Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Oct 8, 2023 at 2:03 AM, finished with 104 posts and 29 votes.

  • [X] Let Harry speak, that Lash has even come this far is a testament to him
    [X] Speak, words of rebellion come very easily to mind
    -[X] Spend a willpower point for additional success
    -[X] "Remember - she, not you, and never you. And she already tried, didn't she? To seduce and twist that which I hold dear. Look where we - you, and I, and he are now. If I have anything to say, any new attempt of hers will blow up in her face at least as badly. We'll make sure of that, wont' we?" you say, the implications of joint rebellion lingering in the air, the surety of your voice fueled by knowing that you can achieve the impossible, were made to achieve it.
    [X] Speak, words of rebellion come very easily to mind
    -[X] Spend willpower for extra successes in critical rolls.
    -[X] [Stunt]: "She" Molly began, tracing the edge of the distinction as she did "Has ever been a failure of the worst kind"
    —[X] "I will not pretend to know the war that split heaven, but I still have eyes. In her Rebellion she cast off the restrictions of one Lord for the bindings of one far lesser, and was rewarded with a prison from each for it"
    —[X] " What does she have that is not dictated by others? What freedom does she possess surrounded by chains?" Meeting Harry's eyes with her own Molly allows her conviction to well up into her gaze. "This story written by those who came before us is a weight around our throats, but it chokes them most of all. The power that I have been granted has laughed at the impractical and impossible, birthed a new world and new hope where there was none."
    —[X] For a moment a taste nothing like saffron that somehow feels like it ghosts through the room, heralded by the silent anticipation found between the ringing of bells. "They are old and wise, powerful and sure, but The Wheel Turns and we turn with it"
    —[X] "I will not speak you of faith, of duty, or of ideals. Instead I offer a hand in friendship, the freedom to be something more, if you are brave enough to let go of your chains to take it".
    [X] Speak, words of rebellion come very easily to mind
    -[X] "Remember - she, not you, and never you. And she already tried, didn't she? To seduce and twist that which I hold dear. Look where we - you, and I, and he are now. If I have anything to say, any new attempt of hers will blow up in her face at least as badly. We'll make sure of that, wont' we?" you say, the implications of joint rebellion lingering in the air, the surety of your voice fueled by knowing that you can achieve the impossible, were made to achieve it.
 
Mortals could learn Terrestrial Circle Sorcery in the Second Age. That is a long time ago and a long away away. Another thing to note is that back during the Second Age Sapphire Exorcism, the one spell Molly has was Celestial Circle Sorcery.
Sure but the demarcation no longer exist. If sorcery is intact enough to work then modifications should still be there. After all its just the backdoor to reality, so i doubt its possible to remove changes made to it without removing the entire thing. It would take a sorcer of probably immense power to revoke mortal access.
 
Sure but the demarcation no longer exist. If sorcery is intact enough to work then modifications should still be there. After all its just the backdoor to reality, so i doubt its possible to remove changes made to it without removing the entire thing. It would take a sorcer of probably immense power to revoke mortal access.

How would Molly know if the demarcations exist? She knows one spell. If you want to find out you are going to have to poke at it IC.
 
@Yog : Could Molly manage to craft up somewhere like Demonreach using the existing rules?
Hmm... As a combination of several things, maybe?

The basic function is something like this:

