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My name originally means 'shining brow' and I wouldn't give it a second thought if I saw an RPG with a translation of my name into whatever language, no.
 
Sanctaphrax said:
And wouldn't you find it incredibly weird if a French (or whatever, assuming that isn't one of the languages in question) RPG featuring you (pretend you're famous somehow) made your name into a French translation of that phrase?

I think phrase-names should stay phrases and names that just have meanings should stay names.
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One of those names is actually French. But I'd find it weird that a person's name is 'Town' or 'Farm' or whatever they end up translating my surname as.

I didn't bring it up to argue my name should be translated to "Die beliebte, für ihre Schlacht bekannte Festungsstadt" or "Querida ciudad fuerte de renombre para la batalla". I just thought it was neat.
 
It may be of interest to some that I am now giving Exalted questing a go again and running a Sidereal Quest. If you are interested in the misadventures of the Bureau of Destiny's most pathetic Chosen in a city filled with demons and dreams of escape, looking no further:

Dreams of Escape - A Sidereal Quest
 
The Ebon Dragon isn't good enough at manipulating people. So here's some charms which let him blackmail you (and also be Columbo if you want)

Shared Silence Complicity
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Our LIttle Secret
This charm acts as a permanent upgrade to Our LIttle Secret. When using that charm, the Infernal can force her target beyond silence and make him complicit in hiding her crimes. In any scene where the target encounters evidence of the Act of Depravity, they must act to conceal, destroy or discredit said evidence. This is a Servitude effect requiring 1 WP to resist per scene. If the target spends a cumulative 3 WP resisting this effect, the effects of Our Little Secrets fade.

In addition, the target gains a negative intimacy - usually shame - towards the Act of Depravity, representing whatever emotions drive them to conceal its existence. This intimacy is inviolate while this charm exists, the dark magics of the Ebon Dragon preventing the target from healing while under his sway.


The Ebon Dragon Knows!
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Our LIttle Secret
This charm enhances a Read Motivations action by the Infernal, allowing her to detect negative intimacies or intimacies related to an Act of Depravity even if not displayed in the scene. The guilt of men is as plain as day to the Ebon Dragon, the better to torment them with.

Guilty Conscience Command
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Combo-OK, Social, Stackable, Touch
Duration: (Infernal's Essence) Days
Prerequisites: Shared Silence Complicity

This charm enhances a social attack leveraging a hidden shame, secret or crime that the target would prefer stay hidden. The social attack must be directly related to concealing said knowledge, though the chain of logic can be as twisted and tangled as the player wants - as long as it meets storyteller approval. Husbands can be convinced to slay their wives based on suspicion of their knowledge, or a murderer made to dig up their victim to reassure themselves no other has visited the scene of the crime.

System: The Infernal rolls (manipulation + socialize). If the result exceeds the target's MDV, the target receives a compulsion to follow one order given by the Infernal, subject to the limitations above. The target may resist this influence for 1WP, or 3WP if the social attack targets a subject which is currently under the effects of Evidence Concealing Patsy. The target is not aware of the compulsion, nor does the Infernal need to spell out the order in explicit words. If the target wishes to recognize the influence or remember it later, doing so costs 4 WP which must be spent all at once.

Impotent Stooge Acquisition
Cost: 12m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple (Speed 6 in long tick)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Servitude, Social
Duration: (Infernal's Essence) Months
Prerequisites: Guilty Conscience Command

This charm is a manipulation based social attack in which the Infernal threatens to reveal a secret, shame, or Act of Depravity committed by the target. The Infernal rolls (Manipulation + Presence) as a social attack against the target. If the Infernal is threatening to reveal an Act of Depravity which the subject is currently compelled to keep hidden by Shared Silence Complicity, then the social attack automatically succeeds unless the target spends 4WP. Doding so ends the effects of Shared Silence Complicity.

If the social attack succeeds, the target is compelled to loyally complete a single task given to them by the Infernal as a Servitude effect. They need not spend every waking hour pursuing said task, but they do approach it with the manic fervour of one for whom death - or worse, social censure - is on the line.

In addition, the target gains an intimacy of "Impotent Rage" targeted towards the Infernal. This intimacy is inviolate for as long as the target is affected by the charm.

