosts.

In this case, it's probably either a massive, self-perpetuating energy field/spirit being that pokes it tentacle(s) into a proper receptacle's brain/soulspace then pilots them around like a meat puppet, or something even worse. The brain is only responsible for providing a personality emulation, while all the real thought, decision-making, etc., happens with the true Archive.

The issue with Free Will can be avoided entirely if we assume the true Archive is basically a supernatural predator which boots the soul out of its meatsuit when it takes up residence. Nothing stops various supernatural creatures or adequately skilled practitioners of magic from doing this, Free Will be damned. The Archive gets to perpetuate itself indefinitely at the expense of its current meatsuit's brain getting to run a personality overlay on its hardware.

Since the Archive has shown it doesn't get disconnected from its meatsuit when contained within a circle, that means it's pretty much got to be riding around attached to their soul, right? Or, if my speculation holds true, the Archive IS the meatsuit's soul.
I wonder if the folks who created the Archive had an Exaltation to study for reference?
The Worm analogy appears to be a good one. Closer to a natural trigger than a Cauldron one, mind.
That said, I would assume that Lucifer, Hell and the Denarians knew what they were talking about when they decided to kidnap Ivy and torture her into picking up a Coin.

If the various Archives were just angler's lures for a vast supernatural predator, the giant magical circle that contained her on Demonreach would have left her catatonic as it broke the connection.
And as soon as Dresden destroyed it, she would have returned to full power and obliterated every Denarian on the island.

So no, I think a mortal sapient soul is an essential part of the formula.
The problem is that unlike an exaltation the archive isn't meant to help the bearer, it's meant to use them. It also appears to have significant access to their minds and souls.

Attempting to game it could be countered by the archive noting the desire, restricting access to information, and wiping anything useful in their personal memory from their mind. It already does that as a matter of course just to fight the oblivion war, so it clearly has the capacity for it.

To betray something that deeply rooted in their minds the archives would almost certainly need outside assistance that they can't actually arrange for themselves.
All Mantles appear to have significant access to a user's mind and soul.
Doesnt prevent them wielding the power attached. Didnt prevent Slate attempting to betray Winter, or Maeve.

The Archive is clearly designed to be wielded by the holder within a given set of rules. Note the design requirement that its supposed to be inherited by adult women, only falling to Ivy because of Plot. Which suggests either ethical constraints on the part of the designers, an actual requirement for mortal guidance in the setting metaphysics, or both.

The previous Archive clearly had the free will to commit suicide, so thats evidence that there's elements the Archive doesnt touch.
Especially since the Denarians thought the Archive had the mortal free will to pick up a Coin.
That presumes that the power bahind the Archive had the ability to plan or understand humans to a serious degree.
If that were the case, it wouldn't need the human mind and personality.

Since Ivy is more than a conduit for an ancient entity called Archive and is indeed mortal enough to possibly take up a Coin, I think the power of the Archive is removed enough from the person of the Archive to allow for some trickery.
Its at least five thousand years old. Safe to assume it can understand or model humans just fine.
Previous incarnations of the Archive allegedly masqeraded as soothsayers and, most famously, the Pythian Oracle of Delphi, using their knowledge of human psychology, biology and geosociopolitics to make predictions.

That said, its shown feats suggest its designed to operate as a Mantle of sorts.
Which in this setting requires a mortal mind.

Rolls
Finding Cash (if she had failed this one Molly would have used All things betray to lower her DC for looking through her purse)
Drawing 1, 2
Explaining God Crafting
Realizing Harry is not precisely comfortable trading favors with Winter
COMMENTARY
Ugh. Horrible Craft rolls.
4 successes (3 sux on 13 dice at DC8 + 1 autosux) is kinda shabby for a Key ability.
Unless we just had to meet a target number of successes in a given number of rolls; in this case, 5 successes in 2 rolls.

As Bob puts it "What did you think god-king means, a king who moonlights as a god on the weakened? She's the queen of a spirit court, only one without any subjects."
So far, the words in your mind are so faint you might have imagined them, though Usum assures you that he had heard them too.
I have to say I really liked this turn of phrase. Kudos.
I wonder whose voice that is though. The still small voice.....

That said, if Bob pegs Molly as god-queen of a spirit court, there's very little chance that Mab hasnt done so either.
Which raises the amusing possibility of Mab considering Molly to be competition for the loyalties of the Starborn she has been grooming to be Winter Knight for the last five years.

@DragonParadox
QUESTION
Does a naagloshii qualify as Jaagling or Incarna?
Can anyone else use the Navajo banishment methods if they learn what they are
What can Molly do with the True Name of a naagloshii?

OOC, would something like Voice of the Yama Kings (Qiao) work for banishing a naagloshii in this quest?
Or would it spend WP to resist?
 
When it comes to being superhumanly good at talking to people... is this paranoia fuel for Dresden if we say it outright(How often has she used this power in conversations with me?)? Is this a source of White council legal arguments if they become aware of this?

It's a good thing we aren't legally human I guess.
 
@DragonParadox
QUESTION
Does a naagloshii qualify as Jaagling or Incarna?
Can anyone else use the Navajo banishment methods if they learn what they are
What can Molly do with the True Name of a naagloshii?

OOC, would something like Voice of the Yama Kings (Qiao) work for banishing a naagloshii in this quest?
Or would it spend WP to resist?
  1. It is an incarna, WoD definition for the term is wider than in Exalted
  2. As far as Harry knows no, it has to be one of the people whom the thing has been sent to teach before it abandoned its task
  3. Not much since you do not have summoning and warding, also you do not have its True Name as you do not have it from its own lips but from the Crown, which is here acting like a cosmic phone book
  4. As far as Brother Disimvar knows IC it were at full power, it would laugh... but magic uses willpower, if it were tapped enough on it and beaten up it might work. No one has ever tried it on account of simple distance
 
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