Ebeli Quest: How to Manage your Plot Devices and Save Creation
Vaalintine
Wild Wondorous Wolfalope
[X]Giant Robot Time: Cast God Forged Champion of War
For those wondering what Gaia's Pangaea Jotun is like, think of how nature is on earth, completely unspoiled. Now take all the plants and animals and ramp them up in power and intensity till it makes Australia look tame.
This brings to mind a question: what effect might Dragonblood & Lunar charms have inside Gaia's Jotun?
For those wondering what Gaia's Pangaea Jotun is like, think of how nature is on earth, completely unspoiled. Now take all the plants and animals and ramp them up in power and intensity till it makes Australia look tame.
This brings to mind a question: what effect might Dragonblood & Lunar charms have inside Gaia's Jotun?
GreggHL
Engaging hilarity engine/air intake
- Location
- Daejeon, Republic of Korea
I often go by the belief that one of Gaia's third circles is basically Tuchanka.
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
Now see, when you put it like that, I don't think Pokemon, I think MMORPG players. I shall pause a moment to let the idea of First Circle Internet Trolls percolate through the collective imagination of the Thread.
...
...
...
Done?
Moving on, are Gaia's ...daevas? vulnerable to fire? I mean, most animals flee from it, it's only sapient life that tends to like the Red Flower. Would Killing things with Fire have a conceptual benefit then?
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
[X]Giant Robot Time: Cast God Forged Champion of War
More seriously*, I always read Gaea as being more dispassionate about nature's harshness - if SWLIHN is CLU 2.0 trying to build the perfect system, Kimbery is a mad goddess flooding the world with both beloved horrors and monsters made to punish them (all entirely at her whims), and Ramethus is a Darwin-obsessed ideologue who constantly puts pressure on the life around him to strengthen the strong and purge the weak, then Gaea is the distant overseer: she neither encourages nor punishes the actions of men and beasts, only concerning herself with the health of the ecosystem as a whole.
Morality isn't something she really understands or sees a point in, which is kind of a big deal: most Primordials have some sense of right and wrong, even if it's pretty wonky by mortal reckoning. Ramethus' personal philosophy was some straight Senator Armstrong shit, but it still had a metric for how "good" or "bad" a course of action is that you could sort-of map to the values of a sufficiently rough-and-tumble culture, and even SWLIHN's vision of a world without free will is something you can understand her love of as a (hideously excessive) desire for things to be sensible and predictable and safe.
Gaea, by comparison, views the actions of all life, from saints to serial killers to bits of moss, as simply being "them acting in accordance with their nature", and that's as far as it goes. Her concept of right and wrong is anchored to events that affect the larger picture of how all those life forms interact, which makes her both unusually gentle for a Primordial (correcting one imbalance by causing another would be wrong, in her estimation) and unusually prone to wrecking mortals' shit (because ferns and deer don't often end up polluting rivers, logging forests, or otherwise drawing her ire). She loves Luna because Luna's nature is similarly inclined toward analyzing others' motives and inner natures, while her own personality is mercurial and twisty and interesting - and her agreeing to stay out of the Incarnate Rebellion despite the damage the war would cause is a sign of how strong that love is.
* And I know that this is just me making shit up, given the total lack of information on her.
** Quite possibly cackling as he died, since the Incarnae had pretty much proven him right by refusing to accept the static dominion of Theion, winnowing out countless races that couldn't compete, and making the Exalted, who basically embody growth through experience and the idea that the Darwinian struggle of existence makes mockery of all attempts to define or cage it within expectation.
In your story, he definitely would have been heavy into the Shining Answer.
Ramethus? Why are you acting as Gaea's bodyguard - actually, wait, aren't you dead?
More seriously*, I always read Gaea as being more dispassionate about nature's harshness - if SWLIHN is CLU 2.0 trying to build the perfect system, Kimbery is a mad goddess flooding the world with both beloved horrors and monsters made to punish them (all entirely at her whims), and Ramethus is a Darwin-obsessed ideologue who constantly puts pressure on the life around him to strengthen the strong and purge the weak, then Gaea is the distant overseer: she neither encourages nor punishes the actions of men and beasts, only concerning herself with the health of the ecosystem as a whole.