Note: Failing this roll does not mean that the target will refuse to perform the requested task - mundane blackmail still works - simply that they will not be magically compelled to do so loyally by the Infernal's magics.

This Charm may be used multiple times on the same target, targeting the same secret, shame or Act of Depravity though the WP cost to resist decreases each time. For this reason many Infernals find it wise to ensure each use generates a new Act of Depravity with which to control their target.


Worst Self Justification
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Our LIttle Secret
This Charm acts as an upgrade to Our Little Secret and all subsequent charms in that tree. If the target is presented with proof - which may require it's own social roll - that someone they have a positive intimacy towards committed an Act of Depravity, the Infernal gains a (Compassion) bonus to any rolls she makes while activating those charms. Further, acts compelled by those charms are considered in line with the target's Compassion; they may be enhanced and compelled as normal for that Virtue.
 
So, re-reading Kerisgame has sparked the tiny part of myself that desires to write. As such, have a first circle demon, done (roughly) in the style of the Fast Demons from Kerisgame:

Kallisti, the Lying Prophet
Progeny of the Misconstrued Counselor

Demon of the First Circle


Wouldn't it be glorious to see the future? To be able to divine the path that fate will take with certain clarity? Alas, such a task is impossible within a world that contains the fate-warping power of Essence. However, there will always be those who seek such knowledge, and to take advantage of them, the Kallisti were created.


The lying prophets take the form of a perfect sphere the size of a grown man's arm, with seven multicoloured wings all attached to a single point providing the only method of movement the kallisti have. The kallisti are analysists, driven to gather information on all topics, and use them to 'divine' the future, using probablity to suggest the most likely courses of action for an individual or group. This, along with the telepathic rhetoric of the kallisti, has convinced thaumaturge and sorcerer alike to turn to the worship of the Yozi, after being told that itwas their 'best option'. A kallisti has no combat abilities, however,and will say whatever it takes to convince an attacker to spare them,often creating exaggerated 'futures' for the attacker that thekallisti will be able to help them fulfil.


A kallisti will often pretend to be viewing alternative futures as an excuse for any error on their part, as a kallisti accused of not actually being able to predict the future will enrage it terribly, causing it to gain a point of Limit. Sorcerers may summon a kallisti as a tool, the less wise ones for predicting the future, and a wiser sorcerer for their information gathering and analysing skills. Summoning more than one kallisti is never wise, however, for should they disagree with each other, accusations of lying are sure to fly. A lying prophet may escape hell when a thaumaturge, after failing to divine, shatters the crystal ball they were using, causing a kallisti to emerge from the remains.



Skills:


Social - 6 dice

Specialities: Fast-talking mistakes – 12 dice; Flattering and fawning – 10 dice

Mental – 8 dice

Specialities: Building mental models – 13 dice; Remembering obscure trivia – 12 dice

Physical – 1 die


Essence 2/Enlightenment 3
 
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In addition to the above demon, I've also written up some styles, with added personal analysis.
Soul-Engine Furnace Style
Soul-Engine Furnace Style (Athletics)
The Exalted draw power from their Third Soul, a mighty engine that channels raw power in a glorious display. Is it no wonder, then, that there are those among the Host that seek to master it? It cannot be tamed, and to try and draw more power from it is a fools errand, but a skilled Exalt can learn to control the flow.
1: +1 die to any intimdation attempt made whilst flaring totemic.
2: Ignore 1 point of fatigue penalty whilst you're flaring your anima.
3: +1 die to any stunt that draws upon the fundmental nature of the anima.

A style created when I saw that Naan had a 13 die pool for dealing with fatigue from his anima, which naturally means that he has a relevant style. This, therefore, is an attempt at what that style might be.
The main benefit of the style is the fact that is does provide an extra 6 hours before collapsing unconcious, and as a result, I'm not 100% confident on the style bonuses. I like the second one, which doesn't allow you to flare for any longer, but means that when you're in scene 4 of bonfire, you're slightly more functional. The first one is a little basic, but I think "big scary aura!" is easy enough to work with. The last one I'm not happy with, but I didn't want to do anything to change the actual powers of the anima (mote regen/anima flux/etc), so instead it ended up as this vaguely worded 'more potent when doing anima stuff' thing.
Unending Juggernaut Style
Unending Juggernaut Style (Melee)
Hit hard, and if you can't hit fast, hit harder. Practitioners of this style specialise in the heaviest armour and the biggest weapons that they can get their hands on, relying on brute force to win the day when all else fails. This style cannot be used in no armour, or any armour that does not have a mobility penalty of less than -2.
1: +1 to hit with any weapon with an Accuracy penalty.
2: -1 mobility penalty when chasing after a fleeing opponent.
3: Ignore 1 point of hardness when you make a melee attack that is not part of a flurry.

