FunkyEntropy
Occasionally insightful, possibly grumpy
- Location
- Los Angeles
I knew there was a reason I liked you.
Alchemical Solutions [Worm/Exalted] Thread 23: We Wonder Where Who Wanders When Watchers Wane
- Thread starter Gromweld
- Start date
- Location
- U.S.
As a former Oboist, screw all you brass people an your egos.
Chapter 9.3: Part 1
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
Chapter 9.3
(Part 1)
(Part 1)
Bonus Round, Part 2:
[X] Bonus Point: Backing(PRT) ●●●●●
What's Old Is New:
[X] Saki maintains her old Secret/Civilian Identity
Only Skin Deep:
[X] Saki's 'Everyday' Look: Post-Surgery Saki ("Professionally Pretty," App 4)
Spiritual Recovery Efforts:
[X] Push SoPA Sometimes: Philadelphia Crime HIGH, Reconstruction LOW, SoPA Full Recovery ETA 4 Weeks
Too Fancy For This World:
[X] Let Lord Grasp rest and recharge in TwinSpace regularly, allow him to come and go when he pleases.
- [x] Stunt: New York has seen many strange things on its streets to date. But a car sized scorpion amiably trundling through it's streets, bedecked in brilliant logos and stopping every so often to examine points of interest with a bemused Clockblocker waving atop was not something you see on the typical Tuesday evening.
Free Actions:
[X] EOA - Free Action: "Current status, Sergeant Powell?" "Weaver. Glad you're here. Cape's on the top floor of the complex with hostages. Possible Master. Too many sight lines to catch them unaware." She nodded grimly, turning to the troopers with her and touching them each with her fingertip. "Don't worry, Sergeant. We'll handle this," she said before they all vanished from sight.
[X] FPoP - Free Action: "Wyld was hesitant with Bulldozer's... condition, but... s-said maybe-," Willow started. A large cerulean hand gently enveloped her fragile shoulder, stopping its shaking. "The tree bends but does not break, young Willow. Nor does it stand alone." Vajra turned to the wall of teleconferencing Case-53s. Each needful. Each hoping. "I believe the PRT will heed me better now."
[X] WoRI - Free Action: "Oww. Thanks, Saki," Missy said as the other Ward lowered her onto the sofa. "They got the worst out, but I'm still sore in places. I just wish the Common Room had better furniture." Saki felt a pressure on her prison charm, and a smile crept up her face. "Um. I know someone who can help with that, Missy."
XP Expenditures:
[X] EOA - 4 XP - Occult ●●●●●
[X] WoRI - 2 XP - Investigation (Body Language ●●○)
[X] FPoP - 4XP - Presence ●●●○○
***
According to the Wards Handbook - the dryest, most boring book you've ever read, despite being filled with instructions for life-and-death situations and terrifying cape-life realities - Master/Stranger Protocols are designed to be used when someone is suspected of being "compromised." The "Level" usually describes what type of "containment" is to be used, ranging from one to six; Level One is basically a full ID scan with some questions about the person's activities over the last few days, and Level Five is around three months of genetic, tissue, and brain scans combined with constant questions about your entire life - including your memory and reactions to the containment process.
Level Six was introduced to deal with Simurgh victims, but it's not in the Wards Handbook. When you and the others had asked Bladedancer what it was, her smile had fallen quickly.
"That's just a bomb dressed up as a friend," she'd muttered, looking across the training mat to nothing in particular. "Kill 'em before they blow up."
After that training session, Missy had wondered aloud to your group if that was why cape casualties during Simurgh fights was so high. Nobody had answered beyond some muted hums of consideration, but Taylor had looked especially grim for the rest of the day.
Which… well, when you'd heard the full story of what Taylor went through at the Cradle, you were more surprised that the PRT hadn't stuck her - and, probably, you - in a hole for a few months while they tried to figure out what had actually happened.
