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Ascensions and Transgressions: the Tales of Keris Dulmeadokht (Exalted game)

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Fog of Battle
  • Informational
    • Fog of Battle
    Price    : 10-30m; Circle: Emerald; Anchor: (Any) 1+
    Target: Self
    Spell Duration: Indefinite; Casting Duration: Emerald
    Essence Aspect: Any; Favoured Aspect:

    Many sorcerers have a reason to cloak their movements under thick fog. Captains hide their ships under demon-called fogs, while Realm battle-sorcerers will often call a mist to conceal the movement of troops. So, too, do darker creatures who hate the light of the sun - and the Dead will often shamble up to a town hidden by an unnatural mist.

    Ritual: Drawing upon ambient moisture with the aid of her Anchor, the sorcerer shapes it into a thick fog bank.

    Mechanics: To cast the spell, the sorcerer rolls a dicepool at a difficulty based on the levels of ambient humidity and/or easily accessible bodies of water. In humid areas like a jungle or close to an open supply of water like a river or the ocean the spell is difficulty 1. With some level of ambient moisture, the difficulty is 2-3. In a parched deep desert, the difficulty might be 5. Casting this spell in direct, bright sunlight imposes a -1 external penalty on the roll.

    Effects: This spell creates a fog bank centred on the sorcerer, with a radius equal to 50 yards plus an additional 50 yards for each five motes spent on the spell beyond the first ten to a cap of thirty. This obstructs visibility as per the standard rules for fog. The sorcerer is not immune to the visual obstruction. She can command the fog to move once it has been created, or have it follow her. The fog bank moves at her base Move speed, but cannot Dash.

    By default, if this spell is targeted with Countermagic the sorcerer loses control of the fog and it becomes mundane fog which disperses as appropriate for the local weather conditions. However, the hostile sorcerer can choose to engage in a contested (Willpower + Essence) roll with the character, with the other character getting two bonus successes. Should the other sorcerer win the fog is shredded immediately, while if the character wins she remains in control and the fog bank halves its radius.

    This spell has an indefinite duration. However, if the sorcerer spends more than a minute outside the fog bank after the scene in which it was cast, she loses control of the spell as if it was subject to Countermagic. Sorcerers who wish to move ships long distance under cover of fog must endure an unpleasant trip.

    Example Spells:

    The Piper's Mist (Anchor - Backing (Elemental Court) or Ally (Water Elemental)) - Playing a jaunty little tune that pleases friendly spirits of water, the sorcerer releases fluffy little clouds of mist from his pipe that quickly swell and bulge into a great fog.
    Dicepool: Charisma + Performance

    Grave Mist Exhalation (Essence Aspect (Necrotic)) - Filling his lungs, the sorcerer breathes out and releases a stinking, vile mist that hangs close to the ground and chills the bones. Any corpses in the area also exhale, filling the air. This spell is always Difficulty 1 if cast in a graveyard.
    Dicepool: Stamina + Athletics

    Ophidian Majesty (Anchor - Ally (Demon of the Ebon Dragon) or Demonic Familiar (Demon of the Ebon Dragon) - Speaking an oily word, the sorcerer draws on her ties to the Shadow of All Things and wraps herself in ten thousand shadows. Rather than mist, this spell creates a cloud of cloying darkness that moves like a living thing. The difficulty is based on light levels and proximity to shadow, rather than humidity levels.
    Dicepool: Manipulation + Integrity

    Harridans of the Haar-Lord (Anchor - Backing (Pirates)) - Many pirate bands have their own hidden rituals for good luck and concealment. Infusing them with mystical potency, the sorcerer makes his own luck - and his own concealment.
    Dicepool: Wits + Sail
     
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  • Informational
    • Aleph said:
    Iiiiit's that time again!

    No, not session time. Demon time!

    Mwaa haa.

