It will work if they all stayed at the hotel. You only know that some number of them were there at one point in the last week.
Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
I dont really think so.
A mobile trigger and setup is very much in keeping with the lore of the setting.
Both settings actually, both World of Darkness and the Dresden Files.
In Small Favor, the original ritual trap that caught the Archive at the Shedd Aquarium was triggered by Thorned Namshiel using a mobile setup. The prepwork had been done beforehand, but there was nothing there for the Archive, who is like the most potent mortal practitioner we've seen in the setting, nor Dresden, who was a Chicago native, to see beforehand.
And that was something big enough to require Lucifer's helping hand.
And in Kindred of the East, Wan Kuei dont appear to need ritual setups to fuck with leylines.
Just sufficient juice to power the effect.
I expect akuma arent likely to be worse at it.
I dont expect there's going to be a convenient ritual site to attack here, like an ejection port on the Death Star.
That would be too easy.
I think you are misreading the situation.
We are playing against an opponent who can be presumed to be making countermoves in response to ours.
We do not have the luxury of assuming Tuzi's situation can wait.
For example, Tuzi was publicly seen walking into the cafe with our party. And we can assume Eiko's group has eyes in our city.
If the akuma really wants to know what was talked about there, blackmailing her with his safety, or luring her out with her paramour is a very obvious strategy("Honey, I survived but I've been running. Im laying low at X. Could you bring me Y?").
After all, we saw her depth of feeling as expressed to strangers.
She needs to be talked to ASAP, or we could well end up with a senri murdered and eaten in an alley somewhere and information leaked about our discussion and the wherabouts of three other shamans in the neighborhood.
Dresden Files worldbuilding around the soul is something of a deliberate mess, in part because there's a mishmash of pronouncements by people who arent completely knowledgeable about the subject; see Dresden saying with his full chest early in the series that Fae dont have souls, or other such pronouncements about things like ghosts and morditr.
But also because Butcher is, in my opinion, making up and redefining some of his lore as he goes along.
But as of Ghost Story? Mortals have a soul and a spirit.
The spirit is either born from the soul as you die, or is buried in the soul and released as you transition to your afterlife.
How it works for fae and the rest is unknown.
I would have to search Ghost Story to give you a definitive answer.
But its worth noting that noone in a position to make a declarative pronouncement IC has done so. And OOC Butcher hasnt been all that clear either.
But for my current understanding, see above.
Let me know if you want the citation so I look for it.
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Hmm... the minion we interrogated said they were staying in the hotel. It's possible that there are others.
I think that'll need a separate question. Two, actually: one to locate the dwellings of every servant of Emma-O connected to these events in the city, and another to see their plans. This is certainly an issue.
Anyone has any ideas on how to better formulate the question?
One last time:
1)You are burning high quality general Yomi Wan foci for whats an emissary of one Yama King.
You are burning the Big Book of Yomi Wan as a focus in Arc 6.
Thats...bad.
When we actually run into Yomi Wan entities we know fuckall about, we'll have nothing to go on.
2) We were told that, in addition to the three people reported in the papers as victims of the Recluse Murders,there's more that the cops didnt notice.
Thats a minimum of five dead and five graves: three mentioned in the papers, minus J, but plus at least three more.
We even have the name of one of them, Anna Ash's friend John Li, who died last week.
Walk up to the grave(or body if its still in a mortuary), or their apartment and ask:
"Where is the local HQ/base of the group that had the owner of this apartment/occupant of this body/grave killed?"
They may be in the NeverNever, but it will tell us where.
Use one other foci to determine numbers she brought with her. And a third to plot a route there.
Alternatively, have Lydia ask the ghosts.
Elder akuma are not human necromancers, bt they can whistle the tune quite well.
The ghosts will know whats up, if only to avoid the area.
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- Location
- Germany
It should be noted that Wan Kuei can be good with ghosts though.
It's not an inherently adversarial relationship between them and ghosts, like it is with Necromancers.
A Bone Flower who treats the Dead with a respect they don't get from the regular locals could make friends here.