Morality isn't something she really understands or sees a point in, which is kind of a big deal: most Primordials have some sense of right and wrong, even if it's pretty wonky by mortal reckoning. Ramethus' personal philosophy was some straight Senator Armstrong shit, but it still had a metric for how "good" or "bad" a course of action is that you could sort-of map to the values of a sufficiently rough-and-tumble culture, and even SWLIHN's vision of a world without free will is something you can understand her love of as a (hideously excessive) desire for things to be sensible and predictable and safe.
Gaea, by comparison, views the actions of all life, from saints to serial killers to bits of moss, as simply being "them acting in accordance with their nature", and that's as far as it goes. Her concept of right and wrong is anchored to events that affect the larger picture of how all those life forms interact, which makes her both unusually gentle for a Primordial (correcting one imbalance by causing another would be wrong, in her estimation) and unusually prone to wrecking mortals' shit (because ferns and deer don't often end up polluting rivers, logging forests, or otherwise drawing her ire). She loves Luna because Luna's nature is similarly inclined toward analyzing others' motives and inner natures, while her own personality is mercurial and twisty and interesting - and her agreeing to stay out of the Incarnate Rebellion despite the damage the war would cause is a sign of how strong that love is.
This might be redundant, but yeah - those are not Gaean themes. They're very much Ramethan themes: the Crusader Worm was all about conflict and growth through hardship and coming back stronger from whatever doesn't kill you. Hence why he didn't take the Surrender Oaths, fell before the Exalted Host**, and now lies in the Labyrinth as Abhorrence of Life.
* And I know that this is just me making shit up, given the total lack of information on her.
** Quite possibly cackling as he died, since the Incarnae had pretty much proven him right by refusing to accept the static dominion of Theion, winnowing out countless races that couldn't compete, and making the Exalted, who basically embody growth through experience and the idea that the Darwinian struggle of existence makes mockery of all attempts to define or cage it within expectation.
In your story, he definitely would have been heavy into the Shining Answer.
Carrnage
Human
- Location
- New Zealand
Fire is one of gaia's essence aspects, and fire ecologies are a thing.
GreggHL
Engaging hilarity engine/air intake
- Location
- Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Either they're vulnerable to fire, which means they either learn to avoid fire or die to it, or they develop the ability to absorb fire and make themselves stronger.
Carrnage
Human
- Location
- New Zealand
Fire ecology - Wikipedia
A lot of ecosystems periodically wind up on fire as part of their natural cycle
GreggHL
Engaging hilarity engine/air intake
- Location
- Daejeon, Republic of Korea
So the latter, then.
GreggHL
Engaging hilarity engine/air intake
- Location
- Daejeon, Republic of Korea
This is technically melee but we could throw it.
"Ebon Dragon! Aim for the eyes!"
"Thankfully, I'm fully erect!"
*skullfucking*
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
I just erased a post I put up because I thought it was double-posted. Does anyone know if it can be retrieved somehow?
- Location
- Cyberpunk capital of the world
[X] Improvised weapon: Ebon Dragon Bludgeon
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Agreed!It might be suboptimal, but it WILL be hillarious.
[X]Improvised weapon: Ebon Dragon Bludgeon
GreggHL
Engaging hilarity engine/air intake
- Location
- Daejeon, Republic of Korea
So, as a note on Pangaea: A DB on Pangaea could probably find spots that purify their breeding, possibly up to N/A due to it being composed completely of Gaian essence. Much like, say, braving the Elemental Pole of their particular Element.
Ebeli could come out of this as Breeding N/A.
Ebeli could come out of this as Breeding N/A.
plotvitalnpc
Once more walking the path of the catgirl.
So the original form of dragonblooded breeding?
Not that one DB with it helps particularly much, since you need two to sustain the populace of them.
Yes, but at minimum there's the canon teenager with it who Exalted at eight.
...That would be cradle robbing for the next sixty years, but he is male.