    Rathan, the Martyred Moon, the Ice-Handed Judge
    Sixth Soul of Keris
    Principle: Pay Each Man Back In Kind.
    Means: Looking innocent and righteous.
    Theme: Social capital and the justice of the streets.
    Attitude: Ululaya (Hatred)
    A moon hangs over the Direction of Sea; a huge body of crimson ice in the shape of a human heart. It beats a steady rhythm in the sky, and with each contraction a trickle of silvery blood leaks from a wound in its side. It is reflected below by the liquid mirror at the bottom of the ocean; a second ocean of mercury that forms an Undersea beneath the waters. This is the home and landscape-form of Rathan, the Martyred Moon. When the lord of the waters walks the world below, his avatar is a boy on the cusp of manhood with pale, perfect skin and veins filled with quicksilver. His eyes and teeth are pearls, and his hair is a dark red waterfall that hangs to his knees when he stands. A pair of three-tined antlers top his head; as yet immature and covered in icy velvet. His horned fiancée Oula is his frequent companion and lover; a demon of the First Circle who has won his heart and whose own heart he keeps in a beautiful silver box that is always with him. He will invariably demand she be summoned and left unbound when he enters Creation; for their separation grates at him and he will tolerate no other's claim upon her.

    Rathan's subjects know of his approach when the surface of mirrors ripple like water and the air chills. Those who have hearts full of guilt or false accusations on their tongues cannot help but shiver uncontrollably in his presence. He is the Crown Prince of the Sea in Krisity, and water strains towards him; spilling over the sides of containers and trickling uphill to reach his feet. Rain turns to hail when his mood is sour or shifts to fluffy snow when he is happy, and when he is overcome by strong emotion the sound of his heartbeat spills out; a crashing of waves that flows in and out like a tide around him. Orca pods are drawn to those ships he has blessed, and consider them kin.

    Seldom has the Martyred Moon admitted fault, and rarely does he shoulder guilt. He is an innocent scapegoat who others blame for their misdeeds - or so he will tell you in heartbreaking tones both brave and achingly vulnerable. In person he is vain and hungry for attention; eager to be at the centre of any happenings of note. His propensity for giving lavish gifts lets him enjoy the praise and gratitude he seeks - for to love and be loved is his nature, and he would waste away in isolation. Rathan has a darker side, however. An icy judge who rules always in his mother's favour, he holds grudges fiercely and forever until he can repay them in kind. When he envies others the acclaim of the masses; it is not the fiery greed of his sister Haneyl that leads her to build her assets ever higher, but rather a cold and sapping jealousy that tears his rivals down.

    Rather than action, Rathan reacts in proportion to intent when slighted - and so a war with his siblings meant to annoy him garners only irritation, while a doomed attempt on his life by a mortal with a broken sword would earn a long and pitiless demise. Unlike his siblings, he prefers not to dirty his own hands - indeed, he is somewhat lazy in his tastes; a delicate academic who prefers to read or be pampered while his subjects handle any hard work that must be done. This is perhaps reflected in his court, where he refrains from micromanaging in favour of trusting skilled subordinates to use their own judgement and govern themselves. This trust, should it be abused, results in the most excessive of his punishments - for betrayal is a crime that he can never forgive.

    One thing the Ice-Handed Judge prides himself on are his differences from the Blood Red Moon of Kimbery - a bitter foe whom he has hated since childhood. Rathan considers any comparison between the two of them to be weighed in his favour; for he repays like with like and kind with kind. Sometimes this payback is grand, while at other times it is subtle. When his subjects praise him in adoring voices, he rewards their minor gift of devotion with a similarly small boon; descending to walk among them and allowing them to gaze upon his beauty. When they flock to live under his dominion, he ensures they are fed and housed that they might have a place there for as long as they acknowledge him as prince. This casual generosity is half born of principle and half calculated to win hearts and minds - for Rathan believes it is far better to be loved by one's people than feared.

    Six is a number sacred to Rathan, and sixfold are his powers. First and most clearly, he is a beauty to break the hearts of men; delicate, effeminate and akin to the aesthetics of Air and Water. Second, while he affects daintiness and softness of hand, his implacable will and conviction might sustain him through any pain and hardship. And third, while not a talent innate to him; he is an academic and an occultist by virtue of patient study and wondering curiosity - which often compels him to seek answers in the black skies of his home or delve into mysteries with no reward save satisfaction.