What are you talking about? I am using Big Book of Yomi Wan to gain all the knowledge everyone in Yomi Wan, not just servants of Emma-O, know of exaltations. That's a pretty damn good use for it. The only better one I see is finding where more exaltations are. Big Book of Yomi Wan in our greatest focus for Yomi Wan in general. It should be used to gain the greatest possible treasure of information.
We'll have those entities and their actions, and the victims and evidence of those actions as foci.
We can just use one focus to ask "how do I get to the current HQ of the group that had the owner of this apartment/occupant of this body/grave killed?". As shown when tracking Lydia, this will give us both the location and the route.
@DragonParadox would the question in the form of "what are the plans of the akuma whose leader stayed in this hotel over the last two weeks have for winning a confrontation with Molly and her allies?" work?
[X] Plan gathering intelligence before a confrontation v. 3.0
-[X] Using your copy of Big Book of Yomi Wan, ask "what do the forces talked about in this book know about the type of object referred to by servants of Emma-O as Black Seed?" Pre-activate Occult Excellency to understand the answer better
-[X] Using the online page of Jaslin Hotel as the focus, ask "what are the plans of the akuma whose leader stayed in this hotel over the last two weeks have for winning a confrontation with Molly and her allies?"
-[X] Cyberdevils: Hack into Jaslin Hotel computers, with interest in security cameras and every room that has been occupied for the last two weeks, plus the room number(s) the akuma gave us.
-[X] Drive by Pink Swan, and use the Crown to ask "What is the full detailed motivation of a former DJ of this club, known as J, for working with Wan Kuei?"
-[X] Drive by apartments of two victims of Recluse Murders. Ask the questions "how do I get to the current HQ of the group that had the owner of this apartment killed?" and "who does the group that had the owner of this apartment killed consist of?"
-[X] Recover essence by spending time in a bottle of bleach which your father will carry while moving between locations.
-[X] Tell Bùshì Tùzǐ about J's survival and what the akuma are likely planning for him
--[X] Empathy excellency and All Things Betray to manage and read her reaction
Maybe change it to being centered around the claim made by the messenger Akuma? It doesn't matter if he was right, wrong, or only sharing part of the truth if we use the hotel's connection to him as the medium.
"what are the plans the akuma associated with the one claiming to have stayed this hotel over the last two weeks have for winning a confrontation with Molly and her allies?"
Or similar.
They weren't trying to lock down a district as you were talking about, or targeting something as energetic a ley lines directly.
They're basically in the middle of some quick and dirty geomancy, I'd expect there to be some more involved elements here.
And as I said, if there actually isn't then we should be hunting and killing their skilled labor, which amounts to the same thing.
I see that concern, and we may end up talking her anyway, but I think it's foolish to share sight unseen. Being able to shape how much we share and how we frame it rather than going straight from asking to telling is valuable.
It will give you some kind of response, but it will not guarantee that you get everything you want because the question is still at one remove, you are aiming it at the place they stay/ed at rather than the Akuma themselves. To get the best response you would have to get eyes on their leadership, with all the risks that involves
@DragonParadox
QUESTION
Was there a body recovered for J? Was it apparently poisoned or killed in some other fashion?
Because if there was a body recovered that looked like J, it tells us two things:
=The Akuma has Bone Shintai. At least Level 6, which is where they can change the appearance of others.
And possibly as high as Level 8, where you can make zombies
=The akuma has some other source of bodies that we havent noticed.
Hence I said akuma specifically.
QUESTION
Was there a body recovered for J? Was it apparently poisoned or killed in some other fashion?
Because if there was a body recovered that looked like J, it tells us two things:
=The Akuma has Bone Shintai. At least Level 6, which is where they can change the appearance of others.
And possibly as high as Level 8, where you can make zombies
=The akuma has some other source of bodies that we havent noticed.
Sure.
Hence I said akuma specifically.
The police have a body on record, you do not have autopsy information or anything of the sort, that is something you might want to talk to Butters about.
Ok, switching back to "akuma and their affiliates that stayed in this hotel". In case J was there, or some other mortal or non-akuma collaborators. We'll possibly have to ask more questions later, but for now "best is the enemy of good enough".
