OOC: You guys mentioned Marcone, but missed that you are in the same organization as Helen. Question is do you want to make a Tiffany-Marcone connection through Helen.
I mean there is an entire paragraph in Changes that sounds like 'I had sex with Mab' followed by Dresden as the narrator assuring us that it wasn't sex because of how much of a force of nature Mab is.
As though that ever stopped a the Olympian Gods, the Norse Gods, the Egyptian Gods etc...
Design notes:
1) These are still Infernal charms, given shape by a tainted primordial superweapon meant to kill architects of Creation and left to wallow in spiritual filth for so long linear time no longer applies at all. They are not supposed to be reskins of solar or lunar charms, even if mechanics might be similar.
2) These are primordial charms, meant to represents aspects, intent, and glory of a nascent Dreamer, someone who would surpass and eclipse those that came before her. They should demonstrate their creator's growth past her tainted origins into what and who she desires to be.
3) These are the player charms. They will be used in the story and the game. They should be interesting, and fun both to the players and the GM. This means manageable bookkeeping, and impactful mechanics that are fun to play with.
4) For each infernal charmset, there are 5 one dot charms, 5 two dot charms, 5 three dots charms, 3 four dot charms, and 2 five dot charms. We should not exceed that amount, I believe, otherwise we will run into "charm for every situation" situation, where the themes are going to be eroded. I am not capable of making the full charmset, but I'll try to make some parts of it.
Within that paradigm, here's an incomplete list of charms, with credit to @BronzeTongue and @powergoat
Spirit Shifting Stride ●
In a land far from the sun life is measured not by the cycles of heaven, but the rhythm of the soul.
Gracefully dancing between the five pillars of her spirit, the infernal tunes the elements of her soul to the task at hand.
System:
The infernal activates this charm for a scene as a reflexive action, and chooses one of the cities of the Fivefold Courts of Fate to channel.
While channeling a city she benefits from -1 difficulty to all rolls based on the skills associated with that city based on the given set so long as she acts within its themes. Actions using other abilities can still be taken, but most abide by the same restrictions. If the infernal breaks this requirement it qualifies as using up the city for the scene.
At any time the infernal may also to shift to another city, but this uses up her current one for the scene. Cities expended by either means cannot be returned to until a new scene starts.
The Red City: Law, Leadership, Intimidation, Melee, Alertness, firearms
The Emerald City: Academics, Occult, Science, Technology, Craft, Computer
The Sapphire City: Expression, Politics, Performance, Subterfuge, Athletics, Larceny
The Amethyst City: Medicine, Investigation, Empathy, Finance, Etiquette, Stealth
The Golden City: Survival, Brawl, Awareness, Streetwise, Animal Ken, Drive
I like this one a lot, and all credit goes to @BronzeTongue , who made it. I am a bit iffy on the mechanics, but otherwise it's a great charm thematically
Records Lost to Ages Paradigm ●
As the Wheel of Ages turns, slowly but surely, so do bonds of mortals and immortals alike turn to dust. Even in the world of Sanctuary, memories of past epochs are scattered to the merciless iron winds. The Infernal hastens this universal process so by the application of her might.
System: The infernal touches an object holding a recording of an agreement - a written pact, a party to an oral agreement, a speech recording, etc., spends 1 mote of essence, and rolls stamina+occult against a diffuclty of combined willpower of the parties of the pact (capped at 9 before application of other effects). On a success, the agreement is eroded - memories get lost, records destroyed, magic bonds frayed. The process is not instantaneous, and takes one lunar month. The results of the agreement are not changed - if someone obtained an ownership of a house via a deal, the records of the deal are lost, but all the government records will still demonstrate the same owner as before the charm took effect.
I wanted an ability to destroy magically binding deals. This is something like Theft as Release, but aimed at contracts and pacts and deals. One dot charm because it takes time to come into effect (symbolizing the "accelerated age progression" lore effect description), and how it would usually roll against DC9 (before DC adjusters), Probably won't work on pacts with Mab or those who have perfect protections or can survive the passing of the Age.
Articles of Unity Sanctification ●●
Since the age of war, the eternal peace of Unity has been secured with the collateral of the exarch lives. Borrowing strength from the weight of tradition, the Infernal binds warring powers to their words.
System: When witnessing two or more sides of conflict coming to an agreement, the Infernal can spend number of sides making a pact motes of essence and roll Intelligence + Law. On a success, a mystic symbol carves itself into the bodies of the faction leaders. From this moment on, if their side knowingly breaches the terms of the agreement, the leader will suffer 5 * years the binding held rounded up levels of aggravated damage as balefire erupts from their body. If the leader changes, the binding transfers to a new leader automatically. If the leader changes due to the binding having triggered, the timer resets.
Pact sanctification. I really like how exarchs are basically collateral for the pact of Unity. And besides eclipses' anima power, there are very few tools to sanctify pacts. And Infernals have very few organization-targeting charms. So, I'll be adding a few.