    The greatest strength of the Martyred Moon is his sheer overwhelming presence. The tides of his innocent charm and charisma are ever-quick to pull in the unsuspecting or weak-willed, and his sweet words and uplifting smile can put even the most bitter, aggressive or cynical at ease. He is Lord of the Waters in his home, and the waters of Creation - as well as liquid quicksilver - obey him as their beloved prince; moving as he dictates and concealing what he wishes to be secret. He might call up swift currents to speed ships, stymie the efforts of the law to find smuggling routes and dens of inequity, or trap ghosts within circles of ever-flowing water. The mercury that lies under his sea is the source of his potent drugs and tinctures, for Rathan is an alchemist of great skill. His many recipes use quicksilver and vitriol to grant strength of limb, speed healing, numb pain or allow men to go without sleep for days on end. His nature demands a cost for such things, though, and drawing too heavily on such gifts may leave a man weaker ever after or wrack them with mad vicissitudes of the mind.

    Rathan is vain and committed to his own form of justice. He holds court under a thousand enraptured eyes, passing out rewards and punishments to those beneath him - and to those equals or betters he despises, such as the Blood Red Moon. Left to his own devices he ever seeks to expand his lists of praise-names, encode his law across his lands and proclaim his own innocence and virtues. The mysteries of the cosmos intrigue him, and he abides no other's laws in his pursuit of answers; passing any misdeeds under the eyes of those watching for them. Summoners who take care not to offend him may ask him for his aid in spreading word of their righteousness and integrity, his blessings in hiding their underhanded dealings from investigation, his alchemical expertise or his authority as Lord of the Waters. Those who offer him occult lore or an advantage over Ululaya will be assured of his patronage, and he has never failed to aid those clans of orcamen or dolphin-friends who call upon him with respect.

    To have his judgements questioned incites a cold rage in the Ice-Handed Judge, but when his proclamations of innocence or guilt are struck down against his efforts, he is shaken enough to gain Limit. He can grace Creation with his presence when a great gathering fail to prove or disprove a suspect's culpability, and argue long into the night under the light of the waning moon.

    Notes:
    Rathan is no less gorgeous at Calibration than at any other time, though his eyes become a pale blue and the icy velvet leaves his horns. He is warmer and more flushed with life at these times; though still as pale as any Northerner.

    Rathan is associated with ice, pearl, coral, orcas, dolphins and other marine mammals, cattle, moonlight, waterfalls, deep reds and pinks and pastels, mirrors, mercury, alchemy, judges, criminal law, innocence, martyrdom, grudges, revenge, wounded hearts, bleeding wounds, acid, rain, freezing cold, many hands (especially multiples of six) and halos (both discs and rings). His symbol is the six-sided snowflake; its fractal branches tipped in cinnabar.

    Rathan's relationships with his sisters are fraught. He has many times judged Eko to be arrogant, cruel and guilty of false accusations; picking on him for no reason but heartless bullying. Haneyl and he are frequently at odds in a cycle of offence and revenge, though their disputes have calmed with the Isles between them. His feelings for Calesco were once a mutual hatred, but have come to a teasing and turbulent exchange of banter and insults since the pair played midwives to their mother. On the other hand, Vali was a delightful surprise for him, and Rathan adores his younger brother despite reservations about the level of roughhousing and brawling Vali is prone to. That Zanara inspires mixed feelings is no great surprise - the Artist drives him to indignant fury, but he mentors the Art in critique and things of beauty. Though female, his grandmother Dulmea is not as threatening as his siblings; meriting dutiful obedience and frequent complaints about his many victimisations. Surprisingly, this attitude of deference carries over to the Serpent-Queen also, and Rathan is perhaps the only soul of Keris to respect and honour both Queens of Krisity.
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    Two things I'd like to note- firstly, per conversations I've had with Aleph, Oula being summoned and unbound also means that Rathan now has a free agent in Creation who is notably more powerful than the average Moon-Wife, literally can't betray him (she has Mother Before Daughter thanks to tutoring from Keris), and will pay attention to what Rathan would want if he was unbound, as opposed to any binding on him, which holds him to both letter and spirit of the commands. So, it's not *just* an adorable moment.

    (It is also an adorable detail)

    Second, his limit condition applies to his judgements being ignored by others. This, firstly, means his siblings are an obvious source of Limit for him, dammit Eko and Haneyl and...

