Yzarc
The Spark of Madness
Strongly disagree with this, as the charm allows to detect the mood of the "person" and quite frankly? Lie detection is a separate charm entirely.
Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
The charm says, and I quote:
Sinner Boiling Stare said:
Against a Vampire with Stamina 4, Molly would spend 1 Essence and 1 turn for the opportunity to roll 9 dice against DC 6(Stamina 4 + 2). Excellencies do not apply.Assuming she had BSM active for a -1DC buff, thats still 9 dice at DC5 for an average of 4 automatic Agg.
For a vampire with just 7 HLs, thats a little over half their health bar for 8% of Molly's Essence pool.
To actually kill that vanilla vampire, she'd have to spend another mote of Essence to combo Green Sun Nimbus Flare and add another 4 automatic Agg.
Seems to be working as intended.
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It's almost too bad that we mostly won't get to abuse that mortal busting feature since our enemies are primarily supernatural.
Denarians are mortal. Like, explicitly mortal even.
They are mortal as a base, but they have one of the Fallen in residence. If the petty demonic Hunger of the White Court makes you not count as human one of the Fallen certainly counts. Also wizards have enough magic in them natively not to count as 'mortal'. when WoD says mortal what they mostly mean is 'does not feature in a splat'.
The Hunger is something internal. The denarian is external. A coin bearer can put down the coin, and walk away, with no negative consequences to their health, mind or soul. This is evidence that they don't actually modify their hosts, acting as, essentially, "power armor". Up to you, of course.
That appears to be inaccurate.
The fluff explicitly says it weighs the souls of those it meets, not just CoDs, and the aura table we're referred to looks at everything from wizards to fae.
Hellscry is scenelong.
Sight does not give aura sight.
It doesnt in the books, or in the RPG; it presents supernatural impressions as concepts.
And we dont know if it costs Essence or Willpower to activate in this quest; it did take effort to close in the books iirc.
Also, its explicitly fallible, to the point that while its admissible evidence, the White Council themselves argue about its interpretation and completeness in magical trials; I quote:
Quote from: Grise on November 02, 2006, 08:57:16 PM
Ah, but is it a process of pressure and change, or is it a process of polish and refinement? One could argue that the events that "changed" you in actuality only revealed a truer facet of your soul than had previously been perceiveable–that those events only changed you inasmuch as a rough diamond is changed by a master jeweler's tools. The diamond doesn't become an emerald–it just becomes a more beautiful and quinessential diamond.
(Just Devil's Advocating here, for the most part, and throwing that thought out.)
In any case, it may just be possible for a person to change enough for a soulgaze to reveal something else–but it would have to be an utterly incredible kind of change. Something along the lines of the billionaire executive who, after a near-death experience, gives all his worldly goods to charity, leaves home in his pajamas, and takes up a life of underwater basket-weaving and meditation. And even that seems a little mild to me, thinking of it.
Anyway, it'd take a truly epic change of heart and mind–to the point where you would practically *be* a whole different person, and not just a person who happens to be you with a lot more life experience to inform his outlook. (And, in fact, there's all sorts of theories about people who this happens to after a near-death experience, regarding "walk-in" souls who come and inhabit a person near death, changing them and becoming a kind of inner Yoda to the "native" soul.)
All of the above, of course, is more or less a discussion of angels dancing on the heads of pins, but it's fun.
Jim
As the quotes show, wizard Sight is explicitly a lot more mutable and open to interpretation, than the bullshit quasi-divine miracles that are Exalted charms.
Perfect lie detection is another charm.
This isnt perfect, but its close, especially in combination with All Things Betray. Thats why I call it a knockoff.
V20 vampires use aura perception for much the same purpose.
- Location
- Germany
Even Mages are not mortal in the sense of counting as such for charms and disciplines.
Denarians are at least that, even if the host has little innate magic.
That's about what I expected, but I would point out that white vamps are permanently changed by their demon partner fusing with their souls and denarians are kept as mortal as possible so that they can provide maximum free will shenanigans for their partner. They can put the coin down and walk off to be a regular muggle.
I can see why you don't want to undercut them as a threat though.
