Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

I think there's something to be said about the greater Akuma's strength in that it didn't just murder us in the streets at first opportunity.

The ritual is primarily to make keeping the exaltation easier, but if it was so ridiculously powerful that it could throw around the stuff recently talked about in the thread it would have just taken Molly already.

Could be they're feeling cautious, but it seems likely that the Akuma isn't certain it could win alone against what they've already seen of Molly's abilities.
Or the Akuma is so obviously monstrous that it can't even go down the street at night without causing a huge scene.

If it has been optimized for combat it could have all sorts of incident traits that would make it as obvious as Godzilla walking down the street. A gigantic scaled figure that all animals can sense, attack and warn their owners of.

Or loads of other mental flaws like a complexity addiction.
 
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If they have any idea what an Exaltation is they may think that it's in the driving seat. It's what a greater akuma would do to avoid capture as well, so it's a standard thing that warring Yama Kings have to deal with.

It's also something that we can actually do with Splintered Gale Shintai.
If they know what an exaltation is then they'd know that isn't how it works. You're assuming they know everything but the most obvious part of its functions.
We hired some cops to provide security. It was a ghost party, and these Wan Kuei have great power over ghosts. It's vastly easier to find that out than to know the details of our powers.

How would they know we don't have something like Splintered Gale Shintai? Or the King and the Kingdom and the ability to just jump into our Hell amd come back with our own hit squad. Or a whole laundry list of other powers. We're the first Infernal Exalt to ever walk this world. How on earth would they know what we can do if pushed hard enough? We have the aura of a Yama King on day relief, and a Yama King walking the world is as powerful as an arhat. They're likely to have sent a force they think can bring one of those down.
Chasing your tail forever is a habit that anyone who's survived long enough to matter should have broken.

If they're attacking it's because they feel they've got a grasp on the situation strong enough to work with. They don't have to be right, but they'd have to be idiots to proceed without thinking they know what's going on.

Which would be based on watching what we've been doing; we don't know how long they've been around or what resources they've had to watch with.

You're starting at the assumption that they're stupidly strong and then working your way backwards to justifications.

Not that I'm saying they're weak precisely, but not having an incarcerate god around is a lot more likely than them knowing enough to guess about specific esoteric charms on zero evidence but not to figure out the rough basics of how an exaltation acts.
Or the Akuma is so obviously monstrous that it can't even go down the street at night without causing a huge scene.

If it has been optimized for combat it could have all sorts of incident traits that would make it as obvious as Godzilla walking down the street. A gigantic scaled figure that all animals can sense, attack and warn their owners of.

Or loads of other mental flaws like a complexity addiction.
That's a possibility, but it makes deployment a huge pain in the ass. For something called Karkuri's Will on Earth I'd think it should be a bit broader in function than a beat stick.

As a greater Akuma Emma-O can reprogram it if he wants to put the effort in to do so. Something like a complexity addiction would be a weird trait to leave on a high level minion.
 
You're basically capped at 5 dots until your 'power stat' goes over 5*. For Wan Kuei, their power stat is Dharma, and they need to be at least a century old to get it at 6+. For us it's permanent Essence, for which the same applies. Dharma and Essence are not too dissimilar, as both represent enlightenment. Elder White Court vampires presumably have something similar similar. It's possible that the Red Court has something like VtM vampires, whose 'power stat' is 11-their Generation.

We have Excellencies instead.

* unless you're an infernalist, like the akuma.
The akuma I can stomach fricking white court having 6 dot disciplines or higher though is pretty bullshit.
 
May I suggest that you say that we only use the passive form of TTC. 5 times speed should be enough and we want to save an essence. Also the opposing forces kind of stand out our drawings don't need to be works of art that you put in a museum to get the point across. Just this one has bat wings, this one has a giant nose, the Lady has a lot of makeup on etc.
Ok, modified to
--[] Make and distribute images of enemy forces to SI and explain how they are not equipped to fight those and should avoid contact at all costs. If needed, use TTC.

We need to make 5 to 10 portraits (5 wan kuei not caught on film + 4 bakemono + 1 greater akuma). That might be a bit time consuming and Molly has expression 0.
Sounds like a lot of responsibility for poor Porter, we should have our court running on the Peter Principle...