    You know what, dammit all of them.

    Secondly, the reason it's not 'his judgements being wrong' is because... well, they're *his* judgements, so obviously they're not wrong!

    (Dammit Rathan)
     
    Huh, where is that Charm...
    Cost: —; Mins: Id 1, Enlightenment 6; Type: Permanent
    Keywords: None
    Duration: Permanent
    Prerequisite Charms: None
    The Edgelands of Krisity are a foreign, fearful place - but to one who partakes of their nature, they are home. Keris gains the following powers as permanent enhancements from her union with her po-soul:
    • She suffers no penalties from thin air or high altitude, and is outright immune to asphyxiation while in Limit Break.
    • Negative effects stemming from fog or humidity do not affect her, including penalties, environmental damage and even sensory impairment.
    • With a diceless miscellaneous action, she can become invisible to things that sense fire essence or heat, such as the heat pits of snakes or red jade lenses. In Limit Break, vision-based Awareness checks are inapplicable against her when she benefits from concealment in fog or mist, unless she wishes otherwise.
    • The Difficulty to disarm her or to steal objects she is touching is increased by 2.
    As a side-effect of learning this Charm, Keris begins to grow silver feathers amidst her hair. This is a permanent alteration to her base form.

    So, Keris has an innate advantage in foggy environments, isn't disturbed or hurt by any potential hazards there, and is already an emerald level sorcerer. She is going to enjoy this particular spell.
     
    EarthScorpion said:
    Fog of Battle
    Price    : 10-30m; Circle: Emerald; Anchor: (Any) 1+
    Target: Self
    Spell Duration: Indefinite; Casting Duration: Emerald
    Essence Aspect: Any; Favoured Aspect:

    Many sorcerers have a reason to cloak their movements under thick fog. Captains hide their ships under demon-called fogs, while Realm battle-sorcerers will often call a mist to conceal the movement of troops. So, too, do darker creatures who hate the light of the sun - and the Dead will often shamble up to a town hidden by an unnatural mist.

    Ritual: Drawing upon ambient moisture with the aid of her Anchor, the sorcerer shapes it into a thick fog bank.

    Mechanics: To cast the spell, the sorcerer rolls a dicepool at a difficulty based on the levels of ambient humidity and/or easily accessible bodies of water. In humid areas like a jungle or close to an open supply of water like a river or the ocean the spell is difficulty 1. With some level of ambient moisture, the difficulty is 2-3. In a parched deep desert, the difficulty might be 5. Casting this spell in direct, bright sunlight imposes a -1 external penalty on the roll.

    Effects: This spell creates a fog bank centred on the sorcerer, with a radius equal to 50 yards plus an additional 50 yards for each five motes spent on the spell beyond the first ten to a cap of thirty. This obstructs visibility as per the standard rules for fog. The sorcerer is not immune to the visual obstruction. She can command the fog to move once it has been created, or have it follow her. The fog bank moves at her base Move speed, but cannot Dash.

    By default, if this spell is targeted with Countermagic the sorcerer loses control of the fog and it becomes mundane fog which disperses as appropriate for the local weather conditions. However, the hostile sorcerer can choose to engage in a contested (Willpower + Essence) roll with the character, with him getting three bonus successes. Should the other sorcerer win the fog is shredded immediately, while if the character wins the fog bank merely halves its radius.

    This spell has an indefinite duration. However, if the sorcerer spends more than a minute outside the fog bank after the scene in which it was cast, she loses control of the spell as if it was subject to Countermagic. Sorcerers who wish to move ships long distance under cover of fog must endure an unpleasant trip.

