Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

Yog · Oct 29, 2023

uju32 said:
1)Demonreach has 0 maintenance requirements.

I disagree. Alfred maintains Demonreach.

uju32 said:
2)Self-Destruct in Oadenol's Codex blows up the manse, not a good chunk of a continent like with Demonreach.

No, that's wrong. Self-destruct results in the same effect as the conclusion of essence buildup, which, in case of a 5 dot manse is "everyone within 5 miles takes 25 dice of aggravated damage from blazing Essence discharges. " if we assume uncontained explosion rules, or 30 dice of damage for everyone within 500 yards, if we assume contained explosion. There's also a chance of mutation. Less impressive, but still powerful, especially if the second-order effects from such a large discharge of power are taken into effect.

uju32 said:
3)Soul-Prison is for ghosts who die in the Manse. Not spirits captured or bound outside it like with Demonreach.
Soul Prison wont do anything for an elemental, or a god, or a demon, or a raksha. Soul Prison cant hold ghosts whose Essence exceeds the Manse's rating.

Ultra-deadly traps are for containment. Soul Prison is so no one can escape in death. It's a rough and dirty analog.

uju32 said:
4)Sympathetic Dream-Link gives the condition of the manse, not a realtime tracker of everything in it. And it only works when you're asleep anyway. What you want is Silent Voice, and potentially a custom power to represent Intellectus.

As I said, trading "when one dreams" for "when one is within the manse".

uju32 said:
Like I said, you have to go Manse NA in CP points to make a fascimile.

And all that still isnt within the same league as the "summon Alfred to the shores of Lake Michigan to claim Ethniu" Demonreach. "Stand off a Great Walker and an army of several hundred Outsiders" Demonreach.
"Gives you greater magic reserves" Demonreach.

I stand by my point: Demonreach compares favorably to a 5-dot Exalted manse.
You need Manse NA and original functions to compete.

No, not really. You just need to make it as several separate things. Manse for the structure itself, Alfred as a separate thing, etc.

uju32 said:
If you work with Holden's crafting rules, your prison has a time limit before the prison itself vanishes and the inmates go free.

No, you need to renew the summoning once per century. Which is easy. You make the emanation (Alfred) the owner of the splendor, and have it recall the splendor. There's a flicker in the defenses once per century, a sort of calibration issue, but in exchange you get a mobile prison.

uju32 said:
I am fairly vocal about not liking Holden's new crafting system, just as a reminder.
But you literally cannot build Demonreach in this system, by its rules as stated.
Its not designed to deal with Rating NA style constructs like that.

On "as durable as the normal object is" - that's what psychic ward is for, and what the guardian deity is for. On the "must have activation condition" - an example given for Enervation is "Idling in the presence of the Fascination for one hour is a frequent activation condition for Splendors with this Element. "

Yes, you absolutely can make Demonreach using Holden's rules. In fact, the Demonreach I designed is better than the canon one, because it's completely mobile, and doesn't depend on dragon lines for power. You could put it on a Voyager and send it into outer space, for example, beyond where there are Ways (NeverNever only extends to the Moon, remember).

And note, this is something Molly can make essentially in the cave with a box of scraps. If given proper resources, like all the prisoners of Demonreach, for example, it would be quite possibly to exceed Demonreach's capabilities easily.

You are overhyping Dresden side of the crossover. Demonreach is very impressive, yes. It was built by someone who was a pinnacle of mortal mage using forbidden techniques (atemporal construction) in a frayed world. It uses some rules and effects that flat-out were impossible in Age of Legends because the world was much firmer. But comparing it to Realm Defense Grid or the like is simply silly.

Iron Roby · Oct 29, 2023

[X] Try to search for him online
-[X] Start by having Clippy + Cyberdevils + SUTRA run a check on Florida criminal records and follow up from there, expanding to social media, DMV records and so on
-[X] Only if that fails do we burn a Crown question to find him/his contact information, using this scene as a focus.