There'd been plenty of witnesses and recordings of the Simurgh's dive-bomb (literally) into the crater, since it'd generated a shockwave that could be heard up in the Refugee Camp thirty miles away. The various devices in Taylor's suit recorded nothing but static during the whole fight, apparently, which… surprised exactly no one, really, and the other PRT and geological monitoring gear (those that survived the shockwave) were similarly blank.
Investigation into the crater lake itself had uncovered bits and pieces that might have been the 'hand' - created from metal support beams and wires - that the Simurgh had used to capture Taylor in the fight, but that had only been a consolation prize; the PRT and Dragon hadn't been able to recover the upper torso of the Simurgh that she had torn off herself near the end of the fight. Though they'd initially worried about there still being remnants of something that can dissolve Endbringers contaminating the area, the search had ultimately been called off after they realized the whole mass had sunk through, boiled, and dissolved one hundred feet of rock before plunging into the still-cooling magma pool under the crater itself.
Dragon had stepped in at the time to provide secondary confirmation of at least part of the story - the whole, 'she tore herself in half and then teleported Legend to a different dimension, and Eidolon had to go find him' - which had been why Taylor had been allowed to return to Philadelphia to help with the final part of the Slaughterhouse Nine fight, but…
"...-PRT's investigation remains ongoing, with their 'Slaughterhouse Aftermath Committee' - as it's being called - still asking for anyone that was affected by the final events of last Tuesday to contact them at-"
You turn off the TV, sighing as the earnest-seeming news anchor spouts off the same line you've heard at least a dozen times in the last two days.
At Master/Stranger Protocol Level Three, the only entertainment choice you have is whether the TV is muted and/or dimmed low enough to allow you to sleep. "No foreign materials" means no books or clothes (outside of the PRT-issue white jumpsuit), and "no ability to communicate with the outside" means no ability to use the Internet. Everything is being watched and recorded, so that the PRT can compare it to your behavior from before... which means that even the bathroom is probably filled with cameras and microphones.
Taylor would have gone crazy if she'd been put in Level Three (or higher!) containment. Though, even her Level Two containment was basically in name-only (something about the Youth Guard?) - she got Internet access and all sorts of Tinkertech to play with… while you've been stuck with ABC Channel 4 and its absolutely Maker-awful programming. Well, ok, Two Rogues and A Baby is pretty funny, and Capes of Our Lives is still the best soap, but beyond those and the news you've been bored out of your mind.
If you'd been allowed to meditate like how Taylor and Prayer did, then maybe it would have been easier, but they'd asked you specifically to avoid doing that just in case your… uh, 'make lots of smoke and get all glowy' thing does anything like Taylor's used to.
But Legend, Chevalier, and Miss Militia had all asked nicely, and Prayer said it was necessary. What were you going to do? Say 'no' to that?
Okay, so, you did sort of say that if you went in then they had to deal with Lord Grasp while you were in containment… though it was phrased as more, "oh and here's Lord Grasp bye!" as you tossed his cat-sized form at Prayer while the door to your cell closed.
You giggle to yourself at the memory of his flailing squawk of protest and the muffled shouts of alarm before the seals engaged. You'd belatedly realized that he might try to tear through the door to get back to you, which made you worry for a few minutes, but your two days of containment have been scorpion-free.
Sighing to yourself again and falling back onto the (surprisingly comfortable) mattress, you look up at the blank white ceiling of your single-occupancy cell. Your lunch slid in through the dispenser on the wall… two hours ago? Three? You should be done pretty soon-
There's a pop in your ears as you feel the pressure in the room drop ever-so-slightly, coinciding with a light hiss from where the door into the room has been hidden for the past two days. The smooth, bare, white ceramic wall suddenly sports a door-sized indentation, which immediately afterwards slides open to reveal-
"Warden!"
-a very agitated-looking silver-and-gold scorpion taking up most of the doorway. Behind him is Prayer, though she's wearing an armored costume passingly-similar in style to Alexandria's, except full of purples, whites, and blues instead of the Triumvirate member's grey-and-black coloration. She's even got a white shoulder-cape! You and Sakura wanted one of those!