    Example Spells:

    The Piper's Mist (Anchor - Backing (Elemental Court) or Ally (Water Elemental)) - Playing a jaunty little tune that pleases friendly spirits of water, the sorcerer releases fluffy little clouds of mist from his pipe that quickly swell and bulge into a great fog.
    Dicepool: Charisma + Performance

    Grave Mist Exhalation (Essence Aspect (Necrotic)) - Filling his lungs, the sorcerer breathes out and releases a stinking, vile mist that hangs close to the ground and chills the bones. Any corpses in the area also exhale, filling the air. This spell is always Difficulty 1 if cast in a graveyard.
    Dicepool: Stamina + Athletics

    Ophidian Majesty (Anchor - Ally (Demon of the Ebon Dragon) or Demonic Familiar (Demon of the Ebon Dragon) - Speaking an oily word, the sorcerer draws on her ties to the Shadow of All Things and wraps herself in ten thousand shadows. Rather than mist, this spell creates a cloud of cloying darkness that moves like a living thing. The difficulty is based on light levels and proximity to shadow, rather than humidity levels.
    Dicepool: Manipulation + Integrity

    Harridans of the Haar-Lord (Anchor - Backing (Pirates)) - Many pirate bands have their own hidden rituals for good luck and concealment. Infusing them with mystical potency, the sorcerer makes his own luck - and his own concealment.
    Dicepool: Wits + Sail
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    This is a really neat spell and I can see Keris getting a lot of use out of it.

    In the paragraph about using Countermagic on the fog, you state that "him" gains three successes on the contested roll, but it's ambiguous as to whether "him" is the character who cast the spell or the opposed sorcerer.
     
    Indivisible said:
    This is a really neat spell and I can see Keris getting a lot of use out of it.

    In the paragraph about using Countermagic on the fog, you state that "him" gains three successes on the contested roll, but it's ambiguous as to whether "him" is the character who cast the spell or the opposed sorcerer.
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    Tweaked. I had hoped the gender thing made it clear, but I'll use more words if I have to.
     
    Dynamesmouse said:
    Is using your Po or Coadjutor as an Anchor acceptable?

    Because, if so, Keris will get a lot of use of this particular spell.
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    Maybe Coadjutor, but that would probably involve getting them to spend their time supporting the spell, which means the Infernal in question doesn't get the coadjutor watching their back, giving advice, and none of the other benefits. Po backgrounds... Things thematic to your Pomight work, but I don't know how I would implement it.
     
    Frakir's brother said:
    Maybe Coadjutor, but that would probably involve getting them to spend their time supporting the spell, which means the Infernal in question doesn't get the coadjutor watching their back, giving advice, and none of the other benefits. Po backgrounds... Things thematic to your Pomight work, but I don't know how I would implement it.
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    You go into Controlled Limit Break for the duration of the spell or the rest of the scene. Keris will probably create and learn a Po-Anchored variant of this, so that she can be sure of creating fog when she's freaking out and terrified and might not have any other Anchors (and do it via something like Reaction+Survival as her dicepool), but she'll primarily use The Piper's Mist and call upon Rathan when he's externalised in Creation ("of course you can borrow my authority over the waters for this, mama!") or water elementals she'll make deals with as Little River when he's not.
     
    EarthScorpion said:
    Fog of Battle
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    Hunh. I look at this, and can't help but wonder if what went down in Eshtoc is the big grownup version of this.

    Frakir's brother said:
    I thought the EarthScorpian and Aleph have different Limit Breaks depending on the situation and stresses involved. I remember how when Keris was in Malfeas and was talking with Sasi, she went from one Malfeas limit break to another.
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    My memory is that that's specifically for a revised Malfean torment mechanic. Pekhijira has her own associated limit break that's much more constant than the Infernal torment mechanics.
     
    The Phoenixian said:
    My memory is that that's specifically for a revised Malfean torment mechanic. Pekhijira has her own associated limit break that's much more constant than the Infernal torment mechanics.
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    I'm pretty sure that there were multiple types of breaks with appropriate names. Nothing is impossible first, then Keris went into the one where she agrees with anyone who speaks to her.
     
    Frakir's brother said:
    I'm pretty sure that there were multiple types of breaks with appropriate names. Nothing is impossible first, then Keris went into the one where she agrees with anyone who speaks to her.
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    Infernal Limit can switch between the Limit Breaks of their Yozi. Po Limit is a single Solar-style Limit Break you can enter at will to bleed limit. They are different but related mechanics.
     