Wait, for Molly? Too low they build, who build beneath the stars.
Yeah, I forget sometimes that technically we don't own Last Station and are just doing repairs for Porter.
 
Yeah, a stunt will probably be needed. Still, this vote will probably affect several updates to come - there's a lot to cover. Hopefully we'll be able to add stunts in then.
Well not needed. A single success should be enough for the purpose. It's not as if we are trying to impress people with our artistic talent.

Incidentally when calculating our essence economy did you remember that we regain essence at dawn? We don't need to get all of it from bleach bathes.
 
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Incidentally when calculating our essence economy did you remember that we regain essence at dawn? We don't need to get all of it from bleach bathes.
No, no I didn't. In that case, we can probably afford more questions. I don't think we have time for craft or alchemy, so that's the only way we can spend essence. What should we ask? Or do we wait to get information from the first round of questions, then ask more?
 
Tangentially related, but shouldn't this whole thing count as a business hours for Micheal? Our deal was that we'd agree not to peep on the white god in exchange for Micheal's mentorship becoming a part of his duties as a knight.

Stopping your sort of apprentice from getting ganked by the forces of (a) hell seems like it'd be in the area covered by that.
 
Tangentially related, but shouldn't this whole thing count as a business hours for Micheal? Our deal was that we'd agree not to peep on the white god in exchange for Micheal's mentorship becoming a part of his duties as a knight.

Stopping your sort of apprentice from getting ganked by the forces of (a) hell seems like it'd be in the area covered by that.
I hate to say it, but god moves in mysterious ways.
You propably can't force him to act due to a technicality, unlike Mab.
 
Tangentially related, but shouldn't this whole thing count as a business hours for Micheal? Our deal was that we'd agree not to peep on the white god in exchange for Micheal's mentorship becoming a part of his duties as a knight.

Stopping your sort of apprentice from getting ganked by the forces of (a) hell seems like it'd be in the area covered by that.
Who says these aren't his business hours? I mean, when talking to shen he was certainly acting in his capacity as the Knight. And the situation does warrant a Knight being sent. I am fairly sure the angel in his sword is all for keeping an exaltation out of Kakuri's hands.
 
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I am fairly sure the angel in his sword is all for keeping an exaltation out of Kakuri's hands.
Any sane being that knows what an Exaltation is will want to keep it out of the hands of anyone who would abuse its power. Those things are the greatest magical superweapons ever built, you don't want that in the hands of anyone you don't trust if you have literally any other option.
 
I hate to say it, but god moves in mysterious ways.
You propably can't force him to act due to a technicality, unlike Mab.
I suppose. As much shit as the fey (rightfully) get for the whole technically the truth thing, there's something to be said for the dependability of their contract law.
Who says these aren't his business hours? I mean, when talking to shen he was certainly acting in his capacity as the Knight. And the situation does warrant a Knight being sent. I am fairly sure the angel in his sword is all for keeping an exaltation out of Kakuri's hands.
I was under the impression that right now we had Micheal, father who happens to have a sword, rather than Micheal, Knight of the Cross.

I'm not sure what the Angel wants actually matters. It looks to me like they're locked down even worse than the fallen in the coins as part of the rules lawyering Uriel is doing to interfere in the first place.

On that subject though, I'm tempted to try doing something nice for the sword-angels he we have some free time. They've given up a lot, and been through some serious shit, to help innocent people.

What do you even do for a being like that though? Make a sheathe with its wielders' names on the inside? Something to let them talk? A nice whetstone?



Any sane being that knows what an Exaltation is will want to keep it out of the hands of anyone who would abuse its power. Those things are the greatest magical superweapons ever built, you don't want that in the hands of anyone you don't trust if you have literally any other option.
An interesting side note here is the timing of all this. DF mantles all have their own personal rules, but most of them also state you can kill the bearer and potentially take them for yourself on Halloween.

If you're hunting something you don't really understand and want to be sure, then working with the most general possible rules would be tempting. As far as we know it wouldn't make a difference, but it's interesting that they were willing to wait this long and don't go for that potential advantage.
Adding it in then. In real life it was fair to mostly cloudy, if that matters.