Personally I would be much more interesting in checking if Ebeli can learn Gaia charms in primordial/infernal way.
Logic is this:
Ebeli is solar exalted. Solar exaltation suppress lower tier essence manipulation including terrestial exaltation. But the blood is still there, along with potential. It exist and can be passed to children. On the other side of equation Solar exaltation does not allow to learn either terrestial or 'primordial' charms by itself.
I wonder whether Ebeli's dragon blood cannot bridge the gap. And given it is solar exaltation, it would likely reach for charms of Gaia herself, not get primary souls.
Pleas note, that I am not speaking about creating a charms that allows her to simulate primordial-like essence manipulation. I am thinking about making Ebili's exaltation to be able processing it in 'native' way.
Bauty of that is that Ebeli can get Autohton help for this. She can potentialy also involve Oramus. One is creator of exaltations and greatest craftsman ever, and other is paradox dragon - master of bending what is conceivable or not. It is the best combination that can ever be set for work like that.
- Location
- Australia
If it works the same as spacebattles then mods should be able to see deleted posts.
Rules of Nature!
GreggHL
Engaging hilarity engine/air intake
- Location
- Daejeon, Republic of Korea
[X]Improvised weapon: Ebon Dragon Bludgeon.
The immense, veiny, meaty worm dragon thing rises into the air, booming a challenge. Autochthon screams. Sky raises his sword to meet the challenge, and with a flash of gold a full set of plate mail appears over him. In your hand, the Ebon Dragon laughs uproariously.
(Join Battle: Ebeli, 10 dice +5 autosuccesses, 14 successes)
For some reason, for some how, you manage to keep your wits about you. So when you see the Red Tooth Worm diving down upon you, you take the cathartic route. Gripping the tail of the encounter suit, you whirl it. The Ebon Dragon's laughter becomes a stream of garbled curses.
It is an encounter suit- an artifact. Artifacts are many things, and one of them is very durable. Your anima flares into life behind you. You bring the Dragon back. With a cry, you swing.
(Charm use- First Melee Excellency, Hungry Tiger Technique, One Weapon, Two Blows)
(3 attacks- 20 dice)
(Attack 1: 10 successes, 4 past threshold)
(Attack 2: 12 successes, 6 past threshold)
(Attack 3: 7 successes, 1 past threshold)
(22 +3 +1= 24 damage dice)
(9 damage inflicted)
Three times the head of the Ebon Dragon slams into the face of the Red Tooth Worm. Three times the Ebon Dragon's curses and praises are cut short by the ringing gongs and the cheers of the audience. As if knowing what struck him, Ladon rears back. The mandibles twitch and the faint red bruising around its maw gives way to pooling venom.
You raise the serpent.
"You are weak."
"Some sorceress."
"I got this." Sky walks over, pecks you on the lips, and hurls Stone Splitter into the underside of the worm's maw. Its venom splatters over its flesh and sizzles, and he gives you a wave before he vanishes, reappearing holding his blade and holding on for dear life when he- and the worm- crash into the ground.
"Oh." You snap your fingers. "Right, it enlightens with him."
Or he has some new charms which lets him keep with his sword no matter where it is.
The tail of the worm disappears into the hole, and you grip the Ebon Dragon by the neck. Turning, you hold him up and turn to the still cowering sphere of Autochthon. "You two are Universe Titans. Why is this happening?"
"Let's be fair," the Dragon wheezes, "I am a weakling! A base, hidden coward who's knowledge of humanity's motivation comes from the deep sadism hidden in the depths of your souls! And he is Autochthon."
"A fair assessment!"
You swear, Ku has to be swimming in deva pussy by now. The ground shakes but you have all kinds of magic to make that not matter. You take advantage of the relative quiet to whack Autochthon with the Ebon Dragon.
"You! Are! Primordial! Gaia was your Ally! Why are you scared?"
The Ebon Dragon just laughs. You know why. You reach out, clamp the jaws shut, and take advantage of the fact that it's a set, artifact encounter suit to actually shut him up.
"Because it was an alliance of convenience."