Despite being the size of a small car, Lord Grasp glides through the doorway without even touching the sides, then skitters past the small table in the middle of the cell, before rearing up on his hind legs and supporting himself with his pincers on either side of you - allowing him to meet your eyes with his own glowing, red gemstone ones.
"Never do that again!"
You blink, wide-eyed and shocked still at his indignant tone. "W-wha-?"
"I am a priceless weapon forged by the King of Craftsmen and his hands, the Jadeborn! My like has never been seen before on this world, and it will never see another!"
"Uh-"
"You do not toss me like some sack of grain!" he hisses, punctuated by twin puffs of steam that erupt from holes behind his eyes. "I have had to work non-stop in these past two days to undo the damage you have done to my apparent worth!"
Your mouth snaps shut with a click as you blink a few more times before letting your adrenaline drain with a sigh. From the doorway, you think you hear Prayer hum in disappointment as Lord Grasp continues to literally fume.
"And no whisking me away to that dreary dimension, either!" he continues on, shimmying on his back legs and flexing his forelegs while raising a claw to point at your face. "I am more than capable of blocking such a tactic with my own charms, if I so choose."
...ok, yes, you were about to do that again, and you're trying not to scowl so hard at being caught before you could spring it. But wait-
"Why didn't you block it before?"
The glow in his eyes shifts from a brilliant crimson to a lighter, muted purple, while the rest of him stills as he recoils slowly. "I… realized that I may - may - have overstepped with regards to my comments about your pre-Exalted form."
"Really."
"Not that I was wrong, mind you," he dismisses with a wave of his claw, though his voice is still anxious, "but I should have realized that a fresh Exalt like yourself would still be emotionally attached to your previous, lack- ah, less empowered form."
From the door, Prayer clears her throat - a sound that is both arresting and harmonic, oddly.
"Ah… yes," he starts, the glow in his faceted eyes cutting out briefly in what you figure must be his own form of a blink. "By which I mean that I… did commit a grievous breach of propriety, and you should take this as your first etiquette lesson in what not-"
"Lord Grasp."
Her flat tone somehow sounds like a vault of crystals humming in disapproval. It's the strangest thing, and the opulent mechanical scorpion in front of you practically wilts at the sound.
"Warden-"
"It's alright, Lord Grasp," you snicker, patting the claw still resting to your left on the mattress. "I know."
"Ah!" he perks up, looking at you carefully for a moment before turning his upper half towards Prayer and gesturing towards you grandiosely. "Did I not say that she would understand my intent without needing to debase myself so? I am only bound to the best!"
You can't help but smile at that, which seems to satisfy Prayer's silent, questioning gaze to you - eliciting a nod of assent from the giant blue woman and a satisfied huff from your gem-coated companion.
"Now that that's settled, Warden…" he muses, turning back to you while twitching a bit, "I find myself growing tired of this... discomfiting, barren world. If you would be so kind…?"
"Oh," you blink, remembering how he had complained at first about what Earth-Bet felt like to him. Has he felt like that this whole time? Oops. "I'm sorry! Yes, of course!"
"Thank you, Warden," he sighs in relief as you raise a hand to him, though he stops you with a large pincer just as you're about to port him away. "Do you have a way for me to get your attention whilst inside? I do have some appointments to keep."
"Errr, I think I noticed when you tried to use the portal before?" you muse, frowning as you remember what it felt like when he'd been poking about on his own. You'd almost thought there was a prickling on the back of your mind, but- "I was just ignoring you before," you nod, both to him and yourself. "I'll pay attention next time."
"Yes, well," he sighs, waving his claw in understanding, "I suppose that will do for now. First Prayer of Perfection, please keep her safe until my return."
"Of course, Lord Grasp."
He bows slightly in response, and then you pull - briefly tearing open reality with a swirling vortex of black and white hexagons of varying sizes for barely a few seconds before it all vanishes with a crackling pop of electricity. When the effect is gone, so is your car-sized companion.
"Wait…" you blink, looking to Prayer in delayed realization. "Appointments?"
