Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

[Yog]

Hmm......going to need more time to edit the post.

That said, what charms do you guys want next turn? Here is my wish list.

Murder is Meat - 4xp - Spirit killer, just the thing we need if we face a immortal god or a Greater Akuma, both of which are in our city.
Rendered Villain Dispersal - 4xp - To combo with a lot of charms like CSR.
Maggot mana plague - 8xp - We have a LOT of minions and one baby white that has yet to fully awake.

So 16xp out of 30 xp.

I will be pushing for these three with emphasis on Murder is Meat as I believe that it will be too important to pass up in the next turn considering how many "immortals" are running around.

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Well, I have a number of ideas. Assuming 30 XP

For a combat upgrade, I think this could do:
[] It's a Naagloshii season
-[] Essence-Dissecting Stare, 12 XP
-[] Wind-Born Stride, 8 XP
-[] Seeing is Blindness, 6 XP
-[] Murder is Meat, 4 XP

The idea is that this is focused on hunting and killing a naagloshii and other such beings. EDS to find it and to see through its veils, SiB to prevent it from easily fleeing, Wind-Born stride to match it in speed, MiM to guarantee the kill. It sacrifices social boosts (etiquette, empathy, etc), and RVD for a concentrated upgrade to fighting power. We aren't getting outside Chicago for the next month anyway. Ideally I'd want Devil-Refining Cauldron so we could actually use naagloshii for something, but that's just a cherry on top.

Alternatively, we almost completely disregard naagloshii for now, and do magic and stat boosts. This is a generalist plan.

[] Finally, some magic
-[] Etiquette 5, 4 XP
-[] Empathy 5, 4 XP
-[] Rendered Villain Dispersal, 4 XP
-[] Alchemy 2 dots, 4 -1 +3 = 6 XP, free recipes (if I understand correctly, we get 1 for free):
--[] A liquid that, when imbibed, removes minor Health Level penalties (through Injured) until the individual is wounded again or heals, 1 dot
--[] A liquid that allows the drinker to go for an entire week with only one hour's sleep per night., 2 dots
-[] Additional alchemy recipes, 2 dots, 2 XP:
--[] Enhance Ability: an elixir that can enhance a specific ability in a person who drinks it. The drinker gains a specialty in that ability for the duration (or +2 dice when it is relevant if they already have one) for one hour per success on the creation.
-[] Awakened Eye of the Dragon, 10 XP

Essentially, this gives us the most broad general ability boost. We finish social boosts, we get additional AP from sleep potion, we get enhance ability potion that we can brew using that AP, and we get more stat bonuses from AED ritual with Porter's Dragon Nest and probably some underwater ones we can find using RVD (yes, we don't get Essence-Dissecting Stare, but I am betting that with a combination of All Things Betray and BSM, we can still locate Dragon Nests under the ocean). This is "suddenly, we are just better at everything" plan.

The third alternative is to go heavily into minion managing. We got a lot of them, and we also got a lot of social obligations. So:

[] A proper cult
-[] Etiquette 5, 4 XP
-[] Empathy 5, 4 XP
-[] Maggot Mana Plague, 8 XP
-[] Hear Prayer, Prayer Appraisal, Fulfill Prayer, 12 XP total
-[] Naked Wicked Souls, 3 XP (2 from this turn, and we have 1 banked)

This is essentially "we start a cult" plan. NWS to vet everyone for the worst stuff they did, MMP for feeding supernatural critters (I am very curious what will happen with an unfed White), Prayer line as a discount VEE, social boosts for social boosts and to make people eat maggots and thank us.

These are essentially the three main routes I have in my head. I am still debating between each of them. The second plan is probably the one I am favoring, but all of them have interesting possiblities.

 

[uju32]

each individual hell had ten times as many operatives available at a time, than the whole of Winter does, they would have outmaneuvered Winter long ago.