The "I'm big and heavy, and using a big, heavy weapon" style. Once again, I'm happiest with the second style ability, as reducing the penalty to chase your opponent down for the kill hits all of the thematic points I wanted, without being overpowered. The first one is a little '+1 to swords' for me to be 100% happy, but is balanced by the fact that there are no artifact weapons (that I'm aware of) that actually have an accuracy penalty, and if someone deliberately makes an overweight and innaccurate weapon to get the style bonus from this, honestly, they probably deserve it. The third one might either be completely broken, or completely pointless, depending on how important hardness is and how often you're likely to flurry, but hopefully most of the time it's just 'useful'.
Scattered Scholar Style
Scattered Scholar Style (Lore)
Why learn about one thing, when you could learn about everything? Practitioners of this style are the hummingbirds of the scholarly world, never staying long on one topic when they could be learning about something else, picking up surface knowledge of a thousand different things. This style cannot be used on extended or strategic actions.
1: +1 to recall trivia
2: Halve the time required to read a book on a topic that hasn't been encountered before.
3: -1 Difficulty on any check that requires drawing together knowledge of 3 or more distinct topics.

The "I have approximate knowledge of many things" style, or "I once spent 10 hours straight on wikipedia and now I think I know everything" style, depending on how nice you're feeling. Deliberately broad, and deliberately shallow, this style might be overpowered in a game where extended or strategic actions don't come up very often. Maybe a 'a failure on a check using this style is automatically a botch' caviat might work; the lack of depth of knowledge resulting in running into flaws a trained person wouldn't encounter? Not quite sure.
I do like the style bonuses, though. They nicely span the "of course I know the name of the Satrap's fourth cousin once removed" to "When did I become an expert on motonic physics? Last night" to "You're telling me you need someone who knows fluid pressure equations, water manse architecture, and the geopolitical landscape of the local water elemental court? Well, aren't you in luck".
Stubborn-As-A-Mule Style
Stubborn-As-A-Mule Style (Presence)
A style practised by toddlers and adults alike, practitioners of this style have realised the inherent power available in combining persistance with the word 'No'. Social attacks with this style focus on repitition, wearing down opponents. This style is always valid as part of Dodge MDV calculations, but never as part of Parry MDV calculations.
1: -1 die pool to any social attack made against you in a scene where you have spent willpower to ignore a social attack, and have not made a social attack yourself.
2: +1 to any social attack against a Principle made in a day where the target has spent willpower to ignore a social attack you made against that Principle.
3: +1 DMDV in any scene where you have channeled a Principle.

"Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me", the style. 1st style bonus is the "Fuck all y'all, I'm going into the corner" ignoring everyone move. The 2nd is to represent badgering someone into submission, turning back up in a later scene to keep the argument going when they're already tired. The last one may be a little broad, but I like the idea of just digging heels in, rather than any attempt to actually argue anymore.
Multifaceted Musical Appropriation Style
Multifaceted Musical Appropriation Style (Expression)
Good creators borrow. Great creators steal. Making good music is hard, so why not take music others have made? After all, as long as you find a new audience, no one will ever know it wasn't yours. Practioners of this style often seek out new or obscure musicians to 'sample' from, letting the originals fade from memory as their 'new' version takes over. This style cannot be used to create completely original music, only derivations.
1: +1 to recreate a song from memory.
2: +1 to modify an existing piece to be in line with another one of your styles.
3: -1 difficulty to any contested check to convince others you are the original author of a work.