Behind you, you can hear the worm crest through the rock and a chunk of the stadium, and Sky assuring you that he's still got this. Bless him, and he's a Dawn Caste, too. He probably does.
"That is correct. Gaia and I have never seen eye to eye."
Hand on your hip, you point the dragon- and your other hand- at the trembling eye. "Right. Gaia thought Creation was a mistake. But you don't. You put too much work into it. You like mortals. If you kept wandering around looking for whatever Gaia's looking for, you'd never make anything permanent."
The eye shifts, side to side. It shifts up and down, approximating a nod. "That is correct. For that, and other reasons, Gaia does hate me."
To that, you roll your eyes. "She hates you because she doesn't understand you. We barely understand ourselves. Thankfully, we have something to alleviate that."
The iris snaps open. The sphere turns to you. "Unity of the Closed Fist with Gaia is a poor idea even by my standards."
You grab the eye. Channel magic. "It's solved just about every problem we've had so far. And you aren't giving me any more options!"
Autochthon coughs. He tries to pull back. Fails. "We're in a fight here. I'm sure my husband can keep that worm occupied for a while, but you need to pull your weight. So you can either keep cowering behind me, or reveal your power."
(Charisma+Presence, 15 dice +4 autosuccesses, 12 successes)
The simple, powerful magic runs through them- through your hands. Through the Dragon and through Autochthon. The Dragon blanches at the very concept of heroism, but the iris narrows. Then shutters open.
"My options are still limited. If not in my Mythos, I would only really be able to truly call upon the full extent of my power either when in my jouten, or under sufficient circumstances-"
"You have your charms, and Primordial Charms are what the Exalted improved upon when we made Sorcery. Give me something to work with!"
The eye makes a sound like sucking teeth. The worm shrieks, and you hear Sky once more assure you he has this under control with less confidence this time.
"Not in an encounter suit. This is but a probe. It is an extension of my awareness. It may as well be a glorified eye!"
Autochthon's iris dilates. Your grip on the sphere tightens. Your lips part in a smile.
"An eye is made to see."
"Oh I should not have said that," Autochthon breathes.
The Ebon Dragon takes a deep breath, prying his snout free.
"Yes! I can confirm I do, indeed, now have an erection."
[ ]Roll Int+Lore at difficulty 10 to use the Encounter Suit like it were the Eye of Autochthon and end the battle.
-[ ]Write in how we shall warp reality.
[ ]Use Unity of the Closed Fist to attempt to merge Gaia and Autochthon's mythos to bring about great understanding. This will require a Charisma+Presence attack on Gaia to convince her to allow this.
[ ]Write in.
The immense, veiny, meaty worm dragon thing rises into the air, booming a challenge. Autochthon screams. Sky raises his sword to meet the challenge, and with a flash of gold a full set of plate mail appears over him. In your hand, the Ebon Dragon laughs uproariously.
(Join Battle: Ebeli, 10 dice +5 autosuccesses, 14 successes)
For some reason, for some how, you manage to keep your wits about you. So when you see the Red Tooth Worm diving down upon you, you take the cathartic route. Gripping the tail of the encounter suit, you whirl it. The Ebon Dragon's laughter becomes a stream of garbled curses.
It is an encounter suit- an artifact. Artifacts are many things, and one of them is very durable. Your anima flares into life behind you. You bring the Dragon back. With a cry, you swing.
(Charm use- First Melee Excellency, Hungry Tiger Technique, One Weapon, Two Blows)
(3 attacks- 20 dice)
(Attack 1: 10 successes, 4 past threshold)
(Attack 2: 12 successes, 6 past threshold)
(Attack 3: 7 successes, 1 past threshold)
(22 +3 +1= 24 damage dice)
(9 damage inflicted)
Three times the head of the Ebon Dragon slams into the face of the Red Tooth Worm. Three times the Ebon Dragon's curses and praises are cut short by the ringing gongs and the cheers of the audience. As if knowing what struck him, Ladon rears back. The mandibles twitch and the faint red bruising around its maw gives way to pooling venom.
You raise the serpent.
"You are weak."
"Some sorceress."