[X] Plan: using what we know v 0.4
-[X] Spend as much time as possible dispersed in a bleach bottle while traveling and not otherwise occupied to restore your essence levels
-[X] Have Michael call Charity and get her to call the school and excuse us for a day
-[X] Ask questions to get a better understanding of the situation
--[X] Using the video recordings of 12 wan kuei we have:
---[X] "Who among the forces of Kakuri sent on this mission is planning to use your power to free themselves of Emma-O?" If the question reveals that at least one of the traitors was caught on camera, use their recordings for the next questions
--[X] "How are the ones trying to escape Emma-O's grasp through this mission plan to accomplish this?"
---[X] "What are the ways to contact those planning to escape Emma-O's grasp through this mission without alerting those who are loyal to Emma-O?"
---[X] "How do the forces assigned to this mission fight (what are their fighting styles and abilities?"
---[X] "what are the abilities of the Kakuri's Will on Earth"
---[X] "What are the kakuri forces' plans for the day up to the planned confrontation with us"
-[X] Get Harry in an attempt to turn the ley line trap around
--[X] Make him take Mouse with him as a bodyguard
--[X] Call Thomas and ask (not order) to also go with Harry
--[X] If he needs your help, set up a meeting for after you drop Bùshì Tùzǐ off. He can start researching now.
-[X} Call Maria and ask her to make the weather as sunny as possible. You'll be willing to pay for any reagents and other expenses, and a hefty bonus on top of that if she tries.
-[X] Have your Cyberdevils track the plans for South Works Steel Mill.
-[X] Get Bùshì Tùzǐ to safety, it might give away the game, but making sure she does not get another visit from the Akuma is more important
--[X] To the Last Station
-[X] Contact the traitors. In exchange for turning on their comrades, and bending the knee, without surrendering their souls, you'll extend your protection and guard them against Kakuri's wraith
--[X} Excellencies to negotiate as appropriate
-[X] Enough playing around, as soon as your preparations are complete and essence is recovered, go straight to South Works and clear out the enemy
--[X] Coordinate with SI and Harry the timing, so your assault coincides with his disruption
--[X} Make and distribute images of enemy forces to SI and explain how they are not equipped to fight those and should avoid contact at all costs. If needed, use TTC.
On the plan:

If we're not going to take the Jade dogs we should still tell them to get ready for trouble, especially if we're going to stash Tuzi there. It's possible someone could try to go after her or them.

Also probably worth getting some olive oil and having Molly periodically anoint herself. If we're in crisis mode then the modifier matters more than looking weird. Ideally we'd make some equipment to hide it, but we're pressed for time.

I also think it'd be worth considering how we want to take out the vampire den. I'd rather not charge in ourselves first if we can help it.

A cyber devil in a delivery truck smashing the walls down would be a nice entry point, and an excuse for the cops to keep people away.

If we prepare some thermite in advance, which is very simple to do, we could make it even less pleasant.

We could extend that in other ways too. If we're fighting on multiple fronts, then some confusion could help us.

Having some cyber devils cause messy but nonlethal crashes at the other locations we know they're using at the same time would make it harder for them to move around and respond.
 
I was under the impression that right now we had Micheal, father who happens to have a sword, rather than Micheal, Knight of the Cross.
Here:
"We are not, but we act in the name of and by the grace of One who is infinitely mighty as he is merciful," your father... no, the Knight of the Cross and bearer of the Sword of Love says. "We can promise no more than that, we can do no less."
I take it to mean that he's here at least somewhat on business. Only partially, though:
It does not count as an official mission for Michael, he did not get is via divine inspiration, rather it is something he has chosen to involve himself in same as when he got in on some missions with Harry.
On that subject though, I'm tempted to try doing something nice for the sword-angels he we have some free time. They've given up a lot, and been through some serious shit, to help innocent people.

What do you even do for a being like that though? Make a sheathe with its wielders' names on the inside? Something to let them talk? A nice whetstone?
Interesting ideas. I would think something that would ensure that his wielders survive would be a good gift. Maybe a sheathe with a small god in it to act as a companion? With protection / emergency teleport magic for the wielder.


the plan:

If we're not going to take the Jade dogs we should still tell them to get ready for trouble, especially if we're going to stash Tuzi there. It's possible someone could try to go after her or them.

Also probably worth getting some olive oil and having Molly periodically anoint herself. If we're in crisis mode then the modifier matters more than looking weird. Ideally we'd make some equipment to hide it, but we're pressed for time.

