Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

That doesn't really require any deal at all just us spreading gossip and vampires like Thomas and Isabella being obviously happy and successful.
Yes. But the deal allows Molly and Lara to clearly state where they stand and what issues they consider critical. Lara can't allow Molly just poaching all whamps from under her - it would be bad for her political standing within the Court and can result in multiple other groups trying to oust her. With the deal in place Molly and Lara can organize ways to support groups within the Court that they want to get ahead without rocking the boat too hard risking a civil and shooting in the streets. Or worse.
 
It's basically the same as how regular spirits work, and I don't think that sort of benefit is what the splendor mirrors, so I don't think it's that broken.
So, I wanted to try and see how busted this can become, with pure Holden's rules. And I mean pure, no redistribution of points cheese, or buying special advantages with arcana build points, etc.

I am building it as a 5 dot Splendor, which has an Arcana 5 (golem) body. I am applying Companion of the Hunter immediately (I'll specify where)
Born from the cooperation of the unlikeliest of forces, this guardian spirit is shaped in the image of Celestial Lions of old, carved from mystical black jade mined from the deepest pits of hell with expertise befitting that of the Empress to come, and anchored to the world by the deathly essence of its mistress.

It takes the shape of an absolutely massive, 3.2 meters long black lion statue come to life. A coat of black metallic fur, so fine and alien that it obviously couldn't be a product of mortal craft covers its body. Its claws and fangs, shining with the true silver color of moonlight, and capable of goring both men and spirits alike, can inject a deadly magical poison into their victims. In its gem eyes sine the perceptiveness and wit of one who is at least equal to any man, and perhaps superior, a true and loyal guardian.

The Splendor takes the form of something that is primitive, crude, bestial, or a beast. Items tend
to be natural objects like rocks and branches, or are crudely-worked, or are decorated with beast-
motifs. More often, the Splendor is literally a living animal. This Element defines the Splendor's
physical form and gives it a character, and that character is aligned with the feral, primitive, and
bestial. Other Elements may draw upon this fact.
While animal-form Splendors are never hostile to their owner, they do not obey that individual as
a servant. Instead they will follow their normal instincts and habits, or else act according to some
particular pattern of behavior established when the Splendor is designed. If the Splendor is an
Adornment, it may be designed so that its blessings benefit the animal rather than the Exalt.
Taking a second characteristic Form makes it possible for an Adornment to take the shape of
both a beast and an item used by its owner, and to give its benefits to both of them.
The Splendor takes the form of something that is solid and durable and sturdy. It might be made
of stone, metal, or mineral deposits. It might be a crystal or gemstone. It might be dirty and
roadworn. This Element defines the Splendor's physical form and gives it a character, and that
character is aligned with the elemental power of earth. Other Elements may draw upon this fact.
The Splendor is extremely rugged, and the first attempt to damage or destroy it in any scene
automatically fails. As an Adornment, it grants its user one extra die of soak. As the basis for a
Fascination, it may generate the creator's choice of: useful tools for a certain kind of work; an
aura of quiet and serenity; periodic foreboding tremors in the earth.
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 Splendor defines a rigid certainty and imposes it upon existence.
When used in an Adornment, define a specific roll of (Attribute) + (Ability) and a specialty that
it falls under. When the user makes such a roll, she cannot botch and cannot fail regardless of the
difficulty. No matter what, she always generates at least one success. If this roll is opposed by
another character, Invincible Assertion instead adds two bonus successes.
When used in a Fascination, define a specific roll of (Attribute) + (Ability) and a specialty that it
falls under. Under circumstances defined by the Splendor, such rolls cannot fail in its presence,
and always generate at least one success. If such a roll is opposed, it adds two bonus successes.
This Element may be incorporated into a Splendor more than once.
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.
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 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.
The Splendor afflicts those it targets with a deadly poison. Poisoned individuals must make a
Stamina roll against difficulty (4 + Splendor's rating) each turn or suffer a level of unsoakable
lethal damage. Once the target has succeeded at this roll three times in a row, the poison has run
its course.
This Element is normally part of a Fascination. It may only be incorporated into an Adornment if
that Adornment has the Form of Imminent Violence, in which case the weapon is envenomed
and delivers this Element upon inflicting lethal damage.
Willpower ●●●●●●●●●● (5 freebie points)
Health 0/0//-1//-2//-3//-4//-5//inc

Attributes
PHYSICAL (primary + golem type arcana feature+ 5 points superior body X2 arcana feature + 1 from freebie points)SOCIAL (tetriary)MENTAL (secondary + 3 points companion of the hunter)
Strength ●●●●●●●●●Charisma ●●○○○
Perception ●●●●●
Dexterity ●●●●●○○Manipulation ●○○○○Intelligence ●○○○
Stamina ●●●●●●●●●Appearance ●●●○○Wits ●●○○