***
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-Lord Grasp can apparently last for multiple days in the Nowhereverse.
So it seems to be just uncomfortable, not actively debilitating. That's good to know.
The entire scene basically reminds me of this
So Prayer basically got a Level 1 on her return.
Taylor and Iris both got Level 1s after the Nine incident, and Riley is probably under a modified Level 2, subject to Taylor's monitoring.
Chekhov's Gun cocked.
Especially given the fact that Saki has POS.
And I get the feeling that Bladedancer has had unfortunate encounters of the Ziz kind.
Ah.
So the security procedures that Simurgh fight participants agree to isn't common knowledge.
Cauldron.
Nice to have Ziz as a scapegoat, though.
Hmm.
Given the known durability of Endbringer material, it is entirely possible that chunks survived the whole immersion into magma thing, which reaches a max of ~1600 degrees Celsius.
Assuming that Smoke Essence didn't burn the entire thing away.
Yeah, I forsee Congressional hearings in Taylor's future.
Okay that's stupid on the part of the security weenies.
One would think that most books are significantly less of a security risk than electronics.
And in the case of the Twins in particular, given their known proclivities towards certain types of fiction, seeing whether they remained interested would be part of the process of evaluating any personality changes.
Hell, they were writers; you give them ink and paper.
Handwriting and writing analysis is all part of the process.
Lol.
I can't but giggle at the possible plotlines of a cape soap opera; RL ones are bad enough.
Given that the PRT remember she's/they're teleporters, and so can't be held in one place against their will without a power negator?
It puts an entirely different IC look on why the PRT sent who they did to the crater.
I mean, Marrow and the Twins weren't close pre-Exaltation, and Taylor wouldn't be able to stay.
Miss Militia because she was their recruiter, and someone they were known to like.
Chevy as their commanding officer, and crush of one of them; odds are there is notation to that effect in their psych files.
Legend for general PR.
Anything to keep them around and complying willingly, not teleporting the hell away.
I assume that's formal wear?Because it's going to get in the way of her back-mounted jetpack.
I half-expected costume design to go the Wonder Woman route, with the open upper back and arms. Even if modernized, something a little like this:
*shrug*
What is this cape supposed to look like?
Captain Marvel? Ezio from Assassin's Creed? Victorian/Sherlock Holmes?
Questionable.
Given how familiars and their primaries are connected, to the point that canon familiars expand the Essence pool of the Exalt by 5m?
I suspect that either participant of that bond can ignore the anti-shaping charm to affect the other's body.
It would probably go to a roll-off between applicable stats.
Prayer rolls for Intimidation! Critical success!
Either Grasp got some idea of just how high-powered this Assembly is supposed to be?
Or Prayer went all over-protective Elder Sister on his ass, plus or minus her totemic anima.
We should probably consider increasing Saki's Perception with her bonus BP so she can detect things like that better.
That would be the logical choice, though I suppose she can raise it later in Lord Grasp's minivat.
The fun choice would be upping Strength to 5.
Lord Crushing Grasp, fast worker!
EDIT
Throne Shadow Style.
Lord Grasp as Saki shadowfinger proceeds to hoover up > 750 tons.
For reference, the Statue of Liberty is ~220 tons.
Which means that Saki or Sakura could literally pull a Carmen Sandiego and steal entire monuments.
Still a ways off before she can try for a skyscraper though; the average skyscraper is ~200,000 tons.
All the Endbringer fight conditions are classified information. That was a factor raised in Worm canon. The only people who know the specifics either have high clearance, or have Been There.
Presumably the issue is that sending something capable of surviving magma immersion to go through boiling water like that and then into lava to retrieve a chunk of hyperdense material sinking through viscous molten rock of unknown size...is a little impractical.
There's only a few people at hand who could do it, and we didn't assign Marrow + Defiant to the job.
Ink and paper are fine, but books are high effort to vet for ciphered stuff being smuggled in to give the people under MS evaluation the information they need to cheat it.
It's unlikely, but it's there.