"I got this." Sky walks over, pecks you on the lips, and hurls Stone Splitter into the underside of the worm's maw. Its venom splatters over its flesh and sizzles, and he gives you a wave before he vanishes, reappearing holding his blade and holding on for dear life when he- and the worm- crash into the ground.
"Oh." You snap your fingers. "Right, it enlightens with him."
Or he has some new charms which lets him keep with his sword no matter where it is.
The tail of the worm disappears into the hole, and you grip the Ebon Dragon by the neck. Turning, you hold him up and turn to the still cowering sphere of Autochthon. "You two are Universe Titans. Why is this happening?"
"Let's be fair," the Dragon wheezes, "I am a weakling! A base, hidden coward who's knowledge of humanity's motivation comes from the deep sadism hidden in the depths of your souls! And he is Autochthon."
"A fair assessment!"
You swear, Ku has to be swimming in deva pussy by now. The ground shakes but you have all kinds of magic to make that not matter. You take advantage of the relative quiet to whack Autochthon with the Ebon Dragon.
"You! Are! Primordial! Gaia was your Ally! Why are you scared?"
The Ebon Dragon just laughs. You know why. You reach out, clamp the jaws shut, and take advantage of the fact that it's a set, artifact encounter suit to actually shut him up.
"Because it was an alliance of convenience."
Behind you, you can hear the worm crest through the rock and a chunk of the stadium, and Sky assuring you that he's still got this. Bless him, and he's a Dawn Caste, too. He probably does.
"That is correct. Gaia and I have never seen eye to eye."
Hand on your hip, you point the dragon- and your other hand- at the trembling eye. "Right. Gaia thought Creation was a mistake. But you don't. You put too much work into it. You like mortals. If you kept wandering around looking for whatever Gaia's looking for, you'd never make anything permanent."
The eye shifts, side to side. It shifts up and down, approximating a nod. "That is correct. For that, and other reasons, Gaia does hate me."
To that, you roll your eyes. "She hates you because she doesn't understand you. We barely understand ourselves. Thankfully, we have something to alleviate that."
The iris snaps open. The sphere turns to you. "Unity of the Closed Fist with Gaia is a poor idea even by my standards."
You grab the eye. Channel magic. "It's solved just about every problem we've had so far. And you aren't giving me any more options!"
Autochthon coughs. He tries to pull back. Fails. "We're in a fight here. I'm sure my husband can keep that worm occupied for a while, but you need to pull your weight. So you can either keep cowering behind me, or reveal your power."
(Charisma+Presence, 15 dice +4 autosuccesses, 12 successes)
The simple, powerful magic runs through them- through your hands. Through the Dragon and through Autochthon. The Dragon blanches at the very concept of heroism, but the iris narrows. Then shutters open.
"My options are still limited. If not in my Mythos, I would only really be able to truly call upon the full extent of my power either when in my jouten, or under sufficient circumstances-"
"You have your charms, and Primordial Charms are what the Exalted improved upon when we made Sorcery. Give me something to work with!"
The eye makes a sound like sucking teeth. The worm shrieks, and you hear Sky once more assure you he has this under control with less confidence this time.
"Not in an encounter suit. This is but a probe. It is an extension of my awareness. It may as well be a glorified eye!"
Autochthon's iris dilates. Your grip on the sphere tightens. Your lips part in a smile.
"An eye is made to see."
"Oh I should not have said that," Autochthon breathes.
The Ebon Dragon takes a deep breath, prying his snout free.
"Yes! I can confirm I do, indeed, now have an erection."
[ ]Roll Int+Lore at difficulty 10 to use the Encounter Suit like it were the Eye of Autochthon and end the battle.
-[ ]Write in how we shall warp reality.
[ ]Use Unity of the Closed Fist to attempt to merge Gaia and Autochthon's mythos to bring about great understanding. This will require a Charisma+Presence attack on Gaia to convince her to allow this.
[ ]Write in.
Carrnage
Human
- Location
- New Zealand
Hmm Gaia is competition and evolution iirc, So perhaps play on the angle of diversity improving fitness?