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To my understanding, you are conflating the way different organizations do things.
The Fae Courts appear to use Emissaries/functionaries with broad responsibilities and actual policy-setting capabilities.
The Yama Kings dont give minions that ability.

That means that the requirements for operatives is very different.
Its sorta like the alleged difference between a Cold War-era Soviet NCO and his NATO counterpart.

The NATO NCO was allegedly a creature of real power and influence, a career professional who was the backbone of institutional memory and who often effectively ran the unit in the place of the junior officers who were nominally in charge,and had input into doctrine and policy.

The Soviet NCO was allegedly a short term conscript as fungible as the conscription cadre he was drawn from.

Jade Court and the Akuma

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Hmm.
In some ways this is better for this AU's Wan Kuei, because it means you get takebacksies even after making a deal if you have a change of heart. In some ways worse, because the YKs can influence you with just a fragment of your soul.

In canon Kindred, you literally have to break into the YKs treasury and steal the jade talismans your soul is sealed into.
Which is, needless to say, very difficult. And makes you the subject of a manhunt and bounty.

Just as a note as I saw a misunderstanding up-thread, but Emma-O's Shikome are greater akuma. He only makes greater akuma from female Japanese Wan Kuei as part of his (misogynistic) revenge on the Japanese for what happened to the Ainu.

Also tangentially relevant is Emma-O's and Kakuri's background. He was the god of the dead for the Ainu and Kakuri was their heaven/afterlife.

If a descendant of the Ainu finds themselves in Kakuri they go to a part of it that is still a heaven, rather than the desolate wastes that others (particularly other Japanese people) are tortured in.

In the crossover, this has interesting implications for what Emma-O is, not just a regular Yama King, but a god who has donned another mantle. Depending on the history/origin of the gods, he may have access to knowledge beyond his peers.

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Thats inaccurate.
Shikome Assassins were all female akuma. But there is nothing I can find about their being exclusively Japanese, and there is no requirement that they be greater akuma, who sold their souls in one go.

As a further note, one of the Yama Kings who survived until at least the 13th Century was one of the original generation of the Wan Xian that took the Second Breath towards the beginning of the 3rd Age. He explicitly avoided the Heaven's Curse by entering Yomi Wan and creating his own hell when he felt it being levied. The implication is that he avoided the curse because he stayed loyal to heaven while doing so, just as his three peers who ascended to Heaven to become celestial ministers at the same time did

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Citation?

Mikaboshi and Ama Odashu are the only Yama Kings I can recall who were once mortal.
Mikaboshi was a geomancer who descended into the Hells and made his own domain . Ama Odashu was a Buddhist saint who inherited the role from a "righteous" Yama King after he was assassinated by other YKs.

Neither was Wan Xian.

As a note, I think in some places it's suggested that becoming a Yama King is a form of successfully completing the Devil Tiger Dharma.

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True.

He would never be accepted by the Jade Court.
Any Wan Kuei that we, either as a westerner or a Demon Empress, educate will forver be outcast.
That's not a bad thing in general, as it would limit that Vampire's options outside of serving us, but it is a thing we should

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Depends on how the QM characterizes the Jade Court here.
The Wan Kuei are based out of multiple separate courts in China, Korea, Japan and India, each with its ancestor cadre, and there is no one undisputed authority.

The Dresdenverse Jade Court are based in the Yangtze Valley of China.

Their soul isn't artificially broken. Their deeds in life caused the P'o part of the soul to grow strong enough that when they died it split off from the Hun part of their soul and fall into a karmically appropriate Hell, before it managed to escape and so pass the trial to become a Wan Kuei, whereupon it reanimates their dead body.

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Point of correction:
Not everyone in the Thousand Hells ended up there for their deeds in life. You can explicitly end up in Yomi Wan for dying a shameful or traumatic death, for example. The equivalent of a clerical error. Or even abduction. The Yama Kings are not picky.

See Kindred of the East pg 23 for how Wan Kuei come to be.