The "Low quality Youtube/TikTok content creator" style, based around stealnig other people's stuff and pretending it's yours. I'm not sure if the limit to 'just music' is too restrictive, but including anything else made it seem too broad. I'm also not 100% sure how the second bonus would interact with other styles; the intention was that this would allow you to use it to make things match other styles you have fewer dots in, at the cost of not being able to make anything original, but I don't know how well it would work out in practice.
Sardonic Sharpness Style
Sardonic Sharpness Style (Presence)
Some people say that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. These people have never experienced the sheer glee of an immediate word cutting someone else down to size. This style can be found anywhere catty comments can, from gossiping neighbours to extravagant parties A style specialising in sarcasm and insulting rebukes, practitioners don't look at raising others up when they could be bringing them down.
1: +1 to give someone a negative intimacy towards you.
2: +1 to disguise a social attack as a compliment.
3: +1 when attacking an intimacy towards a concept.

A style split between "Quick insults" and "Being a little bitch", I wanted to include something that boosted social counterattacks, but I don't think they're really a thing. Style bonuses go from "straight up insulting people" to "negging/back-handed compliments" to "your ideas are dumb and here is why".
 
strange_person said:
Still seems like a weird way to handle duration and repertoire cap. Somebody who doesn't want their face stolen could make a pact, then zap the infernal (or themselves?) with countermagic and, contrary to the flavor text, consider that threat solved. Compare original and errata'd versions of Destiny-Knitting Entanglement in the sidereal Craft tree. Instead of a random attrition roll per Calibration, needing to 'test-drive' disguises on an annual basis to maintain the claim over folks who otherwise died or vanished would fit the existing metaphysics of astrological blessings and curses lapsing after a fully year in the Deep Wyld, Demon Realm, Labyrinth, or otherwise outside fate, while also providing a method for someone to discover those stolen identities by heroic but mostly-mundane investigation.
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Okay, came back to this Charm! Thank you for your feedback, I've made a lot of changes to hopefully make it play a bit better.
Face-And-Fate Pact Technique
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Infernal Firstborn's Advantage

An arrogant, deluded, or desperate man may think he can come out ahead in a deal with Hell's first chosen. This is foolish - even a child can tell you that Hell always comes out ahead in a contract.

Activating this Charm while making a pact, agreement, or similar with another character requires Kivera to tack on an additional clause, which is Obviously supernatural, that lays claim to some small part of the target's Fate. She need not explain the function of the Charm, nor what she can do with her claim. Signing the pact or otherwise formalizing the agreement completes the pact, which lasts until Kivera breaks the contract (the victim breaking it doesn't free them), the contract naturally concludes or otherwise is terminated, or Kivera's death.

At any time thereafter, Kivera may spend 5m and wrap the target's Fate around her until she chooses to release it. This provides a perfect (to mundane scrutiny) disguise as the pact-bound character, cloaks Kivera's equipment as theirs where possible (the function remains the same), and beguiles Fate, stealing the target's destiny for her own. The Loom is tricked by the magic into reorganizing to follow her actions as best as it can, bringing her Inside of Fate for the duration. The unfortunate signatory is left Outside of Fate while Kivera claims their destiny, vulnerable to glitches in Fate and generally having an unlucky, terrible day.

Should the pacted character die while the pact is still in effect, the tattered threads of their destiny are seized by Infernal power and tied around Kivera's own prosthetic Fate. As far as the Loom is concerned, the person is still alive and has simply left Fate for the Underworld, the Wyld, Malfeas, or somewhere else beyond its gaze. Astrological divination, including many Sidereal Charms such as Efficient Secretary Technique, returns this falsehood - after all, their Fate is still in the Loom. Kivera can still invoke their disguise as if they were alive, and her actions will be within Fate and connected to the face she wears.

However, these stolen destinies are brittle - she must spend at least a week each year donning them and acting out at least an imitation of their life to maintain the integrity of the thread. Failing to do so by Calibration allows the thread to corrode and snap violently, unleashing a wave of Fate glitches and omen weather at the site of their death while finally allowing their death to pass into the Loom. This constitutes a Blasphemy 1 effect, and will frequently leave clues at the site created by Fate glitches (most often, the victim's own rotting and corroded corpse recreated by the Loom's registering of their death).