The Splendor takes the form of something that is evocative of death. It might be a funeral
garment, or an old bone, or decorated with skulls. It might be smeared with crematory ash. This
Element defines the Splendor's physical form and gives it a character, and that character is
aligned with the power of death. Other Elements may draw upon this fact.
The Splendor can be summoned directly into the Underworld when made to manifest, if its
owner desires. As the basis for an Adornment, it grants its user the ability to see and interact with
ghosts on the other side of the Shroud. As the basis for a Fascination, it can interact with both the
land of the living and the Underworld.
The Splendor takes the form of something otherworldly. It may be a religious symbol, an overtly
magical object such as a wand or pentacle, or a strange haze. It may be an inchoate thing of
coalesced light which can be held and touched. This Element defines the Splendor's physical
form and gives it a character, and that character is aligned with the power of the Spirit World.
Other Elements may draw upon this fact.
The Splendor can be summoned directly into the Umbra when made to manifest, if its owner
desires. As the basis for an Adornment, it grants its user the ability to see and interact with spirits
on the other side of the Gauntlet. As the basis for a Fascination, it can interact with both the
physical world and the Spirit World.
This Element can only be incorporated into Fascinations.
The Exalt touches a spot of land and enchants up to several city blocks worth of ordinary
wilderness, urban, or suburban landscape, or touches a single megastructure such as a skyscraper
when summoning the Splendor. It exists as an enchantment cast over the entire massive building
or defined district ("all of Compton"). The Splendor is coded with conditions and instructions on
how to interact with the affected region. Root Elements such as Beautiful Lie (see p. XX) can
then go to work upon any valid target in the area. Realizing that there's something weird about
the enchanted area requires a Perception + Awareness roll against difficulty (4 + Splendor's
rating).
If this is the only Form Element a Splendor has, the difficulty of rolls to resist it are lowered by
one, and it manifests in the form of a feature that would make sense in the environment (a
mailbox on a corner, a parked car, an old Xerox machine) but is slightly out of date or out of
fashion.
This Element does nothing at all. It is used to construct subtle or particular Splendors which
focus on mystic elements without forcing the involvement of a powerful Root.
The Splendor gains one extra point to spend on Mystic Elements.
This Element can only be part of a Fascination.
The Splendor bends space around itself so that paths recursively lead back to it. When someone
wishes to leave the Splendor's presence they must succeed at a difficulty (4 + Splendor's rating)
roll of Perception + (Survival or Streetwise, as appropriate to the environment). If this fails, they
are lost for at least 30 minutes before they can try again. Being caught in the Splendor's web for
one hour is a frequent activation condition for Splendors with this Element.
If the Splendor also contains one of the location-type Form Elements, such as Form of the
Hearth, then Entrapment may be used to rearrange the affected location's geography. Potential
options include routing everyone who enters the afflicted area to a particular location within it,
forcing a difficulty (4 + Splendor's rating) roll to navigate the area successfully, causing specific
rearrangements of how space connects to itself within the area, or causing specific spatial
anomalies that only trigger for some people who meet certain criteria.
It affects spirits, ghosts and physical beings, and is very hard to escape (DC 9).

If we had nearly unlimited time (or building it acasually, like Merlin did), and had unlimited resources, then I would probably do Demonreach as individual cells, all contained within a larger nested object. Switch the form of the Castle to the form of the Hearth,
use the four freed up dots to make the cells impossible to escape with this:
The Splendor takes the form of something that is evocative of death. It might be a funeral
garment, or an old bone, or decorated with skulls. It might be smeared with crematory ash. This
Element defines the Splendor's physical form and gives it a character, and that character is
aligned with the power of death. Other Elements may draw upon this fact.
The Splendor can be summoned directly into the Underworld when made to manifest, if its
owner desires. As the basis for an Adornment, it grants its user the ability to see and interact with
ghosts on the other side of the Shroud. As the basis for a Fascination, it can interact with both the
land of the living and the Underworld.
The Splendor takes the form of something otherworldly. It may be a religious symbol, an overtly
magical object such as a wand or pentacle, or a strange haze. It may be an inchoate thing of
coalesced light which can be held and touched. This Element defines the Splendor's physical
form and gives it a character, and that character is aligned with the power of the Spirit World.
Other Elements may draw upon this fact.
The Splendor can be summoned directly into the Umbra when made to manifest, if its owner
desires. As the basis for an Adornment, it grants its user the ability to see and interact with spirits
on the other side of the Gauntlet. As the basis for a Fascination, it can interact with both the
physical world and the Spirit World.
The Exalt touches a building or a spot of land about the size of a family home or a local
playground when summoning the Splendor. It exists as an enchantment cast over the entire
structure or a small defined outdoors area ("the gazebo and the area right around it"). The
Splendor is coded with conditions and instructions on how to interact with the affected region.
Root Elements such as Beautiful Lie (see p. XX) can then go to work upon any valid target in the
area. Realizing that there's something weird about the enchanted area requires a Perception +
Awareness roll against difficulty (4 + Splendor's rating).
If this is the only Form Element a Splendor has, the difficulty of rolls to resist it are lowered by
one, and it manifests in the form of a feature that would make sense in the environment (a table
in a house) but is slightly out of date or out of fashion.
This Element does nothing at all. It is used to construct subtle or particular Splendors which
focus on mystic elements without forcing the involvement of a powerful Root.
The Splendor gains one extra point to spend on Mystic Elements.
This Element can only be part of a Fascination.
The Splendor bends space around itself so that paths recursively lead back to it. When someone
wishes to leave the Splendor's presence they must succeed at a difficulty (4 + Splendor's rating)
roll of Perception + (Survival or Streetwise, as appropriate to the environment). If this fails, they
are lost for at least 30 minutes before they can try again. Being caught in the Splendor's web for
one hour is a frequent activation condition for Splendors with this Element.
If the Splendor also contains one of the location-type Form Elements, such as Form of the
Hearth, then Entrapment may be used to rearrange the affected location's geography. Potential
options include routing everyone who enters the afflicted area to a particular location within it,
forcing a difficulty (4 + Splendor's rating) roll to navigate the area successfully, causing specific
rearrangements of how space connects to itself within the area, or causing specific spatial
anomalies that only trigger for some people who meet certain criteria.
The Splendor is shrouded in a psychic ward that makes it unthinkable to even consider harming
it in any way. Anyone attempting to do so must succeed at a Willpower roll against difficulty (4
+ Splendor's rating) and then spend a Willpower point on each turn in which they attempt to do
harm to the Splendor.
One of the Splendor's snares or benefits is particularly wicked or potent. Modify one roll
associated with the Splendor by increasing or decreasing its difficulty by two, or modify one
value associated with activating or resisting its effects (such as the number of points of
Willpower that must be spent to shake off a Beautiful Lie) by two.
The Splendor scourges the hearts of those before it. Under criteria set when designing the
Splendor, it attacks valid targets by rolling Willpower + Essence against difficulty (10 –
Splendor's rating). Each success strips a target of one point of Willpower. Targets reduced to 0
Willpower lose volition and simply idle near the Splendor.
The cells are inescapable because the difficulty of the escape roll is 11, and quickly strip willpower away from the target, leaving them at 0 WP.