[X] Plan gathering intelligence before a confrontation v. 3.0
-[X] Using your copy of Big Book of Yomi Wan, ask "what do the forces talked about in this book know about the type of object referred to by servants of Emma-O as Black Seed?" Pre-activate Occult Excellency to understand the answer better
-[X] Using the online page of Jaslin Hotel as the focus, ask "what plans do the akuma and their affiliates that stayed in this hotel over the last two weeks have for winning a confrontation with Molly and her allies?"
-[X] Cyberdevils: Hack into Jaslin Hotel computers, with interest in security cameras and every room that has been occupied for the last two weeks, plus the room number(s) the akuma gave us.
-[X] Drive by Pink Swan, and use the Crown to ask "What is the full detailed motivation of a former DJ of this club, known as J, for working with Wan Kuei?"
-[X] Drive by apartments of two victims of Recluse Murders. Ask the questions "how do I get to the current HQ of the group that had the owner of this apartment killed?" and "who does the group that had the owner of this apartment killed consist of?"
-[X] Recover essence by spending time in a bottle of bleach which your father will carry while moving between locations.
-[X] Tell Bùshì Tùzǐ about J's survival and what the akuma are likely planning for him
--[X] Empathy excellency and All Things Betray to manage and read her reaction
Too removed, I fear. We need arcane links, and relatively good ones. This is at least two steps removed.
1)The only Hells in Yomi Wan who actually have seen or touched an Exaltation were Kakuri and Lanka.
And we have evidence that Kakuri's knowledge and understanding is vastly limited.
Hence this entire affair.
2)I quote:
The shower feels strange as the water cools almost instantly off your skin you can barely feel it. You turn it hotter and hotter and hotter until the bathroom is filled with steam. But it still doesn't feel like it used to. I'm always going to be cold, like that place, like those things. You don't know when you started crying, but you are and you can't stop.
"Yours is not the cold of that realm Most Dreadful Flower of the Endless Night," Usum speaks in your mind again. "Yours is the chill of Kakuri, the Night Realm where dwells Emma-O mighty among the Yama Kings, pretender to the throne of hell." Sensing your fear the demon adds."Your power comes not though him, nor through any other of the so-called-lords of that place. It echoes the surging essence of Yomi Wan..."
So sitting in the steam filled bathroom in your parent's home you learn about the Thousand Hells and the tainted spirits that live there tormenting the wicked, about the Wuan Kuei, the Ten Thousand Demons who are reborn of those sinful souls who manage to escape, by strength, by cunning and sometimes even by the machinations of the dark lords themselves and crawl back into their corpses to live again s hunters of the living. And you learn a little bit about where your power had come from before the black ice tree.
"The power which is now yours and I bound to was unearthed from a place of great, power darkness between the realms of Lanka and Kakuri known only as the Scar by the Rakshas of Lanka. Bound was it in black jade and taken as a trophy. Though they could use only the merest sliver of its might it was a great weapon in the wars of the demons, but they were ever careful not to bring it too near a living mortal soul for then it might be unleased. They questioned me under torrent for I knew many old secrets, though I did not remember what I had been before the Scar or whence I dwelt."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," you interrupt fervently, not caring if he is a demon.
"I am well now mistress, I will not be put back," he replies with the same conviction you had felt when talking to mom earlier. "When the Demon City was broken by its own hubris the shard of power was taken by the servants of Emma-O who use it much as the Rakshas had, but less cautiously, for they did not know that it was a crown meant for the Chosen. So they bore it up to realms nearer to the world of men where, in fields of snow and crushing ice, they battled the servants of Queen Mab. In the last of those battles the fey were the victors. They feared what my whispers would do to them so they bound me in black ice in the heart of their fortress and then in their folly they brought near you who would be Chosen and on their heels one with the power to break the prison...."
"Molly stop hogging the bathroom already!" Leech's voice and banging on the door cut off the dark history of your power and you realize that at some point in the account your tears had all dried up.
"Yours is not the cold of that realm Most Dreadful Flower of the Endless Night," Usum speaks in your mind again. "Yours is the chill of Kakuri, the Night Realm where dwells Emma-O mighty among the Yama Kings, pretender to the throne of hell." Sensing your fear the demon adds."Your power comes not though him, nor through any other of the so-called-lords of that place. It echoes the surging essence of Yomi Wan..."