Silvereagle21 · Oct 29, 2023

[X] Try to search for him online
-[X] Start by having Clippy + Cyberdevils + SUTRA run a check on Florida criminal records and follow up from there, expanding to social media, DMV records and so on

Madsamurai · Oct 29, 2023

ClawClawBite said:
Does Rosie have any of the letters he wrote her?

Rosie is someone we will have in our lives long enough that burning our chance to use her as a touch is risky. The letters should not have that risk, and should be a strong link to him.

Given how careful we are not to burn out generic divination foci, it tickles me to wonder about how observers think our divination works. It might seem like we _need_ a physical focus or that that focus must be connected, but not too closely

BoredMan · Oct 29, 2023

So why do people want to contact the guy? He seems like terrible father material. Likely the most he can give is closure, otherwise this seems like opening pandora's box just because she asked.

Anaja · Oct 29, 2023

[X] Try to search for him online. Ask Clippy and IRIS to take a crack at it first.

[X] Try to search for him online
-[X] Start by having Clippy + Cyberdevils + SUTRA run a check on Florida criminal records and follow up from there, expanding to social media, DMV records and so on
-[X] Only if that fails do we burn a Crown question to find him/his contact information, using this scene as a focus.

BoredMan said:
So why do people want to contact the guy?

Rosie wants to let him know about the child that she's going to have, and we're respecting that that's her choice. Then our friend asked us for help.

gale · Oct 29, 2023

[X] Try to search for him online
-[X] Start by having Clippy + Cyberdevils + SUTRA run a check on Florida criminal records and follow up from there, expanding to social media, DMV records and so on
-[X] Only if that fails do we burn a Crown question to find him/his contact information, using this scene as a focus.

Iron Roby · Oct 29, 2023

BoredMan said:
So why do people want to contact the guy? He seems like terrible father material. Likely the most he can give is closure, otherwise this seems like opening pandora's box just because she asked.

Not necessarily? Here's what we know about the guy:
1) He is willing to cheat on his partner (if you believe the aunt's hearsay, and it's not just a rumor), but a daughter is a different kind of relationship entirely.
2) He was irresponsible enough to drink and drive, but it's not like he is an intentional murderer.
3) He still tried to keep contact, until he stopped for a far better reason than fathers, who just abandon their children because of inconvenience.
4) "You are better off without me", if sincere, indicates regret and self-awareness in this context.

He is certainly not some role model, but I think Rose just wants healthy emotional connection with a parent, that she feels she is not getting from her mother. Especially from someone less likely to be judgmental himself.

BronzeTongue · Oct 29, 2023

uju32 said:
I am fairly vocal about not liking Holden's new crafting system, just as a reminder.
But you literally cannot build Demonreach in this system, by its rules as stated.
Its not designed to deal with Rating NA style constructs like that.

To be fair, item crafting isn't geomancy and manse design. Check the FAQ, Holden is pretty explicit that doing that sort of thing isn't supposed to be possible anymore. The crafting charm implies big stuff is possible, but the lack of mechanics for supporting anything like this is intentional.

Edit: autocorrupt

Nyarky · Oct 29, 2023

Yog said:
But comparing it to Realm Defense Grid or the like is simply silly.

Especially since, wasn't Creation bigger than Earth by a large margin when the defense grid was made? And it had to work against endless hordes of active attackers too, not prisoners that come pre defeated.

Iron Roby said:
He is willing to cheat on his partner (if you believe the aunt's hearsay, and it's not just a rumor), but a daughter is a different kind of relationship entirely.

And cheating, while a bad thing, is not an irredeemable crime, particularly depending on circumstances that led to it, it is more about a lack of communication and betrayal of trust of the partner than anything else.

Iron Roby said:
He still tried to keep contact, until he stopped for a far better reason than fathers, who just abandon their children because of inconvenience.

I think you're missing a *some* before father here?

And yes, some fathers leave because they don't care about the mother or the child, this one seems to care about the child.