The Assassin's Creed one is now my headcanon.
- Location
- U.S.
Innurement should be able to block it, though he would have to have the right bits activated at the time.
No, Innurement doesn't seem to have faults, so even if Shard of Transcendental Imprisonment is a perfect effect, his defense should still have primacy. There is no precedent for the connection making a sentient familiar vulnerable to charms from their master they wish to resist. The motes are also only available when touching the familiar, and are the Exalts motes, just stored in a different place, there are artifacts that have similar effects, so I doubt that would weaken his defense in any way.
That would be... a very odd thing for Auto to have info on. Sids are pretty protective of their own marital arts, even to other Exalts. Also, TSS requires lots of subordinates and E4 to be good( And MA5) but that isn't easily achievable, as sown by how EOA got E4. Also, if Auto had Sid MA's around, why not give out VBS, which I would consider stronger in most situations.
It depends on when, exactly, Throne Shadow Style was developed. If the time period was the Primordial War, it's not implausible for Auto to have records of the forms for TSS imo.
Doesn't seem to gel with the fact that Khonsu's attack was literally televised, though, and noone thought that fact particularly noteworthy.
Or maybe that was old procedure, which was beginning to break down as of when canon started.
Off the shelf books man.
By the same token, electronic media can be hacked and data sent through/encoded for ciphers.
We actually see Saint do this to communicate with Teacher in the Birdcage.
It's just some moron not thinking things through.
Uh, TSS was around during the Primordial War, just like Crystal Chameleon was.
Furthermore, Iris spent thousands of years in Creation, including during the First Age.
And that's not to mention the possibility of independent invention of the same style in Autochtonia.
Hell, Grasp was the familiar of three Celestial Exalts, including possibly a Sidereal.
You have no idea what notes he had lying around; CMAs could be learned from scrolls after all.
To complete, sure.
But at E2 you get access to the form, which is where it begins to shine for the Twins, as it gives them bodyguards while they perform support work.
And at the current time, minions are quite easy for the Twins to acquire.
Hell, Taylor could outright build them minions to store in their dimension until necessary.
Because VBS is not especially appropriate for the Twins?
They aren't trying to maximize their killiness; their natural niche is more support than frontline.
Throne Shadow gives them stealth, a scanner, a truth compeller, and a dematerialized/stealthed beings detector in addition to actual combat shit.
Furthermore, it's form weapons include tiger claws, which Saki already has installed because of Transcendent Brutality Programming, as well as improvised weapons. It's a force multiplier as long as a Twin is not alone.
VBS OTOH kills shit dead. Especially spirits.
It is very good at it, but there really is no added value.
And it's form weapon are swords, which are kinda difficult to pass off as innocuous on Earth Bet.
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- U.S.
That seems stupendously unlikely, as it is the Sidereals second(...god damn it Exalted writers...) innate style, and based on their methods and purpose. Without knowing those things in order to emulate them, the style would not come into existence. If recreating the style without a Sid is even possible.
This seems decently likely. Sids as a whole forbid teaching their arts to others, but having scrolls lying around in what was basically their house seems a decent explanation.
Not good minions. Unless we were to take parahumans, we'd be dealing with baseline humans, which are kind of worthless against big threats, even with the stat boost Sifu's Fingers gives.
This is actually not a bad idea. Martial Arts robots seem fun.
...People use VBS with swords? Huh. I guess that is a thing. I've only ever used it or seen it used with Seven Section staffs. Also, TSS does have the advantage of allowing armor, which VBS does not.
I'm still kind of uncomfortable how weak it is as a combat tool, especially alone(short of extensions), but eh, compromises.
It is. Both TSS and VBoS are Celestial-tier, not Sidereal-tier.
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- U.S.
I know, the issue is that they are the arts innate to Sids, their Hero Styles. I'm not sure if it was even possible to duplicate such a style. It would obviously be so without knowing about the Exalt type, as that is the basis for the Hero style.