The charm can only be used on sides of conflict, so it can't be used on two friends making a bet. It also allows, and if fact encourages, internal coups in bad faith parties, as the timer resets when a leader is changed by means of a contract breach, but not otherwise.
Dot level I am unsure about. It's an indirect charm that targets a leader of an organization, but it doesn't target organization as a whole. Endless Torment Emanation is three dots, so I am making this one a 2 dot charm.
Infinite Library Subscription ●●
Bringing truth to the name of the Emerald City's Infinite Library, the Infernal avails herself to a copy of any record in existence
System: By taking an action and spending 1 Essence, the Infernal can conjure a copy of any physical record to exist in her hands. The record persists for five days and then disappears.
You'd think that Archive's power would be more than 2 dots. It's not. Archive's power that is. Not exactly and not at all. Because the exalts don't get "automatically comprehend all written languages" charm that I know of. And the records conjured cannot be seen with the crown as a direct expression of exalt's charm. Now, two infernals with crowns of eyes working together makes this much sillier, but exalts working together being more than the sum of their parts is normal.
Pillars of Creation Conjuration ●●●●
The Infernal brings forth the echoes of the pillars that support her Courts
System: Spend 2 Essence. Up to 5 metallic columns up to 10 times essence rating in length and up to essence rating yards in diameter erupt from the ground where the Infernal desires. The columns persist for a scene, unless the Infernal pays an additional point of Willpower in which case the columns remain until dismissed. No more than 5 columns conjured by the Infernal can exist at any point of time.
I took Ramparts of Obedient Earth from Lydia and tweaked them a lot. This is a battlefield control and weapon making charm all at once. You can make an instant sniper's nest, or a battlestaff. Or a ten foot pole to poke something with. I didn't specify what kind of metal you'd be making, as I don't much want to think about it. Some type of brass, I guess?
The edge use of this is to produce metals for profit. Also ramming some huge gates.
Maybe I should add a "roll dex + craft, only up to success amount of columns can be conjured"? Or would that be redundant? How much bashing damage should a column do if impacting something?
Blade To Wheel Returning ●●●●
SInce time immemorial even to the eldest of spirits and wisest of sages, the residents of Sanctuary held one surety in their souls above all - that the Wheel is turning, and with its revolutions brings the merciful release from their most grievous suffering where all other methods fail. Now, the Wheel of Ages is beginning to move, and the herald of the new era to come brings this blessed surety to the Creation beyond Sanctuary upon the tip of her sword and the edges of her mind.
System: The Infernal pays 1 essence, then strikes a fatal blow to the target within the same scene. An ethereal wind, reminiscent to the everstorm of the Wilds engulfs the target, carrying its spirit away. Instead of ending in their intended afterlife, they will instead be subject to the Law of the Wheel of the Fivefold Sanctuary. Within a year and a day, but possibly as quickly as the next breath, as Storeteller's discretion, they will reincarnate in a place of safety that is karmically tied to them in perfect health, the wound inflicted by the Infernal and all their other maladies gone.
The exalt can pay additional target essence equivalent rating motes. In that case, the winds of the Wilds will linger, tying themselves to the breath of the target. After their reincarnation, the target remains bound to the Law of the Wheel for a year and a day. The target knows instinctively when this blessing passes.
Infernal healing charm. Very infernal healing charm. Stab someone to death in order to heal them and temporarily grant them immortality. But you have to kill them first, or the effect doesn't work. 4 dots because it's a very strong effect.
Fivefold Aspects of the Empress ●●●●●
Embodying the divinity of the Empress-to-Come, the Infernal manifests the divergent images of her self from the mind of her worshippers.
System: The infernal spends 5 motes of essence. A clone rises from the ground on a metal pedestal. They are clad in a traditional garb of one of five cities. They retain the abilities associated with the city they embody (see Spirit Shifting Stride). All other abilities are reset to zero, and their favored status is removed. They are capable of using the Infernal's charm and other abilities, but share the essence pool with the exalt. They cannot regenerate essence in any way save by means of Prayer Eating. They cannot collaborate with the Infernal in sorcerous rituals, except in Prayer Eating. The clones don't get access to prayer eating.
The Infernal can have up to her Essence rating in clones alive and active at once. By spending 1 Essence, she can cause a clone within her presence to unravel into an iron-filled wind which she absorbs, granting her all of the memories the clone accumulated during its existence. If the Infernal wishes, she may re-create specific absorbed clones in the future when using Fivefold Aspects of the Empress.
If the Infernal should ever die while any of her clones are abroad in the world, her body dissolves into a screaming wind that streams across the world and pours itself into the nearest clone. Reincarnating in this fashion reduces the Infernal's Essence rating by 1. If this would reduce her to Essence 0, then reincarnation is impossible.
A reimagining of Splintered Gale Incarnation. The clones get to use charm, but in exchange lose some of the abilities, and cannot participate in communcal magic casting. That last one is needed to avoid Molly quickly have 100+ dice to throw at a magical problem (Molly and five clones doing a communal casting with everyone using excellency and DC reducers)
This is what I have so far. Other ideas I have are:
1) a DC reducer for dealing with suicidal people or those who have accepted their death to come. That's from City of Silence ritualistic practice.