BronzeTongue · Oct 29, 2023

Nyarky said:
Especially since, wasn't Creation bigger than Earth by a large margin when the defense grid was made? And it had to work against endless hordes of active attackers too, not prisoners that come pre defeated.

And cheating, while a bad thing, is not an irredeemable crime, particularly depending on circumstances that led to it, it is more about a lack of communication and betrayal of trust of the partner than anything else.

I think you're missing a *some* before father here?

And yes, some fathers leave because they don't care about the mother or the child, this one seems to care about the child.

In any case parent-child relationships are complicated and it's not our job or place to police how she chooses to engage with them.

If there was genuine abuse then we'd have some grounds to talk with her about it, but we don't have any information indicating that.

Should it become a problem we have money and he has a felony; clubbing him over the head with the legal system would go about as well for him as a thin skulled baby seal vs. Canadian hockey team cage match.

NinjaOfOrthanc · Oct 29, 2023

[X] Try to search for him online. Ask Clippy and IRIS to take a crack at it first.

Yog · Oct 29, 2023

So, I either broke the craft system (again), or found our next project to get Mab even deeper into our debt.

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 Splendor takes the form of something that is evocative of the fantastic. It might be a child's
toy, a brightly-decorated banner, a monster or carnival mask, or a treasure chest. It might be a
kaleidoscope, or a bundle of bright balloons. This Element defines the Splendor's physical form
and gives it a character, and that character is aligned with the power of the Dreaming. Other
Elements may draw upon this fact.
The Splendor stands out as a powerful work of magic when seen with chimerical eyes or mystic
scrutiny, but it seems nigh-impossible to credit it with any specific significance if observed with
purely mundane senses. Even when presented with compelling evidence that there's something
weird about the object, anyone who hasn't made a magical survey of the Splendor must make a
Willpower roll against difficulty (4 + Splendor's rating) to accept such a conclusion.
As an Adornment, it raises the difficulty to affect the user with hostile works of Glamour by one.
As the basis for a Fascination, it may have one minor impossible feature such as floating in
defiance of gravity, reflecting people's true selves when looked into, or aging backwards in time

The Splendor manifests in the world as an enchantment embedded in a specific person present at
the time of its summoning, chosen by its owner. If it has no other Form Element, then it appears
as a mark like a tattoo somewhere on the infected individual's body. Wherever they go, so too
goes the Splendor. If it has a physical Form Element, then it appears in the infected individual's
possession, and will always return to them at the beginning of each scene even if thrown away,
left behind, or given away. If its physical Form is something immobile like a tree, then the
targeted individual is going to find that tree wherever they go for the duration of the Splendor's
manifestation.
If the Splendor is an Adornment, then this Element allows its benefits to be enjoyed by the
person to whom the Splendor is attached, even if they're not its owner and not attuned to it. Even
if they're not Exalted at all.

This Splendor defines that which cannot threaten those within its influence, according to the
Splendor's character as defined by appropriate Form Elements.
It provides immunity to damage from wind, cold, and electricity (air); being crushed, cut, or
pierced by stone or metal (earth); being burned (fire); being drowned (water); being poisoned or
struck by wooden objects (wood); disease (death); possession (spirit); or the twisting of the mind
by supernatural powers (dreams). If its protection is bestowed by a Fascination, it lasts for a
number of hours equal to the Splendor's rating, and may be set to persist indefinitely while
within the Splendor's influence in the case of Forms such as Form of the Hearth.
If more than one characteristic is drawn upon when this Element grants its Protection, then
instead of invincibility, damage is simply downgraded from aggravated to lethal, lethal to
bashing, and bashing damage cut in half after soak (round down), while immunity to possession
and thought alteration become the ability to make a Willpower roll at difficulty (10 – Splendor's
rating) to immediately shake the effect off, and immunity to disease becomes the ability to make
a Stamina roll at difficulty (10 – Splendor's rating) to immediately shake the infection off.