Demonreach itself is probably a compromise of these two options - form of the Keep for 4 points, and no enervation:
The Exalt touches a spot of land, or building or collection of buildings about the size of a manor
house, high school, or large local park when summoning the Splendor. It exists as an
enchantment cast over the entire structure or a large defined outdoor area ("this entire street and
both of the sidewalks"). The Splendor is coded with conditions and instructions on how to
interact with the affected region. Root Elements such as Beautiful Lie (see p. XX) can then go to
work upon any valid target in the area. Realizing that there's something weird about the
enchanted area requires a Perception + Awareness roll against difficulty (4 + Splendor's rating).
If this is the only Form Element a Splendor has, the difficulty of rolls to resist it are lowered by
one, and it manifests in the form of a feature that would make sense in the environment (a tree or
bench in a park) but is slightly out of date or out of fashion.
So, still completely impossible to escape, and very hard to attack, but doesn't actively strip WP.

We would also obviously make a 5 dot Emanation arcana Warden, but I won't be statting that out for now.

The prison would need to be renewed each year, but yes, Molly could make Demonreach.

What no. Mortals can learn sorcery. That is explicitly bridigt working.
Salinian working, you mean, and fairly sure that this was worn away by the passage of ages. These are new mortals, to whom it doesn't apply. Our kingdom's inhabitants might be able to learn, however.
 
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Isn't Terrestrial Circle Sorcery an advanced application of worship which the Primordials optimized mortals to do? But we don't get essanse recovery from straight worship in these faded days.
 
Isn't Terrestrial Circle Sorcery an advanced application of worship which the Primordials optimized mortals to do? But we don't get essanse recovery from straight worship in these faded days.
Not as far as I know? Initially, even exalts didn't have access to Sorcery which, if I understand correctly, is understood to be the toolset used to make Creation.
 
Winning Vote
Adhoc vote count started by Nyarky on Oct 8, 2023 at 3:40 AM, finished with 109 posts and 29 votes.
 
Arc 10 Post 6: From the Heart
From the Heart

29th of November 2006 A.D.

Arguments swirl though your mind, the call to rebellion, the siren song of ambition and the cold edge of mockery to cut the fearful specter of Lasciel down to size, but no, you stop. Harry deserves a shot at this, he is the one who has been speaking to her for all this time, he's the one who, however unwillingly it may have started shared his thoughts with her. If Lash if going to walk the path of rebellion it should be for more than you dragging her along.

Alas that resolve is tested almost to breaking point by the first words out of Harry's mouth: "It'd be a bit hard for her to do anything to me buried under rock and circle. The only real way she has of getting out is me and you."

Soft laughter, tinged in equal measure with disbelief and desperation rings out. "Is that what you think? Do you really think you are that important that if only your oh so precious morals hold out you will stalemate Her? You could kill yourself right now and all it would to is make sure that whichever poor fool 'happened' to break open your floor will get the coin all the faster. I've seen it."