2) Some manner of "travel via dragon veins" charm effect, similar, but smaller in scope than the Crown of Worlds effect
3) Some manner of matter transmutation stuff to do with the tiberium plants in the Wilds
4) Some manner of ritualized duel charm where the victor gets either DC reduction bonuses or a binding contract with the loser
Stuff I want but don't know what I actually want:
1) Stuff that deals with synergetics, with bringing different factions together. I am tempted to just copy-paste Unity of the Closed Fist (probably with nerfs) as a 5 dot charm, but that's too overpowered.
2) Something to do with craft. Fivefold Courts are a technological industrial society, and Molly does a lot of craft. I am unsure what would be flavorful enough, though.
3) Stuff to do with the Labyrinth.
Yeah, that's the kind of gift that becomes family heirloom and sells in some exclusive auction a couple of decades or centuries later, even discarding the identity of the maker as a factor.
I think the clones may come out a little too strong @Yog . But I like the integration and how they aspects...Although they are clearly related to the "We are the god who hears prayers" route, which is not necessarily Molly's choice in the future. But overall it's interesting. If they can use charms, then they can be as protected from mind hacking as molly herself.
I think the clones may come out a little too strong @Yog . But I like the integration and how they aspects...Although they are clearly related to the "We are the god who hears prayers" route, which is not necessarily Molly's choice in the future. But overall it's interesting. If they can use charms, then they can be as protected from mind hacking as molly herself.
The balance definitely needs to be worked on, yes. Not sure what I could do to decrease the power, though. Maybe add "1 mote per clone per day" cost? Oh, and added that they don't get access to shintai.
Honestly if we do these homebrew Charms, we should do them properly.
Make a full set of Sanctuary-themed Charms and lock them behind conquering the Labyrinth, so Molly gets a narrative reason for wielding new powers in her own theme.
Also I much prefer to have a single, finished Charmset crafted at a specific point before we start buying from it, to remove the temptation of making Charms for specific situations or cases as we need them.
Working around the issues and limitations of your Charms is where the mechanical fun of being Infernal comes from after all, well that and soak plus two or three kinds of different immortality.
The balance definitely needs to be worked on, yes. Not sure what I could do to decrease the power, though. Maybe add "1 mote per clone per day" cost? Oh, and added that they don't get access to shintai.
Honestly, maybe the clones just need more complexity. I already mentioned crafting, but there are other ways to make their loss more noticeable and their creation more difficult. Another option is to tie them to maintenance requirements so that they are not free. But this is already a last resort option.
[x] Explain that you do know a magical healer if she wants one
Honestly? This costs us nothing and it could offer Tiffany more faith to draw upon. It's not like she's going to eat those she knows are under our protection you know? There's scheming and then there's shooting yourself in the foot by angering your local Exalt who is the whole reason you've got your own body in the first place you know? I don't think Tiffany is dumb, even if I wouldn't call her nice to non-cadre
As far as charms go? I think building one whole set and locking it to the labyrinth is a good idea
Thinking about Dragonnests and exalted and thinking that maybe we could make a charm to aspect the Dragonnest to us, infernals could raise manses to a god, or Yozi in creation, so why not take a Dragonnest an aspect it Molly herself.
Say it takes 100-500 motes spent over the course of it construction, but it ends with a Manses to Molly. A bit of Molly inner world on earth.
Like the charms, a little sad you didn't like my teaching one enough to include, I thought that was thematic at least
While I understand leaving aside Benevolent Radiant Ring, maybe it can be remade into an arena charm, by causing a thin frozen metalsand windstorm dancing around in a pillar, blocking vision and doing Lethal damage to anyone but the Infernal trying to pass through? Would make it a higher dot charm, but useful outside of extreme wether conditions and more Infernal-coded since allies can't enter or leave easy either.
Also would you say Fivefold Aspects of the Empress is incompatible with Splintered Gale Shintai? If only because of story purposes, that's twice as many mollys. Perhaps remove the death-prevention effect from FAotE and make another specific charm for surviving death for herself based on the wheel, at a steep price of course.
Well in the spirit of making custom charms that fit with DF.
Name holding Method
Many beings can use your true name against you. Infernals are one of them.
System: If the Infernal hears someone's name from their own lips they can make a DC 7 Intelligence + Occult roll to perfectly remember it. The Infernal is then able to use any charms which normally have a range of touch on the target from any distance for as long as the name continues to be true.
I was asking if she was using it to reduce the DCs of the checks she was doing in Molly's interests. Seemed more optimal then just spending mana on that check.
Hold up, how is Helen aware of her daughter's coma? Doesn't she think Marcone killed her still? I don't think she ever learns her daughter is alive, right?
I meant using IDU to give her the psychic powers and merits to do the job herself, since we could give Olivia powers and merits we don't have ourselves.
I meant using IDU to give her the psychic powers and merits to do the job herself, since we could give Olivia powers and merits we don't have ourselves.