So sitting in the steam filled bathroom in your parent's home you learn about the Thousand Hells and the tainted spirits that live there tormenting the wicked, about the Wuan Kuei, the Ten Thousand Demons who are reborn of those sinful souls who manage to escape, by strength, by cunning and sometimes even by the machinations of the dark lords themselves and crawl back into their corpses to live again s hunters of the living. And you learn a little bit about where your power had come from before the black ice tree.
"The power which is now yours and I bound to was unearthed from a place of great, power darkness between the realms of Lanka and Kakuri known only as the Scar by the Rakshas of Lanka. Bound was it in black jade and taken as a trophy. Though they could use only the merest sliver of its might it was a great weapon in the wars of the demons, but they were ever careful not to bring it too near a living mortal soul for then it might be unleased. They questioned me under torrent for I knew many old secrets, though I did not remember what I had been before the Scar or whence I dwelt."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," you interrupt fervently, not caring if he is a demon.
"I am well now mistress, I will not be put back," he replies with the same conviction you had felt when talking to mom earlier. "When the Demon City was broken by its own hubris the shard of power was taken by the servants of Emma-O who use it much as the Rakshas had, but less cautiously, for they did not know that it was a crown meant for the Chosen. So they bore it up to realms nearer to the world of men where, in fields of snow and crushing ice, they battled the servants of Queen Mab. In the last of those battles the fey were the victors. They feared what my whispers would do to them so they bound me in black ice in the heart of their fortress and then in their folly they brought near you who would be Chosen and on their heels one with the power to break the prison...."
"Molly stop hogging the bathroom already!" Leech's voice and banging on the door cut off the dark history of your power and you realize that at some point in the account your tears had all dried up.
We know what they know.
Both because much of what they know was stuff they tortured out of Usum, and because Usum was a good Listener.
What they might learn in the future, we dont know.
But the Book wont tell us either.
Only what they know now.
Or we wont.
Because if this was something that was assured, we wouldnt be burning the Book as a focus here.
Tracking Lydia was fine because she was on the move in the open.
A forward base presumably has defenses and is picked for its security.
We need a question focused on the base precisely because we can expect it to have defenses and scouts.
Unless we want to walk face first into a magical minefield.
Kinda like what Evil Bob had in Ghost Story.
The Denarians were directly drawing power from Hell. Dresden literally killed at least one by knocking him into the border of the pentagram they were using and it vaporized him.
That was a vastly more energetic event than this is likely to be.
The akuma is setting a magical trap not a physical one.
People can still walk in and out of Chinatown, as far as Im aware, and its only designed to last a couple minutes at best, which is how long pitched magical battles generally run for.
Speaking as an advocate of information control?
I think the benefits of haste in this instance outweigh whatever benefits delay might bring. Especially with lives on the line.
Agree to disagree I guess.
.....
If this vote isnt closed today, Im going to try making another alternate plan.
- Location
- Germany
[X] uju32
It will not be, I could probably get an update out right now is I really had to, but the conversation seems to be ongoing and I do not want to stifle that just for the sake of keeping to one update per day
We don't actually know that. At all. We know that our specific exaltation shard was only in Kakuri's possession. Which is why I am not asking about our specific exaltation. I am asking about exaltations in general. That's a very different question, and Yomi Wan hells have a lot of very old knowledge.
And we don't even know what Kakuri knows about our exaltation. Only what they did with it.
We need to know what Kakuri actually knows, because we don't know how much they understand - if they are making a plan with a credible chance of f*cking with an Infernal Exaltation's selection process, and can at least slow down its fleeing... They might know a lot more than we think. And we need to know what, if anything, other factions of Yomi Wan, including old souls being tortured in other parts of Yomi Wan, know about exaltations in general.
This is assuming the base is in nevernever. Not a given. If it's a place in Chicago, or, hell, if it it's in Nevernever, but has a Way established from Chicago, we'll be able to find additional foci.
And an aside:
Citation, since I just found it:
Small Favor: The Shedd Aquarium
I disputed this before, but I couldnt remember the exact place where the mechanics were laid out.