Abilities

TALENTS (primary + 7 points from expertise arcana feature + 2 points companion of the hunter)SKILLS (secondary + 2 points companion of the hunter)KNOWLEDGES
Alertness ●●●●●
Animal Ken ●○○○Academics ○○○○○
Athletics ●●●Crafts ○○○○○Computer ○○○○○
Awareness ●●●●●Drive ○○○○○Finance ○○○○○
Brawl ●●●●● Etiquette ●●●○○Investigation ●●○○○
Empathy ○○○○○
Firearms ○○○○○Law ○○○○○
Expression ○○○○○Larceny ○○○○○Medicine ○○○○○
Intimidation ●●○○Melee ○○○○○Occult ●●●○○
Leadership ○○○○○Performance ○○○○○Politics ○○○○○
Streetwise ○○○○○Stealth ●●●○○Science ○○○○○
Subterfuge ○○○○○Survival ●●○○Technology ○○○○○

Increase the Arcana's Strength and Stamina by two each. This may increase their
ratings above the maximums normally permitted for the Arcana's dot rating and Arcana
Features. Golems may never have any Mental Attribute rated above 5 dots, even if another
Feature might potentially provide it. A Golem cannot have an Appearance higher than 3, even if
another Feature might potentially provide it. Golems can soak lethal damage, but not aggravated.
Golems are always obviously not human, and obviously made of inanimate materials.
The Arcana gains three additional dots of Physical Attributes, which may
increase its traits to 6. Taking this Feature a second time provides only two bonus dots, but raises
the permitted cap to 7.
The Arcana's body is made primarily out of stone or clay. It
reduces the difficulty of soak rolls by one, or by two against harm inflicted by stone weapons.
All Arcana constructed by Dragon-Blooded must take one Elemental Frame quality.
The Arcana's body is incorporates some sort of deadly weaponry such
as metal fists, claws, fangs, horns, or sharpened bone protrusions. Her Brawl attacks inflict
Strength + 1 lethal damage.
The Arcana's body is made of tougher stuff than others of its kind. If the
Arcana could normally only soak bashing damage, it can now also soak lethal damage. If the
Arcana could normally soak lethal damage, it can now also soak aggravated damage at difficulty
8
The Arcana gains seven additional dots of Abilities, which may be used to raise
them above three dots. Taking this Feature additional times provides only five bonus dots.
Guided by a strong sense of ethics, you follow a particular
standard of conduct. This might be a military honor-code,
a religious creed, the law of a given fellowship to which you
belong, or possibly your personal moral center. Regardless
of its origins, this code guides your decisions, informs your
activities, and sometimes forces you to make hard choices that
less-ethical people never face.
Thanks to that code, your character gains two additional
dice to all Willpower rolls when he acts in accordance with his
code of honor, or when he resists some temptation or compul-
sion that might get him to betray that code. Obviously, you and
your Storyteller should work out the specific tenets of this code
during the character-creation process. If you do not honor that
code, then you'll probably lose the Merit… and suffer disgrace,
as well, among other parties who know and respect your vows.
While all fae are conscious of the bonds of oaths, for you
it's almost of a religious nature. Whenever you're overwhelmed,
the thought of your duties is enough to give you the strength
to persevere. In game terms, you reduce the difficulty of rolls
pertaining to the fulfillment of your oaths by three. Similarly,
the power of your sense of duty may be sufficient to allow
temporary immunity to other supernatural effects (Storyteller's
discretion). No Willpower may be spent on actions having to
do with the breaking of oaths. This is not cumulative with the
effects of the Merit True Love (see p. 186), though it can be
combined for purposes of roleplaying.
A heightened state of awareness allows you to sense impend-
ing harm. This gift could originate from primal perceptiveness,
intense conditioning, spirit voices that warn you of danger,
nanotech sensors, or other methods of refined cognizance.
Whatever the source of this Merit might be, your Storyteller
must make a secret Perception + Alertness roll for you when
some otherwise hidden threat is heading toward your character.
The difficulty for this roll depends upon the immediacy
of the danger; a distant, abstract sort of danger (like a plot to
kill you) is far harder to sense than an onrushing disaster (like
a sniper's bullet), and would thus have a higher difficulty (say,
difficulty 10 for the plot, difficulty 6 for the bullet). A simple
success would tell you that something's wrong, while a large
number of successes could pinpoint the nature and location
of the threat.
Your Storyteller, of course, is under no obligation to give
you objective details about that threat. She could be as vague
as "A chill tightens across your scalp," with perhaps a hint of the
direction and nature of the danger's source ("A sudden metallic
clicking sound echoes in from behind your right side. What do you do?").
Bizarre Hunger (2 to 5 pt. Flaw)
You prefer – maybe even need – to eat weird shit… quite
possibly in a literal sense of that expression. Perhaps you've
sworn a vow, suffered a curse, been treated (or created) with
unhallowed rituals or arcane hyperscience, or initiated into
an occult fellowship with… interesting admission demands. In
any case, you must consume substances that may be degrading,
unpleasant, expensive, or downright illegal.
The more inconvenient the substance, the more this Flaw
is worth:
• (2 points) Easy to procure, though not as easy to devour
(paper, fresh eggs, poop, etc.).
For each dot in your Stamina Trait, you can go one day
without satisfying your special dietary requirements. After that,
you lose one health level per day until you either consume
your particular substance, or else die of hunger or thirst, suf-
fer the punishment of a vow unfulfilled, or otherwise endure
whichever other consequences might result from denying your
bizarre hunger.
Invoking the fickle currents of fortune, you can employ
a combination of the spirit powers Bad Luck Charm and
Good Luck Charm. Instead of spending a point of Essence,
you must spend a point of Willpower to confer ill or happy
fortune upon the target of your whims. For details about
those Charms, see below.
Damn, you're fast! Capable of bursts of inhuman speed,
you can strike before most people can think. Each two points
spent in this Advantage, up to the maximum six points,
allows you to spend a Willpower point and take one extra
action within a single turn. That six-point Advantage, for
instance, would let you act four times in a single turn for the
cost of one Willpower point. Subsequent Willpower points
spent that turn do not add up, however; six points let you
act four times in one turn no matter how many Willpower
points you spent that turn. This bonus lasts only one turn
per point of Willpower spent that turn; if you need to burn
Willpower in order to move like the wind, however, you can
do so for as long as your Willpower lasts.
General:
  • Can see and affect spirits
  • All actions to defend Lydia are taken at -3 DC
  • Willpower rolls done in accordance to a code of honor and duties to defend Lydia have +2 dice
  • Can spend 1 willpower and roll willpower at DC7 to either convert successes dice on the enemy action into 1s (can cause botches) or let an ally to reroll their roll
  • Can spend 1 willpower point to perform 3 actions in one turn
  • Can sense danger with a perception + alertness roll
  • Lives in Lydia's anima. If killed, returns to Lydia's anima. Can be summoned by Lydia for 1 essence and an action
Defenses:
  • Perfect defense against the first attack in a scene. Perfect always-on defense against possession, perfect defense against attack by stone or metal weapons. If the attack has more than one element (example: stone axe that is on fire, or a bullet that is infested with a spirit that possesses you on damage), then aggravated damage is down graded to lethal, lethal to bashing, and possession immunity becomes ability to make a DC 5 Willpower roll to resist.
  • 10 soak, soak aggravated damage at DC 7, 6 if done by stone weapons, soak lethal and bashing at DC 6, 5 is done by stone weapons
  • The enemy has to pass a DC 9 willpower to attack the lion, and pay a willpower point each turn
Attack:
  1. DC4 roll + 2 auto successes
  2. 10 dice lethal damage
  3. Inflicts poison on the victim. The target has to roll DC9 stamina roll or suffer a level of unsoakable lethal damage. The target has to succeed 3 times in a row for the effect to end
 
Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jun 16, 2024 at 6:15 AM, finished with 81 posts and 18 votes.
 
Arc 13 Post 8: Travel Plans
Travel Plans

2th of February 2007 A.D.

"So... how do we get to Wales?" you ask after a moment, the smile on your face belying lingering worries.

"Plane!" Lydia's answer is instant and loud. Lowering the volume just a little she adds. "You are a little too fond of the Otherworld's roads, Molly. Humans did not learn how to hurl steel cylinders filled with pressurized air across the Atlantic just so we can take the same roads they did back when wood and canvas was the best they could do."

"You're not making it sound very safe..." you point out, but Lydia's still going.

"Father would only fly as a last resort since it's the Cold Queen's domain and never with me. I'd like to see what it's like alright?" Sometimes it's easy to forget Lydia'a age and then there are times like this when it shines though almost painfully clear.

With the weekend coming up and Lydia paying for everyone's tickets Olivia also decides to come with, make a bit of a holiday out of it... hopefully one that works out better than the last attempted girl's outing.

Alas having four more of you wandering around and getting into mischief does not make Mom and Dad any less concerned about the trip. They too have good memories, but you promise to keep in touch and remind them that you can get back as fast as they can click play on the right song.

All that arrangements are going great, that is until you hear walking in the front door: "You are not eighteen yet and you're not old enough to go no matter who's paying the tickets! Where would you even be going? Around Wales, that's very descriptive, looking for 'corpse candles', that sounds perfectly safe then! Do you have any idea the kind of danger your sister got into last month?"

"Mom..." you can hear the start of a whine in Daniel's voice. It's not hard to guess what's going on. Lydia had decided to invite him along, probably reasoning something like 'he might have a chance to test out those martial arts he's been learning'.