    The Phoenixian said:
    Hunh. I look at this, and can't help but wonder if what went down in Eshtoc is the big grownup version of this.
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    There's some hilarious irony in you asking that, because I suggested the spell to ES when he asked me what homebrew spells I might want to get at some point by going "okay, so you know the Curse of Unyielding Mist? That's Adamant Circle and way out of reach, but could there be an Emerald variant that just makes fog and mist for Keris to hide in?" and he was like "hee hee hee, you miiiiiiight recognise that Adamant Spell, hee hee", and I was like "yes ES I read the spell text, that is partly why I am asking".

    (Though I doubt it's just the base Curse of Unyielding Mist, if only because there were no Adamant sorcerers around when Esthock fell. Maybe they broke a 5-dot spell-containing chain from the High First Age or something - whatever the source; it's probably not a good idea to try and metagame in an ES game without justified IC knowledge of the subject.)
    The Phoenixian said:
    My memory is that that's specifically for a revised Malfean torment mechanic. Pekhijira has her own associated limit break that's much more constant than the Infernal torment mechanics.
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    Correct. Torment and Limit Break are different things. Torment is Keris's natural Yozi-based breakdown at Limit 10 and arises from her Urge being Malfean and her mind grating against the world in similar ways to the Demon City. There are five Malfean Torments, she enters whichever one is deemed appropriate by me the player and ES the ST, and a sufficiently massive stimulus can knock her from one into another (as happened with Sasi). It has no relation whatsoever to the Po Background, and anything based on or that interacts with the Po Background will use the singular Craven Cowardice Limit Break inherent to Pekhijira's nature and themes. Keris can drop into this willingly (though not necessarily consciously) to bleed Limit instead of building up until she hits Torment.


    Edit: Oh hey, page 100! Pretty cool. ^_^
     
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    Mare’s Nightly Ride
  • Informational
    • Mare's Nightly Ride
    Price    : 20m; Circle: Emerald; Anchor: (Any) 1+
    Target: One arcane link
    Spell Duration: Meditation; Casting Duration: One hour
    Essence Aspect: Any; Favoured Aspect: Wyld, Lunar or Oramus

    It is said that even one's most intimate dreams are not proof against the devious ways of a sorcerer. With a drop of your blood or a lock of hair, a wicked magician can spy on your fantasies and bring you nightmares.

    Ritual: The sorcerer engages in ritualised meditation of some kind, clearing his mind or exhausting himself until his mind is close to sleep. In this altered state of consciousness, he reaches out to the arcane link, sending his mind into the dreams of his target.

    If the spell is cast with a Favoured Aspect, the cost is reduced by ten motes.

    Mechanics: Once the sorcerer has reached his meditative state, he rolls (Wits + Integrity) against the dreamer's DMDV, with a -3 internal penalty. However, in such an altered state of consciousness fatigue penalties or penalties from drugs such as alcohol or marijuana instead provide bonuses to the roll, as his mind is brought closer to a dreaming state. On a failure, he cannot make the connection, though can re-roll after another hour of meditation. On a success, he enters their dream. If the target character is not asleep at the time, this spell automatically fails.

    The dream connection lasts as long as the sorcerer remains in meditation. He remains Inactive, but must roll (Wits + Integrity) to remain focussed if disturbed. Being shaken or touched imposes a -1 internal penalty, while physical injury imposes an internal penalty of two plus the number of health levels of damage taken. Damage inflicted on the sorcerer within the dream removes willpower points on a 1:1 basis. Should the sorcerer hit willpower 0 for any reason, he automatically wakes from his meditation with a splitting headache and take three points of bashing damage.

    On waking, the dreamer can roll their (Perception + Integrity) against the sorcerer's DMDV. On a success, the dreamer has an uncanny sensation that someone was spying on them in their sleep, opening up avenues for future investigation.

    Effects: By default, the sorcerer exists as an immaterial presence within the dreamspace. He can observe the dreamer's fantasies and nightmares, making appropriate Read Motivation or Investigation-based actions to deduce Intimacies or character traits revealed by the dream.

    While in the dream, the sorcerer can manipulate it with a Speed 5 miscellaneous action, rolling (Charisma + Performance) against the Dodge MDV of the dreamer. Success allows the sorcerer to change the dream's dominant Emotion (such as shifting a joyful dream into a terrifying nightmare). Whenever the sorcerer tampers with the dream, the dreamer can roll their (Perception + Integrity) against the threshold successes of the sorcerer's casting roll. On a success, the dreamer enters a lucid dreaming state and furthermore realises that their dream is not natural.