EDIT
Also, MiS relieves the Hunger of Whampires and ghouls.
It might well relieve the core drawbacks of being Wan Kuei.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Because I don't agree with that sentiment. Ego death is real death, and any subsequent incarnations are more like spiritual successors than the 'original' person. Not that I expect everyone to agree, but that's how I see it.

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Not all interpretation of reincarnation, say it is a full lose of memory. Some say the Soul retains full knowledge of every life, even as the the body changes. And in Exalted that was explicitly true even, Soul's had to have their memories manually wiped by Lethe, or they build up, and cause problems.

 

[fictionfan]

How much do we need Etiquette 5? Etiquette 5 is us being at the limit of humanly possible which only a few ever achieve so we are already at the point were be basically are never rude unless it's on purpose and we can already tell when being rude might be a good idea or not. What does Etiquette 5 give us? Because as far as I can see Etiquette is a skill where not failing the roll is generally enough succeeding harder doesn't seem like it does much.

Empathy that is great higher numbers the better because it's often contested. But a high Etiquette roll is generally only going to impress someone that we did things right.

 

[Alratan]

Thats inaccurate.
Shikome Assassins were all female akuma. But there is nothing I can find about their being exclusively Japanese, and there is no requirement that they be greater akuma, who sold their souls in one go.

Click to shrink...

Shikome are greater akuma according to, I think, the Thousand Hells book, but I'll check the reference.

Citation?

Mikaboshi and Ama Odashu are the only Yama Kings I can recall who were once mortal.
Mikaboshi was a geomancer who descended into the Hells and made his own domain . Ama Odashu was a Buddhist saint who inherited the role from a righteous Yama King after he was assassinated by other YKs.

Neither was Wan Xian.

Click to shrink...

Blood & Silk mentions Bao Zhong, ruler of the Hell of Everlasting Sorrow, one of the four original first generation of Wan Xian who survived to see Heaven curse his peers and escaped it by entering Yomi Wan.

I think the mention of other devil tigers ascending to be Yama Kings I'm in Shadow War, but it may be elsewhere.

Point of correction:
Not everyone in the Thousand Hells ended up there for their deeds in life. You can explicitly end up in Yomi Wan for dying a shameful or traumatic death, for example. The equivalent of a clerical error. Or even abduction. The Yama Kings are not picky.

See Kindred of the East pg 23 for how Wan Kuei come to be.

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You don't have to morally deserve it, but your do need a strong enough Po that your soul splits when you die. Otherwise you can't become a Wan Kuei; as they requires that your Hun hangs around your body while your Po goes to a Hell. If your soul stays together and goes to Hell, then as described it wouldn't work.

Yes, after the soul splits a Yama king could steal a Po soul of someone that doesn't deserve to go to their Hell, as going to their Hell requires that you have sinned in the appropriate way. That happens at a later stage in the journey of the soul though.

Now, in exceptional circumstances a soul can be artificially split in two, but that's the kind of thing that needs an experienced vampire using a specific discipline power. So yes, it's possible to have your Po cast into a Hell aftter living a blameless life, but it means a relatively competent supernatural creature has chosen to mess with your soul.

Note that having a strong Po doesn't mean being evil, it means being passionate.

 

[uju32]

How much do we need Etiquette 5?

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A lot.

Shikome are greater akuma according to, I think, the Thousand Hells book, but I'll check the reference

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I have access to that book.
Shikome arent necessarily greater akuma. Some might be, but it isnt a requirement.
Apparently Emma-O headhunts his recruits

Blood & Silk mentions Bao Zhong, ruler of the Hell of Everlasting Sorrow, one of the four original first generation of Wan Xian who survived to see Heaven curse his peers and escaped it by entering Yomi Wan.
I think the mention of other devil tigers ascending to be Yama Kings I'm in Shadow War, but it may be elsewhere.

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Havent seen that book. Will look for it.
Thank you for the citation.

You don't have to morally deserve it, but your do need a strong enough Po that your soul splits when you die.