The Splendor is loathe to relinquish its hold on those it claims. Select one Element of the
Splendor whose effects last for a limited time. That Element's maximum duration is increased by
one category (from one scene to one day, one day to one week, etc). If the duration is already
"one year," the Element can be rendered permanent.
This Element can be taken more than once to enhance multiple Elements.

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.

Upon manifesting, the splendor engraves an extensive set of near-invisible tattoos upon the target's body, and spirit. On the body, tattoos cover the inside of the target's skull and their heart, while on the spirit they are engraved upon the chakras. So long as the tattoos are not destroyed, they provide perfect and absolute defense against all manner of possession. To a mortal eye the tattoos look as nothing more than birthmarks, and are completely unremarkable. To a magical observer, however, it is impossible to mistake their presence for anything else, and any damage to them would be immediately noticed.

The marks are themselves protected by a powerful magic - it would take an impossible effort of will to even attempt destroying them.

Perfect protection against possession
The splendor is protected. It requires a DC11 Willpower roll to attack it, and doing so requires 1 willpower to be spent per turn of attack.
It takes a DC9 willpower roll for mortals to notice anything strange / unnatural with the markings. Given their locations (inside of the target's skull, their heart, and their spirit), it would be hard to notice anyway.
Those affected by the splendor can freely interact with ghosts and spirits / see into NeverNever / Underworld. I assume this is a boon, and not a curse, as this is not Sight.
It raises a difficulty to affect the target with hostile Glamour by one.
All effects are permanent as long as the tattoos are not destroyed - - a year and a day from 5 dot splendor manifestation, pushed to permanent via Elongation of the Curse

And I have 1 free point remaining, which, if allowed, would be used for 1 more mystic fortification, so the attacker has to spend 3 WP per turn when attacking, to account for those with DC reducers.

@DragonParadox , you probably want to weigh in on this, because I am fairly sure if we called Mab, and told her "I need three naagloshii as sacrifices, and in exchange I'll give you a magical tool that will let you make people (mortal, immortal, spirits, ghosts, anyone and anything) permanently immune to possession, including Nemesis possession", she'd have them trussed up in our lab before the next dawn, would personally stand guard as we made the thing, and would still be obligated to count herself in our debt.

DragonParadox · Oct 29, 2023

You can make that, but, and I have to stress this, DC 11 to pass and attempt to damage the thing, is not impossible it is just inhuman, there are ways to lower that DC with magic, it would still make possession vastly more difficult, but it is not the conceptual NO of say being a celestial exalted.

Yog · Oct 29, 2023

DragonParadox said:
You can make that, but, and I have to stress this, DC 11 to pass and attempt to damage the thing, is not impossible it is just inhuman, there are ways to lower that DC with magic, it would still make possession vastly more difficult, but it is not the conceptual NO of say being a celestial exalted.

? Those are two different effects. The conceptual NO is from Sacred Protection:

This Splendor defines that which cannot threaten those within its influence, according to the
Splendor's character as defined by appropriate Form Elements.
It provides immunity to damage from wind, cold, and electricity (air); being crushed, cut, or
pierced by stone or metal (earth); being burned (fire); being drowned (water); being poisoned or
struck by wooden objects (wood); disease (death); possession (spirit); or the twisting of the mind
by supernatural powers (dreams). If its protection is bestowed by a Fascination, it lasts for a
number of hours equal to the Splendor's rating, and may be set to persist indefinitely while
within the Splendor's influence in the case of Forms such as Form of the Hearth.
If more than one characteristic is drawn upon when this Element grants its Protection, then
instead of invincibility, damage is simply downgraded from aggravated to lethal, lethal to
bashing, and bashing damage cut in half after soak (round down), while immunity to possession
and thought alteration become the ability to make a Willpower roll at difficulty (10 – Splendor's
rating) to immediately shake the effect off, and immunity to disease becomes the ability to make
a Stamina roll at difficulty (10 – Splendor's rating) to immediately shake the infection off.