I can't help but imagine "It's the same, but one of them avoids responsibility by feigning some problem they need to deal with and flying out the window while the other is stuck using heat vision to clean up the baby's mess"
I like the idea of Saki learning Throne Shadow Style. In Endbringer fights I was sort of imagining Lord Grasp serving as a heavy hitter/mobile command center, and in addition to his already innate ass-kicking, the idea of a crack team of capes (I'm inclined towards Strikers and Brutes, but I'm open to suggestions here) guarding the place appeals to me. On the topic of whether or not Saki can learn Sidereal innate styles...well, she's a Starmetal Caste, who fulfill similar purpose in Autochthonia. I know it's not the same as being a Sidereal herself, but that's honestly about as close as I can imagine second place being.
Scify
It always starts with a lighthouse.
... Huh. That might actually help with that omake idea I failed at hammering out awhile back.
Thief of Words
Trans lesbian librarian
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- Best book girl
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- She/Her
Nah. It's possible to teach hero styles to non-native Exalts. Just not the extensions. And there are spirits in Autochthonia who remember the war where those styles were first used. [Insert car-sized fabulous hint here]
FunkyEntropy
Occasionally insightful, possibly grumpy
- Location
- Los Angeles
Hey now, I'm sure Bonesaw can cook up something to help with that. Particularly if we borrow the best of what's left of Bezalel's work.
Simple
- Location
- USA
TTS is the Sid hero style iirc. VBoS is a Celestial MA (That has Saturn's fingerprints all over it, and is thematically a siddie style (not to be confused with a Sidereal Style) MA. It only has 9 charms. TTS has more than that and at least one ess 6 charm) that was later embedded into their Exaltations because the Broken Mask dicks with how TTS works for sids. Something something arcane fates something students forgetting sifus something. Can't remember right now.
I would say Auto-kun definitely has the former in His records. According the the MoEP: Siddies VBoS is and has always been a close to very secret style hoarded by the Sids. But Auto-kun might still have it in His records.
In my current Alchemical game, we had to game VBoS via a memory crystal/animating intelligence sifu.
I would say Auto-kun definitely has the former in His records. According the the MoEP: Siddies VBoS is and has always been a close to very secret style hoarded by the Sids. But Auto-kun might still have it in His records.
In my current Alchemical game, we had to game VBoS via a memory crystal/animating intelligence sifu.
Electricity is in theme for Orichalcum Castes, but not for Starmetals.
My headcanon is the Warcraft 3 teleportation chime that the Archmage uses.
I don't agree.
Defence is king in Exalted, but familiars share the kind of arcane relationship with their Exalted that I would argue allows them to count metaphysically as extensions of each other.
In canon, a familiar supplies it's primary with a mote pool expander.
In this quest?
We see VoV bodyjacking Taylor and Shaping her chassis into raw material, without her getting to activate ISF, a reflexive charm, to lolnope it.
Or Taylor almost doing the same thing to VoV with SoPA, and VoV not simply no-selling it with Inurement.
This is not true.
The TMA Terrible Ascent Driven Beast Style is explicitly modeled on a beast that none of the inventors had ever seen or heard of, and which might even be imaginary. You do not need a living model to create an MA.
Of course we'd take parahumans if they're available.
But we could also take automatons, or spirits, or bystanders; whatever's available at the time.
Oh yes. VBoS allows swords. All kinds of swords.
Which means that yes, you can practice it with a grand daiklave.
There is a reason it has a reputation for being very killy.
You underestimate it terribly.
Especially given how the 2.5 errata moved a couple charms over to it from VBoS.
Gimme an hour or so, and I will go over what you can do with TSS.
Remember those storylines where Girl A is in love with Boy B, and when they get to the altar it turns out she has been duped by his evil twin C, who wanted to get control of the family company but fell in love with her anyway?
Now consider that kind of plot in a world with Strangers and Masters.
Oh it's either TSS or Fist of the Daystar.
Depends on how anime you want to get.