Being able to kill them on sight could make for an interesting plot line as we deal with them malding over the bullshit and the knights' duty to save them if they can, but we'd probably just fry as many as we could reach and start teething on the coins like the baby primordial Molly is.
Fallen Angel, holding very still as an infernal gums at their prison: Hey God? I know we haven't talked in a while, but I'm starting to rethink this whole sinning business.
I'd say the war-form is pretty solid evidence as far as transformation, but again even Harry is not mortal under that charm, mortal means mundane as far as the system is concerned with sorcerers being the red haired stepchildren without enough magic in them to avoid the label.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
If someone is the target of our hate from Simmering Sinner Resentment (•) (3XP) then I expect that we can consider the target to have auto-slighted us with their existence for Sinner-Boiling Stare.
The fluff says that she attunes her inner eye to "spiritual desolation" and gains the ability "to detect potential servants or rivals". That's pretty explicit in how this is about CoDs, not supernatural in general.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Being able to kill them on sight could make for an interesting plot line as we deal with them malding over the bullshit and the knights' duty to save them if they can, but we'd probably just fry as many as we could reach and start teething on the coins like the baby primordial Molly is.
We couldn't actually kill them on sight though. They would have to actually slight us somehow. Which would actually be really interesting if their fallen angel recognizes that. I am imagining a bunch of denarians carefully avoiding slighting us.
A coin bearer is non-mortal enough for their strikes to count as damaging to a Titan.
Marcone went from straight up mundane to tactical teleportation under the tutelage of a Fallen Angel.
Wielders of angelic power, even by proxy, are Different.
Not sure thats accurate.
We only ever see two people who put down their coins: Sanya Ivanovich and Cassius. Sanya immediately took up a Sword. Cassius started a process of accelerated aging.
Thats a very small sample size from which to make conclusive judgements.
IC?
Dresden never even took up Lasciel's coin, and yet was told that in order to be free of Lasciel, he'd have to give up magic altogether.
And Lash's death left him with a skill for guitar music and a gestating spirit-daughter.
So I would not assume that the touch of a Coin would leave you unmarked.
Potential servants and rivals are not restricted to CoDs.
Infernals, and the devils from whom they draw thematic inspiration have always drawn some of their best minions from mortals and people/entities who werent serving them before. Thats kinda the point, as I understand it.
Being able to evaluate those people kinda is a necessary part of the skillset.
Which is not actually an issue.
You're operating in my nation, on my world, without my permission. How dare you.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
For most enemies that would likely work, but fallen angels are amazingly skilled at toeing the line.
As a class, they kept us from spending as much time with our father as we could have. The Denarians were always forcing Michael to travel for work.
Sounds at least as legit as cutting us off in traffic.
You existence offends me, die, is all the reason an Exalted needs.
For my part I'd say it'd make sense to make it free to activate, but require increasingly difficult rolls and larger temp will power expense to keep using on pain of side effects depending on what you're looking at and how long it's up.
Draining mental effort is what temp will is all about after all, and only part of the sight that seems to take effort is managing what it shows you.
Seeing how Dresden had to handle his look at the Naagolshii I'd be tempted to make it something you activate for free, then force temp will expenditure and a roll to stay focused when confronted with weird stuff.
Then when they close it, make them roll against a difficulty based on how many points they had to spend to stay functional as trauma management. If they screw up then they get some level of temporary or permanent derangement. If they ran out of will before turning it off then they just skip to permanent mental damage.
Yeah, but I wouldn't call that a hugely useful synergy. They just need to personally offend Molly for SBS to work, even if it's something petty. Fighting us on something we care about almost certainly counts.
If cutting the infernal off in traffic counts I feel pretty comfortable asserting that almost anything we find a Denarian doing would.
I don't think it'd work on every faction, but Molly has a religious and family background that make Denarians specifically something she's likely to be able to play this game with.
OK, looks like we are changing the XP system. Next up Lydia would like to talk to you.
Yzarc
The Spark of Madness
IF we roll enough sux we can detect lies is not a valid argument as we can detect lies if we roll enough sux even without that charm.
Pretty sure this:
Means that they're targets no matter what, the charm is incredibly petty on what it needs.