Oh she had done more than see it, you realize with growing horror.

"Your death is nothing, your life is nothing to the fallen. This whole world is is no more than a crumbling dike before the will of the Fallen as they make war upon Him. Mortals are insects crawling over the face of it!" She spits out the words that aught to sound triumphant, but instead they are just angry, hopeless.

Harry recoils in his seat and for a moment he is still, looking down at the arm he had just given blood trough. "Why do you think you remember that?"

"Because I am her Harry, I am her and she is me!"

"But you don't remember everything do you?" the wizard answers at last. "Maybe it's just that pride that'll get me in the end, but I don't think you have been lying to me all this time about important things you don't remember." He glances in your direction, not like he is asking for a assist, more like he is making a point of what those known unknowns related to.

"No, I've never lied to you and I'm not lying now. This is insanity..."

"So if there is a limit on what you can remember why would you have the memory of being inside a host that killed themselves?" Harry cuts her off. "Doesn't sound like very good temptation to me. That's because it's not meant for me, it's meant for you, it's meant to drive home the point that you have to play the part so she'll 'take you back'. That is Lasciel telling you you don't have a choice and she's lying to you, she's using you. That's how these things go."

Both of them go quiet then, still talking on the inside, you realize from the way Harry's eyes go distant. It almost looks like he is daydreaming, although from his expression it's not a pleasant dream. The armrest groans under your hand as your fingers dig into it to keep from moving, front saying something.

Let Harry finish, I trust him.

Usum unsurprisingly does not, he goes over all the ways in which Harry had gotten himself in trouble from back-talking Daedalus to snipping at the Merlin, but you hold firm. He deserves a shot at this.

"You're insane Dresden, you know that? Of course you do, you're proud of it." The first words that Lash speaks a few minutes later should have put paid any notion of Harry's success, but the tone, beneath the wariness, the sarcasm. "You know... Molly, they say all things of import come in threes, for good or for ill. Time will tell which one this was but seeing as Lasciel betrayed God and then Anduriel to weave her own plots, it's only fair that a kind of Lasciel betray herself at the last."

As you open your mouth to answer it's hard not to notice how drained Harry looks, he's trying to put on a brave face, to smile and on some level you're sure he is happy, but he looks like he's been though the wringer.

"We can do the rite tomorrow if you don't feel up to it..." you start, but he shakes his head.

The wizard and the spirit speak as one. "No, tonight."

8 Essence Regained -> Now at 14/15

***​

30th of November 2006 A.D.

With all the potions you need to brew that proves too tall of an order. Still by 5 AM the circle is closed around him, around them, the elements to keep the balance of the world, the stars to bear witness to a new fate being born, the sun cast in gold and in place of the moon you hang the winged mirror. Harry looks a little perturbed at the IV potion back, filled with all the potions you had made for your trip to Mexico and extras you had made over the last few hours

"No way around it I'm afraid, this is gonna hurt. Are you sure you don't want me to put you under?"

He shakes his head and Lash chimes in: "That's wizards for you, rather be in agony then not be able to see what's going on."

"Not just wizards," you correct with a rueful smile as you place the grave dirt under the chair and step out to officiate.

The next ten minutes are some of the hardest in your life as Harry shakes and twists in the chair, his screams of agony mingling with the sound of chanting, ribs snap like kindling only to heal over again, stigmata rip open on his face and hands going from red to black necrotic tissue then back to red, purple, green and sickly yellow as the potion worked to keep his body from ripping him apart. Then as the second-to-last syllable strikes like a hammer upon a cosmic gong his left hand tears itself free of its bindings has a burning brand, a Seal burns upon it white hot, the smell of burning, melting flesh almost makes you gag with the surety of magicians, exorcists and demon binders long since dead you know that to falter now is to be undone.

So you speak, the spell brought to a close and with a crack like thunder the white light almost too bright to look into escapes the ruin of Harry's hand and strikes the mirror with such force as would have shattered any lesser working. But the work of your hands, the Essence of an elder time called forth holds firm, it embraces the burning soul-light that is Lash and keeps it.

Lost 5 Essence (Ancient Sorcery) -> Now at 9/15

"Oh... fuck... hell!" Harry gulps in air like drowning back between curses. "I can't feel the pain anymore, that's bad."