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Weirdly, they are both considered innate styles for Sids. Yes, I am aware how weird that is, yes I can site it from a book. VBS is made up of charms that are technically a celestial martial art, but also normal Sid charms for MA, in that they can't make more even though it is an innate style. And the last Conclusion Pursuing Approach has a Sid only Prayer strip effect. But anyway. The ability to learn both has always come with the Exaltation. Breaking the mask did fuck it over though since you need to remember the Sid to work with them, and since TSS requires other people to be at peak usefulness... that's a big deal. Add to that losing most of their infrastructure in Creation and it took away a lot of the resources used to make optimal use of the style. The Sidereal's role also changed, and for all these reasons TSS declined and VBS became more prominent.
Eh, it's industrial, and themes are more flexible for Alchemicals, its cool so let it be.
I would argue that the motes aren't evidence, as you can store motes in other ways as well. The fact that familiars don't count as an Arcane Link( they are not listed in the description for such in Black and White Treatise) seems more telling on the level of connection. And as you stated Defense is king, and where is that ever subverted in this manner?
I would argue it was due to him being massively more powerful than her (Viator is an E9 3CD equivalent) who is even more connected to Autochthon than her. He would be capable of disabling Alchemical charms if anyone is, as a massively powerful piece of the entity they emulate. I would also not that Taylor did not attack Viator with shaping or an environmental effect, she first cut of power-not an attack- then used what amounts to a total control effect, which is outside the purview of Innurement, as a mechanicaly "social" effect. Which is weird, but seems to be how the rules would apply to that.
True, but they have a concept of it. Having the exact concept of "Sidereal" is hard if it isn't described to you by someone with very strong experience with a Sid, and from what we know of Autochthonian history on one is talking. I guess Auto would be capable of it, if he were to bother, but is seems very odd and likely to offend a the Sids, were they to have not experienced cessation of existence.
Not really? It lacks serious defensive options outside of stealth and lots of Defend other, which is a problem against AOE and environmental attacks. Also has the issue of being bad if you can kill the fingers, who are generally weaker fighters anyway. And them being around. It mostly seems to rely on lots of things going right for the user, and you can't count on that. Other celestial styles are a self-contained resource you don't need support for. Without exterior support gathered, TSS is sub-par, and I have no desire to rely on having other people around and surviving anything that happens in order to be combat effective.
Let's Talk Throne Shadow Style.
This style allows all kinds of armor; important if you are not especially nimble on your feet.
It's form weapons are basically the same as Solar Hero.
Now, a look at the charms:
Lotus Eye Tactics allows you to scope a person's combat abilities out for 1-3m unless the person is using magic to hide them.
Lion Mouse Stratagem allows them to deceive other people about what/who they are for 3m; I quote:
Sifu's Useful Fingers is literally a training charm that allows them to boost a person's MA by 1 dot at the cost of 1m and 5 minutes instruction.
Each of those people are now your shadowfingers.
Throne Shadow Form means that every shadowfinger is reflexively defending the TSS user as long as they are in range.
Furthermore, the TSS user can substitute MA for War in launching coordinated attacks, and can hit dematerialized opponents.
This is especially potent, given how coordinated attacks work in Exalted 2.5E.
Shadow Lost In The Court is a stealth charm.
It allows the user to hide in a crowd of three people; for example, if Saki knew TSS, and had Grasp and another person as shadowfingers, she could walk between them, and vanish. Attempts to find her would incur a -2 EXTERNAL penalty.
Literally, if Saki and Sakura were both TSS users and designated each other and Lord Grasp as shadowfingers, they could walk down main street in the company of Lord Grasp at his most opulent, and most people wouldn't notice them.
Pneuma-Sealing Strike allows you to literally strangle a man by touching him. I quote:
So yeah, she hits the guy,
Deadliest of All Weapons forces the target to only tell the truth for an hour.
Think Jim Carey in Liar, Liar.
Clear Eyes Defense is a physical counterattack against UMI.
Welcoming The Uninvited Guest is a scanner charm that reveals stealthed hostiles and dematerialized beings within range.
Finger-Stealing Handshake allows the martial artist to recruit (Essence*2) minions wherever she is by rolling (Charisma + MA) against the highest hostile DV around.