    The sorcerer can form an avatar within the dream by spending one willpower, who can look like anything he wishes. In such a state he can interact with the dreamer, though Socialise and Larceny rolls may be required to avoid the dreamer realising something is wrong - or else the dreamer realises someone is tampering with their dream, as described above.

    Example Spells:

    Ephemeral Phantasmagoria (Essence Aspect - Wyld) - The ever-changing power of the Wyld is close to dreams indeed. Ingesting wyld-tainted herbs, the sorcerer lies down to sleep of strange things. If the sorcerer casts this spell in a bordermarch or deeper in the Wyld, the spell is reduced in cost to 0m, though the dreams are automatically twisted by the wyld pocket the sorcerer meditated in.

    The Mirror of Dreams (Anchor - Artefact (Reflective Surface)) - Most sorcerers would prefer one of the enchanted mirrors that exist in the world to scry such things, but in extreme situations a buffed moonsilver shield might work. The dream is shown on the mirror for onlookers to observe, though if the artefact is not a dedicated mirror or scrying tool the sorcerer is at a -2 external penalty on the casting roll.

    Eyes Wide Shut (Anchor - Cult) - Through orgiastic cult rituals and the consumption of prodigious amounts of hallucinogens in the company of at least ten cult members, the sorcerer sinks into a narcotic haze and dreams. Characters who partake in the ritual may spend one willpower to also see the fantasies of the dreamer, though they may not form an avatar and may not tamper with the dream.

    Whispering Nightmares (Anchor - Whispers) - The Neverborn dream the terrible dreams of murdered titans, and those who hear their whispers dream them too. Rather than intrude on the target's dreams, this version of the spell means that both the sorcerer and the dreamer dream of the horrors of the Neverborn. The dream is automatically warped into a nightmare and count as training time for purchasing Whispers. The difficulty of a heroic dreamer realising the unnatural nature of the dream is reduced to one, unless they already have Whispers.

    Adorjan's Kiss (Anchor - Mentor (Adorjan)) - The dream-given kiss of the Silent Wind gives a sorcerer a smidgen of the Yozi's power. Touching the scar her lips gave, the sorcerer begins his own chase. The casting duration of this spell is reduced to "Emerald". Incidentally, sorcerers with a kiss-scar always count as having an arcane link to Adorjan, and vice versa. Many sorcerers have found the price of such power to be more than they were willing to pay.
     
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  • Informational
    • EarthScorpion said:
    Incidentally, sorcerers with a kiss-scar always count as having an arcane link to Adorjan, and vice versa. Many sorcerers have found the price of such power to be more than they were willing to pay.
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    Keris: ":c!"
    Keris: "Though I guess at least I already have the Background to cast this, if I want to learn it?"
    Sasi: "You can already do that natively, darling. And better."
     
    So just what does the Adorjan's Kiss variant mean/work, for those of us who don't really know how to put Exalted terminology into normal descriptions...

    And I'm going to guess that the 'price' is that Adorjan's also got a permanent link to you if she even feels like using it... With all the terrors that means.
     
    Pyro Hawk said:
    So just what does the Adorjan's Kiss variant mean/work, for those of us who don't really know how to put Exalted terminology into normal descriptions...

    And I'm going to guess that the 'price' is that Adorjan's also got a permanent link to you if she even feels like using it... With all the terrors that means.
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    Normally, the spells take an hour to shape the spell before you even begin visiting the dream. Adorjan's Kiss only needs a few seconds of shaping the spell instead.

    Arcane links are basically targeting coordinates for spells and presumably other ritual castings, though only some spells can use them; with the scar/Mentor anchor, you have one so you can aim at Adorjan whenever you like. And in turn, she has one to aim it at you whenever she likes.

    Keris, of course, already has one, so Adorjan can watch Keris's dreams and show up in them at any time with no warning whatsoever!
     
    Quantumboost said:
    Normally, the spells take an hour to shape the spell before you even begin visiting the dream. Adorjan's Kiss only needs a few seconds of shaping the spell instead.