I am defining only possession as the part it protects from. It is described as invincibility, i.e. a perfect effect.

The 11 DC willpower roll is for someone trying to damage the splendor's manifestation / protective markings themselves, and is based on a combination of Unthinkable Ward + Mystic Fortification.

So, it should be a perfect protection against possession, and it should be inhumanly hard to destroy the thing granting protection (and, given where the tattoos are located, it would kill the target anyway). And, thanks to Form of Dreams and Nightmares, the damage / destruction of said protection would be easily noticed by any magical observer, adding a third layer of defense.

DragonParadox · Oct 29, 2023

Yog said:
? Those are two different effects. The conceptual NO is from Sacred Protection:

I am defining only possession as the part it protects from. It is described as invincibility, i.e. a perfect effect.

The 11 DC willpower roll is for someone trying to damage the splendor's manifestation / protective markings themselves, and is based on a combination of Unthinkable Ward + Mystic Fortification.

So, it should be a perfect protection against possession, and it should be inhumanly hard to destroy the thing granting protection (and, given where the tattoos are located, it would kill the target anyway). And, thanks to Form of Dreams and Nightmares, the damage / destruction of said protection would be easily noticed by any magical observer, adding a third layer of defense.

Yeah that is what I meant, sorry that was unclear. Nothing should be able to just bypass the protection, but they could be damaged and eventually destroyed though concerted effort.

Yog · Oct 29, 2023

DragonParadox said:
Yeah that is what I meant, sorry that was unclear. Nothing should be able to just bypass the protection, but they could be damaged and eventually destroyed though concerted effort.

Well, yeah. That's true. But if you manage that, you inflict a lot of damage on the target itself, and any observer would be able to notice that the ward is missing, thus defeating the whole point of getting past protection. It is something that, when spread, hampers Nemesis a lot.

So, now that this is allowed, how do we go about it? I mean, how does Molly get IC design worked out, at which point she calls Mab to round up some ancient monster sacrifices?

DragonParadox · Oct 29, 2023

Yog said:
Well, yeah. That's true. But if you manage that, you inflict a lot of damage on the target itself, and any observer would be able to notice that the ward is missing, thus defeating the whole point of getting past protection. It is something that, when spread, hampers Nemesis a lot.

So, now that this is allowed, how do we go about it? I mean, how does Molly get IC design worked out, at which point she calls Mab to round up some ancient monster sacrifices?

By RAW you do not need to design this, you know what all the elements are and can arrange them in that order, hope the rolls work out. Do keep in mind though godlings do not grow on trees and Mab cannot just hunt them at will, she is bound by pacts and rules. Now might she have some prisoners she is willing to 'recycle'? Maybe you would have to ask.

Yog · Oct 29, 2023

DragonParadox said:
By RAW you do not need to design this, you know what all the elements are and can arrange them in that order, hope the rolls work out. Do keep in mind though godlings do not grow on trees and Mab cannot just hunt them at will, she is bound by pacts and rules. Now might she have some prisoners she is willing to 'recycle'? Maybe you would have to ask.

Well, it would be a good way to bond with Maeve, I guess, hunting together. And I'm fairly sure we could also get all the loot - godlings usually have some stuff lying around.

BronzeTongue · Oct 29, 2023

Yog said:
So, I either broke the craft system (again), or found our next project to get Mab even deeper into our debt.

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 Splendor takes the form of something that is evocative of the fantastic. It might be a child's
toy, a brightly-decorated banner, a monster or carnival mask, or a treasure chest. It might be a
kaleidoscope, or a bundle of bright balloons. This Element defines the Splendor's physical form
and gives it a character, and that character is aligned with the power of the Dreaming. Other
Elements may draw upon this fact.
The Splendor stands out as a powerful work of magic when seen with chimerical eyes or mystic
scrutiny, but it seems nigh-impossible to credit it with any specific significance if observed with
purely mundane senses. Even when presented with compelling evidence that there's something
weird about the object, anyone who hasn't made a magical survey of the Splendor must make a
Willpower roll against difficulty (4 + Splendor's rating) to accept such a conclusion.
As an Adornment, it raises the difficulty to affect the user with hostile works of Glamour by one.
As the basis for a Fascination, it may have one minor impossible feature such as floating in
defiance of gravity, reflecting people's true selves when looked into, or aging backwards in time