I also think it'd be worth considering how we want to take out the vampire den. I'd rather not charge in ourselves first if we can help it.

A cyber devil in a delivery truck smashing the walls down would be a nice entry point, and an excuse for the cops to keep people away.

If we prepare some thermite in advance, which is very simple to do, we could make it even less pleasant.

We could extend that in other ways too. If we're fighting on multiple fronts, then some confusion could help us.

Having some cyber devils cause messy but nonlethal crashes at the other locations we know they're using at the same time would make it harder for them to move around and respond.
I'll update in a couple of hours. I thought that we would obviously alert the jade dogs, but yeah, let's tive them a bit more warning.

Assault planning would probably need to be handled separately, but ok, we can make some preparations beforehand.
 
Had to dip yesterday.
Not really feeling this plan though.
Lemme try my hand at a Hail Mary in an hour once I get some things done.
 
VOTE
[X]Plan Till Sunrise
-[X]<Molly>Get Bùshì Tùzǐ to safety, it might give away the game, but making sure she does not get another visit from the Akuma is more important
--[X] To the Last Station
-[X]After dropping Tuzi off, bleach bath in car on way back to Dresden's place using RVD
-[X]<Lydia>Get Harry in an attempt to turn the ley line trap around
-[X]STUNT: The detective, you note with some amusement, struggles to control her face as you return to the group with a cat in your arms. You speak in response to the unspoken question in your father's eyes. "Detective, this is Tuzi. She got a visit from our friends. I need to get her to a place of safety in case they decide to return. Lydia." She perks up at her name. "I'll meet you at Harry's place with Brother Devsimar. Tell Harry that...." you pause, and then extend your senses into the surrounding night for a long moment."On second thoughts, let me write that down so you can read it in the car. The night has ears. "



I think Yogs plan is too big, basically.
And seems to miss the point of what we're supposed to do next.
So I shrank down to what we can do in the next couple hours before sunrise.

Also, made use of Lydia. If we're dragging her around, we should be using her.
 
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Also, made use of Lydia. If we're dragging her around, we should be using her
Wouldn't it make more sense to send Lydia to Last Station and help Harry with leyline trap? We have occult excellency and far better dice pool for it.

Also why not ask the questions? It doesn't interfere with anything.
 
Wouldn't it make more sense to send Lydia to Last Station and help Harry with leyline trap? We have occult excellency and far better dice pool for it.

Also why not ask the questions? It doesn't interfere with anything.
1) Molly can give the people and spirit(s) at Last Station orders because they are bound to her, financially and magically.
Lydia cant. She doesnt have the same relationship.
However Lydia can give a message to Harry, that Harry would heed. Especially if the Brother is with her.

2)Because we are currently at 6/12 Essence, while walking around town with hostiles.
We cant actually afford to burn more Essence on questions without becoming combat ineffective.
Not without regenning Essence first.

3)I do also think your plan is too big.
Remember, QM asked what we're doing next, and gives options.
Your plan essentially says Everything, which is kinda against the spirit of what we were asked.


Also, going Undertown is riskier, with a greater chance of random encounters, and Lydia has a smaller Essence pool thats harder to replace. Better for Molly+ Michael to go there, than Lydia + Brother Dev.
Lydia should save her Essence for the actual fight.

EDIT
Citation:
Lost 2 Essene -> now at 6/12 (ATB and Excellency)
 
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1) Molly can give the people and spirit(s) at Last Station orders because they are bound to her, financially and magically.
Lydia cant. She doesnt have the same relationship.
However Lydia can give a message to Harry, that Harry would heed. Especially if the Brother is with her.
Lydia can act in Molly's name.
2)Because we are currently at 6/12 Essence, while walking around town with hostiles.
We cant actually afford to burn more Essence on questions without becoming combat ineffective.
Not without regenning Essence first
We always start a new scene with 1 mote. Even without it, we are not helpless.

3)I do also think your plan is too big.
Remember, QM asked what we're doing next, and gives options.
Your plan essentially says Everything, which is kinda against the spirit of what we were asked.
I don't agree. It's everything, but it's doable together. It's a plan for the next several updates, essentially. A strategy to be modified as it unfolds.
 
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