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According to KoTE, thats inaccurate. You have to have awakened your Po. That happens two ways:
1)It awakened during your lifetime, due to "deeds of sustained depravity and callousness"
2)You suffered sufficient trauma/died in such a nasty way that your Po awakened at the moment of your death

Its explicitly mentioned that brushfire wars, detention centers and gang wars produce a steady stream of candidates

 

[Yog]

How much do we need Etiquette 5? Etiquette 5 is us being at the limit of humanly possible which only a few ever achieve so we are already at the point were be basically are never rude unless it's on purpose and we can already tell when being rude might be a good idea or not. What does Etiquette 5 give us? Because as far as I can see Etiquette is a skill where not failing the roll is generally enough succeeding harder doesn't seem like it does much.

Empathy that is great higher numbers the better because it's often contested. But a high Etiquette roll is generally only going to impress someone that we did things right.

Click to shrink...

Depends on how much etiquette is important to those we deal with. Jade Court probably values it a lot, as do fey. I will freely admit that this is at least partially "get it over with" logic on my part, and partially "we have to deal with Mab" paranoia.

We can have fun with it, as stuff like flower language and fancy tea ceremonies are likely under etiquette.

 

[fictionfan]

Depends on how much etiquette is important to those we deal with. Jade Court probably values it a lot, as do fey. I will freely admit that this is at least partially "get it over with" logic on my part, and partially "we have to deal with Mab" paranoia.

We can have fun with it, as stuff like flower language and fancy tea ceremonies are likely under etiquette.

Click to shrink...

Thing is flower language and fancy tea ceremonies can't require etiquette 5 or most people couldn't do that*. When you add in that we have a key for etiquette I don't see how getting that 5th dot is ever going to help us. Etiquette seems very binary either you know and follow the rules or you don't. Not really any prizes for following them extra well. What does it even mean to do a feat of superhuman etiquette?

*In fact everything etiquette does kind of requires other people being able to do it or it's worthless. Flower language means nothing if others don't understand it. So the usefulness of high etiquette seems very self limiting.

 

[Yog]

Thing is flower language and fancy tea ceremonies can't require etiquette 5 or most people couldn't do that*. When you add in that we have a key for etiquette I don't see how getting that 5th dot is ever going to help us. Etiquette seems very binary either you know and follow the rules or you don't. Not really any prizes for following them extra well. What does it even mean to do a feat of superhuman etiquette?

*In fact everything etiquette does kind of requires other people being able to do it or it's worthless. Flower language means nothing if others don't understand it. So the usefulness of high etiquette seems very self limiting.

Click to shrink...

The issue is that we are dealing with superhuman fey, and with very byzantine rules at least partially designed to give them excuses to be offended. If we are dealing with two people at once (say, Mab and Titania), I am wiling to be that there will be mutually contradictory etiquette rules in play for both of them.

Basically, the whole etiquette system is very likely rigged, and we are playing at very high stakes. We need the edge.

 

[uju32]

Thing is flower language and fancy tea ceremonies can't require etiquette 5 or most people couldn't do that*. When you add in that we have a key for etiquette I don't see how getting that 5th dot is ever going to help us. Etiquette seems very binary either you know and follow the rules or you don't. Not really any prizes for following them extra well. What does it even mean to do a feat of superhuman etiquette?

*In fact everything etiquette does kind of requires other people being able to do it or it's worthless. Flower language means nothing if others don't understand it. So the usefulness of high etiquette seems very self limiting.

Click to shrink...

We arent dealing with most people.
We are dealing with the very top tier social opposition of the Dresdenverse; Incarna-class entities, ancient vampires, old wizards, Fallen angels and their hosts. And for very high stakes.

Its the same reason we have Melee 5 despite most people not having any combat stat that high.
Because we arent fighting most people.

 

[fictionfan]

Well I have thought of a few cases where super high etiquette rolls might actually be helpful.