The Splendor manifests in the world as an enchantment embedded in a specific person present at
the time of its summoning, chosen by its owner. If it has no other Form Element, then it appears
as a mark like a tattoo somewhere on the infected individual's body. Wherever they go, so too
goes the Splendor. If it has a physical Form Element, then it appears in the infected individual's
possession, and will always return to them at the beginning of each scene even if thrown away,
left behind, or given away. If its physical Form is something immobile like a tree, then the
targeted individual is going to find that tree wherever they go for the duration of the Splendor's
manifestation.
If the Splendor is an Adornment, then this Element allows its benefits to be enjoyed by the
person to whom the Splendor is attached, even if they're not its owner and not attuned to it. Even
if they're not Exalted at all.

This Splendor defines that which cannot threaten those within its influence, according to the
Splendor's character as defined by appropriate Form Elements.
It provides immunity to damage from wind, cold, and electricity (air); being crushed, cut, or
pierced by stone or metal (earth); being burned (fire); being drowned (water); being poisoned or
struck by wooden objects (wood); disease (death); possession (spirit); or the twisting of the mind
by supernatural powers (dreams). If its protection is bestowed by a Fascination, it lasts for a
number of hours equal to the Splendor's rating, and may be set to persist indefinitely while
within the Splendor's influence in the case of Forms such as Form of the Hearth.
If more than one characteristic is drawn upon when this Element grants its Protection, then
instead of invincibility, damage is simply downgraded from aggravated to lethal, lethal to
bashing, and bashing damage cut in half after soak (round down), while immunity to possession
and thought alteration become the ability to make a Willpower roll at difficulty (10 – Splendor's
rating) to immediately shake the effect off, and immunity to disease becomes the ability to make
a Stamina roll at difficulty (10 – Splendor's rating) to immediately shake the infection off.

The Splendor is loathe to relinquish its hold on those it claims. Select one Element of the
Splendor whose effects last for a limited time. That Element's maximum duration is increased by
one category (from one scene to one day, one day to one week, etc). If the duration is already
"one year," the Element can be rendered permanent.
This Element can be taken more than once to enhance multiple Elements.

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.

Upon manifesting, the splendor engraves an extensive set of near-invisible tattoos upon the target's body, and spirit. On the body, tattoos cover the inside of the target's skull and their heart, while on the spirit they are engraved upon the chakras. So long as the tattoos are not destroyed, they provide perfect and absolute defense against all manner of possession. To a mortal eye the tattoos look as nothing more than birthmarks, and are completely unremarkable. To a magical observer, however, it is impossible to mistake their presence for anything else, and any damage to them would be immediately noticed.

The marks are themselves protected by a powerful magic - it would take an impossible effort of will to even attempt destroying them.

Perfect protection against possession
The splendor is protected. It requires a DC11 Willpower roll to attack it, and doing so requires 1 willpower to be spent per turn of attack.
It takes a DC9 willpower roll for mortals to notice anything strange / unnatural with the markings. Given their locations (inside of the target's skull, their heart, and their spirit), it would be hard to notice anyway.
Those affected by the splendor can freely interact with ghosts and spirits / see into NeverNever / Underworld. I assume this is a boon, and not a curse, as this is not Sight.
It raises a difficulty to affect the target with hostile Glamour by one.
All effects are permanent as long as the tattoos are not destroyed - - a year and a day from 5 dot splendor manifestation, pushed to permanent via Elongation of the Curse

And I have 1 free point remaining, which, if allowed, would be used for 1 more mystic fortification, so the attacker has to spend 3 WP per turn when attacking, to account for those with DC reducers.