    Arcane links are basically targeting coordinates for spells and presumably other ritual castings, though only some spells can use them; with the scar/Mentor anchor, you have one so you can aim at Adorjan whenever you like. And in turn, she has one to aim it at you whenever she likes.

    Keris, of course, already has one, so Adorjan can watch Keris's dreams and show up in them at any time with no warning whatsoever!
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    "Can", in this case, meaning "has done so on at least two occasions".

    And Keris's kiss-scar is rather different from most such marks, because she got hers in person. Not through a dream. Not through a cult ritual. Not through any setting where it was caused by the leastmost zephyr of Adorjan's winds slipping through a calling to make that mark and no more. No, Keris got them in the middle of the crimson hurricane from the Hushbringer herself in her avatar-form.

    (Which amusingly means that to anyone with decent essence-sight, it's pretty clear what caused it from the lingering enlightenment-reading in the scar.)
     
    Sacrifice of the Crystallised Heart
  • Informational
    • Adjusted this spell, also tweaked its mechanics a bit for better interactions with spirit stuff and the Anchor system.

    Yes, this means if you want to Anchor something in a spirit, you can always try trapping them in a magic gem after cutting out their heart. It's basically an Artefact, but encourages that beloved-by- @ManusDomine optimal sorcerer play to be "hunt down spirits who won't cooperate and trap them and use them for power" which encourages that best sorcerer virtue, huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuubris.

    Sacrifice of the Crystallised Heart
    Price    : 20m; Circle: Emerald; Anchor: (Any) 2+
    Target: One victim
    Spell Duration: Instant; Casting Duration: 2 hour ritual
    Essence Aspect: Any; Favoured Aspect: Necrotic

    Stories tell of vile sorcerers conduct malevolent rituals to trap the souls of their victims within precious stones. Through carefully designed ritual and ceremony, the sorcerer sacrifices a character, trapping its spirit within a gem-like form.

    Ritual: The sorcerer must first prepare an area ritually for their Essence Aspect and Anchor, then at the end of a two hour ritual, they kill their victim, carving out their heart or other vital organ. Within it can be found a gem which traps the spirit of the sacrifice.

    Mechanics: The sacrifice must be kept Inactive through the ritual. At the moment of the sacrifice, the sorcerer reflexively rolls (Intelligence + Occult) at Difficulty 3. On a success, the ritual functions as described below. On a failure, the sacrifice dies - or, if they're an Essence 5+ spirit, is momentarily trapped in the gem before escaping in a manifested form.

    Effects: The spell creates a precious stone trapping the spirit of the sacrifice. The gems formed by this spell have a Resources value of three or the permanent Essence of the victim, whichever is higher. This is increased by one if the sorcerer had an Intimacy towards them, and an additional one if the sacrifice's highest Virtue was rated at four or more. Resources values of 6 or above are treated as Artefacts with a rating of (nominal Resources value - 5) for the purposes of crafting and spell Anchors. Something of the nature of the spirit can be discerned from the gem. An onlooker can tell their permanent Essence and nature with a successful (Perception + Occult) roll at Diff 4.

    Spirits sacrificed by this spell are not permanently killed, but are instead trapped within the gem. If the gem is destroyed, the spirit is released - likely with a fearsome grudge against the sorcerer. Such spirits are often quite insane if they have been trapped for extended periods.

    Humans sacrificed by this spell are metaphysically slain. While both their hun and po are trapped by this spell, they are separated. As a result, should the gem be broken the hun and po go their separate ways, and may pass to Lethe or linger.

    If the spell is cast with necrotic essence and used against a human or a ghost, it has an additional property. A character who owns such a gem may release the ghost as a Miscellaneous action. As long as the character retains ownership of the gem, the ghost must obey them as a bound demon would, and may command them back into the gem.
     
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  • Informational
    • Shyft said:
    Quick and obvious question- can you do it to bound demons/elementals as part of regular Sorcery mechanics? I'm going to assume no, but I don't see why not offhand.
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    Yes. However, "stay still and let me kill you" is an Unacceptable Order and so sorcerers can't give that order to bound spirits, because binding can't give Unacceptable Orders. Likewise, if you try to murder a demon, it'll try to run away or fight back even if it's bound, depending on personality.
     
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