Citation, since I just found it:
Small Favor: The Shedd Aquarium
Hope you find this as illuminating as I did.Small Favor c30 said:
- Location
- Germany
We already knew that Wizards work with external energy in this quest by the way:
Divsimar knew at least and told us.
Yes we do.
Its Yomi Wan. Ruled by the most corrupt, power hungry group of reprobates in the NeverNever, and always fighting for supremacy. By Usum's own testimony when they werent questioning him they were using him in fights with each other.
If there was more than one Exaltation rattling around the place someone would be using it, just like every Yama King was using Usum as a weapon as soon as they came into possession of him.
Exaltations were not designed to stay secret.
Do remember that what they think they know =/= Truth.
See the whole attempt to find a magically talented human to transfer the Exaltation to. If they do not know the first basic thing about Exaltation choice criteria, I have little worries about what else Emma-O thinks they know.
Furthermore, I will refer you to my citation, and specifically what Usum said:
Or what Molly said:
It doesnt mean they cant do lots of collateral damage while attempting to carry out their plan.
But its just an additional indication, like the akuma's reaction to DPoE, or their recruiting J, or their....comments about the Sword, that they know very little about what they are fucking around with.
Which is par for the course for Yama Kings.
Not a given.
But significantly more likely, given the environmental constraints that Wan Kuei and Akuma suffer under with regards to sunlight.
And probably more secure.
Eiko had her minion living in a 3-star hotel in Chinatown, and she doesnt strike me as the sort of person to have a minion in more comfort than herself. So that rules out squats and Undertown.
And she cant be living in Chinatown without drawing attention from the local shen or the ghost community.
So, NeverNever.
Especially if she has to hold a captive.
Completely forgot about that.
Thank you for the reminder. And that comment about not being a grand master is especially useful, since it tells us he doesnt know the capstones of any of the Bridges.
The Denarians also only effected a small area, turned the power on right when they needed it, and still had to draw the sigel first to contain it.
The Akuma are trying to pin to a persistent change across a broad region, which is a different application entirely.
An OOC vote break point doesn't cost IC time.
You are mistaken.
To the best of our understanding, its a temporary effect for the duration of the fight. According to Porter:
And a weaker one at that, because it is much more limited in effect.
Its primary goal is to slightly impede the Exaltation from leaving, and slightly impeding all powers in the neighborhood from invoking power.
By contrast?
The Denarians shut down all extra magic power in the area, blocked the ability to open a portal to the NeverNever, as well as the ability to physically leave the area without being immolated.
Thanks.
Okay. Molly hasnt met Butters.
But Michael and Father Forthill may have during the events of Death Masks around the deaths of Father Vincent and Shiro; I need to check. Dresden and Murphy certainly have.
J's alleged body, as part of an ongoing homicide investigation, is probably still at the Medical Examiner's Office.
So may other Recluse Murder cases, because ongoing toxicology testing, and since the akuma have only been in town for two weeks, none of the corpses will be older than 14 days.
Gimme an hour or so to get around to writing a vote and relevant stunt, and tie that in to Tuzi.
Because Im betting she actually hasnt gotten to see the body either; most shen arent like Nimble, and often dont have official identities in the eyes of the law.
EDIT
Michael has met Butters. So, presumbaly, has Sanya.
Chapter 33 of Death Masks, when Butters removed a bullet from Dresden after the fight with Nicodemus:
We can work with that.
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Note that murder is meat doesn't eat souls. It consumes essence from the act of murder itself.
In deference to @BronzeTongue , let's do this another way
===
[X]Plan Body Viewing
-[X]Ask Murphy to call Butters so you and Lydia can get a discreet look at "J's" body and autopsy report. As well as any other Recluse Murder victims still in the morgue. Or have Michael/Dresden do it
-[X]Pick up Bushi Tuzi to take a look at "J's" body at the morgue for victim identification.