At Mab's party where the rule was that not single drop of blood can touch the floor high dex + high etiquette rolls could allow us to butcher people with a sword without allowing a single drop to hit the floor.

Or maybe even in cases where we are attacking people we could attack with full force and do an strength + etiquette roll to just not kill them.

If the idea is that etiquette is the ability to know and follow rules under even very trying situations then it follows that etiquette rolls beyond human limits would allow us to follow rules in impossible situations.

 

[Alratan]

According to KoTE, thats inaccurate. You have to have awakened your Po. That happens two ways:
1)It awakened during your lifetime, due to "deeds of sustained depravity and callousness"
2)You suffered sufficient trauma/died in such a nasty way that your Po awakened at the moment of your death

Its explicitly mentioned that brushfire wars, detention centers and gang wars produce a steady stream of candidates

Click to shrink...

I think that's a distinction without a difference. Yes, the event that causes you to have a strong enough Po could be in the moments you're dying. However, that's not the point I was making, which is that to be a Wan Kuei your soul needs to split on death, and that's a 'natural' thing that happens based on the circumstances of your life, not an external curse or similar. It's just what happens to people who have a strong Po as they die.

I have access to that book.
Shikome arent necessarily greater akuma. Some might be, but it isnt a requirement.
Apparently Emma-O headhunts his recruits

Click to shrink...

On rereading, you're correct, I misread.

 

[DragonParadox]

Winning Vote

Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Feb 13, 2023 at 12:10 PM, finished with 232 posts and 17 votes.

• ---

  9 people have voted

  [X] Plan Demon-Empress Inquisition
  -[X] Etiquette Excellency is still active. Renew if necessary
  -[X] Question the vampire
  —[X] Where are they dwelling
  —[X] What Lady Eiko is like
  —[X] How long have the servants of Kakuri been in Chicago
  —[X] The nature of the mission his group is on
  -[X] Use the Crown
  —[X]On the vampire: "Who have his party fed on/killed since arriving in Chicago?"
  —[X]On the Letter: The nature of the mission(s) his group is on. Ask after he has left
  -[X] STUNT: "Akuma" Molly begins, in a soft voice that doesn't so much carry over other sounds as deaden it with its passing, "I have need of your services still". As her eyes seek answers, she pins her unnamed companion beneath the weight of her regard. "Answer me truly, promptly, and with all possible diligence and it will be as a messenger" or lie and serv re as a message promised the venomous courtesy threaded through her words. "First, I would have your name of you."

  • uju32
  • Yzarc
  • bengalqueen
  • 恐Drake
  • Artemis1992
  • JayTar
  • xiosdestro11
  • Azais
  • tenchifew

  5 people have voted

  [X] Plan Hail to the Queen
  -[X] Use Intimidation Excellency
  -[X] Question the vampire
  —[X] The nature of the mission his group is on
  —[X] What Lady Eiko is like
  —[X] what forces he's aware of in the area
  -[X] Use the Crown
  —[X] On the vampire: "What does the ultimate faction behind this messenger know of what they call the dark seed?"
  -[X] Stunt: "Akuma " Molly begins, in a soft voice that doesn't so much carry over other sounds as deaden it with its passing, "I have need of your services still".
  -[X] As her countless eyes open to seek answers, she pins her unnamed companion beneath the weight of her regard. "Answer me truly, promptly, and with all possible diligence and it will be as a messenger" or lie and serve as a message promised the venomous courtesy threaded through her words.
  -[X] Send the vampire back carrying a message changing the location to Mac's pub at noon on the same day, and carrying an email to negotiate further details through.