*So, did you suddenly feel as if the laws of physics changed or is it just me?*
The change is easy enough to explain in-story. Our exaltation is explicitly running on emergency power saving mode. You could easily say that it finished rebooting / reconfiguring.
Lydia is a bit harder to explain.
Winning Vote
Arc 5 Post 32: Spectral Soiree
Spectral Soiree
28th of September 2006 A.D.
When Lydia had told you that she 'took over' Bachelor's Grove Cemetery you are not sure what to say, which from the laugh on the other end of the call seems to be the point. She goes on to explain that the place has been unsettled since last Halloween, the dead walking abroad and troubling the living, a half-healed scar in the spiritual landscape of the city newly torn open and bleeding. "Dad handled it, but he wasn't very gentle about it, swept up those who could leave and sent them on and then she nailed the spirits walking abroad back in their graves. That's one way to impress their own mortality upon them." She pauses. "It's not like the specters were harmless, one lady was possessing sleepwalkers and getting them to walk out into the rain until one of them got pneumonia and another old haunt got one of those paranormal activity cameramen, you know the documentaries, yeah one of them ended up in a psych ward thinking they were 'hearing voices'."
"Wait the cameraman?" you ask intrigued. "Why?"
"Reminded him of an old rival back in the cane and top hat days, and I use that term lightly, similar height and both were redheads. That's all it takes sometimes. Wouldn't even have been strong enough to make noises on the other side of the fence but for the fact that attention is kind of like prayer, you know being mindful of things?"
"Oh... so because a lot of people were watching Fear or something it makes the ghosts stronger, sort of like ancestor worship by proxy. I can see how they would be grouchy." You try not to think too hard where Usum might have had the chance to taste worship and the bitter tang of disrespect.
"That's the name of the show, how do you...?"
"It's on MTV."
Lydia goes quiet a moment. "Not to sound like a party popper..."
"Pooper," you correct.
"That thing, but people used to have a lot more respect for the dead than to dare themselves to intrude on their domain. My father brought down the judgement of iron on the heads of the dead for their misdeeds but they were provoked, sure as stwitching a hound on the snout. Anyway I reversed some of the harsher judgements and got everyone to agree they could have their time under the stars so long as they stopped bedeviling the living, we are doing a square dance tomorrow to celebrate the bargain made, but ah... we've been having trouble with plain old vandalism. If one of them decided to jump the fence tomorrow night some of the dead might do something dramatic." She takes a deep breath. "Most of them are gentle you understand, but there'll be a lot of pathos in the air, a lot of memories floating to the suface. I wanted to have that up front before I invited you since I'm hoping you can keep help me keep things in order. I didn't want you to feel..."
"Lydia," you cut her off. before she can tie herself into more knots "I'd love to come. Who else will be there?"
"Olivia was the only one from the Order who said she wanted to come, she's curious about this stuff and uh..."
"You invited Daniel," you guess, biting back a laugh as you recall how conscientious your brother had been about the yard-work this month and imagine how he'd go about asking for permission to go to a ghost dance in a cemetery.
"It's a dance, it's nice to have a partner you know," the younger girl gets out in a rush.
"Sure," you agree lightly. "So do you need me to patrol the perimeter or..."
"No, then you wouldn't be able to participate, I thought maybe you could have a talk with Warden Dresden or his friends in the police Department, Special Investigations I think they were called, tell them to have some officers on the lookout, that should be enough."
Harry has more than enough on his plate, but would detective Murphy listen to you if you just called with a story about a cost dance? Would she try to shut it down for being too dangerous? There is one other way you can think to have eyes on the fence and all the gates, invest a bunch of security cameras all around the Rubio Woods forest preserve, but you are not sure how the dead would take the presence of dark spirits so near and when you ask her neither does Lydia, she does not have the time or the essence to check with all of them. "It should be fine with most of the folk here, but you never know how much of the faith they had in life they carry into death and or how they might interpret something that does not fit with their understanding of Scripture."
What do you do?
[] Try to talk to Detective Murphy about providing security
[] Use Cyberdevils to keep an eye on the place
[] Write in
OOC: I know Fear never had an episode in Bachelor's Grove Cemetery, but the place is known for haunting and this is an alternative reality