Kivera can maintain (Essence) pacts with this Charm at once.
Main changes are:
- Duration changed to Instant. I didn't really consider the vulnerability to countermagic, but looking back, it plays better this way. The cap of stolen destinies remains intact.
- New wording on the actual "pact" part of it to make it a little more thematic - now the signatory has to willingly sign over at least a little claim on their destiny, rather than a nebulously Obvious invocation.
- The pact now survives the signatory breaking the contract - no escaping that easily!
- Added your suggestion for the corrosion condition after the signatory dies. Having to at least pretend to upkeep their lives leads to interesting opportunities to investigate the false faces, even for mortals or DBs.
- Specified that losing a destiny invokes a minor Blasphemy effect and probably creates clues in the Fate glitches, because it's cool.
 
It's that time again where I drown the thread in commissions I'm being drip fed. (Artist)

Li lost in her terrible battle with her Coadjutor and they formed a union that stole her dark hair stripes that were actually shadows.

Please send her your most heartfelt thoughts and prayers.
 
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Good gravy, I wish I had your level of money!

So, did the Coadjutor then explain why her ear has become extremely conspicuous?

(I'm just kidding, it's a great pic!)
 
Alectai said:
Good gravy, I wish I had your level of money!

So, did the Coadjutor then explain why her ear has become extremely conspicuous?

(I'm just kidding, it's a great pic!)
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Artstyle for this artist lol.

And I wouldn't call it a lot of money. I just tend to get them in bursts
HalfTangible said:
Ha! What a loser.

Great artwork. Wish I could pay for commissions of my Exalted characters.
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She is bit of a loser cause she got TED charms. But that just makes her cuter. 💅💅💅💅💅💅

I need to do a write up for her. Cause I think she is great and need to actually put her backstory to words.
 
Had a blast participating in the Exalted Secret Santa over on Tumblr! Ang, of The Uncrucified fame, drew my Abyssal The Boy With the Seven Word Name!

And my own contribution, I illustrated another participant's Greensid, the famously trustworthy Sarita Ghoshal.


You can see all of the art made for the event here! Many thanks to Shifting Path on tumblr for organizing it again.
 
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Luckily just got another one in as well. Modern fit for Maggie and it's mostly just swapping out the riding pants for shorts lol. (Artist , they do very good work btw. They offer redesign commissions that you can throw your oc at them and they will make a fun different version of them.)

Definitely gonna use this particular style of hair on her more often.
 
mothematics said:
she looks very morally ambiguous
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Some would say that threatening to plunge Gods into the eternal desert is bad, or perhaps turning enemy battle groups into husked monsters filled with blue crystals is horrifying. Or worst of all she is the kind of person to deliberately get into arguments over inane things like furniture placement for the love of the game.

But she is bestie with Li so that means she has done nothing wrong in her entire life.
 
MiracleGrow said:
<image>

Luckily just got another one in as well. Modern fit for Maggie and it's mostly just swapping out the riding pants for shorts lol. (Artist , they do very good work btw. They offer redesign commissions that you can throw your oc at them and they will make a fun different version of them.)

Definitely gonna use this particular style of hair on her more often.
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She looks like she's gonna call the viewer 'sugar' before winking and shooting them in the chest.

Awesome.

MiracleGrow said:
Some would say that threatening to plunge Gods into the eternal desert is bad, or perhaps turning enemy battle groups into husked monsters filled with blue crystals is horrifying. Or worst of all she is the kind of person to deliberately get into arguments over inane things like furniture placement for the love of the game.

But she is bestie with Li so that means she has done nothing wrong in her entire life.
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Hotties never do anything wrong and if they do it's someone else's fault anyway.
 
HalfTangible said:
She looks like she's gonna call the viewer 'sugar' before winking and shooting them in the chest.

Awesome.
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I did exactly that in a essence one shot
Hotties never do anything wrong and if they do it's someone else's fault anyway.
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THIS POST FACT CHECKED BY REAL MALFEAN PATRIOTS

TRUE

Alectai said:
She's still so mean to dress in blue in hell.
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Blue? That is infact a color derived from water and not in fact blue at all.

I plead in my defense before I get excuted in demon court for seeing the color for .2 seconds.
 
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Gazetteer said:
Only one specific kind of blue, which is a shade of azure, I believe? Pretty different from what she's wearing.

I was in a game once with a demon-blooded Joybringer who was born in hell, whose anima turned out to be, specifically, sacred azure, though.
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In the game short game I played her. She actually has a lot of different shades of blue on her tattoos specifically to fuck with people.

But the real shade of sacred azure is in her eyes.
 
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