  • BronzeTongue
  • Goldfish
  • A_Somebody
  • afterthought53
  • Nyarky

  5 people have voted

  [X] Plan Hail to the Queen v2
  -[X] Use Intimidation Excellency
  -[X] Question the vampire
  —[X] The nature of the mission his group is on
  —[X] What Lady Eiko is like
  —[X] what forces he's aware of in the area
  -[X] Use the Crown
  —[X] On the vampire: "What are the ultimate faction's behind this messenger plans in regards to me and mine?"
  —[X] When Molly gets home, target the big book of Yomi Wan and ask "What do the factions described within this book know of what Emma-O calls the seed of darkness?"
  -[X] Stunt: "Akuma " Molly begins, in a soft voice that doesn't so much carry over other sounds as deaden it with its passing, "I have need of your services still".
  -[X] As her countless eyes open to seek answers, she pins her unnamed companion beneath the weight of her regard. "Answer me truly, promptly, and with all possible diligence and it will be as a messenger" or lie and serve as a message promised the venomous courtesy threaded through her words.
  -[X] Send the vampire back carrying a message changing the location to Mac's pub at noon on the same day, and carrying an email to negotiate further details through.

  • BronzeTongue
  • Goldfish
  • A_Somebody
  • afterthought53
  • Nyarky

  4 people have voted

  [X] Plan By Your Voting Combined
  -[X] Use Intimidation Excellency
  -[X] Question the vampire
  --[X] what forces he's aware of in the area
  --[X] What Lady Eiko is like
  --[X] The nature of the mission his group is on
  --[X] How long have the servants of Kakuri been in Chicago
  -[X] Use the Crown
  --[X] On the vampire: "Who have his party fed on/killed since arriving in Chicago?"
  --[X]On the Letter: The nature of the mission(s) his group is on. Ask after he has left
  --[X] When Molly gets home, target the big book of Yomi Wan and ask "What do the factions described within this book know of what Emma-O calls the Black Seed?"
  -[X] Stunt: "Akuma " Molly begins, in a soft voice that doesn't so much carry over other sounds as deaden it with its passing, "I have need of your services still".
  --[X] As her countless eyes open to seek answers, she pins her unnamed companion beneath the weight of her regard. "Answer me truly, promptly, and with all possible diligence and it will be as a messenger" or lie and serve as a message promised the venomous courtesy threaded through her words.
  --[X] Send the vampire back carrying a message changing the location to Mac's pub at noon on the same day, and carrying an email to negotiate further details through.

  • Yog
  • the DragonBard
  • fictionfan
  • Nyarky

  1 people have voted

  [X]Plan flip the table
  -[X] Etiquette Excellency is still active. Renew if necessary
  -[X] Question the vampire
  —[X] Where are they dwelling
  —[X] What Lady Eiko is like
  —[X] How long have the servants of Kakuri been in Chicago
  —[X] The nature of the mission his group is on
  -[X] Use the Crown
  —[X]On the vampire: "Who have his party fed on/killed since arriving in Chicago?"
  —[X]On the Letter: The nature of the mission(s) his group is on. Ask after he has left
  -[X] STUNT: "Akuma" Molly begins, in a soft voice that doesn't so much carry over other sounds as deaden it with its passing, "I have need of your services still". As her eyes seek answers, she pins her unnamed companion beneath the weight of her regard. "Answer me truly, promptly, and with all possible diligence and it will be as a messenger" or lie and serv re as a message promised the venomous courtesy threaded through her words. "First, I would have your name of you."
  -[x]If they have killed anyone in Chicago then kill the messager take a bleach bath and go to the their dwelling in the morning to fuck them up.

  • fictionfan

 

[DragonParadox]

Of Shadows Near and Far ​

30th of September 2006 A.D.

"Akuma," the word, no the concept, tastes familiar on your lips. "I have need of your services still" As you bin the bone masked Wan Kuei beneath the weight of your regard you ask two questions, aloud and one in the depths of your mind alone. "What is your name?"

Lost 1 Essence -> Now at 8/12

"Who has his party killed since arriving in Chicago?"