"No, you don't know and you should thank God that you do..."

"They went to Yomi Wan, to the Fortress of Perdition's edge to free a prisoner who had been chained there unfairly and loose hope upon that land."

Keen observer of Mom's moods that you are you're pretty sure those words in that tone are just the wrong thing to say. Three, two... You never get as far as 'one'.

"And that makes you want to go!" The windows are not actually vibrating in their frames you assure yourself, it just feels like it. "Don't you have a calculus test on Monday?"

There is no way he's getting a word in edgewise, you might though, though that begs the question. Should you take Daniel, true you're not looking for trouble and he has been training., but you are not sure how much. Maybe Burden Everlasting of the Dutiful Sovereign looked it over. You'll have to ask at the next All Molly Meeting on Monday.

What do you do?

[] Daniel tried and he struck out, that's on him now

[] Try to rescue your brother's hopes of a weekend with his girlfriend in Wales

[] Write in


OOC: This is a rather short update, but that's just the nature of the question.
 
It's like Charity made a magical oath to never roll poorly on her Willpower against her own flesh and blood. I don't think Molly's had a single interaction with her without having to resort to Infernal-powered excellencies (or worse, our arguments) to stand a chance at overcoming Charity's 'mundane' rolls.
 
It's like Charity made a magical oath to never roll poorly on her Willpower against her own flesh and blood. I don't think Molly's had a single interaction with her without having to resort to Infernal-powered excellencies (or worse, our arguments) to stand a chance at overcoming Charity's 'mundane' rolls.
She made a binding Vow in exchange for her magic she never rolls low on Willpower against people she has intimacies with ever again.
 
[X] Try to rescue your brother's hopes of a weekend with his girlfriend in Wales

In the hopes of Solar Daniel, he needs his moments of heroism. And I ship him with Lydia.
 
[X] Try to rescue your brother's hopes of a weekend with his girlfriend in Wales
 
[X] Daniel tried and he struck out, that's on him now

Charity is right and Daniel shouldn't follow us into potentially dangerous adventures.
 
Yeah. WoD is pretty close to Dresdenfiles magic. Minus the Paradox but plus additional mental contamination.
Another analogue is Telesma in its To Aru interpretation with Espers. And Book of the Law by Crowley in general.
It's all about Will shaping reality. Physics is a conductor for some of the spells at best.
Not really. Or rather, magic in the DF doesn't have to play that nice with physics but the underpinnings are very different from WoD.

A Mage is warping reality to do what they want and can theoretically ascend to change the paradigm of the world to match their vision. A Wizard is an artist and engineer working with magical energy within the rules it follows to accomplish things.

Take that thing about matter. Wizards can't do that, have never been able to do that. What they can do is use magic to change matter that already exists or steal ectoplasm from the spirit world and run magic through it to make it pretend to be something else for a while. This includes shapeshifters.
 
You're a muggle, Daniel. Until that changes, you need to stop trying to swim with the big fishes.

[X] Daniel tried and he struck out, that's on him now
 
In addition to my support and desire for their relationship to deepen, it's not like we're expecting a hard fight, just research and conversation. During the time he and Lydia could take walks around the area.

And really, after we increased our power and with the support of Lash, Lydia and Olivia, the danger limit for him increased a lot.

@DragonParadox you didn't write that we can now use the full strength of GSN or when we increase to essence 4, like you normally do.
 
In addition to my support and desire for their relationship to deepen, it's not like we're expecting a hard fight, just research and conversation. During the time he and Lydia could take walks around the area.

And really, after we increased our power and with the support of Lash, Lydia and Olivia, the danger limit for him increased a lot.

@DragonParadox you didn't write that we can now use the full strength of GSN or when we increase to essence 4, like you normally do.

Oops... I forgot :oops:

Will add after we get done in Wales, having Molly reach Essence 4 on a plane would be odd. :V
 
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You're a muggle, Daniel. Until that changes, you need to stop trying to swim with the big fishes.

[X] Daniel tried and he struck out, that's on him now
They are teenagers. Its not that deep.


[X] Daniel tried and he struck out, that's on him now
We are going to a church in Wales to find dogs that used to belong to her dad that are wrapped up with a saint. If we get into a fight here I struggle to think of how we can go literally anywhere without getting into a fight. Also it doesn't matter if it's not that deep trying to have a nice weekend with your girlfriend is just the right thing to do.
 
Oops... I forgot :V

Will add after we get done in Wales, having Molly reach Essence 4 on a plane would be odd.
But if necessary during the trip, God I hope not, could we use the GSN fully right?
They are teenagers. Its not that deep.


[X] Daniel tried and he struck out, that's on him now
And that's why I said I want to give them more chances to develop their relationship?

Or are you saying that, because they are teenagers, they can only have superficial relationships? Because if that's the case, it's an idea I'm totally against.
 
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