World As Weapon Mastery allows you to count your shadowfinger's attacks as your own unarmed attacks.
Which means you can apply your charms to them.
Even if they're using ranged weapons or powers.
Unobstructed Blow gives one attack the Piercing tag, and halves enemy DV for 4m.
Add 7m more, and you can make that attack unblockable AND undodgeable.
For when you really want to ruin someone's day.
Horrific Wreath gives all your attacks the starmetal MM bonus for a scene.
AND it deals aggravated damage to creatures of darkness.
Plus, it has a cool glowing hands esthetic.
And then there's Crimson Palm Counterstrike, which is a funky counterattack charm against close combat attacks.
This style allows all kinds of armor; important if you are not especially nimble on your feet.
It's form weapons are basically the same as Solar Hero.
Now, a look at the charms:
Lotus Eye Tactics allows you to scope a person's combat abilities out for 1-3m unless the person is using magic to hide them.
Lion Mouse Stratagem allows them to deceive other people about what/who they are for 3m; I quote:
That means you can quite literally have an App 4-5 person who blends into the crowd.
Sifu's Useful Fingers is literally a training charm that allows them to boost a person's MA by 1 dot at the cost of 1m and 5 minutes instruction.
Each of those people are now your shadowfingers.
Throne Shadow Form means that every shadowfinger is reflexively defending the TSS user as long as they are in range.
Furthermore, the TSS user can substitute MA for War in launching coordinated attacks, and can hit dematerialized opponents.
This is especially potent, given how coordinated attacks work in Exalted 2.5E.
Shadow Lost In The Court is a stealth charm.
It allows the user to hide in a crowd of three people; for example, if Saki knew TSS, and had Grasp and another person as shadowfingers, she could walk between them, and vanish. Attempts to find her would incur a -2 EXTERNAL penalty.
Literally, if Saki and Sakura were both TSS users and designated each other and Lord Grasp as shadowfingers, they could walk down main street in the company of Lord Grasp at his most opulent, and most people wouldn't notice them.
Pneuma-Sealing Strike allows you to literally strangle a man by touching him. I quote:
This is important because that penalty will also apply to attempts to resist her hoovering up the person and dumping them in Monopoly prison.
So yeah, she hits the guy,
Deadliest of All Weapons forces the target to only tell the truth for an hour.
Think Jim Carey in Liar, Liar.
Clear Eyes Defense is a physical counterattack against UMI.
Welcoming The Uninvited Guest is a scanner charm that reveals stealthed hostiles and dematerialized beings within range.
Finger-Stealing Handshake allows the martial artist to recruit (Essence*2) minions wherever she is by rolling (Charisma + MA) against the highest hostile DV around.
World As Weapon Mastery allows you to count your shadowfinger's attacks as your own unarmed attacks.
Which means you can apply your charms to them.
Even if they're using ranged weapons or powers.
Unobstructed Blow gives one attack the Piercing tag, and halves enemy DV for 4m.
Add 7m more, and you can make that attack unblockable AND undodgeable.
For when you really want to ruin someone's day.
Horrific Wreath gives all your attacks the starmetal MM bonus for a scene.
AND it deals aggravated damage to creatures of darkness.
Plus, it has a cool glowing hands esthetic.
And then there's Crimson Palm Counterstrike, which is a funky counterattack charm against close combat attacks.
I'll try and reply tomorrow.
Feeling a little too groggy at the moment to be coherent.
- Location
- U.S.
This seemed...unnecessary? I mean, most people have the book and can look of TSS if they want. If they don't, send me a PM, I'm happy to help.
I think you got a bit confused, these are VBS charms, not TSS.
- Location
- USA
Weirdly, I already said that.
Bolded for emphasis.
I might be wrong on when VBoS was embedded into the sidereal exaltations, but I definitely said both TTS and VBoS were innate, though I didn't use that word.
The rest of your post just expands on the reasoning between the two that I really just glossed over. So have a like.