Lost 1 Essence -> Now at 7/12

Instead of the list of names you had been expecting and dreading all at once a string of Mandarin fleshes before your many eyes: 神骨 知 before the lines flow like mercury into transliteration: Shén gǔ and finally translation: Divine Bones, those who possessed the 36 bones which connected their souls with Heaven, though not all of them had necessarily found the Divine Road, those who by heritage and and the mark of tragedy or transformation could see spirits and the flowing lines of chi. Had they been killed for fear that they would reveal the stain of the Akuma's presence, you wonder or simply because their lives tasted sweet? That even Usun cannot tell you.

"Aoto," the vampire replies, voice ringing hollow behind the bone mask. "That name alone I took from my grave." To his credit he does not look left nor right when the night comes alive with eyes of flame.

"Where are you staying?" you press, already imagining a slaughterhouse like the museum, even though rationally you know the killings could not have been as widespread and obvious else you'd have seen them on the news.

"The Jaslin Hotel..." he offers the address, the room number, all with hardly any prompting, and you suspect without much thought, conditioned to swift service of his superiors, which you resemble to no small degree.

"And lady Eiko what can you say of her manner and temperament?"

"She is as beautiful as the moon above, subtle and wise in the ways of the Endless Night, she does not speak without need nor act without judgement, though the company of such as myself is a grave trial to her," comes the reply in the cadence of a well-worn lesson harshly taught, one you can use, Usum whispers at the back of your mind.

In this you let yourself be guided: "And for how long have you inflicted your clumsiness upon her in my city?"

"Thirteen days my lady," he answers loudly, though once he's spoken you can see his shoulders tighten under the black silk suit.

Not giving him time to think you lean in close and ask "What is it you seek here then?"

"That is as far above my station to wonder at as the stars in the sky. I obey the lady's will." For a moment you wonder if Aoto had gathered the courage to stonewall you, but no he is telling the truth. apparently lesser Akuma have more than a little in common with mushrooms. Biting back a sigh you bid the messenger farewell then watch carefully as he slinks back into the shadows, silent and unnoticed by skill rather than sorcery.

As you turn to the letter to ask your final question a squeak draws your eye to the linden tree where Olivia was standing. Even with your senses twanging like a tuned guitar string you had not been able to see through her veil. You would no doubt have noticed her if she had been an enemy bent on ambush, but even so it is a sobering reminder that for all your power there are still plenty of magics that can trick and overcome you.

Granted your new friend clearly isn't feeling very formidable: "I'm sorry for eavesdropping but I just showed up and the ghosts said you were talking to a corpse-man..." The words all but collide with one another in her haste to explain myself.

"Olivia, it was OK to veil yourself when you saw a supernatural being you did not recognize," you say as soon as you can get a word in edgewise.

"It's reflexive when I get scared," she still feels the need to explain.

"So..." Lydia cuts in motioning at the letter. "What's that all about?"

You ask your second questions: What is the nature of the mission the author's group is on?

To uncover and make use of more powers like your own/To be free of Emma-O through the auspices of your power

Initially you reel at the notion that you are dealing with a whole group of traitor Akuma, but then you recognize the fracture in the middle of the answer your Crown has given. Some portion of the group seeks shards of power like the one you hold and another wishes for freedom. After the realization that they had been killing practitioners this one hits you like a pile of bricks. Do murderers deserve to be free of the yoke of Hell? You know what your dad would say, but can you live up to that example when Olivia, Pauline and everyone else in the Order might be in danger from this new threat.

What do you do next?

[] Warn the Order of the Cauldron

[] Talk to Lieutenant Murphy, supernatural killings are her department

[] See if Thomas heard anything about Akuma from his contacts

[] Write in

OOC: The questions of who had the akuma fed on and who they had killed are distinct so I went with killed since that is the more relevant information at least in my estimation. The vote is only about immediate action, stuff you can do in a few hours, actually dealing with the agents of Kakuri.