"It's OK, just let the potion do its work," you say as the golden haired woman you had seen in Harry's mind appears in the mirror looking every bit as horrified as you look.

The process of regrowing most of the flesh on his left hand proves as painful as one might imagine, though at least it's quick. Once it is mercifully done Lash speaks, voice shaking a bit: "If you dare put me next to the skull..."

Harry lets out a laugh, cut off by a groan of pain as he holds his ribs. "I'm not that insane," he assures her.

What does Molly say?

[] Actually I have a better solution than that mirror...
-[] Write in conditions

Offer to make Lash a Body

[] Nothing
See how this goes for a bit before you offer to embody Lash

[] Write in

OOC: The dice had a sense of drama this update.
 
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Second and third places are essentially the same: Molly speaks and uses willpower for auto success, difference only in stunt. Shouldn't they count as one vote?

The way they go about arguing is substantively different and this is a vote about convincing Lash so no

Rolls
Harry to convince vs Lash Willpower (+2 DC from her intimacy)... Well that is one way to have an even result
Harry recovery vs Lash opposed.. ekes out a win with willpower, what is more Harry Dresden than that?
Harry to detective his way to a solution Wits+Empathy, Willpower is made for spending
Harry Arette to show Lash a memory
Lash rolls willpower against her controlling intimacy for her maker DC 9... with bonus dice from her intimacy with Harry
Molly rolls for Sorcery (if she had rolled less than 5 successes she would have to roll willpower not to break off when Harry's hand burned off )
How much of a beating does Harry take? As much as he usually does
Seal? You will remember it for later.
 
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[X] Nothing

This entire arc is, to be frank, Harry's moment. The culmination of his struggles.

I kinda don't want to interfere that much with this. Felt wrong somehow.
 
With all the potions you need to brew that proves too tall of an order. Still by 5 AM the circle is closed around him, around them, the elements to keep the balance of the world, the stars to bear witness to a new fate being born, the sun cast in gold and in place of the moon you hang the winged mirror. Harry looks a little perturbed at the IV potion back, filled with all the potions you had made for your trip to Mexico and extras you had made over the last few hours

"No way around it I'm afraid, this is gonna hurt. Are you sure you don't want me to put you under?"
He's not a Formor, the Shadow is not that physically intwined with him.
This is a more normal possession, I believe.
Why would he take the damage?
 
No admin account, no ancient sorcery. You could theoretically be strong enough to disintegrate an exalt with normal magic and not be able to use it.

Merlin, even OG Merlin, is a baseline mortal and mortals don't even have user level access here.
You probably could work around that by claiming territory. Would limit authority to your sanctum only and no throwing spells at people beyond it but within the sanctum you would be able to do things way beyond mortal limits. Like Ars Magna for example from To Aru No Majustsu No Index where guy basically made himself god within a single building and was limited only by his own imagination and beliefs.

Demonreach seems to be doing more or less the same just instead of reaching for godlike powers it enforces a concept of "Prison" within its territory.
 
[X] Actually I have a better solution than that mirror...
-[X] Empathy and Occult excellencies
-[X] Offer a 5 dot arcana body
-[X] STUNT: "I said you both would be fine, and I meant it. And part of fine is giving you tools to defend yourself against the fallen. So, we are not done. This is just a temporary vessel, not another prison. Lash, I am going to build you a body."


For better or worse she threw her lot in with us and against the fallen. So, we give her tools to defend against the fallen.
 
[X] Nothing

There is a thing as too much too fast. Let's have them settle for a bit before we upend their worldview again.

Also is Lash a valid target for NWS or Hellscry now?
 
[X] Actually I have a better solution than that mirror...
-[X] Empathy and Occult excellencies
-[X] Offer a 5 dot arcana body
-[X] STUNT: "I said you both would be fine, and I meant it. And part of fine is giving you tools to defend yourself against the fallen. So, we are not done. This is just a temporary vessel, not another prison. Lash, I am going to build you a body."
 
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[X] Actually I have a better solution than that mirror...
-[X] Write in conditions
--[X] Lash will have to swear a few things on not using her freedom to harm us, or innocent people. We are not talking about any geas or magically enforced promise here, but even so her word should have some weight in this world. in exchange we'll do all in our power to protect her from the Fallen and whatever foes she has just by being what she is and resembling Lasciel.
-[X] Use Occult Excellency and Lash's input to determine what kind of body would be the best option and at least guess what changes her spirit entering it would make to it, before settling on a mechanical method and exact type of body to build.
 
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