-[X]Cyberdevils: Investigate Jaslin Hotel records and security cameras for relevant data
-[X]Crown Question: Forces/people/resources available to Eiko's contingent. Focus: Victim apartment
-[X]Crown Question: Route to local HQ/staging point for Eiko's party. Focus: Jaslin Hotel room
-[X]All Things Betray and Empathy Excellency if necessary
-[X]STUNT: Sitting in the front passenger seat of Black Rider in a belted leopard print dress, Tuzi affects a puzzled look. "Explain why Im doing this again." Releasing the wheel to Black Rider's control, you turn your full attention to your passenger, your expression placating. "I dont want to give you any preconceptions, but my contact in the police says J's body was identified by coworkers.Right?" At her grudging assent, you continue. "You knew him better than any of them, but you havent gotten a close look at his body yet. So maybe you'll notice something they missed, even now. And..." You're interrupted by your Mercedes swinging into the parking lot of the medical examiners building, Lydia's car with her and Brother Devsimar right behind yours. As Black Rider slides smoothly into a parking lot, your father says from the backseat "Dr Butters car is here." A pause. "And Detective Murphy's".
RATIONALE
Molly listens at doors.
She'll have remembered Death Masks when Shiro died, and both her father and Harry were brought home after receiving treatment from Butters at the mortuary. And Michael knows Butters.
Asking Murphy to do it because Murphy already gave her some records, but if Murphy cant be reached, Michael or Dresden can do it
Since Tuzi doesnt have a legal identity, she probably hasnt actually seen the body since J was declared dead.
Certainly not up close.
So let her do so, and confirm that it isnt his.
She's a death spirit of some sort, a guardian of the dead and of the threshold of worlds so she might pick up on something else we didnt as well. Also, we have Lydia around to help.
Regarding the body in the morgue, either they used Wan Kuei mojo to alter his body, or magic to illusion up his face.
Either way, the identity might be important.
Or they might have left something on the corpse that is.
Also, doing it this way means we dont have to explain to someone new how we figured out that J wasnt dead.
Which keeps the number of people in the know about Molly having bullshit divination limited.
===
[X]Plan Body Viewing
-[X]Ask Murphy to call Butters so you and Lydia can get a discreet look at "J's" body and autopsy report. As well as any other Recluse Murder victims still in the morgue. Or have Michael/Dresden do it
-[X]Pick up Bushi Tuzi to take a look at "J's" body at the morgue for victim identification.
-[X]Cyberdevils: Investigate Jaslin Hotel records and security cameras for relevant data
-[X]Crown Question: Forces/people/resources available to Eiko's contingent. Focus: Victim apartment
-[X]Crown Question: Route to local HQ/staging point for Eiko's party. Focus: Jaslin Hotel room
-[X]All Things Betray and Empathy Excellency if necessary
-[X]STUNT: Sitting in the front passenger seat of Black Rider in a belted leopard print dress, Tuzi affects a puzzled look. "Explain why Im doing this again." Releasing the wheel to Black Rider's control, you turn your full attention to your passenger, your expression placating. "I dont want to give you any preconceptions, but my contact in the police says J's body was identified by coworkers.Right?" At her grudging assent, you continue. "You knew him better than any of them, but you havent gotten a close look at his body yet. So maybe you'll notice something they missed, even now. And..." You're interrupted by your Mercedes swinging into the parking lot of the medical examiners building, Lydia's car with her and Brother Devsimar right behind yours. As Black Rider slides smoothly into a parking lot, your father says from the backseat "Dr Butters car is here." A pause. "And Detective Murphy's".
RATIONALE
Molly listens at doors.
She'll have remembered Death Masks when Shiro died, and both her father and Harry were brought home after receiving treatment from Butters at the mortuary. And Michael knows Butters.
Asking Murphy to do it because Murphy already gave her some records, but if Murphy cant be reached, Michael or Dresden can do it
Since Tuzi doesnt have a legal identity, she probably hasnt actually seen the body since J was declared dead.
Certainly not up close.
So let her do so, and confirm that it isnt his.
She's a death spirit of some sort, a guardian of the dead and of the threshold of worlds so she might pick up on something else we didnt as well. Also, we have Lydia around to help.
Regarding the body in the morgue, either they used Wan Kuei mojo to alter his body, or magic to illusion up his face.
Either way, the identity might be important.
Or they might have left something on the corpse that is.
Also, doing it this way means we dont have to explain to someone new how we figured out that J wasnt dead.
Which keeps the number of people in the know about Molly having bullshit divination limited.