@DragonParadox , you probably want to weigh in on this, because I am fairly sure if we called Mab, and told her "I need three naagloshii as sacrifices, and in exchange I'll give you a magical tool that will let you make people (mortal, immortal, spirits, ghosts, anyone and anything) permanently immune to possession, including Nemesis possession", she'd have them trussed up in our lab before the next dawn, would personally stand guard as we made the thing, and would still be obligated to count herself in our debt.

This seems overbuilt to me. 5 dot splendors are stupid expensive and time consuming to make, and the extra features here are nice but not necessary to provide significant benefit.

The hero's shadow thing is only really needed if the target isn't supernatural and wants more than a single splendor active at a time. For sale to winter a 1 dot splendor that they reactivate periodically is almost as good. Not perfect because there are gaps, but those issues are dramatically more manageable than what they currently have to deal with.

If we want to rent the protections out (since HS items stay in our ownership) then making higher order ones with a bit more functionality works, but it isn't needed.

Middling grade vampire elders are a lot easier to come by than godlings, and are a renewable resource besides.

Also, we wouldn't need 3 to make something like this:

Improving a Splendor
Four and five-dot Splendors can't be crafted outright. These must be attained through infusion: a process of funneling additional power into an existing Splendor.
One or two dot Splendors can be infused and raised by one dot by slaying a strong monster or destroying a Dragon Nest, but to take a Splendor to four or five dots, there are only two options. The first is to gather the power from slaying a legendarily powerful monster such as a godlike spirit, Malfean spectre, or thousands-of-years-old vampire. The second is to kill and take the power of an Exalt.
Power harnessed for an infusion lingers for the same amount of time as it would for Splendor- crafting. Before it dissipates, the Exalt must use it to reforge an existing Splendor that she owns, a process identical to the one described in "Focus the Power," above, save that abandoning the project before completing it causes the power to disperse and the Splendor to resume its prior form, while a botch damages the Splendor and makes it lose one dot rating and collapse into a less powerful configuration.
When improving a Splendor, you collapse it back down to a raw mass of Element Points appropriate to its new rating and remake it from scratch. It does not need to share any elements in common with its former function or appearance prior to infusion.

1-2 dot splendors can be made or improved with powerful, but not legendary, monsters and it only adds a price barrier at the 3 -> 4 improvement mark.

So it should be 2 mid grade vampire elders and 2 godlings to reach 5 dots. Which is a lot cheaper.

Yog · Oct 29, 2023

BronzeTongue said:
The hero's shadow thing is only really needed if the target isn't supernatural and wants more than a single splendor active at a time. For sale to winter a 1 dot splendor that they reactivate periodically is almost as good. Not perfect because there are gaps, but those issues are dramatically more manageable than what they currently have to deal with.

The hero's shadow is needed for mass-deployment. This isn't to protect just the attuned user. It's to allow the repeated deployment of the effect and spread it over. This is why it has to be 5 dots - so the applied effect is permanent, and you don't need to reapply it. Because if you do, you are limited in how many people can be affected. With this thing? Eventually, Mab could mark her entire court. And others too.

Mab, or Mother Winter, or whoever (possibly Maeve? Since she's the one handling the child abduction, as part of her duties as the Winter Lady) would activate the splendor, spreading the effect, similar to this canon example:

Shit-Stirring Shadow (••)
This unusual offensive Adornment takes the form of an infectious Essence attached to someone's
spirit, often producing arcane knuckle tattoos. It creates an Intimacy of blinding hatred for
"whoever the Splendor's owner is beefing with," and convinces the infected individual that there
will be no negative consequences for acting upon that deep-seated hatred. Judiciously applied,
it's an excellent way to suddenly stop being outnumbered by turning an enemy into a berserker
semi-ally.
Form Elements: Form of the Hero's Shadow Root Elements: Beautiful Lie
Mystic Elements: Soul-Numbing Curse

Make no mistake, this is a strategic weapon against Nemesis. Eventually it would render all important supernatural agents immune to it.