 

[DragonParadox]

Rolls
Understanding the paradigm of bronze age Chinese shamanism
The perception roll you failed last turn against Olivia's magical stealth
Intimidation 1, 2,3
Perception, does he know more? Nope

 

[Yog]

So... are we sure Olivia isn't a baby sidereal? Because her "instinctive veils" are good enough to resist Celestial Exalt grade BS, and she arrived just in time to witness something very important, as if guided by fate.

 

[Nyarky]

So... are we sure Olivia isn't a baby sidereal? Because her "instinctive veils" are good enough to resist Celestial Exalt grade BS, and she arrived just in time to witness something very important, as if guided by fate.

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Have to admit, I'm having some doubts right now.

 

[Yog]

What do you do next?

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Can we do more than one thing? Or is it strictly "what we do next"?

 

[DragonParadox]

So... are we sure Olivia isn't a baby sidereal? Because her "instinctive veils" are good enough to resist Celestial Exalt grade BS, and she arrived just in time to witness something very important, as if guided by fate.

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Molly's perception+awareness is two dice, a difficulty reducer is all well and good but she 's kind of situationally challanged otherwise.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Most mortals have better then 2 dice.

 

[Yog]

Molly's perception+awareness is two dice, a difficulty reducer is all well and good but she 's kind of situationally challanged otherwise.

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Still, an Olivia negaquesters have just earned like a boatload of XP for hiding from a celestial exalt with sensory enchantment on.

 

[fictionfan]

Most mortals have better then 2 dice.

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Not most, but any that have trained in the field.
[X] Talk to Lieutenant Murphy, supernatural killings are her department
-[x] Olivia should be able to warn the order.

This at least is a problem that SI can deal with if given enough information. Or at the very least they are worthwhile backup.

 

[Yog]

[X] Plan: I have a call list
-[X] Warn the Order of the Cauldron
--[X] Give a sanitized lecture "Jade Court, Yomi Wan and you" to the members, explaining as best you can how to avoid the dangers
-[X] Talk to Lieutenant Murphy, supernatural killings are her department
--[X] Introduce Lieutenant Murphy to the Order of Cauldron. They could use a police officer who is "in the know" and can be trusted, and she should know the community she's protecting, and could probably use some of their talents
--[X] Ask for access to the bodies of those murdered if possible
-[X] Call Dresden and warn him of yet another evil force in his city.
--[X] Suggest starting a convention or something to lighten the mood
-[X] See if Thomas heard anything about Akuma from his contacts

 

[Acolyte]

Because I don't agree with that sentiment. Ego death is real death, and any subsequent incarnations are more like spiritual successors than the 'original' person. Not that I expect everyone to agree, but that's how I see it.

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But your soul is objectively who you are in dreaden files, i don't understand what your personal views have to do with it. Its why ghosts aren't real people.

 

[uju32]

I think that's a distinction without a difference. Yes, the event that causes you to have a strong enough Po could be in the moments you're dying. However, that's not the point I was making, which is that to be a Wan Kuei your soul needs to split on death, and that's a 'natural' thing that happens based on the circumstances of your life, not an external curse or similar. It's just what happens to people who have a strong Po as they die.

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This is what I object to.
The strength, or lack thereof, of your Po does not appear to be a factor.
It just has to be awake at your moment of death. Which has nothing to do with strength.

Instead of the list of names you had been expecting and dreading all at once a string of Mandarin fleshes before your many eyes: 神骨 知 before the lines flow like mercury into transliteration: Shén gǔ and finally translation: Divine Bones, those who possessed the 36 bones which connected their souls with Heaven, though not all of them had necessarily found the Divine Road, those who by heritage and and the mark of tragedy or transformation could see spirits and the flowing lines of chi. Had they been killed for fear that they would reveal the stain of the Akuma's presence, you wonder or simply because their lives tasted sweet? That even Usun cannot tell you.

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@DragonParadox

QUESTION
1) Do we have the names/identities of those killed? How many are we looking at?
And just as a curiosity, how many of them does the Recluce Murders designation miss? I have this private bet that they would have missed at least two thirds of the victims.