BronzeTongue said:
1-2 dot splendors can be made or improved with powerful, but not legendary, monsters and it only adds a price barrier at the 3 -> 4 improvement mark.

So it should be 2 mid grade vampire elders and 2 godlings to reach 5 dots. Which is a lot cheaper.

Ok, that's a bit more manageable.

BronzeTongue · Oct 29, 2023

Yog said:
The hero's shadow is needed for mass-deployment. This isn't to protect just the attuned user. It's to allow the repeated deployment of the effect and spread it over. This is why it has to be 5 dots - so the applied effect is permanent, and you don't need to reapply it. Because if you do, you are limited in how many people can be affected. With this thing? Eventually, Mab could mark her entire court. And others too.

I don't think that's how this works.

When it's talking about effects like this the splendor is only in effect for as long as it's active. Changes to the subject are one thing, but sacred protection isn't a blessing it's a shield actively produced by the splendor at AS grade.

Permanent just means it never needs to be turned off in this context, not that you can use it to apply permanent wards to infinite people.

Shit stirring shadow is an example of this, because it only applies to the person the tattoo is currently on.

Yog · Oct 29, 2023

BronzeTongue said:
I don't think that's how this works.

When it's talking about effects like this the splendor is only in effect for as long as it's active. Changes to the subject are one thing, but sacred protection isn't a blessing it's a shield actively produced by the splendor at AS grade.

Permanent just means it never needs to be turned off in this context, not that you can use it to apply permanent wards to infinite people.

Shit stirring shadow is an example of this, because it only applies to the person the tattoo is currently on.

I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work like this? It doesn't say how long Sacred Protection works in Adornment mode - it's logical to assume that "as long as the splendor is manifested". Elongation of the curse ups that by one degree, with the permanent mode being the next after one year. So, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that it's possible that the effects of the splendor would remain after the splendor itself is re-manifested. Effects of transformation would.

We would need a ruling on this, I think. It's way too debatable.

Also, it's expensive enough to be table flipping. Having to kill several godlings for this is a high price.

DragonParadox · Oct 29, 2023

BronzeTongue said:
I don't think that's how this works.

When it's talking about effects like this the splendor is only in effect for as long as it's active. Changes to the subject are one thing, but sacred protection isn't a blessing it's a shield actively produced by the splendor at AS grade.

Permanent just means it never needs to be turned off in this context, not that you can use it to apply permanent wards to infinite people.

Shit stirring shadow is an example of this, because it only applies to the person the tattoo is currently on.

Yog said:
I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work like this? It doesn't say how long Sacred Protection works in Adornment mode - it's logical to assume that "as long as the splendor is manifested". Elongation of the curse ups that by one degree, with the permanent mode being the next after one year. So, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that it's possible that the effects of the splendor would remain after the splendor itself is re-manifested. Effects of transformation would.

We would need a ruling on this, I think. It's way too debatable.

Also, it's expensive enough to be table flipping. Having to kill several godlings for this is a high price.

From a world building perspective I am going to say it does not stick, being able to grant perfects, even if it's a perfect effect that can be damaged to an arbitrary number of people should be beyond the power of the exalted as it was beyond the power of their makers. The Gods and the Great Maker could only hand out such powers though the Exaltation themselves and while there were a lot of Terrestrials in the old days, that number still had limits.

Yog · Oct 29, 2023

DragonParadox said:
From a world building perspective I am going to say it does not stick, being able to grant perfects, even if it's a perfect effect that can be damaged to an arbitrary number of people should be beyond the power of the exalted as it was beyond the power of their makers. The Gods and the Great Maker could only hand out such powers though the Exaltation themselves and while there were a lot of Terrestrials in the old days, that number still had limits.

So, it would need to be reapplied, ok. Still damn useful. How often? And would you still be able to do multiple castings without previous ones dispelling?

Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

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